The mail coat from Ciumeşti, Romania. Contemporary insights on an early ring armour
The result's identifiers
Result code in IS VaVaI
<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F68081758%3A_____%2F25%3A00639040" target="_blank" >RIV/68081758:_____/25:00639040 - isvavai.cz</a>
Result on the web
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DOI - Digital Object Identifier
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Alternative languages
Result language
angličtina
Original language name
The mail coat from Ciumeşti, Romania. Contemporary insights on an early ring armour
Original language description
Discovered in 1961, the Ciumeşti mail coat has long been regarded as the oldest evidence of this armour type. However, recent advances in the study of early mail armour make a re-assessment of this artefact timely. The invention of mail is now dated to the transition between the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, while the Ciumeşti coat belongs to the La Tène C1 period. This makes it an early, though not the earliest, example. Current knowledge of Iron Age mail construction allows us to identify the surviving elements of the Ciumeşti coat and propose a hypothetical reconstruction, likely featuring large shoulder guards typical of the earliest designs. Notably, the Ciumeşti armour employs butted rings, offering minimal protection. This should not be seen as part of an evolutionary shift from butted to riveted rings, as riveted mail was present from the outset. Instead, the use of butted rings likely reflects limited access to elite goods, resulting in imitative forms of armour.
Czech name
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Czech description
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Classification
Type
C - Chapter in a specialist book
CEP classification
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OECD FORD branch
60102 - Archaeology
Result continuities
Project
<a href="/en/project/GA24-11397S" target="_blank" >GA24-11397S: Warfare as a catalyst of innovation. The evolution of Roman armour during the Middle Roman period through the lens of the Marcomannic Wars</a><br>
Continuities
I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace
Others
Publication year
2025
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů
Data specific for result type
Book/collection name
Cladio: L’armement à l’âge du fer
ISBN
978-2-87285-203-1
Number of pages of the result
17
Pages from-to
147-163
Number of pages of the book
267
Publisher name
Archéosite et Musée d'Aubrechies-Belœil et le Musée des Celtes de Libramont/SBEC éditions
Place of publication
Aubechies
UT code for WoS chapter
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