Pertinax

Sorry I should add Malaria got quite far north -coastal scandinavia and the ukraine for example. The Clinical Microbiology Review site has a malaria sub section-you can see that the parasite was all across the med during the Imperium. (Carter and Mendis article-massive amount of info). http://cmr.asm.org/

The Campagna , and especially the islands of Sicily and Sardinia were known for spring and autumn fevers during the early Imperium. Drainage and assiduous husbandry were the main tools to combat the parasite-reduction of morbidity and mortality are relatively modern achievements. Plague like visitations in the Campagna waxed and waned in medieval times, interestingly the British Fens -the likeliest breeding ground here were probably saved by Roman enginnering works. I have no notes on Liguria -perhaps pantagathus can help here?Earliest evidence in Greek medical works seems to be about 500BC ish.

And back to beer-Vindolanda tablet II 190 records procurement of comestibles for one week as follows 46 litres of Massic wine ( a quality Italian vintage) some Acetum, 69 litres of Celtic beer , 187 litres of barley (maybe included here as a brewing requirement rather than a feedstuff). II 343 refers to 1715 litres of threshed bracis which is known to be included in Celtic beer.Brewing appears to have been carried out near Vindolanda as Atrectus the Brewer is mentioned by name . So we sem to have a catholic supply of beverages in this remote fastness.

delving a litle further into Galen; lard and suet are mentioned as definite accompniaments to meats,and most significantly he lists the whey content of various animals milk and pronounces cow's milk to be the least suitable as an healthy adjunct to the diet-and he warns "after taking milk a little wine should be taken to prevent damage to the teeth" -obviously id say! . So in the hierarchy of milk types the cow comes in at omega position.All in all not a favoured product or basis for product manufacture . I have to add that for skin diseases I immediatley advise the cessation of use of cow's milk and cheese, and replacement by goat /sheep /soy. The fat globules in cow's milk are large and retard digestion.

What a delightful little text this is, if you have a child or favourite niece or nephew you wish to interest in Rome then get this as a present.The illustrations are humorous without being crass and the whole "antiqued" marble effect of the thing is very fetching. The technical info on daily life , technique , weapons and combat formations is informative without too much detail. Had I been given this when I was seven , I think I would be even more obssessed with Rome than I am now!.Its a very short little edition but a joy to read.

Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, Quintus. Censor in 230BC Dictator 221BC he it was who began the policy of attrition versus Hannibal realising that the great General could not be defeated in a pitched battle but could be outmanouvered by strategy. Scipio outshines him for finishing the job but he was the voice of cool reason.

Thats what I thought as soon as I saw the quote from Dioscorides-and I am also inclined to think of the "origin" of butter( in the "east") as being Scythian as (semi)nomadic peoples are no strangers to the use of fermented/processed milk based products.A portable high calorie stable fat source would be a valuable substance. Dont forget Galen was a "celebrity Doctor" (and physician to Marcus Aurelius) a sort of cross between a Harley Street "name" and a media personality, OK we know a fraction of his work survives but "On Food and Drink" is a relativley coherent entity and the section on dairy has little else to say on butter. If we assume a readership either informed/educated and/or fashionable/superficial but literate , then the whole weight of his words seems to indicate a mild disinterest in a slightly obscure provincial product .Fashion applies to medicines and foodstuffs but I suggest that foodstuffs have a tendency to colonise a society if sufficient popular demand exists, so if the Plebs were eating any butter perhaps Galen would have made some marginal comment?

I hope to have a little time away in the next week, if all goes to plan I hope to report from Aqua Sullis , Corinnium Dobrunnorum , Vxacona, Vertis , Salinae and Colonia Glevensis. I hope also to look at some Marcher Castles in the Welsh Borders. As usual the weather will require the indulgence of the Deities at this time of year. Aqua Sullis alone will be photogenic in the rain.So I hope I will have more images for you soon.

Heres Galen- " (cows milk contains) a third substance , an oily juice so people make from it a substance called butter ,in which can be clearly discerned through taste and observation how much oiliness it possess. If you smear it on any part of the body and rub it in , you can see that the skin is oiled just like olive oil. Moreover people in many of the old countries , where there is no olive oil use butter when bathing.. I often use it where suet is used for mixing poultices" No culinary indications at all -and we seem to get the hint that educated readers might find this a novel substance and that the assumption is for usage as an adjunct to bathing (or that the natural assumption the reader would make is such when presented with some sort of consistently manufactured fatty product ( oh no! manufactured dairy produce!).

This is a most interesting and learned discussion, may I interject that the female lactatory glands which are an object of male fascination ( and appreciation) are such a powerful amatory symbol as they mimic the well rounded female buttock . Might it therefore be that as the invagination is topmost we are seeing a symbol of the breast rather than the posterior? Or perhaps Pranzarone doesnt get out much. I am happy to acknowledge either as paramount.

Your quote answers my earlier probing as to the percieved sequence/positioning of cuts/blows to the victim.

No erotic hair trimming at all then

An outstanding book that anyone interested in the Roman army of the late Republic and Principate should read. I willl look out for this text, its rather expensive on amazon in the UK . Would you say it is the best of its genre? some reviews criticise the writing, if not the scholarship.

The oak/mistletoe occurence has two interesting debating points 1; some botanists suggest that the occurence is so rare because specialised sub species of both plants need to be in the same range , rather than the main species .2;that after the conversion of many Britons to Christianity there was assiduous destruction of both host and parasite within areas of former druidic influence.

It has long been conjectured that this particular site is the most potentially rewarding dig area in the city -the ground levels in York have shifted dramatically since its long period of Roman prosperity (as a continental trading entrepot) , heavy silting overwhelmed the port facilities and it is this depth of materiel that might now prove a blessing in preserving and entombing artefacts. I will be visiting the exhibition and wil report back to the forum. If you go to my Eboracum album in the gallery, check the "reversed postcrd" photo ( 4th in the sequence) -the green area I mention in the comments is the site in question.I have posted a shot of the Museum in question-quite attractive in its own right.

I have posted a section on Vindolanda in the gallery and blog-you can pick up a link as well. In due course the report will appear as a separate entity . http://www.vindolanda.com/ try that for a lead in I started a small thread in the arch' news forum under the heading "Vindolanda Tablets" which links to some images

only around 525 years till Pompeii goes up in smoke! and only another 675 years till Hadrian builds the Wall! and two millenia till the Eastern Empire falls..

Welcome Aphrodite!