Conjecture on the T & Y construction

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

More important than that, there are quite a few actual remains of these corselets. None of them had a metal core except of course the one from Philip's tomb in Vergina. From all the rest only the metal fittings have been found, some guilded, some silvered and some from the solid gold and silver. It seems that much of the decoration of these cuirasses was made of metal in various forms, disks, gorgon heads, eagles etc.
Also all the speciments from Thracian and scythian tombs were made of a mixture of leather and scale over leather, but none of them had any metal sheet.
It thus seems that the example from Vergina is unique in the archeological record, no less because large iron sheets were very difficult to make until that time. Even the iron helmets that become more frequent in hellenistic times were generally made from several smaller pieces (up to seven). The Corfu iron muscle quirass is also unique in its kind.
Dan, there are so many depictions of these tube and yoke cuirasses, and some of them seem longer than others, but this is an illusion i think, since the cuirasses universally follow the same anatomical design, and the pteryges never cover the thighs. Only in hellenistic times, or perhaps late classical, the pteryges change, becomming thinner, softer, and overlap. And they can be longer even down to the knee like the roman ones. Look at the Alexander mosaic for reference. Or the Alexander Sarcophagus.
Khairete
Giannis