Gaius Paulinus Maximus

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MALADICT!! Have a good one mate!

Welcome aboard everyone, hope you enjoy it around here! your first task is to tell us "What did the Romans ever do for us????" Sorry couldn't resist!!

Hail Imperator! Happy birthday Viggen! Hope you had a great day O mighty one!!

Iron = gladius boat = trireme wheelbarrow = litter boot = caliga thimble = scutum? Great idea btw! This should be the next big project for Viggen, PP and the crew!! Forget the next wallmap, get MONOPOLIUM ROMANUM out there!!!

Welcome aboard Metella ! Keep us updated on how the books are coming along. I'm a sucker for a good old Roman adventure!

Welcome aboard Hus! Hope you enjoy it around here!

Very nice review maty, thanks I'll look forward to reading about the factual lives of Antony and Cleopatra as opposed to the the more heavily romanticized story we are more used to hearing.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATE!!! have a good one!

Much international concern has focused on acts of looting of cultural artifacts during the current revolutionary unrest in Egypt. However, in Tunisia, a far more spectacular cultural crime is making news, this one carried out by the agents of the state themselves. Recently ousted dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and his family stand accused of illegal appropriation and plundering of the site of the ancient city of Carthage. A pair of activists are publicizing the crimes in a petition they have launched demanding that they be rectified by the new government. The ruins of Carthage and the village of Sidi Bou Sa

ha ha very funny particularly like the "how do you stop milk from going sour?" question.....Genius!

For those who are unable to see this show or those who just can't be bothered to wtach the whole 6 episodes then check out this link to see what all the fuss was about................ http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2011/feb/16/roman-house-recreation-wroxeter ***SPOILER**** If you have been watching the show and don't want to see how it ended up then dont click on the link!!

I wouldn't say for sure that they definately knew that they would go the way of the other great empires, in the back of their minds they may have probably considered the thought, but in the good old traditional Roman way they would have cast the thought aside as being inconcievable due to the fact that they were, in thier minds, the most powerful and all conquering force in the known world. The romans were'nt know for their shy, modest and defeatest attitudes were they? To consider that their reign would eventually come to an end would have been considered a ridiculous notion to the Romans.

God dammit I missed this! I remember seeing it advertised but forgot to record it. How was it anyway? Any idea if it is being repeated anywhere? EDIT: For those who didn't see it, it's available to view for 5 days on the 5 website http://www.five.tv/shows/julius-caesar-rome-unwrapped/episodes/julius-caesar-rome-unwrapped

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DC!! hope you had a great day mate! bottoms up!

Go on then why not!! I'll have a go too, you've gotta be in it to win it!!

It was a route once trod by legionnaires as they marched across a conquered land. But, eventually, the Romans left Britain and the magnificent highway they created was reclaimed by nature and seemingly lost for ever. Now, some 2,000 years after it was built, it has been uncovered in the depths of a forest in Dorset. And, remarkably, it shows no sign of the potholes that blight our modern roads. Read more: http://www.dailymail...l#ixzz1D792NR43

I've been watching this show and I'm loving it. It really makes you realise just how skillful innovative the Romans were. I think they've picked a good mix of guys for the build, they're all pretty funny fella's especially the young labourer, he does make me chuckle, as does the geordie plumber. I thought it was funny on the last show when the, shall we say rather tubby plasterer from Yorkshire got a touch of sunstroke and the self appointed first aider, the rather tubby labourer started to give him grief about his weight then decided that a nice sugary treat should sort him out!! I've gotta say though that the carpenter guy is bloody rubbish!!! The guy still hasn't built anything that actually works!! He wouldn't have lasted two minutes back in the day!!

Intersting theory but surely if there had been such a massive change in the climate, causing famine, drought, severe weather conditions etc to ravage the land and be serious enough to play a big part in the fall of the Empire, then surely we would have read about it in the writings of the ancient historians of the time. I mean, something as cataclysmic as this would surely have been recorded?? I don't doubt the fact that there were massive climate changes during the 300 year period mentioned, the trees dont lie! But big enough to cause the collapse of the empire?? I'm not so sure All the same, it is an interesting theory and I'd like to read more on the subject. Thanks for posting it Ursus!

Such a shame to see those once beautiful buidings falling into such disrepair, truly shocking!

I've recently downloaded the kindle app for my ipod touch and I've gotta say that I'm pretty impressed. I've read two books on it already with no problems so my question is why would I want to go and spend

Hi NoJobRob and Macerinus, welcome to UNRV Hawaii sounds like paradise, I must go there some day, especially when there's a global famine iminent!! Why the Netherlands sadly?? I've been to the Netherlands many times and always enjoyed myself. No good if you enjoy hill walking though!!!!

I'm intrigued as to why the world needs to be any safer to get to Rome. Do you know something I don't? Should I be worried? Tell all! I was just referencing the terror threats and bomb explosions at the Swiss and Chilean embassies. Stuff like that. The world's been pretty crazy since 9/11. Crazy stuff happened before obviously, but it seemed to escalate after 9/11. My time spent overseas brought a lot of things to my attention that the average Joe isn't aware of. I'd just rather play it safe for now and wait until things calm down before venturing back as a civilian. Even if that's not for 10, 20, 30 years, that's fine. I'm still in my 20's so time is on my side. Why not just wrap yourself in cotton wool and never leave the house????? There's probably more chance of getting killed or injured crossing the road on your way to the shops as there is being involved in a terrorist attack, so why let those people win? Why deprive yourself of living a full and active life just on the off chance you may be caught up in some random attack???? If your time's up then it's up simple as that!!

Hi jolber, Here's a few websites that may help you along the way..... http://www.pompeionline.net/pompeii/houses.htm http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/classics/modules/cx254/pompeianhouses/ http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/house.html Good luck with the essay.

Thanks for the info Clayton! This bloody Kindle thing is sounding more attractive day by day!!

Mmmmm interesting!!!! I'm a massive fan of books and of reading, especially on paper, I really can't see (or should I say couldn't see) the attraction of reading from a computerised screen but the more I here about kindle the more I am becoming drawn to it. I like to keep my books and every now and then I like to go back to them and have a flick through, maybe read again etc, what sort of memory does the kindle have? And my one big worry about it is that if I ever loose it or it gets stolen then thats all my books gone in an instant! Where as the chances of loosing my bookcases or god forbid somebody breaking in and stealing all my books are pretty slim to say the least, I reckon the tele, computers etc would go first!! I guess i should download the books app on my ipod and see how I get on with that before I take the plunge with a kindle, how much is the kindle by the way?