Modern marines have tested out ancient Greek body armor in an 11-hour simulation of Bronze Age combat and found it to be battle-worthy.
The experiment, for a study published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE, revealed that an iconic suit of armor from the period would have been suitable for more than just ceremonial purposes, as had previously been proposed.
Suits worn by the marines were based on one thought to be around 3,500 years old—the oldest known from Europe—which was found near the village of Dendra, Greece, in 1960.
It is associated with the ancient Mycenaean culture, which spanned the period between around 1700-1100 B.C. during the Late Bronze Age and is generally considered to be the first advanced civilization to develop on the Greek mainland.
The almost complete Dendra suit—made from plates of hammered bronze—is thought to be the best-preserved example of full-body armor from the Mycenaean era. But since its discovery, experts have debated whether it was used solely for ceremonial purposes or also intended to be worn in combat.
"The lack of a documented answer thus far has limited the full understanding of the conditions prevailing in the warfare of the time, which in turn determined the social transformations of the prehistoric world," study authors Andreas Flouris and Yiannis Koutedakis with the University of Thessaly in Greece, as well as Ken Wardle at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, told Newsweek.
In their study, the authors attempted to address this question by combining historical and experimental evidence.
First, researchers analyzed Homer's epic poem the Iliad and combined the extracted information with other knowledge to create an 11-hour-long combat simulation protocol, replicating the daily activities performed by elite warriors in the Late Bronze Age.
Then, the team recruited 13 volunteers from the marines of the Greek armed forces to complete the simulation protocol wearing replicas of the Dendra armor.
They found the armor did not limit the fighting ability of the marines or cause significant strain on the wearer, revealing that it would have been suitable for use in battle and may not solely have been reserved for ceremonial purposes.
The results also indicated that Mycenaean warriors were likely some of the "best equipped" in the eastern Mediterranean at the end of the Bronze Age, according to the authors. This supports the notion that at least part of the reason the Mycenaeans had such a powerful impact on the region was due to their armor and other military technology.
"The efficacy and variety of Mycenaean swords and spears has long been recognized," the authors told Newsweek. "The addition of 'heavy' armor will have given elite Mycenaean warriors considerable advantages over those with a shield only for defence or with the lighter 'scale' armor in use in the Middle East.
"Add the combination of armored warriors brought to battle in their chariots and therefore arriving at the front line with full resources of energy and these warriors must have been formidable opponents."
Among the Mycenaean era's numerous achievements, the culture developed a syllabic script which represents the earliest known form of written Greek.
The civilization was centered on the ancient city of Mycenae, located in the northeastern Peloponnese peninsula. The ruins of the settlement lie just a few miles away from Dendra.
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