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+--- Thread: Lorica Segmentata and Auxilia Troops (/showthread.php?tid=25241)
Lorica Segmentata and Auxilia Troops - LonginusXXI - 11-12-2015
If only legionaries wore lorica segmentata, then how come this armor was found in auxilia forts?
RE: Lorica Segmentata and Auxilia Troops - Gunthamund Hasding - 11-12-2015
(11-12-2015, 05:59 AM)LonginusXXI Wrote: If only legionaries wore lorica segmentata, then how come this armor was found in auxilia forts?
well I would suppose there are possibilities, like why are legio stamps found in auxilia forts? Some legionary might have lost bits from armor when delivering the bricks?
I don't think that segmentata was exclusive to legions, probably everyone used the best available armor, the base for the believe that only legions wore seggies would be the Columna Traiana but probably in CT they only looked for ways (conventions) to depict differences between auxilia and legionary soldiers.
RE: Lorica Segmentata and Auxilia Troops - Dan Howard - 11-12-2015
An argument has been made that there were no auxillia forts. Roman forts had both legionaries and auxilliaries.
RE: Lorica Segmentata and Auxilia Troops - mcbishop - 11-12-2015
(11-12-2015, 12:45 PM)Dan Howard Wrote: An argument has been made that there were no auxillia forts. Roman forts had both legionaries and auxilliaries.
And you can read aspects of that argument here.
Mike Bishop
RE: Lorica Segmentata and Auxilia Troops - LonginusXXI - 11-12-2015
(11-12-2015, 12:53 PM)mcbishop Wrote:(11-12-2015, 12:45 PM)Dan Howard Wrote: An argument has been made that there were no auxillia forts. Roman forts had both legionaries and auxilliaries.
And you can read aspects of that argument here.
Mike Bishop
But wouldn't there have to be vexillations from legions in that case?
RE: Lorica Segmentata and Auxilia Troops - Frank - 11-21-2015
I wonder why the romans had buildt permanent legionary camps which could hold a full legion or even two, if they afterwards distributed a huge amount of legionaries all over the province.
RE: Lorica Segmentata and Auxilia Troops - Robert Vermaat - 11-23-2015
(11-21-2015, 07:05 PM)Frank Wrote: I wonder why the romans had buildt permanent legionary camps which could hold a full legion or even two, if they afterwards distributed a huge amount of legionaries all over the province.
They didn't.
Sure, on campaign legions could be housed in very large, (non-permanent) multi-legion camps. But when the war was over, legionary troops were usually garissoned in a single castra close to the border. The auxilia were spread usually spread out along the border, not all over the province either.
RE: Lorica Segmentata and Auxilia Troops - Frank - 11-23-2015
(11-23-2015, 09:56 AM)Robert Vermaat Wrote:(11-21-2015, 07:05 PM)Frank Wrote: I wonder why the romans had buildt permanent legionary camps which could hold a full legion or even two, if they afterwards distributed a huge amount of legionaries all over the province.
They didn't.
Sure, on campaign legions could be housed in very large, (non-permanent) multi-legion camps. But when the war was over, legionary troops were usually garissoned in a single castra close to the border. The auxilia were spread usually spread out along the border, not all over the province either.
Yes, I know. That is what I thought as well. Perhaps I misunderstood the discussion above. But in the discussion above and in the article linked, it was speculated, that roman legionaries and auxilia were often housed together in forts. Ort that smaller forts inside of the province were actually no auxilia camps but legionary camps. And this is the reason, why segmentata was found in so called auxlilia forts.
I know, that the legionaries were used for infrastructure projects and policing the province (centurio regionis, beneficarii, ...) all over the province. Some smaller garrisons were also inside the province, by whatever reasons. Even if the majority of smaller camps was at the border, and manned by auxilia cohorts. But I can't believe that the legionaries were detached to the smaller forts and often housed together with auxilia on a broad scale. With the consequence that the permanent legion-fort was always half-empty.
My opinion about segmentata is, that some auxilia wore segmentata. Simple like that. Or at least some soldiers in an auxilia wore segmentata. Remember, that some of the NCOs of an auxilia cohort, were roman legionaries commandeered to the cohort (e.g. cornicularius, optio and other principales, ....). If these guys did not switch to hamata for their time of service in the cohort, they could be the reasons for segementata parts found in auxilia camps.
Another reason might be vexillations. If a province governor had to send troops to an emperors campaign, he did not just send 2 cohorts per legion, he also sent auxilia cohorts and alae. Afterwards he had to redistribute his forces at the border. Perhaps now legionaries manned the empty forts temporarily.