Roman Food Evening

Well, another victory for the Romans. On Monday I was involved in a Roman Food Evening at Elgin Museum that turned out to be rather a success.

Tickets for the event had sold out some time before the night, making me rather nervous to say the least. And, unlike the brilliant Museum Curator, David, I am not in the habit of speaking in front of an audience. Hence this rabbit-in-the-headlights picture of me taken by my lovely husband just before the event began.


I think I only put one person to sleep during my talk and everyone seemed to enjoy the food tasting afterward. Shona, the chef from the Beach Bar in Lossiemouth, had done a magnificent job with completely unfamiliar recipes and some unusual ingredients.

All in all, a successful event, although I doubt this is the beginning of my worldwide lecture tour.

Baking of Bread

Oh, how neglectful I have been. And it's not just my blog that has been pushed aside by the more mundane aspects of daily life. The list of things needed for our Roman weekends hasn't gotten any shorter either.

I am now in panic mode, with a weekend at Archaeolink in less than 6 days and no progress made on additional items for my wardrobe or cooking practice completed. So it seems that this week I'll have to neglect everything else in an effort to prepare for Saturday and Sunday. Out will come my list, to be divided into things that can be accomplished in less than a week and the "you've got to be joking" tasks. At least today I can say I have made a start on the cooking practice. The photo below is my attempt at Hapalos Artos (Soft Bread) taken from Mark Grant's book, Roman Cookery: Ancient Recipes for Modern Kitchens. Although the recipe called for baking in a tin, in future I will go for a simple round version. It, at least, has a thumbs up from my son, who tested it out for lunch (before I remembered to take photos).



After reading up on Roman recipes, I think my cooking at Archaeolink will initially be a case of sticking to simple foods that can either be prepared in advance or cooked in a pot over the fire. After all, we are an army camp not a noble house in the middle of Rome.

The Reaping of Rewards

Due to an unexpectedly busy week I've neglected to blog at all (what sacrilege!). Both work and family have been keeping me on my toes and nose to the grindstone.

Work consisted mainly of commission pieces which are now almost finished, two were copies of the Roman necklace I made for Archaeolink (pictured in an earlier blog entry) and the third was an order for a very special surprise gift which presented me with some interesting challenges. In addition, my son's very full calendar had me out every afternoon or evening from Monday to Friday and busy painting faces to raise money for his school on Saturday morning. My reward for all this hard work? Saturday saw the arrival of the first part of the prize for my star email in May's issue of Beads & Beyond magazine (pictured below).



And even better, I still have the second part of my prize to come. So how much work am I going to have to do to earn that?

Soldiering On

Opening Day at Archaeolink was wet and windy but, all in all, a good day. The visitors that chose to ignore the weather forecast seemed to enjoy themselves, which is what it's all about.

Our Roman outfits worked well and I received a very nice compliment from one lady, although I do need to make myself some Roman shoes (black Magnum work boots are not quite authentic). My palla, which is quite a fine weave wool, was surprisingly good at blocking the cold wind when we did venture outside. As the photos of me do not really show my Roman jewellery I have included a picture of the two soldiers instead. You can just see the bottom of some of my handiwork (ie. braccae) covering my husband's knees.


Maybe next time round there will be a photo of me that I'm not embarrassed to share. But I wouldn't recommend holding your breath.

When Not in Rome

In preparation for being Roman tomorrow at Archaeolink Prehistory Park, I have spent the last few hours whipping up some suitable jewellery. In case any historians, archaeologists or other knowledgeable parties stumble across this blog, these items are not attempting to be authentic reproductions as, at the very least, I admit to having used modern materials and tools, they are merely inspired by ancient Roman jewellery.

I have spent some time pouring over photos of real archaeological jewellery finds to get a feel for the style and techniques used. There is plenty to choose from but it seemed best to start with something relatively simple, particularly as my Roman persona is not a noble woman in Rome but a merchant woman in the far flung province of Britain. The photo that follows shows necklace, earrings, cuff bracelet and ring made with brass wire and carnelian chips. There is also a copper wire hairpin that I forgot to include. After a little more practice I hope to make some similar items for sale.


My future plans certainly include one day having the equipment, materials and skills to produce truly authentic pieces but, for now, I will have to satisfy myself with these Romanesque examples.

With Needle in Hand ...

I'd really forgotten how satisfying hand sewing can be. And surprisingly quick if you don't have huge numbers of seams and hems, which is mostly the case with ancient Roman clothing.

My husband's braccae and my son's trousers and over tunic have appeared almost as if by magic. My peplos, however, is a little discouraging. Not only do I have multiple seams and edging to do since the modern fabric I'm using has to be cut to size (as I lack slaves to weave me fabric of the perfect dimensions) but my outfit also bears more than a little resemblance to a sack. It would appear that, contrary to the somewhat skimpy Roman fancy dress costumes that proliferate on the Internet, ancient Roman women took a great deal of trouble to wrap themselves in vast quantities of fabric. Not that I should be surprised, statues of clothed Roman women sometimes show no more than face and hands beneath a tower of folds. But the presence of pleats and folds may well be my answer. I hope that after repeated washing, folding and flattening I may get my fabric to drape in a vaguely attractive manner.

If all else fails my consolation is this, my huge swaddling of cloth should at least keep me warm while the winds howl through the tents of our small Roman camp. And I am already considering a second outfit, made with a much finer and lighter linen (that I have yet to source) in case we actually get some sun this Summer.

Eye of the Storm

Well there's another week gone while I wasn't looking. I'm sure it shouldn't be allowed to do that.

Doesn't it sometimes seem like you are caught up in a whirlwind of activity that just seems to be taking you round in circles? This week seems to have left me still dizzy and without that much to show for it. At least I have made a number of new pieces of jewellery with my polymer clay beads, that I just need to find time to photograph properly (but here's a sneak peek at three of them).



I also think I'm ready to start sewing Roman clothing for my family's roles in the Ninth Legion (http://www.ninthlegion.co.uk/) and I have compiled a list of accoutrements I'd either like to buy or make myself (some more new skills to add to my To Do List). At some future date, photos of the ensembles are sure to appear here.

Well, I think the eye of the storm is passing so it's back to the twister for me.

Climbing the Learning Curve

I am now definitely asking myself why I didn't start making my own beads months ago. I'm having an absolute ball experimenting with the different types of polymer clay and making patterns.

As I only have a small supply of PC I've been limiting myself to one batch of beads a day or I'd run out of clay too soon. So far I've tried Pardo, Sculpey III and Fimo Soft which all handle differently and have a different finish when baked. Next I want to try mixing the brands to see what effects this will produce. And then it's on to doing some sculptural pieces and adding some Steampunk accessories. And then reproduction Roman beads. And then ... this could go on forever!

I'm getting so inspired I may also have to break out the air drying clay my husband bought me a while back. And I do need to remember to actually use the beads in some jewellery rather than just stock piling them.

DIY History

Well, yesterday was rather philosophical, today it's back to the more practical aspects of reality. A child's birthday party and grocery shopping, with hopefully a chance to do a little investigation on the Roman front.

Living back of beyond is not exactly condusive, even in this internet age, to having easy access to suitably authentic supplies for the DIY Roman. Fabrics can cost more in postage than they do to buy and there is little opportunity to confirm texture, weave and true colour before purchase. Many of the accessories available from invisible web-vendors are either copies labelled as authentic that have actually been re-designed for modern tastes or limited stereotypical examples representative of only a short date range.

In an ideal world, I would be able to manufacture all my requirements in my own back yard but, as this possibility is still far into the unforseen future, I will have to satisfy myself with attempting to find the next best thing. I could be some time...