09-15-2022, 12:12 PM
Good question. I was looking at the battle of Mons Graupius where the army heads way up into Scotland and then fights a battle and then relatively quickly returns south. So, they had to do something with the Roman bodies. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of evidence and even if there were, there is evidence that civilian burial customs varied over time, so I would think the Military custom might change.
The problem is this. The Romans have just slaughtered a lot of ... Caledonians in the case of Mons Graupius, and part of the punishment of the enemy, is probably to deny burial rites. So, I think the enemy were left to get eaten and rot ... although that may have been not that dissimilar to the Iron age custom in Britain. But I'm pretty sure the Romans didn't respect the dead of their enemies.
However, if the Romans then neatly place their own bodies in a mound, that is going to be an obvious target for the enemy. And, indeed, if you left 300 Roman bodies, I would not be surprised to see 300 Roman skulls being displayed shortly after. So, it is pretty pointless to leave intact Roman bodies in ground.
So, that implies some form of cremation. But that in turn requires an awful lot of wood ... although the Romans could take that from those they beat. The mound would not be difficult ... after all you've got a lot of prisoners, who might be keen to show they have some use other than crow food.
The problem is this. The Romans have just slaughtered a lot of ... Caledonians in the case of Mons Graupius, and part of the punishment of the enemy, is probably to deny burial rites. So, I think the enemy were left to get eaten and rot ... although that may have been not that dissimilar to the Iron age custom in Britain. But I'm pretty sure the Romans didn't respect the dead of their enemies.
However, if the Romans then neatly place their own bodies in a mound, that is going to be an obvious target for the enemy. And, indeed, if you left 300 Roman bodies, I would not be surprised to see 300 Roman skulls being displayed shortly after. So, it is pretty pointless to leave intact Roman bodies in ground.
So, that implies some form of cremation. But that in turn requires an awful lot of wood ... although the Romans could take that from those they beat. The mound would not be difficult ... after all you've got a lot of prisoners, who might be keen to show they have some use other than crow food.
Oh the grand oh Duke Suetonius, he had a Roman legion, he galloped rushed down to (a minor settlement called) Londinium then he galloped rushed back again. Londinium Bridge is falling down, falling down ... HOLD IT ... change of plans, we're leaving the bridge for Boudica and galloping rushing north.
