The Lorica

The lorica (referred to in modern terms as the lorica segmentata, became a standard form of armour for imperial Roman soldiers, although other forms of armour were also just as popular and in many places more popular than the lorica. These include forms of maille (lorica hamata), scale armour (lorica squamata), and the lorica plumata, which consisted of very tiny feather like scale plates attached to a maille undercoat. The lorica shown here is the earlier form designated by H. Russell Robinson as "Corbridge type A". It had buckled and straps joining the upper chest plates to the girdle plates, whereas later versions had nonferrous metal hooks which were stronger at those locations.



Click below for diagrams of the three types of Loricae found at Corbridge. Diagrams were taken from H. Russell Robinson's ARMOUR OF IMPERIAL ROME.

CORBRIDGE TYPE A CORBRIDGE TYPES B & C

ARMOUR This is the first Roman lorica (armour harness) and Imperial Gallic helmet I have made for use with the Greek ballista team. The Imperial Gallic helmet design was adopted by the Roman legions from the Gauls as their standard infantry helmet design. It is of the type "J" Hungarian style as classified by Roman armour archaeologist H. Russell Robinson except that the the brow ridge guard and eyebrows embossed on the helmet were positioned lower and more forward on the helmet to conform to the positions of those same features found more commonly on the average Roman helmet. The lorica segmentata is of the Corbridge type "A" design which is one of the older Roman segmented plate armours but was the most popular style in the legions. The scutum is made of birch covered with a layer of thin leather on each side. The front is also covered with an additional layer of linen. Both sides are painted. The edges are fitted with bronze which was formed in pieces by hand. The corners had to be annealed a few times as they were formed to prevent wrinkles. Bronze makes for a superior edge than brass since it can be work hardened until it is very hard and springy. The Balteus is a bronze plaqued belt decorated with a studded apron. The ends of the apron have terminals made of bronze, and are made in this example in a shape found specifically in Britain.





The rings and leather ties shown hold the right and left halves of the lorica together at the front and back of the harness. The ones shown have a fishtail shape. Many different shapes have been found. The hooks are only fitted to the uppermost six out of the eight girdle plates on this type of lorica. Research I have done indicates that armour fittings were orichalcum (brass). Orichalcum was reserved explicitly for coins, and some fittings that have been discovered to be made from it are suspected to have been made from melted down coins because the metal was easily obtained and bronze was not readily available. This is strange since bronze is a more popular metal for use by the Romans for just about everything, and it is superior in strength and workability to orichalcum. The fittings shown are made from bronze even though brass wasmore commonly used.




The underside of the shoulder plates shows the rivets and thin square bronze washers that hold the leather straps to the iron plates. The inside of the plates are typically protected by a scale coating. It this case, black paint was used to prevent rust. If you view the front and back sides of the entire lorica, you can see where the rosettes indicate the position of a few of the strap rivets that hold the should plates together and the shoulder plates to the upper chest and back plates. The straps should be soft and flexible, yet tough and not susceptible to stretching.