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Pertinax

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  4. Roman Artillery?

    in Gloria Exercitus - 'Glory of the Army'

    Posted

    Intriguingly Wilkins says " the one arm onager is the only type of stone thrower known to Vegetius (late 4th C writer on the Roman Army)" "It was perhaps the only torsion powered stone thrower to survive until medieval times if indeed it is the same as the mangonel". Torsion powered bolt shooting cheiroballistrae seem to continue in use right through to the 10th C "Tactica" (Leo).

  5. What did the Vikings do for us?

    in Historia in Universum

    Posted

    Augusta , thats a tough question, my reply would be "an appreciation of the strategic reach of waterborne infiltration as a tactical ploy , combined with a perceptive use of ship technology " However I stop short of any particularly positive cultural suggestion, militarily I cannot see any innovation in the swine array , the glorification of personal feats of arms or weapon technology. Longbow might be able to lift my negative take on this.

  9. Roman Artillery?

    in Gloria Exercitus - 'Glory of the Army'

    Posted

    Now I like most people realize that the movie 'Gladiator' was mostly fictitious. However, in the opening battle scene I find it interesting that they used the catapults for infantry assault. Was this part accurate at all?

    The late John Davis of LEG II AVG (Architectus to that Legion, hence "head of artillery") was at pains to debunk the scorpions as portrayed in the film, he stressed the role of the weapon as an "area denial ordnance delivery system" , ie: tactical re-shaping of the battlefield rather than direct assault.Here is the great man (in raffish auxilliary gear) with his charges.These things are seriously accurate, delivering shot after shot into a designated target area, with archer backup a foe can be squeezed away from or toward a propitious location.As portrayed in the film they are a bit of a waste of ordnance , though the idea of technological superiority is certainly rammed home when the two Marcommani get skewered.

     

    http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?automo...=si&img=962

     

    Ballista front , scorpion rear .

  11. Roman Artillery?

    in Gloria Exercitus - 'Glory of the Army'

    Posted

    At Masada (AD 73) Wilkins enumerates seven sizes of stone projectile the 2, 4, 8. 16, 40 , 60 and 80 librae calibre .It is mentioned that to extend range on ocassions 4 librae machines were operated with 2 librae shot , 16 shot 8 and so on .However one talent ammo has been found at the top of the fortress, and even at a range of 168 meters , although somewhat "weakened" the impact would be huge.Wilkins also mentions that Vitruvius had improved on the basic hellenistic ballista design by using improved washers and spring frames,(essentially allowing more spring-cord to fitted to a machine).It appears then a Vitruvian "improved" one talent unit inclined at 50 degrees and maybe 200 meteres away could strike the upper works with force.

  12. Culture from Counter-Culture: Dionysian Drama and Hellenism

    in Historia in Universum

    Posted

    I know Jung isn't everyones cup of tea , (but then Freud can be deeply tedious), I was struck by the "requirement for an ecstatic dimension" in this excellent article, which is emphasised by Jungians (the "safety valve" as quoted).The post also resonates strongly with Buhner's take on intoxicants as sacred pathways to ecstatic congress, that is that we are obligated to become "out of control " (from time to time) to achieve momentary union with the divine.Indeed we are obliged to experience ecstatic frenzy to achieve a state of mental clarity in our general life.

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sacred-Herbal-Heal...0951&sr=8-4

    A really outstanding article.Dionysus is therefore an essential deity to be embraced for the health of the psyche.

  15. Roman Artillery?

    in Gloria Exercitus - 'Glory of the Army'

    Posted

    This might be of some interest here

    http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?automo...si&img=1924

     

    Here we have a copy of a front plate from a scorpion.The original was found in a grave outside the walls of Cremona with various remains including three damaged skulls (possibly the crew).Likely to be from the clash between Vitellius and Vespasian recorded by Tacitus i(n Histories III).

     

    Here are the heads of the torsion units:

    http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?automo...si&img=1925

    the materials are as near as possible to the original , but beaten sinew is not a modern industry. The brasswork is faithful to the original.

     

    The full machine:

    http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?automo...si&img=1926

  16. Roman Artillery?

    in Gloria Exercitus - 'Glory of the Army'

    Posted

    Checking Wilkins

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Roman-Artillery-Sh...0171&sr=8-4

     

    The "one talent" ie: 26.2 kg ballista is attested the largest in regular use by the legions.Described by Philon of Byzantium as the "most violent" stone thrower , he gave detailed triple vallation plans to keep this piece of kit from being deployed to positive effect in siege works. Caldrail makes mention of these units in another thread on combat stress. This piece of equipment is not only very large and destructive but a very finely engineered thing, requiring an eight man crew to operate it , with a one round per hour firing rate when actually re-constructed (the BBC commissioned Wilkins to do this!), I assume a combat crew might increase this rather lamentable rate.

  19. Romans and Mental Health

    in Romana Humanitas

    Posted

    Even so (and I do not argue the lethality of these situations) , killing distance/lethality of weaponry is much more truncated , battlefield dispersal hardly exists as a factor (indeed concentration of forces was sought after) and it is the latter which is the great unknown in stressing men.Men may face a certain (and deadly ) danger with greater fortitude than an amorphous unnerving miasma of uncertainty.

     

    Not quite classical era , but the drift of the thing is evident.image006.gif

  20. Romans and Mental Health

    in Romana Humanitas

    Posted

    Certainly not my area of expertise, but I was considering the range of medications available versus certain known clinical behaviours .

     

    We are aware of the process of "incubation" in relation to the "healing" of a devotee within the confines of a given deities precinct, this healing being for a broad spectrum of afflictions , the health of the eye being a particular consideration in Classical antiquity (in this context and in the promotion of salves and medicinal compounds). The use of incubation does not seem to discriminate against the healing of spiritual afflictions , likewise a hoped for pregnancy might be the goal of such an activity.Obviously this is more of an Attic behaviour, nevertheless given the depth to which Roman medicine is informed (and then transformed ) by Grecian medicine (and physicians) then I tentatively suggest that prayer and medicine would have a place in daily healing.The case of midwifery is much more certain, an accomplished midwife would deploy medicine, prayer, song and physical aid to a birth.

    We are aware of the knowledge of painkillers (opium , henbane , hellebore, strammonium) and aware of the psycho active potential of these plants, likewise celtiberian medicine furnishes specific examples of mood enhancing drugs/intoxicants (yarrow/myrtle/honey as gruit, borage as a pre-combat psychotropic).So we have , at least , the possibility of techniques and medicaments that could be of some use to a healer dealing with the mind, though I venture to suggest that mind and body might not be the subject of quite the same strict dichotomy as in the "modern" world.

    Combat stress is an interesting concept here, in that the whole ethos of the Army kept men in a semi-sacred relationship with comrades, standard and Rome itself.Men were under the standard for a long time as well, the division between service and civilian life was a long time coming for veterans did esprit de corps keep a combatant sane? Caldrail identifies the bloodier, but more direct and certain clash of arms in the field , killing distance is close at this time (indeed it is the key to the effectivness of the gladius as a killing weapon) , no uncertainty from airborne attack or long distance sniping.

  22. Another Roman Recipe To Delight All

    in Romana Humanitas

    Posted

    Thank you Elfers, if you are a devoted Attic foodie I can split the thread at a later date to give it a specific Grecian focus, and this message certainly applies to anyone who wishes to go non-Roman but classical.

    BTW the version of the Guinea fowl dish I enjoyed did not have the fancy "parcelling" of the leeks , they were chopped fine .I couldnt complain about the result at ll.

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