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Warmatrix

War Matrix - Scale armor

Late Bronze Age 1600 BCE - 1100 BCE, Weapons and technology

Lorica squamata from Lake Trasimene, 3rd century BCE
Lorica squamata from Lake Trasimene, 3rd century BCE
Scale armor is the first type of metal armor that appeared in history, somewhere in the 2nd millennium BCE, probably in the Late Bronze Age.
It consisted of small scales, usually made of bronze or iron, which overlapped like scales of a fish, hence the name. It is also called 'leaf' armor. The scales varied in size between about 3 x 1¼ cm to 8 x 5 cm. Theys were attached to each other, but also sown or riveted to an undercoat, usually made of leather or cloth.
Scale armor probably evolved in response to chariot warfare. In chariots, both the driver and the warrior had no hands free, being required to hold the reins and a bow respectively. Therefore they could not wield shields and were vulnerable to missile fire. The solution was to equip themselves with better body armor. During the days that scale evolved metal weapons and armor were very expensive, but so were the chariots and the people who could afford them could afford a good piece of armor too.
Scale offered only moderate protection against most attacks and was hard to maintain and repair, but for several centuries was the only type of metal armor. A prime example is the Roman lorica squamata, one of the three main types of armor used by the Romans. Scale armor was succeeded by lamellar armor in the east and mail in the west.