A payslip belonging to a Roman auxiliary soldier, posted on Twitter earlier this month by archaeologist Joanne Ball, shows that the imperial grunt was left penniless immediately after getting paid once the military recouped expenses for food, equipment, clothes, and the like.

According to a translation available in the Database of Military Inscriptions and Papyri of Early Roman Palestine, this payslip belonged to Gaius Messius, a Roman auxiliary soldier who likely served in Masada, Israel between 72 and 75 CE.

The document was translated using the excavation reports, Christopher B. Zeichmann, the editor for the database, told Task & Purpose via email.

The receipt itself shows just how much of Gaius' hard-earned denarii, an ancient Roman currency, went back to the military. Here's the rough translation:

Let's do a quick tally of that pay slip:

• 16 denarii for "barley money."
• 20 denarii for "food expenses."
• 5 denarii for "boots."
• 2 denarii for "leather strappings."
• 7 denarii for a "linen tunic."

That comes out to 50 denarii - leaving Gaius flat broke immediately after payday.

To read the complete article, see:
This Roman soldier's 1,900-year-old payslip confirms the green weenie is immortal(https://taskandpurpose.com/roman-soldier-payslip-green-weenie)

To read the original article, see:
§22 Gaius Messius Son of Gaius(https://armyofromanpalestine.com/0022)

To visit the Database of Military Inscriptions and Papyri of Early Roman Palestine homepage, see:
https://armyofromanpalestine.com/