Northern Neil

Great! Yo Ho Ho and a bottle of... Bordeaux? Maybe not..

Nice article, Calders. The name is inded an enigma, as it seems to implicate two tribes that weren't in the immediate vicinity.

I think we shoiuld go with Ghost's idea of Lincoln - he has done the groundwork, and so all we need to do is arrange a date and book the accommodation.

I have often though that this event may also be behind the story of the seven plagues of Egypt, mentioned in 'Exodus' in the Bible.

Hmmm... four or five generations on, and I still wait for it to occur in the UK. Some communities are very good at retaining their identity, and have hardened their attitudes relative to their immigrant parents and grandparents. Many have publicly stated a lack of willingness to mix with other groups, and in countries like the Netherlands even mainstream political voices have expressed a worry that 'states within states' are starting to develop.

This no doubt aided and completed the process, but I believe the separation of the Roman world from scientific enquiry was caused by the rise of monotheism generally, as highlighted by the lynching of hypatia and the closing of the philosophical schools by Justinian. After all, no one who views an ancient book as an absolute and accurate truth wants facts and new discoveries getting in the way of things.

Hi Augustus It never happened in the end - It whittled down to about 2 0r 3 of us but then Illness struck my family (mother, to be precise) and I wasout of action for a few weeks. However, there is no reason why it couldn't be resurrected, or moved to november or maybe earlier in the year - after all, we are talking about Lincoln, with an abundance of hotels, Roman things and good pubs.

This is indeed a fascinating find, and most people on this site would share your interest in our remote prehistory. The 'missing link' is a highly subjective term, coined I believe in the 19th century by religious types pressing evolutionists (as they do now!) to come up with a tranitional fossil with which to prove their theory. As is often the case, when scientists actually find one, they then say 'Ahh... I dont mean one like that'. Richard Leakey, for many years one of the most eminent scientists in this field, stated that Homo Erectus was the missing link as everything before it was distinctly ape-like, and everything after distinctly human - like. Although Erectus had an anatomically modern skeleton - from the neck down - the head had some apelike features, such as flat face and prominent eyebrow ridges. ...in itself, a missing link perhaps?

A wonderful example - thank you!

For fiendishness, I think Carausius does quite well when he allows Saxon pirates to raid villas, then apprehends the pirates, pocketing the loot for himself.

I can believe it, I bet it can become really addictive. I just registered with it and havent a clue what is going on! Is there an online manual somewhere?

The last classical style Graeco/Roman temple I can find references to was built by Severus in Rome. I suspect that architectural change predated religious change, and that the basilica type building became the norm whatever religious activities went on in it. I would be interested in hearing if anyone has a later example? Traditional classical architecture, like so many other aspects of the Roman world, seems to have changed after the early third century.

This could be a legacy of the Lombard invasion, or even the time when Gauls occupied Cisalpine Gaul. I have observed this in Northern and central Italy but not the south.

To clarify an earlier point: Officially, the Empire was re-unified when Odoacer sent the imperial regalia to Constantinople, stating that there was no need for two emperors. The term 'Eastern Roman Empire', much like the term 'Byzantine' is a convention used by ourselves - as Colin McEvedy puts it (Penguin Atlas of Medieval History): '...to recognise the many differences between the Classical Empire of Rome, and the Roman Empire of Constantinople'. From about 200AD until its fall in 1453, the Roman Empire was known as 'Romania' by its citizens and everyone else. This is echoed in the name 'Romagna' which was the part of Italy that remained in Roman hands throughout the Dark Ages.

Hmm, this highlights for me some of the issues which can be thrown up in the whole metal detector / archaeology debate. At the end of the day, few metal detector enthusiasts are interested in structures and context of finds, and personal gain is the bottom line. On the other hand, many of them have made discoveries which would otherwise have lain hidden from us all. I have no doubt that some metal detectorists act with integrity and report/give much of what they find to the archaeological community. However, my mind constantly goes back to the early '70's when my parents were assisting with the excavations at Lancaster Roman fort. A round the clock guard (voluntary) had to be placed on the site to prevent metal detector enthusiasts from plundering the site.

Both however could possibly be blamed for leaving Italy too weak to resist the Lombard invasions, which destroyed Roman material culture for good. Justinian could be the more culpable of the two in this respect.

The Huns extracted massive cash subsidies and land grants south of the Danube from Constantinople. As time went on, both huns and East Romans found this arrangement to their advantage; the frontier was moved back to the Danube and the Huns, bereft now of Attilla and squabbling in various factions, found it profitable to fight as auxilliaries for Constantinople.

Indeed... but this is a site for people of all ages, so maybe English of a more standard form could convey the sentiment?

I never came across 'Dawn Wind' before, and I am now trying to obtain a copy. I suppose it deals with the final demise of Romano British culture, and the first glimmer of the English state?

By the time of the late Empire, the whites and reds had disappeared, leaving only the blues and greens. The two factions became political as well as sporting. Can anyone tell me what happened to the whites and reds?

I agree. If one looks past the historical inaccuracies it is a good adventure yarn set in a period we all like. As for Mel Gibson... He is prepared to bend or alter any historical fact he can in order to thumb his nose either at Jewish or English people. He is indeed an unpleasent character.

I'm afraid I am not an avid fan of Constantine. He destroyed, once and for all, Rome's primacy, which ultimately led to the division of the Empire, and the eventual sack of Rome, which was allowed to happen by a weak emperor who had gotten used to the by then century-old idea that Rome was just another city in 'Romania'. His victory over Maxentius killed the Augustan system for good, and his reduction of the legions to a watchtower militia caused irrevocable damage whilst field armies, miles back from the frontiers, had a century - long free lunch at the expense of the dwindling cities. In the meantime, frontier areas became depopulated as limitaneii proved increasingly ineffective. His re-invented mystery religion, now centralised and fixed in dogma, heralded a lack of religious tolerance which persists to this day, and assisted in a decline of literacy, rational thought and scientific enquiry which lasted, in the West, for a thousand years.