Gregory Aldrete

Bottom line is a one centimeter thick line of thorax. So laminated or even sewn, it doesn't have to be laminated, layer of linen is about as good protection as two millimeters of bronze, which was the thickest comparable body armor of bronze at the time. And we're talking fourth century, fifth century BC here. So classical and Hellenistic Greece.

Bottom line is a one centimeter thick line of thorax. So laminated or even sewn, it doesn't have to be laminated, layer of linen is about as good protection as two millimeters of bronze, which was the thickest comparable body armor of bronze at the time. And we're talking fourth century, fifth century BC here. So classical and Hellenistic Greece.

Bottom line is a one centimeter thick line of thorax. So laminated or even sewn, it doesn't have to be laminated, layer of linen is about as good protection as two millimeters of bronze, which was the thickest comparable body armor of bronze at the time. And we're talking fourth century, fifth century BC here. So classical and Hellenistic Greece.

And that would have protected you from, let's say, random arrow strikes on the battlefield. So you could have gotten hit by arrows and they simply wouldn't have gone through. What are the benefits? Is there a major weight difference? Yes. So the benefits of this are it's much lighter than metal armor. So the line of thorax is about 11 pounds.

And that would have protected you from, let's say, random arrow strikes on the battlefield. So you could have gotten hit by arrows and they simply wouldn't have gone through. What are the benefits? Is there a major weight difference? Yes. So the benefits of this are it's much lighter than metal armor. So the line of thorax is about 11 pounds.

And that would have protected you from, let's say, random arrow strikes on the battlefield. So you could have gotten hit by arrows and they simply wouldn't have gone through. What are the benefits? Is there a major weight difference? Yes. So the benefits of this are it's much lighter than metal armor. So the line of thorax is about 11 pounds.

A bronze cuirass of comparable protection would have been about 20%. 24 to 6 pounds. A chain mail shirt would be about 28, 27 pounds. It's cooler. I mean, the Mediterranean is a hot place with the hot sun. Even today, a linen shirt is something you wear when you want to be cool. So it's much lighter. That gives your troops greater endurance on the battlefield. They can run farther, fight longer.

A bronze cuirass of comparable protection would have been about 20%. 24 to 6 pounds. A chain mail shirt would be about 28, 27 pounds. It's cooler. I mean, the Mediterranean is a hot place with the hot sun. Even today, a linen shirt is something you wear when you want to be cool. So it's much lighter. That gives your troops greater endurance on the battlefield. They can run farther, fight longer.

A bronze cuirass of comparable protection would have been about 20%. 24 to 6 pounds. A chain mail shirt would be about 28, 27 pounds. It's cooler. I mean, the Mediterranean is a hot place with the hot sun. Even today, a linen shirt is something you wear when you want to be cool. So it's much lighter. That gives your troops greater endurance on the battlefield. They can run farther, fight longer.

It's cheaper. You don't need a blacksmith who's a specialist to make it. In fact, probably, this is interesting, any woman in the ancient world could have made one of these. because they were the ones who spun thread and sewed it into fabric. So I can easily see in a household a mother making this for her son, a wife making it for her husband.

It's cheaper. You don't need a blacksmith who's a specialist to make it. In fact, probably, this is interesting, any woman in the ancient world could have made one of these. because they were the ones who spun thread and sewed it into fabric. So I can easily see in a household a mother making this for her son, a wife making it for her husband.

It's cheaper. You don't need a blacksmith who's a specialist to make it. In fact, probably, this is interesting, any woman in the ancient world could have made one of these. because they were the ones who spun thread and sewed it into fabric. So I can easily see in a household a mother making this for her son, a wife making it for her husband.

So it's a form of armor you could have made domestically that would have been maybe not the greatest armor, but pretty good, pretty comparable to bronze armor.

So it's a form of armor you could have made domestically that would have been maybe not the greatest armor, but pretty good, pretty comparable to bronze armor.

So it's a form of armor you could have made domestically that would have been maybe not the greatest armor, but pretty good, pretty comparable to bronze armor.

I mean, in terms of producing the fabric, I'm sure they could do it 10 times faster than we could, just that's a speed thing. But it's still incredibly labor-intensive. Where I think there's a big difference between our reconstruction and ancient ones is in the glue. So we ended up using a kind of least common denominator glue.

I mean, in terms of producing the fabric, I'm sure they could do it 10 times faster than we could, just that's a speed thing. But it's still incredibly labor-intensive. Where I think there's a big difference between our reconstruction and ancient ones is in the glue. So we ended up using a kind of least common denominator glue.

I mean, in terms of producing the fabric, I'm sure they could do it 10 times faster than we could, just that's a speed thing. But it's still incredibly labor-intensive. Where I think there's a big difference between our reconstruction and ancient ones is in the glue. So we ended up using a kind of least common denominator glue.

We used rabbit glue because it would have been available anywhere and it's cheap. But in the ancient world, they did have basically the equivalent of super glues. I mean, we found, for example, helmets that were fished out of a river in Germany that had metal parts glued together that after 2,000 years of immersion in water were still glued together. So they had some great glues.

We used rabbit glue because it would have been available anywhere and it's cheap. But in the ancient world, they did have basically the equivalent of super glues. I mean, we found, for example, helmets that were fished out of a river in Germany that had metal parts glued together that after 2,000 years of immersion in water were still glued together. So they had some great glues.