Favonius Cornelius

I have no idea if this has any basis in the true history, but in RTW they have those arcani. Kind of sounds like an excuse to put ninjas into the game though.

SOFIA, Bulgaria - Bulgarian archaeologists have unearthed about 15,000 tiny golden pieces that date back to the end of the third millennium B.C.

No advice other than to ask you to bring that piece inside and shelter it from any more weather and corrosion until an ID can be made.

He's got my vote. A good American counterpart to Putin.

Looks totally hoaxed. I am no expert, but those artifacts look fake to me.

I consider myself pretty knowledgeable on all eras of the Roman Republic.

Believe it or not, sometimes you can find better resource in print than on the web. This book is great and I've used it my whole life, lists every battle man has fought and gives numbers and details most of the time: The Harper Encyclopedia of Military History: From 3500 B.C. to the Present http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...503210?v=glance

Ah great quote thanks I'll let him know.

What, no Tacitus?

Actually, what IS the historian consensus on the actual final goal of the Helvetti?

Facinating! Funny account. Now this is the kind of lost lore I'm talking about!

I was talking to this ultra pro-Celt person, and he seems to think that the name probably is related to 'cow' because the Celts often named things after animals and nature. He said the association to 'victory' is a later British historian invention.

Oh ya! I totally forgot about them. Didn't Caesar have to island hop almost to capture each of their cities? I thought I remember reading that. Has there been much archaeological work on the Veneti?

Julius Caesar!

All I have ever read says they had some simple boats for river navigation, but that's it. Hardly a 'navy.'

Can anyone come up with specific instances where Caesar vilified the Gauls in an attempt to rationalize his conquest? If Caesar is so accurate, would this make him one of the greatest of ancient historians?

Can you provide specific examples of how Islam is counter to Christian belief? I think there is a difference between cultures, but when you sit down and read the Koran and the Bible, are the laws and beliefs really any different?

Boadicea...does it mean cow woman? Does anyone know if the Queen's name was what she was born with or given to her? Did the Celts view the cow as a sacred animal?

1. No I don't think so, I think that what the west sees as evil is ancient and still backward cultural influence. 2. Certainly not, the wheel of monotheistic violence continues to turn and turn. 3. It is an excuse, the way they rationalize their criminal acts (goes for both sides). 4. History has a persistant way of recording the long list of eventually equal crimes on both sides. When the Islamic invaders conquered lands, they often allowed peoples to continue with their religions. Christians I think are less forgiving of outside faiths. 5. In a humanistic way which condems the history of both Christians and Muslims.

Taken in whole, can anyone comment on how accurate and factual Caesar's books have turned out to be in conjunction with archaeological evidence and critical thought?

You know I hadn't honestly put much thought into that one link other than seeing it as somewhat flippant so I labeled it wiccan. The other links are more valid though.

Heh, I agree. With that I am just saying I find it refreshing to see someone take the current thoughts on their history for what it is rather than find every reason under the sun to blur and obfuscate to fit their romantic visions.

More evidence on Celtic human sacrifice. Of particular note is the genocide by the Galatians: 'Ritual shafts' where a person is buried alive, also "Evidence that leads researchers to conclude that he was a sacrifice is learned in the manner of his death. Apparently, he suffered the death of what was known to Celtic historians as the 'threefold death', which was done for ritual purposes. Naked, the man's head was flattened by three blows of an ax, his throat cut open from a thrice knotted sinew cord, and his blood quickly emptied through the precise cut to the jugular vein, and then placed into the bog. One might notice that the number 3 held magical powers in the eyes of the Celts, as well as bogs:" http://gallery.sjsu.edu/sacrifice/celt.html "Different gods reportedly required different kind of sacrifices. Victims meant for Esus were hanged, those meant for Taranis immolated and those for Teutates drowned. Some, like the Lindow Man, may have gone to their deaths willingly." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_sacrifice Galatian migrant Celts butcher native inhabitants to make a new home: http://www.archaeology.org/0201/abstracts/celtic.html Literature evidence of Celtic sacrifice: http://www.digitalmedievalist.com/faqs/sacrific.html A perhaps more Wiccan look at human sacrifice (at least some Celts are proud of their past enough not to be in denial about it): http://www.summerlands.com/crossroads/libr...n_sacrifice.htm

I remember reading about the birth of the gladius. It was written that the Iberian peoples made the finest swords with their falcata. Their method of smithing resulted in a sword which could bend and yet spring back into its original form and remain considerably strong. Romans who fought in wars on the Iberian peninsula would brag about the dents in their helms from these swords. It was said that the Iberian smiths would hammer the iron they used into plates, then leave them to oxidize under sod. Supposedly this eliminated impure iron and left only the most pure to be used for the sword. I don't know the accuracy of that, but it's what I read.

Well, I certainly applaud their efforts, but one wonders why they can't just run it somewhere else.