Elementary

In 1990, divers found 43 old helmets on the bottom of the sea near Benicarló, a town on the east coast of Spain. The helmets were lying in shallow water, only about six metres deep. For many years, people thought the helmets were from ancient Rome.

New research has now shown that the helmets are not Roman at all. Scientists used a method called radiocarbon dating to find out how old the iron was. The tests showed that the helmets were made in the late 1300s or early 1400s, during the Middle Ages.

The 43 helmets together make the biggest collection of medieval helmets ever found underwater in the western Mediterranean Sea. Researchers believe the helmets were being moved by ship and sank during the journey. The ship may have been caught in a storm or attacked by pirates.

helmet

a hard hat that protects the head

diver

a person who swims underwater

ancient

from a very long time ago

medieval

from the period known as the Middle Ages, roughly 500 to 1500 AD

radiocarbon dating

a scientific method used to find out how old something is

shallow

not deep; close to the surface

collection

a group of similar objects gathered together

pirates

criminals who rob ships at sea

Intermediate

In 1990, divers discovered 43 iron helmets resting on the seabed at a site called Piedras de la Barbada, roughly six metres deep near the town of Benicarló on Spain's Costa del Azahar. The find was remarkable in size, but for decades the helmets were assumed to be ancient Roman military equipment and no further scientific investigation was carried out.

A new study published in the journal Antiquity has overturned that assumption. Led by Manuel Frallicciardi, a doctoral student at the University of Alicante and the University of Salerno, the research team applied radiocarbon dating to iron samples from the helmets. The results placed their manufacture firmly in the late 14th to early 15th century, well into the Middle Ages.

The 43 helmets together form the largest known collection of medieval helmets ever recovered from an underwater site in the western Mediterranean. Researchers believe the helmets were cargo aboard a merchant ship that never reached its destination, possibly lost to a storm or pirate attack. The likely trade route linked the Valencia coast with the commercial port of Genoa in northern Italy, where arms manufacture was a major industry.

seabed

the floor of the sea

assumption

something accepted as true without proof

overturned

proved to be wrong; reversed

doctoral student

a university student working towards the highest academic degree

cargo

goods carried by a ship, plane or vehicle

merchant ship

a ship used to carry goods for trade

manufacture

the making of goods, usually in large quantities

commercial port

a harbour used mainly for trade and business

Upper-Intermediate

In June 2026, researchers publishing in the journal Antiquity announced that 43 iron helmets recovered from the seabed at Piedras de la Barbada, near Benicarló on Spain's Costa del Azahar, are medieval in origin rather than Roman as had been assumed since their discovery in 1990. The study, led by doctoral student Manuel Frallicciardi of the University of Alicante and the University of Salerno, applied radiocarbon dating to iron samples extracted from the helmets - the first time this technique has been used on iron helmets recovered from an underwater site.

The radiocarbon analysis dated the helmets to the late 14th or early 15th century, a turbulent era in Mediterranean history marked by frequent conflict between Italian city-states, the decline of the Byzantine Empire, and widespread piracy threatening Iberian coastal trade. The collection of 43 helmets constitutes the largest medieval helmet hoard ever found underwater in the western Mediterranean, surpassing any previously known assemblage of its kind.

The helmets' style and likely origin point to Genoa, a northern Italian city renowned throughout the medieval period for its arms industry and commercial reach. Researchers believe the helmets were destined for the Iberian Peninsula, forming part of a documented pattern of weapons exports from Genoese workshops to markets along the Valencia coast. The loss of the cargo - whether to storm, combat, or piracy - not only deprived a buyer of significant military equipment but preserved a rare snapshot of the medieval arms trade for modern archaeologists.

assemblage

a collection of objects found together at a site

radiocarbon dating

a technique that measures the decay of carbon-14 to estimate how long ago an organic material died

turbulent

characterised by instability, conflict or rapid change

hoard

a hidden or buried stock of valuable objects

city-state

an independent political unit consisting of a city and its surrounding territory

Iberian Peninsula

the landmass in south-west Europe comprising Spain and Portugal

Byzantine Empire

the eastern continuation of the Roman Empire, based in Constantinople until 1453

workshop

a place where goods are manufactured or repaired

Advanced

A paper published in Antiquity in June 2026 has resolved a decades-long misattribution by demonstrating through accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating that 43 iron helmets recovered in 1990 from Piedras de la Barbada, a shallow reef site at approximately six metres depth near Benicarló, Castellón, are medieval artefacts dating to the late 14th or early 15th century, not ancient Roman materiel as originally classified. The study, authored by doctoral candidate Manuel Frallicciardi (University of Alicante / University of Salerno) and collaborators, represents the first application of radiocarbon dating to iron helmets from any underwater archaeological context, overcoming the methodological challenge that iron itself contains negligible intrinsic carbon by dating organic inclusions embedded in corrosion crusts.

The typological analysis of the helmets identifies them as cervellières or early basinets - open-faced iron skull-caps characteristic of late medieval infantry equipment throughout the Crown of Aragon and Genoese-influenced markets. At 43 specimens, the assemblage constitutes the largest medieval helmet hoard documented from an underwater site in the western Mediterranean, significantly exceeding prior discoveries. The concentration of identical military hardware at a single coastal wreck site is consistent with bulk arms shipment rather than personal equipment, pointing to commercial cargo destined for redistribution.

The geopolitical and economic context of the late 14th century Mediterranean illuminates the likely trade dynamics. Genoa maintained extensive arms-export networks linking its Ligurian workshops to Aragonese and Castilian clients along the Valencian littoral, a relationship documented in notarial records from both cities. The period coincided with escalating conflict involving the Italian city-states, recurring Barbary corsair raids on Iberian coastlines, and the final contraction of Byzantine territory - all of which drove sustained demand for military equipment. The Benicarló cargo's loss, whether attributable to a levantine storm system, a corsair engagement, or navigational failure on the final approach to a Valencian port, inadvertently preserved a material record of this arms-trade network that no archival source alone could provide.

accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS)

a highly sensitive radiocarbon dating technique that counts individual carbon-14 atoms, enabling dating of very small or iron-associated organic samples

cervellière

a simple hemispherical iron skull-cap worn as military headgear in the 13th to 15th centuries, often under a mail coif or great helm

basinet

a close-fitting medieval helmet with a pointed apex, common in the 14th century, sometimes fitted with a visor

notarial records

legal documents produced by notaries, which in medieval Italian and Iberian cities recorded commercial contracts, ship manifests, and trade agreements