Leather Cuirass

[Dan Howard]

I have solid scientific evidence that Greek bronze corselets ( or rather the few surviving fragments ) were around 1mm thick, and that a leather corselet 5mm thick would offer better protection, or a linen one 10 mm thick. The bronze coreslet would weigh around 3.5 kg, the leather or linen one would be around 2kg (c.f the American nylon bullet/shrapnel vest T52 at 3.5 k )

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There is no way that 1mm of properly cast and work hardened bronze of an alloy that was actually used in the Iron or Bronze Ages would provide less protection than 5mm of leather - even if it was hardened. There is no published paper on the planet that would meet even the most basic scientific scrutiny that supports this claim. Williams' tests prove that even 1mm of unhardened mild steel offers better protection than 5mm of hardened leather. Williams' book is the most definitive ever published, having taken the best part of 30 years of his life. This discussion is a waste of time until the interested parties have read his work.