unarmoured auxiliaries

[Quintius Clavus]

Slingers were likely unarmored, but, then they could run if the enemy got too close (or be massacred if they couldn't run). Armor may have hindered launching their particular "missle". Interestingly, archers are shown in sculpture, such as Trajan's Column, as armored, yet they, too, would usually run if enemy troops got too close and their own supporting infantry or cavalry were unable to stop the attackers.<br>
So, that said, armor or lack of armor would not dictate a soldier's or unit's position in the battle. The regular line troops should be assumed to be armored and the specialist troops might or might not be.<br>
I also agree that the supply of armor would not have been a problem during the Principate. Metal armor lasts a long time, could be passed from soldier to soldier, and the Romans had plenty of the raw materials and the skilled/unskilled labor needed to make it. In addition, the Romans were recycling metal, especially copper alloy, long before our modern efforts at recycling.<br>
After the civil wars, when Augustus cut the army's size from 60 or so legions down to 28, he must have had warehouses full of surplus armor.<br>
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Marcus Quintius Clavus/Quinton <p></p><i></i>