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I have observed that the Roman soldiers who appear in the column Trajan, in the friezes of alsinski, in the column Trajan and in the reliefs with scenes of combat they do not carry the "pugio" (it was not carried by the found dead soldier in Herculano either) in general, ever these small daggers only they turn out to be represented in some funeral stelas. Might this indicate that it was only a rich complement to go in the triumphal parades or exclusively for veteran soldiers of great buying power? Regards.
Moncada MartÃn, Gabriel / MARCII ULPI MESSALA
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Well, Daggers don't appear on the Bayeux Tapestry either, but its not a great reason to assume they weren't in general use. Visual / Sculptural evidence is difficult evidence to deal with, style, cost, convention and skill make a big difference. Hard to say, really.
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Many of the soldiers of both monuments and combat scenes are carryng the scutum, and because that, the pugio is not visible.
All funerary monuments or triumph monuments with arms and armour depictions shows the pugio.
And, of course, we have that Flavius Josephus quote, saying the roman soldiers wears two swords, one long and one short.
It's another exemple of discordance between artistic depictions and the rest of the evidence.
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It is true, but the soldiers who do not carry the shield and present his(her,your) left side to the overdraft do not take the "pugio" not in the column trajan, not in the monument of alsinski, not in Marco Aurelio's column. The soldier found in Herculano, carries the "cingulum" with the "gladio" and does not carry the "pugio" either. This is really very rare(strange).
Moncada MartÃn, Gabriel / MARCII ULPI MESSALA
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Well, that makes me not feel so bad that I have not gotten one yet. At least not having one is sometimes historically correct, yes?
M. Demetrius Abicio
(David Wills)
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Quote:Well, that makes me not feel so bad that I have not gotten one yet.
Me neither. 
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I doubt that artists have always been concerned with getting the minute details of the kit of the soldiers that they were portraying down exactly right. After all, for a work of art like the column, how important is it that every particular of legionary dress be right? Who is the audience? The populace of Roma, of course. I imagine it could've been taken for granted that the viewer knew a legionary didn't just carry one sword.
And besides, does military sense not dictate that one carry a sidearm? I can't think of any who were known to carry only one weapon.
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You know...i can't see a roman soldier NOT having a back up sidearm. Now, I know you can't use modern thinking to ancient times...but every soldier I can think of, regardless of culture, era or type has had a sidearm in case their main weapon breaks or gets lost. If you have no weapon, you're useless. And while it's possible to grab one from a fallen enemy or friendly, it's much easier, not to mention reassuring to have one on your person.
DISCLAIMER - this is only my opinion, i haven't done a comprehensive study on the use of sidearms throughout the armies of the world.
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Quote:You know...i can't see a roman soldier NOT having a back up sidearm
Well, don't forget what the gritty 1st Sgt in We Were Soldiers said just before a battle began, "If I need one, there'll be one laying on the ground...."
Just a thought.
M. Demetrius Abicio
(David Wills)
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Why the pugio frogs on belts, then?
TARBICvS/Jim Bowers
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Quote:Why the pugio frogs on belts, then?
To confuse the sculptors, obviously. :lol:
M. Demetrius Abicio
(David Wills)
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I think that the frogs for the alone pugio were carried in the rich belts by plates, belts that alone there were used by soldiers of high buying power, the same ones that would take the pugios. The straps with plates, are not represented in the column trajan not in Marco Aurelio's column, only in the funeral stelas, which only rich soldiers might pay. The current soldiers, the majority, would take belts of leather with some light-fittings and probably without pugio.
Moncada MartÃn, Gabriel / MARCII ULPI MESSALA
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But the Herculanum soldier have the plates, but in the moment of his die, he don't wear the pugio.
Probably, he sell it and were waiting for a new one from Deepeeka? :lol:
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It he was carrying neither the hull, nor the armor of plates, nor the shield, nor the pilum, probably also it he them sold to Deepeeka.
Moncada MartÃn, Gabriel / MARCII ULPI MESSALA
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