Tempora

We've seen our fair share of re-enactments living in Boston for several years, but an opportunity to see a Roman and Celtic re-enactment was something new!  Aquileia, a town about an hour's drive from our home, was hosting just such an event called Tempora.  We decided it would be worth the drive to see it, even if we could only come for a few hours.  

We arrived in time to see the Roman legions form up and begin to march through the streets.

Along the way, we passed some Celts--a motley looking crew, no?

Eventually, they met officially--there were some words (none of which we could understand, but it was definitely a heated discussion), and some posturing.

And then, somewhat unceremoniously, the Romans walked past.

After this display, we headed towards a demonstration area where we were able to watch some Gladiator demonstrations.

This was pretty fascinating, and the announcer gave a lot of information about the different kinds of gladiators, their weaponry, armor, etc.  Unfortunately, we could only catch a word here or there, and didn't really know what he was explaining, but the fighting demonstrations were entertaining nonetheless.  

A quick lunch break (at the same cafe we had cappuccinos at, Mom and Dad Nikkel), and then we were off to explore the Celtic camps.

Here we met with some of the re-enactors, and they were all very kind and informative--and this time we were able to hear it in English!  Oh how nice...  We learned so much.

We tried on some of the helmets--bronze helmets were the usual, since iron was a more valuable metal

We listened to explanations about the weaponry...

yes, those are Roman ruins behind us--pretty cool

And the finer arts, like weaving

We were also shown the lesser known intricacies of Celtic hygiene--from combs, to toothpaste, to mirrors.  If you're curious, ask the kids what they might have used to brush their teeth if they didn't have access to the usual combination of egg shells and bicarbonates.

Where's Waldo?  Can you spy this gentleman, and the gentlemen in the pictures above demonstrating the shields as weapons in the pictures of the groups of Celts at the top of the page?

There was much more scheduled to happen later in the afternoon and into the late evening, but we were content to call it a day after a few hours.  Besides, we have our own Roman legionary at home...