Metal body armour in Bronze Age Europe

This monograph Protecting the body in war and combat: metal body armour in Bronze Age Europe provides for the first time a combined overview of all classes of metal body armour from the European Bronze Age from a holistic perspective, combining both traditional typochronological discussions and aspects of manufacture and use. The earliest recovered metal body armour comes from Dendra, Greece, and dates to the first half of the 15th century BC. However, the majority of metal body armour, including helmets, cuirasses and greaves, derives from the European Late Bronze Age, c. 1200-950 BC. This armour has been found from Iberia in the West to Cyprus in the East and from Sicily in the South to Denmark in the North, as well as in the Near East, and thus covers a wide geographical area. Nevertheless, only around 30 cuirasses, 75 greaves and 120 helmets have so far been recovered. The development, manufacture and use of this metal body armour across Europe remains unclear, even after more than a century of research. Earlier studies were largely concerned with typo- chronological aspects of this armour, whilst topics such as manufacturing techniques, efficacy and technological observations were rarely addressed. This volume therefore brings together traditional artefact and metallurgical studies and reconstructions of manufacturing techniques, technological developments and innovations and use-wear analysis. It also provides much needed detail concerning material characterisation, in the form of alloy composition and microstructure analysis, of a significant sample of the original finds. Combining the results of this material characterisation and study of the manufacturing techniques and use-wear traces, a better understanding of how this armour was both produced and used is achieved. The author documented, studied and analysed all accessible helmets, greaves and cuirasses in Eastern Europe as well as a number of examples from Western Europe, significantly increasing the quantity of body armour studied and analysed in detail. This publication contains the whole spectrum of known body armour currently recovered, as well as including new finds from auctions or private collections, which have previously been overlooked. This volume aims to provide a holistic artefact study of European Bronze Age body armour, its manufacture and its usage. It is the wish of the author that it may also serve as a basis for further experimental studies into the production and utility of bronze helmets, cuirasses and greaves, which would provide further important insights into the role that this armour played in Bronze Age life, both in its practical, utilitarian function and in its use as potent symbols in ceremonies.