The Westmorland Gazette has posted a story on the fundraising effort to keep the Crosby Garrett Roman Helmet in Cumbria. The Westmorland Gazette reports that, so far, the public have donated £25,000 towards the appeal fund and that staff at the Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery expect a large boost to the campaign fund “from high-profile arts and archaeology funds later this week.”

In the wake of the massive public interest in major metal detecting finds like the Staffordshire Hoard and the Frome Hoard, I had expected a greater level of interest in the Crosby Garrett Roman Helmet from the general public. The £25,000 raised so far was a big surprised to me, I had hoped for a whole lot more after all the publicity and news coverage the helmet received.

No doubt the massive cuts to public spending and the threat of mass job losses have had an impact on peoples willingness to donate to any cause, but even in the current financial climate, I had hoped we could do better.

So it seems, for now at least, that the fate of the Crosby Garrett Helmet lays with those “high-profile arts and archaeology funds”. I hope that those who decide how the money in those funds gets spent will support Tullie House and provide them with the money they need to acquire the Crosby Garrett Helmet, not just for the people of Cumbria, but for everyone in the whole of Britain.