This article is part of the series on: Military of ancient Rome (portal) |
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| Structural history | |||
| Roman army (unit types and ranks, legions, auxiliaries, generals) |
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| Roman navy (fleets, admirals) | |||
| Campaign history | |||
| Lists of wars and battles | |||
| Decorations and punishments | |||
| Technological history | |||
| Military engineering (castra, siege engines, arches, roads) |
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| Personal equipment | |||
| Political history | |||
| Strategy and tactics | |||
| Infantry tactics | |||
| Frontiers and fortifications (limes, Hadrian's Wall) |
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The lorica hamata is a type of mail armour used during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire up to the 2nd century, when it was briefly replaced by lorica segmentata, but then was reintroduced in the 4th century CE. It was a standard-issue armour for both primary legionaries and secondary troops (Auxilia). They were mostly manufactured out of bronze or iron. It alternated with rows of closed washer-like rings, and riveted rings running horizontally, this produced a very flexible, reliable and strong armour. Each ring had an inside diameter of about 5 mm, and an outside diameter of about 7 mm. The shoulders of the lorica hamata had flaps that were similar to the Greek 'Linothorax' which ran from about mid-back to the front of the torso, and were connected by brass or iron hooks which connected to studs riveted through the ends of the flaps. Several thousand rings would have gone into one lorica hamata. The knowledge on the manufacturing of mail may have come from the Celts, though the first documented contact occurred during the invasion of Spain. There were several versions of this type of armour, specialized for different military duties such as skirmishers, cavalry and spearmen. Although labor-intensive to manufacture, it is thought that, with good maintenance, they could be continually used for several decades. Around the 2nd century A.D., the lorica hamata was still common amongst the Legionary soldiers. The lorica hamata remained standard issue for all soldiers, including auxilia. Later versions had sleeves and expanded to the knees unlike the earlier lorica hamata.
