The Roman Army

       The Roman soldiers who invaded Britain were part of the best army in the world. They were better trained and armed than the wild Britons.

       The Roman army was divided into legions, each one containing roughly 5000 legionaries who signed up for 25 years. Each legionary was highly trained with daily sword practice and marching. Legionaries were also trained to build road, bridges, and forts. 

       A legionaries wore heavy armor had a large shield for protection! He carried 2 javelins and a short sharp sword. Each legionary took food, cooking gear, an axe and two sharp stakes to help to build a wall round the camp at night. The Roman army also contained many auxiliaries. These  were  soldiers from conquered tribes all over the Roman Empire. 
Some auxiliaries had special skills:                       

 Archer  - many came from Syria.The Roman also used moutain archers.

Slingers - many came from Bolearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea.  

                     

 The cavalry was used for scouting and carrying messages. They  also  chased fleeing enemy soldiers during  battles.

 

  The Roman Emperor, Claudius, even  had  some elephants. 

Battle

       Legionaries were taught to fight in different formations. This usually gave them an advantage over their enemies who were not so well organized. In battle the whole army could fight as one man or split into smaller groups. Trumpets were used to give the signals.

 Cohort (about 480 soldiers) - the smallest unit that would normally ever operate independantly. The  were 10 cohorts in a legion.

A standard bearer. Each legion had its  own standard called an eagle.

 An experiened officer called  a centurion was incharege of a century (about 80 soldiers). There  were  6  centuries in a cohort.

British hills forts

      The British tribes had built many hill forts. The Romans could not conquer Britain until they had captured these strongholds. 

      There were different kinds of hill forts. Many had several ditches and walls round the hill top. A maze sometimes hid the main gate

      The tribe lived in huts built inside the walls. They brought their animals into the enclosure for safety when the fort was attacked. 

 Maiden Castle - one of the largest  of over 3,000 hill  forts in Britain. 

 The Romans used large wooden catapults called ballistas to fier giant spears or bolts into a hill fort.

 The Romans locked their shield  together to protect themselves from rocks  and spears. The foemation, which looked  like a hard shell, was called tortoise.