Finished Linothorax

[Gregory J. Liebau]

And having examined the Mars of Todi closely,i can say with certainty that there are many clues that point to it meant to be leather.

Can you elaborate? I've been staring at it for a while now as well as the one that Paul just posted, and see very individual plates in place here. But, I can't see any signs on these figures to suggest that the material can be revealed by observation. It could be plates of horn, iron, bronze, leather or bubble gum. Nothing to these figures suggests a specific material beyond a couple of paintings showing them as white... Like the one you showed me the other day, but those are not the statues. They may in fact not even be showing the same sort of armor. Considering the amount of speculation involved here, I think that common characteristics with known armor types is the most efficient way to theorize about what material was really used.

Thus, following from the Assyrian and then the Scythian traditions and considering the widespread use of bronze scale among the Greeks, it seems reasonable to suggest the use of metallic plates on these armors. No where in the ancient world do we see composite armor of leather or fabric to suggest that it's made from hundreds of small squares of such material. It does not follow the same sort of trend in observation as does the theory of them being made from metal. The fact that a couple of paintings show white on the entire surface of the armor is not enough evidence to suggest that they must have been made from fabric... It would be most reasonable to suggest that the depiction is of quilted armor in those paintings if the color was taken into serious consideration, and also safe to say that there are substantial differences between those depictions and ones like the Mars of Todi.

-Gregory