By Contributing Artist Hans Zimmer
A Centurion was a professional officer of the Roman army after the Marian reforms of 107 BC. Most centurions commanded 80 men but senior centurions commanded cohorts or took senior staff roles in their legion. Centurions were also found in the Roman navy. They were responsible for the men and equipment and gave orders to the rows of oarsmen, however, the ranks within the “centuria” were not always strictly adhered to and a considerable degree of informal promotion and demotion between the various grades occurred.
The roman Centurion (officer) had an wooden ark (crista) with natural or colored horse hair on top of his helmet (pointing from ear to ear). An Optio (a lower rank) had it pointing from forehead to neck.
The Helmet “Galea” on display is an Imperial Gallic “G” after a find from the river Rhine In the vicinity of a German town called “Mainz-Weisenau”. It’s now on display in a Museum in the town Worms. The type of helmet was in service from from the 1st Century BC to the 2nd century AD. This style of helmet was worn by Roman Legionaries during Julius Caesar’s invasion of Britain.
The Dagger shown above was called “Pugio” and it´s most likely that daggers of this (or similar) type were used in the bloody assassination of Julius Caesar on the steps of the senate of Rome.
A jigsaw puzzle is a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of often oddly shaped interlocking and tessellating pieces. Jigsaw puzzles were originally created by John Spilsbury, a British cartographer, in 1767. The first jigsaw puzzle was a map of the world that was cut into small pieces so that it could be learned easily by children.
Jigsaw puzzles have come a long way since then and there are now many different types and sizes of jigsaw puzzles available. Jigsaw puzzles can range from very simple designs with just a few pieces to very complex designs with thousands of pieces.
The Centurion as a Jigsaw Puzzle is one of the more challenging “traditional” puzzles made today. There are either 500 or 1000 pieces in the puzzle, depending on the size you choose, and each piece is different.
Link to: The Centurion Jigsaw Puzzle
Link to: Hans Zimmer’s Gallery at Fine Art America.
Click to learn more about the artist: Hans Zimmer.
