Bread and Circuses

Battle of Teutoburg Forest 2009, part 25

In no particular order, the latest Teutoburg recommendations.

More that Teutoburg didn't happen at Kalkriese. I suspect these pieces will run all year. In Welt Online.

The BZ (a German tabloid) asks whether Teutoburg was the birthplace of Germany.

Gerhard Frey at the National Zeitung asks how German Arminius actually was.

There is going to be an Arminius stamp, unveiled next week.

And the weekly magazine Focus has reached the third and final day of the battle.

Arminius and the arts

The arts in Germany are celebrating the 2,000th anniversary of the Battle of Teutoburg Forest vigorously. Grabbe's Hermannsschlacht will be staged for the first time since the end of World War II. There is a note on the Theaterkanal website. More on Hermann plays being staged at FAZ:

Als gäbe es nicht genug zu sehen. In Haltern am See, Kalkriese bei Osnabrück und Detmold erinnern die Ausstellungen „Imperium, Konflikt, Mythos“ an die Varusschlacht und stecken die Region ab, die den Römern im Jahr neun nach Christus zum Bermuda-Dreieck geworden ist. Die Theater schreiten zur szenischen Parallelaktion, gleich drei von ihnen führen „Die Hermannsschlacht“ auf: Bielefeld die des Heinrich von Kleist (1808), Detmold und Osnabrück gar die des Christian Dietrich Grabbe (1836). „Das Stück gehört in die Region“ heißt es dazu unisono seitens der Ausgräber - als hätten sie auch ohne das runde Jubiläum darauf kommen können. Auch die Dramaturgie treibt Archäologie: Fußnoten nur zur Rezeption des Mythos.

For those of a more musical bent, they could listen to Bruch's Arminius Oratorio on June 20 in Kalkriese.

Zum 2000-jährigen Jubiläum der Varusschlacht wird am 20. Juni im Museum und Park Kalkriese bei Osnabrück die Oper «Arminius-Oratorium» von Max Bruch (1838-1920) aufgeführt. Das Göttinger Sinfonie Orchester und die Rheinische Kantorei unter der Leitung von Dirigent Hermann Max werden das weitgehend unbekannte Werk am vermuteten Austragungsort der Schlacht zwischen Römern und Germanen im Jahr 9 nach Christus präsentieren, wie die Veranstalter am Mittwoch mitteilten. Das 1874 entstandene «Arminius-Oratorium» wurde letztmalig 1912 aufgeführt. «Für uns ist die Rezeptionsgeschichte zur wilhelminischen Zeit wichtig», sagte der Geschäftsführer der Varusschlacht im Osnabrücker Land GmbH, Joseph Rottmann. Dirigent Max lobte das Oratorium als «hervorragendes Werk, dessen Wiederaufführung» lohne.

Story from ddp. Background on the oratorio (in English) here.

Finally, the Lippische Landes-Zeitung has a piece on Teutoburg and Arminius in the cinema.

Excavations at Konjuh, Macedonia

A detailed piece by Christopher Deliso at Balkanalysis.com about excavations at the Justinianic site of Konjuh in Macedonia:

The Kratovo region, part of the mineral-rich Osogovski Mountain range, has always had strategic importance for its mines. Romans, Byzantines and Ottomans all excavated it extensively for gold, silver and iron. In the 6th century, the Byzantine Empire was beset by barbarian tribes in the Balkans but still held on to large areas through an extensive system of fortresses that allowed military garrisons to provide some measure of protection for settlements and ongoing economic activities. Indeed, an important part of the Justinianic legacy was the refortification of the region as part of his general military strategy.

At the fortress site, finds have revealed that one significant local activity then was the excavation of iron ore, a substance which archaeologists have discovered in large quantities among the various artifacts discovered to date.

The mining was carried out near today’s village of Konjuh. A tiny enclave of a few hundred people, without even a village shop, the village is about 500m south of the ridgeline upon which the bygone fortress stands. Here there are no great stone towers or constructions, at least no remaining ones here, but the steepness of the ridge and its width at the top would have provided protection for defenders and adequate space to store weapons, provisions and, when necessary, people.

How much to build your wall?

How much would it cost to build Hadrian's Wall today? Hadrian’s Wall Heritage asked construction company Carillion to come up with a figure:

Carillion considers that building a new Wall would involve using nearly 4 million tonnes of material and the total cost would be in the order of £300m to £400m. A spokesperson from Carillion said: “This is just a very rough estimation but broadly speaking, sourcing and distributing the vast quantities of stone that would be needed would be just one of the challenges in carrying out this project.

“Obtaining planning permission and getting the necessary finance would be challenging. Significant modern day environmental and ecological issues associated with a project of this scale would probably prevent it ever happening at all.

Both the North West Evening Mail and The Journal carry the story. It is a nice stunt, but I don't believe a word of it. It being Hadrian's Wall Heritage, the press release is impossible to get hold of, but the figure is considerably lower than that needed. It would be an interesting exercise to do properly.

Names set in stone

A brief story in the News Guardian mentions what looks like a fantastic exhibition based around inscriptions from Hadrian's Wall, at Segedunum Roman fort:

An exhibition is set to display detail inscribed stones of Hadrian's Wall, and give people a chance to get closer to the people who built the wall.

Visitors to Segedunum Roman Fort this spring will see Names Set in Stone: the Builders of Hadrian's Wall, which features twelve centurial stones recovered from along the length of the Wall.

The stones give the names of the centurions in charge of the soldiers who built Hadrian's Wall and from this basic information the exhibition builds a picture of the centurions and where they came from, and shows visitors what can be learned from such artefacts.

Geoff Woodward, manager for North Tyneside Museums said: "The centurial stones provide an amazing insight into the building of Hadrian's Wall.

"The soldiers who built the Wall came from across the Roman Empire and it's fascinating to imagine the lives that these men must have lived."

More on the exhibition at the Segedunum website.

Archaeologists as destroyers

Fascinating review of what looks like a great read, the more so as it comes from the perspective of an architect rather than that of a classicist. Peter Carl reviews David Watkins' The Roman Forum:

David Watkin’s treatment of the Roman Forum is part of the series “Wonders of the World”, under the editorship of Mary Beard. The remit of this series comprises “small [too small — at least twice the illustrations are required, and larger] books on some of the world’s most famous sites or monuments... much more enlightening, stimulating, even controversial, than straightforward histories or guides”.

Watkin uses this opportunity to mount a sustained attack on archaeologists, who have torn apart the site leaving incomprehensible holes, unsightly preservation-roofs and an “entirely modern and unattractive” public entrance, articulated here and there by 19th and 20th century reconstructions. Watkin clearly feels the sacrifice not worth the reward — though he acknowledges that his book makes use of archaeology’s insights. The depredations of early archaeology are well-known, the archaeologists have long passed into history, there’s no putting it all back; and so it is not obvious why to beat this drum so relentlessly (raising the spectre of destroying Sta Maria in Campitelli seems like a sexed-up dossier).

Excavations at Bargala

There is a tourist piece in Balkan Travellers, about Bargala, a fascinating site in Macedonia which dates to the late fourth century:

Bargala, located in the eastern part of present-day Macedonia, was a fortified town from the fourth to the sixth centuries AD, a period that spans Late Antiquity and Early Byzantium. According to a Roman scripture on a stone slab, Bargala dates from 371-372 AD, replacing a small Paeonian settlement. It developed into an economic, cultural and religious centre during the fifth and sixth centuries and in the Early Middle Ages, it became an Episcopal seat.

Archaeological excavations at the site have so far uncovered some significant finds: an Episcopal complex, consisting of a basilica and a fortress, with floor mosaics, trade quarters, the main gate and parts of a fortification system.

There is also a video on YouTube of the excavation of the basilica:

Battle of Teutoburg Forest 2009, part 24

Apologies for the delays in posting - it has been a much busier week than usual. There is also a terrifying amount of coverage of Teutoburg at the moment, so without further ado, some selected highlights...

German chancellor Angela Merkel did open the Imperium Konflikt Mythos exhibition. There is no doubt that it is going to be a success, both historically and commercially. More than 500,000 visitors are expected.

Many, many reviews already. Some good ones are at art,  Stern, der Westen, PAZ, Marl Aktuell (which has lovely pictures).

Focus is continuing its comprehensive series on the battle. Of especial note is its coverage of day one and day two of the battle.

An interview with Reinhard Wolters in the Nordkurier.de. 

Another new book about the battle reviewed: Hans Dieter Stöver's Der Sieg über Varus at History Magazin.

For a laugh, have a look at the Arminius quiz at Welt Online.

Hypatia and Agora

I managed to miss all of the build up to this. Cannes last night was host to Agora, the Alejandro Amenabar-directed film on the fourth century philospher and mathematician Hypatia. Reviews are generally favourable. Here is The Holywood Reporter:

The heart of the film is Hypatia (Rachel Weisz in an unfaltering performance), the fourth century AD philosopher and teacher who lived in Alexandria during the Roman Empire. Married only to her unquenchable intellect and passion for mathematics and astronomy, she is loved by two men: her slave, Davus (Max Minghella), and her student, Orestes (Oscar Isaac).

Politics in the film are weakest during the overtly political speeches and monologues, and best captured in the details. Like many, Davus seeks not spiritual salvation in the Christian uprising but freedom from slavery, despite the bloodshed. His first attempt at prayer is brilliant: Unable to remember the Lord's Prayer, he quickly falls into a mantra to God to keep Hypatia away from Orestes. For his part, Orestes will renounce paganism and convert to Christianity during his rise in Roman politics.

There is of course a modern parallel. The fight against fundamentalism. The LA Times goes into that:

Even though the film is set in a sword-and-sandal era, it has a more modern air to it, perhaps because Amenabar felt the images should have a sense of immediacy. "I tried to think of what it would've been like to have been a CNN news crew who had traveled in time, back to the 4th century AD. I wanted to inhale the atmosphere of Alexandria, the competing factions and all the tumult and violence. So the way we would place the camera would be like a TV crew shooting a violent mob scene for real. I wanted what happened 1,600 years ago to feel just as real -- and more importantly, just as cruel -- as if it were today."

See also a wire report at AP and a blog report at the Telegraph. I have resisted using a gratuitous shot of Rachel Weisz. Sigh.

UPDATE: Armarium Magnus has dealt with the subject of Hypatia in enviable detail.

Battle of Teutoburg Forest 2009, part 23

I was going to save this for a round up tomorrow, but it deserves an honourable mention for being the  first proper recognition in English that this is the 2,000th anniversary of the Battle of Teutoburg Forest. Middle of May and part 23 of this series! Anyway, hats off to dpa for covering it:

This may seem too long ago to be of any significance today, but some historians say the defeat in 9 AD prevented a full romanization of Germany and arguably altered the course of Roman, German and European history.

As a result of the Roman defeat, Germany was never incorporated into the Empire, which had repercussions on language culture and the development of future statehood. Prior to the battle, the Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar was intent on military expansion across the Rhine River and into central and northern Europe.

The battle induced Rome to withdraw back to the Rhine, which became the new frontier between the "civilized" and the "barbaric" world. In later centuries, Germany became a base for barbarian incursions which ultimately brought down the empire.