Auxillary belts in the 2nd century, Canteen troubles

[Anonymous]

Hi Thom/Caius here with a question. Did Roman Auxillarys in the 2nd century were the military belt?. I have an Osperys Hadrain to Constanie wich depicts Auxillary infantry without the military belt does anyone know, if this is correct. Also I just wish to express my thanks for the feedback from previous posts . Also I have recently purchased a Roman Canteen from By the sword . Its has a lot of rust inside. Does any one have any idea how to make it usable. Cheers Thom/Caius <p></p><i></i>

[Crispvs]

Caius,<br>
<br>
Embleton's painting in the Osprey book is probably based on the metopes of the Tropeum Traiani at Adamklissi. On the metopes the legionaries are depicted with belts but the auxiliaries (or at any rate, those we assume to be auxiliaries) are shown without belts. Their swords are suspended on baldrics. To my mind, scabbards on baldrics which were not held in place by belts would swing around dangerously in combat, but there is nothing on the sculpture to show how, if at all, the scabbards were held in place.<br>
I do not know of any other second century depictions of armoured auxilia to contrast with those of the Adamklissi metopes (not including those on Trajan's column and the column of Marcus Aurelius).<br>
<br>
Crispvs <p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

Good point, unless the scabbard loops were tied off to the links of the chain mail with small pieces of thong....but I agree, I can't see auxilliaries without belts.<br>
<br>
It's uncanny I tell you! <p>Magnus/Matt<br>
Legio XXX "Ulpia Victrix"<br>
Niagara Falls, Canada</p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

Ave,<br>
I took clean sand, (sanitized by boiling, then drying in the oven), and poured a couple handfulls in the canteen.<br>
I shook and twirled it around for awhile, then poured it out and did it again. This effectively removed all the loose garbage, and pretty well scoured the surface. I attached a small mirror to a stick (like a dentist mirror), so I could look inside at all the surfaces. Then I heated up some brewers pitch (like pine tar)in a can, poured it in, and swirled it around. I found it cooled too quickly, so I used a hair dryer to keep heating the canteen, and roll around the pitch. I would suggest heating the canteen first. When the entire inside surface was covered, checked by the mirror, I kept heating and pouring out the excess pitch. I ended up with a smooth thin coat all over. Last it took some heating and wiping to get the neck clean so the cap wouln't stick. I used a little beeswax on the cap to smooth its action, and help fill any gaps. Then I filled it with water and let it sit for few days, and poured it out to check for discoloration. It came out clean, and didn't even have any pine taste.<br>
Good luck, Quintus <p></p><i></i>