CLST 103 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Lorica Hamata, Lorica Segmentata, Lorica Squamata
15 Jun 2018
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WEEK 5
February 6, 2017
Lorica segmentata = segmented plate cuirass
- Difficult to keep in a good shape
- Good because it was very flexible
Wore a wool tunica under the cuirass
Wore a belt called a cingulum
- Way to carry important things and achievements (awards)
Carried a pilum
Scutum = shield
Wore caligae – shoes
Most common armour – lorica hamata (mail armour)
- Easy to fix if broken
Auxiliary soldiers can be distinguished because of the shield that they carry
- They were not roman citizens
- They were awarded roman citizenship after their service
Lorica squamata (scale armour)
- Hard to keep in a good shape
The kind of helmet that they use in the imperial period is different
- Neck guard becomes bigger
o Protected soldiers from javelins that were thrown and coming down on them
- There were holes on the pieces covering the ears so they could hear the orders
- There were pieces on the top front of the helmet to stop things from hitting the nose
The centurion has the feathers on his helmet in a transverse crest, and they have awards/medals
on them.
Shield shape goes from oval→rectangle→smaller round/oval shields
Late Roman Empire:
- Wore trousers (romans thought that trousers were worn by barbarians but they thought
that this was practical and useful to have the legs protected)
- Helmets with nose guards were introduced
- The shields are made of Greek letters (X with a perpendicular line drawn through and
turned around at the top) (it looks like an X with a long P). The letters refer to Christ.
o They were fighting in the name of Christ
Standard bearers
- Had symbols that referred to the legion
- Sometimes had the image of the emperor
- Wore animal skins
- Standard bearers that had eagles on them were the most important ones
o The standards were sometimes taken by the enemy
- There were hands on the standards but it is not clear why they had this.
- They were in the middle of the formation during battle
Formation on battlefield:
- Testudo = tortoise formation
o People in the front had the shields covering the front
o People in the middle had the shields covering the top
Ballista = two armed engine artillery machine
They used the four horned saddle
- Helped them keep their position and balance on the horse
Cataphractii → cavalry
They set up marching camps which were built well and were considered an armed city
February 7, 2017
Ritual sacrifice is performed before the army leaves for a campaign.
The barbarian captives were kept as slaves. A lot of money was made selling slaves.
The roman army didn’t have any need for a navy or fleet until the Punic wars.
- They built their ships based on the model of Greek ships.
- They had triemes (three level ships)
- Ships had a ram at the bow which let them ram the other ships
- The romans realized that they weren’t as good at fighting in naval battle as they were on
land so they created a boarding device (a corvus – means raven)
o It had a bridge that rotated and a harpoon end (which made it look like a beak
(named after bird)) the harpoon got stuck in the enemy’s ship and the bridge
allowed them to cross over to the enemy’s ship to fight.
Document Summary
Difficult to keep in a good shape. Way to carry important things and achievements (awards) Most common armour lorica hamata (mail armour) Auxiliary soldiers can be distinguished because of the shield that they carry. They were awarded roman citizenship after their service. Hard to keep in a good shape. The kind of helmet that they use in the imperial period is different. Neck guard becomes bigger: protected soldiers from javelins that were thrown and coming down on them. There were holes on the pieces covering the ears so they could hear the orders. There were pieces on the top front of the helmet to stop things from hitting the nose. The centurion has the feathers on his helmet in a transverse crest, and they have awards/medals on them. Wore trousers (romans thought that trousers were worn by barbarians but they thought that this was practical and useful to have the legs protected)
