ADLOCVTIO
NEWSLETTER OF THE TWENTIETH LEGION
Vol. XVIII, no. vi, June 2008


FESTA ITALIANA

    On SUNDAY, June 29, Legio XX will be part of the Washington DC Festa Italiana, at Holy Rosary Church, 3rd and F St, NW.   

http://www.festaitalianadc.com 

    The hours are 11:30 AM to 5:30 PM.  We will do some marching demos whenever there is a convenient break in the other entertainment.  Apparently there is no place to set up the tent and usual camp area, so we'll basically just be there in "battle order".  Bring your satchel and carry it slung if you need to.  Probably we'll have a small base area to hang out, though we might be asked to do "guard duty" in front of the church, etc.   We are still working out details of parking (since streets will be closed off and weapons are not permitted on Metro!), food, and water.
    If you want to portray an earlier or later era than our usual 43 AD, feel free.  Helmet crests are also good, if you have one.  And sunscreen!!
    Please let me know if you plan to attend!  Members of other legions are more than welcome, as well.  


ROMAN DAYS 2008

    The next Roman Days will be on the weekend of September 26-28, 2008 (not June!), probably in Northern Virginia.  Richard and Deb have been working in concert with the Fairfax County Latin Teachers Association, whose members are very enthusiastic about helping out with a site, funding, and more.   The discussion is on the Roman Days list, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/romandays/ 



FILMING, from David Smith

Friends, Romans, "barbarians," et al:

Salvete,

I have been in contact with a film maker who is interested in shooting a docudrama in Gettysburg-- probably the weekend AFTER Roman Days.

This film maker is interested in "fit" and "accurate" Romans and "barbarians," including some civilians.

Details about pay/legal have not been worked out, but the film maker has asked me to coordinate personnel, equipment, etc.  When I get more information, I'll start contacting unit leaders for individual talent shots and resumes. The director wants me to stress two things:
 
1) Reenactors must be fit enough to look like active legionaries;
2) Reenactors must be willing to get their equipment wet and/or dirty.

The reason this project seems especially cool is that the director is willing to shoot narration/dialogue in Latin with English subtitles, and is interested in doing some battle sequences with "barbarians. "  Also, there would be camp scenes demonstrating aspects of daily camp life.  I have already suggested that this film maker visit Roman Days, Lafe, Pompeii II, etc. to get an idea of what we Romans can do.  Let's show the shiny boys of Ermine Street Guard that we Yanks have come of age!

Since there are already Revolutionary War and American Civil War docudramas out there, why not for Rome?

Please let me know if anyone is interested. This project will involve a screening of individuals, working with the casting director, so if you have a 'talent shot,' that would be great.

Gratias,
David
dsmith7070 AT comcast DOT net



SUMMER ACTIVITIES, from Mike Flowers, June 18, 2008

Hello All,

           This is the first of several emails, which I am writing to keep all of you informed of my activities during the summer.  Internet connection permitting, I hope to write one every week or every time something exciting happens.

            For those who need a quick recap, I am excavating a Roman fort in Romania for two weeks with a professor whom I met while studying abroad in Greece last spring.  From there I am flying straight to Montana to dig up a dinosaur with paleontologist Jack Horner for seven more weeks.  Fun times!

            Now for some details.  I've been in Romania for over a week now.  I flew into Bucharest last Sunday and met the team there.  It consists of six students whom I had class with in Greece, so I already know them (one of them is my girlfriend Breanne).  Yiannis Karavas is a professor of Roman archaeology who focuses on the late Roman army.  He is leading the excavation this year.  The "principal investigator" Mihail is a Romanian archaeologist who has been digging at this site since 1981 and serves as the general overseer of the project.  Karavas is slowly becoming his replacement.

            The Greek name for the site is Halmyris, which means "salty place," and it is a Roman fortification located along the Danube River near where it meets the Black Sea.  It sits next to the modern town of Murighiol ("purple lake" in Turkish) and about an hour from Tulcea, the next largest city.  The first fort was built there in the late first century A.D. when Emperor Vespasian entered the area and was rebuilt and occupied throughout the late Roman Empire until about the 7th century.  It served as one of the major border forts along the Danube, which protected the Empire from invading barbarian hordes.  At any given time, the fort held a garrison of 300 infantry or cavalry, an elaborate bathhouse, and later a basilica with two Christian saints buried inside.  Our excavation this season is attempting to locate the principia, the headquarters of the fort.  We've opened up two new trenches where we believe it to be and so far have dug about 70 cm deep.  We've located a hard-packed clay floor which corresponds to the Justinian occupation in the 6th century.

            Every day we wake up at 6am and have breakfast.  We drive to the site by 7.  We dig until about 1pm with a half-hour break at 10.  The work consists mostly of shoveling with some episodes of troweling and sweeping.  We're lucky to have four local boys use wheelbarrows to take away the dirt, otherwise we'd have to do that too.  After this we go back to the excavation house where we're staying and have lunch, and then siesta (=nap) until 6pm.  We get back together afterwards to clean pottery and talk about the day's finds.  7pm is dinner.  Euro2008 soccer tournament is on, so we usually watch two games and then go to the pub.  Sleep happens around midnight.

            The town of Murighiol is nice.  Everyone is really friendly and generous, and especially curious about strangers.  It's also one of the few areas of Europe which still gladly welcomes Americans.  Each family has an extensive garden around their house, all of which are both beautiful and functional (there aren't any grocery stores for vegetables).  The wildlife is amazing—storks nest on telephone poles, swans frequent the lake (which is purple in the sunset) and the yard is littered with snails.  A local woman cooks all of our meals, which is some of the best food I've ever eaten.  There's also a young puppy to play with.  Life is good here, even if I'm tired most of the time.

            I guess that's all I have for right now.  More details would take too long.  I'll write again after I get to Montana this weekend.

Bye for now,

Mike Flowers



MORE DISTANT EVENTS

--CASTRA ROMANA POMPEII II, THE ERUPTION CONTINUES, from Rusty Myers

Attention, all legions! You are summoned to Charlotte, a city in North Carolina on September 5-7, 2008, where you will partake in maneuvers and drills and displays of offensive and defensive weapons.

Discovery Place is pleased to invite Roman civilian, legion and gladiator reconstruction groups from throughout the southeast and the United States to participate in a living history tableau of a Roman military encampment.

Discovery Place is also honored to host the Legions, Gladiators, and their guests at a private evening, Saturday, to include complementary admission to the international exhibition, A Day in Pompeii, with guided tour; all science galleries filled with fun hands-on science exhibits;

Check out http://www.discoveryplace.org for more information on the exhibition.

Castra Romana combined with the exhibition A Day In Pompeii provides an exceptional opportunity to educate the public on what daily life was like in a provincial first century A.D. Roman town and for the Roman armies that built the great Roman Empire.

Encampment set-up begins Thursday September 4, 2008
Encampment location: The Fourth Ward Park, two blocks from the Science Center
Public hours: The encampment will be open 9 AM to 5 PM Saturday and 9 AM to 2 PM Sunday
School group tours: Friday 11 AM to 1 PM for legion groups that are already encamped.

We are exploring discounted or affordable motel accommodations.  More details to be provided as soon as available. If you intend to stay in a motel, contact Rusty Myers, justuslonginus AT aol DOT com

Vendors of Roman Period Wares are also invited to attend

For more information about participating in the event, please contact Rusty Myers of Legio VI, Re-enacting coordinator, at justuslonginus AT aol DOT com or 843-437-5587

http://www.CastraRomana-Pompeii.com 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pompeiireborn/ 

The Discovery Place Museum
301 North Tryon Street
Charlotte, NC 28202
704-372-6261


CALENDAR
   June 29 (SUNDAY)-- Festa Italiana, Washington DC
   September 26-28-- Roman Days!

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ADLOCVTIO is the Official Newsletter of the Twentieth Legion, supposedly published on the Ides of each month.  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/ .