08-30-2003, 09:55 AM
Gilded scale armour was not the privilege of the Sarmatians and this piece, I think, can only be described as "fragment of scale armour found in the area of Hadrian's wall, Imperial Roman period". And that's about it..<br>
That is of course if it was actually dug up from there.<br>
Trying to attribute one particular type of decoration like a four pointed "dacian" star to one particular unit and from there, trying to deduce the ethnicity of that unit --if there ever was one-- seems to me a very risky proposition.<br>
Decorative patterns were pretty standard, save some regional variations and were used all over the empire by whoever happened to fancy them.<br>
Laboratory methods, not speculation, can determine the authenticity of an archaeological piece. <p></p><i></i>
That is of course if it was actually dug up from there.<br>
Trying to attribute one particular type of decoration like a four pointed "dacian" star to one particular unit and from there, trying to deduce the ethnicity of that unit --if there ever was one-- seems to me a very risky proposition.<br>
Decorative patterns were pretty standard, save some regional variations and were used all over the empire by whoever happened to fancy them.<br>
Laboratory methods, not speculation, can determine the authenticity of an archaeological piece. <p></p><i></i>