Philippus Flavius Homovallumus
03-02-2006, 21:05
A couple of thoughts, I was reading "The Roman Army in Colour Photographs" the other day and the author strongly suggests that pre-Marian shields weren't painted. His reasons are:
Polybius doesn't mention it when he does mention the colour anf number of helemt plumes.
There are freezes depicting Roman and Macedonian soldiers, the detail of the Macedonian shields is picked out in the carving but the Roam ones are left blank.
It would not have been neccessary, as shields were used to identify units, they would not have needed to be painted in that way until the time of the Civil Wars.
To this I would myself add:
A slave or Free artisan would have to paint the shield and this would cost the soldier money.
The Romans were generally a plain and undecorative people, except when imitating Greece.
Now onto my second point:
The texture on the Rorarrii sheild doesn't show a spindle boss, surely this is wrong, if anything it should lack the iron re-inforcement.
Third point:
If we believe Polybius, and we probably should, then the Princeps should have the triple plume, not a horsehair crest, which again there is no evidence for prior to Marius.
Polybius doesn't mention it when he does mention the colour anf number of helemt plumes.
There are freezes depicting Roman and Macedonian soldiers, the detail of the Macedonian shields is picked out in the carving but the Roam ones are left blank.
It would not have been neccessary, as shields were used to identify units, they would not have needed to be painted in that way until the time of the Civil Wars.
To this I would myself add:
A slave or Free artisan would have to paint the shield and this would cost the soldier money.
The Romans were generally a plain and undecorative people, except when imitating Greece.
Now onto my second point:
The texture on the Rorarrii sheild doesn't show a spindle boss, surely this is wrong, if anything it should lack the iron re-inforcement.
Third point:
If we believe Polybius, and we probably should, then the Princeps should have the triple plume, not a horsehair crest, which again there is no evidence for prior to Marius.