A hoard of 14kg of Roman mail armour unearthed near the legionary fortress in Bonn, Germany, sheds light on how the Roman army managed repairs and recycling along the empire’s northern frontier.
The army’s immense logistical needs included maintaining large quantities of equipment, yet little is known about how this was done in remote areas, far from military supply centres.
Evidence suggests Roman frontier soldiers often repaired and recycled their own armour. However, the role of nearby settlements in this process remained unclear until the discovery in 2012 during excavations at a civilian settlement outside Bonn’s fortress.
The hoard, comprising two nearly intact mail garments and fragments of two others corroded into a single mass, offers archaeologists new insights. Unlike other metal objects, mail armour couldn’t be melted down. Instead, it was repaired using components from other pieces, akin to patching textiles in antiquity.
Researchers from three institutions—LVR-Amt für Bodendenkmalpflege im Rheinland, LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn, and the Czech Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Archaeology—conducted detailed analyses, including high-resolution CT scans, to study the armour. The scans revealed intricate details within the corroded mass that were invisible to the naked eye.
“X-ray technology allows us to see what cannot be seen with the naked eye”, says Becker. “To look inside the solid mass of Roman armour, only CT scans provided satisfactory results,” said Holger Becker.
The armour is believed to be a stockpile intended for repairs, marking the first evidence of mail being repaired outside military installations. This find highlights the crucial support role of local civilian craftspeople and underscores the interplay between military forts and surrounding communities.
It enriches our understanding of the Roman military’s organizational and logistical complexity, contributing to broader knowledge about ancient armies’ economic and operational frameworks.
Header Image Credit : Antiquity
Sources : Antiquity – https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2024.178