Tristan Hughes

I mean, if it's not water, I guess milk from the local cows or anything like that.

Do we know about that?

And so you mentioned how we put the scenario at the end of the second century in this particular case, where in the case of the cavalry at Chester's, three men, three horses in a barrack block.

But you mentioned that after that decree that soldiers could marry, do we see that reflected in the archaeology at all, that the barrack blocks changed, I guess, for both infantry and cavalry, that they could have a family with them?

I just love the idea.

It's always in my mind now, ever since going to Vindolanda and learning about that and seeing that wall of shoes they have of all sizes, just thinking that maybe in those later centuries, kind of walking out for barrack blocks, seeing the soldiers huddled around doing their stuff, like their garrison duties, but also potentially seeing, you know, two children running around playing or like a woman with clothing or whatever like that.

It's fascinating to kind of get that insight into a war community as well at the same time as just the soldiers from the archaeology.

But if we kind of stick with that turn of the third century then, if we were walking through a place like Chester's, woken up, got the water, done the food, what types of clothing do you think we'd see, both like the armour of soldiers, but also the everyday clothing?

No, exactly.

That old Roman idea that anyone who wears trousers are barbarians is like, well, as soon as you get into northern England and you experience a winter here, you're going to be praying for trousers at the very least, right?

Could you still imagine like the prefect or the chief administrators at one of the forts maybe wearing the equivalent of a toga or something more, I guess, in the Roman mindset, prestigious to symbolise their rank?

other things like that being very personal the reason i ask also is because don't you get in many of these forts you get the the commander's house so you get the headquarters you get the commander's house and you get the granaries in the middle of the fort and when the commander's house sometimes did we see the house days it almost comes very much an italian feel to it a villa feel to it yeah so do we get a sense that maybe if you're walking through somewhere like chester's at the turn of the third century you might be able to spot who was like the commander's wife or the commander's family because they might look a bit you know a bit more

well cared for or something like that.

And house stairs as well.

Isn't there a big hairstyle shift in the early 3rd century when an empress comes up to Hadrian's Wall, Julia Domna, the wife of Septimius Severus?

Do you think that becomes a trend along Hadrian's Wall?

And this is for a big invasion into Scotland at the time.

Well, moving on, you mentioned also that the soldier were on duty, so their armour, and you mentioned also earlier chainmail and scale armour.

Is that the types of armour that we should be imagining for people who were either cavalrymen or who were living either as infantry or cavalry, serving as infantry or cavalry on any fort along Hadrian's Wall?

Well, if we were, first of all, let's say a routine day in the life of a soldier, we can focus on cavalry to start with the SDS and then we can look at infantry as well.