Archaeologists Find Athenian Naval Base

[Banjo]

That seems to be the idea although the depth of understanding is questionable.  Also it can't be discounted that some soldiers who served as 'company clerks' for want of a better word may have acted as scribes for their fellow soldiers.  Again, there is a difference even in Latin between the skills needed to write a letter saying "send me some socks" and being able to read and comprehend Frontinus' De Aqueducto, a report on the Roman water supply.

I am under the impression that basic literacy, in the sense of a adaquate vocabulary to understand routine administration and the ability to pronounce words as they are written, was mandated for at least the legionaries during the 1st and 2nd century AD.

I read some thing recently that said they had found evidence the Greeks were writing long before we thought. Sadly I cannot remember where.

Thanks OP. That was very interesting.