Pertinax

Fresh garlic or onion rubbed on the afflicted member. Or lemon rind likewise.These are the ancient folk remedies -and they do work by , " digesting" the offending item.Fresh onion contains the powerful enzyme quercetin and has anti tumor properties-as usal full marks to folk medicine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quercetin Thuja is the medication you should purchase as a tincture : I quote from Culpepper:- The name Thuja is a latinized form of a Greek word meaning 'to fumigate,' or thuo ('to sacrifice'), for the fragrant wood was burnt by the ancients with sacrifices. The tree was described as 'arbor vita ' by Clusius, who saw it in the royal garden of Fontainebleau after its importation from Canada. It was introduced into Britain about 1566.

a cunning and subtle plan? If it says" putte ye firstte part one quartte of Henbanne , withhe a greatte admixturre off the freshhe rooote of Arum andde the fistte growthhe of ye Iris Flowere " then you are all done for. On the other hand you wouldnt know much about it. Edit: im working up a "wound medication" blog post as an example of what might have been done for general weapon wounds , then ill give an example of something akin to a beneficial "flavouring" for modern use, just in case anyone tries to bump off their Grandmother.

As your Medicus I prescribe Gonzo Stout , to be taken at once! And thereafter as needed.

Bang on target Viggen, forgive my attempt at German here "einstossflammenwerfer" as deployed by German airborne units is perhaps the relevant item?

I have been looking at the fixing of plant medicines in alcohol .I have some initial thoughts regarding possible menstruum . Firstly fixing fresh herbs with water gives a limited shelf life, very limited in fact , one would suggest dispensation within a couple of weeks of mixing. Alcoholic tinctures allow storage and transport , and indeed they mature in the manner of wine. We know the Romans used wine as a medium for various medications, horehound as a cough syrup being a well known example.A year old tincture is likely to be more potent than a new one.So amphorae of such a mix (as found in midland Britain ) solve problems of both distribution in bulk and maintenance of quality. Now, wines such as medeira and sherry can be used as a makeshift modern bases, but a low alcohol content is not appropriate for dense materials, though some herbs respond to most wine -yarrow is a good example http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...=si&img=217 of one such "sympathetic" herb. Some medicinal gums , myrrh is a good example, need a very high percentage of alcohol (90%) to be effective. trickier mixes I think what I shall now do is make a blog to give a ( fairly) harmless "roman style medicine" which wil be acessible for all to experiment with at home, perhaps a mild digestive aid using rosemary and lavender . The experiment is to show the stability of such a mix to people having a ready supply of reasonable quality wine (or just acetum).

The answer is -actually no! The midwife considered the smaller female one to be an excellent item for the job, and pointed out that ,as it was immersed in best virgin olive oil, its bactericidal would be enhanced .It was also a seamless piece of work.I havent posted the tools for "cutting away the stone" yet

woo hoo! In the immortal words of Homer (J Simpson)

My suggestion is that Greek fire was tactically useful , like a one shot flamethrower used by WW2 airborne troops, but not a WMD.

An interesting piece here on Anglo-Saxon DNA as regards "British" genetic history. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/arti...in_page_id=1770

Ive checked over your site previously and the minatures are very good, I did try casting in the past ( using lead), but was not too competent. You are very close to the Wall of course what do you think as regards a possible meeting place? Perhaps a "northern" meeting could be set up first to see how things worked, then a national one sometime afterwards .

Oh dear, oh dear-my apologies , clipboard imbecility. :bag: http://www.thisisthelakedistrict.co.uk/new..._roman_fort.php

A very apposite quotation.

I set off today to meet Northern Neil and check the location of a possible Flavian Fortlet site , this is the fort site that he has mentioned previously and the link gives some information: So a possible birthplace for St Patrick? Which makes him a Lancastrian !

Thats a fair point , and that's the reason I mentioned Deva as well , presently we do not know who has what sort of transport or available time . Myself and NN both have fairly strange working hours for example. I know we are (as a Brittanic forum) stretched from Isca to Arbeia , (via Gaull- for the most prestigious of Brits) Lets leave the thread to germinate see what emerges.

Behold the power of the Dark Side!

away it is or should I say. "that it be" . As in , "Make way for Gaius Octavius conqueror of Wales, Eater of Truffles, Vanquisher of the Shetland Isles and Despoiler of Severrlae Ladyes of Excellente Quallityye"

The technology was sophisticated ( indeed exqusitely so in the undersatnding of wood technology) but its "honour culture" usage less so, the quick delivery of an armed fighter (to fight on foot) was an excellent ploy if massed ranks of them exist , but this was more of the "display and intimidate " mode.

I would like to float the suggestion that British members of UNRV might meet informally at a known Roman location in Britain to discuss. even if light heartedly some aspects of Roman history. I had a pleasant chat with Northern Neil today ( my nearest forum neighbour) who, as you may be aware, is a skilled modeller of Roman fortifications. There is no hurry , I would just like to see if we can get the ball rolling, if you would like to meet please post here making any suggestions regarding venues, bearing in mind the various member locations. I myself suggest Deva (Chester) or Twice Brewed (Neil may claim that one!) as a Wall centred location. Other possibilities are Eborascvm or Vindolanda, feel free to suggest.... There aren't too many of us so please post if interested... It would be most excellent if a forum could be convened in Italy of course , with global representatives.

Molto gentile!

Almost identical, as is the modern plastic one. This is all very pertinent, and I would add as well that death during childbirth and infant mortality must be considered . My initial reaction after speaking to Carole ( the Midwife) is that midwifery was (at least by the first C AD) a considered art with not unreasonable hygeine standards-germ theory was unknown -but midwives were exhorted to be clean and have nimble fingers with short nails. The next question is who would be able to get good midwifery care and at what price?

A mixture of specialist manufacturers-Lost Warrior has the catalogue -bespoke production by people in related modern trades, ( caligae by local cobbler who is a re-enactor) and a lot of other stuff from scratch, for example the ballista and catatpulta . A lot of the gladiatorial stuff , helmets aprt, is home-made. Its when re-enactors start to re-create ,that you often find our modern assumptions as regards authenticity have a curious way of being wrong headed. The ballista for example, the straining arms that take the ratcheted firing mechanism have undergone all sorts of experiments to get optimun performance (in relation to wood types, dimensions, laminated sections). The recreation of the surgical equipment showed the excellence of Roman metalworking technique.The Gladiators now as in the past have freedom to experiment and adapt gear accordingly, and have a lot to say about fighting stances and armour capabilities.

Hull life expectancy seems to be modest at best, plus everyone ( legion or Navy) seems to have been able to knock out a liburnian if needs be for a campaign.

Pantagathus is correct, the main thing to remember seems to be that ancient ships were "scrambled" like jet fighters (as an analogy) and kept high and dry otherwise.