2nd Century Roman Lamellar

[mcbishop]

does anyone out there have a reference, visual or literary, for the use of lamellar armour in the Roman legions during the the first or second Century AD? I have references for 4th/5th C, but cannot find anything earlier.

Is this the right place for this? Oh well... ;-) )

There is no evidence (altogether now: absence of evidence is not evidence of absence...) for its use in a Roman context (however you define that) that early. It is certainly illustrated on Palmyrene reliefs (such as the famous warrior gods) of that period but Palmyrene art and culture were influenced by both Parthian and Roman models (amongst others) and lamellar armour is an eastern form in origin. All of the scales from the west that I have seen which have been identified as lamellar (including by Russell Robinson) have in fact been scale, usually semi-rigid scale.

Mike Bishop