Pertinax

Sextus, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence! I am now determined to find some because the Romans were indeed quite religious! Ive got to go further , the found evidence from the Provinces shows an avalanche of religious offerings, portable altars, cult temples , constant small dedicative items-I think the worst that could be said is that they were promisciously religious .

Not by a brash, bristling, Brigantine?

Peganum? certainly, Syrian rue -plenty of alkoloids and the seeds themselves are potent , so the use of the fresh plant is obviated , hence transportation and storage are not a great burden. The Persian variety would probably be even more potent but at 2% alkoloids by weight this is a serious psychoactive, so you dont need the "top of the range" stuff. I note the actions of the wise Saon, the oracle perhaps partaking of a gruit like "provocateur" of visions?

The sequence of "forgetfulness" and " remembering of the forthcoming event" is very interesting.Do we have a psychotropic/anaesthesia then a partial antidote which restores only a range of functions? Paralysed (with terror) suggests a deliriant herb (or fungus) which would prompt spectral illusions and a paralysis of the limbs (and great thirst) or an inebriant which would excite the cerebrum but cause a deep sleep or comatose state afterwards. Datura Strammonium (thorn apple-distinct possibility but I would suggest as a vapour )? Hyosscyamus ( Henbane-well known and widespread )? Conium (Hemlock) in very skilled hands in a small dose with Artemisia (wormwood) as the "antidote/moderator"? How very interesting do you have more references to the condition of the devotee? Length of recuperation at all? note:opiates are obvious of course .

Hang on , hang on -wasnt this about beer?

Some of the comedic pottery from this area repays examination . http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=h...cial_s%26sa%3DG

Thrice Nay Sirrah, I am the Subject of Her Most Excellent Majesty , Queen Elizabeth the Second. God Save the Queen! sundry "huzzahs" and gorging of foods and expensive wines, smashing of furniture and such. Do I detect another thread about to go into Absurdist Mode? Or are we all Situationalists here?

Here we see the Midwife with a modern replica of a Roman find from the late 1st C AD. I would mention that to the rear you can make out that an amputation has taken place ( ), note that the recumbent patient is minus his lower right leg. http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?&a...=si&img=925 The Doctor and the Midwife had different social prestige and roles, the Doctor was expensive to hire and might , especially with a good bedside manner ( and probably the role of psychologist thrown in) have a prestigious practice and a substantial income.he might well be Greek or Egyptian . The man shown here is as a camp physician to a Legion hospital, under canvas. The midwife might have a lesser status but was nevertheless a person of standing and reverence if accomplished in aiding Birthing.To train as a a midwife meant assisting an experienced woman for some time, there was a tendency not to accept payment but be the recipient of gifts. The re-enactor midwife ( who is a Midwife!) had several carved gifts from men of the Legion for tending sundry wounds in the absence of the Medicus -she explained that this was the favoured system at that time , and that as a person grew in experience they would publicly display gifts from grateful clients to show their skill. The gifts might of course become ones of considerable substance, the decorating of a house for exampl , as a woman achieved skill and fame. Obstetric practice would probably depend on social class, as would life expectancy of the Mother and Child.

My implication was as regards the tactical understanding of the weapon , not its actual form or physical deployment, the recent one pack flamethrowers I suggest as a modern reference in terms of disabling/denying tactical initiative to an enemy. http://stronghold.heavengames.com/sc/history/greekfire this link gives a bit more background and has a nice shot of the Mamluke Fire Games .The key in technological terms is getting a gelatinised petroleum that will stay stable enough to produce a controlled discharge/stable projectile.

I forsee a great Drinking Of Beer in my House, by persons of Varied Nationality. And thank you for the kind words also.

Nice shots Longbow. I did post previously about the wood technology , namely the use of oak, ash and elm for specific parts of the wheel (rim, spoke and hub) each wood suited to its specific role in terms of compressive and tensile strength. ( I just cant fine the thread now!). The pliability of the suspension units was excellent, I suspect a crossover craft ,ranging from making bee-skips (pickled bramble can be/was used and is like leather ) via ordinary wattle and basket work to this "top of the range" flexible, light construction. Steam? Why not if a people were so knowledgable about the use and inter usage of woods. The Harness does not surprise me but may surprise many , the ownership and use of the chariot was the apex of status and skill in this particular society and given the chanelling of Celtic sensibility into plastic arts the decorative features are the final embellishments of a prize possesion , and despite the outrageous bravery and showmanship of the spearman/swordsman who might jauntily stand on the yoke pole, the real skill and prestige was said to be the proper handling of the unit as a driver- a sort of, armed formula one crossed with dressage and acrobatics.

The a-Viking DNA groups have been the subject of previous work, and unsurprisingly showed up as strong unmingled populations around the Scottish Islands, N E England in particular and in parts of Ireland , The Isle of Man and NW Britain ( estuarine raiding). The mapping of the incidence Dupuytren's Contracture (which seems to be strongly linked to unadmixed N European blood groups) would probably yield some interesting results.

This quote you surely know, Pantagathus, but others outside of Saionic influence may not have seen it: From Diodurus (of Sicily) "Now the details of the initiatory rite are guarded among the matters not to be divulged and are communicated to the initiates alone; but the fame has traveled wide of how these gods appear to mankind and bring unexpected aid to those initiates of theirs who call upon them in the midst of perils. The claim is also made that men who have taken part in the mysteries become more pious and more just and better in every respect than they were before" and of course ,as has been mentioned elsewhere, the considerable focus of the activities of the Deities as regards the protection of those at Sea, indeed with specific reference to the provision of altars and temples by those engaged in seafaring/fishing and commerce "across the boundaries". Also I think it best to mention here that all persons, free or unfree, male or female were able to participate, and be initiated in the rites. Remind me, but I recall the ceremonies were conducted over a period of several weeks rather than days, I presume we can infer an appropriate period of "incubation" or transitions to awareness of the prepared devotee?

Alas my name was World No 1 for many years but has slipped a little since.

If the BBC are involved ,its likely that they tested the population of a Station buffet in Hertfordshire and drew wideranging ethnographic conclusions from this.

-I invoke the benificence of The One of the Boundaries for the resolution of your toils , alas I fear basketball is beyond my prayers.

If you can ever get this ... http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0848813...ce&n=266239 read it , this is Peter O'Tooles charachter in the film- I had a paperback copy in HK , I cant believe its so pricey!

LOL! Good job Pertinax! Educational AND entertaining! :notworthy:

If anyone ever manages to re-master Cross of Iron, with all the lost footage what a great film that would be, the existing film although awesome is a studio hatchet job on the actual Peckinpah project. I understand despite its oblivion elsewhere this is one of the biggest grossing films in German cinematic history. Was it Orson Welles who said it was the greatest anti-war film of all time?

As the total British ( whole mainland inc Wales, Scotland ) population fluctuated from about 3.2 to 2.1 million from 1100 AD to the time of the Black Death finding a suitable partner of "breeding age" with appropriate teeth and limbs must have been a challenge. The small size of the overall gene pool vis a vis cohort size (of reproductive capability) must have been a big factor against "inter marriage". simplistic but not bad.

I am therefore drinking some on your behalf- by doing so , and using signs and libations, I hope to transfer nutritive power directly to your pneuma. The sign is of the Mercurius.

The scenario is , you are on patrol 135 AD (or thereabouts) , you are an experienced mounted Auxiliary trooper with 15years service under your belt including a couple of pitched battles and some skirmishing and policing scuffles.Youve picked up a leg wound whilst intercepting some customs dodgers just north of Hadrian's Wall, nasty gash from a spear into the muscle of the calf. You are trained to report in with wounds at the double as no one wants experienced men sitting around gossiping in the Fort hospital .Its late Autumn so the Medicus has no fresh medicines available , but he knows how to deal with the situation. Firstly you have to hobble into the medical block, the wound will be cleaned out with lavender water (a strong solution , not a women's perfume!) , or some acetum. The Medicus will probe for any bone splinters whilst you take a very small dose of henbane, more to keep you still for his benefit than to stop any pain.If satisfied that there is a clean wound the medicus will put in a honey dressed bandage as a plug , if the wound site is deep enough.The wound will be lightly bound and possibly splinted. The next phase is -as you have no antibiotics-what do we use a s medication to heal /expedite tissue growth and staunch any bleeding? Its late in the year so the Medicus has to get you a wine based medicine. Perhaps it was made in this way: Somewhere back in Southern Gaul a merchant has a substantial quantity of so-so wine that is ok for a rough gurgustum , but isnt up to the cost of supporting its own transportation despite the economies of shipborne bulk transport. However it is a sufficiently robust medium for a local army contractor to use it as a base for the maceration of herbal medicines.Now quite a lot of "approved" herbs are available , freshly cut in springtime and full of healthy growth and a full range of active chemical compounds.The contractor needs his slaves to macerate the herbs in controlled quantities , with certain proportions of wine, depending on the physical tissue of the herb.Amongst the fresh growths brought in is Yarrow herb well known as a medication for wounds or severe haemoragic bleeding. The slaves have a standard mixture to work at, after cleaning the plant and removing any discoloured leaves. In this instance the whole plant, roots included (if clean) can be used., as usual someone has the lousy job of chopping up a great stack of herb into a mass of bruised, moist tissue. Amphorae are just fine for mixing the wine and herb together, the main thing is that a ratio of 1 part herb to 5 of wine is maintained, the amphorae need to be in a cool cellar , just like a decent wine, and slaves must shake the container well morning and night for 14 days .If roots are in the mix its best to give it a 3 week maceration period. http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...=si&img=827 After this time the mix has to be run off the residual dregs and re-bottled. The Amphorae can then be sealed and put into stock , leaving them in storage for a year (if waiting for the seafaring season) will be of no detriment.So the amphorae are part of a cargo bound for Brittania, one is delivered eventually by river skiff to Corbridge on the Wall after being broken from bulk store at South Shields. The Medicus will break the seal of the amphora and after decanting a proportion for his own use will then consign further parts for other Fortlets "down the line". So our wounded trooper presents himself and the Medicus instructs him as follows, "Here is a mixture of the Sacred Herb of the great Achilles , which as you know heals all wounds made by iron weapons , and to it I have added a small quantity of the local Brigantine "Borago", this as you know they drink before battle for the excellent reason that it heals tissue and gives courage, and Pliny himself spoke of its virtues". "Three tablespoons per day added to a good beer, and use a good honey on the sore itself, wash away any pus with acetum " "And no you cant have a sicknote for three weeks". Our man will at least think "hmm, could have done with three weeks with my feet up but at least this chap has quality medicines, certainly I know the Herb of Achilles and Borago I know from my old aunt who was in Aleppo where it was mixed with Lemon for a summer drink ". http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...=si&img=461 The alkaloids and flavinoids in the Yarrow will heal the wound and if any is available as a dried herb a good bath suffused with it will reduce pain and inflammation.The Borage will strengteh the adrenal cortex (due to its linnoleic acid content), after shock and trauma, and the pyrrolizidine alkoloids will help the damaged flesh as well. Not bad for a people with no germ theory, but excellent sanitation.