08-03-2013, 09:36 AM
One of the few bits of written evidence we have for the numbers of a Roman legion comes from a book called De munitionibus castrorum, by an unknown writer referred to as Pseudo-Hyginus and dating (probably) to some time in the 2nd century. He gives the century as 80 men, divided into ten groups of eight. This contradicts Vegetius, who describes a 'contubernium' of ten men.
Excavations of legionary and auxiliary forts and fortresses appear to bear out Hyginus to an extent - a barrack block seems to have housed a single century, and most had rooms for ten groups, often with a few extra. So the 80-man century seems a good bet for the principiate period, at least on paper.
The later legion may have been different, or different in some places. Some later forts (El Lejjun and Dionysius in the eastern provinces, possibly also Troesmis although I'm not sure about that one) appear to have had less rooms in a barrack block, and Nicasie suggests that this might mean a reduced size century. There are barrack blocks of between five and nine rooms, for example, which could imply a century of as few as 40 men.
As you can guess, there's a lot of uncertainty about all this, and many theories flying about. I would estimate a limitanei legion probably kept the old-style organisation, perhaps with fewer cohorts to account for missing detachments. Say eight cohorts each of six centuries numbering 60-80 men, which would give a legion size of around 3000. The field army legions could have had a totally different organisation - perhaps indeed Vegetius's ten-man contubernium derived from there?
Excavations of legionary and auxiliary forts and fortresses appear to bear out Hyginus to an extent - a barrack block seems to have housed a single century, and most had rooms for ten groups, often with a few extra. So the 80-man century seems a good bet for the principiate period, at least on paper.
The later legion may have been different, or different in some places. Some later forts (El Lejjun and Dionysius in the eastern provinces, possibly also Troesmis although I'm not sure about that one) appear to have had less rooms in a barrack block, and Nicasie suggests that this might mean a reduced size century. There are barrack blocks of between five and nine rooms, for example, which could imply a century of as few as 40 men.
As you can guess, there's a lot of uncertainty about all this, and many theories flying about. I would estimate a limitanei legion probably kept the old-style organisation, perhaps with fewer cohorts to account for missing detachments. Say eight cohorts each of six centuries numbering 60-80 men, which would give a legion size of around 3000. The field army legions could have had a totally different organisation - perhaps indeed Vegetius's ten-man contubernium derived from there?
Nathan Ross
