Body armor of the principes (heavy infantry), hastati (front-line soldiers), and triarii (veterans) consisted of only a 20cm square breastplate, called a heart guard (pectorale), and one greave. The one greave was worn on the left leg, the leg that was exposed during battle.

How heavy was a Roman soldiers armor? The Loreca hamata (chain armour) weighs about 10 to 11 kilos. A Loreca segmentata (plate armour) is about 7 kilos. What was the Roman breastplate made of?

The lorica hamata was a sleeveless shirt of chainmail made up of up to 30.000 iron (sometimes bronze) rings that weighed up to 22 lbs (10 kg). It had a U-shaped neckline, a second layer of chainmail over the shoulders, wasn`t fitted and covered the torso and the upper half of the thigh.

Roman military personal equipment was produced in large numbers to established patterns, and used in an established manner. These standard patterns and uses were called the res militaris or disciplina .

The thickness of the metal plates and the type of metal used (iron or steel) had a big impact upon the overall weight, but a typical lorica segmentata would have weighed between 20-30 lbs (9-13.5 kg). Why was it called the Lorica Segmentata... or was it?