Auxilia shields what options are there?

[Praefectusclassis]

Uhmm, if you ever want a more than tentative connection between a unit and a shield emblem, it's right there in Ade's post. It's not a Batavian (the guy's a Thracian actually), but by the inscription (the part that's cut out on Ade's pic :wink: ) he is identified as definitely a member of the Equites Singulares Augusti. With some good will you can call the shield hexagonal as well.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

So you identify this as a Thracian Equites Singulares Augusti?

A member of the cavelry bodyguard?

[Praefectusclassis]

I don't, his own inscription does. The guy hails from Thrace and is a member of the SingEqAug.
(edited to include the inscription):
D(is) M(anibus)
P(ublio) Ael(io) Basso arm(orum) cust(odi)
eq(uiti) sing(ulari) Aug(usti) tur(ma) Aeli Crispi
nat(ione) Bessus Claudia Apris
vix(it) an(nos) XLI mil(itavit) an(nos) XXI
T(itus) Fl(avius) Marcellinus signifer h(eres) et
Aurelius Quintus dup(licarius) sec(undus) h(eres) municipi et
amico b(ene) m(erenti) f(aciendum) c(uraverunt)

To the gods of the underworld,
For Publisu Aelius Bassus, custos armorum, eques singularis Augusti of the turma of Aelus Crispus, from the tribe of the Bessi, of the voting tribe Claudia, from the city of Aper/Apri(?), he lived 41 years, served 21. Titus Flavius Marcellinus, the signifer, his heir and Aurelius Quintus, duplicarius for the second time, his heir, had set this up for his city and their very worthy friend.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

That what I asked... :wink: I can't read the inscription! Thanks very much!
So what period would the hexagonal shield have been used. I recall seeing various reliefs with them, although perhaps not in the same context! It would make an interesting impression......

[Peroni]

The dating of the stone is mid second century if my memory serves me right. I don't have Spiedel's book here at work. (It's a bit big) But, with a name like Aelius, it has to be post Hadrianic.

IIRC though, from surviving gravestones etc, up until the time of Nero (68AD) the Batavi made up 72% of the emperor's horseguard. (then called the Corporis Custodes or 'Batavi')

Even in the second century the Germanic percentage was by far the greater. In the late second century things had started changing with far more Panonnian, Moesian, Thracian and Dacian soldiers as Equites Singulari Augusti.

[Praefectusclassis]

This one is dated to just before 160 AD by Speidel. Anyways, it really doesn't matter where the guy came from. The shield design is a unit emblem, not a tribal one.

Btw, yeah, there's a good reason why the Batavi made up a large proportion of the imperial bodyguard before 68 AD. That unit were the Germani Corporis Custodes, the German bodyguard. They were dissolved by Galba and then there probably was no imperial horseguard for almost a generation.

Late in the first century AD a new unit was founded by Trajan, the EqSingAug, from alae in Germania Inferior. Logically Batavians still figure in the early Equites Singulares Augusti, but it's a bit of an exaggeration to say their percentage was by far the greater throughout the second century, even though the unit retained a nickname that pointed to our Batavian friends.
Speidel has a table with origins by province. For the second century there are 29 troopers from Germania Inferior (which is quite a larger entity than just the Batavians) out of 126 known troopers. There are 28 from Pannonia, 18 from Noricum, 16 from Raetia, 11 Thracians and a smattering each from Britannia, Gaul, Germania Superior, Dacia, Syria, Arabia and Africa.

Interestingly, the oldest tombstone belonging to an Eques Singularis Augusti belongs to a Syrian!

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Thanks for the inscription and information Jasper and Ade.

[Praefectusclassis]

Hmm. I'm afraid I've perpetrated a thread hijack, so I'll try to get it back on track. I referred earlier to a note of Speidel's at Denkmäler 83, namely that the design on the column Ade showed, occurs elsewhere - and not Denkmäler 83. Anyone know where? He refers to an article of his in Gnomon of 1973.
Who has access to this article? It might be interesting to find out whether there is more evidence for that particular shield design.

[Peroni]

Jasper wrote..

It might be interesting to find out whether there is more evidence for that particular shield design.

There is a very similar depiction as part of this adlocutio scene (possibly adding a little weight to the Eq Sing Avg suggestion) from Trajan's Column. Variations of the pattern are dotted aorund in various scenes.

[Praefectusclassis]

I see what you mean. I'd still like to see Speidel's article though. It might be somewhere else than TC or that one EqSing tombstone. If anyone knows, it'd be Speidel...

[Folkert van Wijk]

You guys are awesome, just one question and 24 replies!

Thanks for all the input, now let me digest all this..
I understand that most info would come from arches like the Trajan and or tombstones and occasionally the real thing like a grave find or something...
I am not realy a Roman fanatic so my books about roman things are limited so yes pictures would be appreciated...

Andrew wrote:-

If you can't get hold of this, or if you prefer, I'll scan the relevant page and send it to you....

Yes that would be great Paullus, if you wouldn't mind please send it to me..

[Peroni]

If you can get "Armies and Enemies of Imperial Rome"(4th edition) - must be this edition - P. Barker, pub: Wargames Researchg Group 1981, on p.85, you will find 42 Auxiliary shield patterns

Phil Barker's book is available here for only £18.00

http://www.heritagemp.com/titles.asp?cstk=278658

[Nerva]

We use an oval scutum with design from TC. See here...

http://www.romanarmy.ie/Al_3.JPG

[Folkert van Wijk]

Thanks Nerva your shield also looks great, interesting to see that a lot of people go for the more "native" green...

And thanks again Paullus for the page with the auxiliary shields...

I have a sort of categorized them. The now top ones look pretty Celtic to me, (compare them to what is believed to be Celtic shields on the arch of orange), I ques their difficult to tel from Celtic/Germanic enemy shields...

the first two from the 3st row even do show some kind of rudimentary wooden spine idea in there painting...

Then I circled two things that I don't know what it is or resembles...
looks a kind of pelta shape, Looks like something that would be cool to have as metal attachment.

[Peroni]

It IS a pelta shape Folkert! :wink: