There are lots of “Mike Fink” tales of amazing feats in ancient civilizations, such as Greek Olympians long jumping 35 feet, etc. Such stories need to be taken with a very large grain of salt.
Very true.
I recently read a book about Caesar’s conquest of Gaul in which the author claimed his army regularly marched 30 to 40 miles a day, off roads, carrying 60 to 80 pounds each. Then built the standard Roman fort at the end of each day.
I could only conclude the author has never walked any distance with a pack.
I suspect the Roman armies seldom covered much more than 20 miles in a day.
What??? Legends grow??? :)