Hi there<br>
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That dura find sounds very interesting, are there any pictures at all?<br>
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Padding has become something of a hobby of mine of late, although I do not have access to the types of information I would like I have managed to get a good enough image of what might have been, at least good enough for me and our reenactments.<br>
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Please be aware though that the padding I have been looking into is gladiatorial and not military. In my experience though most gladiatorial evidence can be found in military and civilian walks of life, it is generally just more flambouyant or colourful ... take the subligaculum for example.<br>
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I have attached a couple of images below to help with this.<br>
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There seems to be a couple of types of padding that I can see, how it is attached etc is conjecture as nothing (that I am aware of) exists of what the gladiators wore .. hence my interest in the Dura find mentioned above.<br>
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It is my thought that most greaves had some form of padding under them. With the gladiators this seems to have come in two main types. Padded or non padded.<br>
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The non padded seems to often be either a length of material wrapped several times around the leg and then secured with two or more bindings that give the ribbed look of much of the padding which has become very favourable following Junkelmanns work. I know that a couple of these wraps have been found and attributed to charioteers, so their use in gladiatorial contexts does not take much of a leap of the imagination. When depicted in iconography the ribbed look to the padding is easy to imagine/see. In use this type of wrapped padding is very secure and absorbs the damage the greave can cause superbly.<br>
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The padded versions I belief where rarer. I suspect this because of the cost of the materials involved in making padded garments, stitching them together and maintaining them. By the end of most fighting these material, might, be reduced to slashed and cut ribbons with stuffing falling everywhere. However, in a couple of greaves they seem to be present judging by the bell shape to the padding where the foot is quite loose and the top tied tight.<br>
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My thoughts on the Junkelmann thick, ribbed padded armour: *gulps* I suspect that much of this armour is misrepresentation of the first type of armour mentioned above. Layers of wrapping bound with numerous or one looped thread gives the ribbed look in a moment. Add this to iconography and it becomes hard to depict and very bulky looking. However a lot of the good quality tombstones of gladiators from the East show tremendous details and also just how thin this padding often was. But even a properly made thin layer of padding can protect well against the knocks and bangs of shields and swords. Properly layered linen is as tough as old boots and wool even better against concusive force.<br>
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However in some images large padded constructions like the boot of Johnny's image below can be seen.<br>
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Lastly it is interesting that there have been occasional finds of greaves with material inside them. A greave against wrappings etc can still have a tendency to slip, however with a thin layer of any material inside it is fixes solidly to the wrapping without the need to cut off the circulation of the leg.<br>
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A lot of the above is from my own experience so please feel free to pull it apart ask questions etc ... without typing a massive magnum opus it is hard to explain yourself fully on forums. I suspect that the jury will be out on this for a long time yet.<br>
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On to some pictures.<br>
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<img src="http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v245/shumate/secu.jpg" style="border:0;"/><br>
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<img src="http://romanhistorybooksandmore.freeservers.com/images_t/glad1a.jpg" style="border:0;"/><br>
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<img src="http://romanhistorybooksandmore.freeservers.com/images_t/glad5a.jpg" style="border:0;"/><br>
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<img src="http://www.vroma.org/images/mcmanus_images/nenning2.jpg" style="border:0;"/><br>
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<img src="http://www.vroma.org/images/mcmanus_images/tc_circusplaque2.jpg" style="border:0;"/><br>
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<img src="http://www.vroma.org/images/mcmanus_images/charioteerwhite2.jpg" style="border:0;"/><br>
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Hope this helps a bit. <p>Graham Ashford
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