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Legio Secvnda Augusta Revisited.

Pertinax

Entry posted by Pertinax

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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

 

The Legion had its supporting civilian units and , on this ocassion in adittion , the midwife, the fast food outlet and more dangerous than either of these , the gladiator school.

 

The medical tent had a greater array of instruments due to the presence of the midwife, and I will give detailed information in the Roman Medicine thread in due course.

 

I had particularly set out to get shots of the cataract surgical tools which are a faithful copy of a Mediterranean find, interestingly, as regards all the various pieces on display , all the British and Gallic finds tend to be heavier and more simply constructed -the nearer to Rome the fancier and finer in construction.

The catarct tool is very simple and would have been deployed quickly and effectivley by a skilled Doctor, the cataract is cut into with a very fine point and the rear tube is drawn out (like a fountain pen) to produce a small vacuum thus drawing the excised tissue away from the eye.

http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?&a...=si&img=919

 

The midwife is ,in reality,a contemporary midwife and we discussed Roman birth control and infanticide, she was of the opinion that birth control was predominantly dealt with by infanticide or abortion , though herbal medication and sympathetic magic were also involved: here we see the specialised tool for extraction of an unwanted infant from the womb, often mistaken for forceps these are a much smaller and heavier instrument .I do note that Pliny recommends "fat from the loins of a hyaena" which will bring an immediate resolutuion to difficult labour.

http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?&a...=si&img=920

The array of items also included trephanation tools, catheters (male and female -beautifully made to a top class finish) and small bone saws for amputation.The equipment for the extraction of opiate latex from the popppy seed head is exactly the same then as now, a very hot deeply bowled spoon.Here is the best surviving midwifery text available.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0801843...ce&n=266239

The gladiator school was a well equipped hut , I can do no better than illustrate its excellent selection of weaponry and equipment

http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...=si&img=918

http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...=si&img=922

and I was able to have a long chat about shield grips and weapon usage (in general not just in the arena) which was very informative .And here is one of its fearsome inhabitants:

http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...=si&img=921

 

So an informative excursion.

 

AS usual upload off site of approx 50 images here in LEG II AVG gallery

http://triclinium.spaces.msn.com/

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Pertinax

A mixture of specialist manufacturers-Lost Warrior has the catalogue -bespoke production by people in related modern trades, ( caligae by local cobbler who is a re-enactor) and a lot of other stuff from scratch, for example the ballista and catatpulta . A lot of the gladiatorial stuff , helmets aprt, is home-made.

Its when re-enactors start to re-create ,that you often find our modern assumptions as regards authenticity have a curious way of being wrong headed. The ballista for example, the straining arms that take the ratcheted firing mechanism have undergone all sorts of experiments to get optimun performance (in relation to wood types, dimensions, laminated sections). The recreation of the surgical equipment showed the excellence of Roman metalworking technique.The Gladiators now as in the past have freedom to experiment and adapt gear accordingly, and have a lot to say about fighting stances and armour capabilities.

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Pertinax

Excellent work, Pertinax!

 

Looking at those pictures of catheters though...aren't they a little...big? ::winces::

 

The answer is -actually no! The midwife considered the smaller female one to be an excellent item for the job, and pointed out that ,as it was immersed in best virgin olive oil, its bactericidal would be enhanced .It was also a seamless piece of work.I havent posted the tools for "cutting away the stone" yet <_<

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