Tattoos in Roman Military/Society

[Memmia]

P.S. Emperor Constantine was supposed to have officially banned facial tattoos, and even ordered that criminals were only allowed to be branded on the hands and feet- can any Late Roman on here coaberate this ?


EDITED:

Just found this link regarding soldiers on Hadrians wall being tattoed

Hadrians wall soldiers tattooed

'Vegetius recorded that a recruit to the Roman army "should not be tattooed with the pin-pricks of the official mark as soon as he has been selected, but first be thoroughly tested in exercises so that it may be established whether he is truly fitted for so much effort",' says Lindsay. (Source: Flavius Vegetius Renatus, Epitome of Military Science, Chapter 8) .

'We do not know what this official mark looked like. It was possibly an eagle or the symbol of the soldier's legion or unit', she said.

Lindsay has even unearthed evidence that the legionaries would have sported the tattoo on their hands. Aetius, the 6th century Roman doctor, recording that tattoos were found on the hands of soldiers, even documented the Roman technique for tattooing, which included first washing the area to be tattooed with leek juice, known for its antiseptic properties. Aetius even went so far as to document the formula for the tattooing ink, which combined Egyptian pine wood (especially the bark), corroded bronze, gall and vitriol with more leek juice. The design was pricked into the skin with pointed needles 'until blood is drawn', and then the ink was rubbed on.

Hope this helps


P.S. There's also a nice account of a baker from Pompeii with a tattoo too in that article too :wink: