Keep history alive with a Roman Gladiator Kilt

Although the focus of PearsonsRenaissanceShoppe.com are the Medieval and Renaissance eras, we still do include some outfits from other historical periods.  Today, on the back of a very interesting news article, we wanted to point out that we do have some Roman themed costumes, such as this Roman gladiator kilt.

According to WalesOnline.co.uk, archaeologists uncovered an uncommon ancient Roman fort in the playing fields at a school in Great Britain.  During the height of the Roman empire, its reach extended well into the British isles.  It was there, where they would face stiff resistance from fierce local tribes.  This particular fort, the fort of Nidum, was built to defend against a tribe known as the Silures.

The fort of Nidum would have been occupied by a unit of auxiliaries.  Auxiliaries were still fine Roman soldiers, but did not carry quite the same prestige as the legions.  The fort was original constructed out of wood, but was later rebuilt with stone.  Elements of this fort that make it unusual for Roman standards include:  A large double ditch and rampart, an external road, a trench for a palisade to prevent the rampart from collapsing, a possible lifting device, and a internal tower.  The internal tower was constructed in such a way that would have allowed for the soldiers to shoot at those foes attacking the gate.
The bottom line about the fort of Nidum is that it is extremely defensive.  The combined width of the exterior defensive structures and obstacles was more than 12 meters, which is quite impressive.  Given the nature of the Roman army was to attack, the highly defensive nature of this fort indicates that it was located in a very hostile location.  The Silures must have provided the Romans with quite a challenge, which is generally unheard of.

It is discoveries like this that keep history alive for most people.  It is also one of the reasons why we like to provide you with authentic historical costumes, so that you too can keep history alive.