Was the Lorica REALLY polished?

[Matthew Amt]

Sean Richards writes:<br>
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"My concern with ?scholasticism? derives from interpretation."<br>
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Interpretation by reenactors is more of a worry for me...<br>
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"Example ?Did the scholars who translated the terms (previously quoted in Sander?s post) that describe the appearance of Roman armor have a knowledge of iron and smithing segmentata plates?? If they knew what we know about smithing iron (not steel) into segmentata plates would they have translated the terms differently?"..."Did the ancient chroniclers who described Roman armor know anything about the manufacture and care of segmentata armor? If they did have such knowledge did polishing mean ?burnishing bare metal? or did it mean ?oiling and/or waxing??"<br>
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Huh? When I look at a car and it looks green to me, I say "The car is green." Someone more poetic might compare it to grass, which we know can range from bluish to beige, but is generally thought of as "green". A physicist might point out that the actual pigments in the paint are not green, per se, but are simply absorbing light rays in the other wavelengths of the spectrum, reflecting more of the a few particular wavelengths back to the cones and rods at the back of my retina, sending electrical impulses to my brain which lead to the interpretation "green".<br>
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So f*&%#@! what? It's a green car! Doesn't take a metallurgist to look at a piece of metal and say "shiny"!<br>
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"Until we collect a data base regarding segmentatas made of iron we can only speculate about the wear and care and appearance of them."<br>
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Lemme know when you determine that it is impossible to give forged iron a bright bare metal surface.<br>
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If it has four legs, a mane, a tail, and says "neigh"--and no one has mentioned stripes--why insist on calling it a zebra rather than a horse?<br>
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Valete,<br>
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Matthew/Quintus <p></p><i></i>