12 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

A Batavian Cavalry Mask was found on the Battlefield of Roman Comrades

Archaeologists have discovered that a rusty corroded plate they found 4 years ago at an old battlefield in the city of Krefeld, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, is a large fragment of a rare Batavian Cavalry Mask dating back to the 1st century.

Archaeologists think the mask is probably part of a face mask worn by a Batavi horseman in the Batavi War in 69.

Only 15 masks of the Nijmegen-Kops type have been discovered so far. All of the masks found were found on the Nijmegen-Kops plateau. Most are in the Batavi region, now the Netherlands, between the Meuse and the Rhine. So the type is closely associated with Batavi horseman. It was attached to the headband of the helmet with a hinge. The emotionless silvered visage was meant to be intimidating for opponents on the battlefield and in hand-to-hand combat.

The Batavi were an ancient Germanic tribe living -around the Rhine delta of modern Netherlands- in an area, the Romans called Batavia. (1st century BC, 3rd century AD). Tacitus (De Origine et situ Germanorum XXIX), a Roman Historian and Politician, described the Batavi as the bravest of the tribes of the region.

Restorer Eileen Wolff, Krefeld’s urban archaeologist Dr. Hans-Peter Schletter, and Dr. Burg Linn Museum director Boris Burandt present the find. Photo: City of Krefeld, Press, and Communications

The Batavi were so famed for their prowess in combat that Rome granted them a special tax and tribute exemption in return for their service in Roman auxiliary infantry, cavalry, and in the Augustan-era imperial bodyguards. In the first century, out of a population of less than 40,000 Batavi, 5,500 served as elite warriors in the Roman legions. That means that half of all Batavi men enlisted after they turned 16.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



Batavi forces were critical to the conquest of Britain, but after they were withdrawn from Britannia in 66 A.D., tensions between the Batavi soldiers and Rome grew. Gaius Julius Civilis, the son of a Batavi chief who had spent 25 years in the Roman auxiliary, staged a rebellion. For a year, he effectively deployed Roman military techniques against them. In the autumn of 69 A.D., Civilis’ elite warriors ambushed 12,000 Roman legionaries and auxiliaries in their field camp at Gelduba on the Rhine’s left bank. The Batavi entered the camp and began murdering, but were unable to complete the task when Roman reinforcements arrived. Although Rome won technically, it lost so many men that the victory was rather tainted.

The mask piece should be desalted in a caustic soda bath for six months. Photo: City of Krefeld, Press, and Communications

After the Batavi War, the Roman presence in Gelduba began almost uninterrupted until the end of the Roman Empire in the fifth century. The region on the Rhine proved to be strategically favorable. The Romans built many different forts there over the centuries. The site monument today, along with other sites in the Lower Germanic Lime, was recognized as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2021.

Excavations that began at Krefeld-Gellep in 2017 revealed the battlefield of Roman comrades who fought 2,000 years ago. At the excavation site, thousands of relics of the battle have been unearthed, including 200 horse skeletons, armor, and weapons.

The corroded, lumpy metal plate was brought to the Archaeological Museum in Krefeld for documentation, conservation, and study. When the piece was X-rayed, archaeologists recognized they had a part of a cavalry mask after spotting an eye slit, an ear, and a rivet where the helmet attachment was most probable.

Cover Photo: The mask fragment was found during an excavation at Krefeld-Gellep; here is the Batavi face mask and a replica of the helmet. Batavian cavalry mask. City of Krefeld, Press, and Communications

Related Articles

Sensational Discovery in Salzburg: 1,800-Year-Old Roman Ship’s Bow Unearthed During Renovation

11 September 2025

11 September 2025

Archaeologists conducting excavations amid the renovation of the Neue Residenz in Salzburg’s Old Town have discovered a Roman ship’s bow...

The Discovery of a Bronze Age Game Board in Azerbaijan Challenges the Origin of One of the World’s Oldest Games

30 August 2024

30 August 2024

A new archaeological study revealed that an ancient board of a game, known as “Hounds and Jackals” or the “Game...

Oldest footprints of pre-humans identified in Crete

11 October 2021

11 October 2021

Six million-year-old fossilized footprints on the island show the human foot had begun to develop. The oldest known footprints of...

A Medieval ‘Vampire’ Grave Found in Croatia

1 February 2025

1 February 2025

Research at the Rašaška (or Račeša) site, located in the eastern part of Croatia, revealed a grave with an unusual...

Archaeologists Unearthed a Rare Hoard of Hasmonean Coins in Jordan Valley

31 December 2024

31 December 2024

A team of archaeologists from the University of Haifa discovered a rare hoard of approximately 160 coins during an excavation...

4,000-Year-Old Lion Jaw Bone Unearthed in Kültepe

14 September 2021

14 September 2021

Excavations continue in Kültepe, the starting point of Anatolian written history. During the excavations, a 4,000-year-old lion jawbone was unearthed....

8 ostrich eggs over 4,000 years old discovered near excavated firepit in Negev desert

13 January 2023

13 January 2023

Eight ostrich eggs dating between 4,000 and 7,500 years ago have been found during excavations next to a fire pit...

Archaeologists in northern Spanish have discovered what they believe to be the oldest Basque language text

15 November 2022

15 November 2022

Archaeologists have discovered what they believe to be the oldest Basque language text, on  Irulegi archaeological site, near the Aranguren...

1.5 tons of bronze coins found in east China

19 December 2022

19 December 2022

An ancient coin hoard containing 1.5 tonnes of coins from the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties has been discovered...

Evidence of Brain Surgery performed 3,000 years ago discovered in the ancient city of Tel Megiddo

27 February 2023

27 February 2023

Researchers have discovered a rare instance of delicate cranial surgery, possibly the earliest of its kind in the Middle East,...

The Stolen Frescoes were Returned to the Pompeii Archaeological Park

20 May 2021

20 May 2021

Six frescoes ripped from the remains of ancient Roman villas years ago have been returned to the Pompeii archaeological site,...

The first Dutch Neanderthal’s ‘Krijn’ face was reconstructed

7 September 2021

7 September 2021

World-renowned “paleo-artists” Kennis brothers have reconstructed the face of the first Neanderthal in the Netherlands. After more than 50,000 years,...

In a Wisconsin lake, archaeologists discover a 1,200-year-old dugout canoe

6 November 2021

6 November 2021

Maritime archaeologists from the Wisconsin Historical Society have discovered a dugout wooden canoe in Lake Mendota, Wisconsin, USA. Carbon analysis...

Medieval double grave discovered with majestic objects inside the circular ditch

22 August 2022

22 August 2022

An early medieval double grave was discovered in Kirchheim am Neckar Friedrichstrasse, southern Germany, during excavations supervised by the State...

Archaeologists discover secondary gate of old Bazira city in Pakistan

26 March 2022

26 March 2022

Archaeologists claimed to have discovered the secondary gate of the city of Bazira during new excavations at Barikot in Pakistan’s...