Posted on 12/22/2004 10:29:18 AM PST by blam
December 22, 2004
Women warriors from Amazon fought for Britain's Roman army
By Lewis Smith
THE remains of two Amazon warriors serving with the Roman army in Britain have been discovered in a cemetery that has astonished archaeologists. Women soldiers were previously unknown in the Roman army in Britain and the find at Brougham in Cumbria will force a reappraisal of their role in 3rd-century society.
The women are thought to have come from the Danube region of Eastern Europe, which was where the Ancient Greeks said the fearsome Amazon warriors could be found.
The women, believed to have died some time between AD220 and 300, were burnt on pyres upon which were placed their horses and military equipment. The remains were uncovered in the 1960s but full-scale analysis and identification has been possible only since 2000 with technological advances.
The soldiers are believed to have been part of the numerii, a Roman irregular unit, which would have been attached to a legion serving in Britain. Other finds show that their unit originated from the Danubian provinces of Noricum, Pannonia and Ilyria which now form parts of Austria, Hungary and the former Yugoslavia.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
BTTT
Swallow, actually. I believe it was African. No wait. European.
AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
"NOT from South America..."
No, Amazon women are from the moon.
LOL
Actually I believe he was discussing the two characters from Xena, Warrior Princess.
Used to be one of my favorites shows. :-)
If you make a chart of Gabrielle's cuteness from season to season (not that I've done this, not at all, I'm just saying) you will see a sharp decline in cuteness after episodes XIV-XVI during which she cuts her hair. It starts to rise again during the Sahara desert journey (mostly due to the lack of clothing) and then trends back down again.
If you set this (purely theoretical) chart alongside a chart of her hair length you will see a definite correlation.
Pictures????
They were more than likely wives of the irregular troops. In those days wives and children used to regularly go along with their menfolk on military campaigns.
Last, from the Volscians fair Camilla came,
And led her warlike troops, a warrior dame;
Unbred to spinning, in the loom unskill'd,
She chose the nobler Pallas of the field.
Mix'd with the first, the fierce virago fought,
Sustain'd the toils of arms, the danger sought,
Outstripp'd the winds in speed upon the plain,
Flew o'er the fields, nor hurt the bearded grain:
She swept the seas, and, as she skimm'd along,
Her flying feet unbath'd on billows hung.
Men, boys, and women, stupid with surprise,
Where'er she passes, fix their wond'ring eyes:
Longing they look, and, gaping at the sight,
Devour her o'er and o'er with vast delight;
Her purple habit sits with such a grace
On her smooth shoulders, and so suits her face;
Her head with ringlets of her hair is crown'd,
And in a golden caul the curls are bound.
She shakes her myrtle jav'lin; and, behind,
Her Lycian quiver dances in the wind.
-Virgil, Aeneid, Bk VII (Dryden translation)
Where are the pictures???
I'll bet if they dig deeper, they will find some Ebay-ers too. From Ebay-ria.
You sweetie! Thanks! ;)
Isn't that the purpose of most headlines these days? I think that's what they learn in headline writer class (Headlines 101: Theory and Application.). The headline should have the thinnest possible connection with the content of the article and inject as many lurid adjectives as possible in order to sell newspapers.
Boudicca
I know the BBC and Brits call her british, but I think she was Scotts. Just a little imperial revisionism, I think?
I'll have to look up the article, so don't beat my head in.
Her name must be the root of the redneck term "bodacious", which usually refers to an attractive female. :^)
Given the region of orgin (the Danube basin) and time period (before the Huns), it is probable that these women were Sarmatians. The Sarmatians, like their Scythian relatives, had noble female warriors. Like Scythians they fought from horseback. A core of armored lancers surrounded by swarms of light horse archers like the later Parthians.
That would be french female soldiers.
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