Further use of the \"furca\" as a tent pole.

[66kbm]

One thought is that you do not have to carry all the poles required, either man or mule.

One of the first things you do when deploying military camouflague is go and forage for suitable lengths of wood as straight as nature will allow. They are then discarded when you move on, or perhaps in ths instance, chopped into smaller peices and used for fire wood for the next stop on the march.

Perhaps not such a good idea in a desert environment when there is not much natural forest avaiable, but certainly applicable to European campagining.

Or you sling your tent up in the trees...

You ever felt the weight of a Contuburnium tent Moi?.....I can assure you that absolutely no "slinging" is possible, be it in the trees or elsewhere.....ours weighs about 60kg minus poles.
Fun will be had trying various methods.
Still not convinced by the mule carrying the ridge pole though Brian.
Kevin

[Jori]

For leather tents, maybe 60kgs, but linen tents were lighter...

[66kbm]

We can only experiment with what we have and its a Goatskin tent @ 60kg....ish
Until Linen panels/tents turn up in the archeological record then we as a group go with leather.
Will take pics, as Robert suggested and post when I can next week.
Kevin

[M. Demetrius]

How would soldiers carry their gear on a longish foray from camp? On what would they hang their waterskins, ration bags, spare blanket, etc., if their furcae were tied to the papilio?

[Vindex]

You ever felt the weight of a Contuburnium tent Moi?.....I can assure you that absolutely no "slinging" is possible, be it in the trees or elsewhere.....ours weighs about 60kg minus poles.
Kevin

Well, I know what 60kgs weighs although, no, I haven't actually applied it to a contuburnium.

The fact it is so heavy (dry weight one assumes?) does beg the question that, although there may be evidence to support the whole tent made of leather, it does not necessarily mean it was the only material used.

It would also argue against a mule (much smaller than modern mules) and perhaps a cart to carry it instead.

[Jori]

Maybe leather tents were used for more permanent forts? And linen for quick marchs?

Aniway, I remember to see fellow reenactors put plastic protections on their leather tents because it was raining. Leather in heavy rain is not a good idea. The leather was soaked.

Absolutely no problem with our linen tents. No water would pass through it.

So maybe leather tents were not that good on the northern provinces.

[M. Demetrius]

I don't know where the leather tent fragments have been found, but no matter, that doesn't automatically restrict the geographical usage. Even if the only bits found were, say, in a Germanic peat bog, that means little. It just means that's where they were found. Legions were moved all over the Empire, so a tent found in the bog might have been used in Parthia and Egypt and Hispania previously.

The argument for linen is attractive to me, but it does not fit the "sub pellibus" word often used to mean "camping". Flax is not a hide.

So maybe leather tents were not that good on the northern provinces.

Remember that they didn't go camp just for a weekend like we do. Each conturburnium had a mule assigned to it, and the Centurion a second mule. I don't see the problem with a mule carrying the tent, and poles, especially if the ridge pole were jointed or hinged in the middle. My ridge pole for a 12' long wall tent, hinged, fits in a Toyota Camry. A mule could manage, I'd think.

Unless there were a good reason, I doubt that the camp would break if all the tentage were wet. It's not just the weight, it's the mold and mildew. That destroys leather and canvas (cotton or linen) in a short time.

[PhilusEstilius]

I think that common sense tells me that the Roman soldiers did have some sort of weather proofing for their gear, in fact very similar to the Camomile Street soldier we see wearing a garment over his chailmail to keep the rain off.

[Flavivs Aetivs]

I think that common sense tells me that the Roman soldiers did have some sort of weather proofing for their gear, in fact very similar to the Camomile Street soldier we see wearing a garment over his chailmail to keep the rain off.

Like a Paenula?

[M. Demetrius]

Yes, or a cuculus

[agrimensor]

Just athought, if U use a realy forked stick like "Y " put it upside down in the tent and use 3 furca this might do the job. only make sure they are the right lenght.

[M. Demetrius]

I don't see forked sticks pointed down being a good idea, but that's just my opinion. A fork, if you follow the wood grain, is weakest at the point where the two "arms" join together to make the main stem. This can result in splitting when you put pressure on the stick lengthwise. If it were to be used this way, some kind of reinforcement would be needed at the juncture, such as a rawhide figure 8 or something similar to move the pressure off the weak spot.