Getic helmet from Coțofenești

A ceremonial gold helmet belonging to the Getic elite, discovered at Coțofenești in present-day Romania and dated to the 4th century BCE. Made from hammered gold sheet and decorated in repoussé, it originally had a conical cap, now partly missing. The frontal plate is dominated by a pair of large apotropaic eyes. The neck-guard is decorated in two registers with predatory fantastic beasts and three seated or crouching winged, human-faced creatures, motifs with parallels in Near Eastern art (Powell 1971). The decoration combines local Getic elements with Greek and Scythian stylistic…