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Roman Arrowheads from Dinorben and the Sagittarii of the Roman Army

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 November 2011

Jeffrey L. Davies
Jeffrey L. Davies
Affiliation:
University College, Aberystwyth
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Extract

Dinorben, Denbighshire (SH 968757) has the distinction of being the only Welsh hillfort to produce items of undoubted Roman military equipment. This paper will be concerned with the origins, dating and probable historical context of two iron arrowheads. However, it is necessary to enumerate the other objects also which have been either termed ‘military’ in the Dinorben excavation reports, or which may originate from such a source.

Type
Articles
Information
Britannia , Volume 8 , November 1977 , pp. 257 - 270
Copyright
Copyright © Jeffrey L. Davies 1977. Exclusive Licence to Publish: The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies

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References

* The author wishes to thank Dr E. D. Phillips of the Queen's University of Belfast for assistance with bibliographical material, and Prof. E. Birley who read a draft of this paper, making several useful comments, and gave unstinting advice. I thank him for allowing me to publish material from his personal files.

1 An iron spear ferrule from the hillfort of Braich-y-Ddinas, Penmaenmawr, Caerns. may be of Roman date but need not be specifically military in origin. Similarly, the fine iron dagger from Coygan Camp, Carms. appears to be a civilian weapon of the Roman period.

2 W. Gardner and H. N. Savory, Dinorben. A Hillfort occupied in Early Iron Age and Roman Times (1964): H. N. Savory, Excavations at Dinorben 1965–9 (1971). These works are here-after referred to as Gardner and Savory 1964, and Savory 1971 respectively.

3 A point noted by Prof. S. S. Frere in a review of Gardner and Savory 1964 in Proc. Preh. Soc. xxxi (1965), 377Google Scholar.

4 Savory, 1971, 76.

5 op. cit., 30.

6 Gardner and Savory 1964, 95–8; Savory 1971, 30–1.

7 H. R. Robinson, The Armour of Imperial Rome (1975), figs. 159–61.

8 See Sulimirski, T., ‘Scythian Antiquities in Western Asia’, Artibus Asiae xvii (1954), 282–318CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

9 E. D. Phillips, The Royal Hordes. Nomad Peoples of the Steppes (1965), 54–5.

10 Personal communication from Dr E. D. Phillips.

11 Ibid.

12 A. Snodgrass, Early Greek Armour and Weapons (1964), 152, fig. 10; and Snodgrass, Arms and Armour of the Greeks (1967), 82.

13 Sulimirski, op. cit. (note 8), 295.

14 Livy xliii, 7.

15 Appian VI, xiv, 89.

16 Caesar, Bell. Gall, vii, 31, 36, 80.

17 Op. cit., ii, 7.

18 Caesar, Bell. Civ., i, 51.

19 My thanks to Prof. E. Birley for drawing my attention to these western units.

20 Caesar, , Bell. Afr., xx, 1Google Scholar.

21 Caesar, , Bell. Civ., iii, 4Google Scholar.

22 Ibid.

23 G. L. Cheesman, The Auxilia of the Roman Imperial Army (1914), 82–4.

24 Weerd, H. Van de and Lambrechts, P., ‘Note sur les corps d'archers au Haut Empire’, in Altheim, and Stiehl, (eds.), Die Araber in der Alten Welt i (1964), 661 ffGoogle Scholar.

25 e.g. ILS 2571.

26 Herodian VII, i, 9–11.

27 op. cit. v, II.

28 As at Bar Hill. See Robertson, Scott and Keppie, , Bar Hill: A Roman Fort and its finds, B.A.R. 16 (1975), 101Google Scholar.

29 O. Seek (ed.), Notitia Dignitatum (1962), Occidentalis ix, 16 ff.

30 op. cit, Orientalis xi, 18 ff.

31 Possibly Corbridge and Caerleon. See notes 39 and 40.

32 RIB 1778.

33 Der römische Limes in Österreich, Band II, Carnuntum, Taf. 22, 16–24.

34 Der Obergermanisch-Raetische Limes des Römerreiches, Abt. B, Band II, 3, Wiesbaden Taf. xi, 32.

35 L. Jacobi, Das Römerkastell Saalburg bei Homburg v.d.H. (1897), Taf. xxxix, 31.

36 O.R.L. Abt. B. Band II, 3, Hofheim, Taf. VII, 26.

37 O.R.L. Abt. B. Band IV, Osterburcken, Taf. VII, 12

38 Y. Yadin, Masada (1966), 57.

39 AA4 xvii (1940), 112Google Scholar.

40 Arch. Comb, lxxxvii (1932), 49–104Google Scholar, fig. 19, Nos. 1–6, 9–21, 23–5.

41 G. C. Boon, Isca. The Roman Legionary Fortress at Caerleon, Mon. (1972), 54.

42 G. C. Boon, Roman Silchester (1957), fig. 11, No. 8.

43 AA2, xxv (1904), 193–300Google Scholar, figs. 16 and 47.

44 Gardner and Savory 1964, 157.

45 JRS lviii (1968), 198Google Scholar; Britannia i (1970), 274Google Scholar.

46 e.g. Maiden Castle (Dorset), Hod Hill and South Cadbury.

47 Dio lxii, 12, 3–4.

48 CIL xvi, 70.

49 RIB 764.

50 See Jarrett, M. G., Israel Exploration Journ. 19, No. 4 (1969), 215–24Google Scholar.

51 Ibid.

52 Vegetius i, 15.

53 For arrows at the Corbridge fabrica see note 39.

54 Suetonius, Divus lulius, 68.

55 Arch. Journ. cxxv (1968), 89Google Scholar.

56 Arrian, Tactica, 43, 1.

57 AA4 xlvi (1968), 284–91Google Scholar.

58 E. Birley, Research on Hadrian's Wall (1961), 179. Prof. Birley disagrees with Dr Smith's dating of the sculptured relief to the reign of Hadrian on purely typological grounds. Despite the uncertainty surrounding its date, it is not impossible that it was an archer of coh I Hamiorum that was depicted. Prof. Birley has suggested to me that this unit could have been employed tactically in small detachments, as with the Machine Gun Corps of the First World War. But a sagittarius of Coh I Tungrorum seems more likely, since thus the appearance of the sagittarii Tungri in the Notitia Dignitatum might be explained, having been drawn from the parent unit.

59 For a discussion of the extent of Deceanglian territory see Jarrett, M. G. and Mann, J. C., Welsh Hist. Rev. 4, No. 2 (1968), 165–6Google Scholar.

60 Tacitus, , Annals xii, 32Google Scholar.

61 Webster, G., Flints, Hist. Soc. Pub. xiii (1952–1953), 5–53Google Scholar.

62 Gardner and Savory, 1964, 11.

63 Arch. Camb. 1910, 79–156.

64 Gardner and Savory 1964, 59.

65 Op. cit. (note 64), fig. 7.

66 Op. cit. (note 64), fig. 8.

67 For a discussion of the gate sequence see Gardner and Savory 1964, 27–9.

68 This list is substantially that compiled by Prof. E. Birley, with some additions by the writer. My thanks to Prof. Birley for permission to publish the list of units.

69 CIL III, 3676; cf. Bang, Die Germanen in römischen Dienst, 38 f.

70 A cavalryman of this ala (perhaps raised in Arabia) is described as vir sagittandi peritissimus (CIL iii, 4832 = ILS 2528). Cf. Syria vii (1926), 328Google Scholar for an unpublished inscription from Chohba = Philippopolis, Arabia, of an ala Celerum Philippiana (c. A.D. 244/249).

71 CIL xvi, 170, 181, 182.

72 Only one diploma, CIL xvi, 99 of A.D. 150 mentions this unit as sagit.

73 Evidence that this particular unit was armed with the bow comes in the form of the sculptured relief of an archer on horseback. AE 1959, 188.

74 Carnuntum Jahrbuch 1960 (1962), 29–35Google Scholar. c. A.D. 218/222.

75 Several diplomas, and ILS 2747.

78 Three diplomas mention the fact that it was a unit of archers.

77 Diploma of 8 Feb. 161; Chiron 2 (1972), 449 ffGoogle Scholar.

78 CIL iii, 600 = ILS 2724; CIL vi, 3654; and Degrassi, , ‘Epigraphica III,’ Atti delta Accademia Naz. dei Lincei (8th Ser.) xiii 1 (1967), 19Google Scholar, where a prefect of Coh I Apamenorum sag. is recorded in Cappadocia.

79 CIL xvi, 106 of A.D. 157 only.

80 Arrian, Ectaxis, 3 and 18.

81 CIL xvi, 117 of A.D. 155/157 only.

82 CIL iii, 6658 only.

83 Diploma of A.D. 145/156 only.

84 A sag. suffix to the unit title appears on a diploma of 157 only (CIL xvi, 106). Although the unit does not bear an ethnic title, it served in Syria and may have been recruited there.

85 CIL xvi, 163; ILS 9273.

86 CIL xi, 7554 = ILS 9195.

87 A tombstone from Salona of a soldier in this unit describes him as a Sagittarius (CIL iii, 8734). Three other tombstones give the origo of other soldiers in this unit as Beroca in Syria (CIL iii 14934; AE 1925, 132 and 1961, 303).

88 No mention in diplomas, but on CIL xiii, 7395 = ILS 2585.

89 CIL iii, 3331; ILS 9155.

90 A sculptured relief depicts a soldier serving in this unit as an archer (CIL xiii 7041 = ILS 2562).

91 Arrian, Ectaxis, 18.

92 ibid.

93 CIL xiii, 7513 = ILS 2570 for a Cretan serving in this unit.

94 AE 1959, 310.

95 CIL iii, 600 = ILS 2724.

96 CIL xiv, 3955 = ILS 2740; and CIL iii, 14188, 1.

97 AE 1961, 358 and 1962, 304.

98 This unit can be deduced to have been sagittariorum, in view of ILS 9173A centurion from this unit was transferred to Coh I Chalcidenorum and ‘curam (e)git Palmyr. (s)ag' at El Kantara, Numidia.

99 AE 1962, 264, a diploma of A.D. 140; and CIL xi, 1934 = ILS 2685.