A big part of what you see on this blog is me slowly putting together pieces of information about ancient finances. As I come across tidbits providing insight to ancient days, you can watch me gradually build my knowledge. Several years ago I came across some references to prices of defensive armament back in the […]
Survey of weapons used by Vikings and their opponents is described in Norse Warfare: A Portrayal of Combat, Raids, and Plunder in the Viking Age by Martina Sprague. This is a continuation of a series of posts describing various aspects of warfare in the Viking era explained in the book. Offensive weapons Book provides interesting […]
A Pilum (plural pila) was a javelin thrown by Roman Legionnaires to disrupt an enemy line moments before closing for hand-to-hand contact. The pilum was about 6 or 6 1/2 feet long, weighing between 2 and 5 pounds (heavier early in Roman era, lighter later). There was an iron shaft at the front which was […]
Previous post estimated the number of warhorses King Solomon owned along with citing the number of chariots in his kingdom. Here are two of the texts used to make an estimate of some portions of his vast wealth: Chronicles text 2 Chronicles 1:14-17 (emphasis added for attention on specific valuations): “Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; […]
What was the price of a Viking sword at the time? How about expressing a price then in some unit of measure we can grasp today? I have looked on the ol’ net but haven’t found any good guesses. Previous post discussed one indicator that I couldn’t process. Hurstwic website describes one sword that had […]
In case you are browsing through posts here instead of landing by internet search, here’s a recap of the posts on this page describing the weaponry and armament of a Roman Legionnaire. You will find this fits well with the description of the armor of God as described by the Apostle Paul in the sixth […]
With a shield held in front of you, the most valuable and most exposed area to be protected is your head. Helmets were in used during the entire Roman Era, as well as routinely used by their predecessors and opponents. Researchers have identified five major types of helmets, with large number of subtypes for each. […]
The body armor presented on a Roman Legionnaire, whether on ancient statues, modern re-enactors, or illustrations is usually the scaled plate armor referred to as Lorica Segmentata, a phrase that has been in use only since the 16th century. Lorica Segmentata The armor consists of horizontal scales, sort of like a lobster. Additional plates protect […]
Legionnaires in the Roman army wore marching boots, called caligae (singular caliga). These may appear to be merely an open sandal. However, they were sturdy enough to wear all day, every day, even on long marches. A thick lower sole would be attached to a mid sole with hobnails. This added strength to the boot […]