Sorry we've been away for almost 2 weeks, I've been finishing up the last two weeks of my first module at school (it's hard to believe that 6 weeks are almost over), and Kristin had one of her weekend shifts last weekend, so we were hustling around quite a bit, and didn't have time to write another post.
Kristin captured much of the glamour of Hadrian's Wall. Incredible to stand along it's side, seeing the fallen ruins, or parts of the forts still buried under the Earth and to think of how much has changed since those stones were set in place. The entire modern era, world wars, the industrial revolution, the enlightenment, modern thought, the greatest institutes of education of the day, the dark ages, even entire dynasties and eras have risen and fallen while those stones still stand in place.
Long smooth outer walls, impenetrable for advancing armies, with a rabble core |
The wall was tipped by the uplift of the ground |
Another example of the different stones inside and outside of the wall |
"Hey Sir, don't you think the sheer rock cliff should be enough to keep the northerners at bay, do we really have to build the wall straight up"? "Yes" |
Kristin and I were both marvelling at some of the ingenuity and thought that went into each and every one of the forts. In Roman times, all of the forts would be built to the exact same standards and dimensions, so the soldiers knew exactly how to construct camp every night. All of the forts that we saw included such luxuries as heated floors, a bath house, complete with hot, medium and cool areas, and a very advanced waste system to keep pee and poop downstream of the camp. We didn't see any examples that were preserved of aquiducts to supply the forts, but saw mention in several places that they were likely in place to supply water to the soldiers.
As was long ago promised, I have also uploaded the audio I captured while we were in the Priory. It was built around 1200-1300, and has stood in some form or another ever since, including through various attempts to destroy it.
While we were in the sanctuary, the choir was warming up for a service set to begin in an hour. I sat down and managed to catch the recording you can hear below.
Singing in the Priory - You may have to save this and play it on VLC or another media player. My phone used a strange file type to make the file.
Straighter than you would think possible 2000 years ago |
The oldest grave stone I found at the Priory |
A look from inside the chapel out to the abandoned back half |
Ancient Roman Poo Troughs |
Ancient Roman Five Fingers |
Speaking of the Romans, we are off to Venice tomorrow morning for a four day weekend to see the city. We have a gondola trip booked, entrance to a glass blowing museum, and a number of other historical sites to visit. Stay tuned for more photos.
1 comment:
1) The Kyrie was super cool. What a hair-raising experience that would have been.
2) I laughed out loud at the ancient Roman five fingers and the poo troughs. I'm glad those made it to the blog :)
3) So so so so so jealous that you're in Venice right now. I hope the traghetti aren't on strike (the water taxis often went on 24-hour sciopero's/strikes while we were there). The glass work should be amazing; I was so impressed with that when we went and a necklace I bought there is one of my favourites. We were going to go on a hunt to find Da Vinci's drawing of the Vitruvian Man at the Galleria dell'Accademia but never did end up going. I checked online and it is still there (maybe the Galleria was closed when we went? I can't remember). Tickets are € 15,00. I'm really looking forward to the Italy recap!!
Post a Comment