Roman Plate Armour

Bishop, M. C.; Rava, Giuseppe (ILT)

ISBN 10: 1472851870 / ISBN 13: 9781472851871

Published by Osprey Publishing, 2022

About this Item

Seller Inventory # 44614809-n

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Roman Plate Armour
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing
• Publication Date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1472851870
• ISBN 13: 9781472851871
• Binding: Soft cover
• Illustrator: Rava, Giuseppe
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Fully illustrated, this book investigates the articulated plate armour worn by Roman legionaries.

First named by Renaissance historians studying the reliefs on Trajan's Column, lorica segmentata evaded successful attempts to reconstruct it until a series of important archaeological finds in the 20th century revealed how it worked and the truth of its extended chronology. The earliest finds date from the late 1st century BC, and its discovery at Kalkriese in Germany shows how rapidly it was adopted. At the same time, discoveries in Spain and Britain showed that, despite its apparent fragility, it continued in use into the 4th century AD.

The spectacular find of six halves of cuirasses in a chest at Corbridge in 1964 was later matched by the rare discovery of a complete set of this armour at Kalkriese. The Corbridge find provided the context to interpret and reconstruct earlier finds. There is now years of experience gleaned from reenactors over the practical strengths and weaknesses of this form of armour. At the same time, scientific analysis has provided insights into the technology behind this revolutionary form of armour so characteristic of the Roman Army.

Featuring specially commissioned artwork and drawing upon the latest findings, this study lifts the veil on the formidable plate armour used by the legionaries of Imperial Rome.

About the Authors

Writer, publisher and archaeologist M.C. Bishop is an authority on all aspects of Ancient Rome at war, with particular emphasis on arms and armour of the era. He has written, co-written or edited dozens of books and articles on the subject, and leads tours of Hadrian's Wall and other Roman sites.

Giuseppe Rava was born in Faenza in 1963, and took an interest in all things military from an early age. Entirely self-taught, Giuseppe has established himself as a leading military history artist, and is inspired by the works of the great military artists, such as Detaille, Meissonier, Röchling, Lady Butler, Ottenfeld and Angus McBride. He lives and works in Italy.