Saturday, February 29, 2020

Roman Disorder Markers

Decided to continue making markers this week also in between drying time of varnish. Some Roman markers from spare shields and transfers. I need about another 20 odd ancient markers to cover everything, then dark ages and medieval.


Cheers 
Matt

Friday, February 28, 2020

King Riothamus King of the Bretons

King Arthur....... perhaps!


Riothamus (also spelled Riutimus or Riotimus) was a Breton-Romano military leader, and King of Brittany and possibly lands in southern England. He was active circa AD 470 and lead a army against the Goths in alliance with the Romans. He is called “King of the Bretons” by the 6th-century historian Jordanes but the extent of his realm is unclear. Some Arthurian scholars identify Riothamus as one of the possible sources of the legendary King Arthur.

The miniature is from the Footsore Miniatures 28mm Dark Age range







"walk the battlefield in the morning, wargame in the afternoon"™


cheers
Matt

Thursday, February 27, 2020

Caesars Gallic Wars tour and Wargames





Our new promo video for our 2020 Caesars Gallic wars, we refight on the tabletop the arrival of Caesars legions to Armorica, the battles and and the uprisings of our local tribe the Aulerci Diablintes into the imperial period.

Single day game or a full campaign weekend including fully guided tours of Gallic and Roman sites and museums in western France from 199 euro including bed and breakfast.


see our website for full details

French Wargame Holidays Caesars Gallic Wars



cheers
Matt




Gallic disorder markers

An addition I always like to add for my games as I build a army, disorder markers and dead casualty markers. I must have several hundred shields from different armies plus a lot of transfers for them. Getting sick of plaid and eyes again so I knocked these up yesterday as a little break from detail work, a nice  addition to the table. More coming from different periods, now I need more round bases!

Cheers
Matt

Monday, February 17, 2020

Gaullic Oppidum Moulay

Very close to our Maison is one of the ten largest Oppida, walled Gallic cities in France and the largest so far located. I thought I would share a few photographs of the site thst we share on our "Caesars Gallic Wars" tour and French Wargame Holidays  Wargame weekend. 

In the 1970s, the first archaeological investigations revealed the Gallic origin of the Oppidum and of the defensive works, it was long considered a Roman military fortification and was called  "Caesar's camp". The inner defensive wall is was over 500m long only 350m of the 10 meter high rampart survives,
 Along with traces of the Pincer gates. A secondary rampart in dry stone has also been recognized on the rest of the perimeter of the site at the top of the cliffs facing the Aaron and Mayenne Rivers. 


Map of western Gaul


Artists impression of a Pincer gate


The surviving ramparts are 6-8m high and 350m of the walls are walkable, a remarkable piece of military engineering work.

The road cuts through the outer ramparts in two locations on the entry to the village of Moulay 

From the top of lookout Rock on the junction and the ford of the Mayenne and L'Aaron rivers. 

Lookout Rock, on the junction of the Mayenne and the L'Aaron River
Looking back up from the river Mayenne to the Gallic city 

The archeology corresponds to a Gallic domestic occupation from the 2nd century BC until the 1st AD: pottery, grain millstones, wine amphorae imported from Italy, ornaments, and the practice of metallurgical activities: bronze mold and slag. 

In 2004, as part of the motorway bypass of the municipalities of Moulay and Mayenne, Inrap carried out an archaeological diagnosis over almost 9 kilometers. The road project passes less than 300 meters east of the known Gallic fortification, following the rocky promontory. Outside the enclosure, the diagnosis revealed numerous indications of the period of the final Tene (II e and I st century BC), a new rampart of about 1 200 meters long in 1000 meters upstream from the first. It joins the Mayenne and Aron valleys in a straight line. This new defensive line considerably changes the morphology of the site: the area defined by the two concentric enclosures then borders on 135 hectares. 



The inner fortification and the outer fortifications marked in red. 

Full expanse of the city, the grey section is the excavations by the  archeological team before the motorway construction. 


Territory of the Aulerci Diablintes 



It is the largest site known today on the Armorican Massif, the fortified agglomeration corresponds to the capital of the Gallic city of Diablintes. During the Roman period, the center of power moved a few kilometers from there to Jublains (Noviodunum), where the city remained until the early 5th century, before returning to Mayenne under the Carolingians, when the chateau was built. 

Saturday, February 15, 2020

Aulerci Diablintes tribesmen VII

Another unit for my Gaulois project, after the next unit of naked Gauls I will of completed 72 of the Victrix plastic naked Fanatics, I think I will go back and add lime white hair to the others as it really makes them stand out! Then onto more clothed Gaulois, a total of 80 figures to go to complete the unpainted pile of Gaulois!





Cheers
Matt