08-25-2012, 03:59 PM
Nathan.
This becomes a very interesting subject and indeed like myself there must be others who at times wonder, just what was the relationship between the centurian and those ten rooms next to his place.
I have had ideas of just how was guard duty sorted out or was it just a case where the centurian could walk into the first room and hold the back of his hand against his hip with palm horizontal amd say "I am looking for 8 men for duty tonight"
Then his palm would be crossed with 8 coins so then he would move on to the next room and so on, but then as we do know there were at later times the immunis so did he at some time select a soldier who had a reasonable amount of interest to grovel and eventually proper. Indeed we have to ask just how were the optio's selected other than by the man they were going to work for.
It is a situation where all those 80 men were there at his beck and call and any who were problems would be on constant bog cleaning or street sweeping in camp he must surely have had a few favorates I'm sure.
This becomes a very interesting subject and indeed like myself there must be others who at times wonder, just what was the relationship between the centurian and those ten rooms next to his place.
I have had ideas of just how was guard duty sorted out or was it just a case where the centurian could walk into the first room and hold the back of his hand against his hip with palm horizontal amd say "I am looking for 8 men for duty tonight"
Then his palm would be crossed with 8 coins so then he would move on to the next room and so on, but then as we do know there were at later times the immunis so did he at some time select a soldier who had a reasonable amount of interest to grovel and eventually proper. Indeed we have to ask just how were the optio's selected other than by the man they were going to work for.
It is a situation where all those 80 men were there at his beck and call and any who were problems would be on constant bog cleaning or street sweeping in camp he must surely have had a few favorates I'm sure.
Brian Stobbs
