Views of a Roman Soilder

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Views of a Roman Soilder

• Compiled by Garber from http//myron.sjsu.edu/rome
  web/romarmy/reenact/contents.htm
  andhttp//www.ncl.ac.uk/nantiq/arma/welc/beginner
  /page00.htm images and text appear without
  permission for educational purposes only.

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A Diagram of Roman Armor
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Roman infantry

• On this page and the next page, Robert Garbisch
  portrays a Roman infantryman of the First Century
  A. D. The body armour, or segmented lorica, is
  patterned after Roman armour discovered at
  Newstead, in Scotland, and the Roman town of
  Corstopitum, near Corbridge, in England. His
  helmet is a copy of one found near Mainz, in
  Gaul. The gladius, or short sword, is an exact
  replica of one found in the ruins of Pompeii.
  Robert has recently "revived" LEGIO X FRETENSIS,
  the Roman Tenth legion that was stationed in
  Judaea during the time of Jesus Christ and the
  Roman emperors Augustus and Tiberius. This
  reenactment group is devoted to researching and
  accurately portraying the lives of typical Roman
  soldiers during this period.

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Scale Armour

• Scale armour was made of small plates of iron or
  copper alloy wired to their neighbors
  horizontally and sewn to a fabric or leather
  backing. In the 2nd century A.D., a new form of
  semi-rigid cuirass was introduced where each
  scale was wired to its vertical, as well as
  horizontal, neighbors. Similarly used throughout
  the Roman period.
• Segmental armour consisted of overlapping curved
  bands or iron fastened to internal leather
  straps. Used from the 1st to 3rd centuries A.D.

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Mail Armour

• Mail was normally made of iron rings, each
  riveted one interlinked with four other punched
  or welded rings. In the early imperial period,
  the wearer's shoulders were reinforced with
  'doubling' which was fastened across the chest.
  Used throughout the Roman period.

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• Robert wears this reconstruction of a Roman
  helmet found in the Rhine River near Mainz. As
  noted on an earlier page in this series, most
  scholars believe the illustrations on Trajan's
  Column show cheek guards that are smaller and
  further apart than they actually were. In this
  close - up, we can see that Robert does indeed
  posess the proper qualities of gravitas so
  befitting a proper Roman soldier. Didn't these
  fellows ever smile? Or, perhaps their faces only
  brightened while lounging off - duty after the
  battle, telling tall tales over a krater of wine
  to the local girls and incredulous travelers in a
  tavern in one of the many garrison towns where he
  might find himself stationed.

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• Roman helmets were made of iron or copper alloy
  (both bronze and brass are known). The main
  features are the bowl, a neckguard (to protect
  from blows to the neck), cheekpieces (to protect
  the sides of the face), and a browguard
  (defending against downward blows to the face).
• Many helmets had fittings to allow for the
  attachment of crests.
• Soldiers often punched or scratched their names
  and those of their centurions onto their helmets
  as a mark of ownership.

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Pilum or Javelin

• In the image above, Robert Garbisch stands ready
  to cast his pilum at an enemy's shield. The
  general idea was for the hard steel point to
  penetrate one or more shields while the soft iron
  necks bent over and so encumberd the shield(s)
  that it(they) were thrown away by the frustrated
  enemy who can neither extract the pilum head nor
  snap off the thin soft neck before the legionary
  has rushed him with the cold steel menace of a
  drawn gladius, plunging the sword deep within his
  abdomen and quickly ending the enemy's life.

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Roman Sword

• In the 3rd or 2nd century B.C., the Romans
  adopted a long-pointed, double-edged Iberian
  weapon which they called the 'Spanish sword'.
  This basic design, with various modifications
  continued through to the 2nd century A.D.
• Ordinary infantrymen and cavalrymen wore their
  swords on the right side, but centurions wore
  them on the left.
• Cavalry used a longer, narrower, sword that
  followed Celtic types. This was eventually
  adopted by infantry as well and - now worn on the
  left - replaced the 'Spanish sword'.

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Reproduction of a Gladius in the "Pompeii" Pattern

• The gladius, or Spanish - style short sword, here
  wielded by Roman reenactor Robert Garbisch, is
  the standard sidearm of the properly equipped
  Roman legionary. It dates from about the time of
  Marius (110 B. C. or so) and remained the
  standard weapon until the first half of the
  Fourth Century A. D., when it was slowly
  discarded in favour of the spatha, or long
  cavalry sword. The spatha was used by Roman
  cavalry auxiliary alae ("wings" or units) and the
  Celtic, German, Gothic, and Scythian enemies of
  Rome.

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"Pompeii" Pattern Gladius and Scabbard

• This is Robert Garbisch's gladius sheathed on his
  right hip, which is the regulation way the
  standard Roman short sword was carried by a
  legionary of the First Century B. C. through the
  early Fourth Century A.D.

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Caliga

• This is the standard Roman caliga or infantry
  boot, patterned after originals unearthed at Hod
  Hill in Britain and other places. These had soles
  about half an inch thick which were studded with
  round headed iron nails.

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Roman Officer

• In this photo and the images on the next few
  pages, Steve Oster models a very accurate
  reproduction of a Praetorian officer's uniform
  and armour. The helmet, cuirass, and greaves were
  made by Lonely Mountain Forge, a custom armourer
  in Tallahassee, Florida from brass. Though
  originally of bronze and somewhat harder and able
  to withstand heavy blows delivered in the heat of
  battle, the reconstruction is of brass which is
  much easier to work. The helmet, cuirass, and
  other pieces of armour are patterned after relief
  carvings found on Trajan's Column in Rome.
  Depicting many of this early Second Century
  emperor's campaigns and victories, this monument
  is an important source of information about
  armour, tactics, and weapons of the period. The
  gladius is a reproduction weapon patterned after
  an intact sword found buried in the ruins of
  Pompeii.

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• Before commissioning this armour, Steve
  researched his subject well. Reenactors today are
  fortunate to have available to them the fruit of
  extensive scholarly research and photographs of
  surviving examples of ancient arms and armour
  presented in a concise and very readable format.
  The excellent series of books published by Osprey
  Military Press is based on the study of ancient
  manuscript sources as well as the results of
  modern archaeological research. Much of this
  research is sponsored by the British Museum, one
  of the most respected institutions engaged in
  research into Roman history and archaeology.

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• The armour Steve is wearing would not have been
  worn by the regular army officers on campaign in
  the field. This ornate armour would have been
  saved for parades, triumphs, and ceremonial
  occasions. It cost much more than the regular
  issue armour which would have been more like the
  segmented armour seen in some of the earlier
  photos or possibly chain mail. Highly decorated
  parade armour like this would most probably have
  been worn by officers of the Praetorian Guard
  while on garrison duty in the city of Rome.
  Beautifully crafted armour, often overlaid with
  silver and gold sometimes cost a legionary more
  than a year's pay but many of these men gladly
  incurred the expense so that they could look
  their best before the public and their comrades
  when the occasion dictated.

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• The quality of workmanship can be seen clearly in
  this close - up of the Praetorian Guardsman's
  helmet. Compare this helmet with the Mainz
  pattern helmet worn by the first reenactor. Both
  types of helmet are quite a bit nicer than the
  standard issue helmet of the period, which looked
  somewhat like a modern construction worker's hard
  hat. Roman soldiers are often depicted in the
  movies wearing their elaborate, high horsehair
  plumes in battle. In reality, the plumes would
  have made the helmets unwieldy and would have
  hampered the legionary's movements.

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• This closeup image shows the fine workmanship
  that went into making the hand crafted greaves
  that Steve is wearing. They are authentically
  Roman in style, accurately reflecting the Romans'
  tastes in the use of fantastic stylized faces of
  mythical animals and beasts in the adornment of
  their military accoutrements and weapons. These
  might include a bull with the head of a man, a
  centaur, which is a horse with the upper body of
  a man, a griffin, which was a winged lion, a
  likeness of Medusa's head with writhing snakes
  instead of hair, or any number of creatures which
  were a combination of humans and beasts.

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Another Example of a "Pompeii" Pattern Gladius

• Steve Oster holds this gladius, also of Pompeii
  pattern although there are some small differences
  from the one worn by Robert Garbisch.

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LEGIONARY AQUILA AND VEXILLA(Eagle and standards)
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Standard Bearer
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Roman Legionary

• CALIGAE - (Military Sandals) This is a Roman
  military pattern with soles one - half to three -
  quarters inch thick and hobnailed.
• BALTEUS - (Military Belt) This is a Roman style
  army belt with a decorative groin-guard
  (sporran).
• GLADIUS - A military sword and scabbard, either
  in a plain design, Mainz, or Pompeii pattern.
• GALEA - A Roman army helmet with a wide range of
  acceptable patterns.
• SCUTUM - A rectangular, straight sided shield,
  generally 37' to 42" in length, and 24" to 33"
  wide. It is curved to a radius of approximately
  18" to 24". Check with your Centurio for
  acceptable Legio designs.
• PILUM (Military javelin) - Try to acquire two,
  and if possible, have one a light version and one
  a heavy.
• LORICA - (Body Armor) Use the Corbridge A or B
  pattern with the proper brass fittings for rank
  and file. Chain mail (lorica hamata) or scale
  (lorica squamata) are reserved for the Imperator,
  Centurio, Aquilifer, Signifer, or the Cornicen.
• Additional optional items are
• FOCALE (Scarf), PUGIO (Dagger), SAGUM or PAENULA
  (Cloak), SUBARMALIS (protective undergarment), a
  Shield Cover, Pack, Satchel, Net Bag, Personal
  effects, such as a razor, shaving kit, comb,
  brush, metal mirror, small towel, soap, sewing
  kit, etc. UDONES (Socks), BRACCAE (Trousers),
  PILEUS (a wool or felt cap).

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Roman Legionary

• REMEMBER The key to the Roman military success
  in creating the Imperial Empire was DISCIPLINE.
  The Romans fought together in close order
  formations. It made the Legionary an almost
  unbeatable foe in a given pitched battle fought
  on open ground.

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A Sample Battle Tactic
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Assorted Reenactors
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