K. Qt. Etruscus--
Legio XIII and Legio II teamed up at the Old Bethpage Village Restoration October 11-12th. Special thanks to Gerbulo and Albina coming with me on behalf of Legio XIII as well as Legio II's Dan on Sunday and Andrew Saturday.
This is a timeline event which was held, last year, in November and moved up because it was too cold. We had a presence last year with Legio II and enjoyed ourselves. This time was even better. Saturday, unfortunately, was rainy during the morning and afternoon, so everyone was put up in the new Museum of American Armor where a number of vehicles, including tanks, were on display and driving around and through the facility. We had our display set up around an anti-aircraft gun and laid out the essentials of Roman legionary life in the era of Julius and Augustus Caesar. Public turn out was a little light, doubtless because of the weather, but we had a good time just the same. The timeline started with us, the Romans, and went all the way up to the pretty-recent-past, the Persian Gulf War. Albina participated in a women's fashion timeline led by one of the medieval women who went over all the points of note regarding the evolution of styles and the advancement of tailoring. In the Roman era, of course, there really was no tailoring in any of the clothes, but this gradually changed over the centuries to where fitted and formed garments appeared.
Sunday was mostly sunny and the morning started off brisk. We were moved out to the field this time and so we set ourselves out up there. The displays were found in an area which was surrounded on three sides by trees, the opening of which was a very large field where the heavy armor drove around. This time we were joined by Andrew of Legio II with a later Roman impression than ours, more of the mid-1st Century A.D. allowing us to show people something of the progression and evolution of Roman arms and armor.
When the tanks were not driving around, chewing up the dirt, we got some pila-chucking in. A good hefty throw by us typical 21st C. men was probably nothing compared to the distance a trained legionary could get, but the distances we achieved were still sufficient to provide enough time to throw and draw the gladius before a charging enemy could impact. That really must have been the case, we suspect: the order "Pila--Iacte!" immediately followed by drawing the sword. Fortunately, nobody was trying to kill us for real.
All in all, we had a very good time, met some wonderful people--the weather warmed up and the skies were clear. The number of visitors we had during the day was quite impressive and we were engaged by a lot of people with thoughtful questions. As ever, hoisting up the huge scutum and trying on the helmets were very popular. We look forward to doing this event again if they host it next year. Lots of pictures can be found on our Photo Gallery page.
Legio XIII and Legio II teamed up at the Old Bethpage Village Restoration October 11-12th. Special thanks to Gerbulo and Albina coming with me on behalf of Legio XIII as well as Legio II's Dan on Sunday and Andrew Saturday.
This is a timeline event which was held, last year, in November and moved up because it was too cold. We had a presence last year with Legio II and enjoyed ourselves. This time was even better. Saturday, unfortunately, was rainy during the morning and afternoon, so everyone was put up in the new Museum of American Armor where a number of vehicles, including tanks, were on display and driving around and through the facility. We had our display set up around an anti-aircraft gun and laid out the essentials of Roman legionary life in the era of Julius and Augustus Caesar. Public turn out was a little light, doubtless because of the weather, but we had a good time just the same. The timeline started with us, the Romans, and went all the way up to the pretty-recent-past, the Persian Gulf War. Albina participated in a women's fashion timeline led by one of the medieval women who went over all the points of note regarding the evolution of styles and the advancement of tailoring. In the Roman era, of course, there really was no tailoring in any of the clothes, but this gradually changed over the centuries to where fitted and formed garments appeared.
Sunday was mostly sunny and the morning started off brisk. We were moved out to the field this time and so we set ourselves out up there. The displays were found in an area which was surrounded on three sides by trees, the opening of which was a very large field where the heavy armor drove around. This time we were joined by Andrew of Legio II with a later Roman impression than ours, more of the mid-1st Century A.D. allowing us to show people something of the progression and evolution of Roman arms and armor.
When the tanks were not driving around, chewing up the dirt, we got some pila-chucking in. A good hefty throw by us typical 21st C. men was probably nothing compared to the distance a trained legionary could get, but the distances we achieved were still sufficient to provide enough time to throw and draw the gladius before a charging enemy could impact. That really must have been the case, we suspect: the order "Pila--Iacte!" immediately followed by drawing the sword. Fortunately, nobody was trying to kill us for real.
All in all, we had a very good time, met some wonderful people--the weather warmed up and the skies were clear. The number of visitors we had during the day was quite impressive and we were engaged by a lot of people with thoughtful questions. As ever, hoisting up the huge scutum and trying on the helmets were very popular. We look forward to doing this event again if they host it next year. Lots of pictures can be found on our Photo Gallery page.