Soldiers, families and the Vindolanda tablets
Who built the Wall, who manned it, what they ate and drank, and the women and children who lived there too.
Legionaries and auxiliaries
Legionaries were Roman citizens; auxiliaries were not, and were recruited from peoples Rome had conquered. North East Museums: Arbeia, the barracks (learning page) An auxiliary could become a Roman citizen after years of loyal service. North East Museums: Arbeia, the barracks (learning page)
Mainly built by legionaries, the Wall was manned by auxiliaries, in regiments nominally 500 or 1,000 strong. English Heritage: History of Hadrian’s Wall The Wall was built almost entirely by soldiers of Britain’s three legions: the Second (Caerleon), the Sixth (York) and the Twentieth (Chester). English Heritage: Hadrian’s Wall FAQs
The British Museum estimates Britain in AD 100 had around 30,000 auxiliaries and about 15,000 legionaries. British Museum: The Vindolanda tablets
Auxiliaries carried oval shields; legionaries had curved rectangular ones. North East Museums: Arbeia, the barracks (learning page) Legionaries used a short sword called a gladius and a large shield. English Heritage: Hadrian’s Wall, History and Stories
All Roman soldiers wore cloaks and boots or sandals with iron studs on the sole. North East Museums: Arbeia, the barracks (learning page) Brave soldiers could be rewarded with a wreath of laurel or oak leaves called a corona. North East Museums: Arbeia, the barracks (learning page)
From across the empire
Soldiers and civilians came to the Wall from as far away as modern Syria, Romania and North Africa. English Heritage: Hadrian’s Wall, History and Stories Wherever they came from, soldiers had to learn Latin, the language of the army. North East Museums: Arbeia, the barracks (learning page)
The first cohort of Tungrians, recruited around Tongres in modern Belgium, garrisoned Housesteads from the late 2nd to the 4th century. English Heritage: History of Housesteads Roman Fort From the 3rd century Birdoswald was held by the first cohort of Dacians, recruited from what is now Romania. English Heritage: History of Birdoswald Roman Fort
By AD 178–84 Chesters was held by the Second Asturians, a cavalry unit raised in northern Spain. English Heritage: History of Chesters Roman Fort Arbeia at South Shields was held by the Fifth Cohort of Gauls and by a unit of Boatmen from the Tigris. North East Museums: Arbeia, the barracks (learning page)
Soldiers at Vindolanda included Tungrians (Belgium), Batavians (Netherlands), Vardullian cavalry (northern Spain) and Nervians and Gauls (France). The Vindolanda Trust: Fact file, Vindolanda
Units and ranks
A century was 80 men, six centuries made a cohort (about 480), and ten cohorts a legion: about 4,800, nearer 5,000 with clerks, doctors and craftsmen. North East Museums: Arbeia, the barracks (learning page) Arbeia’s museum says centurions were at first in charge of 100 men, but this is thought to have dropped to about 80 quite quickly. North East Museums: Arbeia, the barracks (learning page)
A cavalry troop of 30 men was commanded by a decurion. North East Museums: Arbeia, the barracks (learning page)
English Heritage describes a centurion commanding a century of about 100 legionaries. English Heritage: Hadrian’s Wall, History and Stories
Sources give different sizes for a century. More on when sources disagree.
Daily life
At Arbeia a barrack held 40 soldiers and a centurion; there were two small rooms for every eight soldiers. North East Museums: Arbeia, the barracks (learning page) A barrack apartment was called a contubernium: one room for cooking, eating and kit, the other for sleeping. North East Museums: Arbeia, the barracks (learning page)
Most soldiers stayed in the army for around 20 years. North East Museums: Arbeia, the barracks (learning page) Soldiers trained in full armour with their weapons for around 2 hours a day, and also ran. North East Museums: Arbeia, the barracks (learning page)
Rations included bread, beef, olive oil, wine and grain to bake bread. North East Museums: Arbeia, the barracks (learning page) According to the Vindolanda tablets, locally brewed beer, not wine, was the soldiers’ drink of choice. English Heritage: Romans, Daily Life
There was no toilet in the barrack; soldiers probably used moss as toilet paper. North East Museums: Arbeia, the barracks (learning page)
Women, children and families
Hundreds, if not thousands, of women lived on and around the Wall in the Roman period. English Heritage blog: The Role of Women on Hadrian’s Wall (2016) Ordinary soldiers could not legally marry until AD 197, though many married unofficially before that. English Heritage blog: The Role of Women on Hadrian’s Wall (2016)
Many civilians lived in and around the forts, including veterans, traders, craftspeople and soldiers’ families. English Heritage: Hadrian’s Wall, History and Stories Regina, from Colchester, was freed and married by Barathes, a soldier from Palmyra, who put up a fine memorial to her. English Heritage: Hadrian’s Wall, History and Stories
A gold ring found at Corbridge reads “Aemilia, long life to you”. English Heritage blog: The Role of Women on Hadrian’s Wall (2016) A tombstone at Corbridge remembers a little girl, Ertola, shown playing with her ball. English Heritage blog: The Role of Women on Hadrian’s Wall (2016)
The Vindolanda tablets
Most Vindolanda writing tablets date to around AD 100; they are thin slices of wood about postcard size, written in ink. British Museum: The Vindolanda tablets The tablets were first found in March 1973. British Museum: The Vindolanda tablets
Claudia Severa’s birthday invitation to Sulpicia Lepidina, around AD 100, is the earliest example of a woman’s handwriting from anywhere in the Roman Empire. British Museum: The Vindolanda tablets
One Vindolanda tablet has a junior officer complaining: “My fellow soldiers have no beer – please order some to be sent”. British Museum: The Vindolanda tablets A strength report of about AD 90 lists 752 men of the First Cohort of Tungrians at Vindolanda; only 265 were fit for active service. British Museum: The Vindolanda tablets
One tablet calls the local people “wretched Britons”. British Museum: The Vindolanda tablets
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