Makedonian Armour

[MeinPanzer]

I'm very interested in the iron debate here.

Can any of our Greek members get the contact information to the Archeological Museum in Corfu ? I know it's a long shot but I'd like to ask them myself if they know what the armor is composed of.

I tried looking for their information online but could only find a phone number.

(BTW, Wikipedia says the armor is bronze with gold fittings but the website isn't very credible so I'm reserving judgment)

~Theo

I managed to see the armour in person thsi summer (but couldn't take pictures, unfortunately), and it definitely looks iron inside and out.

[Theodosius the Great]

Thank you, Ruben.

That's even better than calling up the museum and hoping that some curator, who can't tell the difference between bronze and iron, can give me a straight answer

Laudes to you.

~Theo

[Kallimachos]

Many thanks for the confirmation from me too Ruben.

[PMBardunias]

I think the "softer" thorax was leather and is what is meant by a spolas. This may have slipped over the head. These commonly have very reduced "yokes".

The stiffer variety may be of close-stitched quilting or some harder leather product or perhaps a combination of the two.

I have no problem with iron cuirasses being more widespread than many assume though, as Sean implied, it would take an exceptionally large Iron Age smelter to produce blooms large enough to make one piece breastplates.

But they could produce smaller plates that they secreted between layers of linothorax :wink:

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

HA HA HA :lol: Never give up? One more time no one can prove you wrong. But wrong thread,right?

[hoplite14gr]

The Kerkyra armor probalby confirms Plutrarh.
Demetrios gave it to an Epirote bodyguard of his.
Might have been this one. Enjoy!
Kind regards

[Paullus Scipio]

Ruben wrote:-

I managed to see the armour in person thsi summer (but couldn't take pictures, unfortunately), and it definitely looks iron inside and out.

.....I know this is probably a forlorn question, and the chances are that there was no-one around to ask, and that accompanying notes were either non-existent or in greek, but were you able to find out anthing more about this item?
Weight?
Thickness?
Where found, and in what circumstances, and what was with it?
Estimated time? ( e.g. period may mean possibly early Roman rather than late Hellenistic)
Any other information at all?

What else did the museum have to offer ? (apart from what is on the web-site)

[MeinPanzer]

.....I know this is probably a forlorn question, and the chances are that there was no-one around to ask, and that accompanying notes were either non-existent or in greek, but were you able to find out anthing more about this item?
Weight?

None was listed.

Thickness?

Unfortunately, I can't remember.

Where found, and in what circumstances, and what was with it?

It was a votive deposit found near Prodromi. It was found along with a kopis and two Thraco-Attic helmets as well as a krater, IIRC.

Estimated time? ( e.g. period may mean possibly early Roman rather than late Hellenistic)

It dates to the late 4th or early 3rd C. BC.

Any other information at all?

They had a book there that was a catalogue from the museum and it included information on one of the two helmets and the cuirass, but the pictures were tiny and didn't reveal anything more than those in this thread, so I passed on buying it. The rest of the museum didn't hold much of interest from a military perspective other than a late Hellenistic/early Roman oil lamp with a small representation of a Scythian horse archer on it.

[Paullus Scipio]

Many thanks for answering so many questions, Ruben, and so promptly too........A laudes for your patience, and taking the time to explore this piece.... D

[Dan Howard]

I have another question. It is possible to tell whether the front and back plates were made from a single large bloom or whether there is evidence of smaller plates being forge-welded together.

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

Very nice Gioi! There they are,I had seen only the tinned helmet but didn't know they were found together. And a nice kopis. What could the gold wreath mean? A present from a king??? With a nice thorax? Laudes gioi.
Khaire
Giannis

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

And it seems gorgets of this kind were common in Macedonia. I've seen one of them in Vergina, one or two of them in Thessaloniki(from a tomb in Derveni) and this one is from th metropolitan museum. All constructed in the same way,iron covered in gold.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elissacorsini/1162938482/
Khairete
Giannis

[Kallimachos]

Wow, terrific picture, thanks for sharing Gioi. Never been to Korfu and to be honest, I've never expected to see Makedonian Armour there hock:

[MeinPanzer]

Wow, terrific picture, thanks for sharing Gioi. Never been to Korfu and to be honest, I've never expected to see Makedonian Armour there hock:

Well, it's not Macedonian, it's Epirote armour, and it's not actually from Corfu, but Prodromi on the mainland. Still, I'm curious how the photographer managed to snap that picture. The display is right beside the front desk and there are big signs everywhere saying that no photography was allowed because all the artefacts were unpublished (which isn't true).

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

And it has a flash,too hock: Perhaps they didn't catch him before he took the first photo. Or it was before photos were prohibited...