Are there any history buffs here, who know about life in Roman times?

I'm curious to find out what logging practices were like during those times. What kind of equipment they may have used? Did they have cross cut saws and hand axes, like what loggers in the Northwest would have used in the 1800s, while logging was still primitive? What would a Roman logging camp look like? Were they selective in what they cut down, or did they go for the clear cut mode of logging? No doubt, they would have had to use horses/oxen and wagons to remove the logs from the forests. How would they have lifted the logs onto the wagons? And how did they mill the logs after they were harvested from the forest? Would they have had a need in their mills, for some type of big burners, like the old ones you see through out the Northwest? What kind of cloths did the Roman times lumberjack wear?

Whew! Lots of questions. If anybody knows of any books on this subject, I would love to hear about them. I need to find out as much as I can find out, about a time so far in the past.

Hi--I don't know the answers to some of your questions, but I'll do my best about it. The Roman times are actually about 700 years long, from around the 160's B.C.E to 500 C.E. but I'm guessing you're wondering about times between 50 B.C.E. and 200 C.E.

The Romans did have cross-cut saws and hatchets (hand axes), but somewhat smaller versions of what was used in the Northwest in the 1800's and a little more crude (I don't know how much smaller and they couldn't have been that much more crude, otherwise they couldn't cut as well as they did). They did use horses (but mostly oxen) to pull fallen trees out of the way if they were in a wooded area without the use of the river (they used the river to transport logs if they could, but I don't really know how much they used the river). The type of tree cut down depended on the need for it; I don't know what kinds of trees they mostly cut down though (probably something solid and study but also costly and expensive that made a wealthy landowner's house look fantastic). Unfortunately, I don't know what Roman loggers wore, I don't know what a Roman logging camp looked like, I don't know how the loggers got the wood onto wagons and carts, and I don't know if they needed mills and burners (sorry).

During these times we don't really have that much evidence about logging--for any civilization. While it is true that they did it (logging has been done for millennia), I'm not too sure if they cut down a lot of trees; homes in the ancient Near East and the Mediterranian were made of mud and clay (for the poor) and stone, marble, and mortar (for the rich). The only time large amounts of wood were used was when temple pillars were constructed (and the temple was too poor to afford stone pillars) or large mansions need them for the skeletons of the roofs or to line the courtyards with wood pillars. In this case, cedar was usually used (it was tall, resistant to warping and weather, and took a long time to rot). Trees were hard to cut down and it took a lot of man power and time to cut trees down and then transport them.

I'm sorry that I don't really know of any books on Roman lumberjacks. I hope at least some of this information helped:)

BTW: I almost forgot. The only time de-forestation took place was when the Roman army went through the Germanic lands to conquer the tribes there. The German forces used the shelter of the trees for ambushes and guerilla tactics, so the Romans cut them down with huge axes, used the timber to construct their war machines (or reserved it for when colonists came so that roads could be lined and street sign poles could be put into place), and then massacred the Germanic tribes. Also, depending on the needs for each region of the Empire, trees were cut down for crucifixions, usually by the occupying Roman forces. Then the soldiers would cut them down to size and saw specific-sized notches into the sides wear the cross beam could rest, etc. I don't know about other regions, but the Romans usually used olive trees for their crosses in the ancient Near East; sturdy wood. In all places Romans usually tried to avoid pine; while it was fun to watch victims nailed to pine crosses get lathered in oozing pine sap, pine was light weight and had to be replaced after three or four crucifixions--splintering, etc. Okay, that's all I know; sorry that I couldn't be more help. Good luck on whatever you're doing:D

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Originally Posted by Credo

Hi--I don't know the answers to some of your questions, but I'll do my best about it. The Roman times are actually about 700 years long, from around the 160's B.C.E to 500 C.E., but I'm guessing you're wondering about times between 50 B.C.E. and 200 C.E.

The Romans did have cross-cut saws and hatchets (hand axes), but somewhat smaller versions of what was used in the Northwest in the 1800's and a little more crude (I don't know how much smaller and they couldn't have been that much more crude, otherwise they couldn't cut as well as they did). They did use horses (but mostly oxen) to pull fallen trees out of the way if they were in a wooded area without the use of the river (they used the river to transport logs if they could, but I don't really know how much they used the river). The type of tree cut down depended on the need for it; I don't know what kinds of trees they mostly cut down though (probably something solid and study but also costly and expensive that made a wealthy landowner's house look fantastic). Unfortunately, I don't know what Roman loggers wore, I don't know what a Roman logging camp looked like, I don't know how the loggers got the wood onto wagons and carts, and I don't know if they needed mills and burners (sorry).

During these times we don't really have that much evidence about logging--for any civilization. While it is true that they did it (logging has been done for millennia), I'm not too sure if they cut down a lot of trees; homes in the ancient Near East and the Mediterranian were made out of mud and clay (for the poor) and stone, marble, and mortar (for the rich). The only time large amounts of wood were used was when temple pillars were constructed (and the temple was too poor to afford stone pillars) or large mansions need them for the skeletons of the roofs or to line the courtyards with wood pillars. In this case, cedar was usually used (it was tall, resistant to warping and weather, and took a long time to rot). Trees were hard to cut down and it took a lot of man power and time to cut trees down and then transport them.

I'm sorry that I don't really know of any books on Roman lumberjacks. I hope at least some of this information helped:)

BTW: I almost forgot. The only time de-forestation took place was when the Roman army went through the Germanic lands to conquer the tribes there. The German forces used the shelter of the trees for ambushes and guerilla tactics, so the Romans cut them down with huge axes, used the timber to construct their war machines (or reserved it for when colonists came so that roads could be lined and street sign poles could be put into place), and then massacred the Germanic tribes. Also, depending on the needs for each region of the Empire, trees were cut down for crucifixions, usually by the occupying Roman forces. Then the soldiers would cut them down to size and saw specific-sized notches into the sides wear the cross beam could rest, etc. I don't know about other regions, but the Romans usually used olive trees for their crosses in the ancient Near East; sturdy wood. In all places Romans usually tried to avoid pine; while it was fun to watch victims nailed to pine crosses get lathered in oozing pine sap, pine was light weight and had to be replaced after three or four crucifixions--splintering, etc. Okay, that's all I know; sorry that I couldn't be more help. Good luck on whatever you're doing:D

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Thanks a bunch for your taking the time to answer this. You did a great job. I tend to come up with some crazy questions. Strange minds ask strange questions I guess. LOL. What you have shared here is wonderful, as any little bit of knowledge on the subject is appreciated. So Thank you again! :D