How odd that another brief stroll should , this time without a hangover , should present me with what is now a commonplace weed in Britain that has a very exotic origin. Oxford Ragwort (Senecio squalidus) is a threat to any small grazing animal and non-too kind to humans . Immature animals can die from consuming the plant and humans can have a nasty reaction to contact on account of the toxins it contains.The toxic priciple is alkaloid and tends to poison by causing the liver to fix too much
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/
My seeds have arrived today from the Nursery in Broadstairs . If all goes well-not too much rain in the spring-I should hope to replicate some of the features of a Romano-British Physic garden , and have some definitive photographs for the Roman Herbal Gallery by summer.
We have Betony, the Celtic favourite for those given to "visions and dreams" (anti psychotic/nervine).
Yarrow-the Roman Soldiers'Herb for the "wounds made by iron weapons".
Woad-the Pictish and Brythonic choice for combat ad
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
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
"those who have swallowed quicksilver find a remedy in lard. Poisons-especially henbane, mistletoe,hemlock, sea-hare , and others-are neutralised by drinking ass's milk. "
"Bear-grease mixed with laudunum and maidenhair, prevents baldness and cures mange and thin eyebrows if compounded with lamp -black from lamp wicks.Mixed with wine bear grease is a cure for dandruff" (complex fatty acid/lettuce/maidenhair/carbon -q a mix)
Pliny might be a bit shaky in this area so dont shoot any bear
Here are a few images from an obscure, or perhaps overlooked, Fort . Some work was done after the First WW , but thats about it and we have few artefacts to look at In the present the remains of the fort are quite meagre and tucked away to the rear of a small park area in a major Lake District resort.
http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...si&img=1438
Ambleside is the head of the Lake (Windermere) , and it would seem that we have a Fort with granaries tha are conspicuously overlarg
As many of you will know I maintain a morbid interest in toxic items from ethnobotany , and likewise the animal kingdom where its creatures were known and "utilised" in a known (or fabled ) historical context...Cleopatra's asp as our most prominent , recent televised suicide in Rome 2.
I intend to revise my list of plant poisons (previous blogs) and add some spiteful animals (and fish).
However a scale of toxicity is needful if we are to determine the relative efficacy of our assassinatio
Exhausting but worthwhile. The various reports are being posted in the Forum, the images are going into the Gallery. A tremendously eclectic meeting with specialisms ranging from unusual dietary and sexual behaviour in Rome via detailed knowledge of construction techniques, medicinal practice , gladiatorial fashions, military engineering etc. This was one of those rare events where everything actually went right, and I just hope we can follow this up with additional UK meetings and a Forum me
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
The cavalry unit of the Legion was present at the Bremmetenacvm event. Only four horsemen in all (not the regulation 40) , and even then the logistics of moving , preparing and saddling the animals was by no means easy. One of the animals in particular was a complete newbie to the event and bridling was a rather tense experience. The Commander also had to improvise a mounting block from a nearby stone wall as his mount ws a little nervy.
http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?automo...si&img=
I was just adding the Convolvulus (Morning Glory) entry to my Herbal album in the gallery and I realised that I have now managed to present a passable Toxicological catalogue.
May I regale you with the basic categories of plant toxins:
1. Inebriants-exciting cerebral functions, cause loss of co-ordination, deep sleep or fatal coma may follow.
2.Deliriant- spectral illusions and deliriousness: thirst often a direct side effect:may lead to paralysis.
3.Convulsivant-Intermittent spasms(head
I was cross checking the contents of the "Roman Herbal Gallery" and I see that a fair amount of information has built up . For quick reference I am now adding a list of names versus main properties:
Orchis-aphrodisiac/mucilage-(Roman amatory stimulant)
Ruta graveolens (Rue)-antaphrodisiac/bitter (Roman "cold shoulder", stomach medicine)
Absinthum (Wormwood))-anthelmintic/hallucogen (and to counteract Hemlock by the Greeks)
Convolvulous (morning glory)-purgative/abortifactant
I think the link is working now -though the site is still under massive reconstruction and has been stripped back.
Please be patient if you are interested in the "small objects" add-ons to the UNRV gallery reports, im working on it! Quite a few extra Vindolanda items are posted and some Eboracum ones also on the msn blog. As you will see the materia medica are replicated but will extend beyond the Roman domain. My passion for all things Japanese is also notable.
Beer and assorted pleasurable c
I have been keeping notes to try and produce a handy recipe that would be both beneficial to modern users , and whilst not attested , be understood by our Roman forbears.
I think I have one such ready for the forthcoming Saturnalia, no part of it was unknown in Rome (though some ingredients would be for the rich alone) this mix would be both cleansing and pleasant .
take 1 pint of maderia wine ( so we are talking sweet and rich hence adjust your choice to taste).
1 sprig of wormwood (
Another festive toxicological glossary:
Datura : Thorn apple/jimsonweed, the fruit and leaves (which Arabs smoke) have a high concentration of alkaloids (atropine and scopolamine) , in small doses a specific for asthma, otherwise deleriant and hallucogenic.
Digitalis: foxglove , full of semi toxic cardaic glycosides. You may have a relative who takes digoxin for his heart? Slows a damaged heart to allow steady systole/diastole movement, too much and it stops..
Dioxins: organic compou
This does not mean squalid as in "profane or unseemly", rather "untidy or unkempt." If my meaning is defective im sure I will be corrected.And I mean My entries not the gallery as a whole!
My intention within the Roman Herbal Gallery is to present a dual image of any significant "ancient" herb. As can be seen from the previous classification entry, I am making a basic attempt at catalouging plants used by Greek, Roman, Celtiberian and Medieval societies. Different plants have varied significa
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
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
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 herb from which Absinthe is made .As a medicine it is excellent,strongly anthelmintic ( worm killer) and choleretic (bile stimulant) amongst other virtues. Thujone though (a volatile oil from the plant ) is a nasty hallucogen and is addictive-hence the problems suffered in 19th Century France.If the thujone is removed though the virtues of the medicine remain. I understand that ,like quassia , the wood was used for bowls and drinking vessels thereby flavouring and influencing whatever was co
Ive become absorbed in Pliny, some of his one liners' are priceless: and I dont mean this to denigrate him where it appears that "modern" science concludes he is mistaken in a thing.
For some reason I was drawn to his writing on the Elephant , which he describes as second only to man in intellect and a thoughtful beast capable of offering homage to the Gods, and to its own Chief beasts.My favourite observation was "elephants mate in secret because of their modesty" what a quaint but elegant
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
Greetings all!
I would like to use the blog feature to co-ordinate additional information on herbal medicines with the plant illustrations in my album. I am awaiting the "Pompeiian Herbal" to read and review, I hope I can make a small contribution towards the modern understanding of the use of plant medicines by the Greeks and Romans.
I am aware that Yarrow "The soldier's herb" has not made an appearence yet , but im biding my time till I can take a worthy photo.(note: this herb followe
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
