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# Moss wig and centurion's helmet crest found at the Roman fort of Vindolanda
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/pri-raskopkakh-rimskogo-forta-i-v-vv-n-e/
- Published: 2020-01-15T10:31:02.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-02T18:51:55.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: Archaeology, Museums, Nature

Excavations at Vindolanda, a Roman fort of the 1st to 5th centuries AD in Northumberland, south of Hadrian's Wall, have yielded a great many remarkable finds, such as the first known wooden toilet seat, or this witch's bonnet with its scraggly little beard.

The photographs show a wig and the crest of a centurion's helmet, made from a most unusual material: moss. The crest is kept in the Museum of the Roman Army at Carvoran. They are among the few objects confirming that the Romans used moss to imitate hair. In this case the moss was hair-cap moss.

It is known that military helmets were usually adorned with a crest of horsehair, but that was an expensive pleasure, so some had to make do with hair-cap moss, which had its own strengths besides cheapness: it kept insects away.

The object more often identified as a woman's wig may in fact be a cap that cavalrymen wore over the helmet.

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/09/photo_2273@15-01-2020_13-31-02.jpg)

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/09/photo_2274@15-01-2020_13-31-02.jpg)