What Happened When a Roman Soldier Died? DOCUMENTARY

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We continue our Live History series which seeks to use reenactment to bring the past to life. This was made possible thanks to the awesome team at Imperium Romanum:

Ancient battles are often depicted in media as the epic climax of some story. When victory is achieved, the music swells, and the screen fades to black. However the reality is that battles are not so tidy. The aftermath of such conflicts go on for days as armies return to tend to the wounded, collect their dead, loot equipment, and set up monuments. In this history documentary on the Roman Army we seek to humanize the aftermath of a battle by seeing how this actually played out.

We begin by covering the life of a Roman legionary. This started from their recruitment into the Roman army, followed by years of service involving army training, exercise, civil tasks, patrols, watchtowers duty, and more. Eventually they would make their way to battle. Here the Roman Army tended to come out on top but that did not stop an unlucky few from drawing the statistical short straw of battlefield attrition. Thankfully the Roman army doctor was one of the best trained in the world and army medics could provide excellent care. But even they could not save everyone.

We then cover the process of recovering the dead which included checking their dog tags and passing on this information to the army scribes. We then cover the process of notifying the family and friends of a soldier. The rest of the video covers funerary practices and other activities which took place in accordance with ancient religion and roman religion.

We hope you enjoyed this history documentary on life and death in the Roman army. Let us know what other topics you would like to see covered next!

Check out more videos in our live history series:
"Gaming in the Roman Army"
"How Did Roman Cataphracts Prepare for War?"
"Roman Army Training"
"What was Watchtower Duty like on the Roman Frontier?"
"Journey beyond Rome's Rhine Frontier?"

Credits:
Research = Chris Das Neves
Script = Chris Das Neves
Narration = Guy Michaels
Reenactment = Imperium Romanum

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