02-18-2012, 05:34 PM
Quote:it was the one used for "Battlefield Britain"Ha! Always amusing to watch that again.
Peter Snow: So Paulinus raced orf down Watling street with his cavalry bodyguard... Paulinus came racing down Watling street... he had only a handful of men...
No he didn't and no he didn't! If this thread has done anything over the years, it should hopefully have demonstrated the implausibility of the racing Paulinus!
Another point about II Augusta as well - Mr Snow's handy foldout map actually illustrates the unlikeliness of the second legion being ordered up the Fosseway to meet Paulinus somewhere in the Midlands. Imagine coordinating such a thing, in a time of crisis - if either force is delayed, the other has to hang about kicking their heels, about a hundred miles from the prospective scene of battle! Far more sensible to direct the Second eastwards towards London, where they'd be needed...
This program is also the source, I think, of the idea that the 'wedge formation' resembled a serrated sawblade. There was another formation called the 'saw', but the wedge was a different beast.
Quote:Church Stowe was a WWII practice range so detecting there is likely to pull up several tonnes of C20th shrapnel before any hint of Roman surfacesThe vast majority of sites in southern England are going to have some problem or other that would count against archaeological investigation. As mentioned above, the old Thames valley route has been heavily developed over the years - Virginia Water itself is an 18th century reservoir, surrounded by forest plantations, surburban housing and golf courses. The most promising site at Dunstable is actually a medieval chalk pit in the hillside south-west of the road (possibly once a 'defile' :-D ) - in either case, and many like them, finding anything today would be next to impossible.
Nathan Ross
