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The legions of the Roman Republic and Empire had a fairly standardised dress and armour, particularly from approximately the early to mid 1st century onward, when Lorica Segmentata (segmented armour) was introduced. [1] However the lack of unified production for the Roman army meant that there were still considerable differences in detail.
Roman scale armour fragment Detail of a fragment. Each plate has six holes and the scales are linked in rows. Only the lower most holes are visible on most scales, while a few show the pair above and the ring fastener passing through them. Lorica squamata was a type of scale armour used during the Roman Republic and at later periods. It was ...
Despite the armor being commonly associated with the Romans, the technology behind the lorica segmentata was old by the time it was introduced into the Roman infantry. The Dendra panoply is an example from the 15th century BC of articulated plate defense using a similar technique of overlapping curved plates.
Augustan period statue of a Gaulish soldier wearing a Roman lorica hamata. Modern historians believe that mail armor was invented by the Celts. [3] [4] With the idea for this form of mail possibly coming to Rome during conflicts with the Celts in the 3rd century BC, [5] [2] lorica hamata was used by both legionary and auxilia troops. [2]
Roman military equipment (cf. Roman military personal equipment), particularly armor, was of better quality and far more ubiquitous, especially in the late Republican and Early Imperial era, than that of most of their opponents. Soldiers equipped with shields, helmets and highly effective body armor had a major advantage over warriors protected ...
During the Dacian Wars Trajan had to re-equip his soldiers wearing lorica segmentata with other forms of armor such as the lorica hamata and lorica squamata. [5] It is not known precisely when the Romans adopted the type of armor, [4] but it remained in use for about eight centuries, [4] most prominently in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. [1]
This view has been criticized, as there is no evidence of a Roman concept of parade armor, sets and fragments of lorica plumata have been found near armor used for battle or locations where battle would be expected, and modern standards for armor strength and durability may not match those of the ancient Roman Empire. [3]
A manica (Latin: manica, "sleeve"; [1] Greek: χεῖρες, kheires, "sleeves") was a type of iron or copper-alloy laminated arm guard with curved, overlapping metal segments or plates fastened to leather straps worn by ancient and late antique heavy cavalry, infantry, and gladiators.