Josephus - hand signals

[Tarbicus]

Then he describes a Roman cavalryman approaching in full gallopp and from great distance holding his coat in a special way and waving it. This special signal - Ammianus says - was immediately recognized as the army's warning signal for 'enemies are in the near'.

Now, this sounds a little bit more than simple communication, and is using a simple visual signal to tell those at a distance a more complex piece of information. Not just "I've seen something!", or even "I need to tell you something!", but "I've seen something, the enemy, they are nearby!"

Really interesting, because it's not a panic gesture as Titus *seems* to have been doing at Jerusalem, but a pre-prepared, and trained, visual communication for a specific message. It does lead me to think about the possibility for Titus to have been also using a similar signal, as fire must have been a definite emergency that would need immediate attention in those times just as much as now, if not more urgently.