ONE SOLDIER SWINGS A PICK-AXE (A DOLABRA), ANOTHER MOVES EARTH IN A WICKER BASKET. THE ROMANS DID NOT USE WHEELBARROWS!
THEY WORK IN THEIR ARMOUR, WITH HELMETS AND SHIELDS NEARBY IN CASE OF SURPRISE ATTACK.
TWO CHOPPED OFF HEADS HAVE BEEN SET UP AS A WARNING!
Surely a mistake in the colour coding here. The severed heads, by their context, have to be Dacian – and should have RED hair. Should we associate these images with a head-hunting cult as suggested in previous posts? I doubt it in this case. The troops here are legionaries, which means they are all bona fide Roman citizens – and there is a purpose to this grisly display. It says “Men at Work.. Do Not Disturb”. But if they are disturbed they are ready for you. Note the close proximity of helmets and shields.
Here we see construction work in an active warzone being undertaken while wearing body armour. I have done jobs in the construction industry involving hard manual labour. I also wear Roman body armour on a regular basis as part of my job at the Lunt. I would hate to have to combine the two!
Simply moving about and projecting the voice for two hours , while wearing this stuff, is an exhausting experience. Of course, I am a modern softie – not of the hardy peasant stock these men were. Yet even for them, this work, especially in high temperatures, must have been punishing. As we learned recently at the Fort, their stamina and endurance are held in awe by the toughest soldiers in the British Army of today….