The Unknown Warrior (6 page)

On the move, or in periods of inactivity, shields were provided with leather covers to protect them from the elements and wear and tear (Goldsworthy, 2003: 122). Feugère (2002: 88) cites a number of these covers found at Valkenburg, in the Netherlands, and Vindonissa, Switzerland, the latter with clear markings of the XI Legion. These covers had rounded corners similar to the shield from Dura Europos. The mark of an organised army is, perhaps, its propensity to inspection. Shield covers would thus be a vital tool in the quest to keep one's kit clean and escape the scorn of the
nco
and subsequent punishments. The maintenance of the infantryman's arms was essential to afford the maximum effectiveness of the weaponry.

Shields were important pieces of an infantryman's defensive panoply and, as such, those who made them as well as those who bore them were justly proud. A splendid shield boss found in the River Tyne in northern England had depictions of the four seasons, of the god Mars and the bull, the symbol of the VIII Legion. If one was in any doubt of the symbolic significance of the latter image, an inscription proclaims that it was used by a member of the VIII Legion Augusta. The legionary was named: ‘(property) of Iunius Dubitatus in the century of Iulius Magnus' – possibly in the reign of Hadrian (Collingwood and Wright, 1991: 48–9). A further bronze circular shield boss from London, some 192mm in diameter, proclaimed ‘Cocillus made (this)' (
ibid.
: 51).

Helmets

As with armour, the iron helmets of the early Roman legionary changed through time, but always afforded good protection to the wearer. A frequently used early-pattern helmet, the ‘Monteforino' (third to first century
BC
) was superseded in popularity by a type known as the ‘Coolus' in the late first century
BC
to early first century
AD
. This helmet made use of a metal cap with reinforced peek and guards for the cheeks and neck, often with a spike or ball at the top. By the middle to end of the first century
AD
the ‘Imperial Gallic' and later ‘Imperial Italic' (early second century
AD
) helmets were available, which broadened and strengthened the protective parts of the helmet.

Bronze variants of these helmets were also present and emphasised protection at the front and back of the soldier while leaving the ears and face open, thus enabling him to hear orders and to have good all-round vision (Goldsworthy, 2003: 121–6). As with body armour, helmets would have required a fabric lining to facilitate their fitting and to provide a degree of comfort for the wearer.

The fact that these helmets were retained for long time periods, stored and repaired or handed down to comrades, is attested to by several examples that have the names of their users stamped onto the neck-guards. One first-century coolus-type helmet from London had four different soldiers' names on it:

(Property) of Lucius Dulcius in the century of Marcus Valerius Ursus
In the century of Martialis, Lucius Postumus
(Property) of Rufus in the century of Scribonius
(Property) of Aulus Saufeius in the century of Martialis

(Collingwood and Wright, 1991: 44–5)

Another British example was recovered from Verulamium (St Albans). Again a coolus-type helmet of the first century, this one proclaimed that it was the ‘(property) of [.] Papirius (in the century) of the
primus pilus
' (
ibid.
: 45).

Mainland Europe also retains traces of the names of infantrymen on helmets, a further inscription being on an Imperial Gallic helmet from Mainz. The name of its owner was shown as ‘L. Lucretius Celeris' and his unit, I Legion, was included (H. Robinson, 1975: 60–1; Feugère, 2002: 205).

As with armour, helmets are depicted on carvings such as those of the Mainz
principia
and Trajan's Column and, although archaeological finds of complete helmets are not unknown (the iron example from Brigetio in Hungary (see Brewer, 2000: 29) and the Gallic helmet from the vicinity of the Augustan fort at Nijmegen in Holland (see Cowan 2003a: 42–3)), it is far more common to find fragments that were one part of the composite element of the helmet.

Excavations at Alchester have recovered helmet parts that include a crest-holder and a carrying handle (Sauer, 2000: 37). Work at the fortress of the II Legion at Caerleon also yielded helmet fragments such as a bronze segment of an Imperial Gallic helmet (from just in front of the ear cut-out), which also had an iron hinge for the cheek piece and a number of rivets along with a helmet crest support of a type similar to another example found close by at Usk (Evans and Metcalf, 1992: 113–14).

Table 2.1.
The weight of the burden borne by the Augustan legionary

Source
: as calculated by Cowan (2003a: 43).

This was a large load, but such encumbrance was not something suffered only by infantrymen of the Ancient world. Soldiers making the early attacks on 1 July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme, were known to have carried a weight of up to 30kg. This may seem extraordinary for surely quick attacks by lightly armed troops were far more likely to succeed? Not necessarily – once troops arrived at their objectives, they needed equipment to defeat their opponent (often well-protected adversaries) and then to refortify the area taken to favour the troops who had captured it.

In addition to their armour, the legionary had other elements of clothing, as itemised on tablets recovered from the fort of Vindolanda on Hadrian's Wall: twenty pairs of socks, two pairs of sandals and two pairs of underpants (Bowman, 2003: 74). Those who have experienced some of the harsher weather conditions along Hadrian's Wall will appreciate the need for as many warm comforts as possible.

PRACTICE AND DISCIPLINE

We see no other explanation for the conquest of the world by the Roman People than their military training, camp discipline and practice in warfare.

(Vegetius,
Epitome
, 1.1)

Discipline and unit cohesion were essential attributes of the Roman legions and this could only be attained through practice. This practice could be gruelling and was enforced by centurions and training officers. Cowan (2003a: 11) states that legionaries were trained on a daily basis for four months and were expected to be able to march ‘29km in five hours at the regular step, and 35km in five hours at the faster step, loaded with a pack of about 20.5kg in weight'. The infantryman was expected to be able to perform a series of complicated tasks that would help to ensure his survival on campaign, from the construction of protected marching camps to the formation known as the
testudo
(tortoise) depicted on Trajan's Column in Rome, whereby a unit of troops would surround themselves with their shields – both to the side and above. Such a manoeuvre could only be accomplished if the unit had been drilled.

Soldiers kept their fitness up and their skills honed by the building of practice camps and by training on parade grounds. Traces of practice encampments – of banks and ditches – have been located at a number of places. Perhaps the best examples in the British Isles – and possibly the largest group of practice camps in the Roman Empire (Daniels and Jones, 1969: 132) – are those at Llandrindod Common, Wales, where eighteen practice camps have been found. Other training camps include Blaenos and Trawsfynydd in Wales (Frere
et al.
, 1984: 267; see also Nash-Williams, 1969) and at Gilnockie in Scotland. In an interesting palimpsest of military training, there are six marching camps in very close proximity to one another alongside the Roman road of Dere Street on the current British Army training estate at Otterburn in Northumbria (see Hammond, 2004).

To have these earthworks so close together makes no military sense – it seems most likely that they were practice works, probably of the garrison of the nearby fortlet of Rochester.

In recent years, archaeological fieldwork has been undertaken at Alchester, Oxfordshire. This has not only uncovered a vexillation fortress and marching camp, but has also revealed the presence of what the excavators believe to be a military training ground, although there is some debate as to whether this training area was for cavalry training alongside its infantry counterpart (Sauer, 2000: 32). Artefacts from this site included five three-winged arrowheads, which Sauer believes indicate that those trained within its boundaries were practising to counter mounted threats (
ibid.
: 33).

On the subject of the training of the legionary, Adrian Goldsworthy wrote: ‘They were taught how to use their personal weapons by practising thrusts and cuts against a 1.8m post fixed into the ground. At first they used wooden swords and wicker shields of twice the weight of the normal issue to strengthen their arms. On at least one occasion these wooden practice swords were used as batons by troops quelling a riot' (Goldsworthy, 2002: 132).

Excavations at the Flavian timber fort at Carlisle, northern England, have yielded one complete wooden practice sword and the handles of two others. The complete example, some 571mm in length, was a replica of the soldier's stabbing sword, the
gladius
. Carauna (1991: 11–12) debated the possibility that this sword might have been a child's toy, but decided that the context of the artefact, the west gate tower of the fort, probably meant that it was more likely to have been a practice weapon for soldiers. Extensive training in the use of all the individual weapons in their panoply of arms was essential. An ox skull from Vindolanda displays a series of square perforations, the result of light ballista impacts, perhaps indicative of troops training with this weapon (Goldsworthy, 2003: 81).

THE LIFE OF THE SOLDIER

Drinking

Alcoholic drinks were certainly available to the Roman legionary – indeed, the supply was deemed essential to Roman forts. Traces of the vessels used to transport alcohol, the amphorae, have been found in many military contexts, some with evidence for the individual units to whom it was supplied still evident. ‘A “Rhodian” amphora from Caerleon, with an internal resin coating, has
leg
.
ii
.
avg
painted on it. The resin is thought to suggest liquid contents, perhaps wine or honey. The type is associated with raisin wine shipped in from the Aegean area, and bought either for the legion or by an individual soldier' (de la Bédoyère, 2001: 131). Within Barrack Block B (Phase II) at Caerleon, a bronze tankard handle was also found (Evans and Metcalf, 1992: 152).

A Welsh fort, Segontium (Caernarfon), also yielded amphorae fragments, although not in huge quantities. Dressel type 2–4 amphorae brought wine to the site in the first to mid-second centuries
AD
, although it seems as though only Gallic wine was imported after the mid-second century. Whether this was a result of taste, fashion or availability is unclear. Barrels of larch wood and silver fir have also been found, the excavators suggesting that these too might have been used to bring Gallic wine to the fort (Casey,
et al.
, 1993: 77–8). Richborough also yielded an amphora which had graffiti on its neck attesting the presence of wine; this referred to
LYMP
(
A
) – ‘this wine came from Mount Vesuvius and presumably was produced before
AD
79' (Davies, 1971: 131). Wine was also consumed on campaign, a fact attested to by the wine strainer at Kalkriese (Wells, 2003: 53).

One of the Vindolanda writing tablets from the fort on Hadrian's Wall examines supplies coming into the Roman camp around
AD
111: ‘the items accounted for include
cervesa
(Celtic beer) and
clavi caligares
(nails for boots)' (Bowman, 2003: 34). Much of the garrison was of an auxiliary nature, composed of Batavians and Tungrians who fought with the Romans. The tablets seem to reveal that, ‘Although wine was clearly available, the staple drink is much more likely to have been beer, which we find in several of the accounts and which was urgently requested for a detachment of soldiers in a letter to Cerialis from one of the decurions of his unit' (
ibid.
: 73). Perhaps the stereotypical image of northern Europeans drinking beer and those in more southerly climes opting for wine held true from a very early stage. Up on the forts in Scotland, too, there were possible traces of the consumption of wine – an amphora with the inscription
vin
on its handle being found (Curle, 1911: 268).

Eating

In addition to buildings constructed for the storage of foodstuffs in Roman forts, the ubiquitous granaries (
horrea
), artefactual evidence also provides useful details as to the diet of the legionary.

Spanish consumable products seemed well represented at legionary sites in Britain. In Exeter, for example, finds have included Spanish amphorae bearing fish sauces and Dressel type 20 amphorae carrying olive oil to the soldiers of the fort (Holbrook and Bidwell, 1991: 17). The legionary fortress of Wroxeter also revealed amphorae (Rhodian types and from Gaul), some of which had brought olive oil to the Romans (Webster, 2002: 182). Usk, too, has many fragments of these storage vessels, some of which had contained
garum
, a fish sauce from Spain (Camulodunum Type 185A; see Manning
et al.
, 1995: 87). In addition, fragments of two Camulodunum 189 type amphorae are thought to have held fruit brought in from North Africa (
ibid.
: 87).