Carlysle Conference today, Oct 15 ??

[richsc]

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Just noticed this in David Meadow's digest: anyone attending this?<br>
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Today, more than 130 archaeological experts will attend a three-day conference at the city’s Swallow Hilltop Hotel, organised by Mr Zant.<br>
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They will be discussing Carlisle’s importance as a Roman frontier when they debate the results of the Gateway City Millennium Project.<br>
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Speakers include Lancaster University’s emeritus professor of Roman imperial history David Shotter and pottery expert Dr Vivien Swan.<br>
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The discovery of articulated scale armour – used by Roman soldiers to protect their arms and elbows – is thought to be a world first. This kind of armour had previously only been seen in statues. Some armour is battle-damaged. <p>Legio XX<br>
Caput dolet, pedes fetent, Iesum non amo<br>
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[Anonymous]

yep Ive been there all weekend, I was running the visuals for it, thankfully I didn't kill anything too badly.<br>
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It was an awesome conference, some really intersting material discussed, all fantastic speakers, and a lot of really exciting points made.<br>
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One of the best concepts was the obvious, but now more evidenced, brigading or use of troops. I.e the formal - "this unit in this fort" idea looks a lot less likely at carlisle there seems to be the possibility for several different units- i.e auxiliarys and legionary building parties at the same time.<br>
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And also Viviens work on the pottery, which she has been conveying to me as I draw the pot, is showing the possibiltiy of North African troops from VI LEG in carlisle, possibly a building party for the severan stone fort staying in the town while they constructed it.<br>
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Also David Shotters coin talk and Chris Howard-Davis' talk pointed out the huge quantity of coins found around the Principia in road, and also gaming counters of bone and glass, possibly pointing to the congregation of troops for drinking and gambling etc outside the building etc.<br>
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and you'll just have to ask mike about the armour<br>
all really exciting stuff<br>
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[Crispvs]

Excellent conference! There were rather too many good points to list them all here, but for me the highlights were the description of the conservation of the armour, the revelation that a single tree could potentially supply most of the wood necessary to build a barrack block, with very little wastage of wood, and what would have to be the sensation of the weekend: the vindication of Peter Connolly's reconstruction of the cavalry saddle frame, as a picture of a piece of wood of exactly the same shape he had predicted, with holes in exactly the same places he had predicted was exhibited. Two saddle covers were also illustrated which demonstrated that rather than being sewn under, the saddle leather was secured on the horns of the saddle and simply hung down at the sides, even having a substantial fringed curtain of leather hanging down from its lower edges. It now seems likely that the girth strap was attached directly to the saddle frame, as it now appears that with the leather not being sewn around it it would have been both accessable and the best place to attach the strap. The saddle covers both showed stretch marks where they had been pressed down over their frames whilst in use.<br>
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Crispvs <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p200.ezboard.com/bromanarmytalk.showUserPublicProfile?gid=crispvs>Crispvs</A> at: 10/18/04 3:11 am<br></i>

[derek forrest]

Thgese are my quick notes<br>
Content I was interested throughout but conscious I have a local interest (if carlisle is local) although I was borne there.<br>
On the armour side all would have enjoyed the 3 lectures on the armour but I suspect that some of the other subjects would be of more interest to the archaeologist and after all it was an archaeological conference.<br>
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On the armour we had a detailed description of the recovery and preservation. Had a lot of leather on an around it which she had to preserve but was then able to separate and record what is basically a manica and a shoulder protection in scale. So they can be relied upon. The Manica was articulated on leather now mineralised and very much repaired with 2 or more armours combined over many years of use.Some of the sheets had been combined in the repars but they were all articulated originally . They showed a whole variety of rivets and fittings including loops and hooks. The disposal dates from the 150s but the armour was probably very old at that time . the Corbridge horde had been redated to the !30s but contained no Manicae. The suggestion is that these were not just a consequence of the Falx but had been present throughout the empire earlier on than the Trajanic period . How far back ????. There had been a complete Manica found in Rumania,.The scale was evidence of the widespread use of this armour and was of the conventional overlapping type. There were some suggestions that there would be an armour of combined scale and plate being used (Adamklissi) We had to be very cautious about the uniformity shown on Hadrians column. On the armour production side the plate was .9 mm thick (+ _ 2mm) and face hardened with very little slag Shows that Romans could melt iron to high enough temperatures to pour it out slag free and then turn it into uniform plate with Jack hammers. This produced armour good enough to be equivalent to Henry V111th armour that cost more than the Mary Rose!<br>
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Turning to the rest of the conference some facts:-<br>
We have found a 2nd milestone to Civitatis Carvetiorum establishing luguvlium as the centre of Civil admin maybe even before Severus<br>
Through most of its history it had 2 functioning forts in the area.<br>
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We can trace the movement of a legion by looking at the range of pots purchased locally to its HQ and then taken with it as it moved.<br>
The pots were a standard issue.<br>
Amphori had advertising written in ink on their sides.<br>
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Olive oil was on standard issue to miles but their officers had the expensive Mauretanian Garum campanian wine and african dates<br>
XX V V show use of Wilderspool maufactury<br>
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Romans lost 60-80% of their grain through use of inappropriate above gound grannaries (we lose 20%) Burning signs may be simply destruction to get rid of the weevils. Hence the preference for hardtack brucelatum.. Below ground storage is not so susceptable. Why did they continue with desgn. Points to early consumption and local production..<br>
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Saddles need a special mention . They have found a saddle leather which is a saddle cover and was pulled over the tree (same as a connolly one) and not sewed onto the saddle. It was easy to take off and was repaired by the trooper probably<br>
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No sign of Caligae just boots in ist cent levels<br>
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Coins in lower levels in mint condit lots of early Flavian and lots of Constantine along the Via Principalis possible due to its use as flea market gambling site.<br>
Low denominations associated with auxillaries denarii with legionaries????<br>
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Roman woodworking was as good as 18c work<br>
Barracks constructed with lighter posts than the Principa but gaps between posts not meassured<br>
The wattle used horizontal sales<br>
roof in ist cent was shingles and later tiles used showing XX V V stamps in maj<br>
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Shrines to local gods show adoption of local gods by senior Romans without embarassment. Shrines set up everywhere to local gods or Fortuna<br>
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[Anonymous]

Should probably point out that stratigraphically the armour is in fact from the 130s-40 not the 150+ period according to John Zant who is doing the stratigraphic work.<br>
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Adam <p></p><i></i>