Armatura della Colchide

[Luca]

Hi,

did you heard about this new armour found in Georgia?
http://servizi.comune.cento.fe.it/progd ... ico-romano

It will be on display from today to last friday only at Cento in Italy, and seems to be the "monster" of all roman armour found, in terms of quality. It should be a decorated muscolata similare to Augustus Prima Porta, but the big news is that it has 6 pteruges!

Of course these are all voices, I didn't see any images and also take pics or photos is strictly forbidden. Or... anyone has something to see?

[Magnus]

Is it armour or another statue with armour on?

[marcos]

Hi Luca
here some images
Anyhow I would not be so sure about these items. Somethings sound (very) strange, up to my opinion.

[caiustarquitius]

That´s leather, right?
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[MeinPanzer]

Wow, looks very well preserved for a bronze musculata. Any info on the pteruges? Were they made of leather?

[Luca]

Yesterday I watched on tv the "official" worlwide presentation (during a trash-scientific program called "Voyager").
Also to me these decorations seem very strange, a mix of roman and not roman suff.
It was claimed by the professor that is studying the armour thta this armour is completely made of brass, not bronze.
Pteruges are probably a fake. They are in brass too, but they seem 6 pugios or better dagas with the handgrip turned upside down in order to hang them somewhere.
C14 analysis have yet to be done....

Very strange find, but interesting.

[jvrjenivs]

Indeed a wonderful set, but also some signs of a fake. I'm looking forward to some proper research to prove it is genuine.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Yesterday I watched on tv the "official" worlwide presentation (during a trash-scientific program called "Voyager").

Pteruges are probably a fake. They are in brass too, but they seem 6 pugios or better dagas with the handgrip turned upside down in order to hang them somewhere.
C14 analysis have yet to be done....

Very strange find, but interesting.

Where are the pteruges?

[Luca]

they are not visbile in these pictures. I just saw them on TV.

[marcos]

Yesterday I watched on tv the "official" worlwide presentation (during a trash-scientific program called "Voyager").

I saw it too, and I have to say that it was frustrating! The biggest part of the time was about the carriage and other like that, indeed not interesting. The mask and the armour were showed just for seconds and quite from far.

I believe somethings sounds strange because:
- the professor said it was found in a place where he is now studing about movements of Pompeus in those areas. But this is an imperial cavalry parade mask, not republican;
- holes and damages : sounds absolutely fake.
- all the surface of the lorica is punched. I obviousely never have seen a roman muscle armour, just greek and etruscan, but I never saw a punched one.
- and what about the strange pieces like the bottom of a linotorax? Never seen befor.
- the patination is from a type of green typic of fakes.
- it comes not from an archeological research but just from a georgian guy.

Of course it can be an original one, but I would be not so sure.

[LUCIUS ALFENUS AVITIANUS]

The green patina is very close to the patina that have practically all the fakes. The mask are inspired in roman ones, but with some "tuning" implements... I vote for a fake...

[marcos]

and further,
- embossments are artless and odd, especially on the rear of the helmet. A so high level armour must be an artwork, surely better than this. Take a look to the fighters on the following images. I have not words!
- hinge on the mask is wrong in the shape and in the dimensions. Just look to all other original mask on RAT database.




vote for fake, me too
Just is impossible that they made about a fake an official presentation on tv, a book, and an exposition in the University of Ferrara.

[Dan Howard]

That´s leather, right?

Heh. If someone wanted to make a fake they would have made it from leather since everyone knows that the Romans made this kind of armour from leather.

[Tormenta]

Here is a video of the armatura....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b0n2gh21Zg

[Magnus]

Good grief...watching that video made me dizzy! Why couldn't the camera man stand still?

I wonder how long it will take the "analysis" of this stuff to be completed?

[marcos]

Good grief...watching that video made me dizzy! Why couldn't the camera man stand still?

To confuse the vision ? As I said, the biggest part of the program (arond 30 minutes long) has showed banal things. Why?

[jvrjenivs]

yeah, indeed it does. And that video only support my feelings we are dealing with a fake.

[Luca]

Okay, I am the first admitting that there are a lot of suspect things.
But there are also some details that can make thinking the opposite way.

Just two:
- the holes on the rear plaque that compose a decoration. Never seen before, it is hard for me to thing that a "faker"-man decided to make something fake inventing something new and not reflecting what already exist or has been found. In fact those holes appear to me to be put in a strategic point just made to allow the humidity of the body to go out. In fact this is a bad problem of those kind of armours (I tested many many times with my muscolata...)
- the other holes on the bottom of the lorica and on the arm attachments, also in this case never seen before, they could be used to fix leather protection in order to mitigate the possible injuries of the sharp metal to the body OR also used to attach pteruges, or both.

[Quintus Galerius]

in tv they told it was "Ottone" (brass) so a thin metal very bright but not so strong as bronze...it has that holes that are useful to link the armour with something soft inside (spongia), maybe it was an armour just for celebrations, not for the battle field

[Neuraleanus]

If fake, someone went to a great deal of trouble. Are there any examples of known fake roman musculata that can be compared against?

I wonder about the two puncture holes on the front plate, assuming that the armour is genuine, did the wearer get ventilated with a couple of arrows?