Testing of Linen Armor - News Story

[rocktupac]

Hello all,

Recently, as part of my ongoing research of the linothorax, a German documentary crew came to my hometown to film some arrow testing and other things concerning the linothorax. The filmed portion will appear on a German TV show called 'Galileo'. The local media (in Green Bay, WI) caught wind of the action and stopped by to film the action and put together a piece. You can find a link to the article below, as well as a video from the filming day (it is on the left side, you will have to click on the small video camera to see the news video).

http://www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?S=12402285

(I wasn't sure where to post this, but I wanted to give as many as possible the chance to view it.)

[agesilaos]

Interesting, setting aside the report's chronological gaff; 3rd century BC, the armour is 5th to first and Alexander very definitely 4th only. Media distortion, eh? The bow looked fairly weak, though the arrow loosed at your chest was at point blank range has it been tested against the stronger composite bows used by the Scythians for example? And how does it fare against a spear thrust? Or a pilum and gladius, though, I suspect the gladius would have been employed hacking at the unarmoured limbs judging from the stories of Greek horror at its efficiency.

Also, how easy is the damage mended and how efficient is the repair? Isn't experimental archaeology brilliant? Couldn't persuade someone to try shooting a six-foot bamboo bow while resting it against a foot to slay that shibboleth could you?

[rocktupac]

Interesting, setting aside the report's chronological gaff; 3rd century BC, the armour is 5th to first and Alexander very definitely 4th only. Media distortion, eh? The bow looked fairly weak, though the arrow loosed at your chest was at point blank range has it been tested against the stronger composite bows used by the Scythians for example? And how does it fare against a spear thrust? Or a pilum and gladius, though, I suspect the gladius would have been employed hacking at the unarmoured limbs judging from the stories of Greek horror at its efficiency.

Also, how easy is the damage mended and how efficient is the repair? Isn't experimental archaeology brilliant? Couldn't persuade someone to try shooting a six-foot bamboo bow while resting it against a foot to slay that shibboleth could you?

Yeah, whenever the media gets its hands on this research they always distort something. The bow was weak (25 lb. pull), but the shot you saw wasn't meant to be taken as a serious test shot and was only demonstrated for dramatic effect. Though, the arrow was fired with 52 J of energy. We have done a great number of arrow tests with multiple bows with 25, 45, 60, and 70 pounds of pull. The arrowhead tests were similarly exhaustive: we used around 10 different arrowhead types, a mix of both iron and bronze. The shafts and fletchings were authentic to the time period as well. The armor has been tested against spear, javelin, gladius, mace, and axe. Any direct thrust with a sharp/pointed object was potentially lethal and the armor tended to give way to these attacks (as modern Kevlar offers almost no protection to identical attacks).

We also tested a 1.5mm thick bronze plate against arrows and a stabbing sword. It offered a good deal of protection, but some of the arrows were able to fully penetrate the bronze. In test shots that were fired at linen armor 1cm thick, and identical to the ones that went through the bronze plate, the linen armor offered better protection. No pilum, but I suspect it would act much like the other small-tipped thrusting weapons.

[agesilaos]

I thought that might be the case, but then the thorax is only the second line of defence, the shield being the first for the hoplite and maybe the length of his sarissa for the phalangite. I should think that the linothorax increased in importance with the advent of sarissai, certainly I know of many images of hoplites wearing just an exomis but none of pikemen so attired but precious few representations of them survive in any case.

What about the repairability issue?

[rocktupac]

I thought that might be the case, but then the thorax is only the second line of defence, the shield being the first for the hoplite and maybe the length of his sarissa for the phalangite. I should think that the linothorax increased in importance with the advent of sarissai, certainly I know of many images of hoplites wearing just an exomis but none of pikemen so attired but precious few representations of them survive in any case.

What about the repairability issue?

Exactly. The linen cuirass was especially well suited for arrow attacks and sword slashes. That it failed to protect the soldier from direct sword or spear thrusts does not diminish its protective effectiveness. This is supported by Pausanias' remarks when he says that linen cuirasses "are not so useful to fighters, for they let the iron pass through, if the blow be a violent one" but are useful to hunters "for the teeth of lions or leopards break off in them" (1.21.7). Pausanias, however, is incorrect when he generally states that linen cuirasses are "not so useful to fighters," and his reason for this is due to its lack of protection from a "violent" attack. Although not stated, this can hardly be a slashing attack and is more probably a stabbing/thrusting attack since a linen cuirass is extremely effective (even against the sharpest sword or axe) against slashing blows. On the other hand, a linen cuirass is no less effective than a bronze plate of 1.5mm thickness against a "violent" sword thrust, according to our tests. The bronze let the sword stab easily pass through.

Any repairs are easily made. Also, it could be repaired in a number of ways. Material could simply be shoved and glued into the damaged area (assuming a hole had been made), and a swatch of cloth could then be glued over the top to make it appear undamaged. Or the hole could be left untouched and material could be glued over the top to make it smooth. One can expect that after multiple battles and years of campaigning the armor would become damaged beyond repair, full of arrowhead holes and slash marks from swords etc. The armor would then have to be replaced and the old armor discarded, much like during the campaign of Alexander (Curtius 9.3.21-22 and Diodorus 17.95.4).