Late Roman Army Research Articles

Storage Pits from the Late Roman Fort by the Rákos Stream Data on the Supply of the Late Roman Army

The paper analyses fourteen storage pits unearthed in a Roman fort established by the Danube in the Barbaricum, at the estuary of the Rákos Stream, in today’s District 13 of Budapest. Two types of storage pits were unearthed; their find material and context dated both to the second half of the 4th century AD. The pits, which were most probably used for storing cereals, were not established for commercial purposes but for keeping produce that was part of the supply of the garrison by the Rákos Stream. Similar storage pits (in a Late Roman context and established for keeping military supplies) were also unearthed at the forts of Paks-Dunakömlőd (Lussonium), Ságvár, and Alsóhetény.

Roman Military Architecture on the Frontiers: Armies and their Architecture in Late Antiquity ed. by Rob Collins et al.

Reviewed by: Roman Military Architecture on the Frontiers: Armies and their Architecture in Late Antiquity ed. by Rob Collins et al. Alexander Sarantis Roman Military Architecture on the Frontiers: Armies and their Architecture in Late Antiquity Rob Collins, Matthew Symonds, M. and Meike Weber, eds. Oxford: Oxbow Books, 2015. Pp. 142. ISBN: 978-1-782-97990-6 This edited collection is one of the latest publications on fortifications and the army in Late Antiquity. The papers focus mainly on archaeological evidence for fourth-century developments on the Roman frontiers. Three contributions are devoted to British sites and one each to [End Page 533] sites on the Flemish coast and the Upper and Lower Danube. There are, in addition, two syntheses of evidence from the North African and Arabian frontiers, and one study devoted to the textual sources. The introductory chapter makes clear that the aim of the volume is to cast light on the "realities of life for the late Roman soldier across all parts of the later empire" via the detailed study of archaeological remains. The introductory chapter by Collins and Weber outlines the significance and state of research on the Late Roman army. After running through methodological issues involved in studying this enormous institution via texts and frontier fortifications, it concludes that the late Roman army was more dynamic, varied and adaptable than its early imperial predecessor. In Chapter 2, Whately focuses on textual evidence for frontier troop dispositions. The lack of epigraphic evidence and the complexity of the Notitia Dignitatum mean that there is less certainty about the locations, sizes and histories of frontier units than in the earlier imperial era. He demonstrates nevertheless that on the Lower Danube units were divided and stationed in more numerous locations. Chapter 3 by Collins surveys the changing morphology of granaries along Hadrian's Wall during the fourth century. These granaries variously had raised floors filled in, were sub-divided, re-used for industrial or residential purposes, or destroyed. In some cases, they continued partly in use. Collins considers how these developments related to the changing nature of military supply and organisation: possibly reflecting a greater reliance on local rather than imported provisions. Petts reports the excavation of a barrack block at Binchester, County Durham, in Chapter 4. At some stage in the later fourth century, the barrack was, like the site's praetorium, reused for butchery. Petts hypothesizes that this could reflect Binchester's transformation into a military supply and production center. Chapter 5 by Symonds discusses fourth-century British fortlets. While the most studied are those on the Yorkshire coast, Symonds identifies additional examples on Angelsey and near Caernarfon in Wales, in Cumbria, and south of Carlisle, and suggests that while stone fortlets could have defended coastlines from naval raids, inland "turf-and-timber" fortlets were local security measures. Vanhoutte reports on recent rescue excavation work at Oudenburg, Belgium, in Chapter 6. Like other stone forts on the English Channel, this was apparently inhabited by soldiers and civilians in the fourth century, with evidence for a bath building, brooch manufacture, and artifacts suggesting the presence of women and children. Burial evidence, interestingly, attests a "Germanic" presence in the final occupation phase. In Chapter 7, Mosser traces the development of the legionary fortress of Vindobona. Its fourth-century remains reflect the existence of a smaller military garrison living alongside a civilian population. The transformation of barrack rooms into workshops is one example of this development. In the fifth century, the site was temporarily abandoned before some areas were reused for residential purposes. Chapter 8, by Lemke, provides another example of the civilian function of frontier fortresses, charting the development of a number of internal structures at Novae on the Lower Danube across Late Antiquity. The chapter also contains an interesting discussion of epigraphic evidence for the primipilarii, civilian [End Page 534] officials responsible for importing military supplies from Asia Minor. Arce surveys two major changes to fortifications along the limes Arabicus in Chapter 9: the expansion and transformation of Severan forts into quadriburgia as part of the Diocletianic renovation of eastern frontier defences; and the conversion of these into political and religious centers...

Cloisonne Zoomorphic Mounts of the Early 5th Century from Kertch: Function and Meaning

Among the finds from two vaults of the late antique necropolis of Bosporus discovered by robbers on June 24, 1904 there is a pair of zoomorphic mounts made in the technique of cloisonné inlay. In modern scientific literature, the issue of the interpretation and semantics of this zoomorphic image has not been considered so far. According to the author, the things reproduce the image of the Roman Capricorn. The composition of doubled figures or a protomes of these creatures turning their heads in different directions was first encountered on rare items of the Augustian time, most often on coins (1st c. BC – 1st c. AD). The composition in the form of a double Capricorn was first noted on the cameo of Augustus from the Metropolitan Museum (early 1st c. AD), as well as on the coins of Titus (79–81). In the period of 4th – 5th centuries, corresponding to the time of burials in the crypts, this composition was depicted on miniatures of Notitia Dignitatum reproducing shield emblems of various units of the late Roman army. Although the actual image of Capricorn on the emblems of Notitia Dignitatum is absent (most likely it is the result of some modernization carried out by medieval painters), this compositional principle of dual zoomorphic figures fully corresponds to the inlaid mounts from Kerch. It was suggested that these mounts found in the crypts of “June 24, 1904” were also the emblems of any of the Roman legions mounted to the leather upholstery of the shield. Other details of the parade shields (gilded umbo and rivets) are represented in the materials from these burials.

Ethnic units in the late Roman Army? The case of the equites dalmatae

The article relies on the case study of the equites Dalmatae to analyse the relation­ships between Late Roman military unit naming conventions and the recruitment patterns of the era. Of special importance is the question of the extent to which the army employed ethnic units, recruited from a particular population and using their own, traditional fighting styles. The conclusions are reached through a combination of historical and onomastic study, with special regard to the possible meanings of the term Dalmatae and the entities and identities it could have represented.

Horreumok és a gabonafeldolgozás emlékei Savariából

The study reviews our current knowledge on grain processing and granaries in Savaria based on the interpretation of the building inscription of a well-known horreum, with a focus on the provisioning of the late Roman army and the construction of horrea in the provinces during the 4th century.

The Late Roman Field Army in Northern Britain? Mobility, Material Culture and Multi-Isotope Analysis at Scorton (N Yorks.)

ABSTRACTAt Hollow Banks Quarry, Scorton, located just north of Catterick (N Yorks.), a highly unusual group of 15 late Roman burials was excavated between 1998 and 2000. The small cemetery consists of almost exclusively male burials, dated to the fourth century. An unusually large proportion of these individuals was buried with crossbow brooches and belt fittings, suggesting that they may have been serving in the late Roman army or administration and may have come to Scorton from the Continent. Multi-isotope analyses (carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and strontium) of nine sufficiently well-preserved individuals indicate that seven males, all equipped with crossbow brooches and/or belt fittings, were not local to the Catterick area and that at least six of them probably came from the European mainland. Dietary (carbon and nitrogen isotope) analysis only of a tenth individual also suggests a non-local origin. At Scorton it appears that the presence of crossbow brooches and belts in the grave was more important for suggesting non-British origins than whether or not they were worn. This paper argues that cultural and social factors played a crucial part in the creation of funerary identities and highlights the need for both multi-proxy analyses and the careful contextual study of artefacts.

The ‘Lost’ Naval Commands of the Late Roman Army

The ‘Lost’ Naval Commands of the Late Roman Army

„Służby medyczne” w późnorepublikańskiej armii rzymskiej (I w. przed Chr.)

Current researches on ‘medical service’ in the Roman army have usually concentrating on the imperial period. It is mainly a result of the lack of republican sources but also incorrect research assumptions. The only reference to the topic is contained in Tusculanae disputationes by Marcus Tullius Cicero. The author of the article tries to present how literary topoi and terms of service in the late republican Roman army have had an impact on our understanding of legions organization in the 1st century B.C. According to the author the most credible type of sources were not historiographical texts but philosophical treaties or poetry. The reason is that late republican historians wanted to present Roman victories only as a result of Roman courage and virtue.

An unnoticed regimental diaconus in the correspondence of Theodoret of Cyrrhus

This short article examines the textual transmission of a letter written by Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrrhus, in 432/3, in which he remarks that a member of the equites tertii stablesiani had previously delivered his correspondence to an episcopal colleague. Successive modern editors, puzzled by the term diaconum in the unique manuscript, proposed the emendations decanum or decurionem. The latter conjecture is found, unacknowledged, in the most recent edition of Theodoret’s letters. Textual, historical and linguistic criteria corroborate the received reading and reveal that, as a result of these editorial interventions, an early reference to a deacon serving as a regimental chaplain has been overlooked. Correctly identified and contextualised, Theodoret’s courier can take his place in future discussions of clergy within the late Roman army.

RECREATING THE LATE ROMAN ARMY

This paper attempts to give some insight into the role that Roman military reconstruction archaeology can play in the understanding of Roman military equipment from Late Antiquity. It can only provide a brief introduction to some of the equipment of the Late Roman army though, and Bishop and Coulston’s Roman Military Equipment, first published in 1993 (2nd ed., 2006), must remain the standard work.1 This contribution will chiefly aim to examine how items of equipment were made, and more importantly, to consider how they were used.

War in late antiquity: a social history

List of Figures. List of Maps. List of Tables. Preface. Acknowledgments. Selected Roman Emperors during Late Antiquity. Selected Persian Kings during Late Antiquity. Table of Significant Events. Glossary. List of Abbreviations. Introduction. 1. War and its Causes in Late Antiquity: An Overview. 2. The Evolution of the Late Roman Army: An Outline. 3. Ancient Sources for War and the Army in Late Antiquity: A Guide. 1. Emperors and Warfare. 1.1. Changing Patterns of Imperial Involvement in Warfare. 1.2. The Unchanging Ideology of Victory. 2. Military Loyalties and Civil War. 2.1. Retaining Soldiers' Loyalties. 2.2. Civil War and Military Unrest. 3. The Infrastructure of War. 3.1. Manpower. 3.2. Supplying the Army. 3.3. Fortifications. 4. The Economic Impact of War. 4.1. Economic Benefits of War. 4.2. Economic Costs of War. 5. The Experience of War. 5.1. Soldiers. 5.2. Urban Communities. 5.3. Rural Communities. 5.4. Women. 6. Soldiers and Society. 6.1. Soldiers and their Families. 6.2. Interaction between Military and Non-Military Elites. 6.3. Military-Civilian Interaction at Non-Elite Levels. 7. Army, Warfare, and Religion. 7.1. The Changing Religious Complexion of the Army. 7.2 The Army and Religious Policy. 7.3. A Christian Empire at War. Notes. Bibliography of Ancient Sources. Bibliography of Modern Works. Index of Ancient Sources. General Index

Végèce et les transformations de l’art de la guerre aux ive et ve siècles

A recent approach of Vegetius’s Epitoma rei militaris — to which the integrality of this study is devoted — tries “to restore to favour” its author, but, in the same time, brings discredit on the work as a source of knowledge for the late Roman art of war, and thus creates an useless tension between the historical and the prescriptive aspects of the text. The author rather thinks that the Epitoma is a well-ordered collection of practices, meant to be applicable. The opposition, placed at the heart of the matter, between the limited and perhaps purely empirical knowledge of the Emperor and his advisers on the one hand, the supposed universal aptitude of the compiler on the other hand, finds a way to be solved by the rewording of multiple and polygenetic experiments, using the literary criteria of the artes militares. It is thus its capacity to write a clear synthesis that Vegetius seeks to promote, maintaining however a clear distinction between the literary models, the only way for the expression of a recognized knowledge, and the applicable standards. Two methodological precautions should make it possible to restore to the Epitoma all its significance. First, a constant attention to the global organization of the text. For instance, it seems obvious that the point of view changes radically between book II and III, which is the compendium of an applicable military knowledge, written for a commander. Second, a precise comparison between the text of the Epitoma and the whole of the literary, documentary and archaeological sources on the late Roman army, which would reveal the relevance of the information contained in the work and show the descriptive value of many chapters, in particular II, 7 or III, 14-20. The question would not be any more to know if the Epitoma could have been used as a manual for Roman officers, but to patiently determine if the standards exposed in it have chances to reflect a contemporary military reality. The present study has precisely as an aim to show the relevance of such a method and its interest for the knowledge of the practices of the late Roman infantry in some tactical and operational fields: intelligence and the preparation for battle, its various phases and its mechanism, the measures to be taken after a victory or a defeat. It is not an exhaustive study of the Epitoma rei militaris, and fields where this work could be taken at fault of confusion (the antiqua ordinatio legionis…), or of lack of originality, were deliberately left out. However, the multiple echoes that the Epitoma awake in the contemporary narrative sources and in the later technical literature show all its relevance as a source for the late Roman military history. Far from being a nostalgic compilation or a whimsical proposal, the Epitoma represents rather, with an historiographic and practical scope, a true ordered compendium of the Roman military tradition, but also of the art of war at the end of the 4th c. AD.

Blood and Hunger in theIliad

Previous articleNext article No AccessBlood and Hunger in the Iliad*Tamara NealTamara NealUniversity of New England Search for more articles by this author University of New EnglandPDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Classical Philology Volume 101, Number 1January 2006 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/505669 Views: 119Total views on this site Citations: 1Citations are reported from Crossref [© 2006 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.]PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Philip Rance Health, Wounds, and Medicine in the Late Roman Army (250–600 CE), (Dec 2019): 173–185.https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119248514.ch14

The Origin of the Late Roman Army Ranks

During the early and high empire, the well-known centurions served as the legions' officers in varying ranks, while below them stood other ranks such as the signifer, optio, and tesserarius.

The Late Roman Army

The Late Roman Army

The Late Roman Army in Pannonia

In this paper the author gives a short summary of the question of the late Roman army in Pannonia with special regard to the Notitia Dignitatum and the changes in the military organisation during the 4th-5th centuries. The presence of the foederati in this region was examined again on the basis of antique sources.

Identities in the Late Roman Army: Material and Textual Perspectives

Identities in the Late Roman Army: Material and Textual Perspectives

Military Identities in Late Roman Britain

Changes in the material culture of the late Roman army in Britain mean that it is often difficult to identify archaeologically. Some of these changes have in the past been taken as symptoms of decline, without attempt at further explanation. This paper aims to explore these changes and their deeper significance, within a theoretical framework which stresses the importance of the use of material culture in the expression of identities. Building from a detailed case study of fourth century occupation at Caerleon, it will be suggested that categorising material as ‘civilian’ or ‘military’ obscures complex patterns of both uniformity and variation between different kinds of site. These have implications not only for our understanding of the army in fourth and fifth century Britain, but also for society in general at this time, as it is within this wider context that the army should be seen.

The Late Roman Army

The Late Roman Army

The Late Roman Army

The Late Roman Army