Footlocker

[garrelt]

Is there anything known of the use of "footlockers" by Roman soldiers to store their personal belongings when in barracks ?

The use of Leather bags,Pegs and Shelfs is known to me.

[Marcus Aemilius Longinus]

The nearest thing to something like that which I have heard about in a military context is the chest in which the corbridge segmentata sets were found. Unfortunately I dont have any details on it although I am sure others on the site know more about it.

[garrelt]

Thanx Conor

That is also one of the few records of wooden boxes where material has been stored in like the strongbox for the Legions finances.
Next to the small boxes for holding small items like perfume bottles and jewelry.
But sadly nothing from a soldiers barracks context.

[Martin Moser]

Hi Garrelt,

nothing I know of in a military context, but for somewhat larger boxes/chests, there are some finds from house in Pompeiji. Don't have a source handy though :-(

[jkaler48]

One way to approach this would be look for lock sets and other possible box hardware found in military contexts.

[PhilusEstilius]

I do have a Roman Tumbler lock key that I found near Hadrian's Wall, but then most forts in this area also had a Vicus so it cannot be directly connected to any military context.

[garrelt]

Found the same thing regarding locks and keys from Dutch sites.
In the (supposed) Vicus area with the adjacent grave sites you find remains of boxes, keys and (pad)lock parts.
Have a theory that a grave site is generally about 500meters away from the center of a settlement.

Have not read yet that these box/locks remains have been found in a Dutch Castra setting.
It could be that the living quarters of the soldiers had close fitting wooden floors instead of a normally assumed sand/loam floor.
A wooden floor is easier to maintain and warmer in the Northern regions, and a fireplace can be on sand level without burning the planks.
Only if you really want to hide something under the floor, a plank could be taken out and a hole could be dug to put a box in.

For narrowing it down in a time frame, first of all I am looking for 1st century AD evidence.
This is for our museum where we want to built a display box(footlocker) which holds the gear of a soldier.
The building where this box will stand is reconstructed after a 1st century AD locally excavated floorplan.
The reconstructed house has a wooden floor made of planks and wooden roof shingles.
The evidence of floor planks and shingles come from other regional excavations but were used in this reconstruction as part of Experimental Archaeology in our museum.

So in fact this could go two ways:
1 The storing box used by the active soldier when in barracks.
2 The storing box used by the retired soldier living in the Vicus.
Could be the same box though.

And for those who reenact the ancient Roman soldier a historical correct alternative for the plastic and aluminum transport boxes.

[garrelt]

Does someone have the dimensions of the wooden boxes known from Pompeij and Corbridge?

[M. Caecilius]

Does someone have the dimensions of the wooden boxes known from Pompeij and Corbridge?

A.T. Croom, Roman Furniture, Tempus, 2007 contains a chapter on chests and boxes, pp.138-143, but she doesn't give many dimensions here:

You're in luck as to the Corbridge chest, though, which she introduces under Military Furniture at p.178. It was made of alder-wood, and measures 90x60x40cm; it featured iron hinges, lock plate and corner-strips fastened with copper-alloy studs; the chest was covered with leather. Croom concludes that larger boxes were used by officers or for unit-wide possessions (not sure whether she means legion, century or contubernium), smaller ones for the rank-and-file.

Plate 24 also has a photograph of reconstructed chests at Arbeia Fort.

As regards Pompeii, I can only serve with the massive safe-storage chest from the Casa dei Vettii (Regio VI 15,1). Only the masonry base is now visible, but it allows to calculated the size of the chest itself. The pedestal is 140x80 cm (and 46 cm tall, but that does not help to determine the height of the chest). The strongbox was attached by a metal rod of 18 cm to the masonry - just in case someone tried to run off with a massive wood and metal-covered box this size.

A similar box survives in Regio IX 14,4, though I haven't been able to measure it. It is rather massive and entirely metal-studded. There's evidence in literature for some two dozen such boxes, though these are not really footlockers and come from civilian contexts. Many seem to be associated with rich bankers or traders families like the Vettii, and the size may be as much a status symbol as a practical feature, so I assume this is not what you are looking for.

[garrelt]

smaller ones for the rank-and-file.

Plate 24 also has a photograph of reconstructed chests at Arbeia Fort.

Thanx Max for your reply.
The dimensions of the corbridge chest is something to work with, especially with the refference to the smaller ones for the rank and file.
Big enough to handle arms and armour, as has been found with the chest, but to big to be handled by one person.

Will order the book very soon

[PhilusEstilius]

I would think that such boxes from the military point of view would only have been owned by officers and centurians, for when on the move the ordinary soldiers would keep all of their belongings in their bags otherwise there would have been massive wagon trains.

[garrelt]

Brian

This is also my point of view, also what I have read, for on the march.
That is why I started with mentioning Barracks in the first post of this topic, where living conditions are/were a little bit different than in the field.

[PhilusEstilius]

I do understand your point however I cant see any need for the ordinary trooper to have such a foot locker or box even in barracks, where soldiers may well have stayed in a province for some length of time they may well also have shifted around that province every year or couple of years.
With every one having such a box it would have meant very large wagon trains and all of that went out with Marius, hence every soldier became his own mule as far as his kit.

[garrelt]

Before this is going to be a pro/con discussion
Knowing the nature of man a bit, collecting and storing is no stranger to any one.
Especially when a person is somewhere for a longer period of time.

Even in Marius times a soldier would have had more than one tunic.
And did Marius really disband all heavy transport or was there another reason that has been lost in time.

Mayby a soldiers personal stuff was kept in a cupboard when he was in Barracks.
But this all guessing because, unfortunately, there is no pictorial or other evidence about a soldiers living quarters.
Or is there?

Even during my "modern" army years I had a metal locker in barracks, but in the field it was a different story.
We used to carry the minimum of personal stuff on our back/body but with a maximum of comfort for in a OP.
No I'm not trying set my own modern army experience against an ancient background.

[PhilusEstilius]

garrelt.

I do indeed understand your point having been a military man myself for 22 years, however for most of those years I had the great pleasure of living in a house with my family even traveling all over the world.

In having worked at Roman forts on Hadrian's Wall since my military days and at Chesters fort in particular, the barrack blocks there showed that the Contaburnium lived in a room equal indeed to the space given to soldiers of today. It is where their rooms were in two halves the front area to hold the kit while the rear area would have had maybe four sets of bunk beds, so they might have had some kind of box but I think the main lock up would be for their money. The extra stuff may only have been put in the front area of their room and be all together as buddies.