Scale armour is an early form of armor, consisting of many small individual armor plates (scales) of various shapes, which are attached in overlapping rows to each other and to a base layer of fabric or leather. Scale armour was worn by warriors from different cultures, as well as by their horses.

The use of scale armor was widespread in the Bronze Age in the Near East. Both depictions and archaeological findings confirm that warriors wore this type of protection. In the Aegean world, particularly on the Greek mainland, this form of armor was less common. Nevertheless, there is evidence that the Achaeans were familiar with scale armor, probably through trade contacts with the East.

Although there is little evidence of local production, some findings and depictions show that scale armor was used in the last phase of the Late Helladic period (around 1200 BC) in the Aegean region. For example, a bronze scale was found in Mycenae (approximately 21 by 51 mm), dating from 1200–1050 BC. Initially thought to be an imported piece from the East, it mainly indicates that this type of armor was known to the Achaeans. Similar bronze scales have also been found in Pylos and Crete, although for some finds it is still uncertain if they indeed belonged to armor.

An important find comes from Kanakia on the island of Salamis. There, among tools, Cypriot pottery, and bronze objects, a bronze scale was found with the stamp of Pharaoh Ramses II, who ruled Egypt in the 13th century BC. This suggests that warriors from Salamis may have served as mercenaries in his army.

Bronze scales have also been found in Cyprus, such as a specimen of 61 mm from Pyla-Kokkinokremos, which also dates from the LH IIIC period. This settlement was an important Achaean colony where, besides weapons and shield bosses, such scales have been found. Additionally, at the Uluburun shipwreck near the southern coast of Turkey, a large bronze scale (30 by 90 mm) was found. This ship, dated around 1300 BC, carried a wide range of goods from Canaan, Cyprus, and Achaea, including weapons and raw materials. This indicates that this type of armor also circulated as trade goods.

Furthermore, sets of bronze scales have been found in Cyprus, presumably from the period 1400–1300 BC. This underscores that scale armor had been in use there for a longer time, in a region where Aegean and Eastern cultures met.

Scale armors can also be found in images. For example, a fragment of a crater from Tiryns (LH IIIC) shows a figure with a garment featuring a cross pattern, different from the other depicted clothing. This may refer to a scale armour or an early form of the linothorax: an armor made of laminated linen, sometimes reinforced with metal plates. The depicted charioteer also wears a wide belt, which may indicate additional protection.

An impressive example of such a belt was found in Boğazköy (Anatolia), dated around 1300 BC. The belt consists of three layers: a silver middle layer between two bronze layers, decorated with golden threads. The style shows strong similarities with finds from Mycenae and Crete. Large belts from the Achaean period are rare, although there is also a known example from Crete, albeit from a later period (9th century BC).

Another possible form of armor is the poncho-like corselet depicted on a stele from Mycenae. Due to the bronze colour, it appears to be made of a vulnerable fabric, but it may be reinforced with metal strips or scales, like those from Mycenae.

The most detailed depiction of a scale armour in an Achaean context can be found on an ivory gaming box from grave 58 in Enkomi, Cyprus (12th century BC). The style shows a mixture of Aegean and Eastern influences. On the box, a “feathered helmet,” a wide belt, and a scale armour are depicted. A similar depiction is found on Mycenaean pottery from Beşik Tepe (Troad).

On a crater fragment from Ugarit (Syria, ca. 1200 BC), warriors are depicted with short scale armors, neck protection, helmets, belts, greaves, and swords. Although the representation is highly stylized, the details suggest the use of metal scale armors. At the same site, many bronze scales have also been found.

Another example is a scale from grave 58 in Palaepaphos-Skales (Cyprus, ca. 1000 BC), depicting two warriors with short scale armors and other weapons. They fight against a large two-headed snake – likely a reference to the myth of Heracles and the Lernaean Hydra.

All these finds and images support the view that short scale armors with neck protection were commonly used in this region.

Scale armour was used in ancient Greece and is depicted on several Greek vases. Such armor resembled the linothorax, but was constructed of steel scales likely attached to a linen or leather undergarment. There are many depictions of hoplites on Greek pottery wearing such scale armour. A fine example of Greek scale armour can be seen on a red-figure vase from Vulci (circa 500 BC), where Achilles is shown binding his wounded Patroclus. Both are wearing a scale armour.

The Greek writer Herodotus notes that the ancient Persians also wore scale armour. He describes how the Persians wore tunics with sleeves in various colors, on which iron scales in the shape of fish scales were attached. This description clearly refers to scale armour and not to a chainmail shirt.

The Scythian mounted warriors also made use of scale armour and possibly lamellar armor, as evidenced by both illustrations and grave finds in kurgans (Scythian burial mounds). The armor was made of small plates of iron or bronze. Like the Greek linothorax, the Scythian variant consisted of breast and back plates, with separate pauldrons. Some findings suggest partial armor, where a leather shirt or a similar garment was covered with scales in certain areas—especially around the neck and upper chest.
A unique find of Scythian scale armour dates from the 8th-3rd century BC and is now part of the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It consists of a sleeveless garment made of 56 rows of hard scales, which are fastened with rough leather laces to a soft leather lining. The armor extends from the shoulders to the upper thighs, with a wide band at the waist. It wraps around the torso and overlaps on the right side. Leather laces, used to close the armor, are located on the side of the chest and in the lower back. A subordinate skirt, consisting of multiple layers of soft leather (not visible in the photo), is sewn to the inner lining along the lower edge of the armor. This skirt reached just below the knees of the wearer. The position and extent of the skirt were only revealed during the conservation process of the armor, which is still ongoing.

The lorica squamata is the most well-known type of scale armour. It is the type of scale armour that was used by the Roman army during the Roman Republic and remained in use until after the fall of Rome in 476 AD. It was made of small metal scales sewn onto a fabric backing. 

Scale armour is typically depicted with signifers (standard-bearers), aeneatores (musicians), centurions's, cavalrymen, auxiliary troops (auxilia), and also with regular legionaries. Occasionally, even the emperor was depicted with a lorica squamata. It is not precisely known when the Romans adopted scale armour, but it remained in use for about eight centuries, peaking in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. Scale armour is not often found on tombstones along the Germanic frontier. On two tombstones of the Sertorii family in Verona (a centurion and a standard-bearer), both figures are depicted with a tunic of scale armour, covering the shoulders and extending below the belt. The monument of Calidius in Carnuntum (mid-1st century) also shows a tunic of a centurion with scales. In the collection of marble portrait busts from the large Gallo-Roman villa of Chiragan near Toulouse, both Emperor Antoninus Pius and Severus wear armor of scales.

A well-crafted lorica squamata provided solid protection against blunt force, arrows, and cutting weapons. In particular, it offered better protection against slashing than the lorica hamata (chainmail). The overlapping of the scales significantly increased the protective thickness, with layers of one (11%), two (68%), and even four overlapping layers (21%).

The individual scales, called squamae, were very small and made of iron or brass. Sometimes they were coated with a white metal coating. Each scale had a 90° bend and a rib in the center. The scales were strung together with wire or laces in horizontal rows, which were then sewn or strung onto a backing.

Various scale shapes are known, such as rectangular, pointed, curved, or with a triangular end. Some scales feature 1 or 2 ribs. 

Scales were usually made of iron or copper alloys, but examples of precious metals like gold or silver have also been found. Some scales were ceremonial in nature, with decorations such as images of Mars or Minerva. Scales could also be gilded or silvered.

Another classification, developed by Maximilian von Groller-Mildan, looks at the placement of the fastening holes. Corrugations (ribbed structures) improved the stiffness of flat scales, which is still seen today in corrugated sheets.

A well-functioning lorica squamata consisted of two layers: the scale layer and an underlying protective layer against the body. This lining was essential to prevent injury from sharp wire or lace closures. Archaeological finds, such as petrified skin remnants on the inner side of scales from Carlisle, confirm the importance of such an interlayer. In a find in Carnuntum (Germany), even leather and coarse textile remnants were preserved.

Various structural variants of the armor are known. For example, tombstones (such as that of an Aquilifer of Legio XI Claudia Pia Fidelis) and reliefs (e.g., Civita Castellana) pauldrons of scales resembling the finish of lorica hamata.

The armor could be well maintained in the field. Damaged or bent scales could be removed, straightened, and replaced. Field repairs were thus possible. There is no conclusive evidence that soldiers routinely had spare scales, but it is plausible that heavily damaged armors were stripped and reused as spare parts.

In the ancient city of Satala, in the northeast of Turkey, the only known nearly complete Roman lorica squamata was excavated in 2020. It has now been fully restored. It dates from the Late Roman period (5th century AD) and is in exceptionally good condition. Although loose scales have been found more frequently, this is the first time that an almost complete specimen has been discovered.

Satala became part of the province of Armenia Minor under Emperor Vespasian (69–79 AD) and was strategically located north of the Euphrates, close to the Silk Road. The city became an important military stronghold on the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire. Under Emperor Trajan, the Legio XV Apollinaris was permanently stationed here. The fort of this legion is currently the only surviving Roman military camp on the eastern frontier of the empire.

In rare cases, the underlayer consisted of chainmail shirt (lorica hamata), which provided a double layer of protection, but this added more weight and cost. The chainmail shirt beneath the scales consisted of interlocking rings arranged in rows—closed by means of rivets, or a combination of these with solid rings stamped from metal plates. The armor could possibly be opened at the back or side, making it easier to put on, with the opening closed by cords.

A similar type of armor, where the scales are strung together without an underlayer, is known as lamellar armor. It is often difficult to determine from which type of armor a loose scale originates, as the Romans did not always use separate terms for this.