9 January 2012
The Roman re-enactment group Legion XIIII visited the members of Lower School today. The indoor part of their display was in the Amey Theatre. The two men showed us weapons such as the sling, the sword, the bow, the pilum (spear) and the dagger. They then told us about the background of the invasion of Britain and the reasons behind it (such as obtaining gold from Wales). One of the highlights was when they called some of us up on stage and gave us drill commands to turn or march. Eventually Harry Hoareau was crowned the most disciplined soldier, while Edward Turner-Fussell got to shout out commands in Latin. Magnus was given the challenging job of restringing a Persian bow - a lot of strength was required on his part but he managed it. Everybody then rushed outside to see the various weapons demonstrated. The bow in particular was fired extraordinarily high, with the arrows then stabbing into the Upper Field cricket square (while Mr Shirazi was watching!). We also saw spears being thrown. It was a great experience to actually see the Roman army's methods and weapons.
Thomas Butcher 1M
