Melvadius

Yep it does although the format of this programme is a whistlestop tour of the UK so only about 5 minutes in total are spent discussing the Roman period. About 22 minutes in they go to some excavations at Heslington East in Yourkshire, a quick halt beside the statue of Constantine outside York Minster and then up to Housesteads and you'd miss it. So far I have managed to miss most of this series since I don't rate the presenters that highly and the format tends to be more choclate box than in-depth.

Maty You may have missed the mention above to the rediscovery of the 'baby burials' remains from Yewden Villa which featured in the previous series and were discussed here on UNRV. In this series they are hopefully providing some more detailed information arising from the research which has occured over the last year into the remains. As far as I know the burials occured over a longish period of time and were found throughout the villa so are probably not 'plague' victims. The discovery in Devon of a Roman 'town', although probably actually more of a small settlement, likewise was discussed here But we will probably discuss more after the programme - hopefully on a separate thread.

I think I'm more with Ursus on this one. Looking at the cover online it's what I would term more 'something and nothing', as far as my tastes are concerned. Possibly not as bad as some but not really saying anything special just a few horizontal coloured lines splashed across the page. Is it part of the VSI branding? Mind you given how contentious the whole area of druids and 'modern' miconceptions or perceptions of druidism can be maybe that's no bad thing BTW welcome to the site Historian08.

It is now (Thursday 8 Sep 2011) listed as on "Tomorrow, 21:00 on BBC Two (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland only)" (ie Friday 9 September) plus several repeat showings on BBC2 and BBC HD over the next few days. NB there is a short clip here

Corrected now

Whatever your personal views on current environmental campaigns it may suprise some to discover that such campaigns are nothing new. Environmental Protection UK has just reprinted in 'modernised English and with some added comparisons' a 1661 essay by John Evelyn (a noted author and diarist, a member of the group that founded the Royal Society, and the inspiration for a certain UK based skincare company) on air pollution in London, called Fumifugium. [N.B. it can be read online via the previous link] It is drafted as an entreaty to King Charles II; describing the nature of the problem (via a few anachronistic digressions on the influence of air on the characters of nations and some fulsome praise of influential nobles) makes one or two unfavourable comparisons with the air in other European cities, picks up on some interested parties views and then explains what Evelyn would see done. The chief issue back then was the burning of sea coal, but the message Evelyn was trying to get across is very similar to the line taken by modern day campaigners:

This is one of those stories which appear in print from time to time where I could really wish a more 'reputable' or at least fairly responsible newspaper was running the story. In their rush to make a story I suspect they have turned what could be quite interesting results from the multi-phase investigations into 'Jarlshof' on Shetland int just some more 'tabloid' fare thus the consignment of this entry into the 'After Hours Baths'. Reading the article to the end Dr Noel Fojut, author of Prehistoric And Viking Shetland, was able to make the point that :

We seem to be missing the Roman period set detective fiction of Lyndsey Davis which has been discussed extensively elsewhere on UNRV including here and several times previously in the 'What's the last book you have read' thread.

Topic duplicated so merged here.

Well yes we did, so Topics merged

Not having access to the German original articles by comparing the various images, including the survey amchine photograph, in der Standard I am tempted to suggest the location may actually be slightly further north and east towards the edge of the big field. I'm wondering if it may actually lie more toward where Viggen has written 'possible site'. However without comparing other aerial photographs showing a different state of vegetation or actually visiting the site to see the fall of the land it is difficult to be certain.

I would agree that flooding is definately another possible causal factor in soil building up at this site but the corolloray of that is that often rivers are a danger to archaeology through erosion of banks and/or cutting of new channels across flood plains. There also is a few other possible causal factors depending on the site which can include: The 'French' factor - where constant manuring can lead to extensive build-up of soil to the, possibly apocrophyl, extent that some land is reputed to require returning to the original soil level at the end of a lease. At one site I dug we had to dig down through 6 feet of soil that was a result of agricultural practices which eroded a small hill and also a build up soil through manuring over a six hundred year period before the site was built over and stabalised in the 18th century. Greek effect - Liquefaction of soil after an earthquake such as Helike which sank deep beneath the modern soil level.

The answer is probably 'yes'. The ruins which have been discovered are not the amphitheatre which is a much mor emassive structure but the smaller buildings in close proximity to it. What the geophysical survey will have identified is the places where walls originaly stood, even if the walls themselves and/or the stone foundations have been robed away or else if originally the walls were wooden long since burnt or rotted away. The process of vegetation growing and soil accumulating or slidding from other parts of a site can lead to quite serious build ups of soil over a site in a suprisingly short period of time. We had almost six inches accumulate in one place in our back garden near where we fed the birds and grass grew on the seed debris.

It looks like it could be Solano, Croatia

Frustrating not being able to read this well enough in German, since the English language press reports are lagging a long way behind. Looking at the reconstructions and the photograph it looks like the 'ludus' could be in fairly close proximity to one or other of the two amphitheatres known to be on the site. I know where I would be inclined to place it but hopefully they will release more details later on.

There is a late Roman version in Vegetius which discusses the Sacramentum (military oath). I do not think that any earlier or what may possibly have been unit specific versions have survived from either the Republican period consular armies or the Early Principatye period but you may find these discussions elsewhere in UNRV of related interest on: Enlisting in the Roman Military Joining a Legion Has some earlier references to the sacramentum in Livy, who tells us Livy, Ab urbe condita ,22.38 Translation found at McAdams I have

Should we be looking along the Adriatic coast for the answer?

Some interesting views there. Looks like you had a good trip.

Lucky you, I'd like to know how you find excavating through pumice, etc compares to normal excavation. BTW If the 'grockles' get too much you could always try only speaking to them in Swedish

Not a period I know well but a couple of observations. When any culture is conquered by another there will be a period of stabalisation during whcih aspects of each culture will merge unless there are regulations enacted which either ban or enforce the use of certain materials or styles of clothing. There is therefore liable to be some individuals unable or unwilling to replace clothing and/or other aspects of their 'material culture' while others will consciously wish to 'ape' their conquerors. How long this period continues will vary from culture to culture but as I understand it the Moslem conquerors of Byzantium subscribed to the basic Islamic habit of non-representational iconography so the previous Byzantine habit of iconography and representational mosaics presumably stopped around the time of the conquest. Unless anyone knows better without this visual record then it will be extremely difficult to give a defintive answer to this question since 'clothing' generally does not survive well. My own instinctive view is that it could well have have taken several years to complete but material cultural remains such as personal adornments and metal or bone fastenings may well be dateable and to the right expert could give indications of increasing use of some types of apparel and consequently a potential rate of cross-culturization.

I think you may have accidently missed Sylla from this list I don't always guess correctly the first time but it somehow feels like taking an unfair advantage ..... mind you with the top half dozen or so's track record I sometimes feel that I should take it

In that case with potentially insider knowledge I'll step back.

It looks like a current excavation and the tree line speaks to me of Europe so knowing some of the sites where you have worked how about somewhere in Italy?

For the moderation team let me also welcome you to the board. FYI, If you are uncertain where to find anything or else what messages can be posted where you will find that forum guidelines tend to be 'pinned' at the top levels of some of the upper level fora.

Not personally but I have known one or two people who could.