Weaponry

The Armor
Roman soldiers were the most professional and well equipped of their time. They trained for years and as a result, the Roman Legions were the greatest armies of their time. Also their equipment was extremely advanced compared to their competitors. Most of the tribes of the north like the Guals for example, wore leather armor. The Romans, however, wore iron and bronze armor composed of many light metal plates to allow flexibility, an iron helmet with bronze fittings for decoration, called a //cassis//, a large wooden shield covered with leather, called a //scutum//, leather sandals with metal studs on the sole, called //caligae//, and a leather belt decorated with small metal plates. This belt was called a //cingulum//. (Forman, 44)

==The Weapons== Roman weaponry was also much more advanced than their competitors. Roman weapons had a variety of types. The roman short sword, called a //Gladius//, had an iron blade with a bone handle. It is often referred to as the "sword that conquered the world," The javelins, called a //pilum//, had a thin iron neck and point with a wood handle. This design allowed the soldiers to throw their javelins and also double them as spears for closer range combat, unlike the wooden spears of the Germanic tribes of Europe. The //pilum// was the primary weapon and the //gladius// was used as backup. (PBS)

The Forts
Roman forts were also advanced and considerably defendable for their time. They consisted of scattered light wooden defenses around a main wall studded with towers at the corners and at intervals along the straights. In the center were the //principia// or the headquarters. Immediately surrounding that is the //horrea,// or granary, the //Valetudinarium// or hospital, the //praetorium//, or officer’s quarters, and the //via principalis// and //via sagularis//, which served as parade grounds and meeting places. Besides that, there were the infantry and cavalry barracks, which were separate structures. (Centre for Study of Ancient Documents, Oxford University)