Both cities were in famously destroyed by the A. A study of the remains left by their unfortunate Roman residents tell us that:. The major samples from Herculaneum and Pompeii reveal the stature of the ancient adult body. The average height for females was calculated from the data to have been cm in Herculaneum and cm in Pompeii: that for males was cm in Herculaneum and cm in Pompeii. This is somewhat higher than the average height of modern Neapolitans in the s and about 10 cm shorter than the WHO recommendations for modern world populations.
Helen King. London: Routledge, Notice how two neighbouring Roman communities nonetheless produced slightly different average heights. There will naturally be variations like this at different Roman settlements and at different time periods in Rome's lengthy history. Moreover, height can also be affected by diet, and thus there would probably have been some differences between different classes or groups of Romans, too.
We do also have some historical evidence, particularly from the height measurements of Roman soldiers. Soldiers probably would have been higher than civilians in general, though the results do seems generally in line with the skeletal remains:. Imperial regulations, though not entirely unambiguous, suggest that the minimum height for new recruits was five Roman feet, seven inches cm.
Columbia studies in the classical tradition, Vol. Brill, The average height was between 5' and 5. Eastern Rome Constantine's Post Italian Rome was 5'4"-5'7" The original Roman had a wheat bread based diet, lack of protein kept heights low. Reasons: Land was over-hunted. The Mediterranean was not a good source of fish and most would say it never was.
It's not known for larger fish and the reasons are due to: shallow waters and overfishing in the early times so proteins from fish was almost non existent. In fact fish was actually a rare delight, a delicacy. It was expensive and only the rich could eat it with any regularity. Meats from other sources were generally eaten only at festivals and religious holidays. Lack of quality nutrition in diets led to the low height but did not take away from the individual's strength and endurance as proven by the Roman soldiers.
The height may have been 5'4" tall but the weight was to lbs with very little fat. In other words small muscular men. I'm not sure how the women fared since I study mostly military history. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group.
Et ipso Homero teste non fallitur, qui Tydeum minorm quidem corpora sed fortiroem armis fuisse significant. A height requirement of 5' 7" was recorded in , and the requirement was abandoned as impractical in the 5th century. Since you are inquiring about Italians specifically, that mostly limits the time frame to before the switch to local recruitment under Hadrian.
In , II Parthica was partially raised in Italy. Dilectus were also held in northern Italy under Alexander Severus and Maximinus c. The only legion with considerable numbers of Italians in its ranks, over an extended period, was II Parthica, owing to being based in Italy. Even the Praetorian Guard ceased accepting Italians after Septimius Severus disbanded the original unit.
As for the earlier period, there was a gradual decrease in the contribution from Italy. By the time of Trajan, most recruits were coming from areas such as Spain, although Italy was still providing some.
I point this out because, with some of the evidence, it would be hard to distinguish between an Italian and a non-Italian, a legionaire or an auxiliary. In regard to the above quote, Vegetius wrote in the 5th century. He definitely idealized the legions of the early Principate, and we do not know from where he drew his figures, so they should be approached with some scepticism. He states the ideal height was 5' 10" and that the cavalry alae and the 1st Cohort should be at least 5' 8".
This is strange because the stature of auxiliaries of the alae and cohortes equitatae was sometimes quite small. A cavalry helmet found in Newstead, Scotland belonged to a trooper who was 5' 4" at the most.
Similiarly, 2 cuirasses found in Corbridge, England have a girdle length suitable to someone of similiar build, however, we have no way of knowing whether these pieces belonged to legionaires or auxiliaries. We know that when Nero raised I Italica in 67, it contained men who were all Italian and all 5' 10" or taller, and it was considered special for that reason, therefore other legions doubtlessly contained men of lesser stature.
Also, Vegetius states that shorter men of good build could be accepted since skill with arms was more important that mere height. On the other hand, we may have a situation analogous to Grenadier units of the 18th century.
These were elite units that had a height requirement, which was at times ignored. Since Vegetius specifically mentions the alae and the 1st Cohort, it is possible the requirement only applied to those elite units, and it may have similiarly been ignored. The bodies of two soldiers, found in a double grave at Canterbury, England measure 5' 8" and 5' 11".
The later had indications of being particularly muscular. It is known, in this period, that service in the legions was an attractive career, and the Empire had no problem maintaining them with voluntarii , unlike the late Empire were 2 maimed lecti would be accepted in place of a healthy conscript. If there was a surplus of potential recruits in the early Principate, it is possible the legions may have been more selective about who was enrolled, which makes the above height requirements, while doubtful, at least possible.
As for the build of the average legionaire, throughout the history of the Roman state, the vast majority of recruits were drawn form rural areas. Even with the proletarianization of the army in the late Republic, the recruits were drawn from the rural proletarii , not the urban. Only in the east, during the Empire, were urban recruits consistently enrolled in any numbers. The ideal was always of the farmer soldier, so the average recruit would have had the build of the average farmer.
Other vocations stated as providing good recruits include hunters, butchers and blacksmiths. So, the average legionaire would probably be described as much sinewy as muscled. Quintius Clavus Aquilifer. Posts: Threads: 7 Joined: Dec Reputation: 0. Diet - what the Roman soldier ate and his daily caloric intake would also affect his size and build.
There are studies out there which attempt to approach this subject. While Roman soldiers did consume meat they were not vegetarians as a cursory reading of Caesar might lead one to believe , they did not eat nearly the quantity we moderns do. Jonathan Roth in hs book on Roman logistics may touch on the subject since he deals with transport - and foodstuffs would need to be transported, whether on the man or surpluses in the baggage train or on-the-hoof.
I don't have access to my books which cite some of these studies, but IIRC, the average daily caloric intake for Roman soldiers was estimated to be a fair bit less than our modern one.
This would be true of ancient people in general outside of the wealthy classes. Modern analyses of latrines in Roman forts have shown they were prey to several intestinal parasites, another way that they were "robbed" of the nutrition in the food they did consume. I'll dig around at home this weekend and find some of the citations I have - between books I own, material I've copied while doing research at Yale University, etc. View a Printable Version. Lost Password? The min army height was 5 feet 5 inches.
Interesting cuisine from the Romans, I guess one could grow tall back in those days if one had access to a lot of food. One being the edible dormouse:. The edible dormouse was farmed and eaten by the ancient Romans and the Etruscans usually as a snack , hence the word edible in its name. The Romans would catch dormice from the wild in autumn when they were fattest. They fed these captive dormice walnuts, chestnuts, and acorns for fattening.
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