GhostOfClayton

Ta.

Ursus deserves the credit for pointing this one out, in this thread.

I suppose it would be a good time to plug a visit to the Roman Baths Complex at Bath (Aquae Sulis). Expensive, but extensive and a very detailed Audioguide that will last you all day if you listen to all the additional information most people don't bother with. They can be found at this website.

If anyone misses it on iPlayer, don't worry - I've got it safely recorded away. Just let me know if you'd like a copy.

Is this a 'second series' sort of thing? I didn't see the first one, but would love to. Is it available as a region 2? Is the first series available as region 2? Anyone seen it? etc.

All very strange, really, Doc. I was the only one to have the curry, so it's difficult to blame it. The pub does have a very good reputation, and a high score on 'Scores on the Doors' (which is a UK database grading the hygiene standards of eating establishments.) One of the places I work has its own Nurse. I went to see her, and she said it was classic food poisoning. I have low blood pressure under normal circumstances, and the loss of liquid to the gut (which it uses to flush through the bacteria) caused my blood pressure to lower even further. Less blood got to my brain and well, being such a super-intelligent clever-clogs, my brain needs plenty of blood to keep it conscious.

It is not only staggering that such a physically and mathematically complex device was constructed so long ago, but also that anyone (even modern scientists with modern computers) could reproduce it from such scant remains! All concerned, both ancient and modern, are deserving of my upmost respect.

Hello, and welcome to the GhostOfClayton twice-fortnightly blog. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin. Laid low by a humble curry On Friday night, I scraped the ice from the GhostMobile in order top take Mrs OfClayton and a few friends for a meal out. We battled our way through the snow, out of Aquis-of-the-Romans, and down the Ermine Street, to a pub in the countryside, and a very fine night was had by all. I chose the chicken curry, which was delicious, followed by bread & butter pudding (also delicious). However, in the very early hours of Saturday morning, I was rudely awakened by severe stomach cramps. I almost ran through to the bathroom arrving just in time. The next memory I have is waking up to the sight of blood (lots of it) on floor tiles, and the tiles themselves where quite a lot closer than I'm used to seeing them (in fact just a few inches away). Piecing together the available information, I surmise I must've passed out and fallen forwards. Luckily, I must've broken my fall using my forehead, if the large lump left behind was anything to go by. I'm pleased I wasn't conscious to experience that blow! It split the top of my nose open (that was where the blood came from). Anyway, all's well that ends well, and I'm now OK, other than the cuts and bruises to my face, which have robbed me of my devastating good looks! Pompeii I know, I know . . . I normally publish this twice-fortnightly blog on Mondays, and today is Wednesday. I'm sure you've been beside yourselves with anticipation for two days! Anyway, there's method in my madness. I was waiting to see Pompeii on BBC2 last night to say a few words about it. I have eagerly awaited this programme for many weeks, now, and I want to get it on record that I wasn't the least bit disappointed. It was a wonderful peice of TV. The subject matter was well chosen, concentrating on the life of the inhabitants of Pompeii, rather than their demise. Mary Beard was perfect for the job. Not the usual dry history buff, but an entertaining lady with a twinkle in her eye, whose enthusiasm leapt out of the screen. My job is not safe!!! Given the lateness of this blog, I won't bore you with an Asterix book of the week, or tell you how many days until you can see 'The Eagle of the Ninth'. You'll have to wait until next Monday. I'll just get this published so you can get on with reading it!

Yes, I've heard that one, as well (I think the man had served in the army under Hadrian.) I can't think where I heard it, though. Was there a last piece of Hadrianic wisdom tagged onto the end? Can't remember. Another little Hadrianic bathing legend had Hadrian talking to a client king somewhere in Britannnia. The client King asked Hadrian, "Why do you bathe once a day?". To which Hadrian replied, "because I haven't really got time to bathe twice a day." That one was courtesy of the audio guide at Wroxeter - no sources quoted, obviously.

If you imagine the larger bath complexes, surely they were built for anyone who cared to go down there, and no evidence (to my knowledge) that there was a charge. I think it would be inevitable that they shared the same space, even if they didn't interact socially with citizens of different ranks.

Go for it, Klingan. I'm interested!

Recommend you read "The Silver Pigs" by Lindsey Davis (the first 'Falco' novel). Our hero travels from Rome to Britannia and back at about the right time, and his journey is recounted in some logistical detail. The main difference between Falco and your protagonists is that he was travelling with full Imperial endorsement. Still, you should get a good feel for what it was like.

Congrats, Caldrail (I'd really like to have a go on a forklift! - I'll add it to my bucket list.)

I mentioned this in passing above, but now I have details: 'Pompeii: Life and Death in a Roman Town' Country: UK Channel: BBC2 & BBC2 HD Date: Tuesday, 14th December Time: 2100 GMT for 60 mins Episodes: 1 (to be confirmed) Link: BBC2 As usual, this one will be on BBC iPlayer from Wednesday onwards (usually for 6 days), for non-UK TV Licence fee payers.

Give it a go, Crispina. Create yourself as Twitter account, search for iTweetus, and 'follow' him. It's all very straightforward. It was my introduction to Twitter, and if I can handle it, I'm sure you can. However, it isn't that exciting at the moment. Pretty much just our hero grumbling about the cold/damp. But, as GeekAmicus has pointed out, that's a pretty realistic scenario. UNRV also has a Twitter you can follow. You can 'reply' to the various tweets.

Still? That pretty much summed up his state of mind a fortnight ago. You'd've thought he would've snapped out of it by now.

iTweetus most certainly counts. Which reminds me - I'm a couple of weeks behind on that. Must log back in to Twitter and see how he's getting on!

The key word in Livy seems to be 'Locking'. By 'locking', does he mean holding them close together, or just in general over their heads with a fortunate degree of ovberlap to help with protection by reducing the chance of a gap? If they all just stuck their shields in the air for (as Melvadius suggests) protection from aerial bombardment, then it can't be a Testudo. If it was a premeditated action, then surely it could be subject to consideration for an early Testudo.

I've been playing a sort of online adventure game called 'CDX'. It's set in the present, and revolves around a prop used in the BBC's 'Ancient Rome: The Rise & Fall of an Empire' series, which may be much more than just a prop. You play a member of the programme's production team, Adam Foster. The game can be found here.

Hello, and welcome to the GhostOfClayton twice-fortnightly blog. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin. Trivia Answers Firstly, I know you�ve all been sitting on the edge of your seats waiting for the answers to to last week's quiz questions, so I will keep you in suspenders no longer: Q1. What was known to the Romans as the Mare Nostrum? (Shame on you if you don't know that one!) The Mediterranean Q2. Which modern word derives from the Roman practice of posting news items at a junction of three roads? Trivia � ('Tri' and 'Via') Later addition: Q2a. What was the name of Frankie Howerd's character in 'Up Pompeii'? Lurcio Human League Update Due to the many, many tonnes of snow that fell (the sheer weight of it actually brought down the roof of our local Tesco Extra superstore), I didn't get to see Human League. Thankfully, they cancelled and rescheduled, so I'm now going next Sunday. A 'Keepy-Back' Story Also due to the many, many tonnes of snow, nothing much has happened worth blogging this week, so I�ll tell you all a little story of something that happened to me a couple of years ago, and that I've been keeping back for just such an occaision. I contribute walks to a walking website called www.walkingworld.com. A few years ago, I was visiting the Cotswolds, so a fellow contributor asked me to check out a walk that they had been unable to visit for a year or so. This is fairly common practice among Contributors, and I rarely do any advance homework or look at a map � just turn up with the walk instructions and follow them � this is the best test they can get. So, I set off, and about halfway round, came to a wood. The path into the wood was badly overgrown, and I was about to give up and turn round. I persisted, however, and gradually the brambles thinned out as I entered the wood proper. Some old masonry a few metres off the path caught my eye, and I had a quick look at the walk text to see if it was mentioned. Needless to say, I was intrigued. I located the referenced structure, sure enough, found this (not my photo): How remarkable is that? In the middle of a wood (and the only way into the wood was overgrown) was this well preserved Roman mosaic floor, covered only by tarpaulin and a very run down looking lean-to topped off by old corrugated sheet! It should be in a museum somewhere, shouldn't it? Wow! Weekly Stuff There are only 67 more days until The Eagle of the ninth, and my Aterix book of the week is 'Asterix and the Golden Sickle'.

Specs - definitely, (lost without mine) but I can't believe some kind of salicylate pain killer wouldn't have been in use. I can't find any direct evidence of use by Romans, but they pre-date the Romans by about 3000 years. Also, they're simple, effective and readily available. Maybe not in pill form, though.

Nothing short of Nobel Prize winning genius!

Small update.

That would certainly get my vote . . . especially if it would help with the locations in the Falco books!

Apologies for repetition, as this is the third time I've mentioned this one. However, some of you may have spurned it thus far for not being Roman. This week, however, it has reached the time of the Roman Republic: "Ancient Worlds" Country: UK Channel: BBC2 Date: Wednesday, 8th December (and other dates/times - see link) Time: 2100 GMT for 60 mins Episodes: 6 (of which the 8th December is number 5) Link: BBC2 (As usual, this one will be on BBC iPlayer for non-UK TV Licence fee payers.) And I have to say, the bloke who presents this bears an uncanny resemblance to Robert Web!