05-12-2005, 03:06 PM
Indeed, there are mentions of hoplites donning armour at the last minute but, even doing this, there were certainly occasions when this would have meant wearing the armour for some considerable time, such as at Plataea. Do we know for how long armies stood to arms before those hour-long battles? But rather than speculate on the basis of the written record, perhaps someone can enlighten us as to the thickness of armour finds, and any conclusions that may have been drawn about the original thickness of the armour from such evidence. As I said, I don't think the Vergina panoply, at 5mm, can be representative.
