What were the Roman soldiers skilled at?

Answer 1

A man did not need any particular skill to join the army. The army would teach him all he needed to know about fighting, survival and camp life. However if he were literate or had any number skills, he would be assigned to jobs that used those abilities. Accountants, clerks and supply officers were always needed.

In addition to the above skills, many Roman soldiers were engineers and built and maintained most of the Roman road network.

Answer 2

The Romans were very good engineers and architects.

The Romans adopted the cranes of from the Greeks and greatly improved them. The trispastos single-beam projecting arm, a winch, a rope, and three pulleys which could lift 150 kg (330lb.). The pentaspastos had five pulleys and could lift 450 Kg (992 lb.). The Polyspastos could have two, three or four masts with either a winch worked by four men at the by four men at both sides (which could lift 3,000 kg, 6613 lb.) and a treadwheel which could lift 6,000 kg (13227lb.) with half the crew. It is known that the Romans were capable of lifting weights of up to 60 metric tonnes. It is thought that one of two techniques was used. One was a lifting tower was with four masts were arranged in a square or rectangular shape and the structure was erected in the middle. In the other there were many capstans on the ground around the tower Capstans had a lower lifting power than treadwheels, but a larger number of them could be used and they could be powered by draught animals if needed. The work of the operators of each capstan had to be co-ordinated very carefully.

The Romans invented the stone-paved roads. they ploughed a ditch down to the firmest layer of ground that was found. The ditch was filled with rubble from local materials or sand (when it could be found) up to one metre from the surface level. A flat floor of compressed gravel was then made. Then a surface was made by embedding the stones in concrete to create the paving. The concrete was laid in two thin layers. The bottom one had coarse concrete and the top one had fine concrete.

The Romans effected what historians call the Roman architectural revolution or concrete revolution. This involved the extensive use of concrete, the barrel (simple) arch and the vaulted arch. These three elements enabled the Romans to go beyond Greek methods of construction which used cut-stone and post-and-beam or post-and-lintel structures. They became essential for large roofs and large buildings, such as basilicas (public buildings) amphitheatres (arenas), theatres, baths, circuses (racing tracks) domes, forts and fortifications and dams. They also made it possible to build bridges which were much longer than before and could cross much wider rivers and valleys.

Prior to the Romans concrete was hardly used. The Romans the first to made large scale use of it. They developed a type of concrete (opus caementicium) which was as resistant as modern concrete. It also set underwater (and therefore could be used to build docks for ports, dams and bridges). It was less fluid than modern concrete and had to be layered by hand. It was made by mixing a volcanic rock called pozzolana (which is named after Pozzuoli, a suburb of Naples) with lime and adding rubble from stones, bricks or pottery shreds as aggregates which added body to it. Concrete had technical and practical advantages. It was exceptionally strong and could span great distances when shaped into arches, vaults and domes as it could be moulded. It was layered into a formwork and it took the shape of its container. It did not require skilled labour and therefore was cheaper. It was much faster for construction than laborious masonry walls. It was safer because concrete vaulted roofing was fireproof, unlike the wooden-beamed roofs of traditional post-and-lintel construction methods.

The potential of the previously very little used arch and vault, was fully exploited for the first time. The Romans were the first to fully appreciate the advantage of these structures and make large scale use of them. The Etruscans are thought to have invented the simple (barrel) arch. The oldest example of the vaulted arch has been found in the Greek city of Pergamon (in western Turkey). The (simple, barrel) arch has a strong load- bearing capacity and was useful to build large walls without using the post-and-lintel method and to build bridges which were much longer than ever before. The vault (vaulted arch) has an even greater load-bearing capacity and its structure is suited to support large roofs. Their construction in concrete made them easier to build and even stronger. This led to the use larger and monumental arches and vaults on a grand scale. However, the Romans did not abandon masonry arches and vaults. The vaulted arch came into two forms: the groin arch is formed by two to four intersecting barrel (simple) arches and the rib arch, where the intersecting arches were of different diameter.

The Romans invented segmental arch (a flatter arch in which the curve is a less than semi-circular segment of a circle). They realized that an arch did not have to be a semicircle. These arches were used regularly for houses, warehouses and bridges. The Limyra Bridge in south-western Turkey had 26 segmental arches. Its 27th arch at the eastern end collapsed and was replaced with by two smaller, semi-circular arches.

Concrete also enabled the Romans to be the first to build large and monumental domes. The best example of this is the dome of the rotunda of the Pantheon in Rome (a temple dedicated to all gods which is well preserved because it was converted into a Christian church). It is still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world

Answer 3

The Romans had a variety of skills including diplomacy and engineering skills. The Romans built amazing buildings and aqueducts along with whole amphitheaters.

Answer 4

they learnt many skills such as engineering, horse~riding and military etc.

Answer 5

they needed to be a ma, aged at least 20, not married, fit,brave,loyal,be able to set up camp and quality in the house