05-26-2008, 04:13 PM
It probably is a mistake to believe that copper alloy was 'poorer' than iron, particularly since copper alloy was, as it is today, rather more valuable- it was money afterall. It's always seemed to me to be a bit of a bias thinking that iron is stronger and better protection and thus must have been considered superior- however that's clearly not the case; copper alloys are far nicer-looking esthetically and that's a feature not lost on the Romans- just look at the Lorica plumata and the super-fine L. squamatae from Dura Europos- not superior protection but extremely cool looking :wink:
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