Sofokles- Posted March 9, 2010 Report Share Posted March 9, 2010 Hi! I'm a new user an just resonaly found this awsome site. First of all, forgive my english. I'm from sweden (if thats now is a excuse). Im doing a resarch of my own about Gaius Marius. What im wondering is how much food a typichal legionere ate during one day and how much the totaly sum for the whole legion on one day was. Is there anyone who can help me? Strenght and honor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldrail Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 This has been a subject of debate and no-one has a definitive answer. The problem is that legionaries ate what was available in their area and there wasn't any standard ration, since supply was taken care of on a local basis rather than from a central source. Meat apparently wasn't a large part of their diet but they certainly did eat animals when they were available (or could be requisitioned from unlucky civilians). Legionaries were given a supply of 'corn' (the nearest they got to a ration) and from that they made coarse bread, porridge, or even a sort of pasta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nephele Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 Sofokles, I refer you to Philip Matyszak's excellent book: Legionary: The Roman Soldier's (Unofficial) Manual. Maty is a classicist who teaches at the university level, and we are also proud to claim him as a member of UNRV. In his chapter titled "Life in Camp," Maty describes what Roman legionaries might have expected for their daily sustenance. Breakfast would consist of a light meal of cold meat and cheese. For dinner, hunting parties might bring in fresh game such as venison or boar. The legionaries (based at camp) ate better than the rest of the citizenry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melvadius Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 You may also want to read 'Feeding the Roman Army: The Archaeology of Production and Supply in NW Europe (edited by Sue Stallybrass and Richard Thomas). This will not give a definitive answer about the quantities of particular foodstuffs consumed by the Roman Army but it does look at some of the archaeological evidence for the influence the army had on its local communities and food productions. By inference showing the range of foods that were being consumed by the army. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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