"Ancient Crime" on the History Channel

[Daniel S Peterson]

On Monday, 21 March 10:00 pm central time will be the first airing of a little show some of us helped out on, recreating the slums of Rome in the slums of Knoxville TN. There is a nice rendition of an Insula with the Deepeeka "Pompeii" stove. The original Legio XIIII scorpion is being operated by Vigiles, and a bit of Gladiator fighting. It will probably be worth a look.<br>
<br>
Dan <p></p><i></i>

[Gaius Octavius Drusus]

Ave et salutatio Dan:<br>
<br>
I saw the program you are referring to. I thought it was well-done, with an interesting mix of cop-show jargon and historical commentary. The use of what looked like evidence tags attached to various props was a hoot..:-).<br>
The only nit I'd like to pic is that there were a good many Deepeeka props used..<br>
<br>
Vale:<br>
<br>
Gaius Octavius Drusus <p></p><i></i>

[Daniel S Peterson]

That's a curious "nit to pick". If a movie were to use select pieces of Deepeeka equipment it would probably be the most authentic Roman movie ever made.<br>
<br>
Dan <p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

So Dan are you saying that all Deepeeka equipment is authentic? or just select pieces?<br>
My understanding was that deepeeka's stuff was crap, and that the only reason we buy from deepeeka is that it is the only game in town we can afford. Just curious. <p></p><i></i>

[rusty myers]

Hmm... seems to me Dan says "Select" in his post above, lets not intentionally fan the flames... Older Deepeeka stuff is less authentic, the newer stuff is really excellent. The newest loricas are about as perfect as they can be, and I think we all should recognize it takes time to get stuff right, and a lot of work, both on the part of Dan, and Deepeeka.<br>
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On the Whole Roman Re-enacting is one of the less expensive genre's because of Deepeeka... yes, you can spend $3000 on gear that is museum perfect... but for about $600 you can get into the hobby with good quality gear (roughly the cost of a Civwar or Revwar Musket). Since we have everything in Legio VI from an old "poor" deepeeka set of full armor to a brand new Lorica and Gallic H rec'd last week, we have the unique postition of seeing the improvements over time. Maybe I can do some "Evolution pics" of some Deepeeka stuff. And yes, our store is a Deepeeka dealer. We are not paid to defend them, and if stuff is inaccurate we tell people. But we also know how much effort has been put by the company into improvements, calling it all crap is not correct... or polite.<br>
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In any event, the post seemed to be engineered to start an argument, and I believe we have had enough of that. <p>Rusty Myers<br>
www.SouloftheWarrior.com Commander, Legio VI FFC<br>
www.LEGVI.com </p><i></i>

[John Maddox Roberts]

I think Dan is saying that Deepeeka stuff, though nit-pickingly inaccurate in details, is a hundred times more accurate than what Hollywood ordinarily uses. Look at any reenactor wearing an indifferent collection of Deepeeka gear and a legionary from the opening sequence of "Gladiator." Who looks more like a real Roman legionary? <p></p><i></i>

[Daniel S Peterson]

Anyone who has actually examined REAL Roman military equipment, instead of admiring incorrect, vastly improved fantasy versions made by self-respecting armorers (who would rather show off their craftsmanship and make big money, than make something crude, cheap-looking, but authentic), will soon discover that most original Roman military equipment is actually "crap", and most Deepeeka pieces show a higher degree of workmanship. Welcome to the real world.<br>
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I know of some European Roman groups that have become elitist clubs where everyone is expected to spend thousands of dollars on their gear. Of course, these people hate it when "mere peasants" can look virtually as good as them from 10 feet away with inexpensive Deepeeka gear.<br>
<br>
And the biggest irony is that the "peasants" with their affordable Deepeeka gear are generally more authentic, because the Elitist stuff is made far better than most Roman originals that were issued to regular, rank and file legionaries.<br>
One could even say that the elitists' too-perfectly made, unauthentic fantasy, $2000.00 plus helmets are the real "crap".<br>
<br>
The first modern, relatively authentic "Roman" group guarded their sources carefully and did everything possible to discourage other Roman groups because they were little more than "paid performers", and didn't want to lose their business to other groups whom they could only regard as competition with their "show business" mentality. This was the environment when I essentially started the "second' oldest group, and the first which could genuinely be called a "Reenactment group" in the true sense. Nothing in my book was made in India, that all came later. Like the elitists, I could have been content with being one of only a handful of groups in existence then, but REAL reenactors want to see realistic, large numbers of other Roman soldiers at their events, and to experiment with maneuvers and simulated combat that require hundreds of other reenactors to properly execute. This is why I help Deepeeka. So there can be hundreds, and eventually thousands of authentic reenactors in the world, as there should be.<br>
Now, if they could all only be willing to work together, and form authentic conturburnias instead of ridiculous, 4 to 8 man legions.........<br>
<br>
Dan<br>
<p></p><i></i>

[Caius Fabius]

I enjoyed the equipment you brought to Lafe, Dan. The stuff was functional, and varied in look from piece to piece, as the photographs show. The tools looked fantastic, well-used and appropriate. I wish I could find a groma as nice as that one you brought. The additional ceramics, amphorae, wicker baskets, oil lamps, chairs and beds you brought added immeasurably to the feel of being in an actual Roman camp.<br>
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There are different levels of the hobby, from the "costumed Marching Society" and "paid performers", to the many of us who go out to schools or special events and try and share our love of history, with students, teachers and laypeople, to those who are fortunate to spend a weekend with like-minded people, without the droves of tourists breaking into our ambiance. All are welcome, and all are a part of the hobby, in one way or another.<br>
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Michael Simkins and others put out wonderful examples of mint condition equipment and they charge for it, but some Indian companies put out unusable crap. With your efforts, Deepeeka has become better than some of the other producers, but they still have (as we know) some crap that they make money selling to rubes! I think the real Romans would have seen a mixture of quality, with richer people having more perfect stuff, and the new soldier getting by with whatever his messmates let him keep (like the old Soviet Army).<br>
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Just a reminder to all our readers and posters that here we all must get along and even though we see things differently, we are here in tolerance for other people's way of enjoying the study of the Roman Army. Just because someone can read an insult or antagonism "between the lines" is not a reason to censure another person's post, especially when no names are named.<br>
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The idea that different groups do this for different reasons is not new. The idea that some "USA Roman legions" have more than 8 active members is mostly wishful thinking, although LEG IX HISP seems to have several centuries throughout the USA and could probably field a understrength century if they could get everyone together.<br>
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Mostly I am rambling, but this a reminder to all posters to be civil, and stop reading into someone's post stuff that isn't written there! I don't think it is very grown-up to have people sending me emails about one member's posts, when several people are writing inflammatory stuff, without any complaints. <p></p><i></i>

[FlaviusCrispus]

Quote:</em></strong><hr> This is why I help Deepeeka. So there can be hundreds, and eventually thousands of authentic reenactors in the world, as there should be.<br>
Now, if they could all only be willing to work together, and form authentic conturburnias instead of ridiculous, 4 to 8 man legions.........<br>
<br>
<hr><br>
<br>
Danno--<br>
<br>
You have our eternal thanks for working with Deepeeka to make this hobby affordable and realistic for us unwashed masses. The gods hasten the day that we can field hundreds of milites. As it stands, we (VI VPF, CA) have fielded as many as 24 at one event (we'll have a dozen for tomorrow's monthly hike/drill session), which makes us one of the larger groups in the U.S., I think. Still, it would be phenomenal to get an entire century, or better still, cohort together.<br>
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Working against us is the sheer, sprawling size of this country-- if it were the size of, say, France, don't for a second think that a sizeable contingent from VI would have joined you at LAFE to battle the ferocious Celts! Arkansas or Nashville is just too long a haul from California, requiring a full road trip to haul all the gear and at least a week's committment to make the cross-country journey. Perhaps we should work toward forming some sort of over-arching organization that can sponsor a small number of regional events than can pull from a three or four (or, in the east, more) state area.<br>
<br>
T. Flavius Crispus<br>
Leg VI VPF<br>
CA, USA<br>
<br>
<p></p><i></i>

[Marcus Seneca Cato]

A cohort.... ::droooooolllll::<br>
<br>
Sorry about the offtopic mess. <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p200.ezboard.com/bromanarmytalk.showUserPublicProfile?gid=marcussenecacato>Marcus Seneca Cato</A> at: 3/26/05 7:17 am<br></i>