Experiences on the March with Replica Roman Equipment

Author: Atkinson, D. and Morgan, L., (1984), “The Wellingborough and Nijmegen March”, originally published in “Roman Military Equipment: The Accoutrements of War” from the “Proceedings of the Third Roman Military Equipment Research Seminar”, (M. Dawson (ed.), (1987), BAR International Series 336, Oxford).

Introduction

During 1984 organised walking events by the Waendal Walkers Club at Wellingborough, Northamptonshire and the Dutch K.N.B.L.O. at Nijmegen were entered by The Roman Military Research Society (THE RMRS) to carry out basic field trials of Roman military equipment under strict scrutiny and appropriate field conditions. Distances of 52 miles in two days and 100 miles in four days respectively were covered. The purpose was to wear replica Roman military equipment and march in it for a given length of time over distances that would bear comparison with the daily march routine of the legions as specified in the account of Vegetius [1], and to assess the effects on both the reconstructions and the wearers.

The entrants commenced training during November of 1983 and progressively increased the tempo and length of the march until they were capable of covering the average official Northampton marathon route at an average speed of 4mph. Once this initial objective was attained the equipment was worn. Finally, four persons representing a 1st-century AD legionary in full fighting equipment, a light auxiliary of the same period and two 4th-century AD infantrymen took part in the marches [2].

Equipment [3]

Armour Owing to the difficulties encountered in obtaining suitable sheet iron the helmets, armour (lorica) and the blades of weapons were constructed from mild steel. We are nevertheless reasonably sure that this material would possesses a tensile strength generally similar to the iron originals. Their manufacture which must have involved repeated hammering and reheating cycles in charcoal-fuelled forges would thereby have ensured a reasonably high carbon content in the finished product.

Boots The boots (caligae) worn were a standard pattern studded boot as found on numerous sites throughout Europe. The patterns for the uppers were taken from archaeological reports from Valkenburg, London and various forts along Hadrian's Wall. The stud pattern used came from Valkenburg Z.H. Holland [4]. The open work upper is made from a single piece of cowhide with three or four pieces sewn on and over 130 metal studs fitted into the flat bottom, with no raised heel.

Initially socks were not worn inside the caligae but persistent blistering soon forced their introduction. We were not unduly perturbed by this development as we accept that the Romans, whether military or civilian would be conditioned to walk for far greater distances than their modern counterparts. Furthermore, socks or at least their equivalent foot coverings are mentioned as having been sent to a soldier serving in the First Tungrian Cohort at Vindolanda in the period AD 95 to AD 105 [5].

Whether socks were worn for the same reason as ourselves or simply for warmth cannot be assumed for certain but the fact remains that an assessment of the durability of the boots and not our feet was the object of the exercise. As a result of taking this decision we finally managed to cover a distance in excess of 400 miles during both the training and the marches while wearing the reconstructed equipment. We believe therefore, that this is sufficient justification in itself for the wearing of socks. The boots were re-studded immediately prior to the four-day Nijmegen marches and the pattern of the studs was made in modern hobnails. Although we cannot be positive as to the differences of durability between our modern hobnails and the Roman originals, we feel if anything, that modern studs would be of a better quality. By calculating the rate of wear of the studs, against the distance covered, we concluded that the legionary could march for 12 days on a metalled surface before all his original studs would be worn down. In contrast, the light auxiliary was surprisingly harder on his boots which would have led to complete re-studding and replacement of the originals after only 8 days. This unexpected result can only be explained by the fact that the two persons involved in the experiment marched in different ways. The legionary, in spite of his heavier loading placed his heel down first whilst the auxiliary seems to have dragged his toes on occasions which caused some part worn studs to be pulled out. On soft ground or unmetalled roads the studs would naturally have lasted longer.

We must acknowledge that the scope of this experiment was rather narrow as comparative results from only two pairs of boots can hardly be considered conclusive. For all that, it gives an average rate of wear of only ten days road marching before the sole begins to sustain damage. It must be qualified here that the wear takes place initially on the heel, toe and sole of the foot to a greater extent than the instep and that these higher points require virtually daily replacement. The ten-day average period is therefore the time for which the last original stud would last. This is not a long time particularly considering that for Roman soldiers the replacement of equipment involved stoppages of pay. This high wear also highlights one of the legionaries' grievances during the Pannonian mutiny of AD 14 about overpaying for replacement studs; two further references endorse the claims made by the mutineers in Pannonia.

Tacitus mentions an allowance to pay for shoes nails called clavarium (“nail money”) that was claimed by the Flavian forces marching on Rome [6]. The men’s claim was motivated by the unreasonable wear to their boots caused by the long march which they could only replace against stoppages of pay. The fact that the allowance had a name seems sufficient evidence for its existence. Similar allowances, possibly the same as above, are also mentioned by Suetonius [7]. When the Classiarii, who had to march regularly from Ostia or Puteoli to Rome, claimed “boot money”, the Emperor Vespasian, with his customary dry humour, is said to have required them to make the journey barefoot. According to Suetonius they still did so in his day.

The Marches

Effects on the Wearers In temperatures of 21°C (70°F) or above, all four marchers tended to sweat profusely in their woollen clothing but with one notable exception given below, the inconvenience, once accepted as inevitable became tolerable. The clothing, however, did tend to retain dampness overnight and a certain initial degree of discomfort was experienced on the following morning. The legionary who was obliged to undergo the additional imposition of having the upper part of his body encased in a steel lorica, which permitted very little air to circulate, suffered from bouts of nausea and dizziness after three to four hours on the march. Weight loss was excessive and during one particular 26-mile march on a very hot day, seven pounds were shed. On this occasion, temporary blindness and disorientation were also experienced over a period of approximately 30 seconds. Medical advice was sought and we were informed that a far larger intake of liquid would be required to counter dehydration and that the disorientation, vision failure and nausea were directly attributable to salt deficiency. Once these matters were attended to, no further symptoms recurred. It is interesting to relate this situation to the issue of salt (salaria) to the Roman soldiers. It would seem probable that they understood that it was an essential requirement for maintaining a fast marching rate quite apart from its uses in flavouring and preserving meat. We must also assume that each man either carried with him, or had immediately available, large amounts of water. Although the stomach should never be overloaded at the beginning of a long march, small amounts need to be taken at frequent intervals. In our case, a fair approximation was half a pint per hour which means that half a gallon of water per person was consumed during the course of a day's march. Urination occurred seldom, if at all.

Effects on the Equipment Although the caligae came out rather well, the initially highly polished metal of the lorica and helmets deteriorated visibly under the repeated drenching in perspiration. We soon learned that a liberal application of grease would protect it from the worst effects of the corrosion. Unfortunately this led to the somewhat uncomfortable situation where arms, faces and legs soon became coated in turn and ultimately it became customary to exude an unpleasant odour compounded of grease and sweat which did nothing to endear us to the other marchers. At the end of the day, everything we ate and drank was similarly tainted. If we learned nothing else from this, we can at least be certain that Roman travellers who encountered a military unit on the march would have passed to windward.

At an early stage in the training, it was noticeable that certain loosely attached items of equipment either rattled, clanked or developed irritating propensities of one kind or another. While this can be endured ever short distances, a 25-mile march is quite another matter. We feel sure that the illustrations of Marius' Mule, for so long a feature of the history books, requires some revision as regards the disposal of his equipment. Free hanging items such as the soldier's patera (“mess tin”) [8], for instance, which is usually depicted as being suspended by the handle from the end of a carrying pole, would, we are quite certain, be more firmly secured. Quite apart from the adverse effects on the disposition of the soldier. The banging of the helmet during our initial attempts to suspend it from the right shoulder, in the manner portrayed on Trajan's Column, caused a metal hinge pin of 23.6 mm (0.93 in) diameter on one of the cheekpieces to fracture, therefore the durability of the equipment must be taken into account, as well as the carrying position.

Both the legionary and auxiliary swords tended to swing in against the hip and thigh and to shift position constantly as the march progressed. In order to counteract this unpleasant effect and prevent the need for constant readjustment, the belt was passed over both baldric straps whereas formerly only the rear strap had been secured in this manner. The pommel, situated high up under the right arm pit, tended to chafe the bicep and at first this caused minor blistering. In the course of time the affected areas became calloused and hardened and therefore no further modifications to the position of the sword were considered necessary.

The suspension of the helmet on the march required some investigation. Hanging it from the shoulder plates proved difficult and ultimately caused damage to the cheekpiece hinge. Moreover, it was very difficult to unfasten with any degree of urgency as would be required if a sudden attack developed while on the march. Hanging the helmet by its thong around the neck was initially comfortable, but after half an hour or so became painful despite the protection of the scarf. The solution quite simply involved hanging it across the chest by passing the thong through the horizontal chest strap on the lorica. This operation could easily be carried out whilst at rest or on the march and the helmet could be deployed with the same facility.

The carrying of the scutum (“shield”) also proved difficult. A possible solution has only now come under serious consideration. Though we have no information relevant to the arrangement of a carrying strap or harness, we feel sure one must have been employed. We therefore decided to improvise a reasonably logical stop-gap expedient which utilized the hand grip as the load bearer. The scutum which we used was of a standard size. That is to say that it conformed generally to the dimensions of the Dura Europos example and those of the shield covers from Vindonissa. A leather strap was fastened to both ends of the shield handgrip and the loop so formed placed over the right shoulder. In this manner the shield was carried in a high port position on the left side where it severely restricted vision in that direction. A lower position interfered with the movement of the legs and we therefore opted for the first choice as the carrying position. The carrying strap was tried in several different positions:

1. Locked around the left shoulder plates proved unsatisfactory. The downward pull of the shield caused the strap to jam progressively more tightly under the plates. It thereby proved almost impossible to disengage the shield without assistance. Despite the drawback in deploying the shield this was the least painful method attempted and our solution under consideration uses this method as a starting point.

2. The strap across the upper body and around the right side of the neck proved disastrous as a process of slow strangulation took place.

3. Retention of the carrying strap by the projecting lorica plate (epaulette) on the right shoulder. This possibility was suggested by Nicholas Fuentes and accordingly tried over the first 25-miles at Nijmegen. The method produced an effect similar to that given in No. 2 above. The right shoulder was compressed and forced upwards and inwards. Apart from the obvious discomfort, breathing was restricted, and circulation cut off to the extent that towards the final stages of the march the right arm and shoulder were completely numb and useless for any practical purposes. It became essential to halt at more and more frequent intervals for readjustments to be made. It was found later that the internal rear leathers, although made of good quality calf leather about 3.2 mm (0.125 in) thick, had been ripped and the rivets and washers attaching them to the metal plates were pulled free. All this in one day's march of 25-miles.

Consequently a modus operandi was developed, hence we believe the weight of the shield must be suspended vertically from the left shoulder and are currently experimenting with a simple harness that seems to work well, but we are reluctant to comment on it until it has been tried in the field. Our experience shows that the shield cannot be carried by hand alone over long distances, further that the wrong sort of carrying aid can be as painful and exhausting as no aid at all. A further report on our progress will be published as appropriate.

Insofar as the lessons learnt from the fourth century equipment are concerned, though of less significance they merit a brief mention. An almost total lack of armour with the exception of the helmet greatly facilitated marching, and except for profuse sweating caused by the woollen tunic and trousers, the marches were comparatively enjoyable. The large round flat shields were carried across the back by a single loop through the handgrip passed over the right or left shoulder according to preference. By the simple process of bending the elbow backwards against the projecting side of the shield and hooking the thumb into the belt on the appropriate side the shield was easily stabilised, and no undue fatigue was experienced.

Initially the helmets and longer-bladed swords (spathae) caused minor problems. The latter was suspended on the left side by a baldric over which a waist belt was passed to lock it into position, but the chape of the scabbard hanging almost vertically downwards kept banging against the wearer's shins. The helmet had either to be worn or carried by hand. Eventually an ingenious solution was arrived at whereby the helmet thongs were knotted together and the helmet suspended by them over the hilt of the sword. In this manner, the weight of the helmet counterbalanced that of the sword and as a result the scabbard hung at an approximate angle of 30 degrees from the vertical, away from and behind the legs, thereby keeping the offending chapes well out of the way. In the case of the two fourth century infantrymen modern suede boots were used. This compromise was forced upon us due to the fact that the reconstructed boots could not be broken in time to ensure that blisters were kept to an acceptably low level. In point of fact, we believe that the boots which were worn bore a fairly close resemblance of those of the actual period. However no tests could be carried out on these particular items as they would be irrelevant.

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Endnotes:

1. Vegetius, “Epitoma Rei Militaris”. ▲

2. Members taking part were David Atkinson, Steve Rogers, Mark Morgan and Len Morgan. The back-up party was Stephany Atkinson, Elizabeth Morgan and John Eagle. ▲

3. List of equipment ▲:

4. Groenman-Van Waateringe, 1967. ▲

5. Bowman & Thomas, 1983, No. 15. ▲

6.  Tacitus, “Histories”, III, 50. ▲

7.  Suetonius, “Vespasian”, 8, 3. ▲

8.  To confuse matters, patera was also the name given to round dishes, small plates or saucers which, according to Pliny (Natural History, XXX.8 s21), were sometimes used in cooking, an operation more commonly performed in pots [olla] and basins or bowls. They could also be used at meals to eat upon or to serve food. The use of paterae at meals no doubt gave origin to the employment of them in sacrifices. On these occasions they held either solid food or any liquid intended to be poured out as a libation. We find paterae frequently represented in conjunction with the other instruments of sacrifice upon coins, gems, altars, bas-reliefs, and the friezes of temples. ▲

Bibliography:

Bowman, A.K. & Thomas, J., (1983), Vindolanda; the Latin Writing Tablets, Britannia Monograph Series No. 4, London.

Groenman-van Waateringe, W., (1967), Romeins lederwerk uit Valkenburg Z.H., Nederlandse Oudheden 2, Groningen.