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The Flag of Legion II Augusta on the Bridgeness Distance Slab1 David J Breeze*

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The Flag of Legion II Augusta on the Bridgeness Distance Slab1 David J Breeze* Proc SocAntiq Scot, (1989)9 11 , 133-142 The flag of legion II Augusta on the Bridgeness distance slab1 David J Breeze* ABSTRACT usuallyIts i considered that appearancee th of a vexillu Bridgenessme th (flag) n o distance slabn o theAntonine Wall, the main text of which records the legion at full strength, was in some way erroneous. argueds Ii t here that vexillue th y havemma f each o been e on legion's normal standardss wa d an therefore correctly stone. usedthe on INTRODUCTION Bridgenese Th s distance slab largese th , t such stone eve havo rt e been Antonine founth n do e Wall unearthes ,wa 186n di 8 (RIB 2139 generalls ; 68), CSIRha iv t .I , I y been presume havo dt e been the eastern terminus slab of the Wall being erected about AD 142. Recent excavations, however, have failed to locate the eastern end of the Antonine Wall at Bridgeness and it has been argued that the report earlf so y antiquarians endeo Wale ,wh dth l further eas Carrident a t correce b y tma , (Bailey& Devereux 1987). This problem does not affect the present discussion. The inscription recording the construction of 4652 paces of the Antonine Wall by soldiers of legio AugustI nI flankeds ai , scenlefta Romaa y b f ,e o n cavalryman riding down four barbarians and, right depictioa y souvetaurilia,e b , th f no rituae th e lth cleansinf o legioe e th On f g. no 2) (illu & s1 figures behind the priest and the altar is holding a vexillum bearing the inscription LEG II AUG. There have been several studies of the stone, one of the most recent detailed treatments appearing in this journal (Philips 1974; useful bibliographies relating to the stone appear in the apparatus in RIB and CSIR). Most discussions have been concerned either with the main inscription and its implications, or the sculpture; most have ignored the problem of the vexillum. This problem is simply expressed: according to conventional wisdom a vexillum should not appear on the stone as the flag was the standard of a detachment of a legion, and this particular legion was present building on the Antonine Wall at full strength, as all the relevant inscriptions confirm. My aim is to argue that it is possible thacorrectls flae th tgwa y stoneplacee th n d.o LEGIONS ON THE ANTONINE WALL threl Al e British legion recordee sar d buildin Antonine th n go e Wall. Legio VictriI nV x appears distancs it ol nal e slab vexillatioa s sa n (detachment) legiod Valeri,an X nX a Victri vexillatioa s xa n no all but one (presumably a mistake or an omission owing to lack of space on a cramped stone), but * Historic Buildings and Monuments, 20 Brandon Street, Edinburgh 134 | SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, 1989 ILLUS 1 The Bridgeness distance slab. Reproduced by kind permission of the National Museums of Scotland legion II Augusta is not described as a vexillation on any of its distance slabs (respectively, RIB 2185, 2194,2196,2200 and 2205 2173,2197,2198,2199,2206,220B ;RI Britannia,d 8an (1970)1 , 309-10o ,n legio218e B th ston RI X 4s i ; n X e19 without vexillatio 2139,2186,2193B RI ; it n no , 220 2204)d 3an . threl Al e legions, where compariso possibles ni recordee ar , buildins da same gth e lengt Walf ho g l(e 3666 '/2 paces; 3000 ft, 4141 ft). It might thus be argued that legion II was present on the Antonine Wall same atth e strengt sistes it s hra legions reasoe , buton r anotherr no ,fo , preferre refeo dt itselo rt s a f legio rather than vexlllatio, vexillume th indicating tha realitn ti y onl detachmenya legioe th s f tno wa servin Walle th n g.o Referenc detachmento et legionvexillationt s sa no d san s seem occuo st r froe mth tim Marcuf eo s (161-80) attestet no s i reig e t earls da th , bu Antoninuf s nyo a s Piu12.1.E s(R 1305-6). Further, it has been suggested that one group of soldiers from legion II Augusta similar in size to the detachments of the other two legions constructed the rampart and ditch, thus accounting for the identical building lengths, whil e remaindeth e e legioth f no r operated elsewhere, buildinr gfo example the fort at Balmuildy, which has produced a legion II building stone (RIB 2191; Breeze & Dobson 1987, 110). Finally t mighi , expectee b t d tha threl al t e legion ssame woulth e termidus - nological rules. Thus, the most straightforward assumption is that legion II was not represented on Antonine th e Waldetachmenta y b l presens wa t t full a tr nearlbu , o , y full, strength. EARLIER COMMENTARIES The problem was noted by earlier commentators. Gibb (1901, 23) stated: from this [the appearance of the standard] we infer that the legion had not brought with it the eagle as its standard, and that therefore the whole legion was not present, but only a detachment or vexillation. Haverfiel yearw fe sda late r considere problee dth t mgreatea r length (1912, 128-30)e H . argued that onl vexillatioya presenlegiof s nAntonino e wa th I nn I to e Wall pointee .H that dou t some inscriptions fro Wale mrecord th di l dvexillatioa legiof no I AugustanI , thoug t h'ii s possible and, indeed evente vien th i , f wAf o s o D 158-162 t absolutel,no y impossible' that thesa n o e p 'weru t ese campaign different in time from that devoted to the building of the Wall'. He also pointed out that difficuls i ti wha e se to t thappene secone th o dt d legion's fortres Caerleot sa whole th nf i e force were drafte Scotlando t t merelr thref o no dof o d e ytw thousanan , d men t seemI . s best, thereforeo t , conclude that the use of the plain title LEG IIAUG was a habit of the stone-cutters attached to that corps, and does not imply that the legion was present as a whole at the building of the Wall. 136 | SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, 1989 The only subsequent comment which I have been able to discover is by Professor J C Mann, who has recently suggested that the appearance of the vexillum on the stone 'is merely artistic licence ignorancer o - ' (Mann 1986,192. 2) n , VEXILLUME TH vexillume usualls flagTh a wa s t I .squary a wa nearlr e(o y square) cloth whic huns hwa g froma transvers whicebar turattachehin nwas verticaa dto l pole clot ofte.The h was n squaraboucm t50 e and red in colour being decorated, usually in gold. There were usually tassels along the bottom, and tassels often hung frocros e ende mth th f s s o exampl bare e th clot On .e n i th hf w e o survive no s i d san Pushkin Museu Moscon i f Finm t o eAr w (Rostovtzeff 1942). This acquiredswa thereford an , e presumably found, in Egypt. A painting of a vexillarius carrying a flag was executed on a wall in the city of Dura Europos, where cohors XX Palmyrenorum milliaria equitata was stationed in the first half of the third century (Rostovtzeff 1942, pi V). Many other depictions ofvexilla appear on military sculpture throughout the Roman empire (the British examples can be consulted in the pages of the various fascicule f CSIRso I). The flag was a standard of great antiquity in the Roman state (cf Domaszewski 1885, 24-8, 76-80; Rostovtzeff 1942; RE 8. A.2446-2454). It had several uses. A red flag was hung on a general's tensig a marc r s nta fo battlr ho e (Macrobius, Saturn 1,16 Caesarf ;c , Civil War, 20), emperoe 2 .Th r flan gow seem (Rostovtzefs hi havo st d eha f 1942, 93). Flags migh usee b t religious da s banners (Rostovtzeff 1942,97-105). Flags were also used as standards by military units (eg Caesar, Gallic War 6, 36), and as a military decoration (Maxfield 1981,82-4). It was a military standard that came to be adopte specias hi s da l Christian banne Emperoe th y rb r Constantine afte victors battle hi r th t f yea o Milvian Bridge in 312, and it remains to this day a banner in everyday use by the Church. (By a delightful coincidence ther alss ei Edinburghn oi Palace th n Holyroodhousef i ,e o tapestra , y woven between 166 167d 0an 0 depicting Constantine's visiocrose th f sn o befor battlee eth ,righ e withth tn ,o hand side, a soldier holding a vexillum in his left hand and the bridle of the emperor's horse in his right: illu : Swais3 n 1988, 38-9.) vexillume Th attestes i militara s da y standard fro lase mth t Republice yearth f so t usuallI . y appear havo st e been use connection di n wit speciaha l grou completa t menf po no e ,i e legiona t ,bu detachmen r anotheo t r special forc Saxef e(c r 1967) t camprimarile I . b o et y associated t leasa , n i t modern eyes, with the vexillation or detachment, but in the first century AD it served as the standard of a variety of special groups of soldiers.
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