EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND—According to an ArtNet News report, more than 100 fragments of a brass arm guard unearthed in 1906 at Trimontium, a fort on the Roman Empire’s northern frontier, have been reassembled by researchers from National Museums Scotland. Team member Fraser Hunter said that the armor would have offered protection from the shoulder to the hand of the legionary who wore it, but it would have also served as a status symbol. “Brass was expensive and would have gleamed like gold on his sword arm,” Hunter explained. The design of the piece of armor is thought to have been inspired by gear worn by gladiators. To read about artifacts recently discovered at the Roman frontier camp of Novae in northern Bulgaria, go to "Legionary Personal Effects."

To see a video about the process of conserving the arm guard, click below.