The arms and armour from Dura-Europos, Syria. Weaponry recovered from the Roman garrison town and the Sassanid siegeworks during the excavations, 1922-37
The arms and armour discovered during the excavations at the Roman frontier city of Dura-Europos, Syria, by Belgian, French and American archaeologists between the wars constitute one of the most important but least studied assemblages of the kind ever found. Little of it has ever been published. Most of the finds can be associated with the events surrounding the final destruction of the city by the Sassanians, which can be dated to the mid-250s AD. This close dating of a large body of arms is unparalleled in the Roman Empire. It is also the only really large group of Roman armour from the whole of the Eastern Empire. Most of the arms were deposited in contexts which prove they belong to the Roman defenders, but a handful belong to the Persian attackers, not least an important iron helmet, the first well-dated Sassanian head-piece. Other items, such as the cane shields, are hard to definitely attribute to either side. The material is extremely rich and diverse, the special conditions of burial of many items preserving delicate organic elements including shield paintings and arrow fletchings, allowing a much better understanding of the technology and appearance of Roman weaponry. There are a number of unparalleled
James, Simon Timothy
Archaeology
The arms and armour from Dura-Europos, Syria. Weaponry recovered from the Roman garrison town and the Sassanid siegeworks during the excavations, 1922-37. The arms and armour discovered during the excavations at the Roman frontier city of Dura-Europos, Syria, by Belgian, French and American archaeologists between the wars constitute one of the most important but least studied assemblages of the kind ever found. Little of it has ever been published. Most of the finds can be associated with the events surrounding the final destruction of the city by the Sassanians, which can be dated to the mid-250s AD. This close dating of a large body of arms is unparalleled in the Roman Empire. It is also the only really large group of Roman armour from the whole of the Eastern Empire. Most of the arms were deposited in contexts which prove they belong to the Roman defenders, but a handful belong to the Persian attackers, not least an important iron helmet, the first well-dated Sassanian head-piece. Other items, such as the cane shields, are hard to definitely attribute to either side. The material is extremely rich and diverse, the special conditions of burial of many items preserving delicate organic elements including shield paintings and arrow fletchings, allowing a much better understanding of the technology and appearance of Roman weaponry. There are a number of unparalleled
arm_armour dura syria weaponry recover roman garrison town excavation arm_armour discovered excavation roman_frontier city dura syria belgian french american archaeologists war constitute one_important least studied assemblage kind ever find little ever publish find associated event_surround final destruction city date mid close date large_body arm unparalleled roman_empire also really large_group roman armour whole eastern empire arm deposit contexts prove belong roman defender handful belong persian least important iron helmet first well dated head piece item shield hard attribute either_side material extremely rich diverse special condition burial many item preserve delicate organic element include shield painting arrow allow much_good technology appearance roman weaponry number unparalleled