Vindolanda 24th-25th June
Jul. 1st, 2006 05:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
salvianusComitatus, Dateline 400 A.D.
The drive up on Friday was a marathon effort, timed nicely to get the sun in my eyes. I wonder if I can buy something to screen the sun more effectively? It would be good to get a swifter getaway, but it was a hell of a week at work, with a major inter-schools sports event to take over organising & three trips/competitions to sort out for the following week, let alone a looming reports deadline & I wasn't much use packing.
I got roof bars the day before & even managed to assemble them, but needed H to work out how to fit them properly. Thule kit was worth paying a bit extra for, as it was relatively easy to do in the end. I need to work out how to use the tension straps & probably overdid the gaffa tape in paranoia, but it got some spars & spears out of the way, making room for a spare unit shield.
We rolled up after ten. Dusk only just descending on the valley, already hung with woodsmoke, as we camped amid stones themselves. What a place! The many helping hands made up for my brain shutting down completely as we sorted borrowed tentage for us & new recruit Claire. One enormous bag of crisps around the campfire, examining Jamie's pottery and then drifting off to the sound of him decrying the impractical wyningas.
A very relaxed show, with rain keeping the numbers down & only two displays a day. Good job too, with my brain not getting into gear until mid morning. I need more sleep in the week before shows than I've been getting - being ready for a collapsed weekend doesn't prepare you well for camp life.
Victor trimmed me a new javelin shaft in seconds with a sickle & Claire initiated us into the secret of how WWI era puttees stayed up. H then modified my wyningas in one evening - long thin tags at the top to tie them off securely - & that sorted them.
For the first display, I got to shoot my longbow for the first time :-) I'd only just got some arrows in time & I hadn't had the confidence to string it on my own, but Rufus, Tranquilis, Victor & Fortunatus all helped me sort it out at various times & I tested it in front of our valiant little crowd, braving the drizzle - & hit with the second shot. It's certainly long - 6' 4" is nearly a foot taller than me, and the sycamore shows the dark heartwood for the belly contrasting with the lighter sapwood for the back very nicely. It's by Stephen Ralphs, 35lb draw. It feels quite 'zingy', considering I wasn't wanting to pull it too far back - apparently the bracing height is a bit low.
I cocked up my ukemi a couple of times, veering into a spear left upright & forgetting to take off my cloak & bag(!) but the last one was great, with added handstand. We did a photoshoot round the reconstructed tower & marched all over the site posing like mad. I was pleased I'd had time to paint my spiculum shaft blue. H said we looked like some sort of comedy routine, as the tops of our spears kept appearing in different locations wherever she went around the site.
Standout moments: That shot, the ukemi & walking with H back into the site with an astonishing full rainbow over the sunlit valley. Unbelievable to be camped in among the archaeology of this unique site and set in such beauty, too.
The Friends of Vindolanda came in polite droves - I struggled to eat authentically, so I necked a quick pasta. A bowlful of fruit is a good companion, but I need hot food - pottage? Really need a small fire base and copper cooking pot for that. I honestly didn't believe Caius when he said he had a wooden fire base. Wow. Simple wedged tenons look best for benches, & I like the trestle legs that go through the top & are 'hinged' with rope.
Caius & I tried out passing throws to add to our juggling. We trekked down to the museum and I was transported back to my first visit - when I was in Junior school. They have a huge turning core, a shoe that looks very much the pair Alan lent me for Holderness activities and some wool exactly the bright orange of my cloak!
It rained again as we took down the tents. Again it rained. I'm going to need a light raincoat I can get messed up & risk tearing. And more gloves.
We might need to get another tarp to keep the kit dry or, better, adjust the loading so the tents don't have to go in last. Thinking seriously about a half-width roof box now, which would take the apparently permanently sopping tent/s and groundcloths.
Next jobs: canvas for a bowcase & quiver, pup tent & awning, make some of Decimus' sacking into sacks and perhaps another spear pad - on a plain wood shaft? - choose & paint on an identifying mark for arrows etc. Another cheap single futon would help me sleep more easily & more authentically. I'll have to twist my bowstring or possibly re-tie the upper knot to raise the bracing height. I should also whip the serving to resist wear & perhaps get thicker arrows next time. Also need some linseed oil / turps mixture for it & should buff the varnish off my helmet.
Can't wait for Arbeia!
See the Photo gallery.
The drive up on Friday was a marathon effort, timed nicely to get the sun in my eyes. I wonder if I can buy something to screen the sun more effectively? It would be good to get a swifter getaway, but it was a hell of a week at work, with a major inter-schools sports event to take over organising & three trips/competitions to sort out for the following week, let alone a looming reports deadline & I wasn't much use packing.
I got roof bars the day before & even managed to assemble them, but needed H to work out how to fit them properly. Thule kit was worth paying a bit extra for, as it was relatively easy to do in the end. I need to work out how to use the tension straps & probably overdid the gaffa tape in paranoia, but it got some spars & spears out of the way, making room for a spare unit shield.
We rolled up after ten. Dusk only just descending on the valley, already hung with woodsmoke, as we camped amid stones themselves. What a place! The many helping hands made up for my brain shutting down completely as we sorted borrowed tentage for us & new recruit Claire. One enormous bag of crisps around the campfire, examining Jamie's pottery and then drifting off to the sound of him decrying the impractical wyningas.
A very relaxed show, with rain keeping the numbers down & only two displays a day. Good job too, with my brain not getting into gear until mid morning. I need more sleep in the week before shows than I've been getting - being ready for a collapsed weekend doesn't prepare you well for camp life.
Victor trimmed me a new javelin shaft in seconds with a sickle & Claire initiated us into the secret of how WWI era puttees stayed up. H then modified my wyningas in one evening - long thin tags at the top to tie them off securely - & that sorted them.
For the first display, I got to shoot my longbow for the first time :-) I'd only just got some arrows in time & I hadn't had the confidence to string it on my own, but Rufus, Tranquilis, Victor & Fortunatus all helped me sort it out at various times & I tested it in front of our valiant little crowd, braving the drizzle - & hit with the second shot. It's certainly long - 6' 4" is nearly a foot taller than me, and the sycamore shows the dark heartwood for the belly contrasting with the lighter sapwood for the back very nicely. It's by Stephen Ralphs, 35lb draw. It feels quite 'zingy', considering I wasn't wanting to pull it too far back - apparently the bracing height is a bit low.
I cocked up my ukemi a couple of times, veering into a spear left upright & forgetting to take off my cloak & bag(!) but the last one was great, with added handstand. We did a photoshoot round the reconstructed tower & marched all over the site posing like mad. I was pleased I'd had time to paint my spiculum shaft blue. H said we looked like some sort of comedy routine, as the tops of our spears kept appearing in different locations wherever she went around the site.
Standout moments: That shot, the ukemi & walking with H back into the site with an astonishing full rainbow over the sunlit valley. Unbelievable to be camped in among the archaeology of this unique site and set in such beauty, too.
The Friends of Vindolanda came in polite droves - I struggled to eat authentically, so I necked a quick pasta. A bowlful of fruit is a good companion, but I need hot food - pottage? Really need a small fire base and copper cooking pot for that. I honestly didn't believe Caius when he said he had a wooden fire base. Wow. Simple wedged tenons look best for benches, & I like the trestle legs that go through the top & are 'hinged' with rope.
Caius & I tried out passing throws to add to our juggling. We trekked down to the museum and I was transported back to my first visit - when I was in Junior school. They have a huge turning core, a shoe that looks very much the pair Alan lent me for Holderness activities and some wool exactly the bright orange of my cloak!
It rained again as we took down the tents. Again it rained. I'm going to need a light raincoat I can get messed up & risk tearing. And more gloves.
We might need to get another tarp to keep the kit dry or, better, adjust the loading so the tents don't have to go in last. Thinking seriously about a half-width roof box now, which would take the apparently permanently sopping tent/s and groundcloths.
Next jobs: canvas for a bowcase & quiver, pup tent & awning, make some of Decimus' sacking into sacks and perhaps another spear pad - on a plain wood shaft? - choose & paint on an identifying mark for arrows etc. Another cheap single futon would help me sleep more easily & more authentically. I'll have to twist my bowstring or possibly re-tie the upper knot to raise the bracing height. I should also whip the serving to resist wear & perhaps get thicker arrows next time. Also need some linseed oil / turps mixture for it & should buff the varnish off my helmet.
Can't wait for Arbeia!
See the Photo gallery.
