Armguard for auxillia archer

[Robert]

Salvete Omnes!

Anyone out there familiar with data or documentation on the kind of armguard a first century sagitarius would wear. Any finds??

[Maximio]

Alf Webb in his book Archaeology of Archery implies that when using the Mongolian Release an archer would not require an arm bracer. The positioning of the arrow to the right of the bow means that the string passes well clear of the fore arm. However he does refer to three rather interesting "hand guards" which were found in Nubia. He does not detail their provenance but describes them as being made of thin silver sheet bent and moulded to a hand position such that they would protect the skin of the thumb as the arrow passes over it on release.

He does provide a rather crude diagram which implies that they had been decorated with some form of "stamped" repeating pattern. My scanner is out of action so I have redrawn his sketch to give a rough idea. He does mention a chain which ties the guard around the thumb but there is no image of such.

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z82/ ... bguard.jpg

Experienced archers sometimes do away with bracers anyway. Though for weekend shooters I would suggest it is far more painless to keep one on. Mine is a plain thing made of leather.

[Robert]

Salve Maximio! Thanks Pete!

Good sketch, by the way. Interesting concept. I can shoot without a bracer, but it's a new bow (Grozer, the "bone ears" type) which I probably will not be shooting that much. You tie the leather on using a thong?