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.