11-17-2009, 07:06 PM
Thanks a lot for posting the link to that article by Gorbunov - there are a lot of armour finds there which I've not heard of before. I am still dubious of the reconstructed forms of the cuirass, though, since it seems that only stray scales and plates have been found, and the overall form is largely arbitrary.
Very impressive drawings. Just a few comments re: the warrior on foot:
The helmet, sword, and sagaris are all too early for a warrior of the 4th c. BC. They are all types dating to the 6th-5th c. BC. The sagaris in the first picture (of the mounted man) is much more in line with examples of the 4th c. BC, while the swords from Chirik Rabat and Issyk are differently shaped than the one you have reproduced. The sagarises are also much too short - actual examples found show that they were quite long, around 80 cm or so, which would allow the horseman to effectively use them from horseback.
The evidence that we have for the composition of the cuirass (Chirik Rabat finds, the golden bracer from the Siberian Collection, the figures from Khalchayan, the coinage of the Indo-Saka kings) shows that the plates were the same size all over the cuirass, and not larger on the body than on the skirt. This evidence also points to the armoured collars being one single piece in this earlier period, and they were only later made of different plates or segments (as, for instance, is seen on the Orlat battle plaque).
I really like your depiction of the bashlyk being worn beneath the helmet and the sagaris being suspended from the belt - those are very neat details that a lot of people usually miss.
Quote:hello gents,
On my blog I added several drawings/sketches regarding this very topic - the Massagetan heavy warrior - they are sketches in development - as Patryk aka Roxofarnes has graciously gave me a lot substantive commentaries and thus improvements will be coming http://dariocaballeros.blogspot.com/
all comments are welcome
Very impressive drawings. Just a few comments re: the warrior on foot:
The helmet, sword, and sagaris are all too early for a warrior of the 4th c. BC. They are all types dating to the 6th-5th c. BC. The sagaris in the first picture (of the mounted man) is much more in line with examples of the 4th c. BC, while the swords from Chirik Rabat and Issyk are differently shaped than the one you have reproduced. The sagarises are also much too short - actual examples found show that they were quite long, around 80 cm or so, which would allow the horseman to effectively use them from horseback.
The evidence that we have for the composition of the cuirass (Chirik Rabat finds, the golden bracer from the Siberian Collection, the figures from Khalchayan, the coinage of the Indo-Saka kings) shows that the plates were the same size all over the cuirass, and not larger on the body than on the skirt. This evidence also points to the armoured collars being one single piece in this earlier period, and they were only later made of different plates or segments (as, for instance, is seen on the Orlat battle plaque).
I really like your depiction of the bashlyk being worn beneath the helmet and the sagaris being suspended from the belt - those are very neat details that a lot of people usually miss.
Ruben
He had with him the selfsame rifle you see with him now, all mounted in german silver and the name that he\'d give it set with silver wire under the checkpiece in latin: Et In Arcadia Ego. Common enough for a man to name his gun. His is the first and only ever I seen with an inscription from the classics. - Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
He had with him the selfsame rifle you see with him now, all mounted in german silver and the name that he\'d give it set with silver wire under the checkpiece in latin: Et In Arcadia Ego. Common enough for a man to name his gun. His is the first and only ever I seen with an inscription from the classics. - Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
