Lorica hamata

Detail of metal links. Replica from second century.

Roman soldier 275 a.C. from a northern province.

The lorica hamata is a type of mail armour used during the Roman Republic at late periods as a standard-issue armour for the 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 'Lithorax' 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. 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 5AD, the lorica hamata became less common as lorica segmentata was much cheaper and quicker to make - an important fact when there were so many men to arm. However, some African and Asian legions are thought to have kept it until it became standard issue again in the last years of the Empire.