Roman Military Tents Carried in sections by the Men

[Magnus]

Kormanus, you didn't address the point of having a small baggage supply though, as brought up in Los's post. An army in a state of war can't afford to have a slow, long line of supplies strung out behind it. That's why the called them "Marius's Mules". They humped all their kit on their backs.

From this website: [url:2s40q6qc]http://faculty.vassar.edu/jolott/old_courses/republic1998/marius/reform.htm[/url]

Transport of all necessary equipment by soldiers:

Instead of carrying equipment on carts and mules, which slowed the army down to the pace of the baggage train, Marius made his men carry their supplies. A soldiers gear, aside from the armor they wore and the weapons they carried, also included emergency rations as well as entrenching and cooking tools. Josephus contends that a regular soldier would have to carry their weapons, a saw, a wicker basket for shifting earth, a piece of rope or leather, a sickle, and a pickax with a cutting blade on one side and a tine on the other for digging or cutting. The items they couldn't carry on their person would be attached onto a large pole, or pila muralia. Marius supposedly introduced the fork on the head of the pole for facilitated packing up and carrying of equipment. Plutarch writes in Marius' biography that the soldiers were nicknamed Marius' Mules, laden down with the baggage of the army. This epithet and the accompanying image would characterize the Roman Army throughout the time of the Empire.

So there you have it...no reference to a tent, but the only way to carry all of their food and such is a marching satchel. A bundled up cloak is useless if you have to put it on if it's cold or raining, and they likely had leather in a fair abundance.