Roman armor fragment: lorica squamata – collected in Lisbon downtown: Vitória Street to Correeiros Street

Abstract

In 2021, a significant piece of Roman-scale armor (lorica squamata) made of copper alloy was collected in downtown Lisbon. It is a rare item, identified for the first time in Portugal. Until now, some isolated iron plates from Roman armor were known to have been found in a village located in the Sabor river basin, in Trás-os-Montes (Castelinho), at the Cabeça de Vaiamonte (Monforte) and in the Monte dos Castelinhos (Vila Franca de Xira). Throughout the Republic and into the Late Empire, Roman soldiers used the lorica squamata to shield chest and arms. The abandonment of its use at the start of the 3rd century AD was determined by dating the associated materials in the same stratigraphic unit.