Reconstructing Ancient Linen Body Armor - New Book

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

Truth be told, i have known since 2011 that no traces of either leather or linen body armour have been found in Macedonia. There were a team of nine archeologists at Vergina, when i met Vangelis, all of them experienced with excavations in Vergina and Pella and elsewhere, Mrs Angeliki Kottaridi, the Ephor, among them.
But i specifically asked about Archontiko only recently when the matter was brought up in this discussion.

Even if the warriors of Archontiko are Paeonians, this doesn't make the illyrian helmet any less popular among Macedonians, it seems that the apparent lack of hoplite-style battles favoured this helmet. I have seen only one or two corinthian helmets from Macedonia, most certainly imported luxury items from the South or even East.

I cannot disagree with the evolution and purpose of the ridges on the illyrian helmets, although i should point out that we know nothing about crest construction in these helmets. The ridges *could* act as crest stabilizers when a crest was present. For all we know the crest boxes could have a wider base, like an inverted T or they could have a trapezoid cross section, or could ultimately have been traditionally wider in these helmets than on the corinthians. Here's the best reconstruction of an illyrian with crest http://www.royaloakarmoury.com/2014/08/1...an-helmet/

My own experience with an illyrian with correct attachment methods but with a crest box which was slightly narrower than the ridges is that the crest is prone to move sideway, making it very annoying to feel a wonky crest on your head.

I have also seen up close an illyrian which had corrosion marks between the ridges, which were narrower than the space between them. The first thing i though was crest remains. But the corrosion was slightly sidways, and similar marks ecisted on other places on the helmet. One certain thing was that there was corrosion marks from the leather turning around the edges and secured under the rivets.
In all, unconclusive.

It is worth to note that there are some early cornthians made of two pieces which have no such protective ridges. Then there are few corinthian helmets made of one piece that HAVE the ridges!
And there is really the question, do the ridges actually provide valuable protection to the seam? A blow on the head that would shatter the seam would anyway kill the wearer from impact shock anyway. And none of the Cretan helmets which are the most elaborate helmets of their time, and were always made of two pieces have any such seam protection. EVEN though they have the same crest attachment method as the illyrians...We know so little...and yet, all these are too detailed questions, probably only explained by tradition and nothing else.

Khaire
Giannis