Recreating a legionair beginning 3rd Century

[Flavius Promotus]

There are, though, several excellent reenactment groups doing the early 3rd century, as has been mentioned - Quinta in the UK, Populares Vindelicenses and III Italica in Germany, being auxiliary and legionary impressions respectively

Dear Nathan, thank you for the praise

The appearance of the Roman army in the later 3rd century is indeed extremely mysterious. Dura was destroyed (probably) in 256, but the only helmet fragments I know from have been identified as pieces of Niederbieber/Heddernheim type helmets. (according to James, the fragments had almost exactly the same measurments like helmets of the same types found in Europe (another blow to the 'Dura doesn't count because it's the Roman army in Syria' theory - they even had the same boots !).

Dura also revealed a ridge helmet with a chain mail neck cover, but it was most likely a Persian helmet .

Now the Der-el-Medineh helmet - here a reconstruction by Derek R Cole - is said to be from the late 3rd century, although I don't know on what findings this is based (there is an article in Germania 1940 or 1941, can look it up - the library is just around the corner).



This helmet looks crude but effective, and although I don't understand much about helmet production, it does not seem to be a very time consuming construction, compared to earlier helmets with a lot of brass fittings and decorations (e.g. both types of the Niedermoermter !).
So perhaps we here see the later effects of a desperate attempt to fit as many soldiers as possible with better-than-nothing helmets, helmets which then start their own evolution. The Galerius column shows soldiers with this type of helmet (at least I think so).

Large Roman armies were lost (with most of their equipment) in:
251 - battle of Abrittus (Decius vanquished by the Goths)
259 - Valerian captured with part of his army by the Persians
260ies - seafaring Goths pillage most cities (and garrisons!) at the Black Sea, the Bosporus and the Aegean

Then the tide turns:

269 - Claudius Goticus ("the Gothslayer") exterminates a large Goth army at Naissus
270ies - Aurelian defeats the Palmyrenes, the Goths, many other tribes, and forces the last Gallic emperor to give up.

I would say, there must have been a number of substantial reforms in the 260ies, when the empire was on the verge of collapse.
Think of the mobile cavalry army set up by Gallienus for example.

On the other hand, was there so much equipment to be changed ?

- pugiones disappear
- rectangular scuta seem to get out of use (although at least two were found at Dura)
- helmet types seem to be replaced by a radically new way of making helmets (but when ??? and certainly not at once !)
- segmentata might have been used until the middle 3rd century

But...
- scale and mail where already widespread in the early 3rd century (according to Cassius Dio, the praetorians donned their scale armour before a battle to be more flexible), in fact they had always existed parallel to the segmentata in the imperial period.
- the boots did not change immediately
- the spathae had been introduced already decades before the 260ies, and the oval shields are also no radically new invention.

So the 'cataclysmic' change between early and late 3rd century was perhaps not so complete as we might think.


Back to reenactment:

Sseverus, I would take an oval Dura scutum, although the rectangular Dura is easier to produce (I've got a rectangular one :oops: ).

Sassanid, the tunic you want to make, do you want to stitch the decorative clavi on, or do you want to paint them ? (unless you want to do it hardcore style and weave them in)

If you want to use paint, don't repeat my mistake. I used allegedly waterproof cloth paint for my 'Tribune Terentius from Dura' tunic (can't post the image it's too large - you find it under www.legion-regensburg.de , 'Bilder' - 'Ladenburg', then go to 'Kaiserkult').

Then there was this terrible rainsquall, and I had to repaint the areas around the clavi with white colour because of the pink stains.
Looks a little strange now :evil: .
(luckily the purple fringes of the white cloak did not suffer in the same way - phew).

I am now working on a red woolen tunic with black clavi (NO - please no new tunic war !), and this time I use ACRYLIC paint. Makes the cloth a little stiff, but I tested it in warm water with a large amount of soap - it works

Vale,
Aurelius Florianus/Flavius Promotus