A 3,500-year-old Mycenaean bronze suit of armour discovered in the Greek village of Dendra may have been used in combat and not just for ritual purposes as previously thought.
Volunteer Marines wearing replica Dendra armor during a mock battle during a demonstration study. Image credit: Andreas Flouris / Marija Marković.
One of the oldest armors discovered in Europe is a 3,500-year-old suit of armor found near the village of Dendra, a few kilometers from ancient Mycenae in southern Greece.
Since its discovery in 1960 by a team of Greek and Swedish archaeologists, it has been unclear whether it was ceremonial clothing or gear suitable for combat.
This question has important implications for understanding warfare in Late Bronze Age Europe, yet there is no historical record of the use of this style of armour.
In a new study, Professor Andreas Floris from the University of Thessaly and his colleagues combined historical and experimental evidence to investigate the combat suitability of Dendra armour.
The researchers recruited 13 volunteers from the Greek Marine Corps, outfitted them with replica Dendra armour and Bronze Age weapons, and had them carry out 11 hours of simulated Bronze Age combat protocols.
This battle simulation was developed based on the historical records of Homer. Iliad Additionally, we add physiological and environmental evidence to approximate the typical diet, activities, and operations of a Mycenaean army.
Testing has shown that the replicated Dendra Armor does not restrict a warrior's combat capabilities, nor does it place undue strain on the wearer.
These results suggest that Dendra armour was battle-hardened and that the Mycenaeans' powerful influence on Mediterranean history was due in part to their armour technology.
To complement these results, the authors developed freely available software that allows for the simulation of combat conditions and allows testing the hypothetical effectiveness of the armor in more diverse scenarios.
“The armour worn by our volunteers had the same dimensions as the Bronze Age originals and weighed roughly the same,” Professor Floris said.
“We also monitored calorie intake based on the Homeric diet (about 4,443 calories), which Iliad“It linked calorie expenditure and the stress placed on the volunteers' bodies in typical Greek summer temperatures of 30-36°C.”
“As the 11-hour combat protocol began, we measured heart rate, oxygen consumption, core body temperature, fluid loss and muscle function.”
“We found that this armor allows complete flexibility of movement and does not place undue physiological stress on the body.”
“This means that, despite previous views that classified the armour as ceremonial clothing, it could have been worn for extended periods during battle by healthy individuals.”
“Sixty years have passed since the discovery of Dendra armour, and we now know that, although seemingly cumbersome, it was not only flexible enough to permit nearly all of a warrior's movements on foot, but also durable enough to protect the wearer from most blows.”
of result Published online in the journal PLoS One.
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AD Floris others2024. Analysis of Greek prehistoric full-body armour combat based on physiological principles: a series of studies using thematic analysis, human experiments and numerical simulations. PLoS One 19(5): e0301494; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301494
Source: www.sci.news
