GhostOfClayton

The above is assuming you're talking about hadrian's wall.

The wall was built by legionary soldiers, but subsequently manned by auxiliaries. You may need to be quite specific about time/place, as armour varied tremendously. Also, be careful with your research on Picts, as they were unlikely to have had contact with the Roman military during the time you're talking about.

Is it on an island?

Christmas is now behind us, and the time has come to put away the decorations at OfClayton Towers. It's also time to consider those in society whose Christmas has been a distressing time for one reason or another (we shouldn't consider those who have been determined to have a miserable Christmas because they're nothing but a Grinchy old Scrooge (like me, for example). I'm not really talking about the desperate masses in sub-Saharan Africa that Bob Geldof became so passionate about in the eighties; I like to inject a little humour into my blogs (you'd be forgiven if you hadn't noticed), and to do that against a background of such unimaginable suffering would be tasteless in the extreme. I'm really talking about those who have become trapped in a cycle of debt, for whom Christmas is one more expense they can really do without, inevitably leading them to borrow more and more money they stand little hope of repaying. Drink is obviously one way of allowing an individual undergoing such hardship to, at least, temporarily, forget their troubles. As Homer Simpson famously once said, "alcohol: The cause of, and solution to, all life problems." In England, the cost of alcohol will soon be subject to (it may be already, I don't know) a minimum price per unit. Now, I don't drink much, so I'm not really qualified to comment on this, but I've been watching those that do with interest. It quickly became clear that the civil liberties people were largely silent on the matter, only forming an opinion when prompted, and not really opting to be the nay-sayers in any TV debate on the subject. That role was predominantly filled by the drinks industry and supermarkets, who (firstly) stand to experience erosion of profits due to lost alcohol sales, and (secondly) have a duty to defend against any attempt at government control over their business. Strangely enough, none of those industry representatives said, "we'd make slightly less money", or "we cannot tolerate external controls over our businesses". They either said, "nanny state" or "although it's counter-intuitive in the extreme, minimum price per alcohol unit will inevitably lead everyone to drink more, and England to descend into anarchy". I'm only one man, but their words did sound quite hollow to me. Anyway, minimum alcohol pricing was not to be the subject of my blog today, and I apologise for meandering into that territory. The subject of my blog was debt, so let's get ourselves back on track. I don't know how predominantly this is happening in other countries, but I've noticed a disturbing trend in the UK recently. Once the 9 o'clock watershed is safely behind us, and all impressionable children have been removed from any room containing a TV by responsible parents, I've noticed that about every third advert is for either a casino/bingo/poker website, or for a company that will lend you money with obscene ease. I looked at the small print that flashes up quickly at the end of these loan company adverts. Anyone offering you a loan in the UK has to advertise their APR, or Annual Percentage Rate. Now, my bank will offer me a loan at 5.6% APR, and Wonga.com (the main culprit among these companies) charge an APR of 4214%. This is a staggering 753 times my bank's rate. You could probably get a better rate from your local neighbourhood loan shark. And correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the last big financial balls-up all about lending to people who can't pay? Still, we're all adults, and we should be able to make up our own minds about debt, gambling and alcohol. Let's face it, that's worked out really well for us so far . . . hasn't it? And we shouldn't criticise those businesses who deliberately target, and prey upon, the most vulnerable in our society, because, well, that's just business isn't it? And if they weren't doing it, someone else would . . . and that makes it OK. So, nothing needs changing, and everyone's going to have a happy new year. I'd bet a bottle of vodka on it.

Is that a mosque in the background? The architecture doesn't look North African, so I'm going to guess that the scene is in France? If I guessed the place, would it give me a clue to the identity of the figure?

To spread the net a little wider, I've also come up with Crofton Roman Villa in Orpington, and Lullingstone Roman Villa in Eynsford. An hour to an hour and a half away by train are also Pevensey Castle and Canturbury Roman Museum.

Was it ever noted for the presence of an Oracle?

Yes. Your go.

OK. I'd like to know the identity of the personage who's statue can be found depicted below the yellow arrow in this picture. I'm sorry I'm having to use hyperlinks, but for some reason I can't get the attachment facility on this forum. Strange, because it works fine on 'Guess the ancient city' Anyway, the clues are there.

I will be stuck in London for a couple of days during February. I have stuff I need to do in the evenings, but will have time to kill during the day. My situation is a good vehcle for creating a list of things for the Romanophile to do/see in or around London? I'll start with: The British Museum The Museum of London The Victoria and Albert all of which have some excellent Roman displays/galleries. There's also: The Roman Wall near Tower Bridge Tube station. Anyone think of anything else? Let's also consider things which you can see by taking the train out of London (which is what I may well do). Please qualify your answer with whether or not your suggestion is available 'out of season'.

Given the choice between Greece or Asia Minor, I'd say the backdrop looks more Asia Minor than Greece. Is it in Asia Minor?

Yes, Happy Birthday, Doc, and a happy new year to all at UNRV.

. . . and I always imagined Baddidlyboing Odawidaho was still a thriving community! Lincoln has an excellent archaeological record, and some cracking stuff you can still visit today. Nothing that you'd call a temple, though, I'm afraid. The nearest thing would be the reamins of St Paul in the Bail, a paleo-christian church which was built in the Forum courtayrd, and dates from as early as AD350. A thoroughly excellent book to fit your requirements would be: Jones, M J 2002, Roman Lincoln: Conquest, Colony and Capital: Fortress, Colony and Capital , Tempus Publishing http://www.amazon.co.uk/Roman-Lincoln-Conquest-Capital-Fortress/dp/0752414550/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356949651&sr=1-1 MJ Jones is (or at least used to be - I haven't spoken to him for a few years now) the City Archaeologist, so really knows his stuff.

It's not Marcus Aurelius, is it?

Only four Colonia were established in Britannia, and these were at Lincoln, York, Colchester and Gloucester. Colonia were, as you correctly say, set up for Legionary veterans, and were granted a higher status than similar sized settlements. I can't really speak for the other three, but I am qualified to speak about Lincoln's story. After one or two generations, the significance of Legionary veterans would be lost, and the populace of a Colonia would be indistinguishable from those of any sizable Romano-British city. When the Romans withdrew from Britannia in AD410, ask yourself who actually left? It's likely most of the military remained, though not as an organised unit (evidence from Birdoswald and Vindolanda suggests some became local militia). Possibly any senior military commander on a temporary assignment would have gone home. Other than that, withdrawal amounted to the withdrawal of cash, supplies, new troops, new officers, communications, etc. Trade would have continued though reduced due to the constant invasions from Angles, etc. What this would lead to would be a gradual reduction in the effectiveness of the social infrastructure. When this happens, life in cities becomes less and less viable - food, water, and supplies must be constantly brought into cities, and as the social infrastructure breaks down, this becomes more and more difficult. Subsistence in a city is nigh-on impossible; nowhere to grow your crops. Education also suffers, and sophisticated skills are not passed on, beyond thoise required for subsistence living. Thus Lincoln became almost deserted from the end of the fifth century onward, until the Danes reoccupied it. I can imagine a similar story happening elsewhere.

Yes - loads of 'em. The majority have both free and priced editions, so make sure you do a good search, but pretty much any classic you can think of should have a free version somewhere.

It's available in Switzerland, so that's a promising start.

Wasn't Hadrian on a Grand Tour in AD123? Nothing to stop him ordering it (or agreeing to a request) from afar, I suppose.

You know this, Klingan, but for completeness' sake I will tell other readers that the Kindle e-reader software is available free of charge on smart phones, tablets, laptops, computers, etc. This will enable you to read books from the Kindle store on your afore-mantioned smart device.

A quick note for Kindle users, Robert Fabbri's "Rome's Executioner (Vespasian)", is currenlty available for 99p on the Kindle '12 Days of Kindle' site, presumably for the next 10 days. Not sure how that translates across to other national Amazon stores, but here's the link to the UK Store

Even though my blog may make me out to be A bit Grinchey, best wishes to all.

Where would the Cursus Publicus fit into all this, I wonder? They must have known how to route a communication, and so would have been a useful place to ask. Also, surely the Mansios you stopped in would know the route to the next one or maybe two on any particular itinerary. If travelling from Rome, or any significant city, there would have been a demand for travel instructions. Surely that gap in the market would have been filled by a Travel Agent, even if only to give directions. I just can't see finding your way as being quite so hit and miss as heading vaguely in the right direction, asking someone, hoping they speak Latin, that they know what they're talking about, and don't expect too significant a tip for the information.

Yes - your turn BH

No - that was a red herring (though a short lived one).