Pertinax

Unfortunately insufficient politics are on display .

Good idea-I do the same , and then think of an additional paragraph ive forgotten!

Good Man -Im on to it!

Dare I mention the name Salman Rusdie! I suggest a perusal of "The Moors Last Sigh" if you wish to see a litlle way into Hindu nationalism and other political/social trends in the sub-continent, I dont say its a clinical study but its a good yarn with learned asides .And a lot about the Cochin spice trade .Rushdie is too much of a smarty pants for his own good but when he hits form he is an excellent storyteller.Its a light read that gives Westerners some approachable ideas to work with.

I tried to thank Viggen for the Virtual Library link and Tobias for the maps -but my post evaporated into the Mercuric Ethers.So I try again-thank you chaps! http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/ -you probably know , but here it is again ! http://www.idler.co.uk/- ironic, scornful, amusing http://www.jelldragon.com/index.htm-interesting items. http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/gabrme...htm-interesting military idaes

The defensive attitude is perhaps understandable-they may , in a confused state , assume you are an irrational person who just wishes to interfere for no real reason-I suspect if calmness and reason prevail they may be relieved to find you are a logician and scholar.

Salvete Omnes! I have returned from Vindolanda and Vercovicium with a massive portfolio of photographs. Dea Fortuna favoured the lone scout from UNRV moving quietly through the early morning mists to steal the images of the special places.I will spend some time editing and paring down , many of the shots I will load onto my own home site ( though its link is still defective) particularly the detailed "object" museum shots . For now I will post a couple of images in the miscellenia gallery . There is a lot to tell you about the forts, the Wall and the items on display-never mind the wild beauty of the place.What impressed me was that Vindolanda has had at least five distinguishable wooden forts , and at least two episodes of stone construction/reconstruction from Flavian times to late third century. If you consider this length of time in relation to the history of some modern nations -and that Rome came to Briton relativley late -it is a sobering thing indeed.Vindolanda pre-dated the Wall but appears to have become an "offset" garisson base very close to Stonegate (the Military road below the Wall Vallum). A lot more to follow ...but I am weary...

This is excellent , I am trying to get to grips with some basic Latin at present and welcome hints and tips , and the sharing of learning methods and bibilographies. I speak passable basic Italian and dire French ,so its not too big a leap to understand sentence structure. What I find so interesting is the expressive excellence of Latin vocabulary-the root words seem to be so beautifully correct. Obviously as im "thinking backwards" they would do but that doesnt diminsh the poetry of the words. Vado Vindolanda ibi vallum Hadriensis splendidus . ( correct if needed, thank you)