Scale Armour

Extant Scale Armour Finds

– Looking for the Evidence By Jennifer Baker ( Jenny Baker )

Eurasian Scale Armor,

ca. 6th century B.C in the Met Museum, New York

Research Disclaimer : Please note that This Research was done many years ago now :

so the information contained may now be out of date , photos gone missing or web links broken

My apologises : But It has become an impossible task to try and keep it up to date - Jenny

SUMMARY OF FINDS

Early Finds – BC – 8 examples

Iron Age Finds - AD – 6 examples

Roman Age Finds – 25 examples

Early Medieval Finds -

10th Century Finds –

11th – 12th Century Finds – 3 examples

13th - 14th Century Finds –

15th – 17th Century Finds – 1 example

Later Finds – 1 example

EARLY FINDS - BC:

Egypt in King Tutankhamun’s Tomb 1333-23 B.C - The only item of true body armor recovered from the tomb was a close-fitting leather cuirass, found in a crumpled up state in box 587 in the Annex. It is described by Howard Carter as 'made up of scales of thick tinted leather [perhaps red and yellow] worked onto a linen basis, or lining, in the form of a ...bodice without sleeves'

photos of Howard Carter’s notes on it

http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/gri/carter/587a-c587a-1.html

http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/gri/carter/587a-c587a-2.html

http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/gri/carter/587a-c587a-3.html

Burton’s Photos of the leather cuirass as found in the box in the tomb – there are no photos of it laid out

http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/gri/carter/587a-p1304.html

Leather and Bronze Scale Armour from Troy - The scale from Troy is about 1" wide by 3" long, with a rounded bottom and a midrib, and 4 holes across the top. with alternating rows of bronze and red-painted rawhide scales.

Mentioned in "The ancient Greece of Odysseus " by Peter Connolly

http://books.google.com.au/books?id=3sZHlOR24uQC&pg=PA30&lpg=PA30&dq=scale+armour+Troy&source=bl&ots=qfl4k1KDzw&sig=5v-LjV9cQ0nukS0-xCLYAz6N678&hl=en&ei=IFvBSbrWDM-_kAXxiMws&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result

Photos of a Reproduction of it

http://www.larp.com/hoplite/scales8.jpg

http://www.larp.com/hoplite/scales9.jpg

http://z8.invisionfree.com/Bronze_Age_Center/...id=6570479

Leather Scale Armour - Eurasian - possibly the Scythian – ca. 6th century B.C. in the Met Museum New York

http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_Of_Art/recent_acquisitions/1999/co_rec_ancient_2000.66.asp

A Piece of Scale Armour from Shaikhn Dher, Chrsada India

http://www.jstor.org/pss/25203200

mention of Scale Armour being found at excavations of the royal tombs at Vergina in Macedonia, which have produced a cuirass of iron scales covered with fabric

Arms and Armor - lorica segmentata, Mary Rose, La Trinidad Valencera, Batavia, Armour from the Battle of Wisby http://www.jrank.org/history/pages/5900/Arms-Armor.html#ixzz0gUoB1QEF

mention of Scale Armour being found at excavation of the collapsed arsenal at Aï Khanoum in Afghanistan

Arms and Armor - lorica segmentata, Mary Rose, La Trinidad Valencera, Batavia, Armour from the Battle of Wisby http://www.jrank.org/history/pages/5900/Arms-Armor.html#ixzz0gUoRZOyv

mention of Scale Armour being found at excavation of Scythian tombs (sixth to fourth centuries B.C.) and housed in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

Arms and Armor - lorica segmentata, Mary Rose, La Trinidad Valencera, Batavia, Armour from the Battle of Wisby http://www.jrank.org/history/pages/5900/Arms-Armor.html#ixzz0gUoRZOyv

Breastplate of scale - Italy. Late 6th century - Steel and bone; forged and carved. H. 42 cm

Source of Entry: Tsarskoye Selo Arsenal (formerly in the collection of N.A. Kushelev). 1885 in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/fcgi-bin/db2www/descrPage.mac/descrPage?selLang=English&indexClass=ARMS_EN&Query_Exp=&PID=ZO-3067&numView=1&ID_NUM=31&thumbFile=%2Ftmplobs%2FL5551Y3_40KCPB%24B_40K6.jpg&embViewVer=last&comeFrom=advanced&check=false&WOA_TYPE=All&selCateg=arms&selValues=&browserVer=&sorting=WOA_NAME%5EWOA_CNTR_ORG&thumbId=6&numResults=501&author

Iron Age Finds - AD –

Silla warriors Scale Armour , fourth and sixth centuries AD

measuring 440 centimeters (173 inches) long and 220 meters (722 feet) wide

the ancient tombs of the Jjoksaem District of Hwango-dong, Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Korea.

Gyeongju National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2907709

Several Leather scale armours were found at Miran Fort Tibet

Description of them - Oblong Lacquered scale of varying in size and ornamentation

8th to 9th century

Leather with lacquer 7 cm x 15.6 cm 11 cm x 19.5 cm 15.5 cm x 21.2 cm

http://dsr.nii.ac.jp/toyobunko/VIII-5-B2-9/V-1/images/PDF/0547.pdf

http://dsr.nii.ac.jp/toyobunko/VIII-5-B2-9/V-1/images/PDF/0548.pdf

http://dsr.nii.ac.jp/toyobunko/VIII-5-B2-9/V-1/images/PDF/0549.pdf

The Silk Road By Susan Whitfield, Ursula Sims-Williams, British Library

http://books.google.com.au/books?id=ArWLD4Qop38C&pg=PA197&lpg=PA197&dq=Leather+scale+armour+Tibet&source=bl&ots=ehxnhNQnfS&sig=RNnS7jy6a-F855BhWkTRbRU9dyU&hl=en&ei=twfEScTzIdaLkAXvkYV7&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=7&ct=result

number of Leather & Metal scale armours have been found in Scythian graves in Rusia

http://www.romanarmytalk.com/rat/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=19877&sid=6c28fccec2b6ce0d7f5715e72748a406

Issyk's Gold Cataphract Warrior (from Kazakhstan), a parade gold scale armour from Issyk's thomb of Sakas King - approx. VI -V centuries. BC

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Issyk_Golden_Cataphract_Warrior.jpg

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Issyk%27s_Golden_Cataphract_Warrior_(close_view).jpg

Roman Age Finds –

Note: some of these could easily be described as Lamellar but I have kept them as scale as that is what the Archeologists have categorized them as.

Fragment of Lorica squamata. Somerset County Museum in Taunton

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scale_armour

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roman_scale_armour_fragment.JPG

A large fragment of iron scale or locking scale armor, probably the collar cape from a lorica squamata, was found at Carlisle early in 2001. - a section of neck guard or cuirass, made up entirely of small iron scales joined together with copper-alloy wire. Carlisle Millennium Project armor page - Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery - Carlisle

http://www.carlislemillenniumdig.co.uk/pages/armour.htm

http://www.romanhideout.com/armamentarium.asp

http://www.roma-victrix.com/armamentarium/loricae_squamata.htm

Roman armour and metalworking at Carlisle, Cumbria, England

By Mike McCarthy, Mike Bishop & Thom Richardson

http://www.antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/Pre2003/McCarthy/mccarthy.html

Fragment of Lorica squamata. At the Landesmuseum - Mainz - Germany

http://www.romanhideout.com/armamentarium.asp

http://www.roma-victrix.com/armamentarium/loricae_squamata.htm

Fragment of Lorica squamata. At the Vindonissa Museum

http://www.roma-victrix.com/armamentarium/loricae_squamata.htm

Lamellae of a lorica squamata from Trajan Ulpia Sarmizegetusa (Dacia), dating from the second century AD

Muzeul you Civilizatiei Dacice Romane - Deva-RO. From the book "Trajan-The Edge of the Empire" Electa-Verlag

http://www.roma-victrix.com/armamentarium/loricae_squamata.htm

Scale Mail Armor Fragment - 2nd or 3rd Century

http://www.roman-artifacts.com/Armor%20Fragments%20&%20Attachments/Armor%20Fragments%20&%20Attachments.htm

Fragment of Lorica squamata. From Nijmegen,

http://www.romancoins.info/MilitaryEquipment-Body-Armour.html

Fragment of Lorica squamata. from Carnuntum

http://www.romancoins.info/MilitaryEquipment-Body-Armour.html

Fragment of Lorica squamata on display at Museum Carnuntinum ( Austria, Bad Deutsch-Altenburg)

Published: Exhibition catalogue "Legionsadler und Druidenstab, F. Humer, 2006," ISBN 3854602294"

http://www.romancoins.info/MilitaryEquipment-Body-Armour.html

A string fragment of Bronze Scale Mail or Lorica Squamata armor consisting of numerous leaf shaped pieces of silvered bronze connected with bronze rings. This items has 11 leafs still attached together with a pair separate - 1st to 3rd Century AD - Location Discovered Balkans

http://www.roman-artifacts.com/Armor%20Fragments%20&%20Attachments/Cavalry%20or%20Legionary%20Squamata/Legionary%20or%20Cavalry%20scale%20mail.htm

Fragment of Lorica squamata on display at the British Museum, London

http://www.roman-artifacts.com/Armor%20Fragments%20&%20Attachments/Cavalry%20or%20Legionary%20Squamata/Legionary%20or%20Cavalry%20scale%20mail.htm

Fragment of Lorica squamata on display at the Limesmuseum Aalen

http://www.roma-victrix.com/armamentarium/loricae_squamata.htm

Fragment of Lorica squamata on display at the Bad Deutsch-Altenburg (Carnuntum) in Austria, dating to the second century AD: the remains measuring 4 to 5 centimeters in height - Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum – Mainz Germany

http://www.roma-victrix.com/armamentarium/loricae_squamata.htm

Fragment of Lorica squamata on display at the Bad Deutsch-Altenburg (Carnuntum) in Austria, dating to the second century AD: the remains measuring approximately 1.2-1.5 cm to indicate a clear variety of types of this armor. - Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum – Mainz Germany

http://www.roma-victrix.com/armamentarium/loricae_squamata.htm

Fragment of Lorica squamata Archaeological Museum Carnuntinum - Bad Deutsch-Altenburg - Austria

Three rows of scales in bronze respectively in their horizontal measuring 7 cm - 4.6 - 4.9.

http://www.roma-victrix.com/armamentarium/loricae_squamata.htm

Fragment of Lorica squamata iron lorica squamata gaging in their entirety, CM19 x 19,

Archaeological Museum Carnuntinum - Bad Deutsch-Altenburg-Austria

http://www.roma-victrix.com/armamentarium/loricae_squamata.htm

Fragment of Lorica squamata iron lorica squamata gaging in their entirety, 14.5 cm x 15.

Archaeological Museum Carnuntinum - Bad Deutsch-Altenburg-Austria

http://www.roma-victrix.com/armamentarium/loricae_squamata.htm

In the article "Roman Scale Armour" by John Clemetson in vol. 5 no. 1 of ARMA (June 1993), seven samples of scale armor are shown. All are copper alloy, have slightly domed and pointed bottoms, and 6 holes in three vertical pairs across the top

Corbridge - Height 14.2mm, 9/16", Width 9.9mm, 3/8", Thickness 0.25mm/.010"

Corbridge - Height 13.6mm, 11/32", Width 7.3mm, C. 9/32", Thickness 0.25mm/.010"

Great Chesters - Height 12mm, C. 5/16", Width 7mm, 9/32", Thickness 0.25mm/.010"

Caerleon - Height 9.5mm, C. 3/8", Width 9.5mm, C. 3/8", Thickness ?

Vindobona - Height 14mm, C. 9/16", Width 10mm, C. 3/8", Thickness ?

Carnuntum - Height 14mm, C. 9/16", Width 8mm, 5/16", Thickness "Slight"

Dura Europas - Height 9mm, C. 11/32", Width 6.5mm, 1/4", Thickness 0.25mm/.010"

http://www.larp.com/legioxx/squamata.html

Fragment of Lorica squamata at the Castle museums in Linz ( Upper Austria ). Archeological collection: Remnants of Roman scale mail ( lorica squamata ) from Enns

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Linz_Schlossmuseum_-_R%C3%B6mischer_Schuppenpanzer.jpg

Some fragments of actual Roman era scale were found at the fort barracks at Yassihöyük (Gordion), Ankara Province, Turkey

http://www.myarmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=13920&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=20

Early Medieval Finds –


10th Century Finds –


13th - 14th Century Finds –


15th – 17th Century Finds –

Spanish Scale Armour - New Mexico

A New World Find Of European Scale Armor by HC Rogers

http://gladius.revistas.csic.es/index.php/gladius/article/viewFile/21/22

Later Finds –

Scale coat covered with the gold decorated scales of the pangolin.

Indian, Rajasthan, early 19th century - Royal Armouries, Leeds.

This coat has been covered with the scales of the pangolin or scaly anteater (Manis crassicaudata). The scales have been decorated in gold, and the larger have been used where more protection is required. This is the only known example of this type of armour. It originally had a helmet, also made of pangolin scales, with three plumes.

The scale coat was presented to the King George III in 1820 by Francis Rawdon, 1st Marquis of Hastinges (1754-1826), who was the East India Company's Governor General in Bengal, 1812-22.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scale_armour

1st Published : 20 Oct 2011 Page Updated: 10 Sept 2020 © Looking for the Evidence : Jennifer Baker ( Jenny Baker )