Roman military belt from Lyon, around 200 AD

Description

One of the few completely preserved Roman military belt sets from around 200 AD. The remains of a Roman soldier, complete with his purse, sword, military belt and fibula, were found in an ancient Roman well shaft while a garage was being built in Lyon, France. The letters forming the inscription “Utere Felix” (“use it with luck”) were probably distributed circumferentially around the entire belt. The “U” and the “T” at the beginning are combined into one letter, a so-called “ligature”. Ligatures are often used in Roman script. Original brass tinned; for a belt width of 2.5 to 2.7 cm. The washers necessary for riveting the letters and rivets for the two strap tongues are included in the set.