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c h a p t e r s i x Arrow Test Results By the end of our arrow tests, we had taken more than 1,100 shots, for each of which we measured and recorded between 7 and 11 variables. Once we had analyzed this body of data, clear trends emerged that allowed us to determine which factors made a significant difference to a test patch’s resistance to penetration. We were also able to evaluate some of the possibilities for how the linothorax was constructed, including sewn, quilted, and laminated variants, and even how linen compared to bronze. Most importantly, we proved that the linothorax was a viable form of armor. General Observations The arrow tests revealed that the laminated linen armor was surprisingly resistant to arrow attack. For example, when a 20-layer laminated test patch of 11.5-mm thickness was shot from 15m with a 45-lb. pull bow with any replica point (an energy range of 55–70J), the arrowhead failed to fully penetrate the test patch. To give an idea of the degree of protection afforded by the linothorax, when the mediumsized , bronze, leaf-shaped arrowhead was shot at the foam target block without any test patch affixed to it from a weak 25-lb. bow at a range of 7.5m (41.5J), the arrow still had enough power to penetrate an impressive 231mm deep into the foam target block. This would be analogous to shooting at an unarmored person, and in the ancient world, if an arrow went even a quarter of this distance into a person’s torso, it would almost always have resulted in a fatal hit, if not from immediate trauma, then from subsequent infection of the thoracic or abdominal cavities. When the same arrow was shot under the same conditions at the foam block with the 20-layer laminated test patch attached, however, it penetrated a mere 12mm into the test patch, failing to perforate the armor and leaving the foam block (or hypothetical person) completely unscathed. The minimum kinetic energy required to penetrate our most historically accurate patch (a 12.25-mm thick patch made using rabbit glue and “authentic” linen fabric) to a potentially fatal depth was about 70J. Numerical depth of penetration data for the main arrowheads, test patches, bow strengths, and distances that we experimented with can be found in tables 1–20 at the end of this chapter. The depth-of-penetration measurements given in these 104 Reconstructing Ancient Linen Body Armor tables represent averages from multiple shots taken under the same set of variables. Those interested in the raw numbers can consult these tables, while most of the remainder of this chapter offers a narrative analysis of the conclusions that we reached on the basis of this experimental data. When the results of the arrow tests were fully analyzed, some basic conclusions emerged. Doubling the thickness of the target patch roughly doubled the patch’s ability to resist penetration. Overall, the thickness of the test patch proved to be the single most significant variable. Both the shape and the weight of the arrowhead substantially affected the penetrative power of the arrow. The most important general conclusion was that a roughly 1-cm-thick linothorax could have protected an ancient warrior from fatal arrow hits from the types of bows and at the sorts of ranges most likely to have been encountered (shots of up to at least 70J force). A shot from an unusually powerful bow at point-blank range of less than 10m might have penetrated, but such shots would have been much rarer. Varying the distance to the target had some effect, but not as much as changes in the thickness of the patch, the power of the bow, or the type of arrowhead. While this might sound surprising, most of our tests were conducted at relatively close ranges of between 7.5 and 30m (fig. 6.1). In battlefield terms, any of these distances would effectively have been considered very close range. Because of the short distances involved and the high velocity of the arrows, the trajectory of the arrows in all of these shots was nearly flat. Such close-range shooting would have occurred in some siege situations or in the very last seconds of a charge. We also took shots at the patches from longer ranges, in which the arrows were fired at an upward angle...

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