Lorica Hamata
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Lorica Hamata is the name for the chain mail , which is believed to have been around since the 3rd century BC. Was used in the Roman army until the fall of the Roman Empire .
construction
The Lorica Hamata consisted of up to 30,000 interwoven rings made of iron, rarely also of bronze . She could weigh up to 10 kilograms. The rings had an inside diameter of 5 to 9 mm with a material thickness of 1 to 2 mm. As a Roman peculiarity, seamless punched rings and riveted or welded iron rings were used alternately (circuli et hami = rings and hooks). It cannot be said with certainty whether the rings were welded or riveted in each case, as the finds were usually heavily corroded. However, where the degree of preservation allowed such determinations, the rings were always connected. Remnants of extremely fine chain mail made of bronze wire with a ring diameter of only 3 mm were found in isolated cases.
During the longest period of the Roman Empire, the Lorica Hamata had a doubling over the shoulders, which was like a U-shaped collar around the neck. This shoulder part was attached to the chain mail with four rivets at the corners, edged with leather and probably also lined. This shoulder reinforcement was first pulled together and fixed over the chest by a lacing, later by two breast hooks connected to one another. The Roman chain mail had a wide cylindrical shape (not waisted) and apart from the hooks for pulling the shoulder piece together had no fasteners. The Lorica Hamata was mostly sleeveless or short-sleeved and reached at least to the crotch, but mostly to the middle of the thigh.
The long versions of the Lorica Hamata were always carried with a belt, thus avoiding swinging and distributing part of the load on the hip. The Roman soldiers usually wore a simple tunic made of wool under the chain mail, later a padded undergarment (the subarmalis ).
development
The Romans themselves traced the development of the chain mail back to the Celts; the oldest secured pictorial evidence of Roman soldiers shows this 168 BC. Without exception in chain mail. The Lorica Hamata underwent only a few fundamental changes in several centuries. Since the end of the 1st century AD, shoulder reinforcement was no longer used and the Lorica Hamata became shorter overall.
The chainmail of the cavalry differed from the infantry designs , whereby they were somewhat shorter, partly slit on the side and had short sleeves or wider shoulders.
From about the middle of the first century to the end of the 2nd century. Chr. Became the Lorica Hamata by rail tank replaced as the main armament of the Roman infantry, but never completely replaced. During this period, chain mail was only used by the Roman auxiliary troops except for cavalry . After that, chain mail again prevailed as the most important type of Roman armor.
Finds
Parts of a Roman chain armor were found near Trier.
See also
literature
- Marcus Junkelmann : The Legions of Augustus. The Roman soldier in an archaeological experiment (= cultural history of the ancient world . 33). 9th, expanded edition. von Zabern, Mainz 2003, ISBN 3-8053-0886-8 , p. 165 ff.
