Scale armor (armour), Egyptian scale armor

[Todd Feinman]

Soon there will be information posted here about ancient Egyptian scale armor!

[Todd Feinman]

Hello all,
I am making a coat of late Egyptian New Kingdom scale armor, of the type that might have been worn during Ramses III's battles with the Sea Peoples. The armor foundation is three layers of heavy unbleached linen, sewn with heavy blue and red waxed linen thread, in a bag tunic pattern which reaches to my waist. It will tie at both sides with an overlap. This would seem a logical pattern, especially if the armors were manufactured by the royal workshops and kept in armories until they were distributed as kit. The bottom and neck will be edged with leather, and the arm holes are edged with a strip of madder and cochineal dyed linen (kermes). I don't believe these types of scale tunics had attached sleeves. In depictions, there only appear to be one or two rows of scales on these "sleeves". A bag tunic creates short "sleeves" when worn, just the right size to attach several rows of scales to protect the shoulders. I do believe the long coats of scale (based on long bag tunics) did often have attached sleeves though not always. I believe that many of the depictions in reliefs of striped jerkins on heavy infantry depicted at Karnak and Medinet Habu, are rawhide, and or Bronze scale armor, though I am sure that some are depictions of quilted armor too. No complete suits of Egyptian bronze scale have survived, so my goal will be to create a probable type which would have been acceptable to the Egyptian army at that time, either created in Egypt, or acquired as booty. The scales I am using are of phosphor bronze, 1 mm thick, with a boss and four holes, in a pattern identical to those found in the tomb of Sheshonq (depicted in Yadin's "The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands"), which are now at the Brooklyn Museum. Brooklyn Museum's reconstruction has the scales laced in a horizontal overlap, which I believe is wrong. A book published in Germany in 1936 (the title, and a bibliography forthcoming), shows drawings of the original find, and the holes in the leather backing (I'm using linen) indicate a side by side lacing system. I will be using waxed gut to attach the scales (IMO a perfect and authentic material for this, given the size of the round holes). More to follow! And pics too.

[Dan Howard]

I think Yadin's lacing is incorrect also. How about using the criss-cross lacing on the leather scale armour found by Carter in Tut's tomb? It is simpler and there is a precedent for it.

[Todd Feinman]

Hi Dan!
I was hoping I could lure you into this thread.
I would love to use the criss cross interlace found on Tut's armor,
but I have some concerns. First, since I plan on using waxed gut cord
I would worry that the constant movement over the edges of the holes
in the scales, would cause the cord to fray --with linen cord this would be even more of a problem. Also, were a cord to break, it could, until repaired cause many other attachments in the row to weaken. I believe that while linen cord was ideal for rawhide scales, and could be used to attach scales in patterns which would cause groups of scales to work well in concert, metal scales would best be attached to a backing by keeping them somewhat fixed in their places (for example by double stitching them with gut). Also it would be best to attach no more than around four or five scales with the same piece of gut, as if it ever broke, it would be easy to repair such a small section. The Romans had similar ideas, fixing scales together with wire or strips of metal, and sewing the rows to the backing, for example. While I am aware that there were metal scales found in Hatussas which had rectangular holes meant for linen laces (seen in Osprey's Battle of Kadesh", the small round holes in Sheshonq's scales scream GUT! To me. Also, I plan on having the scales go squarely up the garment, not curve around the neck, thus I will have to consider the square join at the top, as well as the configuration of the "sleeve scales", and how to protect their join with the body of the garment (I'm looking at Connoly's picture on the front of "The Ancient Greece of Odysseus". Ideas PLEASE!!?
I am half way done with the scale armor helmet (looks really formidable)!
Also I have started on another Egyptian shield, after getting a great article published in ZAS, "Some Remarks on Ancient Egyptian Shields". It has answered
all of my questions, and I am now embarking on a super duper authentic shield re-creation!!

[Dan Howard]

If you are going to use gut then your idea is probably best.

Regarding the Egyptian shield you've got me curious. I don't suppose you could send me a copy of that article?

[Todd Feinman]

Dan,
I'd be happy to send a copy to you via snail mail!
Only problem I have with Alessandra's article, is that she says
that probably all shields depicted with bosses were completely made
of bronze! She thought that it would be too difficult to attach a bronze boss
to a wooden hide covered shield !! If you give me a mailing address,
I'll send you a copy. I am still trying to get a copy of a picture, which wasn't sent
via interlibrary loan with the article...

[Gregory J. Liebau]

I'd ask for a copy too, but after you said that boss thing, I've become scared of the idea of reading it, so I'll be happy to not have it:p

-Gregory-

[Dan Howard]

What about a wicker shield covered with hide covered with a bronze facing?

[Todd Feinman]

I received the picture of the shield handle from the library with the ZAS holding. Looks like the author od the shield article misidentified a parrying shield as a surviving shield handle ! It looks similar to the one
My Webpage. Oh well... I will still probably use a wooden horizontal handle bound to shield through holes like those on Tut's shield,
or maybe use a heavy piece of rawhide & leather. I'd love to make a wicker, leather, and bronze shield, but will have to buy more bronze first (it's being sucked up by the helmet and cuirass now). I have put a leather lining in the Egyptian helm I commissioned from Craig too! Pics of all this stuff will eventually be forthcoming. Are you aware of any finds of leather scale (not rawhide) from ANE Bronze Age especially Egypt? I have a lot of scrap leather left. By the way I think you are right on, with your analysis of Homer's descriptions of a ROUND shield.

[Todd Feinman]

Here is a link to the Egyptian parrying shield, which I screwed up the above hyperlink to.
http://pittweb.prm.ox.ac.uk/Kent/shieweap/.../currinf22.html

[Todd Feinman]

As for the bag tunic, the one I made is actually four layers of heavy linen, since it will be the backing for the hundreds of bronze scales I have made the scales will radiate around the neck, overlapping slightly the straight rows of scales coming up from the front and back. there will be about three or four rows of small scales for sleeves over the shoulders (very much like some of the scale vests shown on Salimbeti's site!!). I will edge it with leather. It will tie with an overlap at each side, all the way down from below the arms to the hips. Tomorrow I'll post pics of many of the scales I have made for it.
Clothing bag tunics were either down to the ankles ( the kilt would go over this) or down to the hip. they would be sewn up the sides until they reached below the arms. I have seen reliefs with side tying armor, so I am making mine logically the same way.

[Todd Feinman]

Wow guys!
I think I have figured out how the scales on Tut's leather scale
armor were made!! AND, how cuir bouilli was really made! Whoopee! I cut some vegetable tanned leather about 2mm thick to the appropriate size of the larger scales on Tut's leather armor:
http://www.ashmol.ox.ac.uk/perl/gi-ca-qmak...qno=1&curr=587a
and let it soak in very warm but not boiling water for about 5 minutes.
I then took it out and put it suede side up on the wooden plank shown below, over the groove longitudinally. I then hammered the back of the scale until it was compressed and flatter, for about a minute. I took the scale off the plank and dried it in an oven for three minutes at 350 degrees. The result is a flexible but amazingly strong and dense scale, which is not brittle at all!! YAHOO!
The medial ridge is perfect, and the scale is STRONG. These are easy to make too.
I will now coat the scale in Safflower oil (Egyptians had it), and let this "drying oil" dry. then I will get some safflower pigment in oil (red!!), and paint the back of it.
The result (after I put the appropriate holes in it) should be a precise replica of a Tut scale. Also, an oiled scale like this ought to appear somewhat translucent after several thousand years, just like Thomas Hulit said they appeared! I believe that this process is also the "Philosopher's Stone" of cuir bouilli of later periods too.


Attached Image (Click thumbnail to expand)

[Todd Feinman]

Tut Scale... The medial ridge is off center as on the originals (to allow for horizontal overlap).

Attached Image (Click thumbnail to expand)

[Todd Feinman]

Tools. Plank is Ironwood.

Attached Image (Click thumbnail to expand)

[Dan Howard]

Looks good to me. Keep going.

BTW. That Egyptian shield article arrived. Many thanks.