What would you do if, while working on the northern frontier of the Roman Empire, you suddenly realized that your chainmail needed repair? An international team of scientists now thinks the soldiers may have turned to local experts for help.
Researchers in Czechia and Germany have suggested that a now-rusting pile of Roman chains found in Germany was intended to repair other war clothes. If true, they found, described in a December 10 study published in the journal Ageshed light on the Roman military’s methods of repair and reconstruction on the northern border of the empire, and its dependence on local artists.
“As the Roman Empire expanded into new territories, often far from the regions where military equipment was originally produced, the Roman army faced an increasing need for self-sufficiency,” the researchers wrote in the study. “This need was very important on the German border” where “it was necessary for the soldiers to participate in the construction of their equipment.” In turn, the expansion of the Roman army’s self-sufficiency in the production of military equipment was closely related to the availability of raw materials and methods of recycling.”
The limited archaeological evidence for this reenactment practice provides little insight into how soldiers may have interacted with nearby sites in this context, the researchers noted. However, in 2012, archaeologists discovered a pile of 14-kilogram chains in an ancient settlement outside a Roman military fortress in Bonn, Germany.
The thousands of rings connected to the chainmail made it difficult to melt the garment, so it was also used for repairs, such as fabric patches. In fact, the results of recent research suggest that the 2012 artifact—a solid bundle of two nearly complete chainmail suits and parts of two others—was actually a scrap pile.
“This is the first clear evidence that mail weapons were being prepared without the involvement of Roman soldiers,” said Martijn A. Wijnhoven of the Institute of Archeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, who participated in the study. Age statement was emailed to Gizmodo.
The team—including researchers from the LVR-Amt für Bodendenkmalpflege im Rheinland and the LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn—examined the artifact visually and using high-resolution computed tomography (CT) scanners (an x-ray imaging technique).
“It appears that this mail was intended to be used to repair and protect other Roman military clothing,” the researchers wrote in the study. They added that, due to the unique design of the chainmail, “it is possible that the Bonn hoard represents a large number of mails intended for the repair of other mail clothing by artisans” in this area.
This evidence ultimately shows that when the Roman army was away from the army, it relied on local workers to take care of its weapons.
“The hoard highlights some important aspects of the Roman military economy, especially the aspects of repair and rework,” the researchers wrote. “In addition, it provides a fascinating insight into the interaction between the Roman army and the local people living along the border.”
The moral of the story? Do as the Romans do, even if you are far from Rome.
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