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Lorica Segmentata
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The Roman Lorica Segmentata was the Latin name coined during the Renaissance to designate a type of full upper-body armor, or iron cuirass, employed by the Roman military in the heyday of the Roman Empire and characterized by assembled parts (segmentata.) The armor consisted of broad ferrous (iron or steel) strips fastened in horizontal alignment to internal leather straps, overlapping downwards as they wrapped around the torso, fastening at the front and back.
The upper body and shoulders were protected by additional strips, 'shoulder guards', and breast- and back-plates. The form of the armor and its divisions allowed it to be stored very compactly. Archaeological scholars label the main types of lorica segmentata as the Kalkriese, named for the location in Germany where examples of its type were discovered(in use roughly between 20 B.C. and 50 C.E.), the Corbridge cuirass, examples of which were discovered in Corbridge, England (used c. 40 C.E. to 120 C.E.), and the Newstead cuirass, discovered in Newstead, Scotland (used in c. 120 C.E. to 250 C.E.). During the time of its use, the lorica segmentata was modified several times.
The lorica was composed of four sections: right and left collar sections (with shoulder guards), and right and left girdle sections that protected the lower torso. The girdle sections were suspended from the collar sections by means of straps and buckles: 4 at the inside back (2 per side), and 2 at the front on the outside. The breastplate was hinged to the mid-collar plate, which in turn was hinged to the top back plate, and below that the middle and bottom back plates hung on internal leathers. The upper shoulder guard (front, rear, and center plates hinged together), and four lesser, or outer, shoulder guards were attached to these plates by three more leathers laced together at front and back.
While legionnaires, the bulk infantry of the Roman legions, and Praetorians, were issued the lorica segmentata, the auxiliary (or allied) forces would more commonly wear the lorica hamata, "hooked armor", which was chainmail, or the lorica squamata, a type of scale armor.
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