Description
| ITEM | Cingulum militare appliques |
| MATERIAL | Bronze |
| CULTURE | Roman |
| PERIOD | 1st Century A.D |
| DIMENSIONS | Belt, 30 mm x 95 mm; Appliques, 32 mm to 45 mm (height) and 16 mm to 37 mm (width) |
| CONDITION | Good condition |
| PROVENANCE | Ex English gallery, London, formerly in a 1980s collection |
The cingulum militare was the belt used by the soldiers of the Roman army to gird their tunic and hang their weapons of the blade, such as the gladius or the pugio.
It was made of leather and decorated with pteryges or groin protectors, and it was decorated with different types of buckles, metal plates and studs, normally made of bronze or iron, sometimes gilded, the combination of which varied over time from the 3rd century BC until the reforms of the Roman army in the time of Heraclius in the 7th century.
Its importance reached such a degree that it became the distinctive sign of Roman soldiers, who carried it with pride and as an indication of their condition, carried weapons. They often appear on the funeral monuments of Roman soldiers, visually indicating their military status.
