05-23-2009, 03:44 PM
Not to labor the points line by line, but if you take a step back and look at it, the statements you've listed as contrasting needn't be such a contrast. 9AD is, after all, early 1st Cent. And as has been discussed elsewhere, on many topics, the transition from one thing to another was more of a blend than we would think appropriate. A helmet that still works would be sold back to the Quartermaster sometimes when a soldier left service, or given to a son, or whatever.
The Pompeii was/is easier to make, and when Augustus needed to equip a bazillion soldiers for his fight for the Emperor's chair, he would logically have gone with the quicker-to-make, easier-to-forge swords. Segmentata is easier and less time-consuming to make than hamata, given the metal bands (which some say came from rolling mills much like ours today). Some have said that a set of hamata can be assembled in a day or so, while wire rings numbering about 15,000 (half solid, half riveted) can take more than a week for a full time armorer. (and I know a guy who works on his now and then who hasn't finished his hamata in two years...and it's all butted.) So which would you order up if you were equipping 40,000 soldiers?
Archeological claims are generally submitted basically on the basis of when the oldest found dates, of course. New finds may change the dates, as would be expected.
I seem to remember a Roman reenactment legion in either Colorado or Nevada...have you checked with them to see if you can work together? If so, that will settle some of the questions: always opt to fit in rather than be different is a good rule that many utilize in this hobby. No need for contention when it's not essential.
Now about those pink and yellow-striped tunics --
The Pompeii was/is easier to make, and when Augustus needed to equip a bazillion soldiers for his fight for the Emperor's chair, he would logically have gone with the quicker-to-make, easier-to-forge swords. Segmentata is easier and less time-consuming to make than hamata, given the metal bands (which some say came from rolling mills much like ours today). Some have said that a set of hamata can be assembled in a day or so, while wire rings numbering about 15,000 (half solid, half riveted) can take more than a week for a full time armorer. (and I know a guy who works on his now and then who hasn't finished his hamata in two years...and it's all butted.) So which would you order up if you were equipping 40,000 soldiers?
Archeological claims are generally submitted basically on the basis of when the oldest found dates, of course. New finds may change the dates, as would be expected.
I seem to remember a Roman reenactment legion in either Colorado or Nevada...have you checked with them to see if you can work together? If so, that will settle some of the questions: always opt to fit in rather than be different is a good rule that many utilize in this hobby. No need for contention when it's not essential.
Now about those pink and yellow-striped tunics --
M. Demetrius Abicio
(David Wills)
Saepe veritas est dura.
(David Wills)
Saepe veritas est dura.
