1. The Roman Army: Firing Insults
The Ashmolean
Latin Inscriptions Project
latininscriptions.ashmus.ox.ac.uk

2. Look at this picture. Who do you think is in charge
Look at this picture. Who do you think is in charge? Who are the ordinary soldiers?
[this is a carving of Roman soldiers from Trajan’s column in Rome]
[Photo credit: Cassius Ahenobarbus commons.wikimedia.org]

3. The man in the red box is in charge
The man in the red box is in charge. He has decorated armour and is leading this group of men.
You might have noticed that the men behind him have on special outfits. They are standard bearers. The tall objects are the standards. These symbolise Roman power and help people see where to go. This was a way of honouring soldiers with lots of experience – they could be trusted not to lose the standards in battle.

4. The men in the green box are ordinary soldiers, called legionaries
The men in the green box are ordinary soldiers, called legionaries. What things do they have that would help them fight?
Standard kit for roman soldiers: Short sword (gladius), rectangular shield, light armour, spear.
If you look closely you can see, these soldiers are carrying their camping gear on their spears.

5. What is different about the man on the Right (red box)
What is different about the man on the Right (red box)? He is also a Roman soldier, but one with special equipment. He still has a short sword, but has no armour and a round shield.
What are the things in his cloak? What is that other weapon he is carrying?
These are special Roman soldiers called Auxilliaries. This one is a slinger. He uses his sling to throw sling bullets at the enemy. He has spare bullets in the folds of his cloak for quick access.

6. A modern replica sling
This is a modern copy. The bit in the middle is where the bullet goes. The loops help you hold onto the ends.

7. This shows how the sling was used
This shows how the sling was used. Swing around, keep hold of one end and let go of the other. Could be quite accurate and cause serious injury.
Needed to be very skilled. Most Roman slingers were from places where people trained with slings from an early age – like Spain.

8. You could throw anything small and heavy with a sling
You could throw anything small and heavy with a sling. But soldiers made their own sling bullets out of lead or clay using moulds. They also added decoration by scratching designs into the moulds.
What do you think this picture is? Romans draw lightning differently from us because they imagined it as a weapon thrown by the god Jupiter.

9. Sometimes they wrote their name so people would know who had hit them
Sometimes they wrote their name so people would know who had hit them. Or they wrote taunts and insults. A kind of psychological warfare. We’re going to learn some of the words Romans wrote on their bullets and design our own.