In the year 1812, a spectacular discovery was made in an orchard in the village of Zenjak in Slovenia, near Negau (Negova) and the Austrian border. 26 bronze helmets, of which 23 are preserved today, of Etruscan origin and of the vetulonic type (today also called Negau type). That is, bronze and with a decorated rim on a lateral protrusion, ending in a kind of crest.
The helmets date from 450–350 BC. and many similar ones have been found at sites throughout the Alpine arc (Slovenia, Italy), but also in Switzerland and even in Spain, where one appeared at the Les Sorres site, at the former mouth of the Llobregat. One was found at Olympia dedicated to Zeus by Hiero of Syracuse after the Battle of Cumae (474 BC). They usually appear in necropolises and in votive contexts, as offerings to some local god.
Those from the Negau site must have been an offering. According to experts for two reasons. The first is that they were buried around 50 BC, that is, almost four centuries after their manufacture, at a time when they had long since become obsolete and unused (they had been replaced by more modern equipment such as helmets). type Novo Mesto circa 300 B.C.).
And the second, which is what really represented a novelty and the main interest of the finding, is that one of the helmets bears a different inscription than the others. Most of them feature Celtic inscriptions with the names of the priests or Druids who offered them. But the one known as Helm Negau B is inscribed with a Germanic name:𐌇𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌊𐌀𐌔𐌕𐌉𐌕𐌄𐌉𐌅𐌀///𐌉𐌐 (harikastiteiva\\\ip ).
The inscription, interpreted as Harigasti teiva it is composed, according to linguistic analyses, of several parts:hari (army, host), from Old Norse herjan (to fight, loot); spend(z) (Guest); and teiwa(z) (god, similar to divus Latin). Its meaning varies according to the authors. Some read it as Harigast the priest , others like the god Herigast . What everyone agrees on is that Harigast is a Germanic name, making the inscription the oldest Germanic found so far.
For this reason, German archaeologists became extremely interested in the Negau site during World War II, so much so that the site was renamed Harigast for the duration of the conflict.
But it wasn't Harigast who buried his helmet either, as the inscription was made sometime in the 2nd century BC, more than 50 years before the entire ensemble became a votive offering.
What is known is that Harigast must have been a Germanic priest, perhaps a mercenary, embedded in the ranks of a Celtic people who kept the helmets possibly as objects of symbolic value that were passed from generation to generation. Or perhaps they still used them in combat. Although there is abundant evidence that the Germans did not use metal helmets or helmets, but leather, it is possible that the German mercenaries who served, first the Celts and then the Romans, adopted the habit of wearing them.
The question is what was a helmet with a Germanic inscription, and possibly made by a priest, doing among a lot of helmets with Celtic inscriptions? Harigast must have been someone respected enough to be allowed to possess a helmet, perhaps sacred, but at the same time independent enough to keep his Germanic name and religion.
But there is more, because the inscription was originally thought to be runic, which would also have made it the first of its kind. Today all experts agree that the alphabet used is a derivative of the Etruscan used in the north of the Italian peninsula, in the Roman provinces of Recia, Norica, Venetia and Pannonia. However, even when the exact origin of the runes is not known, the parallels between the forms of some of their letters with the non-ritalic ones make many researchers think that this may be one of the possible sources of the Futhark. Old , which are the earliest known runes.
The Negau helmets are scattered in museums around the world, but Helm B is kept in the Vienna Art History Museum (Kunsthistorisches Museum ).
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Weapon Rites in the Iron Age:Weaponry and Cult Sites in the Ancient Mediterranean and Celtic World (María del Mar Gabaldón) / The Riddle of the Negau Helmet B / Old English:A Linguistic Introduction (Jeremy J. Smith) / The Negau Inscriptions / Wikipedia.