Life in the Roman Army How were Roman soldiers commemorated? What skills and characteristics are being emphasised here? What impact does the appearance of the soldier have? Credit: Impression of the Lancaster tombstone, Simon James, University of Leicester

Life in the Roman Army “It is no easy matter to train the horse or foot archer, or to introduce the legionary soldier to every part of the drill, to teach him not to leave his post, to keep ranks, to take a proper aim and throw his missile weapons with force, to dig trenches, to set up defences, how to manage his shield, glance off the blows of the enemy, and how to parry a stroke effectively.” The author Vegetius describes typical duties for a soldier here. This information can be a starter for the more detailed information of the resource sheets. Roman military sites that could be visited: the Lunt Fort at Coventry (just south of Letocetum with its Roman bath house on the A5 – nb the initial session on maps), Cirencester (Corinium), or Chester as places with particularly good Roman museums for children, but also nearer to home Jewry Wall and Harborough Museum with an exciting helmet, see below.  Several sites on Hadrian's Wall contain military information. Credit: The Military Institutions of the Romans (De Re Militari) by Flavius Vegetius Renatus Transl. John Clarke. First published in 1767. Published 2017 by Los Angeles, CA; Enhanced Media. Credit: Cori, Giacomo Savani