Alexander the Great and the Linothorax

[Jochen]

"Invulnerable in linen shirt

Alexander the Great and his soldiers were protected on the battlefield by a special linen armour, the Linothorax. The Linothorax now was reconstructed by historians of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay for the first time. They used flax fibers, which they harvested, broke, spun and wove by hand as it was done in antiquity.
Because the Linothorax obviously was composed of several glued layers of tissue, the team tested 2 different glues which were made from stuff which was available in antiquity: one made from seed of flax, the other made from the skin of rabbits.
Afterwards the armour was mauled with all what could be found in ancient armouries. Result: Alexander the Great and his men had hardly to fear any weapon! The glued line had similar characteristics like Kevlar which today is used for bulletproof vests.
Furthermore the Linothorax weighed only one third of the metal armour, gave the warrior greater free moving space, consisted of easy obtainable material and could be made in mass production.
Before campaigns in rain-laden regions the armour just had to be impregnated with beeswax, pine resin or wool wax."
(Translation of an article from 'Der Spiegel', 1.2.10)

Best regards

[Lloyd Taylor]

Fascinating. Was the Linothorax technology known only to the Macedonians at the time of ATG?  If so, it might contribute to the explanation of why his army seems to have suffered comparatively small losses in the historical accounts when compared to the opposition.

[mihali84]

Simply amazing technology for the time, they must of felt invincible!  That must be how some of his soldiers were able to survive the entire campaign, aside from skill, and a little luck.  I'm sure the Linothorax material was worn on other parts of the body, perhaps lining helmets?  Very interesting, thank you for sharing the great information Jochen.

[Lloyd Taylor]

A bit more of the background to Linothrax is to be found here including the reference to the research noted by Der Spiegel  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linothorax  According to this the technology was widely know and appreciated.  Also note it apparently softened and weakened with heat, so in the heat of battle ....maybe not as strong as outlined in the article.

And some more including photos http://www.larp.com/hoplite/linothor.html

[Jochen]

It's really fascinating!  And thanks for the additional information. The Linothorax was known, but it was the first time that he has been reconstructed and tested under realistic conditions.

Best regards

[Lloyd Taylor]

The Linothorax was known, but it was the first time that he has been reconstructed and tested under realistic conditions.

Apologies for the confusion...my comment that "According to this the technology was widely know and appreciated." was my thinking in terms of the answer to the question I had posed earlier...

Was the Linothorax technology known only to the Macedonians at the time of ATG?  If so, it might contribute to the explanation of why his army seems to have suffered comparatively small losses in the historical accounts when compared to the opposition.

It seems that it was widely understood at the time of ATG and thus may have conferred less advantage than I assumed when it comes to the historical record of losses on each side in battle.