| 113 A.D. |
Trajan's Column, scenes XVIII and XIX. Shows soldier's tents
behind a small wall - obviously at least two poles plus ridge pole. Tents
have rectangular pattern consistent with small rectangles of leather. A
single tent (probably the centurion's) has a low-pitched roof and box-frame
construction. |
Trajan's Column A.D. 113, the square of the Forum of Trajan, Rome.
The encampment is being built in scenes XVIII and XIX.
Tents feature in several locations on the column but are best visible
in the scene where the Dacian prisoners are dragged in front of the emperor. |
Johnson, A., Roman Forts, London, 1983, p. 7. |
|
Two wall tents with segmented roofs are clearly visible, the roof appears
to over hang the walls. |
“Scene from Trajan’s Column showing tented enclosure with a gateway
defended by a clavicula (scene CXXVIII).” |
Johnson, A., Roman Forts, London, 1983, p. 50. |
|
Humble section 5 in more detail. The rings attached to each section
line on the roof appear to be a ‘two’ point guy rope attachment. |
“Scene from Trajan’s Column showing tents within a fortified enclosure
(scene XXI).” |
Johnson, A., Roman Forts, London, 1983, p. 166. |
|
The picture shows six section of the column, from the top down, sections
three to six show Roman tents.
Section 4; Three wall tents inside a stone wall, roof line delineated
and appears to have multiple guy ropes along the walls. According to Johnson
p. 64 this is scene (XI).
Section 5; Three wall tents inside a stone wall, one large tent and
two smaller ones, roof section divided up into small squares, door ways
visible at the short side of the rectangular tent. According to Johnson
p. 158 this is scene (XL).
Section 6; One wall tent inside a circular stone wall with the heads
of two legionnaires poking up from just inside the gate, similar in design
to the tents mention above.
This picture is a close view of section 4 (scene XI). Rings appear above
the top centre of the door at where it meets the roof, at the corners of
the tent and at each section along the wall. Other similar tents are perceivable
in the background but without much detail evident. |
“Detailed carvings such as these on Trajan’s column in Rome tell us
much about the Roman Army of the second century A.D.” |
Humble, R., Warfare in the Middle Ages, London, 1989, p. 9.
Humble, R., Warfare in the Middle Ages, London, 1989, p. 14.
Ramage, N. & A., Roman Art - Romulus to Constantine, Second
ed., Laurence King Publishing, 1995, (fig 6.13).
Picture
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