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Modern soldiers test ancient Greek armour to show it worked for war
New Scientist ^ | May 22, 2024 | Jeremy Hsu

Posted on 05/28/2024 4:13:51 PM PDT by SunkenCiv

An experiment inspired by Homer's description of combat in The Iliad tested the capabilities of the Dendra armour suit from Greece's Bronze Age
Modern military volunteers donned replicas of ancient Greek armour and engaged in exercises inspired by Homer's epic poem The Iliad. The demonstration shows how elite Bronze Age warriors could have fought in heavy protective gear during sustained combat.

The experiment's results strongly suggest that the 3500-year-old Dendra armour suit – one of the oldest complete suits of metal armour from Europe's Bronze Age – was indeed suitable for battle. Some scholars have argued that it was merely a ceremonial outfit for the Mycenaean civilisation that once dominated mainland Greece and the Aegean Sea's islands.

Andreas Flouris at the University of Thessaly in Greece and his colleagues recruited modern Greece's Hellenic Marines to wear 23-kilogram Dendra armour replicas as each participant walked, ran, rode on a replica chariot and performed combat moves involving a sword, spear, bow and arrow and even a stone.

These activities followed Homer's descriptions of heavily armoured elite warriors, surrounded by bands of followers, roaming the battlefield, periodically attacking the enemy and retreating to safety behind the main battle lines to rest and eat, says co-author Ken Wardle at the University of Birmingham in the UK.

"Homeric fighting activity was characterised by hit-and-run tactics, a form of physical effort described in modern physiology as 'high-intensity interval exercise'," says Flouris.

(Excerpt) Read more at newscientist.com ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: ageofheroes; armor; bronzeage; dendraarmor; godsgravesglyphs; greece; homer; iliad; mycenaeans
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To: HartleyMBaldwin
Not to mention it degrades in the sunlight so you would have to sew a nice cover for it. :)

Fiberglass actually is used to make ballistic armor.

21 posted on 05/28/2024 7:43:39 PM PDT by Harmless Teddy Bear ( Roses are red, Violets are blue, I love being on the government watch list, along with all of you.)
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To: marktwain

The Chinese used quilted cotton armor. It could even stop arrows, I think I read.


22 posted on 05/28/2024 7:43:46 PM PDT by jimtorr
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To: SauronOfMordor

So did their Grandfathers in World War II, their great great grandfathers in the Civil War, eh cetera. It is probably the most weight that a healthy man can carry for long distances.


23 posted on 05/29/2024 3:59:34 AM PDT by jmcenanly (You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.” ― Winston)
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To: SunkenCiv

Ancient Mycenaean armour tested by Marines for extended combat 43 sec
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm2ZR25xU8M

The replica armor is 5 kg heavier than the original.


24 posted on 05/29/2024 4:57:08 AM PDT by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now its your turn)
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To: CopperTop

Ha... Ha... Fallout. They did an excellent job on season 1 though 8 episodes wasn’t enough. Come on season 2.


25 posted on 05/29/2024 8:24:52 AM PDT by LastDayz (A blunt and brazen Texan. I will not be assimilated.)
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