New data on Italian allies

[Duncan Head]

A propos of the discussion in http://soa.org.uk/sm/index.php?topic=6340.0 on figures for Italian allies in the Republican Roman armies, I've been reading Michael Eichberg's Scutum: Die Entwicklung Einer Italisch-Etruskischen Schildform Von Den Anfaengen Bis Zur Zeit Caesars. Amongst his catalogue of evidence is a 3rd-century Apulian (Canosan) painted krater from the Museo Civico, Foggia. It shows a picture of a warrior carrying a big Roman-style scutum and (probably) a spear; he has  no body-armour but wears what is clearly a crestless Montefortino helmet; he may have greaves, but the old monochrome photo is not clear enough to be certain.  The combination of scutum and Montefortino with no crest seems to be quite common for non-Roman Italian troops, presumably allies of Rome, at this period; presumably therefore, the three-feather crest that Polybios described (and is illustrated on the Egadi Islands shipwreck rams and elsewhere) was indeed a distinction of Roman citizen troops.

I haven't been able to find this particular vase-painting online. There are, however, a couple more here and here (you may need to go through the thumbnails to find the side of the vase with the soldier on), which are very much in the same style and show warriors who are similar except that instead of the Montefortino helmet, they have white-crested Italo-Attic or Chalcidian helmets. These are dated "end of 4th-3rd century" which might mean that they are slightly earlier than the one in Eichberg, but I wouldn't put too much reliance on that. If it's correct, though, we could be seeing a progressive adoption of Roman equipment - first the shield, then the helmet.

[Swampster]

Is there anything to say that this is a Roman innovation spreading to other tribes? Especially the shields.

Is the B&W image this?
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT2-C5pCRrXFVFEXWw9WItBmhgadeCwrorwKg&usqp=CAU

One handy feature of these kraters - and the Capuan fresco - is the shields are pretty plain. I like painting pretty patterns on shields but I think there is a bit of a painters' obsession with having colourful designs on big shields. It is good to have evidence of the opposite.


Have you read Panoply and Identity during the Roman Republic?
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/papers-of-the-british-school-at-rome/article/abs/panoply-and-identity-during-the-roman-republic/86039DD53481F5ADDD19FE28ECEBF941
I haven't, but google images show it has a range of pictures which may be of interest. It would be interesting as well to see what is used to support the idea of the equipment being pretty much all of Celtic origin.

[Duncan Head]

Is there anything to say that this is a Roman innovation spreading to other tribes? Especially the shields.

Only relative chronologies, I think; Romans adopt the scutum definitively in the 4th century, the "Camillan" changes; south-Italian art is still mostly showing round shields in the 4th century, scuta seem to become much commoner in the third. It seems to synchronize roughly with the spread of Roman power. Nothing necessarily new, seems to be increasing standardization.

Is the B&W image this?
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT2-C5pCRrXFVFEXWw9WItBmhgadeCwrorwKg&usqp=CAU

Nothing like it - that one's Etruscan, or Faliscan according to this paper (fig.28) and probably a Gaul.

Have you read Panoply and Identity during the Roman Republic?
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/papers-of-the-british-school-at-rome/article/abs/panoply-and-identity-during-the-roman-republic/86039DD53481F5ADDD19FE28ECEBF941
I haven't, but google images show it has a range of pictures which may be of interest. It would be interesting as well to see what is used to support the idea of the equipment being pretty much all of Celtic origin.

Not seen that one. But I am beginning to think that the "Celtic origin" is over-simplified: Italians were using the scutum (mixed with other shields) for centuries before the Gauls, the Montefortino helmet seems to be an Etruscan bronze copy of Celtic iron models...

[Swampster]

I'm currently pondering whether to replace the round shields which came with my W&E Etruscans with pila. I have a couple of spare scuta from Xyston to see if they look okay. Xyston do two types of scutum - the 187 variant are smaller but may still look too big.