How To.. wear the Pugio and Gladius (belts, fasteners)

[Crispvs]

Despite what many of the better known Rhineland stelae show, we know from other less well known stelae that some belts were not completely covered with plates and that in some cases they were spaced out along the belt. This is supported by both the Vindonissa find and the Velson burial. There is no reason to suppose that the Velson soldier's belt was incomplete but apart from its buckle and frog plates it only had four (or was it five?) other belt plates.

Have a look at some of the belts shown in this article, in particular number 42. You will also notice that the sculptors, although in many cases they have simplified the decoration of the belt plates, have often consciously depicted plates with differing decoration on the same belt, which is presumably the case with the plates found with the Vindonissa sword.
http://www.jrmes.org.uk/vol03/bishop.pdf

Having looked at the article, and very pertinant to the conversation at hand, those who are observant may have noticed, like me, what appears to be a large domed stud in image 42 which is positioned between the suspension rings on the scabbard. This relief is one of Miks' sources of evidence for his suggestion and it is more visible in Bishop's drawing.

Crispvs