Subject: miles heavy infantry legionary
Culture: imperial Roman
Setting: Julio-Claudian/Flavian dynasties, early Roman empire 27BC-AD96
Context (Event Photos, Primary Sources, Secondary Sources, Field Notes)
*
Javelin
* Bennett 1998 p252
"pilum javelin with a long, slim, iron shank between the wooden haft and the point, used by Roman legionaries primarily to break up the enemy charge. It was designed to penetrate a shield and wound the person behind it. If it failed to pierce the shield, or hit the ground, it usually bent and became unusable. Pila were in use until the 2nd century AD."
* Moore 1979 p13
"[T]he javelins were to hurl at the enemy from a distance ..."
Armor
* Bennett 1998 p194
"The mail shirt (lorica hamata) was cut to the same pattern as the original linen cuirass. Scale armour (lorica squamata) was also widely used during the empire. The articulated plate armour (known by the modern term lorica segmentata) was the main innovation of Roman body armour."
* Moore 1979 p12-13
"There were two types of body armour. The first was a tunic of mail, reinforced at the shoulders. The second was a corselet made of metal plates or 'segments' cunningly joined together with leather straps so as to allow easy movement of the shoulders and body; it could also be packed away in a small space when not in use."
* Coggins 1966 p64
"The body armor was usually the lorica segmentata. This was a leather or linen jacket, upon which was sewn a series of metal bands, hinged at the back and fastened in front with clasps. These reached from under the arms to the hips. Over each shoulder was fastened a shoulder piece made up of three or four plates, the ends of which were fastened to the cuirass. Below this cuirass, leather straps hung down like a kilt almost to the bottom of the tunic."
* Royal Armouries Museum > War Gallery
"Lorica segmentata Lorica segmentata is a modern name in Latin for the type of body armour made of iron plates joined together by internal leathers that was used by legionaries from the beginning of the 1st century AD to about 250 AD. The armour developed over its years in military service, and different types are named after their archaeological find sites." ....
Sword
* Battles of the Bible 2023 p128
"Many ancient armies favoured spears or other unwieldy weapons, which were useful in massed formations but not so effective in the close-quarters scramble of an assault. Not so the Roman legionaries. Some threw their pila as they advanced to the wall, but at the moment of contact it was their short swords that were the decisive weapons. The gladius was light and handy, capable of cutting or stabbing; an ideal weapon for a wall assault."
* Bennett 1998 128
"gladius general term for the legionary sword used during the Roman republic and early empire (around 300 BC-AD 200). It was replaced by the spatha."
* Stone 1934 p
"
Shield
* Moore 1979 p13
"His equipment was completed by an oblong shield, curving inwards on either side to protect the body; side by side with other shields it could be used to achieve an unbroken cover in face of the enemy."
* Coggins 1966 p64-65
"The shield, or scutum, was oblong, about four feet high by two or two and a half broad and deeply curved. It was made of wood, covered with leather and with an edging of iron. In the center was a boss and within the border was the insignia of the legion, painted on, or made of metal and riveted in place. Presumably to protect this insignia, the shields were covered when on the march or in camp."
* Bennett 1998 p287
"scutum curved shield used by Roman legionaries from the mid-Republic until the 2nd century AD. Its was [SIC] semicylindrical in shape, giving better protection than a flat shield, and enabled the Romans to fight in a loose formation."
* Battles of the Bible 2023 p128
"The scutum, the legionary's shield, protected him from missiles and blows as he advanced to the assault, but it was more than that. Long training taught legionaries to use their shields as a mobile obstacle, reducing the odds against any given man by presenting what amounted to a wall to the assailant on his right while the legionary attacked those to this left with his sword. The shield could also be used to crash into an enemy, forcing him back against his fellows and hampering his movements. A defender who found himself pinned against the man behind could quickly be despatched with the thrust of a sword."
Dagger
* Bennett 1998 p258
"pugio Roman military dagger, worn as part of military dress in the 1st century AD.
"Of Spanish origin, it first appears on Roman sites in Spain in the second half of the 2nd century BC. Archaeological evidence of its existence disappears at the end of the 1st century AD, but it reappears in an evolved form, with a broader handle, in the 3rd century AD."
* Stone 1934 p
"
Tunic
* Moore 1979 p13
"Underneath the armour the legionary wore a tunic of woollen cloth, a linen undergarment and cloth or leather breeches. A woollen scarf around his neck prevented the armour from chafing his skin."
* Coggins 1966 p64
"The legionary wore a short-sleeved woolen tunic reaching to mid-thigh. Soldiers of a later date are always shown wearing tight-fitting trousers (braccae) but whether these had been adopted in Caesar's time we do not know. As his campaigns called for wintering his troops in a fairly cold climate, it is possible that warmer clothing had been adopted, and that the braccae were the adaptation of the long trousers of the Gauls."
Belt
* Coggins 1966 p64
"
* Moore 1979 p13
"He wore around his waist an elaborate belt terminating in several studded straps which were allowed to fall as a sporran to protect the lower abdomen."
Footwear
* Moore 1979 p13
"His footwear consisted of heavy leather sandals, often with hobnails in the soles and heels."
