The torso armour of Roman soldiers was the lorica hamata (mailarmour), the lorica squamata (scale armour) or the lorica segmentata (broadiron strips across the body and overlapping downwards fastened to internalleather straps; additional vertical plates protected the upper arms and therewas a breastplate protecting the upper torso). Greaves provided leg armour.Romans soldiers also wore a variety of helmets. The officers’ helmets had a crestat the top, so that they could be easily seen by the troops.The soldiers wore a linen undershirt and a woollen tunic whichcovered the upper part of their legs. The cingulum (belt) was a soldier’s badge of office and was worn withthe tunic at all times. The ‘apron’ was attached to the belt. This was acollection of decorated leather strips which gave some protection to the groin.The jingling noise they made when the soldiers marched helped to intimidate theenemy. The footwear was the caliga, leather sandals.The soldiers also carried a heavy pack over their shoulders tocarry their supplies. It weighed 90 pound and included saucepans, a shovel anda pickaxe.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *