Ancient Roman Military Equipment
A soldier in the Roman army of Caesar's time was a volunteer unless it was a time of crisis, and he signed up for a long number of years. The only requirement was that he be between the ages of 17 and 46, but since proof of a man's age was nearly impossible to obtain, these limits were probably stretched a bit. These men were often poor and looking for a steady income.
The soldier would need to provide his own equipment, but since most men couldn't afford to do so, equipment would be supplied with the stipulation that it be paid for through regular pay deductions.
Below you will find brief descriptions of the equipment used by a foot soldier.
Helmet
The Roman soldier’s helmet was called a galea. The original Roman helmets showed a distinct Etruscan influence, but at the time of the Nomenclator series there was more of a greek influence. Later, after the time of Caesar, there was a Gallic influence.
At the time of Caesar, there were three main types of helmets used by Roman legionary infantry soldiers. There was the Montefortino helmet, a round helmet with a neck guard and often cheek guards, the Coolus helmet which was a round, plain, cast iron helmet, and the Italic helmet which was a much more elaborate helmet with greater ornamentation, cheek guards, and a crest. As time went on, other helmets came into use.
Some classes of legionary soldiers had horsehair crests on their helmets, often dyed red, but also in other colors. There is evidence that legionary soldiers had crests mounted longitudinally but centurion helmets had them mounted transversely.
As time went on, the types of armor used in the Roman army expanded to include mail shirts (lorica hamata), scale armor (lorica squamata) which loocet very much like fish scales, and laminated strip armor (lorica sementata). However, the armor worn by the vast majority of legionary soldiers during the time of the Nomenclator series was almost certainly lorica hamata, the mail shirt. This armor was made from tens of thousands of interlocking bronze or iron rings. It had shoulder pieces that ran from the middle of the wearer’s back over the shoulders in flaps to the front of the torso. This type of armor was very labor intensive to make, as each was made by hand, but it would last for decades with regular maintenance.
The soldier’s tunic was the same as the tunic worn by any other Roman male. However, it was sometimes died different colors for different units. Red was a frequently used color, as it would mask blood stains, but the dyes often faded, so after a long campaign, a soldier could expect to return to his home fort donning a pink tunic.
Another important piece of the soldier’s equipment was his gladius, or sword. The gladius was a double edged blade for slashing, with a tapered point for stabbing or thrusting. The sword had a solid pommel grip with a knobbed hilt. The sword itself was generally constructed by welding strips of steel together with a channel running down the center or forged from a single piece of high-carbon steel. There were several distinct types of gladii of slightly different lengths and blade widths and curvature. Mounted men used a somewhat longer sword to have a longer reach from horseback.
The sword was worn in a scabbard attached to a shoulder strap or belt. It is unclear whether the sheath was on the side opposite the sword hand and drawn across the body or if the shield being on that side would have made it difficult to draw. The most effective use of the weapon was to make an underhand stab at the enemy’s abdomen, since these wounds were nearly always fatal.
The gladius was the standard sword for the legionary soldier for several centuries.
The pugio was the Roman soldier’s dagger carried as an additional sidearm. It was between six and twelve inches in length and about two inches wide.
The spear was an essential weapon for ancient soldiers. The Roman spear evolved over time. The early Roman legionary soldiers carried a hasta or thrusting spear about six feet long. During the republic, tactics changed and most soldiers were equipped with a pilum or heavy throwing spear. This spear was less than six feet in length, with about a third of the length made up of a narrow iron shaft with a pyramidal head. A pilum could penetrate both shields and armor and it was designed to bend on impact with the iron shaft becoming detached from the wooden part, often causing it to become lodged in an enemies shield. This would make it nearly impossible for the enemy combatant to use his shield properly. Some soldiers were equipped with lighter shorter throwing javelins for use at greater distance.
Sometime in the fourth century BC, the Romans gave up the use of the round clipeus shield in favor of the scutum shield. The clypeus worked well in a compact hoplite phalanx formation but when the Romans changed to the more maneuverable manipular formation they abandoned the clypeus for the long oblong scutum. The scutumoffered greater protection, being some two and one half feet wide and four feet long. With some variation, this shield remained in use until late in the third century AD and would be the only shield used by any of the characters in the Nomenclator books.
The final piece of equipment we need to look at is one of the most important. In time of peace the Roman soldier often stays put for longer stretches, but when there is any conflict he will be required to march and sometime he will need to march more than twenty miles a day. Therefore, the soldiers boots, or caligae, are very important. The caligae were not boots in the modern sense. These boots resembled sandals as they were constructed of straps and open in several places. This was important to reduce the chance of foot infections due to long wear in moist and sometimes even wet conditions. Except in the cold north, socks were not worn with caligae.
Caligae were made of three layers of leather there was an outers ole, an upper layer which was open much like a sandal, and an insole. They were laced up through the center of the foot and wrapped and tied at the ankle. The bottom sole was studded with iron hobnails to improve traction on slippery ground. A hobnailed boot would also be able to inflict damage on a fallen enemy.
The Roman legionary soldier carried much of his gear with him in his marching pack (Sarcina). In the early days of the Republic, most of a soldier’s equipment would have been carried on the backs of mules in the baggage train at the center of the long marching column. This changed though when Gaius Marius reformed the army. Marius knew that a large baggage train slowed the column’s march significantly and also delayed the construction of each day’s temporary marching fort. Therefore, he ordered that each soldier carried as much of his equipment and rations as was practical. This also allowed the soldiers to fall into place very quickly should an emergency arise while on the march.
Illustrations of the sarcina can be seen carved on Trajan’s Column in Rome. To the right you can see a scetch of these drawings. The pack was carried on a pole called a furca. This was probably to make it easier for the soldiers to quickly drop their pack and assemble in formation if needed.
The marching pack contained, at minimum, the following: A satchel, a flask, a cloak bag, a cloak, a cooking pot, and a mess tin. Many soldiers also carried a saw, a hatchet, a pick-axe, or a shovel, depending on what job he was assigned in the setting up of the marching fort at the end of each day. Additionally, the soldier carried provisions to carry him through a number of days.
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