Scale Armor & Accuracy

[markusaurelius]

I thought I would finally post some images of my completed scale armor piece.

In terms of research went on the basis of the Carpow and Dura original scale examples as my guide.

-As a result I obviously went with the scales being laid/layered like the original examples that started this thread.

-I used a thick canvas type backing with waxed natural linen thread.

-I used 3300 pre-made scales from DSC which come dished and measure 25mm long x 14mm wide. These measurements are based on original scales. They are thinner than most originals however.

-I decided against a rounded neck and went with a straight row construction. I felt that it was simpler than a rounded coif type addition, sat better to the shape of the body, and many iconic pictures don't show the curved construction. The Dura horse armor for instance has all horizontal lines even over the curve of the top. I also wanted to show that it was practical to make in this fashion so should not be discounted as viable method to make a reconstruction. I think a factor in this is the size of the scale. If scales that are too large are used, then they tend to stick out near the shoulder area.

- For the edge stitching I used the method shown in the Carpow example, and the Dura example. Both use the same inter-locking leather thong. I used calf leather for all of it, which I found to be nice and thin, but also very strong. The argument could be made that the original example used raw-hide and not tanned leather, however the Carpow and Dura reports are split on which one is right. I found the natural calfskin leather worked very well and retained its flexibility over perhaps rawhide once it dried hard.

- For the attachment method I decided that simplicity was the best route, as I originally made my own custom buckles for it. The armor flexibility made buckles impracticable as they could not mount onto something solid like plate armor would. I decided against the common lacing method as I found no evidence for it, and also noted that it would make putting the armor on very difficult since you would need to spend time either loosening or undoing all of the lacing beforehand.

In the end I went with simple hand made rings held in place with my own hand made codar pin. Late Roman greaves used the ring attachment method, and musculata from all period used some form of the tie ring attachment method. I found the tie thing method extremely practible in the end. The laces were easy to string through and tie, they were simple to attach through a hole in a scale, and were certainly strong enough to hold the sides closed. A made a decorative backing plate for each tie ring, and decorated it with punched designs, including stars, oak leafs and with inscriptions of Sol Invicto, and Victoria Romanorum.

- The area where the opposing rows of scales merged I used a simple leather strip to hide the seam. I decorated it with an inscription in stitched linen thread. The inscription is based on a modified inscription from a Berkasovo helmet. That inscription stated Vicit (lic)iniana, which was transcribed as a victory cry for the emperor Licinius. Since I'm a fanatic for emperor Julian, I decided to modify it for that purpose.

- I decided to go with short sleeves for the simple reason that so many mosaics, fresco and statues of the period seem to heavily favor the use of sleeve, or specifically short sleeves in this type of armor. The flexibility is excellent with the sleeves and they function well.



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