I have just returned from another photo recce on Hadrian's Wall . This time I moved from the Western extremity of Luguvallum (Carlisle) to meet up with the images already posted for Vindolanda and Vircovicium.
http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...&cmd=si&img=436
Bana is the first major survival to the east of Brampton (eight miles east of Carlisle). It is the present day museum of Birdoswald , housed in an old water mill attached to an austere victorian house. This is the only
Carl Jung wrote a piece on "acausal coincidence" ie: unrelated events prompting in the observer a feeling that greater forces are at play than his or her powers of logical deduction will enable him to properly interpret. That certainly happened today , Peter Heather invoked York Minster Crypt as a place redolent with historical atmosphere (and Vindolanda, Birdoswald and Tullie) -just as I was searching for photos of the Minster in relation to the Roman Fortress and the original ground levels in
My trip to Aqua Sullis and outlying settlements of interest (to the forum) was terminated abruptly by snowdrifts forcing me to take shelter at the nearest available Hotel and wait for the roads to clear -regrettably I was unable to make any headway to even local sites or museums . I returned early today as more snow is now falling. I have posted a shot of my Hotel garden-looking suspiciously like Lantern Waste in Narnia.
I hope to have a little time away in the next week, if all goes to plan I hope to report from Aqua Sullis , Corinnium Dobrunnorum , Vxacona, Vertis , Salinae and Colonia Glevensis. I hope also to look at some Marcher Castles in the Welsh Borders.
As usual the weather will require the indulgence of the Deities at this time of year. Aqua Sullis alone will be photogenic in the rain.So I hope I will have more images for you soon.
My seeds have arrived today from the Nursery in Broadstairs . If all goes well-not too much rain in the spring-I should hope to replicate some of the features of a Romano-British Physic garden , and have some definitive photographs for the Roman Herbal Gallery by summer.
We have Betony, the Celtic favourite for those given to "visions and dreams" (anti psychotic/nervine).
Yarrow-the Roman Soldiers'Herb for the "wounds made by iron weapons".
Woad-the Pictish and Brythonic choice for combat ad
part ye thirdde
Gruit, now here is a thing ,I find that the natural range of the three main semi-psychotropic ingredients of Gruit seems to overlap quite remarkably with the territory of the Brigantes-especially the coastal areas .Sweet Gale (Myrica gale) also called bog myrtle ,is the most elusive nowadays ,yet here I am quite close to its restircted range
Yarrow (see my gallery and herbal notes in the blog-the soldiers herb par excellence ) is adittive number two,and wild rosemary is th
Ye seconnde partte_Part 2
So firstly we see the near universal practice of fermentation as food, medicine and divine conduit now we are down to practical matters and the
I think the link is working now -though the site is still under massive reconstruction and has been stripped back.
Please be patient if you are interested in the "small objects" add-ons to the UNRV gallery reports, im working on it! Quite a few extra Vindolanda items are posted and some Eboracum ones also on the msn blog. As you will see the materia medica are replicated but will extend beyond the Roman domain. My passion for all things Japanese is also notable.
Beer and assorted pleasurable c
the time approaches for my "cross cultural" review of this work .I think the review will be better handled if its specialised parts are dismembered between UNRV at blog level-for the sections on "analysis of ancient cultures from a modern perspective" and "fermented medicines/cultural ceremonial of celtic /european societies" in relation to Roman medicines, and foodstuffs. The review of the "hardcore" historical analysis for non-european societies and detailed recipe critique ,including the his
The visit to the extremity of the Western Defences was hampered by poor weather. Ice, fog and bad light! Not so good for any of the locations I wanted to post in the Gallery, Medibogdum is a non-starter in icey conditions as the road is not much better than a cart track -and also happens to be the highest driveable pass in Britain.That will have to wait for another visit.I was able to get some shots of the bath ruins at Glannaventa (home of the Batavian "marine/amphibious " auxiliaries) a Flavia
As Viggen strives to piece together my "report" galleries for the Wall and Vindolanda , I hope to visit Mediobogdum a sensationally remote fortlet in the heart of the Lake District. Alavana (and its museum) are also on my shopping list. Not much remains of the turf defence line into the Solway sands , but they were an integral part of the western arm of the Wall defence system with Glannaventa as the supply port.As usual if the weather holds, Mediobogdum in particular is spectacularly situated a
The akwardness of spanning from thread to blog to gallery has been solved by Viggen's suggestion of a "report" form for the Wall visit-he himself has an excellent report on a visit to Aguntum in the Roman Culture Section .
Sub divided galleries can be used so that areas of interest can be approached more easily than a horizontal trawl through the gallery area. So I aim to produce a "central" hadrians wall gallery and add individual sites as and when the opportunity arises . I envisage a separat
The digging work at Vindolanda is an ongoing process.It must be remembered that the fort area has building remains from the Flavian period onwards, with continuous evidence of construction and rebuilding through a very active Severan usage onto the time of Constantine and beyond. So Flavius Cerealis' burning of the Vindolanda tablets is a very early episode in pre-Hadrianic years (97-105 AD). Five wooden forts and two stone ones occupied the site (in various positions ) until a wholesale rebuild
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 .
Im determined to get to Hadrian's Wall in the next few days -I dont know if the weather will allow me to present any reasonable photos,if it remains gloomy I may have to confine myself to interior artefacts at the Roman Army Museum and the Castle Museum at Carlisle.
Britain has a general water shortage , this does not seem to affecting Brittania Inferior.So I will be absent for a while. I will be on the Wall again at the start of February so lets hope for a few hours sunshine.
Madame Perti
This does not mean squalid as in "profane or unseemly", rather "untidy or unkempt." If my meaning is defective im sure I will be corrected.And I mean My entries not the gallery as a whole!
My intention within the Roman Herbal Gallery is to present a dual image of any significant "ancient" herb. As can be seen from the previous classification entry, I am making a basic attempt at catalouging plants used by Greek, Roman, Celtiberian and Medieval societies. Different plants have varied significa
I am waiting for some favourable weather before going on photo recce to the more photogenic parts of the wall. I am presently re-reading Sawley's "Oxford History of Roman Britain", and this gives a good broad brush picture of the military and political activities leading to the construction/modification of the wall. The book strongly conveys the idea that one can consider the areas to the south of the wall being offered "shelter" by the wall to prevent unwholesome combinations of tribes ( inte
I was cross checking the contents of the "Roman Herbal Gallery" and I see that a fair amount of information has built up . For quick reference I am now adding a list of names versus main properties:
Orchis-aphrodisiac/mucilage-(Roman amatory stimulant)
Ruta graveolens (Rue)-antaphrodisiac/bitter (Roman "cold shoulder", stomach medicine)
Absinthum (Wormwood))-anthelmintic/hallucogen (and to counteract Hemlock by the Greeks)
Convolvulous (morning glory)-purgative/abortifactant
The herb from which Absinthe is made .As a medicine it is excellent,strongly anthelmintic ( worm killer) and choleretic (bile stimulant) amongst other virtues. Thujone though (a volatile oil from the plant ) is a nasty hallucogen and is addictive-hence the problems suffered in 19th Century France.If the thujone is removed though the virtues of the medicine remain. I understand that ,like quassia , the wood was used for bowls and drinking vessels thereby flavouring and influencing whatever was co
I was just adding the Convolvulus (Morning Glory) entry to my Herbal album in the gallery and I realised that I have now managed to present a passable Toxicological catalogue.
May I regale you with the basic categories of plant toxins:
1. Inebriants-exciting cerebral functions, cause loss of co-ordination, deep sleep or fatal coma may follow.
2.Deliriant- spectral illusions and deliriousness: thirst often a direct side effect:may lead to paralysis.
3.Convulsivant-Intermittent spasms(head
Not a bad trip to York , the winter sun doesnt help when trying to get panned shots of the walls so I think that will have to wait till spring. The Roman Bath's 'Museum" is in turmoil at present so no shots of that , however the Yorkshire Museum had an excellent array of items. The Walls were a bit tricky because of the lighting conditions so I concentrated on the Gatehouses.The wallls were in part original Roman built and constantly extended in medieval times. I was struck by the fact that the
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 Eborac
Lost Warrior asked a question which I have pondered on for many years-what is your prefered method of delivery for herbal medicines?. ( the basic question was infusion or oil as a preference).
Pardon me double blogging today but this needs a reasonably considered reply.
The reply is more complicated: my preferences would be:
1. Fluid Extract (strong/pure).This in truth is an infusion in concentrated form.
2.Tincture ( quite strong /stable for a long time).
3.Pure herb-but this depe
