Northern Neil

Indeed - as the republican era proceeded into the Principate or Empire period, Levantine archers and slingers from the Balearic Islands became valued specialist troops.

You strengthen the opposing argument by confirming that this is happening all over the world. Temperature fluctuations have of course come and gone, but we are talking here of the rapid shrinkage of glaciers which have been around for tens of thousands of years, in the space of a few decades. Warm and cold periods recorded by people interested enough to notice over the past 2000 years have not had any marked effects either way on these glaciers - but global warming over the last 50 years has. Bjorn Lomborg is an environmentalist whose sceptical views on man made global warming run rather similar to yours - in fact, I have at times assumed you were influenced by some of his ideas on some of your previous posts on this subject!

Really? Wow! I had no idea it looked like that, honestly. I'm used to seeing the kind of block letters used in stone etc. I really had no idea the Romans had "round" letters like we do. Have you checked out the 'Vindolanda Tablets'? The writing on these wafer thin scraps of wood is much the same as the example given, and a comparison between this kind of cursive handwriting and the carved capitals on inscriptions is probably much the same as a comparison of contemporary handwriting to the headline pages of The Times or the International Herald Tribune. Here is a link to the Vindolanda Tablets: http://vindolanda.csad.ox.ac.uk/ Also check out MPC's link on this thread, post 13: http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=8903 You are right LW, these cursive texts do at first appear similar to Greek. However, the similarity is illusary - I have been told by people of the Muslim faith that at first glance our handwriting appears to resemble Arabic. But only at first glance! Whilst I am at it, can anyone PLEASE tell me how I can convert a lengthy link such as the two I have inserted, to a simple word such as 'Here' or 'This' like all you other more computer literate people can?

I would definitely say not. We haven't reached the imperial stage yet with autocrats we can't vote out of office (though we came close with Tony Blair, and notice that Gordon Brown was given his position as prime minister without the vote of the british people, and steadfastly attempts to prolong his reign without having to do so. In terms of events, you may be right. In terms of societal development (surely a more accurate parallel given different circumstances) I believe otherwise. Gloves off Neil Hmm.. depends wether one sees brown as a Sulla, or as a Ricimer. I see him as the latter (but more boring) with the current Royal family as 'shadow Emperors'.

Unfortunately, dumbing down makes something more broadly appealing, and therefore more lucrative. I think we will find in this theme park of 'Rome 2000 years ago' elements of Roman history from the founding of the city to the sack of Alaric. Horatius defending the bridge will probably be in there, along with abundant depictions of Romulus, Remus and the wolf. Turn a corner and there will probably be some sort of shooting gallery based loosely around the Aurelian walls, with barbarian horsemen to shoot. Giant heads of Constantine, made from polystyrene, will abound. Most of the unthinking public regard everything in the Roman period as happening 2000 years ago. On a local BBC TV programme aired several years ago, a 4th century find was featured. The archaeologist being interviewed had to several times stress that the find was 1600 years old, in answer to repeated dumb questions such as 'These are coins from 2000 years ago?' or 'Was this a busy street, back then 2000 years ago?'

Phew - thank Dawkins this is a spoof! I can just imagine Palin saying something like that. Thomas Jefferson must be revolving in his grave...

I have recently acquired a copy of the Osprey book 'The Walls of Rome' (VERY good, by the way!) which is an in depth study of the Aurelian walls of Rome. Whilst looking through it, I discovered something amazing - well, it was a discovery for me, anyway. Aparently there was another amphitheatre in Rome, built during the Severan dynasty, which is called the 'Amphitheatrum Castrense' and it was incorporated into the Aurelian walls. I knew nothing about this structure until looking through this book, and have certainly not come across it in any guide books or any of my other literature. Here is a web link: http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gaze...rense/home.html If anyone else has any information on this, or any better photos, I would be interested to know.

hahahahahahahahaha! great!

I think what makes it difficult to assess the number of slaves in Roman Society is that there does not appear to be a rigid definition. In other slave societies I can think of, a slave is a slave, is a slave - with few rights and no posessions. In Roman society we come across slaves who are paid by their masters, allowed days off work, and in some cases even own their own houses. Would it be correct to regard Roman period slavery as a social class?

Bappy Hirthday, my anagrammatical friend!

Indeed; please hold your breath a little longer. The first high-energy collisions (the purported universal doom) are expected to take place after 6-8 weeks (ie, next November). oh dear.. if the world ends, over the edge of what do I now sail my ship?

My thanks to you for this, Artimi - I have ordered my copy from Amazon. And welcome aboard!

Yes, welcome aboard Nubius, and as Asclepiades just said, dont be afraid - ALWAYS tell us your views! As well as the excellent material here on the UNRV site itself, you cannot go far wrong by getting yourself a copy of 'Atlas of the Roman World' which has a summary of everything from the beginnings of the city of Rome right up to the extinction of the Western half of the Empire, and the continuation of the Eastern part of the Empire for a further 1000 years. There are lots of good maps and illustrations too, along with references to good primary and secondary sources. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Atlas-Roman-World-...6010&sr=1-5 This link also has some useful reviews. Three of the four reviews are good, whereas one is bad. But to be fair to the book itself, as an introduction I dont think you could do much better, and the bad review came from a history lecturer who thought the book did not go in depth enough. Being such a massive subject, and covering almost 14 centuries of history, if the book had gone much more in depth, it would have been far too heavy for all but the sturdiest of coffee - tables!

Civilian fashion and military convention are frequently different in the same time period - for example, the '50's pompadour, 60's hippie long hair and current styles (many and varied) have run concurrent to the standard short back and sides of the armed forces for some five decades. So, I suspect the Roman period was very similar. I also wonder - were the bearded legionaries on Trajans Column perhaps intended to represent soldiers who had been away from camp for several days?

I see what you mean - several incorrect statements from an historical point of view, and at least one ( Viroids being the smallest organisms - many times smaller than a bacillus ) from a biological perspective.

My thanks to MPC for such a wonderful graffito, and to Asclepiades for the translation. The best way I think to place this on the model, given the small scale, is to write it in cursive with a colour resembling red ochre, scan it and shrink it down. I will be calling on MPC or Asclepiades in the not too distant for ideas about inscriptions on publlic buildings... (EDIT) I note that the translation is also there in a link on MPC's original post. Talking of graffiti and red ochre, the thought occurs that the convention of painting buildings red up to a certain height might have served the purpose of preventing graffiti artists. I note that the graffiti at Pompeii is the same colour as the half - painted red on some of the walls. Maybe this was the commonest / cheapest paint available?

Many thanks for that, MPC. Would it work if I incorporated that into an inscribed stone, say on the rear retaining wall, or is the latin somewhat colloquial in its phrasing?

I suppose hands could be washed in the flow from the fountain. I would think that when the toilets were busy, the seat nearest the fountain was the most desirable, being closest to the fountain, and thus having the cleanest water in which to wash ones hands and spongestick. Omitted from this model (soon to be added) are the large pots used to urinate into. the urine was collected by workers from the local laundries, as it was (is) a good bleaching agent.

Now, THERE'S a thought!!

I realise that the Gallery section has its particular set of enthusiasts and all pictures are available to the general membership, but I just couldn't resist sharing this with the entire membership. Probably my finest model to date! http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?autoco...si&img=2466

I agree with this point. If done right, it could be educational and fun, and encourage families visiting the city to view the sights with the benefit of having seen exciting reconstructions of the real things. The downside could be that tourists spend money seeing this thing, and I shudder to think that they do not even bother seeing the actual antiquities. Just as, in the same manner, I sigh when people visit 'Euro-disney' for the weekend, and totally by-pass Paris itself.

Does that mean, then, that the prolonged internal and external peace enjoyed between the reigns of Nerva and Marcus Aurelius is an illusion, and that the Empire was threatened by barbarians and usurpers throughout this period?