I return from a fruitful photo sweep of the site of this "behind the Wall" strategic fort excavation.
http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...si&img=1412
Corstopitum is a Stanegate (strategic crosss country road) installation, pre-dating Hadrian's Wall but repeatedly rebuilt as a crucial supply depot and major civilian settlement. Only a fraction of the site has been excavated , but we see that there are some impressive items in the museum , and some worthwhile remains on site.The
For once I report to you on a non-Roman event. There was a small Norse re-enactment unit attached to a larger Civil War (English) event nearby , so I went in search of interesting items and weapons .
There was a selection of goods and weapons on show.
I have firstly, posted a Northman in general undress with everyday kit , were he to fight a padded jerkin would be neded under a coat of chain mail.This is a man of high status and thus his equipment is of superior finish.
http://www.unrv.
Ursus produced a top notch review of the First Season;
http://www.unrv.com/hbo-rome-review.php
as usual articulate and perceptive without getting over excited.
A lot of people visit the site in search of this particular topic , and all its collateral baggage. I have therefore kicked off a Gallery devoted to the series:
http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...um&album=67
this album can be as big or small as members wish, what i think might be useful would be to look hard a
I have been delving through this work
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Society-Pompeii-He...8&s=gateway
being a great lover of Pompeii and Herculaneum. As far as the social hierarchy of houses and their internal layouts go I have started a thread here:
http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?showto...amp;#entry43683
the changing styles of layout and decoration ,are intimate to the social upheavals of the period from the late Republic to approximately the death of Pliny The Elder. Indeed Pliny is
A fast recce to the small local museum in Lancaster, to peruse the Roman exhibits. This is a small municipal museum with limited space but a friendly attitude. I hope to be able to go back very soon and photograph items not on public display for your edification .
Perhaps the most striking finds here are the "Burrow Heads" a series of substantial 3rd C AD monumental carvings that appear to represent The Elements. It is said they were recovered about a mile away from the present city in 1794
A rapid scouting trip to check out this pivotal city in the conquest of Britain , both as a Legionary base and a port for the Classis. The sudden onset of bad weather drove me off site , but I was able to get a few useful shots for our information.
http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...si&img=1055
The amphitheatre project continues, the dig is well underway and here is the official site:
http://www.chester.gov.uk/amphitheatre/index.html
as can be seen this is the lar
As many of you will be aware , I am trying to recreate the appropraite "medium" for appropriate herbal medicines as used in the Roman world. Andrew Dalby was kind enough to suggest that a species of cheap Malaga would be a good approximation, in terms of palate and (probably) appropriate quality for usage by the rough soldiery. As we have discussed in the forum various common medicines were stored in amphorae , with the herb macerated in a wine base. This form of storage is still , in essence, t
I have put together a small selection of pictures, relating to the work of the recently deceased John Davis of LEG II AVG. Nothing fancy, just an indication of the talent and knowledge that has been lost at the passing of this worthy Romanophile.
Firstly we see him with his scales in the booth of the Architectus, here he is weighing the extremely valuable lapis lazuli for crushing into a paint pigment. This is a top of the range Roman colourant , ordinary people would have to make do with th
Very sad news from the Secvnda , John Davis , their personable and vastly knowledgable Architectus has lost his life in a road accident. I have placed a Memoriam on the main Forum floor and posted a shot of John in his Auxilliary garb in the gallery.On the Secvnda site ,you can see the tributes coming in and some more images of him at various re-enactments.
http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?&a...=si&img=942
This entry is also by way of invitation, to any visitors from the S
The scenario is , you are on patrol 135 AD (or thereabouts) , you are an experienced mounted Auxiliary trooper with 15years service under your belt including a couple of pitched battles and some skirmishing and policing scuffles.Youve picked up a leg wound whilst intercepting some customs dodgers just north of Hadrian's Wall, nasty gash from a spear into the muscle of the calf. You are trained to report in with wounds at the double as no one wants experienced men sitting around gossiping in the
The weather in Britain never fails to amaze, last weekend the LEG II got a thorough soaking at Bremetenacvm, and have had to work all week at drying and reparing kit, but today a slave had to make rounds with water for the troops who were sweltering in their armour.
So the Legion was at Gargrave, nearest therefore to Olinacvm on the road from Bremetenacvm to Eboracvm.
There is evidence of a substantial villa adjacent to the village
http://www.outofoblivion.org.uk/record.asp?id=240
A visit to the splendid LEG II AUG at Bremetenacvm. This outfit have a top notch Greek surgeon with state-of -the-art equipment for all wound types and a comprehensive medicine chest.As you can see the battle had been bloody and some nasty wounds had to be dealt with.
http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...=si&img=895
http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...=si&img=898
here we have a messy fracture and splintered shin bone, the man has been given opium and a little
Members will be aware of the "Roman World Herbal" gallery I have maintained for some time.In the Gallery are displayed plants known to have been used as painkillers, wound salves, abortifactants and foods, some of these plants have a recorded history from Egypt and Greece via Rome and Persia.Not all the plants are strictly Roman but many are known witihn the Roman world, so we have Borage and Mistletoe for example ,two very important Celtic herbs that the Romans must have known of and may we
A most excellent days excursion . I was unable to fly any bird to the lure on this trip, as the resident Peregrine is now retired and of pensionable age-a shame , because they strike hard and you need to have your nerves still and head calm as they swoop in at speed, all very exhilarating if it comes off well. The weather was warm and calm, so that ruled out any possibility of flying the vultures , as decent thermals are needed to get them airborne , also the large Lappet Vulture was resting du
Prithee: Note well that Pertinax will be much Engagde in Venerye the Morrowe..
so what do we have here? Amedieval shopping list?
Emperor :The Eagle, Vulture and Merloun / Lady : The Marlyon
King : The Ger Falcon and Tercel of the Ger Falcon / Young Man :The Hobby
Prince :The Falcon Gentle and the Tercel Gentle / Yeoman :The Goshawk
Duke : The Falcon of the Rock (coastal type) / Poor Man :The Jercel (male goshawk)
Earl : The Falcon Peregrine
The Carrot family provided several very interesting medicinal/culinary/deadly umbelliferous herbs to the Ancient World , and if you are careful to look them out nowadays, they are still so available. The main thing is not to get the culinary gems (Candied Angelica) mixed up with the State Poisons (Hemlock and Waterdropwort) or the top notch wound salve (Yarrow).
There are also quite a number of not so useful members of the group and one notable outsider (Valerian) that have a superficiall
Finally I have been able to get to the site of Mediobogdvm. This is the best preserved site in Cumbria south of the Wall.The earliest fort is likely to have been Trajanic , and finished under Hadrian. The initial Hadrianic garrison was the 4th Cohort of Dalmatiae. The fort may well have been one of those abandoned during the reign of Antoninus Pius , as troops pushed northward into modern Scotland to secure a new frontier at the Antonine Wall.The fort was reoccupied circa 160 AD and appears to
The re-enactors were quite a bunch, very friendly and keen to share knowledge. They also presented a sight that many will consider strange, their ages-many were "grizzled veterans" but that added to the event , it was easier to see "old sweats" with missing teeth and not so athletic builds -we know Germanicus had to quell revolts by men who showed him toothless gums and old injuries.
http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...&cmd=si&img=759
http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?
I have two tasks to complete for the site, the report on the re-enactment at Banna Fort (Birdoswald) on Hadrian's Wall and my review of the Roman Navy in Britain. Here is the first part of the first of those tasks:
Firstly the weather was good enough , though too blustry for the hawking display to proceed. In attendance were LEGIO VIII Augusta
http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...&cmd=si&img=749
I have a lot more to post here and off site on the MSN blog but that wil
Before I , hopefully, attend the re-enactment at Banna I would like to clear up the geography of the Eastern extremity of Hadrian's Wall. This is also to indicate the likely extent of any photorecce , as much of the Wall in this area was destroyed by use as building material for the Military Road in the Jacobite Rebellion (c1745).
The other difficulty is that in this area urbanisation has swamped or overgrown the remains of the fortifications.
If you refer to this map section:
http://www.
A completely unforseen stroke of luck saw me with a day for selfish recreation, excellent weather and a very fast car.Dea Fortuna and Mercurius will recieve Libation.
I offer you therefore Cilvrinum Fort (Chesters) , I have now pushed further east beyond Vindolanda toward Wallsend ( Segedunum). The weather was glorious, the museum of artefacts is crammed with retrieved inscriptions/altars and the fort bathhouse must have one of the best rustic views in the Empire.
http://www.unrv.com/
Quite a trip to Luguvallum (Carlisle). I stayed in Stanwix , that is the suburb just North of the River Eden Bridge. Stanwix being the possible former tribal capital of the Great( but troublesome) Lady Cartiamandua , client monarch of the Romans , inconstant bedfellow of Venuntius the King.
background is here:
http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=3575
my location here:
http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...=si&img=714
AS you can see almost adjacent to the fir
Appalling weather again in Brigantia , but I havent returned entirely empty handed. I have some shots of the site of the Fort at Alavanna. This is a bit of a problem in terms of naming, as you will be aware Alavanna Carvetorium is modern Maryport, and if my shakey Latin is any good I understand Alavanna tends to be interpreted as "the beautiful place" -fair enough (and please comment accordingly Latin scholars) because a lot of the sites are gloriously set in verdant landscapes. Here though we h
Salvete Omnes!
I am pleased to be able to return to the forum at last. I hope to have new photos from the Luguvallum area next week and from Alavanna (Watercrook) .The Tullie House museum and Carlisle Castle diggings are on my itinerary.
edit: The Alavanna to which I refer is not Alavanna Carvetorium (Maryport) it is possibly related to the "lost port" of the Morecambe Estuary , namely that port used by II Adiutrix to combine with IX on its march north to deal with the Brigantine uprisin
The ongoing work at Vindolanda will probably take centuries to come to fruition, a sobering thought, our own words will be history by then. The blog title is the title of the book by Anthony Birley whose family have devoted themselves to the exploration of the site , he himself was born in the house adjacent to the fort and I was priveliged to meet him, very briefly, recently.
The book is an excellent commentary on the Tablets and the great difficulties in retrieval,restoration and interpretati
