Hamata Seminar

[Flavivs Aetivs]

the sleeves are part of the mail in terms of the design but not the lower edge.  I wonder though if that would have been in reality the way it was.  I would venture to assume the whole thing would be the same.  

It would be great if there was.some evidence showing a mail shirt with the edges anything other than smooth.

The mail clearly goes right up to the edges of the scallops on the sleeves - there would be no reason for the sculptor to carve the detail of the links if it did not do this in reality.

The lower hem is less clear but I believe it is the same - there's some sort of cord worn around the waist (a drawstring, perhaps?), but the scalloped hem is not smooth and it looks to me like the mail extends right to the edge.

Alternatively, the line around the bottom of the hamata may indicate that the scalloped hem area is a  decorative edging of brass links, as we sometimes see on surviving mail fragments from Dura and other places.

I somewhat agree with Dan Howard that we are looking at a Subarmalis here. I do not agree that the hamata had an integrated liner: what I see is that the "waistcord" or "rope" is not a waistcord but the hem of the hamata, and the scalloping below that line is part of his subarmalis. The scalloped hem is textured but it is rather clearly, in my opinion, not the same as the texturing of the hamata itself.