The poor bloody infantry

Tensions are running high in Chesters, the the Roman cavalry fort on Hadrian's wall. Perhaps fearful of the outcome of the impending independence vote in Scotland, the cavalry and their supporting infantry were doing some serious training when we visited.

Should you care to look, you will see that this foot soldier is wearing, around his neck, a good luck charm in the form of a gentleman's privy parts. This symbol was very popular in Roman times. There are at least two carved on the stones at Chesters, one on a flagstone on the floor of a building in the fort and another on the nearby bridge across the North Tyne river.