\"Celtic\" military technology and the Romans

[Renatus]

The Dura graffito shows some sort of enhanced protection for the torso, that it doesn't appear complete is not really cogent to the argument.

Who says it is incomplete? Where has that come from?

If you assert that the torso was merely protected by mail or scale, the graffito indicates otherwise.

Read my post again. I said 'breast', not 'torso'. The midriff is protected by the rectangular plates but the breast is covered with scale or mail.

If you take Ammianus' statement as factual, "And the light circular plates of iron which surrounded their bodies, and covered all their limbs," then some sort of anime cuirass is being described, also not merely mail or scale.

This is a mistranslation. Ammianus is referring to the armour for the limbs; he has already mentioned the body armour. Ammianus and Julian clearly have slightly different takes on the armour of the clibanarii but, as it is unlikely that ancient armour was completely standardised, both could be right.

If you take Ammianus' statement as factual, "And the light circular plates of iron which surrounded their bodies, and covered all their limbs," then some sort of anime cuirass is being described, also not merely mail or scale.

Scale armour can be made from small circular plates. There is alo "bezainted" armour where circular discs are attached to a backing, like scale, but do not overlap, unlike scale.

The word Ammianus uses is "circuli" which, in the context, may be translated as 'rings' or 'hoops'.