After Action Report: Nova Britannia General Meeting Martius MMDCCLXXIX

Monday, March 2, 2026, 6:00 p.m. - 7:44 p.m.
Participants: Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia
    Publius Sextius Laevus
    Titus Ovidius Nonus
    Marcus Quinctius Clavus
    Numerius Octavius Astronomus
    Aulus Iulius Paterculus
   Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia, P. Sextius Laevus, T. Ovidius Nonus, and M. Quinctius Clavus proceeded me on the call by about 11 minutes and were talking about Latin and plans for dinner during that time. Laevus called me by phone and reminded me to join, which I did. Shortly thereafter, N. Octavius Astronomus joined as well.
   We discussed the Nova Britannia Facebook page, who had been participating there, and the post Nonus had made recently (which we hoped Cn. Lentulus would pin for us, as the moderator) to encourage anyone who had been interacting with Nova Britannia primarily through Facebook to join our list on groups.io (https://groups.io/g/NovaBritanniaProvincia) as well as to get involved with our meetings through Zoom & in-person. We discussed some technical problems which had come up with Facebook, particularly for Sibylla, for whom it was no longer a viable method of communication.
   Sibylla redirected the conversation to Roman things. Astronomus and Quinctius discussed business.
   Laevus explained that his name appeared as "retiarius" on Zoom because he had named the device he was using after the net- and trident-armed gladiator.
    Sybilla asked Nonus for confirmation that Nonus was a Maine resident and asked whether he had met with M. Cassius Julianus in Maine. Nonus recounted having met Cassius at the Renaissance Faire, where Cassius was selling ancient artifacts (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ImperiumAncientArts?section_id=33471086). Nonus had asked Cassius whether he was familiar with Nova Roma, to which Cassius had replied, with some surprise, that he'd co-founded it.
   Astronomus mentioned the other person he knew of in Maine who was active in Nova Roma, Tyler, whom he'd met with at the Kennebunk May Parade a few years earlier. This led to a brief discussion of that event. It seemed that Legio III Cyrenaica might not have enough legionaries in attendance to make their participation worthwhile.
   We also discussed MithraCon approaching on April 24th-25th, particularly how and when to register as well as the logistics of travel to New Haven. Sibylla stated that she would be bringing wine and shrub, which was similar to posca. Quinctius shared the recipe for recreated posca that he and other reenactors had imbibed together in the past: red grape juice, water, and a splash of red wine vinegar. Sibylla stated that she also had some non-alcoholic wine. Laevus said that he was thinking of attending MithraCon this year, a prospect which the rest of us greeted with enthusiasm..
   Nonus was asked where in Maine he was located and answered that he was in central Maine, near Orland. Laevus commented that he owned a pipe organ which had spent many years in Orland (after being built in Portland by John Knowles Paine in 1832) and that he had done some research on its history and that of the family that had owned it.
   Sibylla stated, for the benefit of those working out their travel plans, that she would be at the Courtyard Marriott setting up for MithraCon at 3 p.m. on Friday, April 24th.
   Laevus left the meeting at this time.
   I asked whether Nonus had any Roman garb. He said that he was actually making his own tunic and fillet. I suggested that he might consider attending the Kennebunk May Parade in Roman clothing, adding to whomever was able to come from Legio III Cyrenaica..Astronomus said that he would also like to participate again if it were to happen. Quinctius said that it would be complicated to come up this year, especially with all his Roman equipment. He did say that that he hadn't minded driving up in legionary garb, despite getting the occasional stare while stopped at the gas station.
   Sibylla pointed out that Quinctius was an optio. Quinctius confirmed this and gave a bit of background on the role this rank played in the Roman army. Astronomus asked whether Quinctius was the "chosen one", translating his rank literally; Quinctius verified that the rank came from the same root as the English word "option".
   Astronomus stated that he was going to an event in Auburn in March, the 100th anniversary of Robert Goddard's rocket launch (https://goddard100th.org/) and that he would like to visit the Worcester Art Museum where Legio III Cyrenaica did so many of their presentations. Quinctius gave Astronomus some details about visiting the museum. Astronomus also said he planned to attend the Artemis II launch.
   Sibylla noted the recent request I'd sent out for gubernatorial candidates for Nova Britannia and the fact that she had stepped forward reluctantly. Quinctius related that he had expressed willingness to serve in the past and might do so again in another year, when conditions were more suitable. We discussed the appointment process by the Senate and the duties of the office, of which I said the most important was probably to ensure the provincial reports were sent to the Senate as they were due. Astronomus asked who the current and most recent governors were, and I answered that the office was vacant for the time being, but that Cassius had been the most recent.
   I requested permission to reach out to new Nova Roman citizens in Nova Britannia, informing them of our provincial list and of our upcoming meeting for MithraCon. Everyone present formally approved the measure.
   On the topic of new citizens, questions this past January on Facebook by a newcomer, Anthony, were mentioned. Anthony had been asking about Nova Britannia, Legio III Cyrenaica, and the SCA.
    I mentioned having tried to organize an event in the past during which all of the participants would make their own Roman clothing. Astronomus suggested that this might be a good situation for a partnership with another group. Quinctius told us about the current standards among reenactors regarding cloth clothing: hems have to be done by hand, but it is generally considered acceptable for the sides to be done by machine. Quinctius also mentioned that during ancient times garments were often woven in their final shape rather than as bolts of cloth, so hemming was not really necessary in many cases.
    Nonus showed off the hand-stitching on his home-made ancient clothing, advising us that starting off with a two-sheet tunic was a good way to learn. Astronomus stated that he would like to see the process. Quinctius recalled having sewn Tudor clothing. Quinctius mentioned that the Romans tended to have very roomy tunics, while those worn by the Greeks were more fitted.
   Nonus arranged to go to the Worcester Art Museum with Astronomus. Nonus also mentioned that Euripides' Medea would be performed at a public Boston theater the first weekend of April, suggesting this as a potential outing.
   At this point, Zoom ended the meeting for a second time. Sibylla & Quinctius did not come back, as it was getting a bit late.
   On the topic of potential outings, Astronomus mentioned the Greek theater in Storrs and expressed the hope that we could take a group trip there one day.
   I commented that Sibylla & Quinctius both knew people in the Society for Creative Anachronism and that the SCA would probably be a good group with which to partner, as suggested earlier by Astronomus, for a garment-creation meeting.
   We discussed arranging for Nonus to be added to the Nova Britannia channel on Discord, as the only provincial channel to which he had access on Nova Roma's primary server was America Transmissippiana. While we were on the topic, Nonus informed us of recent discussion in America Transmissippiana.
   We also took a brief look at Nova Roma's official Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/novaromanitas/), run by Flavius Stilicho, before finally closing the meeting.

Nova Britannia General Meeting: Februarius MMDCCLXXIX

Monday, February 2, 2026, 6:19 p.m. - 7:41 p.m.
Participants: Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia
   Titus Ovidius Nonus
    Aulus Iulius Paterculus
   The meeting started 19 minutes late because I had not sent the Zoom link to the Nova Britannia list the preceeding night as I had thought. T. Ovidius Nonus pointed out that there should have been a meeting. Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia was the first to join once the link had been sent.  
Sibylla and I spoke about our current activities for a while.
    Turning to Roman topics, I brought up a recent discovery in Britain (https://archaeologymag.com/2025/01/roman-road-and-mercury-temple-in-germany/), though I didn't remember any details. We talked about how modern roadwork often turned up archaeological discoveries, and whether the Romans might similarly have turned up items from earlier eras when they were excavating roads. I speculated that certain antiquarians might have been interested in purchasing interesting artifacts which were found. 
    Around this time, T. Ovidius Nonus joined us. The three of us continued discussion of archaelogists in ancient times. I pointed to the preservation of certain historical sites, notably Pindar's house, as a sign that people in the ancient world respected their history.
This eventually turned to the topic of witches who were said in ancient times to dig up bones for use in their spells, something about which Nonus had recalled hearing. I also remembered having heard of a character in the Civil War (De Bello Civili/Pharsalia by Lucan) who was described as practicing that type of magic, though I hadn't read the poem.
     This brought us around to discussing other items on our reading lists. Sibylla was reading about WWII submarines. I had just discovered the Dionysica, an epic poem discussing the invasion of India by Dionysius, and read a long excerpt in translation. Nonus commented that not only was this right in his area of interest, but that since it was written by another Nonnus he would really have to read it. I admitted that I hadn't read the history by M. Velleius Paterculus and probably should. Also, Sibylla had not read the Sibyline Oracles. Nonus had read these oracles however and not only recommended them highly but also offered to send Sibylla a PDF, which she accepted, as this would complement her previous interest in and research into divination.
    Nonus brought up the topic of ancient archaeology again, having looked up some information. There were people involved in such activities, he'd read, but more in the spirit of treasure hunting rather than the more methodical study of the past we associate with archaeology today. We discussed recovered shipwrecks from ancient times and more recent ones, with Sibylla telling us about the recovery of the Swedish warship Vasa and about ships which were deliberately sunk around harbours in wartime as a defensive measure. Sibylla also talked about the entrepot and its role in trade.
    We talked about recent usage of Latin, including by Carl Linnaeus, who not only used Latin in his classification system but titled and wrote books in Latin. In part this may have been because he was Swedish and Latin was more widely understood at the time than his native language.
We talked a bit about plans for MithraCon, before Zoom ended the call.
    Once we had reconnected, we talked about potential for meeting(s) to take place in Maine where Nonus was located.
    We discussed whether the Romans ever tried to cross Atlantic. The answer appeared to be "no", and the reason appeared to have been there was no need. During the Age of Exploration, the Ottomans blocked the Spanish & Portugese from traditional spice routes, motivating them to look for another route. With those trade routes still open, the Romans didn't have the same motives to go searching unfamiliar seas. I recalled some northward exploration which took place during ancient times (the voyages of the Greek explorer Pytheas being the prime example.
    Nonus asked about a claim one of his professors had made: that crepes at Candlemas dated back to Roman tradition. I brought an old message on the Nova Britannia list which had actually touched upon a similar topic (https://groups.io/g/NovaBritanniaProvincia/message/93 and the original article https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9265655/Second-century-pancake-recipe-proves-Romans-similar-sweet-tooth-modern-day.html).
    I asked about how the cats who now populated Rome had first gotten there. This lead to a discussion of the domestication of cats more generally. We learned in researching the topic that a separate species of cat had been domesticated independently in China.
    We discussed some other interesting facts about domestication. Nonus brought up as story he'd encountered about river otters trained by villagers in South Asia. It was reported that dogs diverged from wolves thousands of years prior to domestication and that the dingo descended from dogs domesticated in China.
    We also discussed potential pre-Colombian Chinese contact with new world before turning in for the night.

Nova Britannia General Meeting: Ianuarius MMDCCLXXIX

 

Monday, January 12th, MMDCCLXXIX, 6:00 p.m. - 7:20 p.m.
Participants: Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia
                    Marcus Quinctius Clavus
                    Aulus Iulius Paterculus

                    Publius Sextius Laevus

   Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia and I joined the call first. I suggested to Sibylla that we might use this session to plan a few presentations for later in the year. M. Quinctius Clavus joined just as this proposal was being made, and it was repeated.

  P. Sextius Laevus also came on the call briefly. However, there were apparent technical issues which appeared to prevent him from speaking and to kick him out each of the two times he attempted to join.

   I asked whether either Sibylla or Quinctius had any agenda items they wanted to discuss. Quinctius mentioned that he would like to correct his display name in groups.io to show his Roman name rather than his English one (using the official version "Quinctius", rather than "Quintius", as we'd been accustomed to call him). As it turned out, we were able to do this on the shared screen right away, at least for the Nova Britannia list (https://groups.io/g/NovaBritanniaProvincia). Quinctius mentioned that the Nova Britannia list and the Main List (https://groups.io/g/TheForumRomanum) were the only groups to which he subscribed on groups.io, so it made sense to use his Roman name there.

   I expressed surprise that Quinctius was not on the list for Sodalitas Militaris (https://groups.io/g/sodalitas-militaris). He said that he might stir up some controversy there, especially over the optio's helmet, as many reenactment groups used the wearing of two plumes on the helmet as a distinctive badge of office for the optio, something that Quinctius said had little if any historical basis.
   This lead to a discussion of Roman helmets, with Quinctius providing most of the information as Sibylla & I asked occasional questions. Quinctius recommended the book Army of the Roman Emperors by Thomas Fischer, citing it frequently in the information he told us.Among the Fischer's theories which Quinctius thought credible were that a lot of helmets which had been found were contemporary rather than styles which had succeeded one another. In writing the book, many Eastern European helmets otherwise little reported in English-language texts had been studied, including the one example with a crosswise crest. By contrast to this singular example, many helmets with side plumes had been found, which made it unlikely that this was a mark of rank unless a disproportionate number of optiones were losing their helmets.
   Sibylla asked whether there were different regional styles. Quinctius answered that there did not seem to be much regional differentiation in helmets within the Roman army, but there was some evidence of different belt styles for different legions.
   Sibylla asked whether armour was provided to soldier or bought by them. Per Thomas Fischer, Quinctius said, these would have been bought by soldiers on installment plan. One legionary's mother was given money when his armour was sold back to the army. It was in the 1st century that this would have been deducted from pay, during the 4th century such armour had to be bought directly. It would have been bought back when soldiers left the army, as they wouldn't necessarily need their armour and might not have been permitted to take their swords. Armour which had been found with multiple names marked into it showed that the same suit of armour was reissued.
   I asked whether there were restrictions on who could be armed with swords, outside the city of Rome itself. Quinctius replied that it depended whether swords were actually needed, and gave the example of recent colonies such as Britain and Pannonia as places where former soldiers had been settled together and where they might retain weapons into retirement. Pannonia, Quinctius added, was incorporated under Augustus, while Caesar re-founded Corinth (which had been destroyed at around the same time as Carthage) as a colony.
   Sibylla asked about armour found in Teutoburg Forest. Quinctius reported that there were a few plates found, as well as one near-full set of armour on buried body. This was the second near-full set to be discovered, a rare and unusual find, and was on display in the local Kalkriese museum. These finds had actually help persuade archaeologists that segmented armour was in use earlier than previously thought.
   Sibylla asked where the armour was made. Quinctius answered that there were shops that supplied armour and cloaks to the troops: local businesspeople were recorded as selling it. It was only in Late Antiquity that state-owned fabrica were employed for supply. I wondered, though did not say, whether the private manufacture of items worn by the troops could have enabled others to impersonate soldiers, and what the penalty would have been for doing so.
   The conversation turned to army transport, which Quinctius told us was independent from the civilian system and which employed rivers when possible, as water transport was much cheaper than land. This lead to a conversation about canals, ancient and modern. There was an old canal near Quinctius, of which the most noticeable remnant was "Canal Street". We wondered whether the Erie Canal was still in use (the answer appears to be yes, based on brief subsequent research, but the modern canal is somewhat different than the original one and sees less commercial traffic). Quinctius brought up the canal at Corinth.
   We discussed Roman concrete and differences between Roman and Medieval stonework. Quinctius noted that Roman stonework was smooth and even, while Medieval stonework was more often of differently shaped stones.As further points of comparison, Sibylla brought up Inca & Aztec stonework.and Quinctius the Cyclopean walls of Mycenaean cities, both cases in which close-fitting stones were laid together without the need for mortar.

   We also talked about how later people often cannibalized old monuments for their stone. Sibylla mentioned the pyramids, while Quinctius mentioned that certain parts of Hadrian's wall had vanished because local farmers had repurposed much of the materials. Quinctius also mentioned a Roman gravestone had been incorporated into the foundation of a church.

   Quinctius stated that the remains of most Romans whose tombstones were still in existence had been lost, but that the ashes of Marcus Favonius Facilis were believed found under their marker.
   For my part, I said that I would be pretty nervous about having a gravestone incorporated into my house and that I was surprised that the Medieval or early modern people reusing these stones were not more concerned about being haunted. Quinctius expressed doubts that people of the time of which he was speaking would have been concerned about ghosts of an earlier and different culture. I mused aloud that incorporating a gravestone into a church might have been seen as less risky than building it into a private home.

  Sibylla asked about Roman beliefs about ghosts. I mentioned the book Greek and Roman Ghost Stories by Lacy Collison-Morley, but wasn't able to remember many details from it. Sibylla said that a story of a Roman ghost awakening in Medieval or early modern times due to reuse of a gravestone would be an interesting story. Quinctius recalled a short story in the ebook sequel to "The Legions of the Mist" by Amanda Cockrell (https://www.amandacockrell.com/) with a somewhat similar premise.
   We talked a bit about the beliefs of modern people concerning ghosts. Quintius mentioned taking a class on religiously unaffiliated people, in which he'd learned that a significant minority of people who did not believe in Heaven or Hell still believed in ghosts. Sibylla and Quinctius each told stories of things which had been experienced by people they knew. I suggested that "Ghost Stories from Ancient Times" might be a good topic for a presentation, and Quinctius said he might be able to research the topic, but that it would have to wait until later in the year. (It wasn't said at the time, but October might be a good time.)
   Sibylla asked whether the Romans would have had option for storage of goods by private individuals, analogous to the storage units we have in modern days. I was doubtful that this was as in-demand in ancient times, and Quinctius could not recall an exact analogue, though he did speculate that it might have been possible to rent space in a warehouse. With respect to the military, Quinctius mentioned the mansiones as a system of transportation and storage.
   Sibylla brought up weekends in Roman times. There were no weekends for most Romans during Classical times, as a day of rest was a Jewish & Christian tradition. However, Saturdays were observed in Israel. Quinctius said that even slaves & animals had Saturdays off, per Torah. Quinctius & Sibylla each also mentioned lengths to which observant Christians & Jews would go in modern times to keep from working on their respective holy days. 
   We talked a bit about the Jewish diaspora. Quinctius mentioned a few places with significant Jewish communities: Alexandria, Rome (especially trans Tiber). Quinctius also stated that Caesar supposedly knew many Jews as a result of growing up in the Subura.