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Kalkriese seg reconstruction?
#16
Regarding the closure of the girdle plates with straps and buckles, I think Bishop's thinking here was that if the Corbridge type replaced the Kalkriese type, then it must have incorporated improvements over the Kalkriese type. The hinges are of a different form but functionally they are hardly inferior. Therefore it could have been that the main improvement was in the closure system, in the same way that a major difference between the Corbridge and Newstead types is in the system of closing the girdle plates.
One thing which seems to be completely absent from assemblages of Kalkriese type fittings is tie loops such as are seen on Corbridge armour, suggesting that these were a Corbridge innovation. Nothing seemed obvious as a contender for what they had replaced but there must have been something. Bishop made two suggestions.
For his first suggestion he suggested that there was a hole at each end of each girdle plate through which a leather thong was passed. The tying together of these thongs would achieve the method of closure.
His second suggestion drew on the fact that there are so many Kalkriese type buckles in comparison with other fittings. He suggested that the strap and buckle arrangement seen on the breastplate may also have been used to close the girdle plates. This would also avoid the danger, inherent in the other suggestion, of the edges of the holes cutting through the leather thongs and thus causing the armour to gape open.

This is of course speculation on Bishop's part, but is is at least informed speculation in the absence of the necessary parts from the archaeological record to really tell us what was done. His suggestion is a 'best guess' which makes use of surviving evidence.

Regarding how much has so far been identified, apart from numerous buckles and hinges, there is of course the type-find Kalkriese breastplate, there is a mid collar plate and there is a broken end section from a main (three plate) shoulder plate. As far as I know that is still about it.

Crispvs
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#17
Hey everyone, I just got a DSC Kalriese Seg yesterday (the one designed by Imperium) which employs the buckle and strap method of closure. There is a picture of me wearing it under the show your impression thread.

The strap and buckle closure has its benefits and its its draw backs. It does offer much more size adjustment than the simple loop and tie closure of the corbridge, allowing for a more "tailored" look to the seg, and alowing it to fit a greater range of sizes than the tie closure on the corbridge without custom building each hoop section. The biggest drawback is that it is very time consuming to strap the whole thing together if you take it completely apart into its 4 sections as there is something like 18 buckles that must be straped. And it definately takes help to get the back straps to the right tightness.

One thing that I have noticed with the Kalkriese find vs. the corbridge is that it is much more tailored in its finish, with bronze edging and a turned up collar plate, so the more tailored fitting look of the buckle and strap method fits in with this look quite well. Since this was a brand new armor design at the time, it is possible that it was more expensive and less readily availible than the hamatas which had been used for over a hundered years, so may have been something in use by officers or veteran soldiers. Just a guess, but it would make sense due to the little design finishes.
Quintus Licinius Aquila
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