Making the draco

Ros Ereira, cameo producer

Ros Ereira, Time Team cameo producer, explains how a draco was made for the Drumlanrig programme cameo.

The draco was a Roman military standard. Initially used by the cavalry, its use eventually spread throughout the army. It consisted of a dragon head made of a copper alloy, held in the air on a pole, and with a body/tail made of fabric, which would blow out behind the head when carried on horseback.

We also know from written sources that the draco made a noise. This noise is perhaps its most intriguing feature. Despite the fact that we know from the written sources that the draco was a common standard, very few clues survive about how it was constructed. The best example was found at Niederbieber in Germany, but even there all that survives is the copper 'head'.

I decided that Time Team should try to find out more about how the dracos were made, and how they might have made a noise. Could we hear a sound that has not been heard for 2,000 years?

Making the draco had three separate elements:

The metalwork
The tail
The noise-making device

Each of these elements had its own inherent problems and degree of interpretation required. There was also the additional problem that our draco had to be made and demonstrated within three days. The head of the draco was made by Tim Blades. Valerie Hancorn, a kite-maker, made the tail and Peter Taylor investigated the noise-making element.

Read how Tim Blades made the draco head.

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