| Transcript |
| · | Introduction to Legion: life in the Roman army British Museum Exhibition |
| 0:04 | · | Legion is an exhibition unique in its scope. |
| 0:08 | · | We follow the journey of one Roman citizen |
| 0:10 | · | in his quest to become a legionary |
| 0:12 | · | and belong to one of the world's most infamous fighting forces. |
| 0:16 | · | Claudius Terentianus |
| 0:17 | · | was a Roman soldier in the beginning of the second century. |
| 0:21 | · | The surviving letters he sent home |
| 0:22 | · | are as enlightening as they are rare. |
| 0:25 | · | In Roman history, we have a tendency to focus on the aristocracy, |
| 0:28 | · | the important people and the world changing events |
| 0:31 | · | But in Legion, we illuminate the day to day |
| 0:33 | · | experiences of the soldiers and those around them. |
| 0:38 | · | The life of a Roman soldier wasn’t easy, |
| 0:40 | · | full of violence and hardship |
| 0:42 | · | and death from battle or disease was likely |
| 0:45 | · | But the rewards of that service were potentially life changing. |
| 0:50 | · | So, what did it take to |
| 0:51 | · | become part of the Roman army? |
| 1:05 | · | I beg you, father. |
| 1:07 | · | If it meets with your approval to send me from there |
| 1:09 | · | military sandals and a pair of felt socks. |
| 1:13 | · | I was ordered to take the oath. |
| · | How to join the Roman Army |
| 1:17 | · | So you want to join the Roman army, but would you be able to get in? |
| 1:21 | · | Not everyone could join the Roman army. |
| 1:23 | · | The first perhaps simplest requirement was height. |
| 1:26 | · | and it was five foot ten in Roman feet. |
| 1:28 | · | This is slightly different to what it is today, |
| 1:30 | · | but it would have been about 172cm. |
| 1:33 | · | You had to be under the age of 35. |
| 1:35 | · | However, as long as you met the height requirement, |
| 1:37 | · | you could be as young as, say, 13 and still join the Roman army. |
| 1:41 | · | As well as these two requirements, you also needed a good letter of recommendation. |
| 1:45 | · | Now, this would be a letter from someone |
| 1:46 | · | recommending you to a position in the Roman army. |
| 1:50 | · | This is one of the Vindolanda tablets, and it's actually a letter of recommendation. |
| 1:53 | · | It's a letter written by a man named Karus to Flavius Cerialis |
| 1:56 | · | The commander at Vindolanda, |
| 1:58 | · | and he's recommending a soldier for a position |
| 2:01 | · | at Carlisle. |
| 2:03 | · | The Roman army needed to know that their recruits |
| 2:05 | · | and future soldiers were up to the task, and letters of recommendation |
| 2:08 | · | were really great way of ensuring that this would happen. |
| 2:11 | · | Now, Terentianus, as a Roman citizen |
| 2:14 | · | expected to join the elite legions, that's certainly what he wanted. |
| 2:17 | · | But he fell short with his letter of recommendation. |
| 2:19 | · | He couldn't get a good enough one. |
| 2:21 | · | Instead, he got a letter written by a couple of his friends |
| 2:23 | · | that got him into the auxiliary marines. |
| 2:25 | · | Not exactly what he wanted. |
| 2:27 | · | Hopeful Roman soldiers would start |
| · | Roman Military Training |
| 2:28 | · | as recruits wouldn't become immediate soldiers. |
| 2:31 | · | They had to go through quite grueling training. |
| 2:33 | · | Objects like these would have been used in that training |
| 2:36 | · | a wooden target in the shape of an individual, a person, |
| 2:39 | · | and this wooden sword you can see, perhaps on the surface of this target, |
| 2:43 | · | also the damage that might have been caused by practice swords. |
| 2:47 | · | This skull comes from the |
| 2:48 | · | fort at Vindolanda and it's probably used as target practice. |
| 2:52 | · | If you look closely, the holes are square in shape. |
| 2:55 | · | This matches the bolts used in Roman bolts shooters. |
| · | Roman Military Oath Sacramentum |
| 2:58 | · | This coin shows us |
| 2:59 | · | the moment of a Roman soldier taking his oath or the sacramentum |
| 3:02 | · | as it was called. |
| 3:03 | · | We don't know much about the Roman military oath. |
| 3:05 | · | This is one of the very few depictions we have of it. |
| 3:08 | · | It shows two soldiers |
| 3:10 | · | with one recruit kneeling in the middle. |
| 3:12 | · | The recruit has a piglet, and the two soldiers have their swords on it. |
| 3:16 | · | This piglet may have been sacrificed during the taking of the oath. |
| 3:20 | · | At this point, you're swearing yourself to the army. |
| 3:23 | · | Now, even if you're a citizen protected by Roman law |
| 3:26 | · | in this moment, you're swearing away those rights |
| 3:29 | · | which means that were you to desert |
| 3:31 | · | or somehow fail in your obligations, |
| 3:34 | · | they would have the right to punish you as they saw fit. |
| 3:36 | · | This is a really significant moment in every soldier's life |
| 3:39 | · | and Terentianus writes about it, |
| 3:41 | · | and when he does, he says he was ordered to take the oath. |
| 3:47 | · | Both Kalabel and Deipistus |
| 3:48 | · | have enlisted in the Augustan fleet of Alexandria. |
| 3:52 | · | No one has reckoned up the chances of their lives. |
| 3:55 | · | I went by boat, |
| 3:56 | · | and with their help, I enlisted in the fleet. |
| 3:58 | · | Lest I seem to you to wander like a fugitive, |
| · | Positions in the Roman Army |
| 4:01 | · | lured on by bitter hope. |
| 4:05 | · | So now you're in the Army. |
| 4:06 | · | But where do you fit in? |
| 4:08 | · | If you were a Roman citizen, |
| 4:10 | · | you'd normally want to join the Roman legions. |
| 4:12 | · | Better pay, better conditions. |
| 4:15 | · | However, if you were a non Roman citizen, |
| 4:18 | · | you still had the option of joining the auxiliary support services. |
| 4:21 | · | One of these auxiliary units was the Roman marines, |
| 4:25 | · | and this is the one that Terentianus joined. |
| 4:27 | · | While he was marine Terentianus hated it. |
| 4:30 | · | At one point he rails, |
| 4:31 | · | “They paid no more attention to me than a sponge on a stick.” |
| 4:34 | · | The Roman form of toilet paper. |
| 4:36 | · | He has his equipment nicked by his own officers. While he's in sickbay, |
| 4:40 | · | he then has his bedding stolen. A miserable time all round. |
| 4:44 | · | Claudius Terentianus |
| 4:45 | · | could read and write. |
| 4:46 | · | This is a rare skill in antiquity. |
| 4:49 | · | With the ability to read and write, |
| 4:50 | · | you could read and write orders |
| 4:52 | · | and this was the key to getting promoted |
| 4:54 | · | roles in the Roman army. |
| 4:56 | · | A good promoted rule might be the standard bearer. |
| 4:59 | · | This was a man on double the pay of an ordinary soldier. |
| 5:03 | · | This tombstone shows Imaginifer, |
| 5:06 | · | He holds the imago, the image of a bust of the Emperor. |
| 5:09 | · | In his other hand, you can see he has a scroll. |
| 5:12 | · | He's telling us he can read and write |
| 5:14 | · | an important function of promoted men. |
| 5:17 | · | Standard bearers held the standards of either the regiment |
| 5:20 | · | or the particular century to which they belonged. |
| 5:23 | · | You had to lead from the front, so you had to be brave. |
| 5:26 | · | You had to be able to read and write, |
| 5:28 | · | of course, as all promoted men did, |
| 5:30 | · | but you also had to be numerate because, Roman, standard bearers, |
| 5:34 | · | kept the pay and the accounts for their men. |
| 5:37 | · | The top position |
| 5:38 | · | for a commoner would be the role of centurion, |
| 5:41 | · | commander of a century. |
| 5:43 | · | We have one example of a centurion |
| 5:45 | · | who managed to become a centurion |
| 5:48 | · | by vote of the legion, from being a standard bearer. |
| 5:51 | · | He must have been able to show his bravery in the face of battle. |
| 5:55 | · | It was a position of high responsibility and power. |
| 5:58 | · | Centurions were paid to start with 15 times |
| 6:01 | · | the wages of an ordinary soldier. |
| 6:03 | · | He was very valued in the Roman army. |
| 6:07 | · | One role that would |
| 6:08 | · | tempt even legionaries was the role of cavalry. |
| 6:11 | · | The cavalry was one of the most glamorous roles in the Roman army, |
| 6:15 | · | and the chance to show off came with the cavalry sports, |
| 6:18 | · | a very specialist form of cavalry parade. |
| 6:22 | · | It included standards like this unique survival, |
| 6:25 | · | the Draco of Koblenz, |
| 6:27 | · | this draco comes from the fortress of Niederbieber |
| 6:30 | · | on the Rhineland frontier. |
| 6:31 | · | It dates to the late second century or early third century A.D. |
| 6:35 | · | it's the only one that's ever been found. |
| 6:38 | · | The draco would be mounted on a pole |
| 6:40 | · | the head's hollow, so it would make a whistling sound |
| 6:43 | · | as the rider rode along. It was attached to a windsock |
| 6:46 | · | that billowed out like a fearsome tail. |
| 6:48 | · | Originally gilded, |
| 6:50 | · | this is a unique example surviving from the Rhineland. |
| 6:53 | · | The draco standard, interestingly, was adopted |
| 6:55 | · | from Rome’s enemies, the Sarmatians, |
| 6:57 | · | it’s very much emblematic of the Roman practice of incorporating |
| 7:02 | · | the ideas, the symbols of the enemy and making them their own. |
| 7:10 | · | I ask and beg you, father, |
| 7:12 | · | to send to me a battle sword, |
| 7:14 | · | a pickaxe, a grappling iron, |
| 7:16 | · | two of the best spears attainable, |
| 7:18 | · | a cloak of beaverskin and a girdled tunic, |
| · | Roman Army Equipment |
| 7:21 | · | together with my trousers, |
| 7:22 | · | so that I may have them. |
| 7:24 | · | I wore out my tunic before I entered the service, |
| 7:27 | · | and my trousers were laid away new. |
| 7:32 | · | Okay so you found your place in the army, |
| 7:34 | · | how do you get your equipment? |
| 7:36 | · | There were three ways to get your equipment. |
| 7:39 | · | The easiest way that Terentianus found was to request |
| 7:41 | · | it from home, he was, after all, from a military family. |
| 7:44 | · | Otherwise, soldiers would have to purchase their equipment from the armorer, |
| 7:49 | · | but at the end of service, they could sell it back and recoup their deposit, |
| 7:52 | · | so there was also a very strong second hand market, |
| 7:55 | · | and we have helmets that have not just |
| 7:57 | · | one or two owners names inscribed on them, |
| 7:59 | · | but three, even four, suggesting |
| 8:02 | · | a very lengthy period of service. |
| 8:04 | · | This example shows, what a legionary might have looked like |
| 8:08 | · | towards the end of the second century. |
| 8:10 | · | He has a cuirass, a segmental cuirass. |
| 8:13 | · | He also has protection extended to the sword arm. |
| 8:17 | · | A manica or armored sleeve. |
| 8:18 | · | It looks very gladiatorial. |
| 8:20 | · | In fact, it probably is borrowed from gladiator equipment. |
| 8:23 | · | The helmet is still gleaming from the Rhine, |
| 8:27 | · | and it's got extra strips on the bowl of the helmet |
| 8:30 | · | and a very wide neck guard. |
| 8:33 | · | Typical equipment for a legionary |
| 8:35 | · | is this pilum or armor piercing javelin, |
| 8:38 | · | it would be thrown at the enemy, |
| 8:40 | · | hopefully piercing the shield |
| 8:42 | · | and reaching the defender behind it. |
| 8:45 | · | He's shown with, a very late period gladius short sword. |
| 8:49 | · | This is a particular type known as a ring pommel sword |
| 8:52 | · | and it's virtually the last era when legionaries carried short swords. |
| 8:57 | · | The other piece of equipment vital |
| 8:58 | · | for heavy infantry legionaries was the scutum |
| · | Only Surviving Roman Shield Scutum |
| 9:01 | · | or long shield. |
| 9:03 | · | This one in particular |
| 9:05 | · | is the only surviving example. |
| 9:07 | · | It comes from the eastern city of Dura-Europos |
| 9:10 | · | on the Euphrates frontier, and it's been preserved |
| 9:13 | · | by the dry environments of the Syrian desert. |
| 9:16 | · | The main feature you can see is the |
| 9:18 | · | wonderful painted decoration. |
| 9:20 | · | This is painted on leather, on top of plywood |
| 9:23 | · | with a bronze binding. |
| 9:26 | · | Images include Victories, |
| 9:28 | · | a Roman eagle and probably |
| 9:30 | · | a regimental symbol of a lion. |
| 9:32 | · | In the corners are four swastikas. |
| 9:34 | · | In antiquity, this was simply a symbol of good luck. |
| 9:38 | · | Conservators preserved it, |
| 9:39 | · | trying to maintain as much as possible of the painted surface. |
| 9:42 | · | So it is slightly more curled than it would have been in real life. |
| 9:46 | · | Also, it must have been a spare part. |
| 9:48 | · | It lacks the nail holes needed for the boss, |
| 9:51 | · | the metal plate that would protected the hand |
| 9:54 | · | that gripped the shield in the middle. |
| 9:57 | · | The boss next to it was found in the Tyne |
| 10:00 | · | it's from the second century AD, |
| 10:01 | · | and it belongs to a soldier called Juvitatus. |
| 10:05 | · | The boss protects the hand holding the shield, |
| 10:07 | · | but it could be used as a kind of punch in its own offensive way. |
| 10:12 | · | We're extremely fortunate in |
| 10:14 | · | this exhibition to have what is the finest preserved |
| · | Roman Legionary Army Cuirass |
| 10:18 | · | and the earliest example of a Roman legionary’s |
| 10:21 | · | body armor or cuirass. |
| 10:23 | · | This example turned up in excavation |
| 10:26 | · | on the battlefield in 2014. |
| 10:29 | · | After four years of conservation, |
| 10:31 | · | it's been returned to absolutely stunning condition. |
| 10:35 | · | It's so well preserved |
| 10:36 | · | you can see that some of the buckles have been opened. |
| 10:38 | · | Chemical analysis of the soil |
| 10:40 | · | inside the cuirass suggests |
| 10:43 | · | somebody died inside and perhaps, |
| 10:46 | · | these buckles have been opened to plunge in the final knife blow. |
| 10:51 | · | This object reminds us |
| 10:52 | · | of the hazards of being a Roman soldier. |
| 10:54 | · | The risk of violence combined with disease |
| 10:58 | · | and illness made life as Roman soldier a very risky one. |
| 11:01 | · | In A.D. 115, Terentianus himself faced a revolt of his own. |
| 11:06 | · | The Jewish diaspora revolt, which spreads to Alexandria, |
| 11:10 | · | and he talks about putting down the anarchy |
| 11:12 | · | and the uproar of the city. |
| 11:14 | · | He himself was wounded. |
| 11:18 | · | He sent me word about a woman. |
| 11:20 | · | With my consent, he was buying one for me. As far back as two years ago, |
| 11:24 | · | I would have taken a woman into my house, |
| 11:26 | · | but I did not permit myself, |
| 11:28 | · | nor do I permit myself to take anyone without your approval. |
| 11:32 | · | If you remain steadfast in refusal the rest of your life, |
| · | Life in a Roman Fort |
| 11:35 | · | I shall do without my woman. |
| 11:37 | · | If not, the woman whom you approve, |
| 11:40 | · | is also the one whom I also want. |
| 11:44 | · | Now as a Roman soldier, |
| 11:45 | · | if you've survived battle how might your downtime look? |
| 11:48 | · | Not every soldier would have faced the dangers of battle. |
| 11:50 | · | But almost all soldiers would have known the day to day |
| 11:53 | · | life of living in a Roman fort. |
| 11:55 | · | Roman forts were like miniature towns |
| 11:57 | · | built for Roman soldiers to live in. |
| 11:59 | · | They were permanent structures built in areas |
| 12:01 | · | where the Romans felt they needed to maintain a presence. |
| 12:05 | · | Military communities weren't just made up of Roman soldiers. |
| 12:07 | · | The soldiers themselves had families, wives and children. |
| 12:11 | · | Roman soldiers weren't officially |
| 12:12 | · | allowed to marry unless they were officers or held certain positions. |
| 12:16 | · | But we know that they did. |
| 12:17 | · | They had women who they considered their wives |
| 12:19 | · | and wrote to their families, referring to them as their wives |
| 12:22 | · | and they had children who they wanted to provide for. |
| 12:24 | · | Now Terentianus writes home asking for permission to buy a woman. |
| 12:28 | · | This would be a concubine, |
| 12:30 | · | and so he needs permission to bring a woman into his household. |
| 12:33 | · | One of the most famous women from a military community in Britain is Regina. |
| 12:37 | · | This is her tombstone erected by her husband, |
| 12:40 | · | a man named Barates, who was a Roman soldier. |
| 12:43 | · | Now, Regina's story is a little bit more complicated than that |
| 12:46 | · | she was his wife. |
| 12:46 | · | She was actually initially his concubine, which is to say, an enslaved woman. |
| 12:51 | · | Eventually he freed her and married her. |
| 12:54 | · | We don't know the context for that, and we don't know |
| 12:56 | · | how much choice she will have had in that decision. |
| 12:58 | · | but it gives us an interesting insight into the dynamic of their relationship. |
| 13:02 | · | It's an incredibly elaborate tombstone, and Regina |
| 13:05 | · | is shown as a very elegant, very Roman woman. But one of the more interesting |
| 13:09 | · | aspects of this tombstone is the inscriptions at the bottom. |
| 13:12 | · | Inside a square, as you'd expect, |
| 13:14 | · | is an inscription written in Latin. |
| 13:17 | · | But beneath it, is the added inscription in Aramaic. |
| 13:20 | · | The original language of her husband, Barates. |
| 13:23 | · | A final lament for his wife |
| 13:25 | · | that says Regina, the freed women of Barates, alas. |
| 13:29 | · | Soldiers were recruited from |
| 13:31 | · | many different areas of the Roman Empire, |
| 13:33 | · | So many of them would have been bilingual, and we expect that |
| 13:35 | · | probably their children will have been bilingual too. |
| 13:37 | · | Terentianus himself writes in both Latin and Ancient Greek, |
| 13:41 | · | a common language spoken in Egypt. |
| 13:44 | · | Forts were also places where soldiers spent |
| 13:46 | · | a lot of their free time, and they loved playing games. |
| 13:50 | · | This extraordinary object is a bronze dice tower. |
| 13:53 | · | Now, this was used for rolling dice. |
| 13:55 | · | You drop the dice at the top of the tower |
| 13:58 | · | and there are some levels inside the tower that would force the dice to roll. |
| 14:01 | · | This was fun for when you're just rolling dice, |
| 14:03 | · | but it's actually a very useful device as well |
| 14:06 | · | because it's an anti cheating device |
| 14:08 | · | now we know that the Romans loved to play games and they loved to gamble, |
| 14:11 | · | but we also know that quite a lot of cheating went on. |
| 14:14 | · | We found loaded dice that almost always roll sixes. |
| 14:17 | · | This device makes sure that doesn't happen. |
| 14:20 | · | On the front of the dice tower, there's an inscription. |
| 14:22 | · | It says PICTOS VICTOS HOSTIS DELETA |
| 14:26 | · | LUDITE SECURITA |
| 14:27 | · | which means: “The Picts have been defeated. |
| 14:29 | · | All hostiles are vanquished. |
| 14:30 | · | Now use me in safety.” |
| 14:33 | · | One of the most famous Vindolanda tablets depicts |
| 14:36 | · | a very ordinary moment in people's lives, which might surprise you. |
| 14:40 | · | This is a birthday party invitation, and in fact, |
| 14:42 | · | probably the oldest birthday party invitation in the world. |
| 14:45 | · | It's an invitation from a woman named Claudia Severa, |
| 14:47 | · | to her friend Lepidina. |
| 14:49 | · | To celebrate her birthday on the 11th of September. |
| 14:51 | · | Though most of the invitation would have been written by a scribe, |
| 14:54 | · | at the end, there's a final message that's written by Claudia Severa herself. |
| 14:58 | · | This makes it the oldest known |
| 14:59 | · | female handwriting in Britain. |
| 15:01 | · | On the invite, |
| 15:02 | · | Claudia Severa writes: “I shall expect you, sister. |
| 15:05 | · | Farewell, sister, |
| 15:06 | · | my dearest soul, as I hope to prosper and hail.” |
| 15:12 | · | Receive with my recommendation |
| 15:14 | · | the discharged soldier Terentianus |
| 15:16 | · | who brings you this letter. |
| 15:18 | · | Let him know what sort of villagers |
| 15:19 | · | we have, lest he get into trouble, |
| 15:21 | · | since he is a man of means and desirous of residing there. |
| · | Retirement from the Roman Army |
| 15:25 | · | If you completed your 25 years of service, |
| 15:28 | · | what awaited you as a reward at the end? |
| 15:31 | · | You don't know exactly how many soldiers survived |
| 15:33 | · | to the end of their service, But numbers around 50% tend to be suggested. |
| 15:37 | · | Once you completed your 25 years of service, you might get something like this |
| 15:41 | · | a Roman military bronze diploma. |
| 15:43 | · | This was awarded to auxiliary soldiers, non-citizen soldiers |
| 15:47 | · | after 25 years of service granting them their citizenship. |
| 15:51 | · | This bronze diploma was awarded to an Egyptian rower |
| 15:53 | · | who actually did 26 years of service. |
| 15:56 | · | He's getting his citizenship on |
| 15:58 | · | the 8th of September of the year AD 79, and that citizenship |
| 16:01 | · | extends to his wife Tapaea and his son, Carpinius. |
| 16:05 | · | Now, this reward may not look like much, |
| 16:07 | · | but Roman citizenship was arguably priceless. |
| 16:10 | · | It wasn't just for Marcus Papirius, |
| 16:13 | · | but for his children and his children's children, |
| 16:15 | · | so it ensured the future of his family, |
| 16:17 | · | a future where they would get the same protections in Roman law |
| 16:20 | · | as other Roman citizens. |
| 16:22 | · | If you were a citizen, like Terentianus, |
| 16:25 | · | you could expect a lump sum of ten years salary. |
| 16:28 | · | What we might think of nowadays as a pension to live comfortably, |
| 16:31 | · | perhaps buy land, retire |
| 16:33 | · | with your family and have a peaceful life. |
| 16:36 | · | You've done your time. You've served the army. |
| 16:38 | · | This is your reward. |
| 16:40 | · | This coin hoard, known as the |
| 16:41 | · | Didcot hoard, is a hoard of 126 gold coins, |
| 16:46 | · | which amounts to just over what a soldier |
| 16:48 | · | might expect to get the ten years of salary. |
| 16:51 | · | Seeing these coins brought together shows you the level of this reward |
| 16:55 | · | and why it might be worthwhile |
| 16:56 | · | for a soldier to risk his life for 25 years. |
| · | What happened to Claudius Terentianus? |
| 17:00 | · | Now for those of you who are eager to learn about the fate of Terentianus, |
| 17:03 | · | I'm happy to tell you that we can say he does survive. |
| 17:06 | · | We know this not from his own words and his letters, but ironically, |
| 17:10 | · | given that he doesn't get a good enough letter of recommendation to join the Army, |
| 17:13 | · | he does get a letter of recommendation as a retired veteran to rent a property, |
| 17:17 | · | and it describes him as a man of means. |
| 17:27 | · | Thank you for joining us |
| 17:28 | · | on this tour of the Legion exhibition. |
| 17:31 | · | These objects offer a small insight |
| 17:33 | · | into the lives and experiences |
| 17:35 | · | of serving in one of history's |
| 17:37 | · | most notorious military institutions. |
| 17:40 | · | We hope this has given you a better understanding of what life was really like |
| 17:43 | · | in the Roman army. Although the exhibition is now over, |
| 17:46 | · | if you want to learn more, the catalog is available to buy now. |
