LUPERCALIA! by Richard and Allison Campbell
       We agreed upon Saturday, February 16 for Lupercalia at our house, same place as last year (1901 Westfield St, Alexandria, Va.).  I think we'll start at 5pm, and go on until wee hours or so, but we'll update you in a few weeks once we've got all the plans going.  If you need a place to stay, we can make some arrangements, so let us know. Appropriate Roman clothing optional but encouraged, even armor if you really want to.  No hobnails please!  I seem to remember encouraging food dishes, particularly now Laura's own bread, but that too we'll let you know about first of February.
       If you happen to have Roman friends in the area, they too are welcome. We'll be asking who's likely to attend around next fabricum, so ponder your social calendars. This will be an adults party, same as last year.
       If you have other questions just let me know!  Our home phone is 703---.
       Valete!

LAFE, ARKANSAS EVENT, by Mark Saddler, Legio II Augusta
       All is not well on the frontier of Brittania. Since arriving in this cold, wet, enemy infested wilderness we have been on our guard. Bands of pictish warriors continue to harass our daily operations. Skirmishes have occurred  on open ground and in dense forest.  While many Barbarians  have felt the deadly persuasiveness of roman steel, our losses continue to mount. Paid informers in the local population have indicated the local leaders plan an attack on the fort itself. Scouts have reported lime washed primitives ambushing our patrols. Some britons actually seem to throw themselves on Roman swords to allow their comrade a better strike.  Constant patrolling has yielded only small settlements filled with old women and unimpressive stone huts. Reinforcements are needed quickly to hold the line .....
       Join either the victorious Roman Army or the soon to be conquered Pictish/Celtic Barbarians at BRITAIN A.D. 43 on March 22,23,24 for a weekend of Ancient Reenacting. The site opens at 4pm on March 22nd, and is located in LAFE, ARKANSAS on 88 acres of private land. There are several ponds, woods, fields, and several places for crafty Celts and courageous Romans to interact in meaningful and constructive ways.
       This event will be the second hosted on this site, there is no charge and attendees will be asked to follow just a few basic rules.
1. No drugs are allowed, period.....
2. Alcohol will be permitted, there will be no Alcohol given to or consumed by minors( under age 21) at any time.
3. Campfires will be built only in authorized fire pits.
4. Campfires will have a "fire watch" at all times. NO FIRES UNATTENDED.
5. The Roman Group will have a leader as well as the Celtic and Pictish Group. These persons will be responsible for fire prevention and your safety . In an emergency,please listen to them and be vigilent about the fire risk.
6.Upon arrival please sign in and let the staff know if there are any medical conditions or allergies which we need to know about (beestings, food allergies, diabetes, etc.)
7.Small children left unattended will be sold as galley slaves, small children supervised are welcome to stay.
8.The owner of the land and the staff will not be held responsible for accidents, injury, or lost items. Please be careful and obey the rules.
9. Any infraction of the above rules could mean expulsion from the site.

       This is private land and the land owner will be fighting for Rome and tossing Pila as well, but we should remind all that........
--This is an Ancient Reenactment, participants should strive for authenticity...... you can simply pitch your modern tent near the parking area, talk your way into someones period tent, or just pull up a warm sheep skin to one of the camp fires.....
--Temperature will typically be in the 40's-50's daytime. At night it will be colder...hence the wool and warm skins...
--Wood for fires will be provided. (available at fort)
--Portajon or outhouses will be available.
--Hay will be provided for bedding (if needed)
--Water will be available (bring your own containers please)
--Pictish or Celtic reenactors should contact the local clan leader on the location of their camp site .
--Individual Cohorts and Legionaires may make camp as terrain allows, however a turf wall and ditch has been constructed south west of the Local tribes.  Fellow legions are invited to camp with Legio II Augusta and Cohors III Praetoria.

       Participants should take the best route to Paragould, Arkansas. Take 49 North, turn left on to Hwy 135 North  (the intersection across Pannell Ford). Drive approximately 9 miles to Lafe, Arkansas.  Upon reaching Lafe, turn Right on to Valley Drive and drive to the end of the paved road. Drive straight into the field and sign in. Look for the signs in Lafe that look like a Roman shield for directions. Valley Drive is a paved road and is right next to St. Johns Lutheran church. St. Johns has a cemetary, and a blue cross lit above the steeple will be visible (if you are arriving at night).
       For further information, contact Mark Saddler at (870)--

       [Note from Quintus:::  Would anyone from Legio XX like to attend this?  You know my usual aversion to March events ("cold, wet, and miserable"!), and it is a long haul, but playing in a reconstructed fort with other Romans could be fun!  If I can't go myself, I am happy to send along the standards, tent, and blessings.]

AMPHORAE, by Richard Campbell:
       I got the following followup from Tom Apple, a Virginia glass/potter who has the Tuckahoe workshop down in Norfolk. If you look at his site, you'll see one Roman glass hex bottle that looks pretty good. I called him yesterday (price had been reduced to $8 and I ordered four) and found out a lot of good things.  First, he knows Matt (why am I surprised?  Everyone knows Matt) and admires the 20th.  Second, he was soliciting ideas for more glass patterns, and I agreed to send him some images.  Even more interestingly, they are experimenting with Samian ware!  He  sounds like they will be producing pieces with the impressed patterns that are found on some examples, in addition to the plainer ones.  He will keep us up on the progress.  Much as I love the Taylor & Hill and Burroughes work, those are too fragile to let the public handle.  I think his will be a bit stronger.  Importantly for Asselina's, he's also making 1st century amphora! the pointed kind 'like a carrot' that are based on some found in Britain.  These will be about 28" high, the size of his kiln.  True amphora are "formed from three pieces and assembled", and that's how he's doing it. I have already ordered several and hope to have them by MTT at least.

       [Tom Apple writes:] " The amphora that we've made is classified as a Camulodunum 189, also know as a "carrot" amphora because of their shape and color, "orangey-red".  They were fairly small, 3-4 liters, and were used to import dried fruit such as dates, raisins, and some other type of palm fruit, I forget the name.  Found in England in 1st-3rd century sites.  Our prototype is unglazed, but they could be glazed on the inside, if that's what people want, however, this type was not used for liquid storage.  We can do other forms but are restricted by our kiln size which is about 28" tall. I'll look into what other forms we can do that fall within our kiln size and talk it over with our potter."
       Tuckahoe Trading Company, http://www.tuckahoetradingco.com/ .

NEW ARCHEOLOGICAL FIND
       A new find of lorica segmentata pieces from Stillfried, Austria, was recently mentioned on the Roman Army Talk board.  Dr. Mike Bishop very helpfully chimed in with some wonderful details, having seen the pieces himself.  He describes a Newstead-style girdle section with mismatched halves, 7 plates on one side and 8 on the other.  One half had cast brass lacing loops, which are known from other places are were always assumed to be just an alternative to the familiar Corbridge lacing loop, with opposing loops tied by leather thongs.  But the girdle plates on the other half of the Stillfried cuirass had not loops, but SLOTS--the corresponding loops would project through the slots and be secured by some sort of split ring or pin!  Wackier yet was that each slot had a brass plate around it, identical to the ones found on the Newstead breast and backplates!  This kind of iron plate with a brass plate and a slot has turned up before, but it was never clear just what the thing was for.  Now we know!
       The top plate on each side had two vertical hooks at the back and one at the front, for connecting to the collar sections.  But the hooks are riveted INSIDE the plates by a single rivet, with the hook itself poking out through a hole in the iron.  And two other identical hooks, one at each side, are mounted on plates farther down, and they are upside-down as if to serve as belt loops!
       More details are in the Roman Military History section of the Roman Army Talk board (http://pub45.ezboard.com/bromanarmytalk), and I have added them to the Newstead Lorica page of the Legio XX website.  Mind you, this armor is too late for our usual period, but I plan to build one anyway, at some point.

SURF'S UP
       From John Macek, an article about new discoveries at Richborough in Britain: http://portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/12/26/ndover26.xml&sSheet=/news/2001/12/26/ixhome.html

       In case you have never seen the Computer Associates commercial on TV in which Caesar is addressing a modern crowd and rides off in a limo, Owen Hutchins supplied this URL,  http://users.metro2000.net/~stabbott/AHempiread.html.

       Recent tweaks and updates to the Legio XX website include the Links, Suppliers, Lorica Segmentata, Manica, and of course the Newstead Lorica pages.  There is also a brand new page on the Organization and Officers of a legion (an original one, not ours!), including what centurions and other officers wore.  It needs some pictures, I know!  Still working on that.  Have you read your website today?

CALENDAR
   February 16 --Lupercalia Party at Richard and Allison Campbell's, details above
   March 22-24 --"Britain AD 43" event, Lafe, Arkansas, hosted by Leg.II Aug and Coh. III Praetoria (Is Legio XX going?)
   April 13-14, 2002 --Marching Through Time, Marietta Mansion
   June 8-9, 2002 (tentative) --ROMAN DAYS, Marietta Mansion
   October 2002 -- Demo at Univ. of PA Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Philadelphia
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Directions to the monthly workshops/musters at Roger Moskey's house:

       From I-495 Capital Beltway, take Exit 12 B Route 267 Toll Road West towards Dulles Airport.  After paying toll (50 cents), take the first exit--Exit 16 Route 7 Leesburg Pike West for about 11 miles.  Go past Cascades Parkway, and at the next light take a right onto PALISADES Parkway, then an immediate left onto "Triple 7" (Route 777).  Pass Calvary Temple on right, take the next right onto Regina Drive; follow it to the end and take a right onto Markwood Drive.   At stop sign take a left onto Terrie Drive (culdesac).  #304 is just to the right of the middle.
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ADLOCVTIO is the Official Newsletter of the Twentieth Legion, published on the Ides of each month.  I am Quintus, aka Matthew Amt, the Legion's Commander and Editor of the unparalleled Newsletter, and I have MOVED.  My email is unchanged, and the website is still at http://www.larp.com/legioxx/.  Many thanks to everyone who helped out with the move, particularly Jane's sister Virginia Walker and her husband Ralph Nesbitt, who not only loaned us big bucks in order to get the house we wanted, but also let us and our (rather substantial) worldly goods live with them while we were between homes.  Thanks also to the Legionaries who helped haul stuff, too!