Ocrae thickness

[Marcus Mummius]

Salve,

Does anyone how thick these ocrae are? What would be a good thickness to use in a reconstruction?






Thanks in advance,
Vale,

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Those have a "Greek" look to them! Where did they come from? Nice looking greaves!

[Tarbicus]

Those have a "Greek" look to them!

Could make them an ideal choice for a tribune :wink:

[Marcus Mummius]

I should have given a source :oops:

I don't know much about these. They definitely have a Greek look. I'd like to use them for my future tribune impression.

The picture can be found on the Roma Victrix website. They are dated to the 2nd century AD. I don't know any more details...

Here's the link: Roma Victrix

[Marcus Mummius]

Those have a "Greek" look to them!

Could make them an ideal choice for a tribune :wink:

lol so I'm not the only one :lol:

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

LOL No, I guess we all aspire to be consul one day! :lol: :lol:

[Matthew Amt]

Like most armor back then, I'd guess about 1mm or thinner--probably thinner for greaves. I made my own Greek greaves years ago using c. 1mm bronze, and they are too thick to "spring" open and clip onto the leg like the originals apparently did. With Roman greaves you can avoid that problem because they don't have to wrap around as far, generally having straps to secure them. But you'll get better embossing with something thinner than 1mm (maybe 20 or 22 gauge).

Valete,

Matthew

[Marcus Mummius]

Thanks Matt. So you think 0.81mm brass would be thick enough?

[Martin Moser]

Hi Jef,

just looked through Junkelmann's Das Spiel mit dem Tod - he gives very precise data on most of the equipment shown in his book and the gladiators' greaves go from 0.7 o 2.5 mm, 1.1 - 1.2 mm being about average, so that's what I would head for if I were you.

[Magnus]

I used 20 gauge steel for my early 2nd century Roman greeves.

[Matthew Amt]

Thanks, Martin, that's very helpful! Gosh, for so long it has seemed like it was illegal for thicknesses or weights to be published... One caveat, though--I have heard from folks who research such things that gladiator helmets tend to be thicker and heavier than army helmets. (They can get away with it since they aren't being worn as long.) So possibly gladiator greaves were thicker on average than those used by the military. Just a thought.

Yeah, Marcus, 0.81mm should be fine, I'd say.

Matthew

[Marcus Mummius]

Thanks for all the help guys!