The mules of Marius
Introduction
The photograph on this page of The mules of Marius by Robert Graham as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
The mules of Marius
Image: © Robert Graham Taken: 29 Jul 2016
This engraved stone stands beside the Lanchester Valley Walk at the point where it crosses the B6296, near the centre of the village. It is a very accurate portrait of a 1st or 2nd century Roman legionary in full marching order. Looking at all the kit he's carrying, you can see how they acquired the mule nickname. Marius was a general who reformed the Roman army in the 1st century BC to make it a more professional force. Among other things he made the soldiers carry much of their gear instead of having a large baggage train, which slowed their mobility.
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
54.820459
Longitude
-1.744271