Tuesday 29 November 2016

Par for the course

Happy Tuesday greetings to you!

I missed my Monday Moments, yesterday, since I've got my hands more than full these days with general domestic duties including grandkid minding, new writing, pre-Christmas selling of my novels at various venues and,,,my FutureLearn course on Hadrian's Wall, which I'm really loving. I've now completed Week 3 of the 6 Week course and have just started Week 4.

What did I learn new last week?

...A number of things including the mixture of people who lived along the wall both military and civilian. I looked at frontier communities, including men who were stationed on the wall and who probably would have preferred a warmer location. The men stationed there came predominantly from Gaul & northern Germania, areas we'd now call France, Belgium, Holland and northern Germany. There were others, of course, from different empire locations over the few hundred years of occupation, including north western Africa and Syria. And some came from 'Romanised' tribes from south of the wall.
The tombstones of Victor and Regina

Victor and Regina -Courtesy of Newcastle University

The course is designed to pose many questions for the student to make answers to, even when there is no definitive answer. We're exploring these possible answers in the 'comments section'  - a discussion room for students to chip in their views and opinions.

In archaeology there is supposition, conjecture and a good degree of guesswork based on known sets of information. We briefly looked at inscriptions and iconography on tombstones and tried to formulate some answers for certain people being in the location of the wall, in forts and vici (settlements outside the wall fort) - as testament on their commemorative tombstones and friezes.

Students from Newcastle University in Roman dress researched and put together as part of a Roman dining seminar.

Courtesy of Newcastle Univ - Students from Newcastle University in Roman Costume

The final stages of last week were tough. The little forensics exercise was a challenge which I rose to quite well - apart from making a mistake with the age of a child via the evidence of an already erupted molar tooth. I should have got that one correct!

Week 4 began yesterday and already we are into looking at the Rituals and Religions along the wall forts, So far, there are some fine image examples to look at and I look forward to updating about my new learning this week. But for now, it's a Tuesday so I'm on grand children duty and have to go and waken them up now.
Depiction of female with long hair being bathed
Courtesy of Newcastle Univ.

Let's see how I can squeeze in some new course work, food shopping, baking  and writing whilst looking after my 5 year old granddaughter and 2 and 1/2 year old grandson, today. I know which of those have to take priority.

Whatever you're doing - enjoy!
Slainthe! 


 

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