Vergina Cuirass - Measurements

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

Good thoughts

However, what about the form of this cuirass makes you think that it was designed for fighting on foot specifically?

Well,i can only assume. Personaly i don't find anything on its form that makes me think it empedes a cavalryman. If i knew that it does,then i would speculate that it's too unflexible. And even if the muscled cuirasses were also as unflexible, i'm sure they had better fit. Ilso,the muscled cuirasses can reach as low as to cover the belly,but they were curved enough over the thighs to allow the legs to bend efficiently. And it's evident that the ancients did think at some point that the long version of the muscled cuirass was a bit uncomfortable for riders. Also,i have a suspicion that with this cuirass you have problems with your arm movements. The shoulder guards are wider than any muscled cuirass one. This can cause problems on raising your arms forward (also upwards,but you rarely need to raise your spear hand vertically). On horseback all these may make this cuirass seem combersome and unsafe. After all, Porporis didn't state that he couldn't sit, but he felt too unsafe on keeping balance. He said that if he was at risk of falling, he couldn't grip well enough to prevent it. Just assumptions though.

I would be very wary of using this as evidence without examining the state of the gold borders before restoration. Images of the cuirass as found in situ show that the left shoulder was by far the least well-preserved part of the cuirass, so the state of the gold borders there could have been affected by the oxidization and breaking apart of the yoke. Even if this were evidence of this cuirass being used with a shield, it could have been used equally on foot and on horseback, or 75% of the time on horseback and the rest on foot with a shield, so such wear again doesn't tell us all that much about its usage.

Very true,even if it was proven that it was caused by a shield, it wouldn't mean that it could't be worn on horseback too.
However i have seen the photos of the cuirass before restoration. Actually on the floor of the tomb. It was n very bad shape it is true. But gold won't get oxidised no matter how much the iron all around it will. This is why it has been preserved so well in all the rest of it. Even if cut to pieces,the gold ought to have been able to be retrieved and restored. Instead,it hasn't. I agree this is not solid evidence,not near to it, but i posted it to raise thoughts, since i have seen the cuirass in person and this detail is not visible in any photos i have seen.
About the inner chest layer,i left with the impression that it covers all of it, though this might have been because i have been believing so before visiting the museum.
Khaire
Giannis