Legio Viii And Deva Victrix (part One) Intro
Entry posted by Pertinax
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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 will be in a few days time.You can see the attention to detail and authenticity is good, (pale British legs cant be avoided).
Also present were Deva Victrix an educational/tour type unit also immersed in accuracy
http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...&cmd=si&img=754
And Roma Antiqua , who re-create civilian life, militray units and gladiator school.
http://www.roma-antiqua.co.uk/index.htm
English Heritage sent their Falconry Master but the weather was against him.
The good thing about these events is that ,although you may have a conceptual grasp of say weapon use or armour fitting, 5 minutes dispels any innacurate pre-conceptions. At random , foot archers can only loose off a limited number of volleys at an approaching "tortoise" and if its windy not many hit even such a large target. Sleeping in a tent with your mess mates leaves older Legionaries prefering to use a sleeping bag in a car-as was noted "all night we have snoring, belching , the passing of wind and constant visits to the latrine", perhaps something you tend not to think about in any detail 
.
The mounted Auxilliae are terrifying , even just a couple of them were a splendid site with billowing capes and an ability to use sword, kontos or bow you would need steady nerves to face a skirmishing asault by a group of them.On which point a horse archer needs to get in quite close to hit a target so some auxiliary light infantry as a screen are a must to repell them,along with your own light horse.
http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...&cmd=si&img=750
I can understand why so many armies wouldnt take the psychological leap of faith from horse to tank now, the live animal is so splendid, granted that AFVs are fearsome but , what I can only describe as a sort of primordial wildness , attaches to cavalry.
VIII Augusta ran through the usual defensive/offensive tactics ,using latin commands,and they explained rank and insignia and also the role and nature of the Auxilliae.I watched them drilling for a couple of hours before the display and that was very evocative, they were muffled up in cloaks with full kit slogging through mud and repeating the exercises ad nauseum.
http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...&cmd=si&img=756
The blustry weather meant that the Roman kitchen was a very stressful place for the cook-lighting a fire was a real problem.
An excellent day out ,with several more such to follow in the "summer " months.
More information to follow and the majority of the images will be available on my MSN blog in the future (plenty of detailed equipment shots for example).
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