Laminated Linen Protected Alexander the Great

[Adsos Letter]

Source: DiscoveryNews
By Rossella Lorenzi

A Kevlar-like armor might have helped Alexander the Great (356–323 B.C.) conquer nearly the entirety of the known world in little more than two decades, according to new reconstructive archaeology research.

Presented at the annual meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America in Anaheim, Calif., the study suggests that Alexander and his soldiers protected themselves with linothorax, a type of body armor made by laminating together layers of linen.

"While we know quite a lot about ancient armor made from metal, linothorax remains something of a mystery since no examples have survived, due to the perishable nature of the material," Gregory Aldrete, professor of history and humanistic studies at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, told Discovery News.

"Nevertheless, we have managed to show that this linen armor thrived as a form of body protection for nearly 1,000 years, and was used by a wide variety of ancient Mediterranean civilizations," Aldrete said.

http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/linothorax-alexander-great-armor.html

[omega minimo]

1. fascinating. strong and lightweight.

[orion007]

2. Wow, and it took until 1975 for " American Body Armor " to

create a vest the K-15 with 15 layers of Kevlar.

[bertman]

3. Very interesting. I remember reading that during one of his last battles in India, Alexander

received seven arrow wounds when he led his attack over the ramparts of the enemy stronghold.

He was also an incredible tactician, who was unafraid of using new formations and taking huge risks.

One more tidbit: many of his warriors were in their 60's and some were in their 70's. Parmenius, his famous cavalry general was in his 70's.

Recommend. Thanks for posting this, Adsos Letter.

[eppur_se_muova]

4. "Kevlar-like"? Nah. Rather, a composite material, which, in a way, is more interesting. nt

[Odin2005]

5. That is SOOO cool!