Dr. Francis McIntosh

And obviously wool in its natural form is waterproof.

got evidence of layers of things because you need to keep warm, you need to keep dry.

There'd be lots of browns and very muted colours because it'd either be the natural colour of the fabric or you'd have a very simple dye.

And they were wearing...

What in the Latin ends up being translated as sandals, but they're not open-toed, you know, sandals.

They'd be laced fairly tight.

And we know there was also sort of boots and things.

It's appropriate to the weather that they're in.

And they will have adapted and adopted, you know, clothing and techniques from the rest of the parts of the empire or the provinces that became part of the empire after conquest.

Yeah.

Exactly.

You know, there's lots of, you know, what we would call, you know, an urban myth, you know, the Romans were all clean shaven and they all did this and they all did that, but actually...

That's what someone who lived in Italy or, you know, maybe southern Spain did.

But they're practical.

They're not going to let their soldiers start get ill or, you know, lose fingers and toes through frostbite because, you know, or the equivalent of sort of trench foot because they're not clothing them properly.

Yeah, so, you know, nowadays, the modern British army, and even, I suppose, going back probably a couple of hundred years, there's a uniform, isn't there?

And it's very clear always what rank you are from what you're wearing.

There wasn't so much a uniform in the Roman army.

There was this conception initially that lorica segmentata, the big plated armour, which again, if you did a little Google, you would probably think as a typical Roman, that's supposed to only be the legionary soldiers who are the citizen ones who are higher paid.

And then the auxiliaries either wear chain or scale armour.