Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Injuries of Roman soldiers
#1
I am looking for archaeological studies on injuries of Roman soldiers. This includes war injuries but also other physical problems like rheumatism with older soldiers.
Does anyone has any suggestion?
Reply
#2
I don't recall anything about soldiers, but there have been many studies on the gladiator graveyard in Ephesus. I can't figure out how to copy and paste on my phone, but if you go to something like Google Scholar and search you will find those studies.
David J. Cord
www.davidcord.com
Reply
#3
I can't recommend anything specifically but this looks interesting:
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=EC1mA...CFkQ6AEwBw
Michael King Macdona

And do as adversaries do in law, -
Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.
(The Taming of the Shrew: Act 1, Scene 2)
Reply
#4
Following on from my last post, the book is evidently based upon the author's PhD thesis. A detailed abstract of this can be found on this site, from which the complete thesis can also be downloaded:

https://theses.ncl.ac.uk/dspace/handle/10443/486
Michael King Macdona

And do as adversaries do in law, -
Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.
(The Taming of the Shrew: Act 1, Scene 2)
Reply
#5
Thank you for the reference. It is an interesting work, though it doesn't refer to archaeological evidence of wounded soldiers, at first sight.
Reply
#6
In the ostraca of Vindolanda, it seems the main injuries soldiers had were in the eyes.

edit : http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007...021#page-1 look here
[Image: inaciem-bandeau.png]
Reply
#7
Thank you for the reference. Do you have access to the PDF file? My university library doesn't have access.
Reply
#8
Quote:Thank you for the reference. It is an interesting work, though it doesn't refer to archaeological evidence of wounded soldiers, at first sight.
You're unlikely to find archaeological evidence for injuries simply because we don't generally have any actual bodies to work with. Even the Vindolanda reference to the sick and wounded do not make reference to injuries in battle - the eye 'injuries' are likely some form of conjunctivitis resulting from damp living conditions. Unfortunately this is one area where you're left to do a fair bit of extrapolation from literary sources.
Reply
#9
Quote:...the eye 'injuries' are likely some form of conjunctivitis resulting from damp living conditions. Unfortunately this is one area where you're left to do a fair bit of extrapolation from literary sources.

Galen wrote a lot about eye problems. I wondered if it had anything to do with all the smoke from indoor braziers without proper ventilation.
David J. Cord
www.davidcord.com
Reply
#10
You may find something in reports of the excavation of Roman cemeteries in the vicinity of forts and fortresses, such as Trentholme Drive in York, but the difficulty is always going to be differentiating between soldiers and civilians.
Michael King Macdona

And do as adversaries do in law, -
Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.
(The Taming of the Shrew: Act 1, Scene 2)
Reply


Forum Jump: