I argued in the previous chapter that part of the finds from non-military contexts were the property of Roman soldiers. After completing their term of service, they would take their equipment home to keep as personal memorabilia or make a ritual deposition to mark the end of their soldiering days. The key pointer here is the frequent occurrence of what are clearly military items (including helmets, armour and shields) in settlements and ritual contexts, especially during the 1st century AD. In the following period, we see marked changes in the composition of the material. Specific types of offensive weapons, belts and above all horse gear are the chief find categories for the 2nd and 3rd centuries (period 3), while belt components are almost the only documented finds from the 4th and the first half of the 5th century (period 4). This chapter seeks to explain the changing composition of ‘military’ finds from the Batavian territory. Did these objects still belong to veterans or might they have been purchased by civilians for day-to-day use in the town and countryside? One reason why this question is difficult to answer is that we cannot distinguish typologically between items used by civilians and those used contemporaneously by the military. In order nevertheless to make a distinction between ‘military’ and ‘civilian’, we need to analyse larger assemblages. The finds from the research area would appear to constitute a useful data set for this purpose.

THE BEARING OF ARMS BY NON-SOLDIERS

Although we tend to automatically associate Roman weaponry with soldiers or veterans, civilian use is a further possibility when it comes to offensive weaponry. These weapons were not only used by the army, they could also have played a role in civilian hunting expeditions and in self-defence. Before elaborating further on the non-military types of use of offensive weaponry, I shall first examine Roman legislation to establish whether civilians were permitted to bear arms inside the imperial borders.

THE CORPUS JURIS CIVILIS: A BAN ON WEAPONS POSSESSION BY CIVILIANS?

The Corpus Juris Civilis, drawn up in around 530 under the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I (527-565), is a unique source of information about the legal position of those living in the Roman empire with regard to weapons possession.