Pertinax

I would like to see Britain as it was under Hadrian , but I suspect that Severus would have had the greater impact in the North that I am familiar with so thats the era and Emperor I choose -visiting him in York ( where im just about to go ), as he had a reasonably lengthy stay in the Colonia, and then having a look round Rome for some culture and food.

I had intended to post a fish recipe today but I was diverted to what you might call a fish "incident",or rather a marine mammal incident.Tuna fish that are indolent will have to wait. Pliny tells us that "in recent years at Hippo Diarrhytus on the coast of Africa a dolphin used to eat out of men's hands and allow itself to be stroked and play with swimmers ( regulation new age stuff so far),it carried men on its back also.Flavianus the governor of Africa covered it all over with perfume ( well you would wouldnt you?),but because it was unused to the smell the animal drifted away in a stupor,and avoided men as if insulted .Later however it returned and was regarded with great wonder" That was a new one to me-what was Flavianus thinking of?

Flavius how do you feel about attempting to explain Roman place names?

wow that is scarey then! Did they sneak out and repair your alarm clock at night?Or trade your dishwasher for a droid?

Did you eat too much blue cheese?

Ive dropped a couple of "welded " photos into my "Historic Site" Gallery, they arent meant to be proper exhibits in the sense of cultural/historical importance .I hope members would take a look and give critical feedback, I want to adopt the method to try and get long panoramic shots of certain of the wall sections around York.However if the images are too small for comfortable viewing ill try a different approach. The welds are now withdrawn -only theMultangular Tower shot remains in Eboracvm-more to be attempted in the spring. Off to York for a couple of days hoping to get some shots of the Medieval Walls and Roman remains

I wont spoil it by telling you at once -lets see if Pantagathus knows the wine I mentioned!

A light snack of rillettes d'oie has crossed the Triclinium ,with a very light Monbazillac ( squsito)!

Ah good, a perceptive "modern" inclusion if I dare say so another very useful suggestion .And nice throwaway line on relatavism! Pantagathus' reasoning gives us a solid justification for what is overlooked as a critical spiritual/cultural artifact.

remember 1. nothing is as indestructible as stupidity -all generations have seriously stupid people 2.he who fails to learn the lessons of history is doomed to repeat them 3.knowledge is power These people are weak and fear knowledge oh yes-no one ever lost money underestimating the taste of the general public (Barnum) that should make you feel better! Pertinax

Somewhere in the three inter related threads they have been mentioned , but I will add them to this list.Pl;ease do not worry at this stage if you consider some things to be in the "wrong " place , we willl have learned debate about this if we move towards a complete top twenty. Dont forget the other two associated lists!

That was quick work,surely Mercury guides your hand!

Semi permeable membrane or filter would perhaps be a reasonable description of the wall-The Romans didnt want to exclude trade and other influence on their borders but they did wish to have fiscal control and to dominate any "external" relationship.As has been said elsewhere ,the Romans didnt care for maps only influence.

I accept this noble activity-please dont neglect Favonius' thread also. As you named Tacitus first Ill add that to the list! unless you have a clear favourite.

May i quote Pliny here? excellent as always-"Sunshine is the best of all self-administered remedies, as is the vigorous use of towels and stirgils" Cleanliness being next to Godliness

How about "The Last Pictii Show?" :bag:

I suppose the analogy with the Native Peoples of America is worth mentioning again , if you are pushing forward into a territory occupied by predominantly "organic/degradable" technology and oral tradition ,( being the possesor of "hard " technology and functional literacy ) the nicety of social distinctions will be lost on you as you occupy land rather than pass over it without permanent attachment. If iI can be trite in approaching the Native Americans, in "Little Big Man" (the book) the point is made that the life of the Indian is not savagery without social rule but the most precise and nuanced ballet of manners and social stratification, as rigid in its way as any settled society, I suspect the intense nature of such a society to have been approached in Brittania Inferior also. Some more Druidic information would be interesting , they tend to get buried in new age mumbo jumbo, I suspect they were knowing people with a dogma blended of practical medicine, poetry and earth worship.

just a brief note before more praise is heaped on The Bird Of Good Omen. The Pictiish technologies were quite sophisticated , and although they lived in such an apparently footlose manner when they attempted a rtechnological task it was achieved with skill -recovered chariot wheels have been found with separate parts of 5 different types of wood according to the part of the wheel , and the use of hide and thongs to give suspension and versatility to such vehicles. As far as the Bacchic orgies go we have one coming up soon on the Solstice Day, Brigantia prosper our flocks! Praiseworthy material! I scatter drops of Achel Blond to your continued Health!

Excellent stuff.The Danubian episodes are probably vaguely remembered by those interested in later periods , but I doubt that many people wil keep the maritime episodes in mind because in many ways the pattern of diffusion is alien to the conventional wisdom of some historians. It has been mentioned elsewhere about the disinclination of the Romans to proceed by sea in preference to "hard" miles and built infrastructure as a concommitant to economic progres, however if your technology is a flexible/indirect maritime landfall "footprint" you can pop up all over the map ( and pretty quickly at that). Those a-Viking,for example from a late period, had a landfall and influence pattern almost the mirror image of "conventional" approaches to Britain. The Caledonii are interesting do we have a racial group centerd unit or a federal combination of similar "lifestyles"? Certainly tribal identities at a later time (55BC) were surprisingly diverse.The Pictii are always said to have been pushed into Brittania inferior , but there culture certainly wasnt a "townie" lifestyle ( though their hairstyles would take some beating until circa 1977-if you recall the first man through the door in Gladiator after Prospero has taken on his new shipment of slaves, the spikey bleached look was en vouge with the pictii).

So-maybe the Gallic cavalry didnt all go down fighting? I thought theyd all been cut down defending the boss's son.