Equipment

Arms, armor, weapons and gear of the Roman soldier

Let’s face it: Most re-enactors get into the hobby because (a) they want to gain a sense of what it was really like to live in a significant historical period, and (b) they want to look cool and handle all kinds of cool equipment. Well, the Roman Army was the direct ancestor and inspiration for all the great armies that came after it, and beyond that, they were one of the best looking and best equipped armies of all time, if not the best. Legionaries were as cool as cool gets.

While we welcome civilian participation, Legio VI Victrix is first an foremost a military reenactment club dedicated to recreating a historically accurate impression of a top-of-the-line Roman Legion of the mid second century AD. While having fun is paramount, we are deadly serious about getting it right. We have made a close study of all the available evidence as to how a Roman army of our period was equipped and keep a close eye on any archaeological discoveries that may add to our knowledge. When evidence is lacking, we make educated guesses.

Basic Gear

This page covers the basic equipment required by a re-enactor portraying Roman legionary, military officer, or civilian. It includes links to pages on clothing, body armor, helmets, weaponry, accoutrements, and large-scale camp equipment such as leather tents, heavy artillery, etc.

Real Gear

Legio VI’s T. Flavius Crispus (Dave Michaels) has the good fortune to be both a dealer and collector of actual Roman coins and artifacts. He also has access to pieces from many important collections, and regularly visits important museums in Europe. He also maintains his own collection of Roman military belt parts and other militaria.  The award-winning Real Gear page of our website is offered to the general public so that historians, scholars, archaeologist, re-enactors and anyone with an interest in military history can have access to images of examples of ancient military gear from private and public collections the world over-helmets, weapons & shields, body armor and Tools, Decorations & Accessories.

How Much?

Finally, a word about expense. While our gear might look horribly expensive, the cost of equipping yourself fully actually about in line with other popular reenactment eras (Civil War, etc.). None of our members is independently wealthy, and we’ve grown quite adept at getting the maximum bang for the buck. We also maintain a supply of loaner gear for new recruits, and our “Get Equipped” program will have you fully kitted out at minimum expense before you know it.