Quote:
Originally Posted by HARDMAN
I've read that an average weight for a Roman legionary's equipment was about 60-70 lbs. But I assume this includes living necessities carried in the Marius Mule (such as food and water).
Anyone want to take a guess at the weight of the combat kit alone (helmet, shield, lorica segmentata, sword, and javelins)?
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This is me googling individual items:
Galea (Helmet)- 1.7 kg (3-4 lbs)
Scutum (Shield)- about 5.5 kg (12 lbs), or 7.5 (16 lbs) kg with a reinforced boss
Lorica Segmentata- 14-24 lbs.
Sword- 2-4 lbs.
Pilum (Javelin)- between two (4 lbs) and five (11 lbs) kilograms
Which is about the same weight this site says:
Quote:
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There has over time been much debate regarding how much weight a legionary actually had to carry. Now, 30 kg (ca. 66 lbs) is generally considered the upper limit for an infantryman in modern day armies. Calculations have been made which, including the entire equipment and the 16 day's worth of rations, brings the weight to over 41 kg (ca. 93 lbs). And this estimate is made using the lightest possible weights for each item, it suggest the actual weight would have been even higher. This suggests that the sixteen days rations were not carried by the legionaries. the rations referred to in the old records might well have been a sixteen days ration of hard tack (buccellatum), usually used to supplement the daily corn ration (frumentum). By using it as an iron ration, it might have sustained a soldier for about three days. The weight of the buccellatum is estimated to have been about 3 kg, which, given that the corn rations would add more than 11 kg, means that without the corn, the soldier would have carried around 30 kg (66 lbs), pretty much the same weight as today's soldiers.
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Link
Legionary Combat Kit?
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