Roman Legio V Macedonica Artifact I Purchased!

I am an avid Roman and ancient European, amateur, researcher. I collect various antiques, and have recently added to my collection a Roman Legio V Macedonica (5th Legion Macedonia) insignia.

First, a brief history of the V Legio:

This legion was probably recruited by consul Caius Vibius Pansa and Octavian (the later emperor Augustus) in 43 BCE. There are no records of the first decades of its existence, although we know of the existence of two fifth legions, V Urbana and V Gallica, that may be identical to our unit. It was very probably present at Actium (31), after which veterans were settled in the Veneto. A later generation of veterans was sent to Phoenicia (in 15 or 14 BCE), to settle in the refounded city of Berytus, modern Beirut. They were to share this town with former soldiers of VIII Augusta. (It is possible that this foundation was 15 years older.)

Between 30 BCE and 6 CE, the fifth legion served in Macedonia, where it received its surname. In 6, it was transferred to Oescus (modern Gigen) in Moesia, where it was to stay until 61, guarding the Lower Danube frontier against the tribes of Dacia. At this point, the river Olt empties itself in the Danube. This river is more or less the main road into Dacia.

It is possible that the legion was briefly called V Scythica, which suggests that our unit fought against the Scythians, the nomadic tribes who lived in the neighborhood of the Roman city Olbia but occasionally came to the south and tried to cross the Danube. It is likely that the fifth, together with the fourth, legion once defeated these tribes, but we can not date this victory. A possible candidate is the war waged in the years 29-27 by the Roman commander Marcus Licinius Crassus (a grandson of the triumvir), who is known to have slain an enemy leader in single combat.

History of the 5th Legion

Here are the pictures:










I have sent an e-mail request to the Professor of Roman Studies at Leicester University, England ( Dr. Mattingly) to help with the research on this piece. The antique house, from which i purchased it, is accredited and bonded by the ANA (American Numismatic Association). The auctioneer said it was found in the Balkans, but wouldn't specify which country.

More to follow.......

Nice find and nice post.

I have a roman arrowhead recovered from a battlefield in Greece that I will try to take a picture of and post. It is an interesting design, it is 'trilobate' - narrow with 3 'lobes' and a very sharp point. Like like something specifically made to pierce armor.

Here is the closest picture that I could find online:

Roman arrowhead

VERY cool!

Two of my prized pieces are a faience ushebti from a burial at Cairo (bought from the archaeologist who excavated it in the 1930's) and a faience Bast amulet from Bubastis workshops that was dated to about 2600 BC.

I was surprised to find that real artifacts with good provenance can be bought nowadays (in the case of the ushebti and the amulet, there are literally thousands of these in existence and museums and universities can only house so many examples.)

So tell us what you find out about your artifact!

thats freaking sweet

ATS truely does have some very sophisticated intelligent individuals around here

i think its awesome you people think about this stuff

i was a history major at texas tech university and theres nothing i LOVE more than to investigate these artifacts and to learn about the history of mankind

the Roman era was quite eventful; and I look at it as one of the "best of times , worst of times" in the words of great charles dickens *Rome is alot like paris or london, extremely rich history*

actually Roman era was my favorite era in human history
i really like the medieval times
and also really interesting is the modern era, from WW1 to now

when it comes to history; we could never go over even a small fraction of what is available to read nowdays
thats how sweet studying history has become
never run out of stuff

well its neat to see u guys collect artifacts
im personally too poor to do that lol

but i have found indian arrowheads and such out here in West Texas

ive even found Fossilized seashells too, and even some other strange creatures fossils

ya my favorite Emporer to read about is Augustus Caesar *Octavian*
his entire life-story is just Amazing and Profound
everyone should read about him

"Varus give me back my legions"
-good stuff

Originally posted by muzzleflash

well its neat to see u guys collect artifacts
im personally too poor to do that lol

They are actually cheaper than you think. A person can pick up halfway decent Roman artifacts for $100 or less, depending on availablity of the item, and condition.