Leather Armor? (NO HOLDS BARRED!!)

[Tarbicus]

Nevertheless I think there has been an unfair bias against leather armour in the recent past, probably because it appears in Hollywood films so often and they can not be right can they!

Graham, the arguments against are usually based on its properties as actual armour, and there have been those who have pointed out that hardening was not an option to the Romans. How does your archaeologist believe this was done?

The question is, if you had to illustrate an entire legion for an illustration, or even a cohort, would you feel comfortable depicting them wearing leather armour and would it only be restricted to a certain period? What we often see from Hollywood and Cinecittà would have us believe it was standard issue.