GhostOfClayton

Still nothing forthcoming eh? There is a clue in both photos, though not in the pictures themselves . . . the clue is in their title.

I missed it too. Happy Birthday, Kosmo. Did you celebrate?

To extrapolate further, in the example shown, not only is the lower angle 'Angle A' (as shown), but the right angle is 'Angle B'. Doc would be forgiven for not seeing it. Not so, Melvadius.

Overlay a right-angled triangle on a map of Wales, and something interesting happens . . . .

Certainly (and HBO's Rome makes this ab-sol-utel-ly clear) Brutus' mother Servilia influenced him very strongly (even manipulated him) to murder Caesar. Without her influence, he may well not have been involved. JC - Dictator for life, not first Emperor.

Let me echo the congrats of the others here.

I only just noticed this, Ummidia. Thanks for that. Makes sense! The R (after an A) was to make the A sound longer, rather than the flat vowels used by the likes of myself. To illustrate, a Yorkshireman would say 'BATH' whereas someone from the Home Counties would say 'BARTH'. So, in Petriana, when you say "A - na", I hear 'Anna'. I suuspect you were thinking 'Arna', like 'Arnie'.

Visit rescheduled to 5th December. Sadly I'll only be able to get there at about 1300, so have lost 2 hours already. Can't be helped.

By the way, would this thread sit better in 'Lingua Latina'?

O brave new world! That has such wikis in it! My 14 year old self would have been delighted to stumble across this (as was my 47 year old self - and Mrs OfClayton thought she could change me!)

Expanding on Caldrail's comments about the plebs. It's interesting to consider the Rudge Cup, the Amiens Skillet, the Staffordshire Moorlands Patera, and to a lesser extent, vessels like the Winterton Cup. The first three were vessels which had the names of some of the forts along Hadrian's Wall engraved on them, and some had a wall design as part of the decorative pattern. There are two schools of thought as to their purpose: the first is that they were a retirement gift awarded to military men having served their time on the wall, and the second was that they were the Roman equivalent of tourist tat, or merchandising. If the military significance is true, serving soldiers must have had a sense that their partcular posting was part of an overall defensive system, and they would identify with that over and above any alegiance to particular cohorts/legions. If the second (I don't see it myself) then the wall is something worth a mention on a kitchen vessel. Whichever, the wall becomes something over and above a functional bit of military infrastructure.

There would obviously have been a range of opinions. Hadrian believed that the Empire had grown too quickly under Trajan, giving long borders that were difficult and expensive to defend. The high concentrations of troops required for that defence lead to a dearth within the Empire itself, where they would otherwise increase the security of its denizens. The policy of using Rome-friendly tribes as buffer states also gained significance at this time, and Hadrian had this at the front of his mind when drawing up the borders. He was clearly a sharp cookie, and there would have been those on the Senate who had the vision to understand and agree with his actions. Arguably, this was a continuation of a policy that had its roots as early as Augustus, but largely it is felt that, up to Hadrian, the Romans felt their empire would keep on expanding forever, and it was the duty of every Roman general to keep that outward expansion pressure going. There would have been those on the senate that saw the frontiers as an end to the glory days, and consequently be mad as hell about it. Not only because of the glory, but because wealth would now have to be earned, rather than pinched off the neighbours. Those who fell into the latter camp, would be further split into two. Those who kept their mouth shut about it, and those who risked annoying the new Emperor by vocalising their opinions. Although Hadrian was adopted and nominated by Trajan, he was not a shoe-in for Emperor and had to work hard to gain popularity (he publically burned all the tax records). There were those who had opposed his claim to the purple, and who no doubt regretted it when they had the error of their ways brutally pointed out to them. Some would have to tread very carefully in considering what they said in the Senate. As to Hadrian's Wall itself rather than just the drawing up of the Limes, it underwent a number of changes during the latter part of construction, or very soon after. These are principally in connection with the practicality of a wall as a defensive frontier, as opposed to a traditional defensive wall around a fort or city. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that Hadrian was closely involved in the design of the wall, modelling it on fort/city walls. He famously did not take kindly to having his architectural skills critcised, and so you can see a scenario where, as soon as he left, the military leaders on the ground said, "OK lads, he's gone!", and made the changes.

I give thanks to the fact that I shall be going to see the excellent comedian Milton Jones at Donacster Dome tonight. This as come as a last minute reprieve from babysitting for the larger of the OfClayton Neice/Nephew tribes. So that's a double 'thanks'.

Even using my very meagre Latin, which I pretty much learned here on UNRV (satis cerevisiae emere) I saw straight away that "Ad dare servire" was the kind of Latin that comes straight out the back of an online translation tool. I hope one of the folks here can help you out. There's nothing better than to be proved a culus cognoscentum.

. . . and I'm so sure it's him, that I'm going to bounce this topic into the 'recent updates'.

You've got me curious. I need to watch it (when I get back home to my DVD player.)

No.

Seriously? No takers? I thought this one would go pretty much straight away. OK. Same place, but photo taken from the opposite corner.

Sadly, due to fog at Schiphol airport, my trip to Basel has had to be postponed, probably until mid-January. Watch this space, Augusta Raurica fans.

You mean this guy? Lucius Vorenus, played by Kevin McKidd

I have nothing else to add, so why did I post this comment?

I love curry . . .the hotter the better. Within medical tolerances, obviously, but other than that . . . I killed off my last reamining taste bud in the 1980s, using Tindaloo as my weapon of choice, so my food needs to be spicey. Sprouts . . I also love sprouts. However, sprout vindaloo? Not really sure about that. Sounds like it could be a significant contributing factor to global warming all on its own.

Quite an exciting one that I fear I won't be able to get to. WAY OF THE WARRIOR - EPIC MOVIE ARMS AND ARMOUR Country: UK Date: 14 Jan to 19 March 2012 Place: Tullie House Museum, Carlisle Website: Tullie House

Surely everyone knows that Doncaster is the true home of sensible Englishness. At the outside, it may be Barnsley.