A swimsuit of armor discovered at an archaeological website close to the village of Dendra, Greece in 1960 has been linked to the famed kingdom of Mycenae, a militarily highly effective Late Bronze age fiefdom that holds the excellence of being historical Greece’s first nice civilization.

After an preliminary examination students decided that this specific swimsuit of armor had almost definitely been worn for ceremonial functions solely, and wouldn’t have been used for defense in battle. However a brand new research simply revealed within the journal PLOS ONE has upended this conclusion, providing proof to indicate that this armor was completely appropriate for battle, and would the truth is have supplied ample safety to the wearer.

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Creative photograph displaying the reproduction of the Dendra armor used within the research. Picture credit score: Andreas Flouris and Marija Marković. Permission required for replica. (Flouris et al., 2024, PLOS ONE/CC-BY 4.0)

Sensible Evaluation By the Professionals

This fascinating new proof emerged not from a laboratory research, however throughout a reside simulation of Late Bronze Age, Mycenaean-era battlefield circumstances by Greek Marines affiliated with the Hellenic Armed Forces.

The Marines donned reproduction armor that duplicated the fashion of the Mycenaean swimsuit whereas taking part on this mock army train, the outcomes of which proved that this armor was each comfy to put on and never simply violated by the forms of weapons that had been in use throughout the heyday of the Greek Mycenaean civilization, which dominated the Greek mainland from roughly 1750 to 1050 BC.

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Geomorphology of the world surrounding Troy within the later phases of the Late Bronze Age (labels point out the areas of the 2 military encampments and the geographic options of the world). The map was created utilizing Azgaar’s Fantasy Map Generator, a free net software, beneath a CC BY license, with permission from Max Haniyeu, unique copyright 2017–2021.  (Flouris et al., 2024, PLOS ONE/CC-BY 4.0)

Revisiting the Mycenaean Battlefield of 1,500 BC

The workforce of Greek archaeologists concerned within the new research, led by Mycenaean civilization specialist Dr. Andreas Flouris from the College of Thessaly, recruited 13 Marine volunteers to take part of their subject experiment.

In the course of the mock battle they organized and plotted, not one of the Marines was outfitted within the historic swimsuit of armor itself, which is roughly 3,500 years previous and has been fastidiously preserved and guarded by cultural authorities since its discovery. As an alternative, these trendy warriors had been all wearing duplicate variations of the Dendra armor, which had been made out of the identical supplies and manufactured to the identical design specs as the actual Mycenaean battle swimsuit.

The Greek Marines had been provided with Bronze Age-style weapons that matched those who would have been carried by Mycenaean warriors on the battle fields of historical Greece within the second millennium BC. The Marines had been then run via a sensible fight simulation for a complete of 11 grueling hours, throughout which they had been uncovered to varied battlefield eventualities that the standard Mycenaean soldier might need encountered.

Volunteer marine troopers in simulated fight carrying the Dendra armor reproduction throughout the empirical research (proper) and a creative photograph shoot (left). Picture credit score: Andreas Flouris and Marija Marković. Permission required for copy. (Flouris et al., 2024, PLOS ONE/CC-BY 4.0)

The research authors went to nice lengths to reconstruct precise Late Bronze Age battlefield circumstances for his or her simulation. A few of the data they used was taken from battle accounts portrayed in Homer’s epic poem the Iliad, which was set in Mycenaean instances. Although Homer’s works are believed to have been written throughout the seventh or eighth centuries BC, they’re doubtless based mostly on extra historical oral traditions and are subsequently thought-about dependable.

Utilizing descriptions culled from Homer’s writing, plus further historic and archaeological knowledge collected at numerous Mycenaean cultural websites, the research authors staged an imaginary battle the place Mycenaean army methods, actions and maneuvers had been replicated as precisely as attainable.

In the course of the battlefield simulation the armor was proven to supply good safety towards the weapons in use greater than 3,000 years in the past, whatever the hanging or attacking techniques that had been employed. Simply as importantly, the Dendra armor didn’t hinder the Marines’ freedom of motion or trigger them discomfort from both their weight or their positioning on the Marines’ our bodies.

So as to add additional verification to those thrilling subject outcomes, the archaeologists used a particular software program program that may simulate fight circumstances throughout time to check the effectiveness of battle armor in a number of eventualities. These simulations reaffirmed the Mycenaean armor’s efficacy, including extra weight to the declare that the three,500-year-old Dendra armor was manufactured for army use and was not meant to be worn as ceremonial garb.

A Warrior Society Protected by its Armor

The concept that the historical swimsuit of armor might need been ceremonial was based mostly on its measurement and design. When it was first examined many consultants concluded it wouldn’t have been free or gentle sufficient for battlefield circumstances, and subsequently will need to have been made to be worn throughout public festivals or different celebratory occasions. However the Greek archaeologists chargeable for the brand new findings are sure they’ve confirmed the falsity of this assertion.

They wrote of their PLOS ONE article:

“Regardless of its cumbersome look at first sight, [the Dendra armor] is just not solely versatile sufficient to allow virtually each motion of a wearer on foot, but in addition resilient sufficient to guard the wearer from most blows …As well as, our experiments have demonstrated that the armor is of a weight and construction to allow prolonged use in fight day after day, for as much as 11 hours, with out detriment to a match wearer.”

The archaeologists word that written information from historical instances recommend the Mycenaeans had ongoing safety considerations, and because of this they selected to maintain standing armies outfitted with weapons, chariots and armor on alert and able to propel invaders always. Moreover, Mycenaean society was led by a warrior caste that occupied most positions of authority, and it’s attainable that the frilly however still-functional Mycenaean swimsuit of armor was made to be worn by one of many society’s most revered army and political leaders.

As a result of it’s a singular discover it’s troublesome to find out who the swimsuit was really made for, though it may possibly now be said for sure {that a} Mycenaean warrior carrying it throughout a battle along with his kingdom’s enemies would have been well-protected.

Prime picture: Creative photograph displaying the reproduction of the Dendra armor used within the research. Supply: Flouris et al., 2024, PLOS ONE/CC-BY 4.0

By Nathan Falde