African cuirass?

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Duccio

At the British Museum there is a crocodile skin "cuirass", apparently used for cult purposes rather than for war, dating back to the Roman domination of Egypt (about 300 AD).

https://britishmuseum.withgoogle.com...suit-of-armour

This is exactly the circumstance I was referring to, 'cults' , These cults remained quite active well into the 20th century.