Engaging with the Roman Army

Students in the basement meeting room

Last Friday afternoon I led a handling session and seminar at the Museum about Roman military archaeology. It was one of those rare occasions when the content of what you have been asked to do happens to coincide with your specialism. It is testament to the interest of the students that they came on the last day of the autumn term just a fortnight before Christmas.

Handling objects used in the seminar

I arranged the seating in the basement room in a square  with myself in the middle with objects on a table.  I passed things round for the students to see and handle. I always make a point of explaining at the beginning that I’m not there to assess them, and that my role is simply to open up the collection for study and discussion.

Replica Roman sword and scabbard

Fortunately we have some replica material in the collection: a shield, a helmet, a sword and scabbard, a dagger and some pieces of mail armour. Arms and armour are, after all, what people tend to think about when you talk to them about the Roman army.

I also showed a plaster cast of the inscription from one of the Manchester altars  set up by a praepositus or commander of a detachment under its own flag or standard, known as a vexillation. This was a detachment of Raetians and Noricans from what is now Switzerland and Austria in Eastern Europe. I also reminded the students of the Museum’s intriguing auxiliary diploma from Ravenglass that was awarded to a Syrian and which is on display in Ancient Worlds.

We talked about pay and Keith Sugden, Curator of Numismatics, kindly supplied a selection of coins of the various 1st and 2nd century emperors, in whose reign the province of Roman Britain had been created and extended, including a commemorative DE BRITANN silver denarius of the emperor Claudius (AD 41-54)  and one of the famous Britannia asses of the emperor Antoninus Pius (AD 142-158).

Tutor, Andy Fear, joins the discussion

Finally I showed them melon beads, gaming counters and pottery from a building just outside Manchester Roman fort, perhaps frequented by soldiers of the garrison when they went off duty in search of some R ‘n R.

the Son of Mars exhibition at the Museum of Lancashire

Roman legionary at the Museum of Lancashire, Preston

The Bank Holiday weekend treat was to go and see an exhibition of the work of archaeological illustrator Graham Sumner at the Museum of Lancashire in Preston. Graham used to work for the Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit. He specialises in showing the soldiers as individuals, with well-researched, historically-accurate uniforms and equipment. It’s great to see the soldiers presented as individuals. I  understand their facial features are based on people Graham knows, making each reconstruction virtually unique. Some, like the Roman soldier from Egypt featured on the blog a few weeks ago, have an encaustic portrait as a guide: https://ancientworldsmanchester.wordpress.com/2013/08/11/reconstructing-a-soldier-from-roman-egypt/ 

Sons of Mars at the Museum of Lancashire

The exhibition occupies two rooms on the first floor of the building. Visitors are welcomed by two life-size cut-outs of a Roman legionary and an auxiliary soldier. I recognised the  auxiliary from Castleshaw Roman fort that I visited a few weeks ago following the session with the Friends of Castleshaw Roman Forts to see the finds from the early 1900s excavations at Manchester Museum https://ancientworldsmanchester.wordpress.com/2013/07/13/friends-of-castleshaw-roman-forts-visit-the-museum/

Sons of Mars at the Museum of Lancashire

In amongst the usual first and second century AD reconstructions are paintings of a Roman fort by a Dutch river and sailors in the navy of the 3rd century British usurper Carausius.  A small display of finds illustrating ‘everyday’ life from Roman Lancashire seemed a bit tokenistic but it would be churlish to criticise the exhibition on that account.

Ideally the exhibition would be supported by Roman military equipment or material showing the evidence on which the reconstructions were based. To a degree visitors do get some insight into the process. One of the soldiers from Roman Egypt is shown with interchangeable objects in his hands. There are two versions of the auxiliary cavalryman Insus, whose spectacular tombstone, or rather commemorative stone, was found in Lancaster in 2005. Each image shows the cavalryman with different versions of sword and scabbard. It reminded me of a children’s spot-the-difference puzzle!

Everyday Roman exhibits

Some of the later Roman Empire soldiers are particularly colourful. A painting of the Byzantine emperor Heraclius  (610-641 AD), complete with headress of peacock plumes, may challenge some visitors’ preconceptions. These aren’t characterless, identically-uniformed catapult fodder but popinjays seemingly better suited to a catwalk. Talk about never mind the quality, feel the width!

Gaudy Roman soldiers in the Son of Mars exhibition

Admission to the Museum of Lancashire is free and the exhibition runs until 3rd November. Combined with a visit to the Harris Museum, also in Preston (of which more later), this made a most enjoyable (and low-cost) day out.