Roman House

Here's something you don't see everyday. This is a full-scale recreation of a Roman house (perhaps more accurately villa) located in Wroxter in Great Britain. Wroxeter, or Viroconium Cornoviorum as it was known then, was a center of Roman settlement and now there's a reconstructed house to give a sense of what might have existed there.

Click HERE for more about the reconstruction. It's part of Wroxeter Roman City, an open-air museum.

The house itself...

The house as part of the site...

Long shot of the site.

The Eagle - Synopsis

This is a brief description from an upcoming movie entitled "The Eagle":

The Eagle A Focus Features Film Synopsis

The movie is supposed to be based on the book "Eagle of the Ninth" by Rosemary Sutcliff, a book that I originally read in 7th grade and immediately fell in love with. Hopefully, they won't pile on the PC crap...

And here's a trailer from the movie:

Roman Cavalry I

OK, now that you've seen the Sassanid Cataphract in the last post, here's what the Romans had to initially go up against it:

Needless to say, it didn't take long before the Romans created their own to match it. The above image is a typical auxiliary cavalryman circa 1st Century AD. Here's another view:

Now admittedly, these are reenactor/living history recreations and thus, there's potential for error but I think it gives a pretty good idea (But I'm not wild about the tie-down in the second picture). More later! :-)

Cavalry in History - The Cataphract

Because you asked... :-)

Pictured above is a recreation of a Sassanian Cataphract from roughly the mid-2nd Century AD. The Sassanians were the successors to the Parthians and were located on the Eastern border of the Roman Empire in what is today Jordan/Iraq/Iran and as such were a formidible foe and a constant threat to the Roman position in the East.

The term "Cataphract" in English is derived from the Greek: κατάφρακτος Kataphraktos (plural: κατάφρακτοι Kataphraktoi), literally meaning "armored" or "completely enclosed". Historically the cataphract was a very heavily armored horseman, with both the rider and horse covered from head-to-toe in scale armor, while typically wielding a kontos or lance as their weapon.

In response to the Sassanid threat, the Romans eventually created cataphract units of their own and later also armed them with a short bow to deal with the light horse archers which were typically used in conjunction with the Cataphracts. By using the Cataphracts in conjunction with lightly-armored horse archers, the Sassanids were able to create a fast-moving cavalry force that combined firepower with mobility. The only real weak spots were that the Sassanids lacked any infantry capable of holding fixed positions (at least outside of fortified towns.

One slang term of the period that was used for Cataphracts was the Latin word "clibinari" or metal oven which referred to the effect of the armor in the desert heat...I don't think I up for giving this a try with Max! :-)

The Getty Villa - J. Paul Getty Museum

If you're into Classical antiquities and Rome like I am, you might be interested in the The Getty Villa. The Getty Villa is part of the J. Paul Getty Museum and is located in Pacific Pakisades right next to the Pacific Ocean. The museum structure is based on a recreation of the Roman Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum, as well as incorporating details from several other ancient sites.

The Getty Villa was originally opened in 1974 and was closed in 1997 for renovation. After a long wait, it was reopened on January 28, 2006 (took long enough!!). I've been here on many occassions, both pre- and post-renovation and it's an excellent cultural resource. If I had to choose a house, the Getty Villa is pretty close to what I would want (but it would have to have a stable for Max!).

Here are a few pictures:

The central courtyard looking towards the museum itself:

The new entrance:

My idea of the perfect hourse- I especially love this view (I wish I had a pool like it!):

For more information, click HERE and for the official website, click HERE.

P.S. The restaurant serves an excellent lunch and the dining area has a view of the ocean. Average cost was $12 a head with a priceless view. I don't know of any other restaurant that can offer anything as good for the money! I highly recommended just for this alone (although the exhibitions are excellent, of course! :-)). Beware though, it's a real pain getting tickets (there's limited parking available).