Conny Waters – AncientPages.com – The discovery of a 14kg hoard of mail armor near the Roman legionary fortress in Bonn, Germany, sheds light on the logistical practices of recycling and repair along the northern frontier of the Roman Empire. The Roman military was an extensive operation that required substantial amounts of equipment, all needing regular maintenance. However, details about how this was managed in remote regions far from production hubs and supply lines have been scarce.
Examples of how the mail would have looked when in use. Left: detail of the Great Ludovisi Sarcophagus (Rome), mid-third century AD, depicting a standard-bearer in a short-sleeved mail coat (credit: M.A. Wijnhoven). Right: Digital reconstruction of a mail coat from Vimose (Denmark), second half of the second century to early third century AD. Credit: A. Moskvin & M.A. Wijnhoven
Evidence suggests that Roman soldiers stationed on these frontiers were more self-reliant, often repairing and recycling their own armor. Yet, until recently, it was unclear to what extent nearby settlements contributed to these efforts. This gap in knowledge began to close with the 2012 excavation by LVR-Amt für Bodendenkmalpflege im Rheinland at a civilian settlement outside Bonn’s fortress.
The find includes two nearly complete mail garments and parts of two others corroded into one mass. Unlike most metal objects that can be melted down for reuse, mail armor—composed of small interconnected rings—required a different approach to recycling. Instead of repurposing the metal itself, these garments were used as “donors” for patching other pieces, akin to textile mending practices in antiquity.
In addition to visual examination, the team used high-resolution computed tomography (CT) scans.
“X-ray technology allows us to see what cannot be seen with the naked eye,” says Holger Becker at the LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn in Germany. “To look inside the solid mass of Roman armor, only CT scans provided satisfactory results.”
The large block of mail from the Bonn hoard. Credit: J. Vogel
According to the authors, the Bonn hoard likely consisted of a stockpile of material intended for repairing mail armor.
“This is the first clear evidence that mail armor was being repaired outside a Roman military installation,” states Dr. Martijn A. Wijnhoven at the Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno in Czechia.
The discovery highlights the significant link between Roman forts and nearby civilian settlements. It suggests that, beyond the confines of military installations, the Roman army depended on local craftspeople for equipment maintenance. This insight offers valuable information about the organization and upkeep of the Roman army and illustrates its reliance on surrounding communities.
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“The find adds to a growing corpus of mail armor from a variety of different contexts across the Roman world, and beyond the frontiers, and contributes to understanding of the complexity of economic and military organization of ancient armies,” concludes Koppmann.
The study was published in the journal Antiquity
Written by Conny Waters – AncientPages.com Staff Writer
