Various types of helmets are documented for the Villanova period (ninth-eighth century BC). Skullcap-shaped ones made of simple, decorated bronze sheet, projecting ones with internal padding, and helmets with crests or other appendages on top.#
In the age of Orientalization ribs were added on top of the simple skullcap and a brim set at the bottom to provide better protection for heads from downward blows. There was also growing use of the Corinthian helmet with its T-shaped aperture that left only the eyes and mouth uncovered. From the archaic era (sixth century BC) onward the helmet with an elongated cap and crest, and sometimes with movable cheek pieces, came into use all over Etruria.#
2#
THE SHIELD#
The shields most widely used in the Villanova era (ninth-eighth century BC) were round and made of leather, covered with an embossed sheet of bronze. Inside there was not only a grip but also a long strap so that it could be carried over the shoulder when not being used in combat. In the archaic era the circular shield took on a convex shape and its diameter increased to around a meter, so that soldiers standing in line could be protected by their companions. There were also elliptical and square shields.#
3#
SPEARS#
In the Villanova era they were about 1.20 m long. The bronze leaf-shaped point was equipped with a socket and hole for attachment to the wooden shaft. From the seventh century onward their length increased to around 2 m. There were also lighter javelins.#
4#
THE SWORD#
The swords used in the Villanova era (ninth-eighth century BC) had no hand guards and their blades were made of bronze or iron and stiffened with longitudinal ribs. The swords of the seventh century, mostly made of iron, were stronger and the triangular blade grew straighter to facilitate cutting stokes. Their hilts were often richly decorated. There is evidence for the use of the curved saber (the madraira) in the sixth and fifth centuries. It had a length of about 90 cm and grew wider toward the tip so as to lend more weight to a blow delivered from above.#
5#
CUIRASSES#
These were originally made of canvas with square or round studs of rolled iron. Subsequently bronze cuirasses were used, made of several pieces or of a single element molded to fit the musculature of the male trunk.#
6#
SHIN GUARDS#
Their appearance during the seventh century was a response to the need to protect the shins and calves. Later on it became the practice to use cuisses formed out of two pieces of bronze bound together by two thongs.#
7#
WARSHIPS#
As early as the seventh century warships already had an elongated form with a faired keel. The prow was equipped with a rostrum or beak that served the dual purpose of keeping the craft stable and ramming enemy ships. This was, according to Pliny the Elder, a typically Etruscan invention. In the fifth century the ship, rigged with sails, had two banks of oarsmen at the sides, while the helmsman steered the ship in the stern.#
