What happened to dead legionnaries\' armor ?

[Theodosius the Great]

Avete.<br>
<br>
Are there any theories as to what happened to a legionaire's armor after he died ? Was it considered state property and thus handed over to a new recruit ?<br>
I can't imagine he'd be buried with it or it being kept by his civilian family members.<br>
<br>
-Theo<br>
<br>
P.S.<br>
<br>
Sorry if this has been addressed before, but I searched w/o success for a previous thread dealing with this topic exclusively. <p></p><i></i>

[Crispvs]

Theo,<br>
<br>
Mike will probably tell me I am badly out of date now, but on page 44 of Bishop and Coulston 1993 it says that a "text from Egypt and dating to the reign of Antoninus Plus, records a mother receiving the property of her deceased son, a soldier of cohors II Thracum, including sums 'in armis' of 21 denarii 27.5 obols (presumably payment for handing in his weapons), along with 'papilio' 20 denarii (possibly his share of a tent)." The endnote says that the information comes from: Gilliam, JF - 'The deposita of an auxiliary soldier (P. Columbia inv. 325)', Bonner Jahrbuecher 167 (1967), 233-43.<br>
<br>
I hope that helps a little.<br>
<br>
Crispvs <p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

So the armour goes back to the arsenal but his relatives are compensated. <p></p><i></i>

[Paullus]

I also read somewhere that it was estimated that some helmets had a service life of something in the order of 75 years, being passed from soldier to soldier. Can't give an exact source or reference, it been quite a while since I found that tidbit <p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

"I also read somewhere that it was estimated that some helmets had a service life of something in the order of 75 years, being passed from soldier to soldier" The Guttman gladius (now in the Royal Armouries, Leeds ) had two previous owners, the Imperial Gallic I had 5 (!), and the Imperial Italic had one (all by the inscriptions as below) <img src="http://www.legionsix.org/neidername.jpg" style="border:0;"/><br>
Maxium ownership would be 25 years. So, if we assume that the average use by a single owner was (say) 7-12 years, the Imperial Gallic I (made from unrusting orichalcum) would have been in use for 35-60 years. (That also assumes that all owners left their mark on this helmet). The 75 year service life therefore doesn't seem unreasonable- although it might depend a lot on how many hits it took from Germanic clubs!<br>
<br>
Cheers<br>
<br>
Paulus <p></p><i></i>

[mcbishop]

<em>Mike will probably tell me I am badly out of date now</em><br>
<br>
Since it is the pantomime season, it is tempting to yell out 'oh no he won't!' I've just checked edition 2 and the same text is in there word for word... so it must be right ;-)<br>
<br>
Here's a bit more that helps explain things:<br>
<br>
"Technically, his military equipment, whether purchased or given to him by a benefactor, formed part of a soldier's <em>castrense peculium</em>. This was a special military privilege which meant that anything pertaining to a man's military service belonged to him rather than to his guardian (normally his father), and that the soldier could dispose of it in his will as he saw fit. This concept lies behind the will of Ammonius, who left 15 <em>denarii</em> to one executor, 10 to the other, and 210 <em>denarii</em> 14½ obols to his mother (including the sum <em>in armis</em>)." (<em>ibid</em>. p.199)<br>
<br>
Mike Bishop <p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

My idea is he could have been found many, many years later by a people other than Rome who could have taken his equipment to change into new equipment. Just like the Ottomans did with the Colossus in Rhodes. <p></p><i></i>