Rome: City to Empire Exhibition Part One

Statue of Godess Fortuna, Rome, Italy 150-200 CE

Statue of a Magistrate, Italy 70-90 CE (head), early 2nd century CE (body)

Roman and Dacian Arms Relief, Rome, Italy 100-200 CE

Statue Head of Commodus, probably Italy, about 185-190 CE

Last Friday, the Rome: City to Empire exhibition from the British Museum opened at the National Museum of Australia, here in Canberra. This exhibition is open until 3 February 2019. I diligently photographed everything in the exhibition but some photos, mainly the 18th century prints, didn't turn out very well, so I haven't included them and apologies for the quality of some of the photos. There are more than 200 objects from the British Museum in this exhibition so it will take five posts to cover them all.

Ceramic Burial Urn, Alban Hills, Italy, 900-800 BCE

Bronze Cista (casket), probably Cerveteri, Italy, 300-250 BCE

Copper Alloy Decorative Plaque, London, England 100-300 CE

Bronze Mirror, Palestrina, Italy 350-300 BCE

Alabaster Burial Chest, probably from Volterra, Italy about 100 BCE

Portrait Head of Marcus Agrippa, Capri, Italy 20-40 CE

Portrait Head of a Citizen, Rome, Italy about 1st century BCE

Statue Head of Augustus, Rome, Italy about 30 BCE

Silver Carthaginian Coin, minted in Spain, 237-209 BCE (top left), Silver Republican Roman Coins - Celebrating the  Conquest of Gaul 48 BCE( bottom left), A Coin struck for Julius Caesar 44 BCE (top right), A Coin Celebrating the Assassination of Julius Caesar 43-42 BCE (bottom right)

Bronze Statuette of a Lictor, probably Italy, 1st century CE

Gold and Jasper Ring depicting Mark Antony, probably Italy, 40-30 BCE

Portrait Head resembling Cleopatra, Italy, 50-30 BCE

Terracotta Plaque Showing Two Figures of Hope, Rome, Italy about 50 BCE -100 CE

Bronze Parade Helmet with Woman's Face, Nola, Italy 2nd century CE

Iron Pugio (dagger), Kingsholm, Gloucestershire, England, mid-1st century CE

Ceramic Tile Antefix Legio XX Valeria Victrix, Holt, England, 2nd-3rd century CE

Bronze Figurine of an Eagle, probably Italy, 1st-3rd century CE

Bronze Legionary Helmet, Norcott Hill, Hertfordshire, England, 1st century CE

Bronze Military Citizenship Diploma, Brigetio, Hungary, 122 CE

Iron Pila Heads, Hod Hill, Dorset, England, mid-1st century CE

Tombstone of Aurelius Saturninus, Rome, Italy, 2nd century CE

Statue Head of Germania, probably Italy, 1st-2nd century CE

Copper Alloy Sestertius of Trajan, minted in Rome, Italy 106-111 CE, Gold Aureus of Domitian, minted in Rome, Italy, 86 CE, Gold Aureus of Vespasian, minted in Rome, Italy 72-73 CE

Portrait Head of the Emperor Titus, Porta Portese, Italy, late 1st century CE

Animal Hunts Relief, Ephesus, Turkey, 1st-2nd century CE

Indian Longbowmen and Forest Indian Skirmishers

Here are some recently painted Indians, as well as some older ones, that I will be using for the Command & Colors Ancients, Battle of Hydaspes game at Little Wars Canberra in November. The figures are a real mix of ranges in mostly sixteen figure units for the infantry. I still have quite a bit of painting to do for this, so I'd better get back to it!

Mountain Indian longbowmen

Forest Indian skirmishers with longbow

Forest Indian javelinmen

Samnites versus Etruscans Basic Impetus Game

Samnites on the left, Etruscans on the right

View from the Samnite lines

Side view of the armies deployed

Samnite centre

Samnite right flank

As I mentioned in my last post, last Sunday afternoon down at the club, Garry and I played a Samnite versus Etruscans Basic Impetus game. Both are interesting and colourful armies, and certainly ones that you don't see that often on the wargame table. We didn't bother with any fancy tactics, just lined them up, advanced and charged. I was expecting my Samnites to get thrashed again, after their drubbing against the Camillan Romans, a few weeks ago. To my surprise, aided by lucky dice rolling, the Samnites punched a hole in the Etruscan centre, this soon collapsed and the Etruscans were routed.

The armies close

Both sides get stuck in

Casualties mount

A hole appears in the Etruscan centre

The Etruscan centre collapses

Battle of Colline Gate 82 BC - Command & Colors Ancients

Sulla and Crassus confer

Samnite/Marian right flank

Samnite/Marian left flank

Samnite/Marian left flank suffers heavy casualties

It is a slaughter!

Last Sunday morning down at the club Garry, Craig and I played two games of the Battle of Colline Gate scenario for Command and Colors Ancients (CCA). In the first game Craig and Garry were Sulla and Crassus, controlling the Colline Gate, while I was the Samnite/Marian commander Pontius Telesinus, encamped outside the city. This game was over fairly quickly as Crassus swept the field and annihilated the Samnite/Marian left flank. The Samnites were able to counter attack on their right flank but it proved to be too little, too late.

In the second game we swapped sides and this game was a bit closer but still over fairly quickly. The Samnites staged a stunning reversal of form and were able to win a notable 5-3 victory points result! Thanks to Craig and Garry for the fun games, I always really enjoy these CCA games, even when I get slaughtered. After lunch Garry and I played an Etruscan versus Samnite Basic Impetus game but I will put the photos of this game in a seperate post.

Crassus sweeps the field

Pontius Telesinus leads the Samnite counter attack

Sulla and troops emerge from the gate to mop up the field

The Samnites go down fighting

Sulla's forces claim an easy victory

Little Wars Canberra 4 November 2018

Zama 2015

Zama 2015

Zama 2015

Zama 2015

Zama 2015

Gabiene 2016

Gabiene 2016

Gabiene 2016

Gabiene 2016

Gabiene 2016

If you live in the ACT or nearby, just a heads up that the Little Wars Canberra event is coming up soon, on Sunday 4 November 2018. This is a one day participation game event that has been run by Greg, Ian and Lee since 2015. Greg had a short article on last year's event published in Wargames Illustrated Issue 365 March 2018, so check that out, if you're interested. It will be held down stairs at the Vikings Club in Heidelberg Street, Lanyon from 10am. Entry is by gold coin donation with all proceeds going to charity. Apart from a wide range of participation games there will be vendors attending, with full food and bar facilities available upstairs at the club.

We will be running another 28mm Command and Colors Ancients (CCA) participation game, this year the Battle of Hydaspes 326 BC. Usually we run two games, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, with up to three players a side for each game. So if you fancy being Porus, Alexander or another commander please come along and join in the fun. The GMT Games' Command and Colors Ancients website has the scenario for the Battle of Hydaspes and a pdf for the Third Edition Rules. GMT Games are releasing Command & Colors Medieval supposedly early next year, although the release date has been pushed back so many times, I wouldn't hold my breath on this! Interestingly the first expansion set will cover the Justinian Wars of the sixth century.

I have included photos of our previous games of Zama, Gabiene and Cannae with this post. Details of all the participation games have yet to be totally finalised but will be on the Little Wars Australia website or Facebook page, closer to the time of the actual event. Games that I'm aware of, apart from our one, include Allenby 1917 a WW1 Gaza action, with 'The Men Who Would Be Kings' rules. A 1/600 scale Queneitra 1973 from the Yom Kippur War with Fistful of TOWs rules, Salting Tommy's Soup WW2 North Africa with the Too Fat Lardies' rules 'What a Tanker', General Quarters GQ3 WW2 Naval action, Immingham 28mm (or possibly 54mm) ECW skirmish game, The Mexican Adventure 1861 to 1867 Black Powder game, Monmouth Courthouse AWI with Regimental Fire and Fury rules, The Meeting CIA agents taking on insurgents with Spectre Operations and a Mortem et Gloriam (MeG) Ancients and Medieval game.

Cannae 2017

Cannae 2017

Cannae 2017

Cannae 2017

Cannae 2017

Cannae 2017

Cannae 2017

Walls of Rome

Here are a few photos of the Walls of Rome mdf kits by Sarissa Precicion designed for the Gangs of Rome. I tried painting these walls but decided they looked better unpainted as the laser cut mdf is quite close in colour to the tuff blocks that the Servian Walls of Rome (built in the early 4th century BC) were made from. We have a Command and Colors Ancients game lined up at the club next Sunday with the Battle of Colline Gate. The photos show the initial deployment of Sulla's forces with Sulla in the centre and Crassus on the right flank. The Samnite and Marian forces were commanded by Pontius Telesinus. Appian (The Civil Wars 1.93) is the main source for the battle:

Sulla feared for the safety of the city, and sent his cavalry forward with all speed to hinder their march, and then hastened in person with his whole army and encamped beside the Colline gate near   the temple of Venus about noon, the enemy being already encamped around the city. A battle was fought at once, late in the afternoon. On the right wing Sulla was victorious, but his left was vanquished and fled to the gates. The old soldiers on the walls, when they saw the enemy rushing in with their own men, dropped the portcullis, which fell upon and killed many soldiers and many senators. But the majority, impelled by fear and necessity, turned and fought the enemy. The fighting continued through the night and a great many were slain. The generals, Telesinus and Albinus, were slain also and their camp was taken. Lamponius the Lucanian, Marcius, and Carinas, and the other generals of the faction of Carbo, fled. It was estimated that 50,000 men on both sides lost their lives in this engagement. Prisoners, to the number of more than 8,000, were shot down with darts by Sulla because they were mostly Samnites. The next day Marcius and Carinas were captured and brought in. Sulla did not spare them because they were Romans, but killed them both and sent their heads to Lucretius at Praeneste to be displayed round the walls.

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Appian/Civil_Wars/1*.html