The lorica segmentata

The lorica segmentata is an iconic type of protection used by the Roman legionaries. In this blog, we delve into the lorica segmentata and the development of segment armor. 

In Latin, the name lorica segmentata translates to "segmented breastplate." However, this name was not given to the armor by the Romans but by scholars in the 16th century. The name that the Romans gave to this type of armor is unclear. It is evident that the name contained the word "lorica." However, the second part of the name remains unknown. Some scholars think the name was lorica laminata, based on the fact that the Romans called metal plates "lamina," although there is no convincing evidence for any theory about the name of the armor.

The plates of the lorica segmentata armor were made by overlapping steel plates that were riveted to leather straps. It is unknown from which animal the leather was sourced and whether it was tanned or white-colored. The strips were arranged horizontally on the body, overlapping downwards, and they enclosed the torso in two halves that were fastened at the front and back. Additional strips, pauldrons, breastplates, and backplates protected the upper body and shoulders. The construction of the lorica segmentata allowed it to be stored very compactly, as it could be separated into four sections, each of which could be folded upon itself. The fastenings (buckles, hinges, hooks, rings, etc.) were made of brass. In later variants (circa 75–80 AD), the fastenings of the armor were simplified. Bronze hinges were replaced by simple rivets, and belt buckles used small hooks.

Although the armor is often associated with the Romans, the technology of the lorica segmentata was much older. Similar armor was already used by the Late Mycenaean civilization in the 15th century BC, with originals found in Dendra. Laminated armor was also used by the Parthians, Dacians, and Scythians before it came into use by the Romans from the 1st century AD. Some segment armor was combined with scale armor. 4th-century BC fragments of this have been found on the steppe. The manica also utilized the same technique as the lorica segmentata and was used by the Romans to protect the arm. 

The exact moment when the Romans introduced segment armor is unknown, but it possibly happened after the defeat of Crassus at Carrhae in 53 BC. Another possibility is that the armor was introduced in the year 21 AD after the revolt of Julius Sacrovir and Julius Florus. Archaeological research in Kalkriese confirmed that soldiers during the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD wore the lorica segmentata. This suggests that the armor must have been adopted before that time. Around the middle of the 3rd century, the lorica segmentata fell out of favor with the Roman army, although it seems that it was still used sporadically. 

It is important to understand that the archaeological finds of lorica segmentata are limited and that the types of this breastplate varied over time. Most of the found remnants consist of loose fragments, such as hinges or single plates, making it difficult to get a complete picture of the original armors. From 9 BC to 43 AD, Roman soldiers primarily wore the so-called Dangstetten-Kalkriese-Vindonissa types. Afterwards, from 69 to 100 AD, the Corbridge-Carnuntum type was used, and from 164 to 180 AD, the Newstead type. Although the different types overlapped in use, the use of lorica segmentata was geographically spread within the Roman army. Nevertheless, the lorica hamata (chainmail shirt) always seems to have been more commonly used because the segmental armors were often more complex and maintenance-sensitive due to the many loose parts and hinges. This suggests that the lorica segmentata probably required more maintenance than the simpler to maintain lorica hamata.

The later lorica segmentata from Newstead, for example, had fewer parts and hinges than the older specimens from Corbridge, suggesting that attempts were made over time to simplify the design. Fragments of lorica segmentata have also been found in auxilia camps, raising the possibility that auxiliae sometimes also used this type of armour, or that legionaries were sometimes stationed in the auxilia camps. Thus, the use of the different types sometimes overlaps, highlighting the complexity of developments within Roman military equipment.

It is even suggested that there might have been a fourth type of lorica segmentata, which covered the body with segmented armor and scale-shaped shoulder protection. This type is known from a heavily damaged statue from Alba Iulia in Romania, as well as some fragments found in Augsburg. This type of armor would have been used from around 14 BC to the late 3rd century AD.

The most significant archaeological discovery of lorica segmentata was made in 1964 at the site of the Roman fort Corstopitum in Northumberland (Corbridge-on-Tyne) near Hadrian's Wall. Here, two complete sets of this type armour were found in a wooden box, buried under the floor of a wooden building from the Flavian period. This is the only place where a reasonably complete set of this armour has been found, although copper buckles, hinges, hooks, and loops of this armour are also frequently found at Roman military sites from the 1st century throughout Europe and the Golan Heights in Israell, indicating the widespread use of the lorica segmentata (Peterson 1992: 39). The discovery, named the 'Corbridge Hoard', included among other things two poorly oxidized iron loricae segmentatae, wrapped in cloth. The involvement of Robinson led to a complete reconstruction of these armors, which provides a valuable contribution to our understanding of what the segmented breastplate actually looked like.

On basic of the archaeological findings, two different patterns of lorica segmentata from the 1st century emerged, known as the Corbridge types 'A' and 'B'. Type 'A', for instance, had a larger breastplate and more hinges, while type 'B', with a wider breastplate and seven pairs of girdle plates instead of eight, contained fewer hinges. In type 'B', the buckles that connected the neck pieces to the girdle plates were replaced by hooks that went through loops on the chest and back plates. Robinson (1975: 180) further suggests that the wider breastplate of type 'B' offered greater defense for the chest, although it did not fit perfectly at the sides and the front of the neck.

Soldiers wearing the lorica segmentata are depicted on the Arch of Constantine, a monument erected in Rome in 315 AD. However, it is suggested that these images originate from an earlier monument of Marcus Aurelius, parts of which Constantine the Great incorporated into his arch. The last known use of the armor therefore dates from the 4th century.

Other known depictions of the lorica segmentata come from the Column of Trajan from 98-117 AD. They are depicted on the Column of Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180 AD) and the Column of Antoninus Pius (161 AD). The tombstone of Sextus Valerius Severus in Mainz 39 AD contains an image of a manica. It is also seen on the relief with legionaries from Saintes from the 1st century AD (possibly wearing auxiliary helmets). 

The manica was a  type of vambrace made with a technique similar to the lorica segmentata. The vambrace is made of segmented armor where the different steel segments are fastened together with leather straps on the inside. It was worn by gladiators, infantry, and even heavy cavalry up to the period of the late Roman Empire. This type of arm harness was not used exclusively by the Romans: the Parthians, Achaemenid, and Sassanid Persians also used it. 

The term manica is used only once to refer to a vambrace, when Juvenal describes the armour of a gladiator. In Ancient Greece, Xenophon uses the terms kheiridas and kheira in the Cyropaedia and his work "On Cavalry", both describing the armour as a sleeve that covered the entire upper arm from shoulder to hand.

The development of the manica was likely related to the evolution of cavalry warfare. Originally, Indo-Aryan steppe peoples, such as the Iranians, had a strong equestrian culture that evolved into cavalry warfare. During horseback combat, the arms and legs were vulnerable parts of the body. Therefore, the manica likely developed to protect these body parts. According to Xenophon, "kheires" consisting of metal 'rings' worn on the bridle arm of a cavalryman were a relatively recent invention that first emerged during the Achaemenid period, around the end of the 5th century BC. Hoop-shaped segments became particularly popular for use on both the arms and legs of cavalrymen in the Saka, Parthian, and Kushan kingdoms. This is evident in artworks from the Parthian period and in excavations in Central Asia. The oldest finds of manica come from Central Asia, excavated at the sites of Ai Khanoum, Chirik Rabat, and Taxila. The first two examples date from the 2nd century BC, the last from the 1st century BC. The armour of Ai Khanoum included an integrated breastplate to which the manica was attached, while the armour from Taxila was likely for the thigh. The manica was known in Anatolia from the 2nd century BC, as evidenced by a relief from the temple of Athena in Pergamon. Fragments of segmental iron armors have been found in Pergamon and dated to the early 1st century BC, although it is uncertain whether these were part of an arm armor or a armour for the upper body. Fragments of an iron manica for the legs have been found in the excavations at Gamla, dated to the second half of the 1st century BC. 

It is unknown from when the Romans began using the manica. This development may have been related to the development of the lorica segmentata, which was made using a similar technique. It is certain that the manica was already in use during the siege of Gamla in 67 AD, where a complete shoulder piece for a manica was found in the equipment of L. Magus. This corresponds with Robinson's proposal that the manica was first used by gladiators at the end of the 1st century AD, or the first half of the 1st century AD, as proposed by Bishop.

It is not clear how widespread the use of the manica was during Trajan's Dacian Wars. Manicae are depicted as a supplement to metal body armor on various reliefs of that campaign, including the Tropaeum Traiani at Adamclisi and Trajan's Column. Trajan's Column in Rome seems to suggest that the lorica segmentata and the manica were only used by Roman legionaries and not by auxiliary troops. However, the Tropaeum Traiani, considered a better representation of the reality of the equipment, shows Roman legionaries and heavy infantry auxiliaries equipped in the same way — both wearing lorica squamata (scale armour) with manica vambraces. The manica was also used in combination with the lorica segmentata, and it is not inconceivable that this arm harness was also used in combination with the lorica hamata. 

Finds of manicae have been made in Carlisle, Trimontium (Newstead), Carnuntum, Richborough, Coria (Corbridge), Eining (Abusina) on the Danube frontier, Leon, and Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa. A very well-preserved manica was found in 2010-11 in a soldier's barracks in the Roman fort of Steincheshof on the Limes, dated to the 1st-2nd century AD. These finds suggest that manicae were used by the Roman army during the 1st century AD, independently of the Dacian wars, where the traditional interpretation was that the manica was introduced to protect soldiers against the falx: a long sickle-shaped weapon. 

M.C. Bishop cites as probable components a shoulder plate, approximately 35 metal strips (iron or copper alloy), 90-120 leather rivets, 3 or 4 internal leather bands, and a padded lining. The lining was likely a separate component to prevent it from being torn by the movable metal plates. The metal strips were about 25 to 30 mm wide and 0.35 to 0.5 mm thick; they were longer at the top of the arm. Each strip had holes at the bottom, where copper rivets went through from the inside to hold the leather straps in place. It also had a hole at each end without a rivet, probably for an organic attachment.

The usual arm position depicted for Roman sword fighters is with the upper arm vertical and close to the torso, the forearm extended horizontally with the thumb on top. The plates were probably not long enough to cover the entire circumference of the arm, but would extend from the upper arm to the thumb, with an unprotected area at the back. The plates overlap upwards, which would deflect a blow to the inside of the elbow, which had a particularly dense covering of multiple plates.

A type of glove related to the manica has also been found. This may have been the precursor to the manica that served as arm harness. It is depicted on a bas-relief from Civita Castellana from the 1st century BC, located in the Lazio region of Italy. Unfortunately, the bas-relief is not fully preserved, making it difficult to say how much of the hand was precisely covered. Nevertheless, it can be stated with certainty that it was a type of scale or segment armor. During this period, the equipment of the Roman army underwent significant changes, with the style still heavily influenced by the military traditions of the Republic.

However, there are also other examples of equipment from the 1st century AD that contain more archaic elements. For example, there is a mosaic of a praetorian and the tombstone of centurion Marcus Favonius Facilis from the XXth legion, whose armor is sometimes interpreted as a linothorax. This provides reason to assume that the glove from Civita Castellana may also be a correct interpretation of the military equipment from that time. A manica has also been found in Carlisle, which is the most complete iron manica discovered to date. The plates of this manica reach to the wrists, and X-ray analysis has shown that its end should almost completely protect the hand. It is possible that within the Roman Empire there were different subtypes of manicae regarding hand protection. They likely varied in height and length, covering the wrist and shoulder in different ways. There was also room for customization, depending on the owner and his main armor. Nonetheless, some common features can be identified, such as the arrangement of the manica plates in "overlap", the absence of a full closure around the hand, and the widened upper plate.

It is unclear whether both the lorica segmentata and the manica were used exclusively by legionaries or also by auxiliary troops. Monuments usually depict auxiliaries in chainmail shirt with oval shields, while legionaries often wear the lorica segmentata, as depicted on Trajan's Column. However, some historians believe these depictions are more symbolic than accurate. On the Adamclisi Tropaeum, the lorica segmentata is not depicted at all, and both legionaries and auxiliaries are shown with lorica squamata. There is debate whether the armor was used only in the western part of the empire, as there have never been archaeological finds in the east. It is also unclear from when the lorica segmentata and the manica were adopted by the Roman armies. Both may have been introduced around the same time. It is a well-known hypothesis that the manica should be particularly associated with the Dacian War during the 1st century AD. However, there is no evidence of this. Strikes with the flax were possibly mainly aimed from above (over the Roman shield). Long Celtic spear heads could also be used in battle to cut the sword arms of legionaries, which did not make the Dacian campaigns unique.

Remarkably, on the columns of Trajan and Antoninus Pius, for example, groups of legionaries are all equipped with the lorica segmentata. On both columns, some of these legionaries also wear the typical Attic 'praetorian helmets', which could suggest that the lorica segmentata was primarily worn by elite troops. However, this does not seem to be the case since the recovered lorica segmentatae have all been found in campaign areas at the borders of the Empire.

It is plausible that legionaries in different legions were partially equipped with armor such as the lorica segmentata and the manica. However, the lorica hamata likely remained the most used type of body protection.