Reconstructing Ancient Linen Body Armor - New Book

[Paullus Scipio]

Eventually, it is new technologies such as this that will answer all our questions about the usage of glue with ancient textile armor. Will the physical evidence match the literary and artistic evidence available? I'm 100% sure they will find glue impregnated into linen. We can then debate what those linen artifacts were used for.

http://www.morana-rtd.com/e-preservation...azurek.pdf

The technology is interesting, though not that new, albeit nothing to do with ancient armour but rather ancient art, and it tells us nothing new, for the use of animal glues as sizing on certain types of painting has been long known. Indeed, it is still so used today......the source of Aldrete et als rabbit skin glue was an art store !

Your problem ( and that of the rest of the 'linophiles' ) is to find a linen artifact firmly dated to the right period, that can be positively identified as a piece of armour, then identify 'layers' and finally identify glue.......

I am 100% sure that if it was going to occur, it probably would have by now, bearing in mind we have the remains of a great many artifacts identified as Tube-and-Yoke corselets - hundreds in fact. All those that have been investigated so far show that the organic crumbs found in situ are of adipose tissue ( i.e. animal fat/leather) No traces of any linen examples.

Recovery of 'hoplite' armour from a southern Greek site is highly unlikely due to the burial customs involved.......

Even if one or even a few linen examples were found, that would not show that the 'typical' Tube-and-Yoke corselet was made of linen when compared to the hundreds of leather examples......

Your faith is touching but, but you are 'flogging a dead horse', especially when one looks at ALL the evidence!

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Joe Balmos wrote:

"An alternative explanation might be that there had been several items of armour in the bathhouse, and that among them there may [my emphasis] have been, as already suggested above, one or more items principally of linen, perhaps even a linen corselet."

I can not find this quote in my copy of Wearing the Cloak. "

Hero Granger-Taylor's chapter is relatively short, so I'm surprised you can't find it. It is Chap.6 p. 68, right next to the photo (6.10) of the Dura greave.......