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Gentleman's Magazine 1860 part 1 p.348
rewarded with the torque (bis torquata)." It is quite
evident, therefore, that the Ala Petriana was what would be
called now-a-days a crack regiment, and must have taken an
important share in the events transacted in the north-west
of England in Hadrian's time. Although the Italian
inscription does not say that the Ala was then in Italy, the
feeling which the reading produces is that it was. It
probably came to Britain with Hadrian.
We first of all hear of the torque in Roman history in
connection with Titus Manlius. Having vanquished a Gaul
whose neck was adorned with a twisted band of gold, he took
it from his foe and placed it on his own person. He was
called Torquatus from the circumstance. Permission to wear
the torque was afterwards accounted a mark of honour. We
need not suppose that in the case of a whole regiment each
individual wore a neck-band of gold or bronze. The torque
may have been adapted to the arm or wrist, or may have even
degenerated to a medal with one or more clasps: or perhaps
the torque may have been appended to the standard. Some
bronze armlets, very uncomfortable to wear, have been found
in some of our Roman stations. I have two in my possession,
which are said to have been found in Birdoswald. Perhaps
they have been worn by some members of the Ala
Petriana when entitled to claim the distinction of
torquata.
list, The origin of the name Petriana is uncertain. It seems
clear now that the ala did not take its name from the
station (Walton House or Cambeck Fort) in which it was
qtred, but that it had it before coming to Britain. How it
arose is not known.
It may be necessary to remark that the ala or wings
of the Roman army were always cavalry, and were auxiliary
troops, not native Italians.
A second, but smaller stone, found near the former,
furnished the subject of another paper by Dr. Bruce. We are
indebted to the courtesy of P. H. Howard, Esq., of Corby,
and John Gough Nichols, Esq., for the accompanying accurate
representation of the slab.
Dr. Bruce exhibited drawings of Roman and Ancient British
Remains, sent to him by Mr. Mackie of Carlisle, and then
said:-
"At our last monthly meeting, I had the pleasure of laying
before the members an interesting fragment of an important
Roman inscription discovered at Carlisle. Since that period
another inscribed stone has been exhumed on the same spot -
(the site where the buildings for the new offices of the
'Carlisle Journal' are
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