Roman Body Armour

Hilary & John Travis

Apr 2011 · Amberley Publishing Limited

About this eBook

This book assesses current views of the body armour used by the Roman army and its development, melding these with the archaeological evidence available. It draws together the streams of published information of sculptural imagery and archaeological 'hard' evidence, while also looking at the component parts and how they are physically put together. This has involved a return to basics, in examining wherever possible the original material (as opposed to the published 2-D photographic images and line drawings) and attempting to reproduce the aspects of the artefacts observed through physical reconstruction. The reconstructions produced were then subjected to low-level, simulated wear, over several years, to view component inter-action, and simulated combat/ destructive testing using a range of weaponry, including archery equipment, to view which parts were more susceptible to damage, and what features may be anticipated archaeologically on artefacts as evidence of regular wear, combat damage and field repairs. Discrepancies were also noted between current reconstructions of Roman military equipment (by museums and re-enactors), which have been produced based on previous desk-based assessments, and the reality of the actual artefacts, particularly in the case of the segmented plate armour (lorica segmentata), which may cause us to re-think not only the appearance, but also the function/fighting methods of the Roman soldier.

About the author

Hilary Travis holds a Masters and Honours Degrees in Archaeology. In addition to over 20 years experience as an archaeologist, she also has over 20 years combat experience in Japanese martial arts, and over 10 years in reconstruction of Roman and medieval period artefacts. John Travis is an established author, his first book, Coal in Roman Britain, was based on his PhD thesis. He holds a Masters Degree and Doctorate in Roman Archaeology from the University of Liverpool. He is an archaeologist with over 30 years experience, and an Associate member of the Institute of Field Archaeologists (AIFA). Both Hilary and John are active re-enactors, as members of both the Chester Guard (Deva VV) Roman Society and the Thomas Stanley Retinue (Wars of the Roses Medieval group).