Some notes on the military equipment illustrated by two 3rd century rider monuments from Dacia Superior

Abstract

The present paper discusses two funerary monuments from Alba county (Romania) depicting riders. These had been published before, but only summarily, without taking note of the details of military equipment illustrated on them. This is surprising because depictions of soldiers in full battle equipment are very rare in Dacia, not to mention that both monuments were dated to the 3rd century, a period in which such representations are scarce throughout the Empire. Therefore, the traditional art-historical approach to the study of Roman stone monuments will be by-passed and, instead of focusing on the type of monument, elements of style, workshops etc., the study will attempt to discuss at length the riders’ attire and the implications for the study of Roman military equipment.