Storage Pit

Siege weapons/ships: Siege Workshop units, Catapult Trireme, Juggernaught.
Missile weapons: Archery Range units, towers, Scout Ship, War Galley, Trireme.
Hand-to-hand units: Barracks, Academy, Stable units (except War Elephant).

Toolworking
	Cost: 100F First Available: Tool Effect: +2 attack for hand-to-hand units.
The first metals put to use were those found in a relatively pure state on the earth's surface, including gold, silver, and copper. Gold could be worked in its natural state. Experimentation with it eventually suggested electrum (a natural alloy of gold and silver) and copper could also be hammered into useful shapes. Learning how to extract copper from ore and shape it into tools was an important milestone in the rise of civilization because it opened the door first to making bronze and then to making iron. Cast copper tools were an important advance over stone tools, but were too soft to have a long useful life. The discovery of bronze, made by alloying a small amount of tin with copper, ushered in a 2000-year Bronze Age. Cast bronze tools dramatically increased the efficiency of workers. Bronze weapons were superior to those made of stone and copper. Armies equipped with bronze swords, spears, and arrowheads had a critical advantage over more poorly equipped armies.

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Metalworking
	Cost: 200F 120G First Available: Bronze Effect: +2 attack for hand-to-hand units.
The discovery and use of iron to make tools and weapons was one of the most important advances in civilization. Some historians consider the use of iron to be one of the distinguishing characteristics separating civilization from barbarism because the new tools increased productivity dramatically and led to so many new advances. Compared to bronze, iron tools were less brittle, could hold sharper edges, and held edges for a longer time without sharpening. Most importantly, iron ore was much easier to locate than copper and tin, making iron tools cheaper and more readily available. By 1000 BC iron tools were being made that were as good as the best ones of bronze; by 500 BC iron had largely supplanted bronze from Europe to Asia. The expense and scarcity of bronze had restricted its use to the elite and wealthy. Iron tools and weapons were available to nearly everyone.

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Metallurgy
	Cost: 300F 180G First Available: Iron Effect: +3 attack for hand-to-hand units.
The use of iron spread throughout the Mediterranean, Middle East, and Asia during the first millennium BC, and some areas became especially adept at the new science. Certain compounds added to the molten metal increased the strength of the resulting tools. New forging techniques also resulted in better tools. The best iron workers made superior weapons that were an important advantage in battle.

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Bronze Shield
	Cost: 150F 180G First Available: Bronze Effect: +1 infantry armor against Ballista, Helepolis, and missile weapons.
The shield was probably the first piece of military equipment developed to protect a warrior. The earliest were made of wood or wood and hide, and were of various shapes. They were carried in the hand or on the forearm and used to ward off blows or missiles in battle. Shield designs and materials evolved to keep up with advances in weapons. Wood and hide shields were easy to smash with bronze weapons so bronze shields were developed. Bronze shields also provided better defense against missiles. Arrows, especially with metal points, were prone to lodge in wooden shields. This increased the weight of the shield and made it more unwieldy. Roman legions threw spears at barbarian formations mainly so they would pierce and weigh down the enemy’s shield just before closing. Arrows and other missiles deflected off bronze shields without penetrating.

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Iron Shield
	Cost: 200F 320G First Available: Iron Effect: +1 infantry armor against Ballista, Helepolis, and missile weapons.
The iron shield replaced the bronze shield when swords and other weapons of iron became common. Iron shields were not only less expensive to make, but also more effective in stopping all hand-to-hand and missile weapons. The basic iron shield remained in use until firearms made personal shields on the battlefield obsolete.

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Leather Armour Archers
	Cost: 100F First Available: Tool Effect: +2 armor for Archery Range units.
Soldiers have sought ways to protect themselves in combat since the beginnings of warfare. Long before the use of metals, leather was employed to make helmets and body armor that could stop, or at least soften, blows from blunt and edged weapons. Leather was easy to work with, it was light and not overly restrictive of movement, it could be fitted to the wearer, and it was usually plentiful and inexpensive. Leather remained an important material for body armor throughout the Bronze Age due to the high cost of metal armor. It wasn't until far into the Iron Age that metal armor was available for common soldiers.

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Scale Armour Archers
	Cost: 125F 50G First Available: Bronze Effect: +2 armor for Archery Range units.
The use of metals to make weapons was matched by using metals to make better armor. Among the first improvements in widespread use were breastplates and greaves of bronze. The breastplate protected the torso while greaves protected the legs below the knee. Both of these items protected only the front of the soldier, saving the weight and cost that all-around protection would entail. Breastplates and greaves were worn by hoplites of the phalanx, for example, during the glory years of Greece. When used together with a large shield and bronze helmet, they left little of the soldier's body exposed to attack. Bronze armor was an example of scale armor, or plate armor, in which metal plates provided protection.

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Chain Mail Archers
	Cost: 150F 100G First Available: Iron Effect: +2 armor for Archery Range units.
Chain mail was a type of body armor made of iron circlets woven together into a cloak. The interlocking chains of iron protected the body somewhat from weapons that slashed or pounded. Chain mail was also flexible and allowed more freedom of body movement than armor made of metal plates. The disadvantages of chain mail were that it required a lot of care, was heavy, and was expensive to make. Chain mail was worn only by wealthy or powerful individuals who could purchase or demand its manufacture.

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Leather Armour Cavalry
	Cost: 125F First Available: Tool Effect: +2 armor for Stable units.
Soldiers have sought ways to protect themselves in combat since the beginnings of warfare. Long before the use of metals, leather was employed to make helmets and body armor that could stop, or at least soften, blows from blunt and edged weapons. Leather was easy to work with, it was light and not overly restrictive of movement, it could be fitted to the wearer, and it was usually plentiful and inexpensive. Leather remained an important material for body armor throughout the Bronze Age due to the high cost of metal armor. It wasn't until far into the Iron Age that metal armor was available for common soldiers.

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Scale Armour Cavalry
	Cost: 150F 50G First Available: Bronze Effect: +2 armor for Stable units.
The use of metals to make weapons was matched by using metals to make better armor. Among the first improvements in widespread use were breastplates and greaves of bronze. The breastplate protected the torso while greaves protected the legs below the knee. Both of these items protected only the front of the soldier, saving the weight and cost that all-around protection would entail. Breastplates and greaves were worn by hoplites of the phalanx, for example, during the glory years of Greece. When used together with a large shield and bronze helmet, they left little of the soldier's body exposed to attack. Bronze armor was an example of scale armor, or plate armor, in which metal plates provided protection.

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Chain Mail Cavalry
	Cost: 175F 100G First Available: Iron Effect: +2 armor for Stable units.
Chain mail was a type of body armor made of iron circlets woven together into a cloak. The interlocking chains of iron protected the body somewhat from weapons that slashed or pounded. Chain mail was also flexible and allowed more freedom of body movement than armor made of metal plates. The disadvantages of chain mail were that it required a lot of care, was heavy, and was expensive to make. Chain mail was worn only by wealthy or powerful individuals who could purchase or demand its manufacture.

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Leather Armour Infantry
	Cost: 75F First Available: Tool Effect: +2 armor for Barracks and Academy units.
Soldiers have sought ways to protect themselves in combat since the beginnings of warfare. Long before the use of metals, leather was employed to make helmets and body armor that could stop, or at least soften, blows from blunt and edged weapons. Leather was easy to work with, it was light and not overly restrictive of movement, it could be fitted to the wearer, and it was usually plentiful and inexpensive. Leather remained an important material for body armor throughout the Bronze Age due to the high cost of metal armor. It wasn't until far into the Iron Age that metal armor was available for common soldiers.

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Scale Armour Infantry
	Cost: 100F 50G First Available: Bronze Effect: +2 armor for Barracks and Academy units.
The use of metals to make weapons was matched by using metals to make better armor. Among the first improvements in widespread use were breastplates and greaves of bronze. The breastplate protected the torso while greaves protected the legs below the knee. Both of these items protected only the front of the soldier, saving the weight and cost that all-around protection would entail. Breastplates and greaves were worn by hoplites of the phalanx, for example, during the glory years of Greece. When used together with a large shield and bronze helmet, they left little of the soldier's body exposed to attack. Bronze armor was an example of scale armor, or plate armor, in which metal plates provided protection.

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Chain Mail Infantry
	Cost: 125F 100G First Available: Iron Effect: +2 armor for Barracks and Academy units.
Chain mail was a type of body armor made of iron circlets woven together into a cloak. The interlocking chains of iron protected the body somewhat from weapons that slashed or pounded. Chain mail was also flexible and allowed more freedom of body movement than armor made of metal plates. The disadvantages of chain mail were that it required a lot of care, was heavy, and was expensive to make. Chain mail was worn only by wealthy or powerful individuals who could purchase or demand its manufacture.

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