10-23-2020, 01:42 PM
(10-22-2020, 09:04 PM)Dan Howard Wrote: There is no evidence that segmentata was worn by anyone except lower ranked/classed soldiers. It is exactly the same as medieval munitions plate. It was only worn by those who couldn't afford anything better.
What are you drawing on here? Has the theory appeared in any published sources we could refer to?
Most finds of segmentata, I believe, come from legionary fortresses (Caerleon, Leon, Chester, Carnuntum), or from sites like Kalkriese that probably relate to legionary use. The segmentata from Gamla was being worn by a soldier of Legio V Macedonia. There are also a few segmentata bits from what could be auxiliary contexts, but most finds from auxiliary forts have been mail or scale. If segmentata was as low-grade as you suggest, would the pattern of evidence not be the other way around?
Nathan Ross
