Lorica Segmentata
When someone thinks of an ancient Roman soldier most likely they wouldn't' imagine them wearing lorica hamata or lorica squamata. No, they would imagine the gallant soldier wearing the armor we've named lorica segmentata. While the other two armor types were around before the Romans adapted them for their use, this armor was uniquely Roman. The Roman armor was a plate type armor made from broad iron bands, arranged horizontally and overlapping downwards. The bands were lashed together with internal hooks and leather straps. The armor was assembled so it could be separated into four pieces, two for the chest and two for the shoulders. This allowed it to be stored very easily. Oftentimes armor will be modified many times to make it better, more comfortable, or more easily crafted. Now a days we do the same things with just about all of our products. In lorica segmentata's lifespan, 9BC to the 3rd century AD, its thought to have four different variations. These variations are Kalkriese, Corbridge, Newstead and Alba Iulia. All of the types have been named after the location they've been discovered. It's debated if this ancient armor was widely used by the Roman army or if it was merely too costly to make and too expensive to maintain to have ever become popular. Several things point to it being a rare item. Number one, as I said before the armor was expensive to maintain and make. Number two, the armor has only been found in known Roman forts, thought to be fairly far from the action. Number three, a lot of what we know about the armor is from columns and other things commemorating military victories. The columns might not have been a typical of how a Roman army was set up. Lastly, we know that the Roman army did in fact did go back to mostly using lorica squamata and lorica hamata towards the end of the empire. Why did they do this? Unless they happen upon the thoughts of the late Roman emperors they might never know. Return from Lorica Segmentata to History-of-Armor.com
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