The Roman Military Diet Author(s): R. W. Davies Source: Britannia, Vol. 2 (1971), pp.

122-142 Published by: Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/525803 Accessed: 16/03/2010 16:52
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=sprs. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Britannia.

http://www.jstor.org

The Roman Military Diet*

By R. W. DAVIES
'an army marches on its stomach' applies to all armies of all times. The task of providing a constant and sufficient supply of food was by no means the least important part of the work involved in the day to day running of the Roman army.' In time of war the troops would forage from enemy countryside, requisition supplies from defeated tribes or towns, and receive them from allies.2 According to Josephus the legionaries carried with them as part of their equipment sickles to reap the crops and also rations for three days.3 A scene on Trajan's Column depicts the legionaries carrying their kit on a stake; this consisted in part of a string-bag for forage, a metal cookingpot and a mess-tin, examples of which have been discovered in most parts of the Empire.4 When an army was not on active service, the arrangements to supply food for men and animals were extensive and complex. The magnitude of the food requirements of the Roman army has generally not been realized. According to Tacitus every Roman fort in Britain, when
* The evidence collected in this paper is not meant to be exhaustive, but is a representative selection. The period under study is that of the Principate. The evidence for the consumption of meat in the armies of the Later Republic, Caesar, and Early Principate is studied in detail in an appendix. The evidence for items provided mainly or exclusively for fodder is not here studied, but may on occasion be mentioned in passing. Some of the analyses were made fifty or even one hundred years ago; consequently, more modern methods and further excavation provide a better picture. Some of the analyses were restricted; thus oyster and mussel shells and chicken bones are often not mentioned, because the analysis was concerned exclusively with animal bones, but they are frequently found, as, for example, at Corbridge. Part I of the analysis of the Corbridge bones by Meek and Gray was published in 19i I; Part II has never been published. Some earlier studies will be found in: J. Lesquier, L'armle romained'Agypted'Augustea militaire de l'Afrique sous les Diocldtien(I918) 347-68; R. Cagnat, L'armeeromained'Afriqueet l'occupation (second edition, 1913) 311-26; both authors at times use passages of the SHA, for which nowaempereurs days more care is required. For the Later Roman Empire, see: D. van Berchem, L'annonemilitairedans l'empireromainau IIIeme siecle (I937); A. H. M. Jones, Later Roman Empire (I964) 628-9, and note 44. This is the only period for which regulation amounts are known; presumably those of A.D. 360 are not dissimilar in quantity from those of the Principate: 3 pounds of bread, 2 pounds of meat, 2 pints of wine, I/8 of a pint of oil per man per day. To save endless repetition of the sources in the footnotes, a bibliography of the thirty-three sites in Table I is given instead (p. 141). From Table I the bones of horses, dogs, and cats have been excluded. Other military sites, from which there is evidence for food but which are not used here, include: Baginton (The Lunt), Balmuildy, Canstatt, Carrawburgh, Castledykes, Chesterholm. I have used, wherever they were available, the improved readings and interpretations of the papyri contained in CLA (A. Bruckner and R. Marichal, ChartaeLatinaeAntiquiores I954-). Many of the papyri in romano Egitto (I964). per quoted in this paper will be found in Sergio Daris, Documenti la storiadell'esercito For a list of the abbreviations of these sources, see p. 142. I am indebted to George Hodgson, M.Sc., for the results of some unpublished analyses of bones. ' For list of abbreviations used in footnotes, see p. I42. 2 E.g. Caesar, BG iv, 32; v, I7; Josephus, BJ7ii, 528. Cf. C. Cichorius, Die Reliefs des Traianssaule veterana shows men employed on this task in taf. cx. The pridianumof cohorsI Hispanorum (I896-I900)
Trajan's Second Dacian War, CLA 3 BJ iii, 95.
4
219,

eT HHEaxiom

col. ii, lines 19 and 31-33

= P. Lond. 285I.

Cichorius, op. cit. taf. iv; cf. PBSR xiii, I935, 6-9.
122

THE

ROMAN

MILITARY

DIET

123

Agricola was governor in A.D. 78-84, was provided with sufficient supplies to last for a year. 5 Calculations show that each Roman soldier would eat approximately one-third of a ton of corn each year, and that this amount of grain would occupy half a cubic yard of space in the granary.6 Examination of the horreain legionary and auxiliary forts has shown that that they were capable of containing sufficient grain to last for one year.7 According to a papyrus from Egypt, 20,000 artabs of barley, or 1,400,000 pints, which weigh 625 tons, were needed each year for the requirements of an ala.8 If each soldier received three pounds of corn per day and the frontier forces of Britain in the third century numbered 25,000 men, then the daily consumption of corn would have been 33 tons.9 In peace-time the army used various sources from which to obtain its food supplies. One major source was from the civilians of the provinces; this could take the form of requisitions or compulsory purchase at a fixed price;IO food supplies in this way could come to the army directly or via the procurator," the official responsible, as Strabo notes: 'There are also Imperial procurators, men of Equestrian rank, who distribute to the soldiers all the necessities of life.' Another important source was food produced on military land (territoriumor prata), which extended for a considerable distance round each fort; this was sometimes grown by the military themselves, at other times by civilians to whom the land was leased.2I Contracts for supplies in bulk were also used.I3 A soldier could augment his supply of food from other sources: by extortion,I 4 by private
5 Agricola 22, 2-3. Cf. Polybius vi, 39, I2-I5 for the system of the Republic. For the later Roman Empire, see first note. For the army of Caesar, see the appendix. 6 F. Haverfield, 'The Provisioning of Roman Forts', CW2 xx, I920, 127-42. This paper is reproduced more or less as Appendix III in Furneaux and Anderson's second edition of Tacitus, Agricola (Oxford, 1922). For delivery of supplies in bulk of lentils, vin ordinaire, wheat, and bread see P. Beatty Panop. i; of 2,84I + 300 loaves and 600 camp sextariiof wine, see SB 718I. 7 Ibid. Further examples (e.g. Fendoch, Chester, Inchtuthil, Hod Hill) may now be added; cf. Graham Webster, The RomanImperial Army(i969) i97-8, 2 6. It should be noted that Haverfield made no allowance for a central gangway; consequently his figures give too large a capacity, which has led to the interpretation of annuiscopiisas meaning supplies to last in effect for two years, a desperate but unnecessary view. For a better interpretation of the evidence and the mechanics of the horrea,see William Bulmer, 'The Provisioning of Roman Forts: a Reappraisal of Ration Storage', AA4 xlvii, i969, 7-I3. See also G. E. Rickman, RomanGranaries StoreBuildings (I 97). and 8 P. Amh. 107. One pint of barley weighs one pound avoirdupois exactly. This figure agrees well with those given by Polybius I.c. The barley was for the horses; normally it was given to men only as a punishment; examples are cited in G. R. Watson, The RomanSoldier(i969) 126. 9 Haverfield, I.c. E. Birley, Research Hadrian's Wall (196I) 272. on 1oTacitus, Agric. I9, 4; 32, 4; Dio, lxii, 3. P. Amh. 107 and other contemporary examples; P. Grenf. SB 7181; 0. Tait I689; cf. SB 9202; BGU 8i; BGU 2024; SB 10497; P. Mich. 450 + 455, with AjtP 48; 71, I950, 432-8. " Strabo iii 4, 20. SB 9248; CLA 275 = P. Oxy. 735, with Etud. Pap. VIII, I957, 5I, n. i; P. Dura was probably on his staff, see below, note 98. 64A; the cibariator 12For evidence and discussion, see H. von Petrikovits, Das romische Rheinland, Archaologische Forschungen seit i945 (1960) 63-72; RE VIIIA zu 1824-3 ; A. Mocsy, 'Zu den "prata legionis" ', Studien denMilitargrenzen Roms (i967) 2II-4. There might also be a vivarium, CIL xiii 8I74 = ILS 3265, CIL vi I30 = ILS 2091. 13E.g. Aurelius Lunaris and Verecundius Diogenes seem to have been merchants shipping wine from Aquitania to the army of Lower Britain; Antiq. Journ., xxvi, I946, 9-10; I. A. Richmond, Roman Britain (2nd edition, i963), I72. Others sent barrels of wine to Aquincum; see below, note 89; others supplied the British troops with olive-oil from Spain. The negotiatores salsari leguminari probably supplied the troops at Vindonissa with vegetables; CIL xiii 5221. '4 As is clear from the edicts of governors banning such action. For 'text-book' examples, see SHA, Avidiusiv 2; Pescennius 5. Cf. also New Testament, Luke iii, I2- 4; Rev. Phil. xvii, I943, I I I -9. x,

I24

R.

W.

DAVIES

purchases from the inns or shops in the settlements which grew up outside each fort (canabaeor vicus), 5 by hunting,i6 or from his family.'7 Several sources speak of the iron rations a soldier carried when on active service; these would, of course, form the basic part of a soldier's diet in peacetime. This seems to be illustrated by Hadrian, whose policy of keeping the troops fully-trained but engaged on no actual warfare is well known:18 'Hadrian himself also used to live a soldier's life among the other ranks, and, following the example of Scipio Aemilianus, Metellus, and Trajan, cheerfully ate in the open such camp food as bacon, cheese, and sour wine.' Iron rations on active service are mentioned in connection with generals of the second century A.D.:19 'Avidius Cassius forbade the soldiers when on expedition to carry anything except bacon, hard tack, and sour wine.' 'Pescennius Niger gave orders that no one was to drink [vintage] wine on expedition, but that they should all be content with sour wine. He also forebade pastry-cooks to follow the expedition, and ordered the soldiers to be content with hard tack.' It is claimed that Severus improved the quality of the military diet.20 The baconfat (laridum) or lard was used as a substitute for oil, which could not easily be transported at times. The hard tack (bucellatum)is part of the corn ration which could be cooked in this form.21 Acetum (oos&) was low quality wine, at times mixed with water to form a drink called posca in contrast to the vintage wine (vinum); even today the Italians, among others, continue to add water to their cheaper wines to drink with meals.22 Other sources provide more information about the basic food of the army. Vegetius devotes a whole chapter to the care that must be given by a commander to provide sufficient supplies :23 'Shortages of wood and food must be avoided in winter, of water in summer. Indeed, the need for corn, sour wine, [vintage] wine, and also salt must at all times be kept at a reasonable level.' Appian, describing a besieging Roman army which was suffering as much as the besieged, gives the normal diet, which is almost the same as that mentioned by Vegetius, and also the siege diet:24
I5 E. Birley, RomanBritain and the RomanArmy (I 953) 69-86; P. Salway, The Frontier Peopleof Roman Britain (I965) passim; Petrikovits, o.c. 55-63. Cf. Caesar, BG vi 5; Tacitus, Hist. iv 22; Arrian, Periplous Imp. ii i, I9; PrincipiaHistoriae I2. A painting in a thermopolium 9; SHA, Hadrianusx, 4; Fronto, ad Verum at Pompeii depicts a soldier holding in an outstretched hand a very tall glass; he says to the innkeeper, who is just about to pour something into this, 'Just a dash of water!' (da fridam pusillum); P. Gusman,

44). For hunting as an official way of supplementing the diet, see below, note 43. 17 See below, notes 90-93. 18 SHA, Hadrianusx, 2; cf. SeverusAlexanderli, 5 and lxi, 2; Herodian n xi 2 (Severus); Iv xii 2 was carried by the troops on manoeuvres; CIL viii I8042 Bb = ILS 2487. (Caracalla). This ciba castrensia 19SHA, Avidiusv, 3; Pescennius 3-4. x, 20E. Birley, 'Septimius Severus and the Roman Army', Epigr. Stud. 8, I969, 63-82, especially 63-4, Herodian im, viii 5, and the writer's thesis. Cf. vi, viii 8, where Maximinus is credited with a further citing increase. 21 Cf. Ammianus xvII, viii 2. Even so, it was at times issued as grain; Suetonius, Galba 7. 2 I have adopted the translation 'sour wine' rather than 'vinegar', which gives a false impression in English. This is the drink of the ordinary soldier, as proffered to Christ on the Cross. 24 Iberica54; cf. Frontinus, Strat. In, xvi 3 for the lack of salt. 23 iii 3-

Pompeii, the City, its Life and Art (1903) 220, pl. III. I6 Provided that he did so only in his off duty; cf. Dig. xlix I6, 12, I; 0. Gudraud (and below, note 14

I25 'The soldiers were worn out by the continuous watch, lack of sleep, and the unaccustomed food of the country. They had no [vintage] wine, salt, sour wine or oil, but fed on wheat and barley, and large quantities of meat and hare boiled without salt, which upset their digestion.' In 38 B.C. Herod procured large-scale supplies for the Roman army:25 'Immediately on hearing the request Herod set off into the country and left Silo no excuse for departing, because he brought an unexpectedly large quantity of provisions and gave instructions to the Samaritans to bring down corn, wine, oil, livestock, and all the other provisions to Jericho, that there might be a plentiful supply for the troops for the time being.' Vegetius says that at the slightest suspicion of an enemy invasion, provisions should be taken inside forts: fodder for the horses, [vintage] wine, sour wine, cereals, and fruit for the men, while pigs are to be killed and turned into bacon, and also other animals that cannot be kept alive are to be slaughtered and
preserved. 26

THE

ROMAN

MILITARY

DIET

The basic diet, then, in peace-time will have consisted of corn, bacon, cheese, and probably vegetables to eat and sour wine to drink; the soldier would also have access to salt and olive-oil. This must have been the standard food towards the cost of which a fixed amount was deducted from each pay instalment (ad victum).27 The consistent uniformity of this deduction suggests that the same amount was always deducted for the basic diet as provided by the army; anything extra would be bought by the soldier out of his spending money and this would not be shown on the list of compulsory stoppages. However, a greater variety of food was available and would be distributed on the special days of celebration in the military calendar; an extra deduction was made to cover the cost of the special camp dinners during the Saturnalia (saturnaliciumk(astrense)).28 Some indication of the wide variety of foods that a military unit would use in a year is given in a very fragmentary papyrus dated to late in A.D. I99. It is part of a survey undertaken to report on the various foods given as payment in kind towards the maintenance of the army of Egypt; among the items 'for supplying our most noble soldiers with necessities' that can be read, are wheat, lentils, hams, cattle, calves, goats, and pigs as well as wine, to feed the men, and hay and other fodder crops for the animals, and oil of radishes which was used for cooking like olive-oil. 29 Corn, the basic item in the diet, could be turned into various dishes; the most obvious is bread, but it could also form the basis of soup, porridge, or various types of pasta as discovered at Pompeii.30 Into whatever type of food the grain
~Josephus, Ant. xiv, 408; cf. BJ7i, 299. iv, 7. Cf. P. BeattyPanop.2, lines 246-9 and 285-9, where one measure each of salt and oil per man per month 'on account of pickling material' is given. 27 CLA 7, col. I a, lines 6, 17, and 27 = P. Gen. lat. i; CLA 7, col. I b, lines 6, 17, and 27. Cf., however, Marichal's restored entries in CLA 9, lines 6, 15, and 24 - P. Gen. lat. 4. 28 CLA 7, col. I a, line 8; CLA 7, col. I b, line 8. In Marichal's restoration of CLA 9, line 6, the amount whereas in the other two stipendiait is only oo; presumably here there is a spent on food is 128 drachmas, in book-keeping and the cost of the saturnalicium was now included in an increased food entry. change 29 PSI PSI 797 is a similar document but more fragmentary for the year A.D. 232. AE 1921, I 683. records a man in a town in Macedonia providing for the army at his own expense 400 medimniof corn, 100oo barley, 60 of beans, and 100 measures of wine. of 30 The remains of pasta are preserved in the museums at Pompeii and Naples; cf. M. Brion, Pompeii and Herculaneum: Gloryand the Grief (1960) pl. 126. the
2

26

126

R.

W.

DAVIES

was to be turned, it first had to be ground to form flour. Herodian records that the Emperor Caracalla led the life of an ordinary soldier, which included baking his own bread:3I 'He set a frugal table, even going so far as to use wooden vessels for eating and drinking. He ate the bread that was available; with his own hand he would grind his personal ration of corn, make it into a loaf, bake it in the ashes and eat it.' From the Elder Pliny it is known that panis militaris was wholemeal bread.32 Authorities both ancient and modern have shown that wholemeal bread is more palatable than white bread and has greater nutritional value, as it is richer in vitamins, especially BI. At Trimalchio's banquet Habinnas said he preferred brown bread to white, because it was nourishing and prevented constipation.33 Vopiscus states that there were two sorts of army bread, the normal standard (panes militarescastrenses)and one of higher quality (panes militaresmundos),perhaps for officers.34 Normally in peace-time the troops would eat fresh bread; it was only a martinet, such as Ulpius Marcellus, when governor of Britain in c. A.D. i80-4, who would deliberately choose stale bread.35 Julian, who reverted to the practices of the Imperial army, ate porridge with the other ranks.36 Contrary to popular belief the Roman army in the Empire ate meat at all times as part of its diet. This could come from various sources: the provincials,37 purchase,38 hunting, the prata or vivariumof the units,39 the regular sacrifices.4 An excellent picture of the meat the soldiers ate can be seen from an analysis of the bones that have been excavated at Roman forts. Table I gives a list of thirty-three military sites from the provinces of Britain and Germany. All grades of troops (legionaries, auxiliary alae and cohortes, and numeri, including those manning the turrets of Hadrian's Wall) are represented from the time of Augustus to the third century. On the whole the largest percentage of the bones of any one animal is that of the domesticated ox; sheep-and to a lesser extent goatswere also eaten in large quantities, while pork was popular. Detailed analysis
31rv, vii 5; the ashes are those in the camp ovens, 42 examples of which are known at Saalburg. From Mainz has come an implement used to stamp the bread (CIL xiii 6935), from Zugmantel a wooden long-handled shovel for putting loaves into and out of the oven (in the Saalburg Museum). Experiments with handmills from Saalburg have shown that they would take four to six men to grind 220 pounds of grain into flour per hour; Saalburg-jahrb.iii, 1912, 75-95. Remembering the needs of the frontier troops of Britain (see above, note 9), it is not surprising to find at least three water-mills along the line of Hadrian's Wall; J. Collingwood Bruce, Handbookto the Roman Wall (I2th edition, revised by Sir Ian Richmond, 32NH xviii, 67. L. A. Moritz, Grain-MillsandFlour in ClassicalAntiquity(1958) i95ff. Cato, Res Rustica lxx gives a recipe using only flour and water. For the supply of baked loaves to soldiers, see notes 34, 35,
90. 93.

I966) 80-3,

143, I60-2;

Richmond,

op cit., 170-I.

Dio lxxii, I I; lxxvii, 13; Herodian 38 E.g. FIRA iii, 137.

33Petronius, Satyricon lxvi, 2; both qualities are obviously highly desirable. 34SHA, Aurelianus 6. This source also claims to quote amounts for other foodstuffs. ix, 35Dio lxxiii, 8. 36 Ammianus xxv, ii 2. For a recipe, R. Cagnat, op. cit., 312. 37 See above, notes 25 and 29. Livestock were often exacted in war-time, e.g. Josephus, BJ iv, 436;
in, ix I0.

39For hunting, see notes I6, 43-6. For the prata and vivarium,see note I2. The best illustration is of Tacitus, Ann. xiii, 54-5; cf. E. Birley (ed)., The Congress RomanFrontierStudies, I949 (1952), 49ff; cf. also Dio lxxii, 20. The pecuariilooked after such animals; perhaps in Scotland the annexes were used as a also the space between the Vallum and Hadrian's Wall. Cf. P. Dura 66 QQ, line 10. vivarium,and W. Watkin, 4E.g. Josephus, BJ vii, I6. For a possible example of such a sacrificial animal, see lists T. leasts at 23 RomanRibchester (I9II) iI. The fragmentaryferiale Duranum('CS vii, 1940; P. Dura 54) oxen, 12 cows, and 7 bulls that were to be sacrificed annually.

THE

ROMAN

MILITARY

DIET

I27

TABLE I: ANIMALS Fort Unit Unit Fort

<

Wl

xMiscellaneous

A A A A A A L A L A A/L A A A/L A L A A A/L N A A/N A A A A A N A L A A A/N

Altenstadt Bar Hill Benwell Binchester Brecon Butzbach Caerleon Caernarvon Chester Chesters Corbridge Elslack High Rochester Hod Hill Hofheim Holt Housesteads Mumrills Newstead Niederbieber Red House Ribchester Rodgen Rudchester Saalburg South Shields Stockstadt Turrets of H. W. Valkenburg Vindonissa Waddon Hill Wiesbaden Zugmantel

x x

x x

x x x x x x x

X
x

X
x

x x x x x x x x x
X

Wild ox Fox

x X
x

x X
x

x x
x

x x
x

X x x X x X
x x

X x x X X X
x x

X x
x

X x
x

Elk, fox, wolf Fox, wolf Wolf Fox, badger, beaver, vole, wild ox, mole

x X
x x

x x X
x x

x x x x x x x x x X x x x x x
x x x

x x
x

x
x x x x

x
X

x x
X

x x x x x
x X

x x x x
x X

x x x x x
x

x x x x x x x x
x

x x x x x x x x x x x
x

Fox, badger Bear, wild ox Wolf Elk, fox, badger, vole

x x x x x x

x x
x

x
x

x x
X

x X
X

x x x x x x x x

x x x x x x

x X x x x

x x x x x x x x
X

Fox, wolf, beaver, bear, wild ox Elk Wild ox Elk, fox, beaver, bear, otter Elk, ibex Fox

Totals 33 30 20 31 31 I7 14 14 L = legion; A = auxiliary unit; N = numerus; / = mixed garrison or successive types of unit in occupation.

of the bones of various domesticated animals gives information on the joints of meat eaten; many of the animals were immature, showing that the troops ate beef and veal, mutton and lamb, pork and sucking-pig. Appian states that the two standard ways of cooking were roasting and boiling, and two of the three standard-issue cooking-utensils were a spit and a boiling-pan. 4I Often large quantities of beef bones had been deliberately broken or split to obtain the marrow to form a rich stew. At most of the sites bones from all parts of the various animals were discovered, showing that whole carcases were consumed. The various livestock kept by the different units could also provide them with milk and thus with cheese, which is stated to have been one of the principal items of food eaten by the troops. Cheese-squeezers have been found at various military sites,
41 Appian, Iberica85; cf. Frontinus, Strat. rv, i I; Polyaenus, Strat. vin, xvi 2.

I28

R.

W.

DAVIES

showing that the troops manufactured their own cheeses.42 Hunting was clearly a common way of adding fresh meat to the diet;43 this is well illustrated by a letter from an auxiliary soldier stationed at Wadi Fawakhir in the later first or second century A.D. :44 'Antonius Proculus to Valerianus. Write the note to say that from the month of Agrippina until now we have been hunting all species of wild animals and birds for a year under the orders of the prefects. We have given what we caught to Cerealis and he sent them and all the equipment to you [. . .' The second part of Table I gives the archaeological evidence for hunting. Clearly venison, particularly the red and roe deer and to a lesser extent elk, was a common delicacy. Another animal frequently hunted was the wild boar, although in this instance sport may have been combined with the business of hunting for food; thus Minicianus, prefect of the ala Sebosiana, set up an altar in Weardale to Silvanus :45 'In fulfilment of his vow for capturing a boar of outstanding fineness, which many of his predecessors had been unable to bag.' The hare too may have been hunted for sport rather than food; large quantities were eaten by the garrison of the Claudian fort at Waddon Hill. Presumably the instances of the remains of fox (9), wolf (5), wild ox (5), badger (3), beaver (3), bear (3), and otter (i), represent hunting for sport rather than food, although several at least are edible.46 The Roman soldiers were partial to sea food, especially shell fish. Of the sites in Table I sixteen have produced oysters and mussels, while oyster shells have been found at a further nine.47 Other molluscs that were eaten include limpets, whelks, cockles, and edible snails. A detailed account of these is given for fifteen sites in Table II. It seems clear that units stationed near the sea, e.g. at Maryport and South Shields, would have a greater variety of shell fish, because the opportunities to obtain them were better. However, efforts were made to
42 E.g. Corbridge and Holt. Varro, Res Rustica xi 3 gives recipes for making cheese; the best came II, from the milk of cows, then of sheep, then of goats. For cheese as part of the basic diet, see above, note 18; for delivery of cheese to the troops, see notes 65, 92, 93. 43 For hunters, see Dig. 1, 6, 7 (which also lists lani and victimarii); Vegetius, i, 7 recommends that venatores recruited; CIL viI30 = ILS 2091 mentions a custosvivari and be et macellarios cervorum aprorumque cf. two venatores immun(es);for another vivarium CIL xiii 8174 = ILS 3265; Dr. W. Schleiermacher kindly informs me that possible examples of such structures have been identified at Dambach and Zugmantel. RIB 1905 = ILS 3548; CIL iii 7449. SB 9272 mentions a vestigator,perhaps a tracker. 44 0. Gueraud 14. He asks for an official note (ro X\t'eXXov) and stresses that they were acting on the orders of the local auxiliary commanding officers. Soldiers were forbidden by military law from unofficial hunting trips (see above, note i6, and Suetonius, Tiberius 19 for an offence punished). 45 RIB 1041 = ILS 3562. It seems preferable to the writer to believe that there is only one inscription on this stone, and that the commanders came in the second century from Binchester, some 15 miles away.

Nemesianus, in his poem on hunting, mentions hares, does, wolf, fox, ichneumon, polecat, and hedgehog. For soldiers eating hares, see note 24. The centurion Severus had captured fifty bears in six months (CIL xiii 81 74 = ILS 3265). Dr. Sch6nberger kindly informs me that a bear-trap has been discovered at Zugmantel. 47 Apart from those mentioned in Table II, oysters and mussels are attested at: Bar Hill, Caernarvon, Corbridge, Hofheim, Newstead, Ribchester, Saalburg, Turrets; oysters at Binchester and High Rochester. Some of the sites from Table I, for which there is here no mention of molluscs, have in fact produced them; they are not mentioned in the analyses, because these were devoted to bones. Oysters were stored in a Fort at Richborough, wine-cellar at Richborough; J. P. Bushe-Fox, FourthReporton the Excavations the Roman of Kent (I949) 6, 50. Sallust, Jugurtha3 confirms the popularity of shell fish among the Roman soldiers.
46

Cf. RIB 1042; 1091-2;

732-3.

THE

ROMAN

MILITARY

DIET

I29

TABLE II: MOLLUSCS

Unit

Fort

R ^"

t
S^

'

~ >
0
d0

Miscellaneous

A A L L A A/L L A A A A A L A A

Benwell Brecon Caerleon Chester Chesters Hod Hill Holt Maryport Mumrills Rudchester South Shields Valkenburg Vindonissa Waddon Hill Wiesbaden

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

x x x x x x x

X
x

x x

Fresh-water mussel Second variety of edible snail

x x X x x Swan mussel

x x x

x x x
x

Winkle Fresh-water mussel Venerupis Fresh-water mussel

send them considerable distances inland, as in the case of Brecon and Chesters. It is thought that the oysters discovered at Vindonissa (Windisch in Switzerland) came from Portugal or the English Channel, those at Benwell on Hadrian's Wall from southern England. Examination of the shells from Waddon Hill suggested that some of the oysters were natural and others cultivated; the site also produced cockles and an example of the species venerupis, which the French today still esteem as the delicacy palourde. Edible snails have been discovered at several sites; indeed the suggestion has been made that the Roman garrison at Papcastle introduced a delicious species into Britain. 48 Clearly shell fish were a popular delicacy frequently eaten, and the large number of sites in Britain that have produced evidence for them suggests that Juvenal, who almost certainly commanded a unit later stationed at Maryport, may have eaten them himself. 49 Fish was also eaten, although excavators have not always noted the remains. Pike was eaten at Butzbach, perch at Chester, sturgeon at Saalburg, and cod at Hod Hill; unidentified species are attested at Brecon, Caerleon, and Corbridge. At the legionary fortress of Vindonissa fish bones were discovered and also a fishing-hook, with which to catch the fish in the nearby River Aare; there is also epigraphic evidence for the troops here eating tunny fish. A strong fishinghook, clearly for sea-fishing, was found at Richborough.50 Fish bones identified at Waddon Hill included the cod family and the Giant Wrasse; the latter is rather bony, but was presumably sought because it closely resembled the Parrot Wrasse, a much esteemed ancient Roman delicacy. At Valkenburg, an auxiliary fort near the mouth of the Rhine, numerous fish-bones were discovered belonging to sturgeon, pike and unidentified varieties; this site also produced evidence for
I948, 204; cf. lxiii, I963, 107. 49For the shell fish at Maryport, see Birley op. cit. (note 9) 219. For Juvenal, M. G. Jarrett and B. Britain and Rome (I966) 36; Juvenal, Saturae iv, I41-2. Dobson, 50 Bushe-Fox, op. cit. (note 47), 348. The same legal restrictions on private hunting expeditions applied to fishing trips too; see above notes I6 and 44. For a soldier involved in a case of stolen fish worth a silver talent, P. Oxy. 2234.
48 CWz xlviii,

I30

R.

W.

DAVIES

TABLE III: FOWLS

Unit

Fort

Miscellaneous

L A/L A A/L A/N A A

Chester Hod Hill Hofheim Newstead Ribchester Saalburg Valkenburg

x
X

x X
x X X x

X
X X x

Waddon Hill

Pheasant, swan Mallard, woodcock, woodpigeon, coot, unidentified game Heron Crane, raven Swan Guinea-fowl Petrel, cormorant, heron, great white heron, spoonbill, mallard, teal, grey lag-goose, whitefronted goose, brent goose, barnacle goose, whitetailed eagle, crane, crow Mallard, wader, rock dove or domestic pigeon, redwing, bantam, raven

the common porpoise and whale, and also the cuttlefish, a great delicacy. When discovered, inscribed amphoras in a pantry used by the Roman troops in garrison at Masada still contained the remains of some fish. 5' A papyrus throws interesting light on the military diet. In the early second century Terentianus, a legionary stationed at Alexandria, wrote to apologize to his father for not meeting him and explained why: 52 'For it was at that time that so violent and dreadful an attack of fish poisoning made me ill, and for five days I was unable to drop you a line, not to speak of going to meet you. Not one of us was even able to leave the camp gate.' He said that he had now recovered from his illness, although in an earlier letter he wrote that he had had to be fed by others. The fish (maeotes)is described by Athenaeus, however, as being delicious. Vegetius recommended that, in the likelihood of a siege, poultry should be kept because it was both inexpensive to maintain and was beneficial for the sick. 53 However, it is highly probable that it was eaten as part of the regular military diet. The remains of chicken have been discovered at twenty-three of the military sites listed in Table 1.54 Duck and goose were also quite popular, and a large number of other birds were eaten, as can be seen from Table III, which lists the fowls discovered at eight sites. The auxiliary troops in Germany, whose commanders had frequently sent them out to capture white geese, whose feathers fetched a good price, will have eaten more than their share of goose.55 Another
Mich. 478, lines 8-13; cf. 477, lines 35-9; Athenaeus, vii, 309-12. 21, eating contaminated pork, see Saalburg-Jahrb. I963/64, 90-4.
52 P.

51 IEJ xv, I965, 76. 53 iv, 7.

For soldiers at Kunzing

54 Apart from those in Table III, chicken is attested at: Altenstadt, Butzbach, Caerleon (where there was also unidentified game bird), Caernarvon, Holt, Housesteads, Mumrills, Niederbieber, Red House, Rodgen, Rudchester, South Shields, Vindonissa, Wiesbaden, Zugmantel. Duck was eaten at Benwell. Some of the other ten sites from Table I will have produced chicken, but no record has been made in the analyses, which were devoted to animal bones. 55Pliny, JH x, 54. Goose represented one quarter of the birds eaten at Valkenburg. For fowling, see above, note 44.

THE

ROMAN

MILITARY

DIET

I3I

reason for keeping poultry was to provide eggs; egg shells have been discovered at Hofheim (in large numbers in the barracks) and at Vindonissa. A further indication of the food and drink consumed by Roman soldiers can be seen from the graffiti and tituli picti on amphoras found on military sites. The best collection comes from the first-century legionary fortress at Vindonissa. 56 Here examples have been discovered mentioning very mature wine from Surrentum in southern Italy (Surre(ntinum)perv(etus)), wine from Messina in Sicily (Mes(sanium) [(amphora)] XIII), and a third old wine is also attested, perhaps a form of fruit cocktail of wine infused on fruit (cond(itum)tinc(tum) [vinum] vet(us)). Wine was also imported from southern Gaul and Spain. Black olives preserved in wine-must (oliva nigra ex defr(uto)) were also eaten by the legionaries. Another titulus mentions thamni,which probably refers to tunny fish rather than an unidentified herb. Another vessel definitely carried beans, for its titulus records that it of contained eleven amphorae them (fab(ae) [amphora]XI). To sweeten their food, the Roman legionaries used honey, and a tituluspictus found at the fortress records the contents and weight of an amphora of honey (mel[. .] p(ondo) CLXXVI[ ). All Romans were fond of fish-sauces, especially garum, to put on their food; garum, however, was very expensive, and the legionaries used a cheaper but inferior variety called muria, although they chose the best of this type; a titulus mentions first-rate top-quality fish-sauce that was specially piquant (mur(ia) arg(uta) ex(cellens) flo(s)), as well as a variety whose quality was not stressed (m(uria) a(rguta) LXIIII). It seems, however, that they sometimes ate garum that had been watered down; Elagabalus is alleged to have been the first Roman at emperor to serve hydrogarum public banquets, which hitherto had been militaris
mensa. 57

Further information is provided by graffiti on amphoras discovered in Britain. One written in ink on the neck of an amphora discovered in the winecellar of the military stores-depot at Richborough mentions LYMP[A; this wine came from Mount Vesuvius and presumably was produced before A.D. 79.58 On one of the handles of an amphora at Newstead was scratched VIN(UM),59 while at Mumrills a vessel had contained sweet wine (GL VK[VS (OINOS)),6o and another at Caerleon Aminean wine (AMINE), a high-quality white wine.6i An amphora discovered at Carpow contained a wine flavoured with horehound IIPAZI[ON).62 Another discovered in Tower I6b on the Cumberland Coast had come from Esuris in Lusitania, and had contained something unsalted, One from Brough-on-Noe had perhaps conprobably olives (INSULSAI[I).63 tained plums (PRVN[A).64
56 ASA I926, i97ff; M. H. Callender, RomanAmphorae (I965) 37-41, to which add ASA I929, I84, no. 6. 57SHA, Elagabalusxxix, 5. 58 Bushe-Fox, op. cit. (note 47), 253-4; cf. ibid. pp. 6 and 50. Post and its People; theFort of Newsteadin the Parish of Melrose (i 9 I), 268. 59J. Curle, A RomanFrontier 60 oRS liv, 1964, I84, no. 40. 6I JRS lvi, I966, 224, no. 51. 62JRS liii, I963, i66, no. 5I. 63 RS xlv, 1955, 148, no. 25. 64 JRS liii, I963, i66, no. 50, as read by Prof. E. Birleyand myself.

10

132

R.

W.

DAVIES

Excavation at Dura-Europos, where the cohorsXX Palmyrenorum stationed, was has produced similar evidence for the food. A dipinto on one jar and a graffito on another seem to indicate the name of a soldier and the number of measures of white grain he had received for his rations. A dipinto on a sherd found in the palace of the dux shows that this vessel had been sent from the village of Banapel and had probably contained wine sent as part of the annona. Graffiti scratched on the walls round the pantry there mention hay and a list of dates in inverse order; another is a receipt for two different amounts of barley and also corn and contained at least thirty-seven tallies below it; another receipt records payment for new cheeses and another type of cheese.65 The diet of the Roman troops also included fruit and nuts. Among the few items that on campaign they were allowed to carry off, as mentioned in a military oath, were poma pabulum.66Vegetius advised that if there were any prospect of a siege, large quantities of fruit of various sorts should be collected and stored for food. 67 This is perhaps best illustrated in peace-time at Vindonissa, where the legionaries ate apples, pears, plums, cherries, peaches, grapes, and elderberries, as well as the sweet chestnut, walnut, hazelnut, and beechnut. The site also produced a vine stem and beeswax, perhaps indicating local supplies of honey. At Saalburg, where the garrison from the reign of Hadrian onwards was the cohorsII Raetorumc R the troops ate plums, damsons, wild cherries, peaches, walnuts, and hazelnuts, all of which could have been grown locally.68 At Masada some of the olives, pomegranates, grapes, dates, plums, and apricots discovered there will have been for eating by the Roman troops.69 In Britain an amphora of plums was probably sent from Spain to Brough-on-Noe.70 The troops at Newstead ate hazelnuts, and as it is known that the hazel was indigenous there in Roman times the nuts were presumably acquired locally; it is also known that brambles and wild strawberries grew near Newstead and the remains have been found in the fort. The troops at Bar Hill ate walnuts (probably grown locally because they were stunted) and hazelnuts. The legionaries at Holt ate hazelnuts and sloes, both of which were probably picked locally; the troops at Slack ate hazelnuts, those at Castleshaw hazelnuts and sloes.7' The auxiliary troops manning the fort at Caersws ate cherries and blackberries.72 The Roman army also ate vegetables of several varieties, but by far the most common were beans and lentils. They are mentioned in the list of food
65 rCS xiv, 1955, I89-9o, no. 200; 193, no. 214. The Excavations at Dura-Europos, Preliminary Report ix, Part 3, 1952, 56-7, no. 963; 50-I, no. 956; 52-5, no. 958; 53-5, no. 959. For delivery of wine as part of the annona,see SB 2074.

66 Cincius, De Re Militari v, quoted by Aulus Gellius xvi, 4,

67 iv 7.

2.

Cf. Herodian viii, v 3.

x, 68J. Baas, 'Die Obstarten aus der Zeit des r6merkastells Saalburg vdH', Saalburg-Jahrb. 1951, Saalburgbei Homburgv.d. Hohe correcting the identifications of Will in L. Jacobi, Das Romerkastell (1897), 539-48. 69 IEI xv, I965, I6 and 64. I owe confirmation of this to Prof. Y. Yadin.
I4-28,

71I. A. Richmond, Huddersfield Roman Times (I925) 66. in in Frontier Wales (I954) 55. Possibly cherries were eaten at ChesterV. E. Nash-Williams, The Roman holm, AA4 xlviii, 1970, 145. Frontinus, Strat. in xiv 2 records that a besieged town was supplied with nuts floated down stream. For other instances of soldiers and fruit, see notes 26, 85, 86, 90, 92.
72

70See note 64.

THE

ROMAN

MILITARY

DIET

I33

provided by villages of Egypt for the Roman army in A.D. i99,73 and a receipt on an ostracon, probably of the second half of the second century, records that they were supplied to the ala Heracliana,74 while sixty medimni of beans were provided by a man in a Macedonian town for the army.75 The legionaries at Vindonissa had beans,76 and Caesar is known to have given his men vegetables.77 Archaeology has yielded evidence to confirm the written sources for the supply of vegetables and cereals. Caersws has produced unidentified vegetable remains,78 Hofheim a vegetable that was probably peas as well as large quantities of wheat, Vindonissa peas, lentils and carrots, and Chesterholm cabbage.79 Cereals have been frequently found, often in large quantities: wheat at Saalburg, Castlecary, Westerwood, Ambleside, and Papcastle,80 barley at Ribchester, and both at Newstead. Burginatium (Altkalkar), an auxiliary fort of the late first century, produced a substantial quantity of wheat and smaller amounts of oats, rye, barley, spelt, and various grasses.8i Two sites, Neuss and Caerleon, have produced notable vegetable remains. In a store-hut in the military annexe, dated to the Flavian era and lying south of the fortress of Caerleon,82 the carbonized remains of various grains and other vegetable matter were discovered: cultivated barley and also a little wild barley, spelt, rye and wheat, while both cultivated and wild oats were found, apparently as weeds rather than food, and also lentils, horsebeans and various weeds. Most of these weeds were not indigenous to Britain, and so must have been imported with the cereals. Dr. Helbaek has concluded that the Romans probably intended to sow the lentils and rye, but that the grain was to be malted to make beer (cervesa).83 Clearly beer must have been a popular drink for the Roman troops; a discharged miles of the classis Germanicaset himself up to supply beer to the military market towards the end of the first century.8 4 Recent analysis of vegetable matter recovered from the legionary fortress of Neuss, which is mostly dated to the first century and often to before A.D. 69, has revealed a clear picture of the military diet. Quantities of wheat, barley, wild oats (probably used as fodder, as was hay and some other crops) were found, as well as broad beans, beans, lentils, garlic, and various salt plants (sorrel, nipplewort), plus grapes and elderberries and hazelnuts. Particularly noteworthy were four plants that had been deliberately introduced into Germany by the Romans: rice, chick-pea,
73PSI 683; see above, note 29. 74 WO 1013. 75See above, note 29. 76See above, notes 13 and 56. 77BC iii 47. 78See above, note 72. 79Information from Prof. E. Birley; cf. AA4 xlviii, 1970, 145. 80Castlecary, one hundred quarters: Sir George Macdonald, Roman Wall in Scotland (2nd edition, 1934) 453; Westerwood, a large quantity: ibid. 256; Ambleside, three inches deep in an area 25 ft. by 6 ft.: CW2 xxi, I92I, 3-4; Papcastle, up to 2 ft. deep in an area 36 ft. by 6 ft.: CW2 xxiv, 1924, 371-3. 81 Bonner7ahrb. I63, I963, 416-20. 83H. Helbaek, 'The Isca Grain, a Roman Plant Introduction in Britain', New Phytologist63, I964, 158-64. 84 AE I928, I83. Cf. ILS 2238 for the popularity of drink among the soldiery.
82_JRS xlix, 1959, 103.

I34

R.

W.

DAVIES

olive, and fig.85 However, perhaps the most interesting finds came from the camp hospital (valetudinarium).In addition to five medicinal plants, the remains of lentils, garden peas, and figs were discovered, all prescribed by medical authorities for a diet for invalids.86 Earlier excavation in the hospital had revealed evidence for a sick diet of meat, eggs, and oysters.87This confirms the statements of Vegetius that not only was poultry to be kept for the benefit of the sick but that they were to be brought back to health by means of an appropriate diet.88 This included wine; not a few barrels of special wine were imported from outside the local customs zone to the legionary fortress at Aquincum.89 A common way in which some soldiers supplemented the diet provided by the army was by asking for additional food from their relatives. Such letters reveal both what the soldier ate and what he wanted to eat. Perhaps the best instance is Claudius Terentianus,9o whose bout of fish-poisoning has already been mentioned. In the early second century he wrote to his father acknowledging receipt of two large loaves and some dates. A little later he wrote to his sister: 'Take every step to provide me with two ceramons-of the biggest size-of olyra and an artab of radish-oil. I sent you the marjoram with the oil.' Olyra is a type of grain and oil of radishes was used as a substitute for olive-oil. He also asked for some fresh asparagus to be sent to him. Earlier he had sent his father 'two amphoras of olives, one in brine and one black', which were the same as others he had sent, twenty Alexandrian loaves, and apples. Although several soldiers asked for monthly allowances as well as food, in most cases the money was not really needed to provide enought to eat, but only because the pay had been squandered on extravagances.9i On the road from Coptos to the Red Sea some three score of letters written on ostraca by soldiers have been found at Wadi Fawakhir.92 The letters of these auxiliary soldiers are almost without exception concerned with food. Valerius wrote to Julius about the purchase of barley; Lupercus had sent straw to Licinius and hoped to receive oil in return, and had also sent a salad plant called purslane; Rufus had sent Silvanus oil; someone said that he had received eight slices of salted fish but that Clemens had not received one artab of barley, a jar of mustard, or three matia of onions, but that the writer had in fact received a bundle of
aus 85 K.-H. Kn6rzer, R6merzeitliche Pflanzenfunde Neuss (Limesforschungen 10, 1970). Cf. id. in Bonner Jahrb. I62, 1962, 260-5; i64, i964, 202-14; i66, i966, 433-43. 86 Ibid. Cf. id., 'Romerzeitliche Heilkrauter aus Novaesium (Neuss/Rh.)', Sudhoffs Archivfur Gesch. derMedizin undderNaturwiss.47, I963, 31 I-6. 1 87 BonnerJahrb. 1/2 1904, I82. 88 iv, 7 cibis reficiantur. oportunis (and above, note 53); iii, 2 aegri contubernales 89 Bayerische 24, Vorgeschichtsbldtter 1959, 6-29, especially 23-4 and 29; AE 1933, 120. The wines from Caerleon and Carpow (see above, notes 6I and 62) had special medicinal properties; see R. W. Davies, 'Some Roman Medicine', Medical History xiv, no. I, January 1970, ioi-6; id., 'The Roman Military Medical Service', Saalburg-Jahrb. xxvii, 1970, 84-104, especially 92-3. 90 P. Mich. 478, lines 8-13 (and above, note 52); 476, line 7; 48I, lines 15-20 and 32; 467, lines 27-8; line 20; 470, line 3. For other private letters mentioning food for soldiers: P. Mich. 483, olive-oil; 468, P. Mich. 206, bread; P. Mich. 203, olives; BGU 814, oil and meat. 91P. Mich. 474, but Terentianus is able to spend lavishly on presents for his parents; BGU 814, but he spent money in buying a mule-cart; cf. P. Mich. 203. 92 0. Gu6raud, 'Ostraca grecs et latins de l'Wadi Fawakhir', BIFAO xli, 1942, 141-96. SB 9017. Cf. Chronique d'Egypte22, 1947, 152ff. Some of the readings are the writer's own, based on a study of the originals and the Greek Lexicon.

THE

ROMAN

MILITARY

DIET

I35

cabbages; another anonymous person wrote to Terentius and Atticus that he had received a bunch of radishes (a type used as a purge or emetic) and was sending gourds and citron. Antonius Proculus wrote to Valerianus to say that he had been hunting all species of wild animals and birds and had sent his catches to him via Cerealis; on the back of this letter gardening is mentioned. Someone and Apollinarius wrote to Priscus to acknowledge receipt of a bundle of cabbage (a different type) and a bunch of eating-grapes. Someone sent an empty bag with apologies for not having found anything to put in it, while someone else asked for fodder to feed his horse, plus half an artab of something and condiments. Thermouthis asked Orion to draw the other half artab of corn from the granary, add half a mation to it, and send it to Menandros. Longinus had received several matia of mustard, and asked a friend to buy him half a congius of radish-oil and the same amount of something else. Castor Chesthotes asked his friend to give the soldier Papirius, who delivered the letter, as much wine as he wanted, and also some little sacks, presumably with food inside them. Harbekis had received kidney-beans and probably other vegetables; Capito was sending Silurius Priscus five artabs of something; Parabolos asked Zosimes and Schyras to send an artab of barley. Papirius sent six obols to Demetrous in payment for vegetables that had been sent. Turanis asked his father Antonius to get him an artab of barley; reference is also apparently made to tunny fish (small ones) and the herb all-heal. Someone wrote to Niger mentioning a wine-measure and a suckingpig, Valerius mentioned an artab of barley and coconuts, an anonymous person cabbage and perhaps flat fish, while Germanus is apparently mentioned in connection with vegetables, and someone else in connection with cooked fish. The most interesting of the letters are a set of five from Rustius Barbarus to his friend Pompeius.93 In a fragmentary one he mentions bread and a basket, in another bread and salt. However, the other three are better preserved: 'Rustius Barbarus to Pompeius, greetings. Why on earth haven't you written back to me, if you received the loaves ? I sent you 15 loaves by Popilius and Dutuporis and also 15 loaves-and a jar-by Draco, the carter. You used up four matia! I sent you 6 loaves by Thiadices, the trooper, who said he could take them. Please get some weights-as beautiful as possible-made for my personal use and write to me so that in payment for them I can make you some bread or send you the money, whichever you prefer. I want you to know that I'm getting married. As soon as I am, I'll write to you straight away to come.' 'Rustius Barbarus to Pompeius, greetings. First of all I pray that you are in good health. Why do you write me such a nasty letter? Why do you think I am so thoughtless? If you did not send me the green vegetables so quickly, must I immediately forget your friendship? I'm not like that, or thoughtless either. I think of you, not as a pal, but as a twin brother, the same flesh and blood. It's a term I give you quite often in my letters, but you think of me in a different light. I have received bunches of cabbage and one cheese. I have sent you by Arrianus, the trooper, a box, inside which is one cake and a denarius (?)wrapped in a small cloth. Please buy me a matiumof salt and send it to me without delay, because I want to bake some bread.'
93 Ibid. nos. I-5 = CPL 303-7.

I36

R.

W.

DAVIES

'. . for I will give for him to bring . . . I have received i bunch of beetroot and you write to me about [ ] and salt, if I need any . .. Because I need it on a holiday and I have sent you an oil jar to send me 6 cotyliof oil, either castor-oil or radish-oil. Take care to write and tell me the cost to you, so that I can pay you like a pal. Tell Serapias that if she wants to receive I5 denarii,I'll bring them to her. Regards to Sertorius.' Apparently Rustius was preparing some special fare for a meal to be eaten quia in die festo. Special deductions were made from the pay of the legionaries for saturnaliciumk(astrense)94 and from auxiliary cavalrymen for epulum.95In the case of the legionaries the cost for the food for the seven-day festival of twenty drachmas was exactly one quarter of the total deduction for food for a period of four months; clearly the food consumed at such feasts must have been of high quality and in abundance. It is clear that a large number of men in each unit of the Roman army would be concerned, permanently or temporarily, in some way with the collection or distribution of food for the troops or with making the necessary charges, payments, and records.96 Perhaps this is best seen at Dura-Europos; here the files of cohors XX Palmyrenorum record men employed on the tasks of collecting, purchasing, or escorting supplies of corn, food, barley and banqueting food.97 conveying Special arrangements had to be made at times; thus at Pselcis an optio issued the monthly allowance of corn and commissariat officials issued wine or the money for it to auxiliary troops on outpost duty here; as the cost of the wine varies considerably, it seems clear that different types and qualities of wine were being sold.98 The evidence for the military diet, including meat and cereals, shows that the food the soldier ate was remarkably similar to that of civilians. There is no difference, for example, between the meat from domesticated and wild animals, poultry, oysters, edible snails and fish eaten by the legionaries at Vindonissa in the first century A.D. and that eaten by the civilians at Augusta Raurica, while the evidence of tituli picti for various other items of food is remarkably similar.99 Detailed analysis of the bones discovered at the legionary fortress at
94 See above, note 28. 95P. Hamb. 39 (three examples); P. Dura 66 ii, line 3, and P. Dura 105, frag. b, col. i, line 9, as restored by the writer in BASP v, no. i, March I968, 32-3. 96The commanding officer had overall responsibility: Vegetius ii, 9; iii, 3; Dig. xlix, i6, I2; cf. P. Dura 6i and below, note io6. There were legionary quartermasters: mensorfrumenti (CIL v 936 = ILS tritici (ILS 9091). For the acquisition of grain: thefrumentarii in their 2423; AE I917-I8, 29) and mensor (CLA 7, col. IV b, line 5; CLA 203 = P. Lond. original capacity, cf. [Caesar], BG viii, 35; the conductores 482). For the acquisition and supervision of supplies of meat, see above, notes 37-46. librarii (Dig. 1, 6, 7); clerks, librarii (SB For records and receipts: clerks of the granaries, horreorum (SB 9204; SB 6968; 0. Tait 2016; P. Hamb. 39; P. Wisconsin 6971 = 0. Tait 2017); accountants, curatores 14; P. Dura 82, col. i, line 7; CIL viii 2094 = ILS 25I8); chief accountant, summuscurator(P. Hamb. 39). For soldiers detached in connection with supplies, see CLA 7, passim; PSI 1307, col. ii, line 23; P. Mich. 478, line 8; Pliny, Epistulaex 27; and examples cited above, notes io and i i, below, notes 97 and 98. Daris, op. cit., nos. 38-65, contains a useful collection of these documents. Final at 97 C. Bradford Welles, Robert 0. Fink, and J. Frank Gilliam, The Excavations Dura-Europos, and Reportv, Part i: The Parchments Papyri (I959), index, s.v. Cf. also the writer's restorations. l.c., note 95. 98 Claire Pr6aux, 'Ostraca de Pselkis de la Bibliotheque Bodleenne', Chronique d'ltgypte 26, I95I, 12 1-55. The ostraca are published in various places: WO 1128-46, I265; SB 6953-76; 0. Tait 2003-41 Etudes de Papyrologieviii, 1957, cf. Classical Review 33, 1919, 49ff; Chronique d'tgypte 28, 1953, I44-6; 5 1. The exception among these ostraca is SB 6967, a receipt for the cost of lentils, salt, and vin ordinaire. For the same rate of one artab of cereal per man per month, see CLA 275 (note I I). 99Jahresbericht StiftungPro AugustaRaurica, I964, vi-vii. Callender, o.c. (note 56). der

THE

ROMAN

MILITARY

DIET

137

Lauriacum of the second and third centuries reveals the same preference for beef in particular, and also pork, lamb, and goat as the civilians in the nearby town had at the same time.00oo In many parts of the Empire the soldiers must have been better fed than the local civilians; thus the diet revealed by archaeology of the British forts is on a par with that eaten in the towns, villas and RomanoBritish settlements, and often superior.II0 The food was adequate in quantity and quality: the soldier hero of the tale related by Eumolpus had enough food and drink for his cenulato feed two starving women also;IO2 scurvy is attested only once in the Roman army, and that in most exceptional circumstances, where even so the medical service had a cure for it.Io3 The scale of the logistics and the efficiency of the organization is most impressive: the diverse countries of origin of the wine supplied to Vindonissa and Britain; supplies sent to Neuss from the far end of the Empire; the territorium Vetera could produce I,500 tons of corn at in one year, or two pounds per day for a year for 6,ooo men;Io4 the men collecting the 20,000 artabs of barley for one unit's annual needs would on average have issued 104 receipts, each one in quadruplicate.Io5 A military legal writer lists among the duties of any commanding officer:0o6 'to be present at the meal times of the soldiers, to test the quality of the food, to keep the quartermasters from cheating.' Perhaps the best tribute to the army of the Principate, on campaign or in peace100 aus von Helga Baas, Die Tierknochenfunde den spdtromischen Siedlungsschichten Lauriacum,i. Die Rinderknochen(I966) passim, especially 3, 64-9. This is a doctoral dissertion at Munich University, knowledge of which I owe to Prof. Dr. J. Boessneck. For analyses from civilian sites on the Continent, see: S. E. Kuss, 'Tierreste aus romischen Brunnen von Pforzheim', Beitr2ge zur Naturkundlichen Forschungin Sudwestdeutschland I958, i66-73. K. Waldmann, Die Knochenfunde der Colonia Ulpia Traiana (I967); aus I7, Bonner Jahrb. I63, 1963, 420-3 (Altkalkar and Colonia Ulpia Traiana); I67, 1967, 338-46 (Colonia Ulpia Traiana). F. Staehelin, Die Schweiz in romischer Zeit (third edition, I948) 439-40 (various). A. T. Clason, Animal and Man in Holland's Past (I967) 22-3 (Vlaardingen). 101 For analyses and references, see AA4 xlvi, I968, I37-8, and I56-6o. To these may be added: Arch.Camb.cii, 1I953, i 60-3 (Llantwit Major); G. C. Boon, RomanSilchester(I957) I63-73; G. W. Meates, Roman Villa (I955) 12I-4; id., Lullingstone Roman Villa (1963) 44; A. T. Morley Hewitt, Roman Lullingstone Villa, West Park, Rockbourne 2I; M. R. Hull, RomanColchester (I958) I45, i89; A. C. C. Brodribb, (1969) A. R. Hands, and D. R. Walker, Excavations Shakenoak (I968); J. S. Wacher, Excavations Brough-onat i at Humber, I958-6I (1969) 22I-4, 23I-3. It will be interesting to see the analyses that Mr. G. Hodgson will publish on the bones from the Flavian-Trajanic, Antonine, third and fourth century forts and civilian settlement (vicus) at Chesterholm; cf. AA4, xlviii, I970, 147-55. 102Petronius, Satyricon cxi-cxii. 103 Davies, Saalburg-Jahrb. xxvii, 1970, 92 cites the evidence. 104 Petrikovits, o.c. 65-6, for an estimated length of not less than 7 miles and width of not less than 2 miles; the military units in Lower Germany also had the use of a large part of the North Eifel and the land on the right bank of the Rhine for a considerable distance. Calculations on the yield per acre of the native farms in pre-Roman Britain show that the 500 bushels of corn that a legion would need in a week could not be grown on an area less than 70 acres; I. A. Richmond (ed.), Romanand Native in North Britain (I96I) 23. Recent calculations have given the figure of 530,000 bushels of corn as the annual requirements of the military forces of Britain, the total produce of an area of Io6,ooo acres; A. L. F. Rivet (ed.), The RomanVilla in Britain (I969) I95-7. It seems probable that the Fens were drained, perhaps in the time of Hadrian, to become an important source of corn for the military North; cf. Sheppard Frere,

notes 8 and io. The eight examples where the amount has survived give an average of I92 artabs per receipt. SB 10497 has an equesissuing a receipt in triplicate to the village authorities and in to the strategos. duplicate 1o6Dig. xlix, 16, 12. P. Dura 61 is a fragmentary letter from the governor to the commander of cohors XX Palmyrenorum giving instructions concerning the prescribed regulations that were to be observed over the unit'sfrumentatio;it appears to conclude with references to supplying, utensils, a measure of five ... corn, sickles, and sieves.

Britannia (I967)
105 See

275-7.

R. W. DAVIES I38 time or even during the rare mutinies, is that there is no recorded complaint about the Roman military diet.

APPENDIX It has frequently been stated that the armies of Julius Caesar and the early Principate lived exclusively on corn, and never ate meat unless forced to by starvation, and even then with the greatest reluctance.Io7 This view is far from the truth; there are numerous literary references to Roman armies before and after that period eating other grains, vegetables, and meat, and this evidence is supported by that of archaeology, epigraphy, and the papyri. It was the difficulties that faced a large, mobile army in arranging vast quantities of fresh meat and vegetables, not inborn vegetarianism or religious convictions, that explain why Caesar's army ate corn. Corn was easily obtained almost everywhere, could be stored in bulk, would keep in different climates, and could be made into a variety of dishes. Apicius in his cookery book notes that in summer meat could be kept without salting only for a few days.io8 When Scipio reintroduced military discipline to the army at Numantia in I34 B.C., he ordered that the only way the troops could eat their meat was by roasting or boiling it; for this purpose he reduced the number of cooking utensils to the standard three: a spit, a boiling-pan, and a cup. The evening meal was always either roast or boiled meat.io9 Similarly, Q. Caecilius Metellus Numidicus ruled in I 09 B.C. that the only way the soldiers could eat their meat was either roasted or boiled.Io In both cases it should be noted that the troops ate meat as part of their normal diet, and both generals were used as models by Hadrian, when he would eat camp fare with his men."', Sallust notes that in I I I B.C. Roman forces received cattle, and four years later they still had large numbers of cattle, on which they lived exclusively for a week without any trouble.II2 Polybius notes that the acorns of Italy were used to feed a large number of pigs, which were slaughtered specifically for the army.II3 In his description of the camp of the Roman army there was a place specifically reserved for cattle.II4 Varro records that the army of the Republic gave names to two types of haggis, which were found in different parts of Italy."5 The only 'evidence' from the early Principate for a distaste by the soldiers for meat is a description of the army under Corbulo in A.D. 59; this passage has
107 E.g. H. M. D. Parker, The RomanLegions (I928) 220: 'Meat was not often found on the menu, and Tacitus represents the soldiers at the siege of Tigranocerta as only resorting to the flesh of animals The passages quoted below, notes I I6, I I9-22, are usually cited when compelled by absolute starvation.' to support this view.
I08
I09 II0

I, vii

i. 2.

I1 II3 ''4

112Jugurtha 29 and 9o-1.

" ii, 15. vi, 31.

Appian, Iberica85. Cf. Frontinus, Strat. iv, i I; Polyaenus, Strat. VIII, xvi Frontinus, Strat. IV, i 2. SHA, Hadrianusx, 2; see above, note I8.

5 de LinguaLatina v, I i i.

THE

ROMAN

MILITARY

DIET

I39

been taken out of its context, and even so, it is almost certain that Tacitus is here imitating the language of Caesar:116 'Corbulo and his army, although they had suffered no losses in battle, were worn out by shortages and exertion and were driven to ward off hunger by eating the flesh of animals. Moreover, water was short, the summer was long . . . Finally, they reached cultivated land and harvested the crops.' Under such appalling conditions and in the middle of the desert, when they almost certainly had no salt to season the meat or wood to cook it, it is hardly surprising that the soldiers were not exactly one hundred per cent enthusiastic at eating carne pecudum (probably sheep which they would first have to catch); any foodinfection would destroy the army in a matter of hours. In 151 B.C. Roman troops, physically exhausted, had fed on foreign food and excessive quantities of meat cooked without salt, and had consequently become ill.17 The troops of Germanicus, shipwrecked on inhospitable shores in A.D. I6, ate horsemeat because there was no other supply of food.II8 It is also necessary to examine the instances, where the army of Caesar is supposed to have been very reluctant to eat meat. In 52 B.C. Vercingetorix adopted a scorched earth policy against Caesar; the crops were not ripe, all stores and granaries were burnt down, the scattered Roman foraging parties were successfully cut down, and the nearest tribes gave Caesar no grain :"9 'Because of the poverty of the Boii, the slackness of the Aedui, and the burning of the barns, the army was in great difficulties over the supply of grain, to such an extent that for several days the soldiers were without grain and drove cattle in from the more distant villages and so held out against great hunger. However, there was no outcry at all from the men.' Caesar simply states the obvious fact that the only food that the army could get for a considerable distance from where they were was cattle, and so the soldiers were forced to have an all-meat diet for several days. Later that year the rebel Aedui captured Noviodunum, where Caesar had stored all his grain and equipment; the grain was taken away or destroyed by the rebels. However, by means of forced marches the Romans reached the swollen Loire, which they managed to cross safely. The enemy had thought the river impassable and so had not bothered to remove the frumentumque agris et pecoriscopiam:120 in obtained a supply of grain in the fields and large quantities of cattle, 'The army with which it restocked itself.' Caesar's men did not have second thoughts about taking both cattle-in large quantities-and corn. At Dyrrachium Caesar's men ran out of supplies offrumentum and the corn was not yet ripe; accordingly he offered his men other forms
of food :21

'The men did not object when they were issued with barley or vegetables. Indeed meat, of which there was a plentiful supply from Epirus, they held in great esteem.
i6 Ann. xiv, 24. Parker, o.c. incorrectly states that this took place at the siege of the town. I7 See above, note 24. 118 Tacitus, Ann. ii, 24. 9 BG vii, 17. 12 BG vii, 56. I2I BC iii, 47-8.

I40

R.

W.

DAVIES

The men who had been with Valerius discovered a type of root called chara which, when mixed with milk, greatly eased the shortage of supplies. There was plenty of this and they made a sort of bread out of it.' Although barley was normally given to soldiers as a punishment, vegetables were certainly not issued for this purpose. Of a vegetarian army it could never be said pecus .. . magno in honorehabebant.The use of large numbers of cattle to supply meat and milk caused little comment. Similarly, in the campaigns at Lerida, when the stock of corn from the previous year had been exhausted, the present crop was not yet ripe, and heavy rains had cut off supplies from all other sources, Caesar had no qualms at all in considering using meat to feed his army.122 To increase his popularity, when he was Dictator, Caesar distributed meat to the people of Rome, as well as grain and oil. 23 As the people in the city and the soldiers in his army were of the same social background it is very unlikely that Caesar would have made such a gift and thus jeopardized his popularity, if there had been such a universal distaste for meat among the Italians at that time. Within a few months of Caesar's death a Roman general slaughtered and salted all the cattle he could find in anticipation of a siege.I24 Similarly, Hirtius in 43 B.C. supplied a besieged force with food by floating the carcases of pecora down stream and also salt packed in jars to preserve the meat. 25 Herod had provided livestock among supplies for Roman troops in 38 B.C.; his actions were designed to gain the support of Silo and his men, and he was too astute a person to have provided Roman soldiers with a food which was repulsive to them.126 At the fort at R6dgen, which was occupied in the last decade of the first century B.C., bones from pits which contained only Augustan material consisted of thirty-eight examples of oxen, thirty of pig, twenty-two of sheep and goats, eight of red deer, two of roe deer, and one of chicken.,27 The picture is similar at other early forts.128 Theferiale Duranumhas its origins in the feriale instituted by Augustus ;29 although the number of oxen and cows that had to be slaughtered at the various sacrifices increased in the course of the Principate, there can be little doubt that once the ceremony was over, the troops would eat the carcases as beef. Indeed, Josephus records that at the celebrations after the capture of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 :30 'When all had been rewarded as he thought each had deserved, Titus offered prayers for the whole army. He then stood down to thunderous applause and turned his attention to the sacrifices in honour of his victory. A large herd of oxen were assembled at the altars and he sacrificed all of them and distributed the meat to the army for a banquet.'
22
I23 124

Appian, BC iii, 49. See above, note 26. Frontinus, Strat. iii, xiv 3-4. See above, note 25. I 27 Only groups 61/19, 6 /55a, 61/41 are used as evidence here. and ValkenI28 Hod Hill and Waddon Hill are both Claudian, Hofheim is pre-Flavian, Vindonissa burg first-century; many of the British examples were first occupied in Flavian times; Red House was occupied only for a short time towards the end of the first century. I29 See above, note 40. I30 Ibid. Watkin, o.c. records: 'Tradition also records a singular discovery at Ribchester, viz., the skull of an ox, covered with some remains of leather and studded with gold. It is very possible that such a preparation might have been used for some sacrificial purpose.'
25 126

Suetonius, Julius 38.

BC i, 48 and 52.

THE

ROMAN

MILITARY

DIET

I41

The Roman authorities went to some lengths to ensure an adequate supply of meat for the troops. At the first-century fort of Asciburgium (Moers-Asberg) the soldiers fed on meat that was domesticated (oxen, sheep, and pigs only), including one breed that had been specially imported.I3' At Valkenburg the troops ate a native breed of pig and another that they had bred themselves at the site. A waxed tablet dated to 9 September, A.D. 29, refers to the purchase of a cow by a party of soldiers for I pieces, but unfortunately the details are not 15
clear. I32
BIBLIOGRAPHY xxix, 1967, 79-8I. Saalburg-Jahrb. G. Macdonald and A. Park, The RomanForts on the Bar Hill (I906) 126-9. AA4 v, I928, 74; vii, 1I930, 130. for NewcastleCourant 28 Feb., I879, 15. R. E. M. Wheeler, The Roman Fort near Brecon (T Cymmrodor xxxvii, i926)
250-I.

Altenstadt Bar Hill Benwell Binchester Brecon Butzbach Caerleon Caernarvon Chester Chesters Corbridge Elslack High Rochester Hod Hill Hofheim Holt Housesteads Mumrills Newstead Niederbieber Red House Ribchester Rodgen Rudchester Saalburg South Shields Stockstadt Turrets of Hadrian's Wall Valkenburg Vindonissa Waddon Hill Wiesbaden Zugmantel

xviii, I959/6o, 67-Io8. Saalburg-7ahrb. Arch. Camb. lxxxiv, 1929, 304-5 (Jenkin's Field); lxxxv, 1930, 195 (eastern corner); lxxxvii, 1932, 341-9 (Prysg Field); xcv, 1940, 151 (Myrtle Cottage); lxxviii, 1928, 214-5 (amphitheatre). Archaeologia R. E. M. Wheeler, Segontium and the Roman Occupation Wales (r Cymmrodor of
xxxiii, 1923) I70-I.

AAA vi, no. 4, 164 (Infirmary Field); xi, no. 2, 85-6 (Deanery Field); xviii, no. 3-4, 146-7 (Deanery Field); CAJ xxvii, i928, 79 (Hunter Street); xxxviii, 1950, 37-8 (Goss Street). J. Collingwood Bruce, Handbookto the Roman Wall (I2th edition, revised by Sir Ian Richmond) (1966) 9I. AA3 vii, I9II, 78-125; AA4 xlvi, I968, I27-62. AA4, forthcoming (analysis of recent excavations by G. Hodgson). rA7 xxi, 1911, 166-7. AAz i, 1857, 85. I. A. Richmond, Hod Hill, vol. ii (1968). E. Ritterling, Das Friihromische Lager bei Hofheimim Taunus (I913) I94-8. W. F. Grimes, Holt, Denbighshire:the Works-Depot the TwentiethLegion at of Castle Lyons (2 Cymmrodor I930), i85-6. xli, AA 2 xxv, 1904, 299. PSAS lxiii, 1929, 568-73. J. Curle, A RomanFrontierPost and its People; the Fort of Newsteadin the Parish of Melrose (I911) 353-79. Saalburg-Jahrb. 1924, 136-44. v,
AA4 xxxvii,

( J. H. Hopkinson, The RomanFort at Ribchester 91i). Saalburg-Jahrb. 1962, 46-53. xx,

AA4 i, I925, 28.

1959, 168.

L. Jacobi, Das Ro'merkastell Saalburg bei Homburgv.d. Ho'he (I897) 539-51;

144-58.

Trans. Nat. Hist. Soc. of Northumberland Durham vii, I878, I46-8; AA4 and forthcoming (analysis of recent excavations by G. Hodgson). v, Saalburg-Jahrb. 1924, 13I-6. AA9 xliii, I965, I93-200; AA9, forthcoming (analysis of recent excavations G. Hodgson). by A. T. Clason, Animal and Man in Holland's Past (I967). C. Simonett, Fuhrerdurchdas Vindonissa-Museum Brugg (I949). in Proc. of the DorsetNat. Hist. and Arch. Soc. lxxxvi, 1965, i42ff.
ORL IIB 3I (I909)
I3I-2.

Saalburg-Jahrb. v, 1924, io6-22,

v, Saalburg-Jahrb. 1924, 122-31.

131

132 See

77, Zeitschr.fur Tierzichtungund iichtungsbiologie 1961, 62-73. above, note 38.

I42
AA2-4 AAA AE AJP Antiq. Journ. Arch.Camb. ASA BASP BGU BIFAO Bonner Jahrb. CAJ CIL CLA CPL CW2 Dig. Epigr. Stud. Etud. Pap. FIRA IEJ ILS JRS 0. Gueraud ORL 0. Tait P. Amh. P. BeattyPanop. PBSR P. Dura P. Gen. lat. P. Grenf. P. Hamb. P. Lond. P. Mich. P. Oxy. PSAS PSI P. Wisconsin RE Rev. Phil. RIB Saalburg-Jahrb. SB WO rAJ rCS

R.

W.

DAVIES

ABBREVIATIONS Aeliana (second to fourth series) Archaeologia and Annalsof Archaeology Anthropology Liverpool Annde Epigraphique American Journal of Philology Antiquaries Journal Cambrensis Archaeologia Altertumskunde Anzeiger Schweizerische fiir Bulletin of the American Societyof Papyrologists Urkunden denkoeniglichen aus Urkunden Berlinergriechische (staatlichen) (Aegyptische Museenzu Berlin) 1895orientale Bulletinde l'Institutfranfais d'archeologie Bonner Jahrbiicher and Architectural Archaeological Society Journal of Chester Latinarum1863Inscriptionum Corpus A. Bruckner and R. Marichal, ChartaeLatinaeAntiquiores(Basle, St. Gaily) 1954Latinarum(Wiesbaden, 1958) R. Cavenaille, CorpusPapyrorum and Archaeological Society and Transactions Cumberland Westmorland Antiquarian of (new series) Digesta Studien Epigraphische Etudesde Papyrologie Fontes Iuris Romani Antejustiniani (second edition) 1940-43 Israel Exploration Journal LatinaeSelectae1892-1916 H. Dessau, Inscriptiones Journal of RomanStudies 0. Gu6raud 'Ostraca grecs et latins de l'wadi Fawakhir', BIFAO xli, I942, 141-96 Limes 0. von Sarwey, F. Hettner, et al., Der obergermanisch-raetische des Romerreiches1894at in Ostraca theBodleianLibrary Oxford(London) J. G. Tait and C. Preaux, Greek 1930Papyri (London, I900-oI) B. P. Grenfell and A. S. Hunt, The Amherst T. C. Skeat, The BeattyPanopolisPapyri (London, 1970) Papersof the British Schoolat Rome at Final C. B. Welles, R. 0. Fink, J. F. Gilliam, The Excavations Dura-Europos, and Report V, Part I: The Parchments Papyri (New Haven, 1959) J. Nicole and C. Morel, Archivesmilitairesdu Ier siecle (Geneva, 1900) B. P. Grenfell and A. S. Hunt, New Classical Fragmentsand Other Greek and Latin Papyri (GreekPapyri, seriesII) (Oxford, 1897) der P. M. Meyer et al., GriechischePapyrusurkunden HamburgerStaats- und Universitdtsbibliothek (Leipzig-Berlin, 1911-24) F. G. Kenyon and H. I. Bell, GreekPapyri in the British Museum: Catalogue with Texts (London, I893-1917) C. C. Edgar, A. E. R. Boak, J. G. Winter, et al., Papyri in the Universityof ) MichiganCollection(Ann Arbor, 1931Papyri (London, B. P. Grenfell, A. S. Hunt, H. I. Bell, et al., The Oxyrhynchus ) I898Scotland of Proceedings the Societyof Antiquaries of G. Vitelli, M. Norsa, et al., Papiri greci e latini (Publicazioni della Societa ricercadei papiri greci e latini in Egitto (Florence, 1912- ) Italianaper la Collection (Wisconsin, I967) of P. J. Sijpesteijn, Papyriin the University Wisconsin Altertumswissender A. Pauly, G. Wissova, et al., Real-Encyclopddie klassischen schaft, 1894Revuede Philologie of R. G. Collingwood and R. P. Wright, The RomanInscriptions Britain, vol. I: on Inscriptions Stone (Oxford, 1965) Saalburg-Jahrbuch aus griechischerUrkunden Agypten, F. Preisigke, F. Bilabel, et al., Sammelbuch und Ostrakaaus Aegypten Nubien (Leipzig-Berlin, 1899) U. Wilcken, Griechische rorkshireArchaeological Journal rale ClassicalStudies
I913-

Sunderland of College Education,