Check(er)ed clothing in the Roman army, 1st C

[scotti73]

There is an example of a tartan in the national musueum of Scotland dated to the 3rd century AD, it was unearthed in Falkirk, Stirlingshire. Tartan apparently did exist in our period. Now i'm not saying that any Roman Soldier wore it but it is a fact the soldiers over time adopt clothing that better suited the envoiriment they operated in, this clothing is often manufactured locally. We have literature describing celtic cloaks, we have visual evidence and primary evidence (from the 3rd century) in the form of the actual material. We know that Roman soldiers formed relationships and had families with the locals, their families would not have had their clothing supplied by the unit and in all likelihood would have made their own clothes including the supplimentary clothing that the soldier would have needed, having been on exercise in Otterburn and Warcop training areas in winter i speak from experience. From this and in my opinion the checkered clothing worn by some reenactors is appropriate though no more appropriate than plain block colours.