03-25-2007, 09:38 PM
Hello Theo
I looked in Bishop and Coulston who mention the quote but turns out do not give the reference from Pliny the Elder! Fortunately it is in the Penguin translation which is as follows.....an impenetrable hide used for shields and helmets, unless soaked in water. Book VIII Land Animals 95 The section on The Hippopotamus. There are also some existing crocodile skin helmets as well! Possibly late Roman or Byzantine or even Arab if you prefer. I think Aitor has posted pictures of them earlier.
I just think it odd in this case that the reference to leather armour being useless when wet is seen as evidence that leather armour did not exist full stop, rather than it existed but was useless when wet.
It probably would be cheaper to replace rather than repair although Bishop and Coulston do mention that the Romans frequently repaired and also recycled their leather. It was certainly easier to replace boots for example, rather than repair them unless circumstances dictated otherwise. At Vindolanda there is evidence that they repaired their boots and wore them till they had almost worn the nails down which was unusual but there is a letter from there complaining about the poor state of the roads!
The soldiers on the other hand seem to have put up with all those lorica segmentata hinges and buckles dropping off for over two hundred years, so far without any recorded complaint. :wink:
In my opinion there is no reason why the Romans could not have leather armour of a variety of types but I appreciate that for many people nothing short of a full suit of leather armour found in an undeniably Roman military battle context will suffice.
On another matter do you have any more information regarding the exhibition in San Francisco?
Graham.
Quote:Hmm...what was the context in which he said this ? Was he talking about Roman armor ? I have Pliny but don't know the reference. It not another one of these things is it ?
I looked in Bishop and Coulston who mention the quote but turns out do not give the reference from Pliny the Elder! Fortunately it is in the Penguin translation which is as follows.....an impenetrable hide used for shields and helmets, unless soaked in water. Book VIII Land Animals 95 The section on The Hippopotamus. There are also some existing crocodile skin helmets as well! Possibly late Roman or Byzantine or even Arab if you prefer. I think Aitor has posted pictures of them earlier.
I just think it odd in this case that the reference to leather armour being useless when wet is seen as evidence that leather armour did not exist full stop, rather than it existed but was useless when wet.
Quote:If Roman leather could be waterproofed there are still problems I see with long term use. Leather would seem to be more susceptible to battle damage AND more difficult to repair. It might be cheap to buy a replacement
It probably would be cheaper to replace rather than repair although Bishop and Coulston do mention that the Romans frequently repaired and also recycled their leather. It was certainly easier to replace boots for example, rather than repair them unless circumstances dictated otherwise. At Vindolanda there is evidence that they repaired their boots and wore them till they had almost worn the nails down which was unusual but there is a letter from there complaining about the poor state of the roads!
The soldiers on the other hand seem to have put up with all those lorica segmentata hinges and buckles dropping off for over two hundred years, so far without any recorded complaint. :wink:
In my opinion there is no reason why the Romans could not have leather armour of a variety of types but I appreciate that for many people nothing short of a full suit of leather armour found in an undeniably Roman military battle context will suffice.
On another matter do you have any more information regarding the exhibition in San Francisco?
Graham.
"Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream" Edgar Allan Poe.
"Every brush-stroke is torn from my body" The Rebel, Tony Hancock.
"..I sweated in that damn dirty armor....TWENTY YEARS!', Charlton Heston, The Warlord.
"Every brush-stroke is torn from my body" The Rebel, Tony Hancock.
"..I sweated in that damn dirty armor....TWENTY YEARS!', Charlton Heston, The Warlord.
