Was the Lorica REALLY polished?

[Matthew Amt]

Avete!<br>
Soldiers have armor for two reasons: So that they'll have something heavy to carry, and so that they'll have something to clean. Every once in a while you might get involved in a fight, and at some point it's possible that a bad guy might take a prod at you with something pointy, and your armor might keep that from hurting you. But that's purely a side effect!<br>
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Okay, the evidence.<br>
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Roman color depictions of Roman armor (and other ancient armor, for that matter) show it as yellow or white/gray/silvery. Many surviving pieces, including helmets and some lorica parts, show traces of tinning or silvering. And there are literary references to armor shining in the sun, even to the point of giving away an ambush! (Though that may be a Greek reference, don't recall exactly.)<br>
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Conclusion: they seemed to like bright metal. There are suggestions that helmets or armor had covers to protect it on the march, but no suggestion that the armor itself was darkened or painted. How shiny it might have been is another question! I agree with a satin finish for steel (fine sand, ashes from the fire, etc.), but brass and bronze are pretty easy to keep at a near-mirror polish.<br>
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One's daily campaign routine would be to wake up, clean and oil the armor, have breakfast, pack up gear and tent, strike camp, march, stop and make camp, have supper, clean and oil the armor and pack it away for the night, and go to sleep. In garrison it's even easier, since you don't have to protect it from moisture as much. And heck, if your lorica is tinned, it's a cake walk!<br>
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The Romans very clearly thought that color and shine were very important parts of military display, even on the battlefield. Men whose armor shined looked godlike to them, and I'll bet a gleaming legion of armored Romans would scare the crap out of any barbarian force. THAT would be menacing!<br>
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Shine that armor up. Valete,<br>
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Matthew/Quintus, Legio XX <p></p><i></i>