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Hobnails
#1
Ok..Hibernicus was complaining about how horrible parades would be in the other forum (Off-topic). He mentioned that they are hell on the hobnails..Didn't the Roman Legions march on cobble stone roads? So then did it "play hell" with the ancient Romans as well?<br>
<br>
Baffled?<br>
C. Brianus <p></p><i></i>
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#2
I think the REAL reason soldiers weren't allowed to march on Triumph through the streets of Rome with weapons was to reduce injury to each other when the slipping and falling on slick cobbled pavement began!<br>
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Sean Richards<br>
www.rlqm.com <br>
<br>
Hibernicus<br>
LEG IX HSPA®<br>
<br>
<p></p><i></i>
Hibernicus

LEGIO IX HISPANA, USA

You cannot dig ditches in a toga!

[url:194jujcw]http://www.legio-ix-hispana.org[/url]
A nationwide club with chapters across N America
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#3
Salve,<br>
<br>
LOL. The reason for not allowing weapons was that the <i> triumphus</i> would have the troops enter the <i> pomerium</i>, the sacred boundary of the city and the symbolic divide between the spheres of war and peace.<br>
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There is a reference in Josephus regarding a centurion loosing his footing on the temple pavements in Jerusalem and slipping right in the middle of the enemy.<br>
Read the translation here<br>
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Not all Roman roads were hardened with a stone pavement. There were also gravel roads which are much less risky to walk without loosing grip. A metalled road was at times joined by gravel paths on either side. The paved surface would benefit any wheeled transport and the gravel roads would be more lenient to the unshod cavalry hooves and presumably the slippery hobnailed boots as well.<br>
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Regards,<br>
<br>
Sander van Dorst <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub45.ezboard.com/bromanarmytalk.showLocalUserPublicProfile?login=sandervandorst>Sander van Dorst</A> at: 8/13/01 9:20:16 am<br></i>
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#4
Avete!<br>
Somewhere there is a theory that many of those stone-paved roads had a layer of gravel on top of the cobbles. And there is also a Vindolanda letter that says something about the horrible condition of the roads in winter, so it looks like they weren't ALL so nicely built!<br>
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Also, Roman civilian shoes were hobnailed just like military caligae, so soldiers weren't slipping any more than anyone else. I guess they just got used to walking carefully. Heck, hobnails still make more sense than high heels... (NOT that many of us legionaries wear high heels, at least in combat!)<br>
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Valete,<br>
Matthew/Quintus, Legio XX <p></p><i></i>
Matthew Amt (Quintus)
Legio XX, USA
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.larp.com/legioxx/">http://www.larp.com/legioxx/
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#5
Salve,<br>
<br>
Not all Roman military boots were shod with hobnails. C. van Driel-Murray refers to Roman footwear from Egyptian units lacking the familiar hobnails, having just the flesh side sole. She links this to the rocky terrain where the nailing would be a hindrance.<br>
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C. van Driel-Murray, 'Dead men's shoes' (in: <i> Rom, Germanien und die Ausgrabungen in Kalkriese</i>)(Osnabrueck 1999) 169-189.<br>
<br>
Regards,<br>
<br>
Sander van Dorst<br>
<p></p><i></i>
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