Glued Linen Armour- a simple test

[rocktupac]

Fascinating stuff, but inundation and so on is not the same as wearing the armor in changing weather and temperature conditions. Static testing cannot provide much evidence--why not make a set and wear it camping for a week? And provide photos!

I make this caveat because I suspect that layers of linen placed under constant flexing pressure AND wet will have a different behavior.

Of course, it so seldom rains in Greece...

My guess is that when on the march an army did not necessarily wear the armor, and that it was storied somewhere protected only to be removed from their holdings and worn when battle was immanent. Since Greek armies rarely marched far overland, transportation of the armor or movement while wearing the armor would not be a problem. And as you said, it seldom rains in Greece, so this too would not pose major problems. How many accounts do we have of Greeks fighting in the rain anyways?

Where we have a lot of information concerning troop movement and armor getting wet is from the campaign of Alexander. And we shall see in the end, in the muggiest of conditions where cloth armor would not be allowed to dry (i.e. in India), that Alexander receives a new supply of armor and orders that the old armor be burned (Curt. 9.3.22). On a side note, there are bits of evidence that point to Alexander, and most likely his troops, wearing linen armor: Alexander wears a linen corselet before the battle of Gaugamela (Plutarch 'Alex.' 32); Alexander can be seen wearing Type IV armor on the 'Alexander Mosaic'; Macedonian soldiers can be seen wearing Type IV armor on the 'Alexander Sarcophagus'; the iron Type IV cuirass from Vergina (I am taking this to be a non-functional celebratory piece, most likely worn while parading); the example of the Roman emperor Caracalla wearing a linen corselet in emulation of Alexander (Cassius Dio 78.7.1-2). When these are pieced together it becomes very convincing in my opinion.