06-08-2006, 12:13 AM
Avete, amici!
(This is partly a cross-posting of a discussion that started under the heading Real Gear Pages Undergoing Revision on the Reenactment and Reconstruction forum. It elicited some very interesting discussion from Peroni and others, so I thought it deserved its own heading.)
I just posted some new images of what appears to be a totally unrecorded type of Roman body armor, namely a plate-mail hybrid in which an articulated plate shoulder section / neck guard is mated to a mail torso section. These pictures are on the Real Gear part of the Legio VI Victrix (CA) website:
http://www.legionsix.org/armorgroup2.jpg
http://www.legionsix.org/armorgroup1.jpg
http://www.legionsix.org/DSCN4940.JPG
http://www.legionsix.org/DSCN4941.JPG
http://www.legionsix.org/sideview.jpg
http://www.legionsix.org/backview.jpg
The above images were taken before the plates had been properly cleaned and conserved. The next image was taken after a year's worth of cleaning and conservation, showing an inscribed name, presumably the owner's-- OP. MAMILIO Q. L.:
http://www.legionsix.org/namecloseup1.jpg
The shoulder section of the mail-plate hybrid appeared in an antiquities dealer's inventory about six years ago. The pieces reportedly were found in the Balkans region. When I first looked them over, I naturally found them very puzzling, nothing quite like this having appeared in any publication before. They were obviously quite old, as the iron was not only corroded, but delaminated in spots, something almost impossible to fake. My only question was, how old-- 300-600 years (making it medieval), or maybe 1,200 years (Byzantine), or 1,700+ years (Roman). Similarities with some of the features on the Newstead and Corbridge cuirasses and other features (such as the little dome-headed studs or knobs, which appear on all kinds of Roman knicknacks), not to mention the inscribed name (Q. AEMILIO Q.L.) finally convinced me it was Roman, but I wasn't sure about the era.
One of my friends and clients, who is a very knowledgeable collector of Roman militaria whose pieces have appeared in many museum exhibits, finally acquired the pieces and has spent a year having them properly conserved. He believes the epigraphy dates these pieces to the late first century BC or early decades AD, making them of similar date to the Kalkriese cuirass, which is about 100-200 years earlier than I would have guessed, but I defer to his expertise. He translates the inscription as "Optius (or Opimius, Opelius) Mamilius, freedman of Quintus," possibly indicating the owner was an auxiliary, and that this is perhaps part fo a cavarlyman's armor. At least one relief appears to depict cavalry wearing a plate-mail hybrid armor; perhaps this is an alternate form.
Thanks to excellent conservation work, the method by which mail was fastened to the plate collar / shoulder section now stands clearly revealed: Individual mail rings are riveted to the lead and back edges of each shoulder / collar section by means of small holes along the plate edges. The mail rings themselves are "lentil-shaped" or a rather flat oval in cross-section and about 8-10 mm across; the rivets are dome-headed. This is a very clearly a Roman form of mail.
Another interesting thing that cleaning and conservation revealed is that the mail rivets on the inside surface have roves (or rectangular washers) underneath the peened end, which to me at least suggests there could have been a layer of leather and/or fabric affixed to the underside as well-- perhaps integral lining and/or padding?
A few other details: A detailed study of the pieces is underway by some top names in the field, including Tom Fisher of Cologne University. An article on the pieces, inlcuding a hypothetical reconstruction of the entire cuirass, is pending.
The good state of preservation of the iron is probably due to it having been in a fire around the time of burial.
My friend notes a strong similarity between the "mushroom-shaped" studs at the back side of each collar section, which would presumably be held together with a leather thong, and the similarly-shaped studs on the inside of the cheek pieces of helmets of the Imperial Gallic A type, which are Augustan in date. This may further solidify the dating of this hybrid armor type.
If anyone has thoughts about these pieces, including dating and how the original cuirass might have functioned, please feel free to post them! For example, Peroni has posted some interesting questions, including puzzlement as to why the pieces are hinged at all when they didn't need to be. It's hard to believe any armorer (and it must have been a fairly skilled one, as that compound curve from horizontal to verticle on the shoulder-neck sections would be rather difficult to pull off) would have made such a complex hinge if it served no useful purpose. Anyone have any thoughts on why they might have been hinged?
(This is partly a cross-posting of a discussion that started under the heading Real Gear Pages Undergoing Revision on the Reenactment and Reconstruction forum. It elicited some very interesting discussion from Peroni and others, so I thought it deserved its own heading.)
I just posted some new images of what appears to be a totally unrecorded type of Roman body armor, namely a plate-mail hybrid in which an articulated plate shoulder section / neck guard is mated to a mail torso section. These pictures are on the Real Gear part of the Legio VI Victrix (CA) website:
http://www.legionsix.org/armorgroup2.jpg
http://www.legionsix.org/armorgroup1.jpg
http://www.legionsix.org/DSCN4940.JPG
http://www.legionsix.org/DSCN4941.JPG
http://www.legionsix.org/sideview.jpg
http://www.legionsix.org/backview.jpg
The above images were taken before the plates had been properly cleaned and conserved. The next image was taken after a year's worth of cleaning and conservation, showing an inscribed name, presumably the owner's-- OP. MAMILIO Q. L.:
http://www.legionsix.org/namecloseup1.jpg
The shoulder section of the mail-plate hybrid appeared in an antiquities dealer's inventory about six years ago. The pieces reportedly were found in the Balkans region. When I first looked them over, I naturally found them very puzzling, nothing quite like this having appeared in any publication before. They were obviously quite old, as the iron was not only corroded, but delaminated in spots, something almost impossible to fake. My only question was, how old-- 300-600 years (making it medieval), or maybe 1,200 years (Byzantine), or 1,700+ years (Roman). Similarities with some of the features on the Newstead and Corbridge cuirasses and other features (such as the little dome-headed studs or knobs, which appear on all kinds of Roman knicknacks), not to mention the inscribed name (Q. AEMILIO Q.L.) finally convinced me it was Roman, but I wasn't sure about the era.
One of my friends and clients, who is a very knowledgeable collector of Roman militaria whose pieces have appeared in many museum exhibits, finally acquired the pieces and has spent a year having them properly conserved. He believes the epigraphy dates these pieces to the late first century BC or early decades AD, making them of similar date to the Kalkriese cuirass, which is about 100-200 years earlier than I would have guessed, but I defer to his expertise. He translates the inscription as "Optius (or Opimius, Opelius) Mamilius, freedman of Quintus," possibly indicating the owner was an auxiliary, and that this is perhaps part fo a cavarlyman's armor. At least one relief appears to depict cavalry wearing a plate-mail hybrid armor; perhaps this is an alternate form.
Thanks to excellent conservation work, the method by which mail was fastened to the plate collar / shoulder section now stands clearly revealed: Individual mail rings are riveted to the lead and back edges of each shoulder / collar section by means of small holes along the plate edges. The mail rings themselves are "lentil-shaped" or a rather flat oval in cross-section and about 8-10 mm across; the rivets are dome-headed. This is a very clearly a Roman form of mail.
Another interesting thing that cleaning and conservation revealed is that the mail rivets on the inside surface have roves (or rectangular washers) underneath the peened end, which to me at least suggests there could have been a layer of leather and/or fabric affixed to the underside as well-- perhaps integral lining and/or padding?
A few other details: A detailed study of the pieces is underway by some top names in the field, including Tom Fisher of Cologne University. An article on the pieces, inlcuding a hypothetical reconstruction of the entire cuirass, is pending.
The good state of preservation of the iron is probably due to it having been in a fire around the time of burial.
My friend notes a strong similarity between the "mushroom-shaped" studs at the back side of each collar section, which would presumably be held together with a leather thong, and the similarly-shaped studs on the inside of the cheek pieces of helmets of the Imperial Gallic A type, which are Augustan in date. This may further solidify the dating of this hybrid armor type.
If anyone has thoughts about these pieces, including dating and how the original cuirass might have functioned, please feel free to post them! For example, Peroni has posted some interesting questions, including puzzlement as to why the pieces are hinged at all when they didn't need to be. It's hard to believe any armorer (and it must have been a fairly skilled one, as that compound curve from horizontal to verticle on the shoulder-neck sections would be rather difficult to pull off) would have made such a complex hinge if it served no useful purpose. Anyone have any thoughts on why they might have been hinged?
T. Flavius Crispus / David S. Michaels
Centurio Pilus Prior,
Legio VI VPF
CA, USA
"Oderint dum probent."
Tiberius
Centurio Pilus Prior,
Legio VI VPF
CA, USA
"Oderint dum probent."
Tiberius
