During the late Republican era, the most common types of helmet were the bronze Montefortino-style, and Coolus-style helmets, which both consisted of a vertically oblong bowl with a neck guard and cheek plates, and a small knob on top to attach the crest. By the late Roman Republic at the time of the show Rome, the standard Legionary would have stopped using a crest (usually one made of horse hair tied around the knob) in battle as like the famously silly horned helmets of the Vikings, it offered the enemy something to grab onto. The helmet might also have small loops on either side to hold feathers or other insignia. The standard Legionary would have worn his crest in triumph or other marshal event. Strangely, the Centurions continued to wear a crest in battle, probably so that their soldiers could easily follow them. Their crest consisted of a transverse line of shorter bristles, usually depicted as being dyed red, mounted in a long, shallow, inverted U shaped box that fit over the top of the helmet, attached at the center and presumably on either temple, should the helmet be equipped as such. The various other officiates of a legion had different helmet insignia both on an off the battlefield. The Signifer (standard bearer) of a unit as well as the Cornicen (horn blower) and the other junior officers of a military unit who would march at the front of the century with the centurion might wear an animal skin (usually wolf, bear, or lion) over their helmets and around their shoulders during parades as a symbol of their special position in the military unit. Similarly, the Optio (lieutenant) would march in the back and might wear two vertical feathers on his helmet.