Late Roman troops: \"normal\" vs. elite

[Nathan Ross]

Now the arch of Galerius shows troops that appear to be the elite troops of the Joviani and the Herculiani in scale armour and spangenhelmets (I know that this vision is disputable), but in reenactment I’ve never seen anyone wear similar scale armour. And then again, is scale armour something that is to be considered fitting for an elite soldier or not?

This thread has a discussion of the soldiers shown on the arch:

Mailed soldiers on the Arch of Galerius

The contemporary Arch of Diocletian in Rome also shows a soldier in scale, together with one in mail (or so it appears - reconstructions differ!)

Scale does seem to have been associated with elite or bodyguard units - Macrinus's Praetorians are described removing their scale armour prior to battle in AD218 (Dio, 38.37), and the Equites Singulares are wearing it on the Arch of Constantine.

There's also the muscle cuirass, which is worn by later Roman troops on many reliefs and monuments and was possibly far more widely used than the archaeological record would suggest.