Since communication was crucial to winning a battle, ancient armies used a variety of tools to maintain order and strategy. Horns, trumpets, military standards and bright colors were all brought to the front lines of war to ensure that soldiers knew when to advance and when to retreat.

Theme: Carnyx, cornu and signa: Battlefield communications

• Adam Anders, 'Introduction to the theme'
• Christian Koepfer, 'Imagery as sources for standards'
• Alberto Pérez, 'Standards and music in Pre-Roman Europe'
• Sean Manning, 'Persian standards of the 5th and 4th century BC'
• Duncan Campbell, 'The Roman Cult of the standards'
• Raffaele D'Amato, 'Late Roman standards'
• Paul McDonnell-Staff, 'Musical instruments of war'

Features

• Sheda Vasseghi, 'The battle of Cunaxa'
• Ross Cowan, 'Late Roman tactics'
• Murray Dahm, 'Solving the secrets of ancient military signalling'