Much Fun Was Had

I'm back from my visit to the Romans in Haltern am See. The exhibitions are great, and I was glad to have stayed long enough to do both of them justice and not rush through in two hours. I took a lot of photos, but the conditions were more than tricky and I suppose I'll have to count for at least 10% blurred pics this time. But some turned out fine; here are a few samples:

-- Shiny things

Cup from a set of silver ware
This one - showing a chariot race - and several other pretty cups were part of the Roman Lifestyle section in the special exhibition 'Imperium' in the Seestadthalle (Lakeside Town Hall). The level of craftmanship of those luxury items is amazing.

-- A dysfunctional family

Statues of some members of the Imperial Family
From left to right: Germanicus, Tiberius, Livia, Augustus, Agrippa Postumus (a grandson of Augustus who died early). Augustus wears his toga with a fold of cloth over the head, signifying his role as priest. Poor Claudius has been left out of the family portrait again.

-- Models

Closeup of the model of the fort at Haltern
One of the interesting features of the permanent exhibition in the LWL Römermuseum (Lippe-Westphalian Roman Museum) are several models ranking from the complete fort in Haltern to a single barrack. In the background of the photo you can see a display showing a column of mounted playmobil Romans. There were three legions worth of the little figures all over the place.

-- Army life

Parts of a horse harness
Central part of the museum is the Roman army. This exhibition, showing all the finds of Roman origins along the Lippe river where the Romans had a number of forts and marching camps, is statuary in Haltern, though it has been expanded with some additional displays during the duration of the Varus Battle Anniversary events.

-- Pointy things

Roman dagger
Army life of course, includes all sorts of weapons, and you know I can never resist a pretty pugio (even from an odd angle). With all the photos I took in various Roman-themed museums, I now have an impressive collection of virtual weapons, armour and horse equipment.

-- A Roman ship

The Victoria, a reconstructed Roman ship
This one was really fun. Not only was I lucky to see the reconstructed Roman ship Victoria (modeled after a find from the Danube) close up, I also managed to join in rowing her around on the lake for an hour. Not an easy job, but it can't get much more Roman for a geek like me.