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Auxilliary Armor
#1
Hey does anyone know the correct length of Chainmail sleeves for auxiliary armor and does it have to have the extra shoulder protection? Thanks, Connor
Connor DeLoach
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#2
Well, you are going to need to give more detail if you want a good answer. What century, what nationality? What type of soldier. But if you want a response for the "stereotypical" auxiliary I think you should go with the design from Trajan's column. That would be a mail shirt, fairly short sleeves, with dagged edges and no shoulder doubling.


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#3
I'd be wary of using Trajan's Column for determining the technical aspects of Roman armour.
Author: Bronze Age Military Equipment, Pen & Sword Books
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#4
Quote:I'd be wary of using Trajan's Column for determining the technical aspects of Roman armour.

True, but I don't think we have many better sources for auxiliary infantry hamata. I'd also be less concerned because hamata is somewhat less "technical" than many other armors. Mail is flexible and tends to just drape to fit. So in reality, there was probably only a limited number of sizes issued that just had to sort of fit the soldier. So a reproduction does not need to fit perfect, since it likely would not have in reality.

Obviously, there are plenty of problems with Trajan's Column. You couldn't make a functional segmentata based on the abstract depiction give. And you certainly couldn't recreate the Cataphract armor. But I don't think that the hamata is all that problematic, though I certainly don't think that auxiliary armor was limited to single type or pattern of armor at the time of the Dacian war.

Also, for Connor, I would note that if you are looking for an accurate impression, you may wish to consult with one of the reenactment groups who specializes in auxilia.
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#5
Also, if you are thinking about doing a cavalry impression, we have graves that indicate that shoulder doubled hamata and scale were used as well. It is possible that these type were sometimes used in the infantry.


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