Melvadius

I suppose that I would add in another caveat which is how complete any author's knowledge can be of every possible subject area and therefore the potential influence range of any individual excluded from their list. I find such list's always more subjective than objective. As has already been pointed out any one man's or woman's greatness is almost invariably dependent on the work of others (and in some cases either the inaction or delayed action of others). Equally how far does an individuals period of influence extend - only within their lifetime, into the next generation or like Boudicca was it minimal in their own lifetime but skip forward a few centuries and something (not necessarily correctly recorded) finds a resonance amongst later generations? Possibly of more moment having recently sat through part of yet another XX number of Worlds greatest ....you can end up sitting and wondering under precisely what criteria the lsits were created as your interpretation is nothing like theirs before attempting to make your selection. Even if a set of 'rules' are given does your understanding of them equate to everyone elses and indeed theirs to each other? For which reasons, despite the earlier suggestions of a few 'missing' influential women, I also will pass on trying to compile my own 100 list.

Something that may interest people is the Maes Howe Webcam in Orkney, which can be used to observe the winter solstice from this Neolithic site at the following link: http://www.maeshowe.co.uk/index.html There is also a link from this site to the Newgrange Webcam which will have a live stream beginning at 8:30am (GMT) on 21st to 22nd December.

Just to add a few more to Nephele's list of influential women: Florence Nightingale - the 'original' lady with the lamp, bringing succor to injured 'officers' in the Crimean War during the 1850's who wrote about her experiences and kick started a lot of improveemnts in medical treatment around the world. Mary Seacole - Of greater moment, the Black women who initially influenced some of Florence Nightingale's latter ideas while caring for injured of all ranks but mainly the common soldiery. This women crossed just about every social divide in her time of rank status and race to say the least and in a recent(ish) survey came out top of the 100 greatest Black People in Britain so her influence is continuing. Boudicca - a women that more has been written about and talked about than many throughout history. Victoria - 'inspirer' of the Victorian Age in Britain influencing and changing public tastes and perception with her long period of mourning all across the British Empire and beyond.

I suppose that I should admit that the temple site I was thinking of is one that I have dug in Britain so I have a little insight into your query about and indeed the archaeological issues surrounding 'sacrificial' offerings at such sites. At the site I worked on, as I have already mentioned, there are no inscriptions to indicate which god it was dedicated to [- its use as a religious site actually predated the Roman invasion]. Various suggestions have been made, on the basis of particular votive items that have been found. They range of items with probable links to particular gods are not great and although most seem to indicate a link to a mother goddess cult [others] could, as some have suggested, equally indicate an aspect of Mercury may (also) have been worshipped there. The range of material is confusing and one or two other (aspects of) Romano-British gods have also been suggested. On the general point about sacrificial material there is strong evidence that sacrifices were carried out with[in] the temple precinct as several large pits have been found containing a mixture of bones, votive offerings and broken pots close to the walls [inside] the temple precinct. These have obviously been deposited in layers and over a considerable period of time because of the number of finds and the size and number of intercut pits. The suggestion here is that once a sacrifice had been made to the gods the items offered up were still considered sacred so had to be buried with due reverence within the sacred area of the temple precinct. Obviously there is a lot of confusion with such sites - especially when their use and the gods worshipped may have changed over time which has led to a lot of speculation so possibly multiple visits would be required to plot the changes [Edits marked]

Mel: Perhaps you wish to revise your answer ... here. :-) G Nope I don't think that I do. That was an answer relating to my 'potential' Doctoral Thesis. What would I do if on checking up I discovered that my 'original' self/ alter ego had simply slipped and drowned attempting to cross a river shortly after joining up? Embarrassing to say the least, or what?

What do you know about the real Melvadius? Not as much as I would have liked, although I know what unit he served in and from his name what his tribal affiliation was so have some general information on both, I don't know where he was when he died nor how old. Apparently someone in the group I was in had trawled through a lot of records including some foreign sources in compiling a note book with the list of names they were issuing. However, while in the group, I was never offered the opportunity to read and fully copy out the relevant source information. When I have a bit more time I hope to get around to completing that research for myself.

The reason why I use my particualr name is simple. If you join a renactment group you are usually given the name of an actual Roman period soldier, which has been taken from recorded tombstones, who served in the particular unit being 'recreated'. In my case, although not currently active in reenactment, ever since my time in the 'Legions' I have tended to use my 'Roman' name on the Roman related fora I visit.

As far as I know possibly the best example of information on Roman military observances comes from the Feriale Duranum which was a calendar of military observances found at Dura-Europas - although supported by fragments and similar references elsewhere. Brian Campbell in The Roman Army 31BC - AD337: A Sourcebook quotes some of the text from Fink et al. 1940 with Fink, RMR 117, papyrus, Dura-Europas,c. AD 223-227. The 1 January reference is missing but the 3 January text is quoted as follows [allowing for missing or abbreviated standard formulae]: "[because] vows [are fulfilled and undertaken] both for the welfare of our lord Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander Augustus and for the eternity of the empire of the Roman people, [to Jupiter Best and Greatest an ox, to Queen Juno a cow, to Minerva a cow], [to Jupiter Victor] an ox, [to Juno Sospos (?) a cow _ _ _, to Father Mars a bull, to Mars the Victor] a bull, to Victoria a cow." The calendar goes on to itemise a large number of the various celebrations held by the unit including indicating what sacrifices or other activities were carried out at which important events. The fact that it was found in the temple of Artemis Azzanathkona, which served as the archive office for the twentieth cohort of Palmmyrenes stationed at Dura-Europus and includes mention of military pay has been taken as evidence that it is a military calendar possibly based on an Augustan original format. As it makes no mention of local gods and is written in Latin this has been taken as additional evidence that it is a standard military document used by military units but possibly copied by some civilians all over the Empire. Campbell states his belief that as many of the observences included a sacrifice that suggests that the soldiers could then enjoy a feast and a break from military duties.

'The bones of six bishops buried more than 600 years ago have been identified using new hi-tech methods. The medieval bishops, who died between 1200-1360, were discovered during an excavation at Whithorn Priory in Galloway between 1957 and 1967.' - Whithorn was an important Medieval diocese in Southern Scotland as well as Cumbria in the north of England http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/south_...and/7146828.stm

Some evidence from 1st to 4th century AD Roman London has recently come to light with the completion of excavations at Drapers Gardens. 'The site was in the upper reaches of the Walbrook valley, 100m south of the City Walls, in an area where four streams of the river which divided the City were predicted to converge. With the exception of a multitude of concrete piles, the surviving archaeology was intact with an unbroken sequence dating to between 1st and 3rd centuries.' 'Wine buckets, bowls and dishes with an elegant beaded design are among a spectacular Roman hoard of international importance that has been discovered in London. '

I agree that thorough analysis would be required to have any chance of determining possible origins and use as a scythe or falx. There is one point that most people may not be aware of when it comes to iron objects recovered from the ground. Over time iron (adn some other metals) tends to react to the soil and either rust or in some soil conditions have elements of it effectively migrate into the surrounding soils. This can give the impression when excavated and using earleir conservation methods that metallic objects are lighter and/or larger (in the case of thin tools making them thicker) than they really were. Within the last few years a new technique has been developed with some success that, as far as I understand it, basically passes a charge through any metal object along with the block of soil that surrounded it. This technique migrates the some of the metallic elements in the soil back into the original object so returning much of its original shape and composition. This does however require that a reasonably large block of the surrounding 'mineralised' soil is lifted along with the object and not removed from it until after the technique has been used as part of the conservation process. [edited to correct one point]

You may find this link to a document on the British Dental Association site of interest as it discusses this very topic: http://www.bda.org/museum/docs/background%...on%20Romans.pdf Unfortunately it doesn't give precise 'book' references but from other information I have, concerning Pliny's frog potion, it does appear to be correctly quoting the original author. I have also been told that Galen suggested using liquorice root for cleaning teeth and several sites seem to have it as a constituent part of Roman toothpaste. [Found a bit more info]

Think that if you wish - it doesn't change the facts of what I and others have already said and indicated. If you or anyone else always present a bigoted and prejudiced face to the world then it is higly likely that it will be returned. On the other hand by accepting both that there is more than one world view and that cuturlal/religious/ethnic differences do not mean that everyone or any one individual's way of life is under imminent danger of attack then it much more likely that it won't be.

How do you choose, what do you choose? The answer is simple but I'm not going to release the topic of my (possibly forthcoming) doctoral thesis to just anyone reading this with access to such a time machine.

However you appear to have again misunderstood the recurring theme of what I have been posting that prejudice on either side is unhelpful to civilized society and thereby taken insult where none has been intended. In my second sentence I reiterated my previous point about dual possibilities by saying that 'there are shades of meaning and perception across all strata's of any society, in some you may meet instant acceptance, in other you won't.' The obverse can also be true that it is your own perception at fault but is not the point that I have been making. I remain convinced that 'perceptions', both internal and external, vary depending on circumstances which we often do not fully understand. this view is not inconsistent with what you have said. It is however a more inclusive viewpoint as it covers a wider spectrum of circumstances where prejudice and misconceptions MAY occur on both sides. To give peaceful co-existence a chance there are times to step back from potential conflicts rather than embracing them. Spittle has suggested an answer that would be consistent with the circumstances I previously described but similar reactions and misunderstandings can occur when someone 'inappropriately' dressed walks into an expensive restaurant. Although knowing how some, so called, 'A' list celebrities dress and act that is possibly not that appropriate an example now. Possibly instead as a final example think of not letting a waiter explain that they serve quadruple sized pizzas and end up with four of you trying to each balance your 'full sized' portion on a table built for one - I've seen that done as well In those circumstances whose perception is therefore at fault? If you cannot accept that there is more than one side to any given viewpoint then I can't help you any further.

I'm glad that you seem to have finally understood the point that I have been making. It is impossible to make a 'one size fits all' bland statement about 'Western Perceptions of Islam' - or any other racial/religious/cultural, etc. group. There are shades of meaning and perception across all strata's of any society, in some you may meet instant acceptance, in other you won't. We can only speak and write from our own experience and in most instances there is no reason or need to explain all of the circumstances for others to accept that those differences exist and do occur. As to the rigour of US custom checks in the past I have had several experiences of those. Although on the face of it they were often carried out with rigour the most notable as far as I am concerned was nothing like that. On a trip across the border into Mexico with two US companions we realized as we went through the turnstyle into Mexico that one of them had forgotten their passport. As the local police weren't bothered to carry out checks on entry rights and unable to do anything else we walked around for a bit and then returned to the US customs post with the knowledge that at least my forgetful companion had their driving licence. My other companion went first crying mercy for the forgotten passport and citing the driving licence in mitigation. We were instantly all assumed to be US citizens and waved through into the States without further checks being required only receiving a monologue on the 'problems' of policing the border. It actually took my repeated assertion of my non-citizen status for any formal check to be made of my passport at which point suprise was expressed that I really was British. So make of that what you will but a gap of a few years does not mean that any or even all of the participants are dead but it is another example of an individuals perceptions being totally wrong. BTW strange as it may seem to you some people go to America out of curiosity and with no desire to emigrate there.

Why we were there was irrelevant to the point of the story, which is that it is possible to go into area's in any society where a 'stranger' can be perceived as a threat becase the local s do not recognize them as part of their group. I have been in similar area's in Britain and elsewhere but the hostility I received was more marked in this instance than anywhere else and totally different to how I have been received in immigrant and/or Muslim communities in the UK. You wish to guess where we were outside New York go ahead but personally I think they deserve as much privacy as any other community from outside interference and finger pointing so no I am not going to name them in an open forum. Suffice to say they were the most extreme case we encountered but not the only one while travelling through several parts of the US. In their favour once they realised THEIR mistake WE had no real problems during our stay there. As to entry rights at the time, despite your assertion to the contrary, we all had indefinite right of entry to the US and were there on a three week tour so to ease your obvious confusion let us say that it was a good few years ago and before America went totally paranoid about any potential visitors. If you have problems with French waiters then that is your affair in my experience I have generally found them willing to serve anyone with money and reasonably polite - admittedly that is always in their terms. If you really want pointers to Middle East politics the honest answer is to stay out of them. From long experience the ideal situation is for a country to deal with it's own internal problems and the least said by biased outsiders in the aftermath of a conflict the sooner there will be a chance for a peaceful settlement. BTW my attributions are my own so if you feel you have been misquoted please accept my apologies it probably occured while I was cutting down inter-refered quotes that had become unwieldy to say the least.

Personally the thought of being able to install a fire proof safe in the basement of the Villa of the Papyrii, and preferably another in the Great Library in Alexandria, does have a certain appeal. Especially if I could persuade the owners/ those in control to put a complete duplicate set of scrolls from their libraries inside and marking the spot for later archaeological recovery. If it has to be down to interacting and no technology, given that my Latin and Greek could be brought up to par, being able to observe everyday life in some of the Roman sites I've visited comes a close second. I first thought of a temple site where there are no written records or inscriptions to say which god was being worshipped. However I am not set on this location as there are lots of sites where such observation would fill in blanks that the current archaeological and other investigative disciplines will probably never fully answer.

In my view that is an overly simplistic definition of the beliefs of any one of those groups but in particular of Islamic fundamentalism, which has at least as broad a range of definitions as any grouping of Christian Fundamentalists let alone any other religion. Ira Lapidus has written extensively about Islam (c/f the earlier posting referring to books about Islamic beliefs) and Wikipedia quotes his definition of Islamic fundamentalism: The Definition offered by American historian Ira Lapidus distinguishes between mainstream Islamists and Fundamentalists. Although a fundamentalist may also be an Islamist, a Fundamentalist is "a political individual" in search of a "more original Islam," while the Islamist is pursuing a political agenda. He notes that Islamic fundamentalism "is at best only an umbrella designation for a very wide variety of movements, some intolerant and exclusivist, some pluralistic; some favourable to science, some anti-scientific; some primarily devotional and some primarily political; some democratic, some authoritarian; some pacific, some violent. I note that he makes no reference here to "72 virigins" being a required aspect of fundamentalist beliefs in the hereafter.

It's good to see you now seem to agree there is validity to the point we have been making. The bottom line with anything that is identified as a possible weapon is context. This includes such details as where it has been found and also how it appears to have been mounted. As far as agricultural tools are concerned like scythes which are now used 'side on' this may mean that the fixing point to any haft showing signs of being remade for use with the 'point'or edge now facing forward.

Personally I was wondering if the autor meant us to draw any particular conclusion from the major collapse in American Latin scholarship after GWB took it. Much as I may like to subscribe to this viewpoint, I have to be honest and say I don't think it can. Even if he is right I would hope that the same parallel could not be drawn with a similar collapse in Britain. Having had much of my early tuition in the period, including a small amount of Latin, I think that the general collapse had more to do with the view, in Britain at least by the mid to late 60's, that there would be no need to learn grammatical structures as it was no longer relevant to modern living. Mind you, seeing some of what passes for 'English' amongst popular author's and journalists maybe they were right?

Not having direct access to recent Rumanian debate on the probably origin and use of Flax is an obvious restriction on what I can say and both Kosma and Dieges have suggested what seem reasonable alternatives. I have one concern with both suggestions as to the origin of a Falx being as a scythe. If it is anything like the examples I have seen in British museums and other agricultural implemments from the period then they will have had close parallels with more modern equivalents with one major exception. Iron was an expensive metal and tended to be used sparingly as such Roman period agricultural edged implements normally have relatively thin blades or a small cutting edge backed by wood. We know that the Romans's redesigned their helmets during the Dacian campaign to protect against a heavy over handed blow. A two handed 'axe' type implement as shown in the re-enactor's site is more likely in my view to have been the reason rather than a thin bladed scythe. Although against that the use of a 'scythe' type improvised weapon would have been a good reason to wear gladiator's leg defenses - but so would a long handled axe as used by the Vikings a few centuries later. [Edit] I meant to add that because of it's shape and intended use a scythe can actually be dangerous to the leg's of it's user if he over reaches in 'normal', let alone military use. Also being a thin bladed implement it would tend to bend if used against a helmet. An alternative implement would be something like the English 'billhook', which is a curved implement used for slashing brush and small pieces of timber. It can have quite a thick cross-section as it therefore a relatively heavy-weight agricultural implement - which in the Middle-Ages was converted to military use - if the Falz had similar antecedents for shrub clearance then it would be a short step to similarly using it for military purposes during the Dacian Wars. [Close Edit]

OK as you no longer wish me to protect the sensibilities of that part of America let me draw in some more details. Four youngish UK tourists, on a tight budget, travelling across America in a hire car with no maps, only a rough itinerary and a general idea of where they wished to go. Driving in towards New York they turn off and then parallel the interstate looking for somewhere cheap to stay. Finding nowhere at all obvious they eventually stop in a built up area looking for directions and are given two option - one a fairly expensive tourist/business hotel the other a cheap local motel. With little cash they go for the cheap option and get met with obvious unease - not to mention a degree of hostility because they are 'wrong' for the area. From the tone and nature of some comments as far as the residents are concerned the only reason for their presence there is NOT that they are lost tourists. We later on met American's form the area who went into appoplexy when they found out precisely where we stayed and the fact that we had got out in one piece. The whole point of the story is the fact that perceptions work both ways and as far as I know things may have changed in the years since we were there. However when we were there we were not dealing with a recent immigrant community but at the very least 3rd or 4th generation Americans.

I would add to the original caveat that it is how Vegetius thought they should be trained. As far as I know, although he may have talked to people who served in the later period army or even read some now lost manuals, there is no positive evidence that he actually served in the legions.

Unfortunately for this view there is rarely such a thing as a 'targeted assassination' using fairly indiscriminate bombing of civilian targets by planes, long range missiles or bombs all run a high risk of leading to large numbers of civilian casulties. Especially when, as has all too often been the case in recent years, such attacks have been made against popular and/or relatively moderate Palestinians. [EDIT] It can only aggravate the situation and lead to more death on both sides even if there are not direct civilian casulties [Close Edit] Moshe Dayan came to the conclusion shortly before his death that it was better to talk and create a safe peace for [ALL of] Israel's children than crying over past wrongs. It is high time the current Israeli and Palestininian leadership learnt the same lesson.