This picture come from the base of the Trajan Column in Rome. It is supposed to depict arms and armours from defeated enemies, so the armours should be not-Roman, but there is an armour looking something like a "segmentata" for some aspects, but too strange to be it. It has sleeves, it is very closed to the neck, the stripes are very narrow. It can be seen something like buckles fastening the stripes in the centre. It seems something not too rigid as it bends on the side. Such armour is depicted at least on two side of the base, the third has not suche a type of armour, but is damaged, the fourth it is not easy to see
What do you think about it?
Might it be a greatly simplified rendering of splinted armor? I believe some steppe tribes used this from around the 4th C BC, but primarily for the limbs. I'm not aware of an entire splinted armor coat; I'm not even sure if it would be practical.
I read an article on that piece of armour a while back," Sarmatians through the eyes of strangers-The Sarmatian warrior", I think it is available on Academia and authored by Eszter Istvánovits & Valéria Kulcsár:, in which archaeologist and historian Dr. Hubertus von Gall seems to think that the Sarmatian coats depicted on the base of the column were made of horizontal strips of laminated leather attached to each other, with buckles or clasps at the front, and thinks that similar armour was depicted in a wall painting in Panticapaeum in the Ashik burial chamber. H. Russell Robinson wrote "on the base of the column, among the cluster of captured Dacian arms, are two coats built up of laminations consisting of body and long sleeves closed down the centre at
the front with buckles or clasps. One can only assume that these had been used by Sarmatian cataphracts - allies of the Dacians - whose equipment had been influenced by the Parthians. Long scale coats were their normal body armour." There is an artist’s depiction in Radu Oltean’s book on Dacia the Roman Wars but an artist’s depiction is not proof unfortunately. Not much more I can add as I don't know too much about armour. Bottom diagram is from Robinson's book Oriental Armour.
Quote:I read an article on that piece of armour a while back," Sarmatians through the eyes of strangers-The Sarmatian warrior", I think it is available on Academia and authored by Eszter Istvánovits & Valéria Kulcsár:, in which archaeologist and historian Dr. Hubertus von Gall seems to think that the Sarmatian coats depicted on the base of the column were made of horizontal strips of laminated leather attached to each other, with buckles or clasps at the front, and thinks that similar armour was depicted in a wall painting in Panticapaeum in the Ashik burial chamber. H. Russell Robinson wrote "on the base of the column, among the cluster of captured Dacian arms, are two coats built up of laminations consisting of body and long sleeves closed down the centre at
the front with buckles or clasps. One can only assume that these had been used by Sarmatian cataphracts - allies of the Dacians - whose equipment had been influenced by the Parthians. Long scale coats were their normal body armour." There is an artist’s depiction in Radu Oltean’s book on Dacia the Roman Wars but an artist’s depiction is not proof unfortunately. Not much more I can add as I don't know too much about armour. Bottom diagram is from Robinson's book Oriental Armour.
Quote:I would exclude a scale armour, as scale armours are clearly depicted (carved) in the same base, as well as chainmail.
This is only reasonable if you can demonstrate that the entire column was done by the same artist. It is entirely possible that some artists carved the scales while others painted them. The same goes for the ring pattern on mail armour.
Quote: I'm not aware of an entire splinted armor coat; I'm not even sure if it would be practical.
It's not. A lot of the constructions alleged to be depicted on Trajan's column are not practical. It is a poor source from which to get an idea of the equipment used at the time.
