Mad about Science: Roman legion food

By Brenden Bobby
Reader Columnist

It should come as no surprise to regular “Mad About Science” readers that the author is a bit of a foodie. Food is such an integral part of the human experience, giving us an opportunity to share passion, knowledge and pure communication without using a single word. Food brings together families, quells disputes between friends and neighbors, and is the core of any prolonged social gathering. It always makes me wonder: What did people throughout history eat, and did they have similar ideas of food as me?

Eating in a globalized economy means that we get to enjoy flavors and conveniences that were undreamt of in the past. Roman legionnaires could never imagine the taste of umami rolls with a dollop of wasabi — it was a physical impossibility without reference. While also considered a luxury in antiquity, enjoying food became about survival and efficiency when generals were trying to figure out how to feed thousands of troops on the march.

The key to feeding an army is logistics. Pillaging the countryside will only get you so far when your goal is to subjugate that countryside and turn it into a piece of your logistics puzzle. Angry farmers won’t feed you after you’ve burned their fields and killed their favorite sheep; and, that could mean your governors might never understand the nuances of effectively farming that land. 

Knowledge is power, and losing efficiency on a campaign translates to soldiers dying of disease and starvation, which leads to the campaign collapsing, civil unrest and revolts, and the eventual loss of those hard-earned gains generals fought to claim in the past.

Food was critical for Rome. Grain — and especially wheat — was strictly controlled by the state and measured with the same care and accuracy as metal currencies. Grain was particularly vital to the Roman legions for many reasons. It was simple to transport, compared to food like raw meat or fish. Grain has a high caloric content for its size. It is also adaptable as a food source and can be molded into virtually any form, in addition to being easy to store for months or even years.

Grain was the core of a legionnaire’s rations and a major part of their daily ritual. Legionnaires would burn as many as 6,000 calories per day while on campaign, and not all of that activity took place while fighting or marching. Soldiers were equipped with personal grinding stones for milling their grain while encamped. They were also expected to cook both their own and communal meals. There very likely were not many legions with the luxury of personal chefs or camp cooks. 

Grain milled on the go was transformed into bread, porridge or hardtack. Sometimes these foodstuffs were combined with pork, cheese, salted meats and olive oil, but the latter were often consumed first while the grain was reserved for later days before rations would be replenished.

Hardtack was often twice baked to remove all moisture from the biscuit and prolong preservation. The tradeoff was that it was an extremely dry and nearly unpalatable source of calories. Despite that, hardtack persisted as a source of battlefield food for millennia after the Roman Empire crumbled.

Not all grain was viewed equally by the legions. Barley was considered inferior and served as a form of punishment for soldiers and units that underperformed on the battlefield, or after a body of troops was decimated — that is, following the execution of 10% of its membership. In addition to substandard grain, the unit was also forced to remain outside the main camp in terrible conditions to make the punishment that much worse.

It’s hard to eat so much bread without something to drink, and it’s hard to drink water when thousands of men are likely bathing and urinating in every source of it you pass by while on campaign. Wine was a favored beverage, usually reserved for only those who could afford it. Posca was a mixture of vinegar, water and herbs that was more readily available to the rank-and-file legionnaires. The vinegar was diluted to make it palatable, but likely didn’t taste very good by modern standards.

Food and goods provided by the state weren’t the only resources available to Roman soldiers. Where the army went, money followed, which meant enterprising civilians would often follow the legions around and trade local and luxury goods for the soldiers’ salary. Food was not the only item on the menu offered by camp followers or lixae, if you catch my drift.

When times got hard for the marching soldiers, their salary wouldn’t always come in the form of coin. Far-off reaches of the empire where logistical networks deteriorated and metallic currency lost value, soldiers found themselves being paid in grain and (especially) salt. 

Salt was an extremely valuable commodity in ancient Rome. According to Pliny the Elder, the word salarium (the root of “salary”) derived from the Latin word for “salt,” salarius, and literally translates to “salt money” due to its importance in paying hungry soldiers.

Stay curious, 7B.