The Ermine Street Guard The Romans in Britain   Updateed - 10 Oct 1998

In October 98 the Ermine Street Guard a British Roman re-enactment group gave a weekend display at Portchester castle near Portsmouth, Hampshire. In addition to about one and a half dozen legionaries and auxillaries they had two auxillary cavalry and a number of Roman artillery pieces. The Guard are now over twenty five years old and a few of the founder members are still turning out.   ç Legionaries marching into the arena  Auxillaries bringing up the rear è

The Legions were the citizen soldiery of the Roman Empire as opposed to the auxillary cohorts which were drawn from allied and conquered states.    The legionaries equipment consisted of articulated armour "lorica segmentata" and a large rectangular shield called a "scutum". The helmet incorporated both neck and cheek protection and was normally of iron although copper alloys were used.  The basic weapons were the short stabbing sword or "gladius" and the "pila", a throwing spear with a long iron tang designed to bend on impact preventing the enemy from throwing it back.   The Auxillary infantryman was protected by a chain mail jacket and carried an oval shield. The "hastae" was a more conventional spear than the pila for both throwing and close combat and evidence shows that auxillaries would carry more than one into battle.    The basic unit in the roman army was the Century which depending upon the exact period could be between 80 and 100 men. The Century was commanded by a Centurion a veteran soldier who had usually risen from the ranks, his second in command was the "optio" and in addition to these the command group also included the standard bearer and the "cornicen" or horn blower.   ç Legionaries with the Optio, Cornicen & standard bearer

The romans tended to recruit specialist troops such as cavalry or archers from outside of Rome.  Most roman cavalry were auxillaries and carried similar oval shields to the auxillary infantry. The weapons were the spear or "lancea" and various types of lighter javelins as well as the cavalry sword "spatha" longer than the gladius to give the longer reach needed on horseback.  The stirrup had not yet been invented in roman times so the saddle had four horns to keep the rider on his mount. This also meant that a certain amount of gymnastics was needed to get into the saddle.  The uniform was similar to the auxillary infantry apart from the breaches doubtless worn to prevent chaffing in the saddle.    Auxillary cavalry with spatha & lancea è

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