| Monday 27 May 1998
Now, for those of you who have stumbled here by accident and haven't a clue
how you got here, Fran and I are on holiday in Wiltshire and on this particular public holiday
are at Old Sarum, the fortified town that was abandoned in the 1200s when Salisbury
was built.
Those nice chappies at English Heritage had arranged a display of Roman Army tactics and
equipment entitled "The Might of the Roman Army". |
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No "might" about it - here they are!
The performers for the day were members of four groups: the Ermine Street
Guard, Gemina Project (from Holland), Vexillatio Legionis Geminae and The Troop.
They were representing Imperial Roman soldiers from the second half of the first century A.D. |
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They made a fine display as they marched into the display area. The officers are marked
either by wearing animal skins complete with heads over their helmets, or by the sideways crest
(see photo right, on the far side of the column). |
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The chap in the middle of the front row was blowing away at his instrument,
which was a relief as I thought for a moment he was going to suck and vacuum the grass...
Once in the arena, the various items of equipment were displayed and explained and displays
of tactics were given. |
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One of the best displays that we saw was a demonstration of the turtle formation of the shields, with the men totally protected apart from their legs as they ran around the arena in close formation. |
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