Gaius Paulinus Maximus

A PAIR of Cotswold metal detector enthusiasts believe they have uncovered the biggest Roman mosaic in north west Europe. Paul Ballinger, 41 and John Carter, 53 found the intricate floor design in a field and they believe it has national, if not international significance. http://www.wiltsglosstandard.co.uk/news/40...d_in_Cotswolds/

Excellent as always Neph Think I might change my surname to Pera because I constantly seem to be getting it out and passing it to the wife and kids!!!!

Here's a few compilations of the best 50 songs ever.......... http://www.fiql.com/playlists/top_50_songs_of_alltime/ http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21...5005368,00.html http://www.innersense.com.au/productions/w...gs/50songs.html Unfortunately "Get Back" does not make any of the compilations, but other Beatles songs do chart quite highly though. Here's a few compilations of the best Beatles songs ever...... http://edition.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Music/...ongs/index.html http://www.the-top-tens.com/lists/best-beatles-songs.asp http://listverse.com/music/top-15-beatles-songs/ ENJOY!!

Yes I'd also assumed that there wouldn't be any surviving remnants of the wall in the heart of Newcastle especially in such built up area's but it appears that there's a few more sections that crop up around the Denton area even the remains of a turret. http://www.roman-britain.org/frontiers/hw_guide.htm I'm back up there again tomorrow so I think I'll nip off in my lunch break and go check out the other local sites.

Today I've been working right next to section of Hadrian's Wall, it was in a little town in Newcastle called Denton Burn. While I was working away I noticed a small fenced of area containing a small section of what I suspected was a part of the Northern Wall, Tools down!!! Instant inspection required!!! My suspicions were right, it was indeed part of the wall, I've been up to the wall many times before but it was strange to see it in a built up area and not out in the wilderness of Northumberland. It was only a very small section but even so it was still a Roman monument and got the respect it deserved.

Best song ever??? Not sure about that but it is quality as is most of the Beatles work!

Am I sensing a bit of bias there Neil???

Roman soldiers defending a Middle Eastern garrison from attack nearly 2,000 years ago met the horrors of war in a most unusual place. Inside a cramped tunnel beneath the site's massive front wall, enemy fighters stacked up nearly two dozen dead or dying Romans and set them on fire, using substances that gave off toxic fumes and drove away Roman warriors just outside the tunnel. The attackers, members of Persia's Sasanian culture that held sway over much of the region in and around the Middle East from the third to the seventh centuries, adopted a brutally ingenious method for penetrating the garrison wall.............. http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id..._comes_to_light

Ha. Ha. I'd get about fifteen cents if I sold that. Every little helps!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NEIL !!! Have a great day and don't get too drunk................OK! Go on then if you must!

P.P. Are you aware to the notion (running in the net) about Tacitus being somone else ? There is even a book "THE TRUE AUTHORSHIP OF THE NEW TESTAMENT" by Abelard Reuchlin who says "...First, the Pisos used their friend Cornelius Palma, the jurist. Writing under the name Cornelius Tacitus between 115 and 120..." There is another version that he was Neratius Priscus and so on . I know that Syme dealt with the subject but did not came to such an extreme conclusions . Personally I alwayes tend to dismiss such bizar hypothesis but it is intriguing . Indeed it is very intriguing, I've come across this before. If you read further on in the book it goes onto say that infact ,Tacitus also used the names "Cornutus Tetullus" and "Cornelius Priscus" as well. But probably the most interesting part is the connection he makes between Tacitus and Neratius Priscus, he goes onto say............ When one reads, for instance, "The Life of Hadrian," by Aelius Spartianus, one learns that (at least supposedly); "There was, to be sure, a widely prevailing belief that Trajan, with the approval of many of his friends, had planned to appoint as his successor not Hadrian but Neratius Priscus, even to the extent of once saying to Priscus: "I entrust the provinces to your care in case anything happens to me." One would wonder just how it is that Trajan had thought to make Neratius Priscus (Tacitus) his successor. Well, having looked into this further by comparing the alias names of the emperor Nerva and those of Neratius Priscus, as well as doing more studies into the various alias names used by other persons of the time the reality of the matter has now come to light. "Neratius Priscus" is now seen as "Ner(va) Atius Priscus", and this along with other facts reveal that Neratius Priscus or the person that history knows as Tacitus was actually son of emperor Nerva. You may see this in the genealogical charts that give the true relation-ship between ALL of the Roman emperors Galba up to Constantine I. I've also read that In 100, he, along with his friend Pliny the Younger prosecuted Marius Priscus (proconsul of Africa) for corruption. Priscus was found guilty and sent into exile; Pliny wrote a few days later that Tacitus had spoken "with all the majesty which characterizes his usual style of oratory" (wiki) There's almost some definite connection between Tacitus and Priscus but just what it is we'll probably never know.

It'd be a real shame if you had to sell those books. I've just done a quick search on Amazon UK and to be honest I think you'd struggle to get the price that your looking for. The only one's you might make some good money out of are the Marius books, it's pretty hard to get your hands on any books about him,well, for a reasonable price anyway but I still think you'd be hard pushed to get your asking price. If I were you I'd keep hold of the books (you'd only regret selling them later) and come up with another way to raise funds for the new computer, what about selling your body??????

I'll definitely second this one, That would have been an awesome spectacle to behold. I'm starting to feel a little bit sorry for the lame old men now, the midgets have now got cavalry mounts while the lame old men have nothing, so I'm going to propose that we give the lame old men a squadron of one armed archers to even things up a bit!!!!! Now that's entertainment!!

I'd much rather have been sat on a hill top with a nice box of otters nose's and wolf's nipple chips watching the battle unfold.

I think this is the poem your referring to......... Disgusting: To Aemillius I did not (may the gods love me) think it mattered whether I might be smelling Aemilius's mouth or arse. The one's no cleaner, the other's no dirtier, in fact his arse is both cleaner and nicer: since it's no teeth. Indeed, the other has foot long teeth, gums like an old box-cart, and jaws that usually gape like the open cunt of a pissing mule on heat. He fucks lots of women, and makes himself out to be charming, and isn't set to the mill with the ass? Shouldn't we think, of any girl touching him, she's capable of licking a foul hangman's arse? You've got to love Catullus haven't you, the man is wonderfully vulgar!

What would the 20 non-combatants be doing? Keeping count of the casualties on the battlefield, in true Civil Service style? -- Nephele I believe it is accepted numerous non-combatants were attached to the legions, so I was asking if it was possible the same were in turn attached to the centuries and taking care of soldiers needs eg, repairs to the equipment, carrying supplies, foraging etc. The century was split into 10 conterburnia which was basically a tent party of eight soldiers who slept and ate together which gave the century a fighting force of 80 combatants, now, please correct me if I'm wrong but I'm sure I've read somewhere that to each conterburnium, was attached 2 non combatants whose job was to assist the 8 soldiers with their day to day needs like mentioned above. Which would in theory bring the Century up to 100 men. According to The Roman Army Page ........... The strength and organisation of the legions varied in time and was probably not completely standardised throughout the army. Generally speaking however the legio was organised in ten cohortes or cohorts. These cohorts consisted each of three manipuli, literally 'handfuls', which were in their turn subdivided in two centuriae or 'hundreds'. These centuriae were composed of a number of contubernia or 'tentparties'. Although the name centuria would seem to indicate a unit of a hundred soldiers, this unit could comprise anything from 30 to over 200 individuals. The usual establishment strength however is thought to have been 80 men. From the second half of the first century AD in at least some of the legions the first cohort was reorganised in five double strength centuriae while the remainder continued to be organised in the old manner.

I think you'll find that it took Caesar considerably longer than 3 years to conquer Gaul. His Gallic campaign began in 58 BC against the mass migration of the Helvetti and it more or less ended with the siege of Uxellodunum in 50 BC.

It's bloody typical isn't it!! All over Christmas and the new year it's been reasonably mild and some would even say nice, but what happens on my first day back at work???? I leave the house at 6am to be confronted by freezing conditions and a sprinkling of white everywhere, the roads were crap, it took my age's to get to site and then I had to spend all day out in the bleeding cold!!! But never mind it'll soon be summer!!!! How did the interview go?

Yes it's definitely a strange one. I don't think Caesar would have even considered giving Antonius so much responsibility if he did not think him capable of do the job he required done. His loyalty was without question as was his courage so I don't really see any obvious reason why Ceasar's dislike of him is often portrayed in documentaries, TV/movies etc. Maybe people just think that because their characters were so different, Caesar was refined, eloquent, not a big drinker where as Antonius was considered an oaf, a thug who spent most of his time whoring and drinking to excess and had no respect for other people of rank, maybe people just presumed that Caesar would dislike this man, but from what we've read then it appears there's no evidence of dislike what so ever.

WOW!!!!! How cool is that???? I can't believe that nobody noticed that he had a

I can see what you mean Augusta, I imagine it must be pretty hard for an author to read other peoples work with a bit of nit picking and often thinking things like... " I wouldn't have put that in there " or " I'd have expanded on that a bit more" or " you've over done on that bit" etc etc.

I've not seen or heard this Mettalica track before, it's pretty good, thanks for posting. I still prefer the original score by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard though.

And yet it is out of print? Hmm.... a bit new age and pretentious for me. I'm afraid she won't stand the test of time with her work. Shame - I had such high hopes. New age and pretentious?? Not sure what you mean there Augusta? I'd have thought this book would have been to your liking. The way she really brings the character's and their surroundings to life, how she goes into great detail to describe and paint the picture of what life was like back in the first century AD. This is something I'm sure you've spoke of in the past about what you look for in a book. ( I think.)

I totally agree but the plain and simple fact is that big names sell movies. A historical movie with say Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt etc starring is going to get much more hype and media attention therefore generating many more gazzillion pounds than have some unknown whether he fits the bill perfectly or not take the starring role. At the end of the day pounds/dollars takes precedence over historical fact/accuracy, sad but true. But I must take my hat off to Colin Farrells portrayal of Alexander, simply breath taking...........................NOT!!!!!!!!!

The length some guy's will go to, just to get their end away!!!! This randy little beaver had the balls (probably full one's!!) to tackle an electric fence. You've got to take your hat of for the little guy. I for one am rooting for him!!!