Serving in the Roman navy

 I've been catching up on my reading and thoroughly enjoyed the article "Roman Fleet Personnel" by Duncan Campbell in Volume XIV, Issue 2 of Ancient Warfare Magazine.

So today's featured "Antiquities Alive" artwork are the frescos of Roman galleys found in the porticus of the Temple of Isis at Pompeii.

Campbell points out that the Roman navy was crewed by fleet soldiers/marines termed "milites classiarii", sailors known as "nautae" and oarsmen called remiges.  However, on funerary monuments these men referred to themselves as just milites.  They were commanded by a centurion just as they would have been if a regular member of the legions.  The main distinction found on recovered gravestones is the mention of the name of the ship on which they served, although some men just recognized the name of their centurionate, such as "member of the centuria of Antonius Priscus."

Two uniquely naval officers were the trierarchus, captain of the a ship, and navarchus, a title thought to be that of a naval administrative post as it was usually not mentioned in the context of a ship but of overall naval operations.  Only a dozen or so navarchs have been identified and the tombstone of Publius Petronius Afrodisis informs us that he progressed from the position of trierarch to navarch, and ultimately to the head of the Praetorian Fleet of Ravenna. It is Galen who tells us that the position of trierarch originally meant the captain of a trireme but it eventually came to be used for any vessel's captain. 

Although sailors thought of themselves as milites (soldiers) they were usually non-citizens who were granted Latin status upon enlistment but not full Roman citizenship.  Therefore  their promotional prospects were thereby limited.  Campbell relates the example of Claudius Terentianus who joined the Roman navy at Alexandria but longed for service in an auxiliary cohort where he might at least rise in rank to a centurion.

Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributors Miguel Hermoso Cuesta and ArchaiOptix

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Review: The Leopard Sword by Anthony Riches

A history resource article by Mary Harrsch © 2017

In Book 4 of Anthony Riches' Empire series, "The Leopard Sword", we find our protagonist, Marcus Tribulus Corvus, aka Marcus Valerius Aquila, and the first and second Tungrian cohorts transferred to Germania Inferior to sort out bandits operating around the town of Tungrorum (modern Tongeren in the Belgian province of Limburg). This area was the homeland for some of the original members of the Tungrian cohorts but there have been so many battle losses that only one centurion, Julius, appears to be the only one described in the novel as having once been a local in the town.

We learn from the prolog that the bandits are lead by a mysterious figure named Obduro who wears an ornate cavalry mask to obscure his face. When the bandit leader removes his mask, his victims immediately recognize him so we can assume he is either a rogue Roman officer or well-known magistrate in the area.  Obduro also carries a lethal sword with an unusual mottling on the blade. The sword cleaves the gladius of one of Obduro's victims right in two. Immediately, I thought the blade was probably made of Damascus steel but as the story unfolds in the late 2nd century CE, I thought it was probably a bit early for that innovation.

Closeup of the watered pattern of a blade made of Damascus steel.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

I double checked the history of Damascus steel and learned that such blades were manufactured from ingots of wootz steel produced using the crucible method developed in southern India in the 6th century BCE. Wootz steel was exported to India's surrounding neighbors but was not recorded as exported to the Middle East until the 3rd century CE, although examples of weapons made of the steel could have been circulated somewhat earlier. Thinking about implications of this to the plot, I worried about our hero Marcus, heretofore the ultimate swordsman, since he does not possess any weapons that could withstand a blow from such a blade.

Despite the depredations of the bandits, the Tungrians are not particularly welcomed when they arrive to reinforce the existing legion led by an arrogant young and totally inexperienced aristocrat of the senatorial class who resents taking orders from Tribune Scaurus, a mere equestrian. Tribune Scaurus has to pry information out of the local officers and magistrates to even begin to plan for operations against the bandits, made even more difficult by the presence of a thick forest (the Ardennes) used as a haven for the outlaws. The forest is also the lair of the fierce Gallo-Roman goddess known as Arduinna represented (in the novel) as a huntress riding a boar.

Historical Note: There appears to be disagreement among scholars as to the form of Arduinna. A famous sculpture of a female goddess astride a boar found in the Jura Mountains was dubbed Arduinna in spite of the fact that it was not found in the Ardennes and was not accompanied by an inscription identifying it as the goddess. The fact that the boar is known to be a sacred animal to the Celts and the figure riding it is female with the weapons of a huntress led some scholars to identify it with Arduinna because Arduinna was recognized in Celtic mythology as the goddess of woodlands, wildlife, the hunt, and the moon. The only support for belief in this incarnation of the goddess was recorded by Gregory of Tours who described the destruction of a large stone statue of the Roman goddess Diana in the village of Villers-Devant-Orval in the Ardennes in the 6th century CE. It was thought to have replaced an original of Arduinna after Romanization of the area.

Sculpture of a headless huntress astride a boar found in the Jura Mountains
now conserved in the Musée des antiquités nationales, St-Germain-en-Laye

We learn that Marcus has followed the example of his tribune and embraced Mithras as the object of his worship.

Historical note: The Mithraic mysteries were thought by the Romans to have been adopted from Persian or Zoroastrian sources. Worshippers of Mithras had a complex system of seven grades of initiation and communal ritual meals. These attributes in some ways paralleled early Christianity and generated a rivalry between the two cults.

A relief of Mithras slaying the bull (Tauroctony) found in
a Mithraeum in Rome, Italy.  Photographed by Mary Harrsch
at the Baths of Diocletian venue of the National Museum of Rome
in Rome, Italy © 2005

Initiates called themselves syndexioi, those “united by the handshake”. They met in underground temples, called Mithraea, which survive in large numbers. Numerous archaeological finds, including meeting places, monuments, and artifacts, have contributed to modern knowledge about Mithraism throughout the Roman Empire. The iconic scenes of Mithras show him being born from a rock, slaughtering a bull, and sharing a banquet with the god Sol (the Sun). About 420 sites have yielded materials related to the cult. Among the items found are about 1000 inscriptions, 700 examples of the bull-killing scene (tauroctony), and about 400 other monuments. It has been estimated that there would have been at least 680 Mithraea in Rome. However, no written narratives or theology from the religion survive.

So, we end up with two groups of combatants, both religiously devoted but to starkly different deities, one founded in the east and the other, the west.

Tribune Scaurus and Centurion Julius also discover the city is in the stranglehold of street gangs who extort protection money from the local taverns and brothels. This becomes a particular problem for Julius who discovers his long-lost first love running a brothel trapped in the gangsters' web. They also uncover a scam involving the grain shipments to the legions along the Rhenus (Rhine) River.

Historical note: Street gangs were a problem in larger settlements throughout the Roman Empire. We have examples of their violent nature described by none other than Marcus Tullius Cicero. Unfortunately for Cicero, in the course of his political career, he became the target of street gangs manipulated by Publius Clodius Pulcher from a Roman aristocratic family. In a letter to his friend Titus Pomponius Atticus, Cicero describes the escalating violence that engulfed him:

"On 3 November an armed gang drove the workmen from my site, threw down Catalus' portico which was in the process of restoration by consular contract under a senatorial decree and had nearly reached the roof stage, smashed up my brother's house by throwing stones from my site, and then set it on fire. This was by Clodius' orders, with all Rome looking on as the firebrands were thrown...Accordingly, on 11 November as I was going down the Via Sacra, he came after me with his men. Uproar! Stones flying, cudgels and swords in evidence. And all like a bolt from the blue.”

Of course, Cicero simply hired another gang headed by Titus Annius Milo to deal with Clodius.

Although our protagonist Marcus is not as central to the story initially as he normally is, Centurion "Two Knives", has his hands full, too, in the climactic conclusion trying to withstand Obduro's swordsmanship, that is quite formidable even under normal circumstances, and find a way to defeat Obduro's nearly invincible weapon.

Once again Riches provides us with plenty of gritty, realistic action and finely wrought characters. There is not as much interplay between Marcus' centurion brotherhood as in previous novels, which I missed, but the recurring characters of Scaurus and Julius are explored in more depth. My only reservation about the plot was a strategic blunder committed by Tribune Scaurus that I don't think, with his military acumen (as characterized in past novels), he would have made. The blunder included leaving Julius' sweetheart in a dangerous position as well, requiring Julius to risk his life in an attempt to rescue her. This situation also should have been obviously apparent to Julius from the beginning and easily avoided. Still, the pacing kept you immersed in the narrative and the climax was both thrilling and satisfying.

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Dona Militaria: Rome's Lost Valor

One of nine Silvered bronze phalerae depicting a mythological figure (Zeus Ammon)
awarded to Titus Flavius Festus Roman 1st century CE.  Photographed at the
Neuses Museum in Berlin, Germany by Mary Harrsch © 2016

A history resource article by Mary Harrsch © 2016

A few months ago I visited the Neues Museum in Berlin, Germany.  I was with an ancient Egypt study group so, of course, the bust of Nefertiti along with the large collection of artifacts from the Amarna region was our main purpose for going there.  However, being an ancient Roman history enthusiast, I gravitated towards the museum's Roman collection and was excited to find a set of Roman phalerae belonging to Titus Flavius Festus found near Lauresfort, Germany a few miles south of the site of the large Roman fortress of Castra Vetera.

Castra Vetera was founded by the Roman commander Drusus, a stepson of emperor Augustus and brother to the future emperor Tiberius, on the hill now known as Fürstenberg, about sixty Roman miles below the capital of Germania Inferior, Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (modern Cologne). Vetera controlled the confluence of the rivers Rhine and Lippe. Drusus used Castra Vetera as one of his bases when he invaded the east bank of the Rhine.

Archaeologists aren't sure which legions were stationed there but a cenotaph of Marcus Caelius found there mentions the Eighteenth Legion that was annihilated in the battle of the Teutoburg Forest in September of 9 CE. After the battle, Tiberius ordered fortifications made of wood to accommodate two legions, V Alaudae and XXI Rapax. Both units took part in the Germanic campaigns of Germanicus in the first years of the reign of Tiberius (14-16 CE) and the unsuccessful campaign against the Frisians of 28 CE.  After 43 CE, XXI Rapax was replaced by XV Primigenia.  In 69-70 CE (Yes, that fateful year of the four emperors!) Castra Vetera was razed to the ground during the Batavian revolt and all of the soldiers who defended the fort were murdered after they surrendered.

A silver pendant depicting a double sphinx awarded to Titus Flavius Festus Roman 1st century CE found near the site of the
Roman fort Castra Vetera near modern-day Xanten, Germany.  Photographed at the Neues Museum in Berlin, Germany by
Mary Harrsch © 2016.

Whether these phalerae were awarded for any of these activities, we simply don't know.  The set of nine dona militaria, carefully buried in a silver-lined copper box, were uncovered during the construction of a drainage ditch in 1858.  However, at that time archaeology was in its infancy.  Antiquarians had not yet developed methods for stratification so all contextual information was lost.

The depictions of mythological figures and a lion's head, though, do look very similar to the depictions of phalerae shown on the cenotaph of Marcus Caelius, who appears to have served in the 18th Legion.  If so, perhaps Titus Flavius Festus served in the 18th as well and buried his precious dona before leaving on that fateful march through the Teutoburg Forest.

Cenotaph of Marcus Caelius, centurion of the 18th Legion.  Image courtesy of Jona Lendering

I had read about phalerae and seen them depicted on sculptures but had never seen real ones before in any of the museums I have visited.  As I began to research more about them, I soon learned why.  Apparently, the phalerae exhibited at the Neuses are the only ones crafted of precious metal thought to have been worn by an individual soldier ever found, although I did find a reference to about 30 chalcedony sculpted discs thought to be military decorations recovered in eastern Europe, including one recovered from a Sarmatian warrior's grave (he had reused it for a sword pommel) in the Ural mountains  (See "The Roman military phalera from the Perm Urals  by Alexander Kolobov, Andrej Melnitchuk and Nadeshda Kulyabina)

Chalcedony phalera from the Perm Urals.  Image courtesy
of Alexander Kolobov, Andrej Melnitchuk and Nadeshda Kulyabina

This surprised me since thousands of Roman soldiers served across Europe, north Africa and around the Mediterranean for almost a thousand years.  So I began digging into the research to find out when the Roman army began awarding military decorations, who were eligible for such decorations, what percentage of men received such decorations and what may have happened to all of them.

The best reference I found was "The Military Decorations of the Roman Army" by Valerie A. Maxfield of the University of Exeter published in 1981.  Fortunately for me, although the hard copy can still be purchased up on Amazon it is rather expensive, I found the volume in its entirety up on Google Books.

In it, Maxfield explains, "The first recorded example of Roman military decoration dates to the very early years of the Republic, to the middle of the fifth century BC [although we'll see that she doubts the accuracy of this reference].  At the other end of the scale, award-giving on a regular basis came to an end in the early third century AD, though sporadic examples do occur to the very end of the Roman Empire in the West and into the Byzantine era." - Valerie A. Maxfield, The Military Decorations of the Roman Army

In his review of Maxfield's book, Professor Lawrence Keppie explains further, "The award of dona militaria can be traced back to the very beginnings of the Roman state.  Evidence from the Republic is slight, in the absence of a substantial epigraphic record, but we should not necessarily be led to suppose that no hierarchy of award had yet been devised.  Certainly, by the late first century A.D., a system as complex as that used by any modern army was in being.  Awards were related to military rank rather than degree of heroism.  Ordinary soldiers were given sets of torques (necklets), armillae (bracelets) and phalerae (medallions);  evocati and centurions might receive the same, plus a corona aurea (golden crown); equestrian and senatorial officers were given sets of coronae, hastae purae (spears, perhaps silver-tipped), and vexilla (standards), according to their rank.  Much less is known about the corniculum (little horn?) and phiale (dish), which do not seem to have continued in use into the Empire."

One of the nine phalerae from Lauersfort depicts a young Bacchus or satyr.
Bacchic imagery was a popular motif on military decorations because the melee
of combat was said to resemble  Bacchic revelry.  Photographed at the Neues Museum
by Mary Harrsch  © 2016

Maxfield attributes the development of a reward system to the introduction of a professional army and the expansion of Roman territory beyond the Italian peninsula.

"Such a professional standing army required a career structure with incentives to the potential recruit, the prospects of advancement in rank and status, and the security which came from adequate regular pay, good conditions of service and a gratuity on discharge sufficient to ease the transition back into civilian life.  Likewise, the expansion of Rome's military commitments led to a steady proliferation of permanent regular units requiring to be officered.  This, together with the acquisition of overseas territories to be governed, necessitated changes in the structure and organization of command at its higher levels." - Valerie A. Maxfield, The Military Decorations of the Roman Army

Maxfield bemoans the paucity of evidence relating to the award of decorations.  She divides most of the evidence available into three categories: literary sources, inscriptions on stone (and occasionally on metal) and sculpture, acknowledging that archaeological evidence of the decorations themselves is patchy at best.

Surprisingly, most literary evidence is found in Republican Period sources.

"Doubtless there existed in the Roman period a written code of practice relating to the presentation of awards for gallantry; such a code would be necessary for the efficient and equitable running of the system, but none such has survived, nor any of the rolls of honour which must have been maintained at Rome, nor the soldiers' individual files which would have recorded all details of their military career including any distinctions gained in the field...Many of the conclusions which will be put forward about the development and functioning of the system of military reward are based on negative rather than on positive evidence and must therefore be regarded as far from definitive - no more than one way of interpreting the [extremely limited] material available." - Valerie A. Maxfield, The Military Decorations of the Roman Army

The Gorgon, Medusa, was popular imagery because of the legionaries' beliefs
in its protective properties.  Photographed at the Neues Museum
by Mary Harrsch  © 2016

Since I am particularly interested in phalerae, I took note that Maxfield discusses a speech given by Dionysius of Halicarnassus reciting the awards of the famous 5th century BCE legendary warrior named Lucius Siccius Dentatus (known as the Roman Achilles) who is said to have won 1 corona obsidionalis (the famous Grass Crown), 14 coronae civicae (for saving the lives of Roman citizens), 3 coronae murales (for being the first over the wall of an enemy city), 8 coronae aureae, 83 torques, 160 armillae, 18 hastae and 25 phalerae.  Since I had seen references to Celtic phalerae in the research literature, I had wondered if the Romans had adopted this form of decoration from that culture like it did the torques and armillae. But this would probably not have been the case back in the 5th century BCE.  However, Maxfield views this 1st century BCE source with "deep suspicion," although a further seven writers refer to the case of Dentatus as well.

"All the sources are in broad agreement over the detail of his military awards and yet the list is out of place in a fifth-century context.  It is, for example, highly doubtful whether specific crowns for saving the lives of Roman citizens and for being the first to scale an enemy wall had developed as early as this.  The whole thing is suspiciously anachronistic..." - Valerie A. Maxfield, The Military Decorations of the Roman Army

If Maxfield is correct, perhaps the inclusion of phalerae in the list of awards is also anachronistic and the award form may have been adopted after intensive contact with the Celts during Hannibal's invasion and/or Caesar's later Gallic Wars after all.

Although this phalera may depict Juno or Minerva, it may be a portrait of
Agrippina, wife of the popular Roman commander Germanicus.
Photographed at the Neues Museum by Mary Harrsch  © 2016

Maxfield is much more comfortable with information on military decorations provided by Polybius in Book VI of his history.  She says Pliny the Elder and Aulus Gellius provide excellent information on the origins of the various military crowns while Varro, Verrius Flaccus and Isidor of Seville provide fragmentary evidence on the origin of decorations other than crowns.

Then she addresses the problem of  epigraphic evidence concentrating on centurions and officers. Of the inscriptions found, she points out that most come from the first and second centuries CE.

"Although the practice of setting up inscriptions to honour the dead or the living was one which spread over almost the whole social scale, the quality and quantity of information given are heavily weighted towards the top end of the economic and social ladder.  The reason for this is readily apparent.  The cutting of monumental inscriptions was a skilled job and the stonemason would have charged accordingly; the more competent the mason the higher the fee he could command, the longer and more verbose the text the greater the cost.  A legionary centurion of the Principate earned more than sixteen times as much as did a common soldier, a camp prefect two-and-a-half times as much again.  An equestrian officer at the height of his military career had a salary comparable to that of the camp prefect but only half that which a decenarian procurator could command." - Valerie A. Maxfield, The Military Decorations of the Roman Army

Like Maxfield, I launched into a search for references to decorations on Roman military tombstones. The easiest to find were often stones with images of decorations and military equipment, sometimes without any inscription at all.  Maxfield says sometimes a reference could be as subtle as just the letters "d.d." for "donis donatus" meaning "having been decorated."  Another problem she points out is the wealthy, who may have had multiple monuments erected to them, may not have mentioned the details of military service but include only a general summary like two of three monuments honoring P. Cominius Clemens found in the cities of Concordia and Aquileia.  His illustrious equestrian career in which he commanded three auxiliary units and was decorated during the second of these commands is merely summarized as "omnibus equestribus militiis functo" ("having served at all the equestrian military levels.")

"While the relatively poor might not be able to afford to record the career in full, the richer and more powerful who have attained positions of honour and influence might not deem it worthwhile to specify the lower posts held.." - Valerie A. Maxfield, The Military Decorations of the Roman Army

Sculptural evidence is similarly concentrated with most dated to the Augustan period.  She attributes this to the generous donatives given by the emperor to his troops after the upheavals of the Civil War.
So, how many were actually awarded?

In a study of 70 Roman military funerary monuments, Professor Lawrence Keppie found only one depicting dona militaria.

Maxfield explains, "The surviving evidence for the officers and men of the Roman army is so partial that it will never be possible to work out a reliable figure for the proportion of serving soldiers who received military decorations.  One thing which is certain, however, is that dona militaria never became campaign medals simply designed to acknowledge the active participation of a soldier in a given campaign: the individual who wished to receive a decoration of any sort had to fight harder, better and more successfully than those around him." - Valerie A. Maxfield, The Military Decorations of the Roman Army

Maxfield does include an analysis of a couple of lists of soldiers from particular units, though.  The first list was comprised of names of men recruited to the praetorian guard between 153 and 156 CE then discharged between 169 and 172 CE.  They may have accompanied Verus on his Parthian campaign (162-166 CE) and Marcus Aurelius and Verus on the early part of the German war of 166-175 CE.  Although the list is incomplete, of sixty-nine men, nine (13% had the d.d. designation).  She points out that this percentage is considerably higher than indicated on records of Legio VII Claudia stationed near Viminacium in Moesia Superior at about the same time.  In a list of 195 of their names, Maxfield found only ten (less than 7%) were designated d.d.

This may not be as atypical as Maxfield thinks, however.  Men who distinguished themselves in the legions were often recruited for the praetorian guard so the caliber of individual soldier in the praetorian guard was already a step above field recruits.  We also don't know if the d.d. designation represented awards given after their induction into the praetorian guard or at some other point in their career.  There would also be the "exposure to the illustrious" factor.  As the emperor's chosen corps, they would be under more scrutiny by the emperor in the field, so valorous actions would probably be more quickly observed and documented by the emperor's staff than similar actions in other units.

One of the Lauersfort phalerae depicting a lion head.
Photographed at the Neues Museum by Mary Harrsch  © 2016

But, of these men, how many even survived their military careers?  Centurions constituted the largest percentage of the decorated so let's examine them.

Polybius described the qualities required of a centurion: 'they do not desire them so much to be men who will initiate attacks and open the battle, but men who will hold their ground when worsted and hard-pressed and be ready to die at their posts.'

Roman reenactor dressed as a centurion.  Photo by Luc Viator courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Julius Caesar noted that in a battle against the Nervii in 57 BCE, 'all the centurions of the fourth cohort had been slain and a standard-bearer likewise...almost all the centurions of the other cohorts were wounded or killed, among them the chief centurion, P. Sextius Aculus, bravest of men, who was overcome by many grievous wounds so that he could no longer hold himself upright.'

So what happened to the dona militaria of those killed in action? Were their decorations sent to their families?  Maxfield thinks not.

"On the death of the soldier who won them, they may well have been returned or sold back to his unit (this was a common practice with standard military equipment) and later re-used..." - Valerie A. Maxfield, The Military Decorations of the Roman Army

What other activities could have also resulted in the loss of dona militaria?

"A passage from the Histories of Tacitus points to what may well have been the ultimate fate of large numbers of decorations in times of financial crisis.  Tacitus tells us how some of the supporters of Vitellius at Cologne in AD 69, not having money to give to help finance the war, were urged to part with their valuables including their phalerae...Another allusion to the melting down of military decorations appears in the pages of the Elder Pliny: 'if only Fabricius who forbade gallant generals to possess more than a dish and a salt-cellar of silver would see how nowadays the rewards of valour are made from the utensils of luxury or else are broken up to make them.'" - Valerie A. Maxfield, The Military Decorations of the Roman Army

Roman portrait once thought to be Vitellius.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The ancient sources also describe the offering of military decorations at the funerals of famous commanders.

"...soldiers of Sulla and Caesar, who, wearing their decorations at the funerals of their one-time commanders, cast the dona on to the funeral pyres as a final tribute (App., BC I. 105; Suet., Caesa. 84.4.,  App., BC II.148)"

Maxfield points out that not one military crown of any type has ever been identified.  She also says  not a single vexillum nor a hasta pura has ever been found either, although scholar M. Rostovtzeff, in his paper "Vexillum and Victory", published in 1942 in the Journal of Roman Studies, purports to have identified at least one vexillum.

Although the most coveted crowns like the corona obsidionalis were made of perishable vegetation from the scene of the action, it seems hardly possible that not a single corona aurea has been found.  I've seen so many 5th - 3rd century BCE gold Greek wreaths in museums and traveling exhibits I have lost count.  But, apparently, such Roman crowns are nonexistent.

Fragment of a gold wreath Greek 320-300 BCE from a tomb at
Zaneskaya Gora in the region of the Crimea on the northern shore of the Black Sea.
Photographed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York by
Mary Harrsch © 2007

Another problem contributing to the loss of dona was grave robbers.  Decorated veterans were sometimes buried with their dona in isolated graves on their land plots.

In his paper, "Having Been a Soldier:  The Commemoration of Military Service on Funerary Monuments of the Early Roman Empire", Lawrence Keppie explains:

"The great majority of memorials at Este, and at least half of those from Antiochia, were not erected in cemeteries at the towns themselves, but often in what appear isolated contexts in the territorium, that is most obviously on the land plots which the colonists had obtained at the close of the military service...In many cases, the memorial would be seen principally, not by fellow colonists or any serving military men (like those erected outside a legionary fortress such as Mainz), but by family and neighbours."

Such isolated burials would be prime pickings for passing grave robbers and thieves.

In his paper, "Vexillum and Victory" published in Vol. 32 of The Journal of Roman Studies, Rostovtzeff says, "The representation on a monument of specific allusions, e.g. military standards or dona militaria, is really quite rare, and presumably restricted to those entitled to be so depicted.  [However,] The dona themselves are often shown very prominently, and when painted would have been easily distinguished from afar."

I was particularly intrigued by Keppie's reference to a case in Cremona where a soldier, serving under Augustus had his dona militaria interred with his ashes.  I wish Keppie had been more specific.  He only footnoted a 1971 publication by Pontiroli which is pretty hard to track down without a title or the name of the journal in which it appeared.  I thought, perhaps, the dona militaria may have ended up in the local archaeological museum which in the case of Cremona would be The Museo Archeologico di San Lorenzo.  So,  I eagerly viewed as many images of that museum's collections as I could find, including images taken by visitors uploaded to TripAdvisor, but saw no funerary monuments from the Augustan period or dona militaria, although the museum's website mentions ceramic/glass/bronze grave goods and dona militaria were often silvered bronze.  I later found a reference that mentioned bronze torques being found but no mention of anything else.  Based on Maxfield's discussion of how decorations were usually awarded in sets, there should have been more decorations found than just a couple of torques.

Professor Keppie also pointed out that a number of soldiers' graves were plundered by later Christians for stone to build their churches.

"...a panel showing phalerae is built into the thirteenth-century bell-tower of the Cathedral at Benevento...There are certainly numerous fragments of sculptural decoration of what must have been large monuments, most probably to primipilares, equestrian officers and even senatorial commanders." - Lawrence Keppie, 'Having been a soldier': The Commemoration of Military Service on Funerary Monuments of the early Roman Empire

Keppie says that a number of sculptured panels are also built into the church of San Domenico at Sora (Lazio), which include an eagle and military standard.  I would assume that any dona militaria found containing precious metals would have been similarly confiscated and melted down especially in view of their pagan imagery.

Maxfield says one of the underlying problems is the difficulty in identifying military decorations in first place.  She explains that some of the minor awards were derived from personal ornaments and there appears to be no standard design used for the dona. Bronze torques found during the excavation of the Roman fort of Benwell on Hadrian's Wall could have just as well been local native ornaments traded for Roman goods as military decorations.

"The commonest type of decoration to be found is the phalera.  The problem of interpretation here arises from the fact that phalerae were used for purposes other than military award; they served for example as horse-trappings and these trappings are not always readily distinguishable from military decorations - both are ornate metal discs design to be attached to leather straps.  Only in cases such as that of the Lauersfort phalerae where a complete set [of nine] was found in close proximity to a legionary fortress (Vetera bei Xanten in Lower Germany) can we be confident that we are dealing with genuine dona militaria." - Valerie A. Maxfield, The Military Decorations of the Roman Army

At least I had the opportunity to view one set!  Judging from their rarity, they should be worth more than the Hope Diamond!

References:

Kolobov, A., Melnichuk, A., & Kulyabina, N. (2001). The Roman military phalera from the Perm Urals. Arheoloŝki vestnik , 52, 351-357.

Maxfield, V. A. (1981). The military decorations of the Roman army. Berkeley: Univ. of California Pr.

Keppie, L. (1982). The Journal of Roman Studies, 72, 185-186. doi:10.2307/299132

Keppie, L. (2003). 'HAVING BEEN A SOLDIER' THE COMMEMORATION OF MILITARY SERVICE ON FUNERARY MONUMENTS OF THE EARLY ROMAN EMPIRE. Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies. Supplement, (81), 31-53. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/43768066

Rostovtzeff, M. (1942). Vexillum and Victory. The Journal of Roman Studies, 32, 92-106. doi:10.2307/296463

Polybius, Histories, 6.39 (military decorations)

C. Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico, multiples references

Tacitus, The Histories, multiple references

Appian, Bellum Civile, multiple references

Suetonius, De Vita Caesarum, multiple references

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Pewter Calathus featuring scenes of Vespasian's Legio II Augusta unique holiday gift

A few days ago I received an email from Calix Imperium, a new giftware company in the UK, that is offering, just in time for the holidays,  a beautiful pewter beaker called a Calathus after a vase-shaped basket often found in Greek painting and sculpture that represented fruitfulness.  The company's first release depicts three members of Vespasian's Legio Augusta - a centurion, an aquilifer and a legionary dressed in an Imperial Gallic helmet and the famous lorica segmentata body armor.

"He [The centurion] is depicted wearing the Imperial Gallic helmet (Cassis) surmounted with the insignia of his rank, the transverse crest. His body armour is mail (Lorica Hamata) with strips of leather (pteruges) protecting his upper arms and groin."

"Over his mail he wears a harness, on which are attached his various medals (phalarae). The large shield (Scutum) with a central boss is adorned with the Legion emblems, the CAPRICORN and the edge of the PEGASUS. These shield emblems where found on the Arch of Orange in France and deemed to be associated with Legio II Augusta." 

"The Centurion is seen wielding his principal weapon, the short sword (Gladius); his secondary weapon, the dagger (Pugio) is shown on his right side. To complete his body armour he is wearing greaves (Ocrea), in this case with decorative embossed Lion heads." - Calix Imperium

More pictures and descriptions may be viewed on the Calix Imperium website.  These 5 1/2" beakers are exceptionally detailed and would be a great addition to any Roman history buff's collection!  I wonder if my husband is listening??!!

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Centurion gripping but suffers from skeletal characters

UPDATE: "Centurion" is now available for instant download from Netflix!

I finally had a chance to watch "Centurion" about the fate of the fabled Legio IX Hispana produced in 2009 but never formally released here in the US.  I was finally able to get it from Netflix.

Image via Wikipedia

Modern reconstruction of lorica segmentata armor

I've been so starved for historical ancient epics lately that I was more than willing to overlook many historical inconsistencies and just enjoy the action.  I had read initially that this film was going to be some modern interpretation of the legend of the Ninth and by that I feared film producers were going to forgo costuming and tell the story in a modern setting.  I guess I've been to too many Shakespearean presentations lately with characters like MacBeth dressed in 20th century garb which has really turned me off.   But, happily, I was able to watch my courageous Romans in their full panoply of lorica segmentata!

Image by mharrsch via Flickr

The Roman Emperor Domitian

Of course the Roman governor, Agricola, was presented in a less than favorable light.  Historically, Agricola was recalled to Rome by Emperor Domitian in 85 CE and died a private citizen in 93 CE so he was dead and incinerated long before the film's action takes place in 117 CE.  But the film does raise questions that have plagued historians about the truth of some of the claims made about Agricola's victories in Scotland by his son-in-law Tacitus.  So we'll cut the film a little slack for that.

The fictional events seem to be related to the aftermath of the Battle of Mons Graupius in which Agricola's troops defeated Caledonii led by the revered warrior Calgacus.  Calgacus is the leader who gave us (via Tacitus in his biography of Agricola) the famous paraphrased quote "they make a desert and call it peace."

Whenever I consider the origin of this war and the necessities of our position, I have a sure confidence that this day, and this union of yours, will be the beginning of freedom to the whole of Britain. To all of us slavery is a thing unknown; there are no lands beyond us, and even the sea is not safe, menaced as we are by a Roman fleet. And thus in war and battle, in which the brave find glory, even the coward will find safety. Former contests, in which, with varying fortune, the Romans were resisted, still left in us a last hope of succour, inasmuch as being the most renowned nation of Britain, dwelling in the very heart of the country, and out of sight of the shores of the conquered, we could keep even our eyes unpolluted by the contagion of slavery. To us who dwell on the uttermost confines of the earth and of freedom, this remote sanctuary of Britain's glory has up to this time been a defence. Now, however, the furthest limits of Britain are thrown open, and the unknown always passes for the marvellous. But there are no tribes beyond us, nothing indeed but waves and rocks, and the yet more terrible Romans, from whose oppression escape is vainly sought by obedience and submission. Robbers of the world, having by their universal plunder exhausted the land, they rifle the deep. If the enemy be rich, they are rapacious; if he be poor, they lust for dominion; neither the east nor the west has been able to satisfy them. Alone among men they covet with equal eagerness poverty and riches. To robbery, slaughter, plunder, they give the lying name of empire; they make a solitude and call it peace. - Calgacus, in Agricola by Tacitus.

In the film the Caledonii war leader is Gorlacon, played by Ulrich Thomsen.  Gorlacon, is, as far as I can tell, purely fictional and actually has very little screen time.

The real villain(ess) is the Brigantes turn-coat Etain, a female warrior essentially presented as hatred incarnate whose family was raped and slaughtered by the Romans and whose tongue was cut out, rendering her mute.  Now, normally we would have at least some sympathy for her because of all she had endured but the producers gave us no flashbacks to emphasize her tragic background and no scenes to indicate she possessed any other aspects to her character except singleminded thoughts of butchery so you can't help but hope the Romans will make an end to her, preferably with as much brutality as she herself demonstrates.

The director used the scissors too liberally on the character of the main hero too, Centurion Quintus Dias, played by Michael Fassbender.  We get very little background information on him but we can at least admire his tenacity for escaping a brutal massacre at Inchtuthil - a real Roman fortress on the bank of the River Tay southwest of Blairgowrie, Perth and Kinross, Scotland, built as an advanced headquarters for Agricola's campaigns against the Caledonian tribes.  Centurion Dias would have been a member of the Legion XX Valeria Victrix which occupied the fort until it was withdrawn to replace Legio II Adiutrix in Deva (Chester) after that legion was recalled to Moesia to fight the Dacians.  The evacuation of Inchtuthil, like the recall of Agricola, has been traditionally dated to 85-86 CE too, leading me to wonder again why the filmmakers set the date of their story to 117 CE.  Recent archaeology does point to the fort's occupation longer than previously thought, though, so again I must cut the filmmakers a little slack.

What little characterization the film possessed was awarded to Titus Flavius Virilus, played by Dominic West, the Ninth's brawling, up-from-the-ranks commander.  Although his scenes were brief and he died in fairly short order, I liked him.

I also liked the scenes of the Ninth's ambush, with the Caledonians rolling flaming boulders upon the Romans while the legion tried desperately to maintain defensive formations.  Virilus was not lulled into complacency by his female Brigantes "guide" and his men were marching in good order - not like those of Publius Quintilius Varus in the Teutoburg Forest, so I was gratified by that.

As the Roman survivors first attempt to free their captured commander then flee their pursuers, the film devolves into a formulaic chase movie where more and more survivors succumb to their ever relentless enemies.  When they finally turn and fight at an abandoned Roman fort, I get frustrated because the Romans should cut the head off the snake by targeting Etain, the most skilled tracker/warrior among the Calendonii.  Instead she is one of the last to meet her fate.   

Still, the film made enough of an effort to portray the period accurately that I will add it to my collection and for Roman military buffs, I would recommend watching it at least once. 

The other film about the Ninth Legion, directed by Academy Award winner Kevin MacDonald,  is not set for release until February 2011, but it's synopsis makes it sound much more like the novel "Eagle of the Ninth" by one of my favorite authors, the late Rosemary Sutcliff.

In 140 AD, two men – master and slave – venture beyond the edge of the known world on a dangerous and obsessive quest that will push them beyond the boundaries of loyalty and betrayal, friendship and hatred, deceit and heroism…The Roman epic adventure THE EAGLE stars Channing Tatum and Jamie Bell and is directed by Academy Award winner Kevin Macdonald. 20 years earlier, Rome’s 5,000-strong Ninth Legion, under the command of Flavius Aquila, marched north carrying their treasured golden Eagle emblem. They never returned; Legion and Eagle simply vanished into the mists. Hearing a rumor that the Eagle has been seen in a tribal temple in the far north, Flavius’ son Marcus (Tatum), determined to restore the tarnished reputation of his father, is galvanized into action. Accompanied only by his slave Esca (Bell), Marcus sets out into the vast and dangerous highlands of Scotland – to confront its savage tribes, make peace with his father’s memory, and retrieve the hallowed Eagle. Along the way Marcus realizes that the mystery of his father’s disappearance may well be linked to the secret of his own slave’s identity and loyalty – a secret all the more pressing when the two come face-to-face with the warriors of the fearsome Seal Prince (Tahar Rahim). - Apple

I am really looking forward to this one so I hope it will garner screening in the US or I'll be stuck waiting for the DVD release again.  At least now, thanks to some great Black Friday deals on a new LCD HD TV and Blu-Ray player, I'll get to watch it in Hi-Def!

 

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