Ancient Travellers and Bearers

[Sean Manning]

Everyone knows about the Roman marching bundle-on-a-stick, although the details may be disputed. How would a Greek traveller, soldier, or soldier's servant carry bundles? How did they carry armour and shields? What about other ancient travellers?

I think I can recall one Pompeiian fresco which may show a man carrying a bundle on a stick over his shoulder, but that's about it other than pictures of pack animals.

[Decius]

I think a similar method seems logical...

[Octavianvs]

Everyone knows about the Roman marching bundle-on-a-stick, although the details may be disputed. How would a Greek traveller, soldier, or soldier's servant carry bundles? How did they carry armour and shields? What about other ancient travellers?

I think I can recall one Pompeiian fresco which may show a man carrying a bundle on a stick over his shoulder, but that's about it other than pictures of pack animals.

I would think it would depend on the person thier status. if he was poor he wouldnt have much so he would carry what he owned or maybe he carried everything he owned. If he were a small land owner such as a farmer he would have had more stuff he wold probably be able to either have a cart and mule. were he rich and had lots of stuff he would have a very large cart with a couple of mule or even a few carts and mules and servants. Very wealthy he would have all the above as well as have slaves.
You owned what you could afford and you lived according to it. I would imagine if you were a poor traveling person you probably had your clothes and cloak some sort of means of transporting liquid ( water wine ) and some way to get yourself some sort of food and be able to eat carried in some sort of bag.

[Carlton Bach]

There are several classical and Hellenistic depictions of baggage carriers with all manner of stuff strapped to their bodies (blanket/mattress rolls, shoulder bags, sacks, swords, waterskins, flasks etc.). That appears to have been the standard method for anything heavy and bulky back then.

Most travellers in civilised realms may well have made do with a bag for basic necessities and otherwise relied on money. Roman literature speaks of travelling Italy on foot, alone or in groups of friends, and the writers were certainly not poor. Wealthier people could (ands likely quickly would) use pack mules or pack slaves, carriages and carts.

In ancient art, a shoulder bag and walking stick are the standard symbol for the 'journey' of death, which indicates that (at least at one point) it must have been common gear for real travellers. The Commacchio bag is a good example for what these things could have looked like.

[Sean Manning]

That's interesting. It makes you wish we had one picture of a phalangite of Philip's day on the march, though! I'll look up that bag since it doesn't ring a bell.

[Carlton Bach]

That's interesting. It makes you wish we had one picture of a phalangite of Philip's day on the march, though! I'll look up that bag since it doesn't ring a bell.

The bag is discussed here

http://www.romanarmy.com/rat/viewtopic. ... =commachio

Martin Moser made an excellent replica of it.

[Sean Manning]

Thanks, Carlton. Laus ad te. Lionel Casson has a book on Travel in the Ancient World, and maybe I'll look that up too.