Primus Pilus

Workers repairing a sewage pipe in the Old City of Jerusalem have discovered the biblical Pool of Siloam, a freshwater reservoir that was a major gathering place for ancient Jews making religious pilgrimages to the city and the reputed site where Jesus cured a man blind from birth, according to the Gospel of John. The pool was fed by the now famous Hezekiah's Tunnel and is "a much grander affair" than archeologists previously believed, with three tiers of stone stairs allowing easy access to the water, said Hershel Shanks, editor of the Biblical Archaeology Review, which reported the find Monday... From the Post Gazette

Ahhhh, figured it out on my own. All members should now have access to posting calendar events. I took the liberty of adding this original post by Longbow for August 9 to make sure it works... Feel free to experiment (of course please be reasonable and within the confines of Roman History) Notice that I've changed the settings so calendar events show up at the bottom of the forum near the member info. The regular calendar link is to the top and right of the main forum along with 'search' etc. [EDIT] I've found that entries are one time entries only and do not reoccur each year. Moon can you look into this and see if something is possible, I'm pretty much lost the initial set up.

Hopefully, Moonlapse can figure out a way to make altering the calendar available to the public. We could add anniversary updates without creating multiple threads on the forum.

I think everyone is missing the point. Ursus is not asking for a tribal/genetic definition. He is asking what is the true definition of 'Roman'. I liken it to Caesar who defined himself as a descendent of Aeneas (associating his status, and that of Roma itself, as of being divine nature) whose dignitas must be beyond reproach. Everything he strived for was designed not only to support that dignitas but to further the glory of the City, proving its superiority over the rest of civilization. Whether or not Caesar's actions can be interpreted this way or only with the intention of furthering his own individual cause is irrelevent. It was the public persona he put upon everything, because that is what true Romans supported, the ultimate glory of the state, through the accomplishments of its greatest heros. (Also this is not intended to be a discussion of Caesar or his actions, but his example provides an easy way to illustrate my thoughts on the subject.)

Well, not doing that part worked ok for me.

I skipped that part and simply changed the text document as described.

It depends on the museum... some are public and some are privately funded, either by individuals or non-profit organizations. For instance here in Detroit... the Detroit Institute of Arts is operated by the City (even though it survives mostly on private sector donations), whereas 'The Henry Ford' (museum and Greenfield Village) is privately operated by the Henry Ford Estate. In the first case, the DIA was a public structure designed to advance the arts and education of the city as a whole, whereas the Henry Ford was born from the philanthropy of one of the 20th centuries most well known business icons.

No, I like it, but I just wanted to know what was the point of posting it. Ahh, anniversary date I suppose... Anniversary number 1,888 it would seem

Indeed, If you don't like the subject... then please just refrain from posting.

The remains of an ancient church and monks' retreats that date back to the early years of monasticism have been discovered in a Coptic Christian monastery in the Red Sea area, officials said Saturday. Workers from Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities found the ruins while restoring the foundations of the Apostles Church at St. Anthony's Monastery. The remains are about 2 or 2 1/2 yards underground, said the head of the council, Zahi Hawass.... From LiveSience

Agreed, but again these were people the Romans were incapable of completely subduing. Whatever the reasons, of which there are a multitude, I believe the same things can be translated for the conditions in Caledonia. Whether it was logistics, fear, a determined resistance, lack of a single cohesive target, etc. I truly believe the Romans were incapable of conquering 'Scotland' in the time period where it could have happened historically. Consider it this way.. if all things were 'right' and there were no pressures in the east, and the Germanics were not an issue, and there were no civil wars, I believe that the Romans could have technically bested the fragmented tribes in the highlands. However, these problems were real concerns of the empire, and coupled with the other things already mentioned, the conquest of Caledonia was impossible.

Sorry I'm late on this one (must've been while I was on vacation) Mainly they didn't conquer Scotland because they couldn't flush the Picts and Caledones out of the highlands. They tried on several occasions beginning with Agricola through to Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Severus and Caracalla. The Romans were simply incapable of defeating an enemy who refused to face them in open battle. Many will argue that the Romans did not conquer Caledonia in its entirety because it was unnecessary. Yes, there was no great advantage for Rome in conquering these lands (ie from a natural resource or economic perspective) but it would it not have been tactically preferred to conquer the land and Romanize it rather than spend time and resources building two massive walls and fortification systems (Hadrians and Antonines). Even Severus, the master soldier that he was, was unable to provide any lasting solution to the problem posed by the northern tribes.

Agreed, I simply meant to say there was nothing wrong with the topic going off-topic, in light of the need for your response. (which I happen to agree with and feel no need to add anything since the response seems more than adequate in my estimation) This nullification of the historian theory makes no sense to me personally. But let's not make this about whether or not it is right for me to moderate, or if going off-topic is ok. Please continue with your previously scheduled discussion.

LOL, yes you were surely being mocked. I mean, a game board from Parker Brothers, available to any and all, being able to act as a medium to the netherverses, surely couldn't be denied as the premier supernatural contact source. Just be glad you didn't wake up with platinum white hair and a pentagram scar on your forehead. I jest, but I really did have some strange experiences. Nothing so abnormal to blather on about, but my highly logical disposition still has difficulty explaining.

Before we go way off here allow me to interject. I personally am not all that concerned about natural evolutions of a discussion as long as they maintain a constructive atmosphere. While Virgil and Onasander seem to be developing an adversarial relationship, its been largely done in a respectful manner.

I downloaded it last night. The amount of work these guys have done on a project such as this (without monetary reward) is quite amazing. I started as Rome (of course) and promptly whipped Pyrrhus out of Italy , but that's about it so far. I would suggest that anyone who gives a damn go to Rome Total Realism and check out a google ad or two.

I checked it out... but as my own 'spirituality' has been limited to a few rather bizarre Ouija board incidents, I wouldn't quite qualify as a contributing member of such a forum.

No, slave revolts had long since disappeared. As the west broke into a feudal system, slaves and the lower classes shifted into a different form of servitude, that of serfdom. Slaves, for simplicity purposes, essentially gained 'freedom' from bondage to individuals and families, and became bonded to the territories of feudal lords. The growth of Christianity also played a major role, as the church was officially against the institution. Despite the hypocrisy of the church itself, and its priests, owning slaves its opposition helped to eradicate it. Unfortunately, one could argue that serfdom in the post Roman dark age era was a lesser position than that of a slave in the Imperial era.

Eventually we hope to continue on with a 'Byzantine' site, but considering the pace of my current writing, we are talking about years and years from now.

There is virtually no connection between Spartacus, slavery and the fall of Rome due to migrating Germanics. These Germanics were not slaves, and many were allied tribes who provided the bulk of Rome's military in the late western imperial era . The social and cultural dynamic was a completely different entity from the late republic until the late western era and aside from the contiguous history, there really is no truth in that statement. Spartacus and the Third Servile Was was the last of the great slave rebellions. It never happened again. If you represent the 'plight' of the common man as akin to slavery, I suppose you could manipulate the statement to make your point, but as it stands I disagree completely.

The dusty pit next to the governor's office here looks like any other archaeological dig. Workers chip away gingerly at a half-buried stone wall, carting off the crumbling bricks in a wheelbarrow. The walls were originally the cellars of houses built 50 to 70 years ago in the early years of the Turkish Republic. Beneath them, archaeologists have uncovered a staircase dating from the late Ottoman Empire, perhaps a century or two old. And lurking beneath that is a genuine treasure: a stone arch that forms part of a cistern from the late Byzantine period, which ended in 1453... From NY Times International/Istanbul Journal

Archaeologists excavating along the Via Egnatia are revealing the secrets of the ancient Romans' equivalent of an interstate highway. Stretching 535 miles across modern-day Albania, Macedonia and Greece, the stone-paved road made the going easy for charioteers, soldiers and other travelers. It was up to 30 feet wide in places and was dotted with safety features, inns and service stations.... From The State

Due to being on vacation for a few days, I thankfully missed the finale. This also explains why I haven't posted for a bit.

Stonehenge has always mystified. Julius Caesar thought it was the work of druids, medieval scholars believed it was the handiwork of Merlin, while local folk tales simply blamed the devil. Now scientists are demanding a full-scale research programme be launched to update our knowledge of the monument and discover precisely who built it and its burial barrow graves... Full article @ Observer Guardian

Scientists have found high levels of arsenic in the hair of King George III and say the deadly poison may be to blame for the bouts of apparent madness he suffered. In 1969, researchers proposed the strange behavior of the monarch who reigned during the American Revolution resulted from a rare hereditary blood disorder called porphyria... Full article @ RedOrbit