ADLOCVTIO
NEWSLETTER OF THE TWENTIETH LEGION
Vol. XXII, no. iii, May-June, 2012


ROMAN DAYS

    The Legion will return to Riversdale House Museum for Roman Days on June 9-10, 2012.  Obviously the entire ancient world is invited!  The street address is 4811 Riverdale Rd, Riverdale, MD 20737.  Public hours will be 11 AM to 4 PM on Saturday and 12 noon to 4 PM on Sunday.  Admission for the public is $5 and $3 for students, but there is no charge for participants.  

http://www.larp.com/legioxx/rdays.html 
http://romandays.wikispaces.com/  
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/romandays/ 
http://www.riversdale.org/ 

    Legio XX will be joined by several other groups, including (hopefully!) Legio XXIV, Legio IX Hispana, Legio III Cyrenaica, several (mostly) friendly barbarians, and more.  Asellina's Caupona will be there in all its glory, and a couple vendors.  The Riversdale staff have activities for kids, and their tours of the house will note the neo-Classical influence.  And we'd love to see reenactors from other ancient eras as well!  Anything from the Stone Age through the Byzantine Empire would be more than welcome.  Of course, you do NOT have to be a reenactor to come and participate, or just have fun and enjoy the show!

    Here is the tentative schedule:

Saturday
11:00 Full Muster
11:30 Kids’ Cohort and Drill
12:00 Food Demo
1:00 Massed tactical and drill demo - Kids' Cohort to follow
1:45 Artillery and Missile Demo
2:30 Court Case
3:15 Evolution of the Roman Soldier
4:00 Event Closes for the Day
5ish FEAST!

Sunday
9:30 IHOP Invasion (optional)
12:00 Open to the Public
12:30 Food Demo
1:00 Massed tactical and drill demo - Kids' Cohort to follow
2:00 Artillery & Missile Demo - Kids' Cohort to follow
2:45 Court Case
3:15 Evolution of the Roman Soldier
4:00 Event Closes for the Day

    Participants should try to be on site an hour before opening, particularly if you are borrowing clothing or gear.  A number of us will be setting up on Friday afternoon and evening--that's certainly optional, but help is always welcome!  

    The gates will be closed in the evening but not locked, so you can still bring your cars in during the night.  You can drive on the grass (carefully!) to unload at your campsite, and park in the lot overnight.  Since parking is somewhat limited, however, participants and vendors should park in the streets around the site during public hours, leaving the lot open for visitors.  Please do *not* park in the spaces on Oliver Street next to the visitor center, outside the west gate.  There is a water faucet on the back wall of the visitor center, plus real bathrooms!  (And a porta-potty or two at night.)  Ground fires are not permitted, but raised braziers or stoves are allowed (probably a good idea to bring your own wood or charcoal).

Directions!

From the North: From Capital Beltway I-95/495 eastbound/southbound (Inner Loop), take Exit 23 onto Kenilworth Ave. Rt. 201, and turn right to go south.  Go about 3 miles, through the light at Rt. 410 East-West Highway, and at the next light turn right onto Riverdale Road.  Go about 4 blocks and the site will be on your left (look for the tall iron fence).
 
--OR you can take the Baltimore-Washington Parkway (Rt. 295) south towards Washington DC.  Take the Rt. 410 exit and turn right towards Hyattsville (East-West Highway, or it might actually be called Riverdale Rd. at this point).   Go about 3/4 of a mile and turn left at the light onto Kenilworth Ave. Rt. 201, then right at the next light onto Riverdale Road.  Go about 4 blocks and the site will be on your left (look for the tall iron fence).

From the South: Take the Capital Beltway I-95/495 north towards Baltimore, being sure to stay in the "local" lanes.  The "not recommended" route is to take the first exit on the Maryland side of the Wilson Bridge onto I-295 north.  This becomes the most horrible piece of highway in the region, with construction, potholes, confusing signs, and homicidal racing drivers.  Due to recent changes, one of the forks to the left is now an exit to the right, and I don't think Google Maps has kept up with that.  Once you get into the bad section, you want to find the Baltimore-Washington Parkway north.  From the Parkway, take the Rt. 410 exit and turn left towards Hyattsville (East-West Highway, or it might actually be called Riverdale Rd. at this point).  Go about 3/4 of a mile and turn left at the light onto Kenilworth Ave. Rt. 201, then right at the next light onto Riverdale Road.  Go about 4 blocks and the site will be on your left (look for the tall iron fence).

--To avoid I-295, stay on the Beltway to Exit 20, Rt. 450 Annapolis Rd. west towards Landover/Bladensburg.  Go a little over a mile and turn right on to Rt. 410 Veteran's Parkway/East-West Hwy.  Follow 410 about 2 miles and turn left at the light onto Kenilworth Ave. Rt. 201, then right at the next light onto Riverdale Road.  Go about 4 blocks and the site will be on your left (look for the tall iron fence).   (Actually, as you go down 450 a half-mile from the Beltway, you will come to "Riverdale Rd." at a light.  You can turn right there, and it will merge with 410.)

From the West:  Make your way to the Capital Beltway, I-495.  My advice is to take that north (Inner Loop) towards Frederick and Silver Spring.  After crossing the Cabin John Bridge into Maryland, stay right on 495 as I-270 forks off to the left.  Go through Silver Spring and past the exit for I-95 North, then take Exit 23 for Kenilworth Ave. Rt. 201 south and proceed as above.

    Last year one participant arrived wide-eyed and twitching, and said, "You were right about 295."  If you have never driven on it, don't!

    Attached (assuming I remember!) is the official flyer for the event.  Print a thousand copies and spread them around!

    Come one, come all!  Remember, you do NOT have to be a reenactor to participate in some way!  And you don't have to be a Roman, either--we'd love to see Greeks, Egyptians, Britons, Carthaginians, or anything else like that.  More information is *supposed* to be on the Roman Days page of the Legio XX site, and on the Roman Days Wiki, but I think we're a tad behind on all that…  If you don't find what you need, though, let me know!  And I hope to see everyone there.



HARTWOOD DAYS

    We already have an invitation to Hartwood Days, September 8, 2012, near Fredericksburg, VA.  Was anyone able to attend last year?  (I was on the injured list, as I recall.)   It's a pretty easy one-day event, but we don't *have* to accept, if there isn't much enthusiasm.  Please give me some feedback!



SURF'S UP

Society of Ancient Military Historians
http://arkaion-bellum.com/samhw/ 

Graham Sumner, Illustrator
http://gsillustrator.co.uk/ 

Romans in Britain
http://www.romanobritain.org/  



CALENDAR

June 9-10 --ROMAN DAYS, Riversdale Mansion, Riverdale, MD

September --Virginia Scottish Games, Great Meadows, The Plains, VA

September 8 --Hartwood Days, Fredericksburg, VA

November --Virginia Junior Classical League convention in Richmond, VA

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ADLOCVTIO is the Official Newsletter of the Twentieth Legion.  I'm sure I've left some stuff out, but I have a cold and this is all my drug-fogged brain can come up with…  I am Quintus, aka Matthew Amt, the Legion's Commander and Editor of the Newsletter, matthew_amt AT yahoo DOT com, http://www.larp.com/legioxx/