Linothorax again

[Anonymous]

I said 30 layers because that was historically used in Europe and if Jason is correct and the linothorax uses no glue, then there are many similarities between the linothorax and the European padded jack. You don't have to use 30 layers in a linothorax to make it stiff. How many layers of heavy canvass do you think it will take to get the same effect? We have no idea what sort of cloth might have been used - whether a dozen layers of heavy canvas-like cloth or more layers of something lighter. It is also possible that the shoulders were heavier than the torso since it is likely that there is a double-layer wrapped around the chest. So we might have 15 layers on the torso and 25-30 layers on the shoulders. Too much is unknown. Hopefully the find at Thebes will shed more light on the subject.

I think we've always worked on the basis of 15 layers because that's the only figure for which we have any evidence, in our period. We use a cloth weight which is suitable for chitons, as well as linothorakes, so each layer is very lightweight. I have managed to get hold of some "linen canvas" ( which I previously thought was an oxymoron) which, while clearly heavier than what I had been using, is still very flexible. I would guess it's two-to-three times heavier than my normal material, but I would assume this WON'T mean you can use one-third the layers, because it seems to be the layering itself which provides much of the resistance to penetration, as one might expect.

I'd been assuming that Jason, Stefanos and others were working with dress-weight cloth, too. Perhaps they can clarify that.

I recall someone suggesting, earlier, that linothorakes might be double-breasted and the general idea that the thickness might vary across the pieces is an interesting one. I'd like to hear more about what gave rise to this idea.

If Jason has been using standard dress-weight cloth in his experiments and finding the armour as arrow-resistant as he has, then this would suggest that doubling would be unnecessary. I've worn linothorakes made entirely of linen, as well as my own, and I find them the lightest armour I've experienced. The Legionary Lorica Segmentata is next and the biggest drag of all is my mail-shirt, which weighs twenty-six pounds (no, that's not a lot, because it only has to cover a slim frame!). My theory is that it was this lightness that recommended the linothorax to the Hoplites, as an alternative to bronze armour.