Leather Cuirass

[Anonymous]

....... still sure that leather segmentata didn't exist ??

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I wouldn't claim to be sure about anything, in this respect! I thought I'd made it clear in my earlier post that I don't think we can assert anything with much confidence. What I was saying was that, if leather armours did exist, I incline to the belief that they were more likely to be one-piece musculata, rather than segmentata. I put it no more strongly than that.

I'm trying to avoid acquiring a bias, though and, having read the arguments here, it seems to me that we should keep open minds, in the absence of conclusive evidence. I'm not convinced leather musculata didn't exist, nor that linothorakaes might not, at least sometimes, have been constructed of leather, in whole or in part. Let me put it this way; if I were the Authenticity Martinet - sorry, Officer, of the Hoplite Association, I wouldn't, at this stage, stop anyone going on the field with a well-made linothorax or muscle-cuirass of leather, or a glued, sewn or quilted linen linothorax. On the other hand, if I were AO of The Vicus, I would have a problem with a Roman segmentata in leather, though this would be, in part, due to concern for matching the generally-held view of the re-enactment community.

Perhaps I should point out that I am not the AO of either of these organisations and thus, my opinions do not necessarily coincide with their Authenticity Policy.