Roman auxiliaries in Britain facts for kids

The Roman army in Roman Britain was very large. It grew from about 40,000 soldiers in the mid-1st century AD to around 55,000 in the mid-2nd century. A big part of this army was made up of auxiliaries. These were soldiers who were not Roman citizens, unlike the legionaries.

The number of auxiliaries in Britain grew a lot. Before 69 AD, they made up about half of the army. By 150 AD, they were more than 70% of the soldiers! In the mid-2nd century, there were about 70 auxiliary regiments in Britain, with over 40,000 men. This was much more than the 16,500 legionaries (who were in three main legions). There were about 2.5 times more auxiliaries than legionaries. This was the largest group of auxilia in any single province of the Roman Empire. It suggests that Britain was a challenging place to control. After Agricola, emperors like Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Constantius I, and Septimius Severus all led big military actions in Britain.

In the early 2nd century, the Roman army in Britain was very strong. Here's a quick look at the numbers around 130 AD:

None of the auxiliary units in Britain were originally from Britain itself. The Romans usually did not send units to serve in their home regions. Most of these soldiers came from nearby areas like northern Gaul (modern France) and the lower Rhineland (modern Germany/Netherlands). Examples include the Batavi and Tungri tribes. Over time, some local British people joined these regiments. However, many regiments, like the Batavi, still recruited heavily from their home areas. Records show that many regiments had soldiers from different countries.

Auxiliary regiments in Britain were very important for guarding forts and milecastles along Hadrian's Wall. They also protected outpost forts and supply routes. For a time, this focus moved to the Antonine Wall in Scotland. However, many forts in the Lowland area of Scotland had soldiers throughout the 2nd century.

Vindolanda Tablets: A Glimpse into Roman Life

In the 1970s, an amazing discovery was made: the Vindolanda Tablets. These tablets offer a special look into the daily lives of auxiliary soldiers. They were found in northern England, covering the period from 85 to 122 AD. This was just before Hadrian's Wall was built.

These documents are letters and notes written on thin wooden tablets. So far, 752 of them have been published. They were written by and to auxiliary soldiers guarding the fort of Vindolanda (which is now called Chesterholm). The documents mostly relate to the Cohors I Tungrorum. This was a regiment from the Tungri tribe, who lived in the Ardennes region (parts of modern Belgium, France, and Luxembourg). The tablets survived because they were buried in wet ground without oxygen, which stopped them from rotting.

The tablets include official army reports and notes to the commander. They also contain personal letters. Some interesting documents are the unit status reports, called renuntiae. One report shows that the I Tungrorum regiment was under strength. It had only 752 men instead of the official 800. This document also shows how flexible the army was. A group of 337 men was stationed at another fort. Another 46 men were on escort duty with the provincial governor. Smaller groups were at six other places. Overall, the tablets show that the Roman Empire was much more organized than people thought. The army alone probably created millions of written documents every year.

The tablets also contain personal messages. These include social letters between soldiers, their families, and friends. They even proved that Roman soldiers (at least auxiliaries) wore underwear, called subligaria. They also had a funny nickname for the British people: Brittunculi. In Latin, the suffix -unculus means "small" and is often used in a joking or slightly rude way. So, the term translates to "nasty little Britons." The writer was probably talking about young British recruits in the regiment, not all British people. Still, it suggests that the regiment was not yet fully made up of local people. The common use of these tablets suggests they might have been the usual writing material in the northwest Roman Empire. This is different from the papyrus that was normally used in the Mediterranean region.

See also

• List of Roman auxiliary regiments