I doubt it, but in support of it, chainmail has been around a long time, at least 1st c BC.
Been tossing it around in what passes for my brain.
It’s the knobs.
Since chainmail is so “floppy”, the knobs would be perfect to hold a section flat. An open ring of chain, slightly larger than a chosen hole, could be threaded between two rings to join them. Tension on the mail with one hand would allow the open ring, wedged against the hole, to stand “gap up” while the other hand would use a pliers to close the ring.
Could prolly be explained better, but it does make sense.
I didn’t know chain mail was around BC. Pretty sure it was expensive though. Maybe its a ring mail repair tool. Interesting.