Armouring the Pharoah
Ancient Egyptian Body Armour
Armour has been around almost as long as there have been soldiers. In Pre-Dynastic times, through to the Old Kingdom, Egyptian soldiers wore only a linen kilt and carried a shield, but, as their enemies' weapons became more varied and deadly, so the Egyptians began to develop body armour to protect their troops.
The Basic Protection
The most common type of protection worn by Egyptian soldiers was not really much in the way of armour; two wide bands of leather crossed the chest and back. This provided a little protection from reed arrows, but was more useful for fending off glancing cuts from knives.
This type of armour could be worn by any soldiers, but was most commonly seen worn by charioteers, perhaps as protection against small stones thrown upward by the wheels. The Pharoah also wore a variant of this, with a corselet - golden, in the case of the example found in Tutenkhamun's tomb - around the belly and kidneys. This was as much for show as for protection, making the King appear to have a torso of gold.
The blazing sun of Egypt made the wearing of true armour almost unbearably hot, but as Egypt's enemies began to wield better weapons, the need from some form of proper armour arose.
Scale Armour
Starting around the reign of Amenhotep II, scale armour began to be used by elite units, eventually becoming more widespread as the New Kingdom went on. This type of armour was a Persian design, and was incorporated into the Egyptian military while there was a stronger Asiatic influence on the kingdom, as well as being taken from defeated enemies.
Scale armour was made from scales of hardened leather or bronze attached to a linen or soft leather tunic. One might have expected the King to wear the bronze version, but this was not always the case; it's a leather one that was found with Tutenkhamun.
This type of armour is effective against arrows and descending blows, but soldiers quickly learned to strike upwards with daggers or thrusting swords, to penetrate a line of scales.
Plate Armour
Plate armour, though used elsewhere in the regions surrounding the Mediterranean, was never used in Egypt, simply because large sheets of metal were heated up too much by the sun. There would have been a realy danger of wearers being burned by their own armour.
This problem also applied to metal helmets, but some bronze helmets have been found in Egypt. These are thought by archaeologists to have been worn by foreign mercenaries, or to be be plunder taken from defeated enemies.
This doesn't mean the Egyptians didn't recognize the practical value of helmets to protect the head from maces and the like. They did develop forms of helmets.
Helmets and Protective Headgear
Most Egyptians preferred not to wear headgear in general, but helmets were sometimes used in war. From the New Kingdom onwards the Pharoah himself had a special crown for wartime wear, called the Blue Crown.
No-one is certain what this was made out of, but it was probably covered with blue cloth, giving it its name. Most archaeologists think it was probably made of leather and decorated with golden scales, but others think it may have been made of silver. No Egyptian Royal crown has survived to prove the case either way.
The ordinary soldier relied on his hair to protect him. It would be oiled and twisted into tight braids or curls in the hope of at least partly cushioning any glancing blows, though the efficacy of this is debatable to say the least.
There were other helmets in use at the time also. Helmets made of wood and ivory platelets were sometimes worn by mercenaries, or by soldiers who had looted them from fallen opponents. The Sherden, fighting as mercenaries, wore helmets decorated with the horns and solar disc associated with Hathor.
Other Armour
Other forms of armour, such as greaves and breastplates, were not used in Ancient Egypt, but there is one other form of protection that was.
Gauntlets were used by charioteers. There were made of thick leather, and intended mostly to provide extra grip on the reins. Some surviving gauntlets, however, have a thick enough back to turn a knife blade, and possibly even a weak strike from a sword.
Sources:
Fighting Pharoahs, Bob Partridge, Peartree, 2002
Armies Of The Pharoahs, Mark Healy, Osprey, 1992
Royal Armouries, Leeds
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