A DISPUTE between two “Roman soldiers” in a 1st century bath house ended up in court when one man accused his rival of threatening to kill him with a replica helmet.

Keith Mulhearn, who is fond of dressing up as a legionnaire called Maximus Gluteus, was forced to defend his reputation after it was claimed that he had run amok in a quiet York museum.

Mr Mulhearn, 40, the former curator of the city’s Roman Bath Museum, lost his temper with his successor, Graham Harris, because he believed that Mr Harris, 58, had stolen some of his replica Roman artefacts, York Crown Court was told.

He was said to have marched into the museum and aggressively brushed aside Mr Harris’s daughter before shouting: “I’m going to kill you” as he confronted her father, who was dressed as a Roman soldier.

Mr Mulhearn, his face “full of hate”, was alleged to have brandished a heavy metal Roman helmet above Mr Harris’s head before picking up a stabbing sword and storming out of the premises.

The incident was said to have taken place last November inside the small museum, which lies underneath the Roman Bath pub on the site of a former Roman bath house in the centre of York.

Remains of a steam bath and a plunge bath are visible and visitors can also see a selection of Roman artefacts and replica articles of everyday life in Eboracum, as York was known under Roman rule. The pub lies just south of the site of the porta principia sinistra, the south-eastern gateway of the Roman legionary fortress.

In addition to having been the museum curator for three years until he was succeeded by Mr Harris, Mr Mulhearn also ran an organisation called Lost Legion, a group of enthusiasts who re-enact battles from the Roman era.

Much of the group’s equipment had been purchased by Mr Mulhearn and was held at the museum, York Crown Court heard.

He believed that some of it had been stolen by Mr Harris, who runs a rival re-enactment group called the Sixth Legion, and he was detemined to reclaim his rightful property.

The jury heard claims that Mr Mulhearn initially put Miss Harris’s arm in a lock and threw her aside before advancing on Mr Harris, who was in a storage room.

Claire Harris, 33, told the court that she had tried to bar Mr Mulhearn’s way by clasping the railings on each side of a narrow walkway.

She said that she felt she had to defend her father because he was awaiting a hip operation and was unable to walk without sticks.

Miss Harris gave the court a graphic account of the way Mr Mulhearn initially attacked her, grabbing her wrist and causing her to stagger and fall, before heading for a showdown with her father.

She said she picked herself up and went to stand in front of Mr Harris, telling Mr Mulhearn: “I won’t let you hurt him.”

“His face was full of hate. He stood in front of my father with metal helmet raised. I thought he was going to smack him over the head with it,” she said.

“He stared at me. I actually thought he was going to kill me. He seemed to stare at me for an eternity. I thought I was going to die.”

Miss Harris, whose account was supported in evidence by her father, said that Mr Mulhearn eventually threw the helmet to the floor and picked up a replica weapon, described in court as a “standard Roman stabbing sword”.

Claiming that the sword “must be one of mine”, Mr Mulhearn was said to have turned on his heel and left the museum.

The confrontation led to each man accusing the other of theft. Police inquiries led to no theft charges but Mr Mulhearn found himself in the dock accused of affray and assault causing actual bodily harm.

When the accused took the stand yesterday, he rejected all the allegations made against him and told the jury that it had been Miss Harris who grabbed him, “not the other way around”.

Mr Mulhearn said that he had not shouted or assaulted anyone. He had merely gone to the museum to retrieve property which belonged to him, including Roman coins, a replica tunic and the replica sword.

“I picked up the two helmets to inspect them. They weren’t mine and I noticed the sword and that was mine. I took it and left. I didn’t say I was going to kill anyone,” he said.

The jury took an hour to find Mr Mulhearn not guilty on all charges.

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