Herculaneum soldier

[Tarbicus]

Not...

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Is.....

[PhilusEstilius]

They are not arguing Cesar it's only heated discussion.

[Primvs Pavlvs]

Could the small "Mainz" be a unknown form of pugio?

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

There seems to be a few floating about anyways! :? It crossed my mind too! There is one by Erik Konig that almost fits the bill.....

[Primvs Pavlvs]

The reason I ask, as I think it would be interesting to make a variant of this.

[Virtus Probi Invicti]

I know that there is some thought that a few Late Empire short swords and daggers of unusual design might be spathae that were cut down and reforged after suffering some kind of damage...could that be the case with the Little Mainz?

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

I recall watching our ama's husband making a variety of shorter
knives out of old WW2 japanese bayonets in Borneo years ago, so it strikes me as a possibility.

[Tarbicus]

It's a proper Mainz. The top's gone (towards the vagina), and it's got some extra bling on top of the scabbard, maybe to make it fancier than the Pompey type with its fancy smaller studs.

[Quintius Clavus]

All the bling everyone keeps talking about with the gladius, is, according the Bishop & Coulston, Roman Military Equipment (2nd ed - page 107) simply a second belt which was wrapped around the sword. The soldier was carrying it, not wearing it. The gladius appeared to be attached to this second belt. The leather would have long since vanished, like his skin, etc. did, but wood carbonizes and can in certain circumstances survive in that carbonized state-witness some of the finds of carbonized food items at Pompeii.

Like Rich Campbell, I was able to actually see in-person the belt parts, weapons and tools, in Canada when the Pompeii-Tales from an Eruption traveling exhibit was there. The belt plates adhered to the handle and scabbard of the gladius. I was hugely disappointed to see that the exhibition catalog did not include any photos of the belt! Thankfully, Lee Holeva was able to take some photos and posted them on RAT shortly after the exhibit was in Canada.

Regarding the dagger, why couldn't the soldier be using something other than a "standard" pugio for a secondary weapon? I saw both weapons and definitely the dagger is large.

Ditto on the remarks of others about soldiers' silvering their equipment and at times, such as in 69 AD handing over their belts for Vitellius to use for funds-I presume to allow the silver to be stripped off. Remember the Kalkriese face-mask had silver on it over the face part, but it had been stripped off - probably by some German plundering after the killing was done, then disgarded the rest as not valuable - traces of silver foil are along the edge binding.

[mcbishop]

All the bling everyone keeps talking about with the gladius, is, according the Bishop & Coulston, Roman Military Equipment (2nd ed - page 107) simply a second belt which was wrapped around the sword. The soldier was carrying it, not wearing it. The gladius appeared to be attached to this second belt. The leather would have long since vanished, like his skin, etc. did, but wood carbonizes and can in certain circumstances survive in that carbonized state-witness some of the finds of carbonized food items at Pompeii.

Well you can't believe anything they say. Actually, leather can survive as a mineral-preserved organic, pretty much the same process as fossilization except the organic component is replaced by iron oxide (in a best case scenario you can allegedly identify leather by species), and a number of examples of leather survive in this way, including the internal leathers in the Corbridge Hoard armour. If you look at the photo reproduced above there is material beneath the discs-and-terminal-with-wiggly-edges thingy and above the embossed scabbard which might represent leather (but it could also be a number of other things, including general organic crud or perhaps even a blade) - it is impossible in such cases to be certain without examining the object itself or the X-rays (which one assumes have been taken). Wood will also mineralize, by the way, and the depositional conditions prevailing at Herculaneum differed markedly from those at Pompeii, due to the circumstances.

Mike Bishop

[LUCIUS ALFENUS AVITIANUS]

The bling/belt or whatever was designed to hang vertically, not horizontally (as a belt).

If it's a belt, then is the first belt i know with human representation positioned in a horizontal pose. Or is the strap terminal of such belt, but not regular belt plates.

It's a lot of discussion about that soldier, and ever whe can't be sure about the exact items that belongs to them.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Well, it is pretty wide for an apron strap.
And mike ads some possibility of the rough edging being leather.
And if the belt was tucked into another belt? say so as to not lose it then it would explain the verticality of the item.

[Tiberius Clodius Corvinus]

... just came across this pic of the soldier in question. Although it doesn't show the details in question, the overall view may give some ideas.


© Jonathan Blair / Woodfin Camp and Associates

[LUCIUS ALFENUS AVITIANUS]

hock: Seems even a portion of leather (mineralized?) strap.