11 May 2024: Legion – Life in the Roman Army
A Great Exhibition
After the Michelangelo exhibition at the British Museum we grabbed a quick bite to eat and decided to go to the other special exhibition — Legion: Life in the Roman Army.
I wondered what Cathy would think of a military-based exhibition. It turns out she was as fascinated as I was.
The dome over the courtyard is always impressive.
The British Museum knows how to mount a great exhibition and their support materials are excellent.
Legion - Life in the Roman Army
- From family life on the fort to the brutality of the battlefield, experience Rome’s war machine through the people who knew it best – the soldiers who served in it.
- Most stories of the Roman empire describe the history of powerful men. Legion focuses on the lives of ordinary soldiers.
- Men may have done the fighting, but Legion shows that a picture of Roman military life without women is just wrong, says Mary Beard.
- 1,700 tablets from Roman Britain tell us intimate details of fort life in the words of the people who lived there. Here’s why they matter.
What a relief! Revealing Roman craftsmanship
- Conservator Kathryn Oliver reveals how lasers can put us in touch with Roman makers' marks - uncovering detail of a turning point in battle.
British Museum Courtyard Dome
Emperor Augustus
Rome’s first emperor, Augustus (63 BC - AD 14), ruled over at least 60 million people, but barely 20% were Roman citizens.
He created the empire’s first full-time career soldiers. Some 150,000 male citizens made up the core of his army, with an equal number of non-citizens to bolster the ranks.
This head from a larger- than-life statue of Augustus was erected in Claudius Terentianus’s homeland, Egypt, newly-conquered since 30 BC. Later torn down and buried beyond the imperial frontier, it symbolises resistance to Roman rule, and the need for a dependable military force to guard the empire’s far-flung borders.
Bronze, calcite, glass and plaster
Sudan (ancient Meroë), northeast Africa 27-25 ВС
British Museum, 1911,0901.1
A Family Business
The benefits of a military career passed down the family line. Once a father earned citizenship, his sons, armed with good references, could also seek to join the elite legions.
This memorial possibly shows a father, flanked by his sons. They each hold armour-piercing javelins and carry long shields - signs of their legionary status.
Sandstone
Croy Hill fort, North Lanarkshire, Scotland
Mid-AD 100s
On loan courtesy of National Museums Scotland National
A Literate Soldier
Soldiers who could write home understood they had an essential skill, which provided opportunities for promotion. The inscription on this soldier’s tombstone has been lost, but depicted holding a tablet or scroll, he was keen to show that he too could read.
He wears the usual everyday military attire - tunic, cloak, sandals and military belts with sword and dagger.
Stone
Mainz-Weisenau, Germany
AD 1-100
GDKE - Directorate Landesmuseum Mainz
Marching with the emperor
A specialist standard bearer, the imaginifer carried the image of the emperor at the head of the regiment.
Genialis Clusiodi was an imaginifer of the 7th cohort of Raetians (an Alpine people) who died aged 35. His standard is topped with a bust of an emperor, perhaps Claudius or Nero. He holds a scroll, and an animal pelt hood is draped around his neck.
Stone
Mainz, Germany
AD 41-68
GDKE - Directorate Landesmuseum Mainz
They were very good at doing ears.
Draco - the dragon standard
By the AD 100s, a distinctive windsock-like standard especially suited to being wielded from the saddle had been adopted from Rome’s Sarmatian (nomadic Iranian) foes - the draco.
This bronze standard head originally had a tube of colourful materials attached. Carried by a draconarius, the material trailed behind the rider, blown by the breeze and emitting a whistling sound to suggest the fearsome beast’s howl. Its pole was attached through two holes on the top and bottom of the head.
Bronze
Niederbieber, Germany
AD 190-260
GDKE - Direktion Landesarchäologie Außenstelle Koblenz
Legionary Scutum (long shield)
Despite the countless made, this is the only complete surviving Roman legionary long shield (scutum). It is from Rome’s Syrian frontier, where the dry climate preserved the wood and its remarkable painted leather surface, but its semi-cylindrical shape is now more curled.
On a military red background are Roman victory and regimental motifs including an eagle with a laurel wreath, winged Victories and a lion.
Soldiers painted their shields for personal and unit recognition in a variety of designs. The centre hole is missing its metal boss.
Wood, leather and bronze
Dura-Europos, Syria
Early AD 200s
Yale University Art Gallery, Yale-French Excavations at Dura-Europos
Legionaries in battle formation
During battle inexperienced soldiers occupied the front line, blocked from retreat by the older men.
The legionaries depicted on the stone stele are drawn up deep in close formation using their long shields as a defensive wall, a crucial Roman battle tactic.
They were perhaps the 5th legion, called the ‘larks’ as the bird had plumage reminiscent to their helmet adornments. The legion was possibly destroyed by the Sarmatians in AD 92.
Stone
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France,
AD 1-50
On loan from Lugdunum - Musée & théâtres romains, métropole de Lyon, France
Bummer being an inexperienced soldier.
Mounted archers
Mounted archers provided mobility and greater elevation to boost effective bowshot range.
The tombstone of an archer on a warhorse commemorates Flavius Proclus, from Amman (modern-day Jordan), who died aged 20. Syrians such as Proclus were renowned within the Roman army for their archery skills. Proclus was seconded from his position as a provincial auxiliary to the emperor’s bodyguard - his outsider (non-citizen) status was useful to keep his political loyalty focussed on the emperor.
Stone
Mainz, Germany
AD 70-100
GDKE - Directorate Landesmuseum Mainz
Emperor Hadrian
Hadrian (ruled AD 117-38) is depicted here as a military commander, wearing an officer’s cloak and cuirass.
In major battles, active military emperors were often just behind the lines, directing operations. Although an experienced general, in AD 135 the elderly Hadrian was even further away - confined to Rome - and only learned how general Arrian, serving on the eastern frontier, defeated the cataphracts through written correspondence.
Marble
Tivoli, Italy
AD 125-30
British Museum, 1805,0703.95
Quite a handsome fellow.
Spoils of War
Roman writer Tacitus stated: ‘The booty of a city … always falls to the soldiers if it is captured, to the officers if it surrenders!
Such loot commonly featured in Roman triumphalist art. On this marble relief of captured arms and armour, the sculptor combines Roman with Dacian and Sarmatian equipment. A draco standard sits at top centre amidst helmets, cuirasses, shields, swords, a battle axe, a quiver of arrows and a ram’s-head battering ram.
Marble
Rome, Italy
AD 100-200
British Museum, 1805,0703.436
Empress Julia Domna & Emperor Septimus Severus
Septimius Severus (ruled AD 193-211) was a Roman governor proclaimed emperor by his troops. While securing his position through civil wars, he won wider loyalty by increasing soldiers’ pay, social status and marriage rights.
This marble bust depicts him in imperial travelling gear of tunic and military officer’s cloak. The emperor fought and travelled widely with his armies and died at York while campaigning in Britain.
Marble
Rome, Italy
AD 200-10
British Museum, 1805,0703.104
Julia Domna accompanied her husband, emperor Septimius Severus, on his extensive military campaigns.
This bust shows her distinctive hairstyle. Curving up at the back and held with horizontal braids, it seems to resemble a military helmet. Wisps of natural hair peeking out near the ears show that the rest is in fact a wig. Imperial doctors recommended emperors on campaign crop their hair for hygiene. If Julia Domna followed suit, perhaps her obvious wig was a deliberate attempt to display her commitment to the army.
Marble
Probably Rome, Italy
AD 203-17
Yale University Art Gallery, Ruth Elizabeth White Fund
Beware of the Guard Dog!
This marble statue of a seated Molossian hound is a Roman copy of a bronze original from the Greek world.
Molossians were a large ferocious breed often depicted as Roman guard dogs, and used for fighting, both in war and the amphitheatre. In Roman forts, dogs provided added security, as well as companions for hunting - a favourite leisure pursuit of the commander at Vindolanda fort.
Marble
Probably Rome, Italy
AD 100-200
British Museum, 2001,1010.1
Beware indeed – but he doesn’t look too fierce.
Stay tuned for more adventures on our European Odyssey!