Pertinax

Heres AC's link again: http://hadrians-wall.info/forumromanum/ind...f93fd25cd069694 thats the Forum and here is the site , which is still "under construction" but taking shape: http://hadrians-wall.info/hadrianswall/segedunum/index.htm Im delighted to see his site back online after a longish absence. Im willing to bet he knows a great deal about the Wall, dont be put off by his modesty.

This post rather crosses over into TNOG territory, but it still valid here: As some of you will know I have tried to produce beers/stouts using "natural" products (no chemical cleaners, especially not sterilising fluids) , natural sugars that would have been available to our ancestors (honeycomb, malt) , and using fresh herb additives (eg: rosemary herb , borage herb, virtually pure chocolate (87 percent cocoa fat), the latter I admit as being rather more Meso American than "Old World" ).Last but not least oatmeal for fearsome fermentation and body! You get the general drift though-an uncomplicated set of ingredients that could have been put together many hundreds of years ago- interestingly a rosemary flavoured beer I brewed, and an oat stout from the same time , (in the early months of this year ) are still fermenting at a low level with a little additional clean water. They are ,I think , moving toward the Barley wine stage. I would prefer them to be in stone containers or an amphora substitute, but im afraid modern poly barrels are just too convenient. The nutritional content of these beers will be high, and no B vitamins will be lost despite the potency- the exact opposite of mass produced modern beers.

At our local market there's a small man with a moustache and a peaked cap who goes from stall to stall selling tickets which (I imagine) prove that you have paid your tax contribution to the town council for the week. He often gets into long discussions with the stallholders he likes best, and no doubt gets a tasting of the best goat's milk cheese, foie gras de canard, or whatever. Presumably Gaius must have appointed men with moustaches and peaked caps to do a similar job. This is perhaps more "Whoring for Tax" then?

" I often study the joys and regrets of the ancient people, and as I lean over their writings and see that they are moved exactly as ourselves, I am often overcome by a feeling of sadness or compassion, and would like to make those things clear to myself" " As we of the present look upon those of the past so will posterity look upon our present selves, therefore have I put down a sketch of these contemporaries and their sayings at this feast , and although time and circumstance may change , the way they will evoke our moods of happiness and regret will remain the same " From "The Orchid Pavillion" by Wang Hsichih in the ninth year of Yungho....AD 353 Re iterated by Lin Yutang : http://www.amazon.co.uk/Importance-Living-...TF8&s=books in this great work.

(just testing post link -please ignore just mod stuff)

Quite definitely, the offering of prayers ,sacrifices and "incubation" (sleeping in the precinct of a deity in the hope of receiving healing and cleansing) would be part of the process. Midwives chanted soothing verses to assuage the pains of labour. The offering of devotional items as sympathetic magic at shrines occured also eg: devotional items at Aqua Sullis.

I hope you do not intend to emulate the assasination scene in Gladiator ? (Snakes on a Triclinium)

Thats well done DC , lucid and diplomatic.

So obviously the Vindolanda tablets slipped by him

Urine has always been used as a battlefield antiseptic - if no regular acetum /lavender water was available (in Roman context), and it can be so used today. Hypericum perforatum (the Wort of St John ) is of course for the bitte of Adderse Blackke-here is a variant : http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...=si&img=545 and the original: http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...=si&img=149

The initial sourcebook for the Antonine Wall , is oddly enough, the "Hadrian's Wall : title here: http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=4937 and this is a very good specialised intro: http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=2414

We have this also today... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/arti...in_page_id=1770

The problem seems to be that standard "refurb" technique for army units seems to have been "cleanse by fire" prior to a total rebuild. Its possible that the buildings could have been stone to sill height only, and if a granary were "infected" (fungus/beetle) then fire would be the best way to clean up.This doesnt mean the base wasnt attacked, but it also means accidental damage could be a possibility. Anything you can find would be useful to add to the blog.

Here are a few images from an obscure, or perhaps overlooked, Fort . Some work was done after the First WW , but thats about it and we have few artefacts to look at In the present the remains of the fort are quite meagre and tucked away to the rear of a small park area in a major Lake District resort. http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...si&img=1438 Ambleside is the head of the Lake (Windermere) , and it would seem that we have a Fort with granaries tha are conspicuously overlarge for its likely size. http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...si&img=1434 The area is not noted for having been a major area of conflict as the Legions pushed north toward the Stanegate, as it has always (until recent centuries) been sparsely populated. Nowadays you cant move for tourists , in , on and around the lake itself. It would seem that we have some species of strategic supply depot or staging post here, the ease of waterborne transport along the length of Windermere from (possibly, the "lost" Fort at Urswick, which itself could have been water served from Deva (I suggest only!)) the south to allow a strategic stockpiling in this location. Certainly the foundation was of Flavian origin, later a Trajanic-Hadrianic rebuild was placed on a raised platform, one assumes with such close proximity to the largest open body of water in Britain flooding may have occured. http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...si&img=1437 Glannaventa and Alavanna (previously blogged and photographed ) are its nearest neighbours. The short lived Mediobogdvm is not too far away either. http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...si&img=1435 The veracity of the name , is as usual, not entirely clear -but everyone still calls it Galava! http://www.romanmap.com/htm/names/Ambleside.htm

In general no. Most of them are interviewed in order to lend their expertise, and they may be given a working "production title" of the film, but have no idea its final incarnation. Blame the producers not the "experts" in most cases. Interesting therefore that HBO had "an historical advisor" on the Directors lap (so to speak) throughout the whole of the shooting.

Happy Birthday m8, and good luck with the forthcoming "smallbow".

I wonder if "sweet" had a similar meaning to contemporary N American slang -that is "good, appropriate , correct" as opposed to a real flavour ? I cannot resist posting this link, which offers the delights served to Eaanatum of Lagash and Prince Messkalaamdug:- http://www.amazon.com/Oldest-Cuisine-World...9530500?ie=UTF8

:lamo: what is this stuff?

Quote from The Sunday Times this morning : "Hastings, Harald loses again!" Longbow will not be pleased.

Dear Members , we have drifted a little from the original thread -(about the actual Roman History series) . I quite understand why , all the things that have been mentioned are part of the BBC's loss of intellectual backbone. Please try to stay on the actual series itself, irritating as it may be. If we veer off to discuss the BBCs inability to be intellectually honest in general ill divide the thread between here and Hora Postillia.This is not to be taken as an admonition, as the observations are all worthwhile, but we have to "keep roman"

There have been several editions of the work, but for 99p you cant go wrong! Your post made me nostalgic for the Wall again ,(and I was only there two weeks ago) so I added this shot to the gallery: http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...si&img=1433

Its on over this weekend : too far for me to go for the day im afraid! http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.9065

"In the Sumerian and Akkadian dictionaries being compiled by scholars today, the word for beer crops up in contexts relating to medicine, ritual, and myth". (Don Sharp -"brewing an ancient beer") The factor that constantly intrigues me when we look at ancient beers/wines , (AD posted on Carthage very recently:on the subject of wine: http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?showto...amp;#entry46612 ) is the apparent sweetness of the finished product. This may be illusory , as fermentation might have proceeded for a considerable while and produced a very robust "barley wine" type drink.I would be prepared to say that these beers might have plenty of body (you only need 2lbs of oats to 5 gallons of stout to get a noticeable "creaminess"), if you are using a dense malt staple (I cant help picturing huge stacks of "soreen" in Sumerian warehouses) then the mash is going to be very hefty http://www.soreen.com/about_soreen.asp Here is the sacred hymn: http://www.piney.com/BabNinkasi.html

as a suggestion , try pm ing Longbow -he is most expert in this kind of thing.

As Moderator , I must ask all members , not to disrupt the space-time continuum! .Now if you'll excuse me , I have to plug a giant pan-dimensional vortex in my wardrobe ....hang on, I can see Primus waving, and some mutant cyborgs.....