Bronze Age armor was sturdy enough to protect Mycenaean warriors in battle 3,500 years ago, according to research published May 22 in the journal PLOS One.
The researchers used a replica of a suit of armor found in 1960 in Dendra, a village near the site of the ancient Greek city of Mycenae, and recruited 13 marines from the Greek army to test its durability. its durability.
For decades, archaeologists wondered whether the armor, which included a helmet with wild boar tusks and a shirt consisting of many copper pieces woven together, was sturdy enough to be used in battle. “Since its discovery, the question remains whether the armor was only used for ceremonies or used in combat,” said lead researcher Andreas Flouris, professor of physiology at the University of Thessaly, Greece, and Shared associates. “The Dendra armor is considered one of the oldest complete sets of armor from the Bronze Age in Europe.”
To answer the question, the team equipped volunteers with replicas of armor and weapons, including spears and stones, and then had them complete an 11-hour Bronze Age war simulation based on the model. Historical description taken from the famous epic Iliad by Greek poet Homer about the Trojan War.
“We distilled the information needed to create a simulation of a Late Bronze Age battle, mimicking the daily activities conducted by warriors. We then used paleoclimate data to recreate the conditions Late Bronze Age environment at Troy,” Flouris and colleagues said.
Research results show that the temperature in the region during the Late Bronze Age was about 18 – 20 degrees Celsius with annual relative humidity from 70 to 80%. The researchers created replica armor using a gilded metal mixture of copper and zinc, the alloy that most closely resembles the original material. The replica closely follows the exact dimensions of the ancient armor down to every curve and perforation, weighing 23 kg when completed. In addition to the simulated armor, the volunteers also followed the same diet as the Mycenaean warriors before battle, including bread, beef, goat cheese, green olives, onions and red wine.
In the test, volunteers participated in a variety of confrontations, including dueling swords, warriors versus chariots, remote attacks… The armor did not limit combat ability or cause fatigue for user. Simulation proves that armor was used for combat thousands of years ago. According to the research team, Mycenaean warriors were the most fully equipped at that time and were certainly formidable opponents.