07-14-2007, 02:39 PM
Mike Bishop made a drawing of a complete seg, I'm assuming using actual finds as the breast plates look just like those under discussion.
If you make the breast plates hang vertically, here's what you get:
I pivoted the USG's and breast plates around the front chest-girth hooks.
The arguments for vertically hanging are purely theoretical, but when actual finds are arranged in that manner you can clearly see the argument is very much flawed, unless your neck is a few inches wide.
Added: The opinion that the leather buckled straps would undergo too much stress also doesn't really hold much water. That would apply if the leather was a continuous single strip affixed to both parts of the segmentata, but they're not, they're two separate pieces that have the ability to pivot at the tongue's hole, leaving the tongue to hang straight without bending.
For example:
If you make the breast plates hang vertically, here's what you get:
I pivoted the USG's and breast plates around the front chest-girth hooks.
The arguments for vertically hanging are purely theoretical, but when actual finds are arranged in that manner you can clearly see the argument is very much flawed, unless your neck is a few inches wide.
Added: The opinion that the leather buckled straps would undergo too much stress also doesn't really hold much water. That would apply if the leather was a continuous single strip affixed to both parts of the segmentata, but they're not, they're two separate pieces that have the ability to pivot at the tongue's hole, leaving the tongue to hang straight without bending.
For example:
TARBICvS/Jim Bowers
A A A DESEDO DESEDO!
A A A DESEDO DESEDO!