longbow Posted August 1, 2006 Report Share Posted August 1, 2006 The Roman army cavalry adopted the Draco from the Dacians during Trajan's campaign,there's twenty representations of the standard on his column.These early Draco's had animal heads (wolf,boar,snake,fish etc), it wasnt until later that the standard had a Dragons head. Do I see right? Is the infantry using a draco? The Infantry started carrying the Draco around 300AD, but it was purely a visual aid,tests have shown you have to get up to a good galloping speed for the eerie noise to come through. Longbow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pertinax Posted August 1, 2006 Report Share Posted August 1, 2006 Bit late in on this one chaps...in reverse order , I think your man here may be optio , the feather or plume sockets are visible, but out of view he also has a socket to fix a crest (on the dome of the helmet). Draco is handy for the archers and artillery to know which way the wind is blowing of course, that is his original nomad provenance for horse archers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antiochus of Seleucia Posted September 13, 2006 Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 (edited) Necro Post. Hurrah! What does the hand at the top signify? Gaius, I found the answer and remembered this old topic. While recently reading my wonderful book on the fourteenth legion, it said that the hand at the top of the standard was a symbol of power. Edited September 13, 2006 by Antiochus of Seleucia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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