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13 Apr 05 - 11:13 PM (#1460631) Subject: BS: I blame the Romans........ From: Shanghaiceltic Veni, Vidi, Effodia I came, I saw , I dug. So here's another the Romans did for us, they gave us the rabbit. Watership Down (Aquanavis Tumulos) and Bright Eyes (Lucidus Oculus) will never be the same. Can Richard Adams write q pre-quel with gladiatorial bunnies? Romans introduced the rabbit By David Sapsted (Filed: 14/04/2005) Years of division among academics over whether the Romans or the Normans introduced rabbits into Britain appears to have been resolved. An archaeological dig in Norfolk has uncovered the remains of a 2,000-year-old rabbit - by far the oldest of its kind found on these shores and regarded as final proof that the creatures are now on the list of what the Romans ever did for us. Many believed that the Normans introduced rabbits for their meat and fur. However, others have always insisted that the creatures were brought in by the Romans, citing Marcus Terrentius Varro (116-27BC) who wrote that the legions brought rabbits from Spain, where they were reared in walled enclosures and then served up as a gourmet dish. The remains were found at Lynford, near Thetford. Jayne Bown, the manager of the Norfolk Archaeological Unit, which is conducting the dig, said yesterday: "We can date the rabbit to the first or second century AD from the pottery fragments found beside it. Some of these fragments included domestic pots which could have been used for cooking. "We could tell the bones had been butchered." |
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13 Apr 05 - 11:21 PM (#1460638) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans........ From: Peace The rabbit died? |
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13 Apr 05 - 11:25 PM (#1460645) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans........ From: LadyJean Leading one to wonder when the first pair hopped out of their enclosure, and decided even English weather was better than winding up as haasenpfeffer. |
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13 Apr 05 - 11:57 PM (#1460666) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans........ From: Amos Hare raising, it is! A |
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14 Apr 05 - 12:08 AM (#1460674) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans........ From: Peace " . . . domestic pots which could have been used for cooking." Used to use it in brownies and cakes. |
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14 Apr 05 - 12:11 AM (#1460676) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans........ From: Shanghaiceltic The book might be called 'Gladiathare' with a a film to follow with Warren Beatty? |
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14 Apr 05 - 01:28 AM (#1460712) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans........ From: Peace Bunny and Hide? |
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14 Apr 05 - 01:53 AM (#1460723) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans........ From: Peace When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in Poland, do as the Polaroids do. |
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14 Apr 05 - 02:46 AM (#1460739) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans........ From: The Shambles When in Hema.................. When on Portland - don't mention the 'R' word. http://www.weymouth.gov.uk/main.asp?svid=7&svaid=294&svapid=1356 |
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14 Apr 05 - 04:15 AM (#1460782) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans........ From: Paco Rabanne The Romans also introduced pigeons to England, and, through their wearing of the toga, introduced rampant transvestism in Scottish men, who copied the habit and called it a 'kilt.' |
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14 Apr 05 - 04:51 AM (#1460798) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans........ From: Dave Hanson I like the word ' Neasden ' eric |
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14 Apr 05 - 08:25 AM (#1460922) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans........ From: Dave the Gnome Yeah, but have the Romans ever done for us? :D |
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14 Apr 05 - 08:32 AM (#1460926) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans........ From: Dave the Gnome or even WHAT have the Romans... |
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14 Apr 05 - 09:01 AM (#1460971) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans........ From: Rapparee Apparently those old Romans didn't do much for Idaho. Danged few Roman ruins here, except for old Vito. He's only 23, but that dude is RUINED! Mostly due to his ex-former-ex-girlfriend, Lucy -- she caught him with Philomena the other night and pretty much wrecked him. Didn't do anything to enhance Philomena's looks, either. Vito was born in Rome, Georgia, and came out here to study sexually transmitted diseases first hand. |
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14 Apr 05 - 09:30 AM (#1460994) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans........ From: Bunnahabhain ...for the Roman Catholic church. ...for making stone circles rarer. ...for professional lawyers and politicians. et cetera ad infinitium |
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14 Apr 05 - 09:41 AM (#1461004) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans........ From: Dave the Gnome Yeah, but what did they ever do for us..? :D |
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14 Apr 05 - 10:02 AM (#1461024) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans........ From: The Fooles Troupe Well, there was the roads, and the baths... |
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14 Apr 05 - 10:21 AM (#1461043) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans........ From: GUEST,Anonymous Roman candles? |
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14 Apr 05 - 10:30 AM (#1461055) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans........ From: GUEST,Arnie The Romans are also credited with bringing land snails to the UK (as food). Only the slugs are native. I was told years ago by my biology teacher that if you have snails with shells in the vicinity, then it's a sure sign that a Roman settlement was nearby, as snails only move slowly and are pretty much where the Romans left them 1700 yrs ago! Don't know if that still holds good but there is some sort of logic about it. Wouldn't fancy eating them myself, even with garlic, but they don't half make a meal out of my lettuces!! So thanks, Romans.... |
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14 Apr 05 - 10:48 AM (#1461076) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans........ From: GUEST,Anonymous Fingers? |
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14 Apr 05 - 11:03 AM (#1461087) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans........ From: Dave the Gnome OK, ok. Apart from the roads and baths, what have they ever done for us? :D (Only one got it up to now btw?) |
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14 Apr 05 - 11:29 AM (#1461104) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans........ From: GUEST,*Laura* Yeah! Apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system, and public health - What have the Romans ever done for us? bloody romans! xLx |
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14 Apr 05 - 11:37 AM (#1461110) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans........ From: GUEST,Anonymous Religious persecution....and it still goes on today. |
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14 Apr 05 - 12:16 PM (#1461151) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans........ From: Wolfgang They built a wall so that the fierce Scots could never invade the benign Southland. But I've heard that hasn't prevented the invasion, but I forgot from which side of the wall the later invaders came. Wolfgang |
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14 Apr 05 - 12:28 PM (#1461169) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans........ From: GUEST central heating (but you stopped using it after they left) |
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14 Apr 05 - 01:00 PM (#1461219) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans........ From: GUEST,Anonymous Roman Polanski? |
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14 Apr 05 - 01:05 PM (#1461225) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans........ From: Susu's Hubby I got this in an email.....don't know it it's true but it's a good story anyway....................... Does the statement, "We've always done it that way" ring any bells... ? The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number. Why was that gauge used? Because that's the way they built them in England, and English expatriates built the US Railroads. Why did the English build them like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and that's the gauge they used. Why did "they" use that gauge then? Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing. Okay! Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing? Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would break on some of the old, long distance roads in England, because that's the spacing of the wheel ruts. So who built those old rutted roads? Imperial Rome built the first long distance roads in Europe (and England) for their legions. The roads have been used ever since. And the ruts in the roads? Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagon wheels. Since the chariots were made for Imperial Rome, they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing. The United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches is derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman war chariot. And bureaucracies live forever. So the next time you are handed a specification and wonder what horse's ass came up with it, you may be exactly right, because the Imperial Roman war chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the back ends of two war horses. Now the twist to the story... When you see a Space Shuttle sitting on its launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank. These are solid rocket boosters, or SRBs. The SRBs are made by Thiokol at their factory at Utah. The engineers who designed the SRBs would have preferred to make them a bit fatter, but the SRBs had to be shipped by train from the factory to the launch site. The railroad line from the factory happens to run through a tunnel in the mountains. The SRBs had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad track, as you now know, is about as wide as two horses' behinds. So, a major Space Shuttle design feature of what is arguably the world's most advanced transportation system was determined over two thousand years ago by the width of a horse's ass. ... and you thought being a HORSE'S ASS wasn't important! |
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14 Apr 05 - 01:23 PM (#1461241) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans........ From: Liz the Squeak People called the Romans, they go the house? They gave us edible dormice (glis glis) as well..... a protected species now, although they were only introduced in 1902 as escapees from a private collection. LTS |
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14 Apr 05 - 02:40 PM (#1461308) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... (for rabbits) From: GUEST,Allen What have the Romans ever done for us? HAUSSENPFFEFER!! |
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14 Apr 05 - 02:53 PM (#1461321) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... (for rabbits) From: Peace They gave us a fiddler, an arch, a computer font--all kindsa stuff. |
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14 Apr 05 - 02:56 PM (#1461327) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... (for rabbits) From: TheBigPinkLad Careful what you believe. Academics attribute events not to their occurance, but to the written recording thereof. By the way Wolfgang, the Scots were still in Ireland when the Romans occupied Great Britain. The folks across the wall were the Picts. The foundation myths of Scotland state that the Scottish Gaels originated from the Dal Riata tribe in Antrim, north-east Ireland. Around AD 500, the wall was constructed by Roman emperor Hadrianus between AD 120 and 128. Romans gave us the inspiration for the movie 'The Life of Brian' and the Python song "Always look on the bright side of life." |
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14 Apr 05 - 03:25 PM (#1461353) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... (for rabbits) From: GUEST,Allen What fish do you have that is not jugged? Rabbit |
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14 Apr 05 - 05:45 PM (#1461491) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... (for rabbits) From: GUEST,*Laura* That is a VERY good point - no Romans - no Life of Brian! da da daaa! xLx |
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14 Apr 05 - 06:42 PM (#1461535) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... (for rabbits) From: Shanghaiceltic I've got snails in my garden but no signs of a Roman settlement, just builders rubbish. |
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14 Apr 05 - 07:50 PM (#1461605) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... (for rabbits) From: Bunnahabhain That's what most archeology is, rubbish. The stuff people leave behind them. You don't find many whole roman pots, you find the ones people used until they broke. |
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14 Apr 05 - 08:31 PM (#1461658) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... (for rabbits) From: Blissfully Ignorant I think the word 'blame' is a bit harsh... rabbits are quite nice... |
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14 Apr 05 - 08:33 PM (#1461663) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... (for rabbits) From: Peace Cooked with prunes, onions, chervil, basil, pepper, white wine (no more than a three), carrots and potatoes, they are very, very nice. |
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14 Apr 05 - 08:42 PM (#1461675) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... (for rabbits) From: Blissfully Ignorant Yes....i've cooked them like that, except without the prunes and chervil....or the basil....or the wine...it was very nice anyway. |
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15 Apr 05 - 12:34 AM (#1461798) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... (for rabbits) From: GUEST,Shanghaiceltic Once we were on a long submarine patrol (late 1970's) and we found that our chefs had loaded rabbit instead of chicken! So we were tempted with Rabbit Maryland, Rabbit Fricasee, Curried Rabbit, Roasted Rabbit with stuffing (no don't ask who stuffed the rabbit), Rabbit Stew, on and on went the alternative rabbit recipes, and more jaded our tastes became. One of the chefs put up a sign over the servery. 'Rabbit in the hole; As served on Watership Down' 'You've read the book, you've seen the film, you have the T-Shirt, now eat the cast!' |
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15 Apr 05 - 07:17 AM (#1461973) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... (for rabbits) From: The Shambles Can the title of this B/S thread be changed back to its original one? I have not read the report of the dig - only the inference that as 'bunny' remains were found with evidence that could date it. This find does not mean or prove that the Romans introduced - (what Portlanders here refer to as 'underground mutton' - into the wild. Although this most probably was the case - all a single find like this proves is that this particular 'Long Ears' left some of their bones in Roman Briton. This 'Wilfred' may have been brought over and kept as a pet. Imigration controls were not then the same as they are now - but I am sure that the Romans would have given us Customs Officers. |
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15 Apr 05 - 09:41 AM (#1462087) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... (for rabbits) From: GUEST Does the title matter? |
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15 Apr 05 - 10:42 AM (#1462152) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... (for rabbits) From: The Shambles The title may or may not matter to the originator who carefully chose it. The title does appear to matter a lot - to whatever unknown person decided to change it. Even though this was a B/S thread. It matters to me - as the word added to the thread title is considered locally to be unlucky but mostly if the orginator was not first shown the respect of being consulted before the change was imposed upon their contribution. A contribution (and title) invited by the site owner Max to our public discussion forum. |
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15 Apr 05 - 10:52 AM (#1462164) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... (for rabbits) From: Peace "A contribution (and title) invited by the site owner Max to our public discussion forum." No, no. The above should read: "A contribution (and title) invited by the site owner Max to Max's public discussion forum." After a time, ownership is assumed. However, last I knew, Max owned the site and he is gracious enough to let us use it. |
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15 Apr 05 - 11:56 AM (#1462223) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... (for rabbits) From: JennyO O gawd, here we go again... |
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15 Apr 05 - 12:30 PM (#1462256) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... (for rabbits) From: GUEST,Xanadu Why don't you just start another thread to whine about Big-Brotherlike oppression (again). |
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15 Apr 05 - 12:58 PM (#1462275) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... (for rabbits) From: The Shambles Censorship on Mudcat |
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15 Apr 05 - 01:16 PM (#1462291) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... (for rabbits) From: GUEST,Xanadu Yeah, I ment an additional one, or better yet, keep it in that thread. |
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15 Apr 05 - 05:12 PM (#1462456) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... (for rabbits) From: Uncle_DaveO Susu's Hubby, that "The Width of Roman Roads" thing is highly entertaining, but false. Thoroughly discredited. I do recognize that you didn't swear to it. Dave Oesterreich |
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16 Apr 05 - 03:31 AM (#1462788) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... (for rabbits) From: Peace If we blame the Romans for rabbits, do we then blame the Romaines for lettuce? |
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16 Apr 05 - 08:29 AM (#1462894) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... (for rabbits) From: freda underhill when in ancient Rome.. As far as public facilities were concerned, urinal pots and public toilets served the public need. Fullers (the Roman version of a not-so-dry cleaner) would empty the urinal pots and use the ammonia-rich urine for laundering and bleaching togas and tunics! In many Roman cities there were public toilets. These rectangular shaped rooms (some seating up to 100 people) contained rows of long stone benches each with a row of keyhole-shaped openings cut into it. Water running down drains underneath the benches would flush waste away into the sewers. Sponge-sticks were used instead of toilet paper! |
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17 Apr 05 - 07:59 AM (#1463437) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... From: The Shambles "We could tell the bones had been butchered." This presumably from 'cut marks' on the bones. So OK it may be unlikely that our Roman solder would have butchered and eaten his pet - but not impossible (if they were hungry enough. But it does not prove that The Romans introduced 'The Hairy Ones' into the wild - just that this one may have come with them. This one may have been part of a take-away for the boat crossing and ordered from a fast-food outlet on the European Continent. Called possibly Zuebrugge Fried R....? I am sure the Romans are to blame for junk food. I blame that General Saundersus.............. I wonder if the Portland respect and fear of 'Long Ears' does not come from far earlier times and relate to The Hare? |
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17 Apr 05 - 08:16 AM (#1463448) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... From: kendall I read somewhere that the reason the Romans built Hadrian's wall was to prevent major raids by the Scots. In order to steal, say, cattle or sheep they had to go through a gate in the wall, and of course, the gates were manned.There is also the theory that Hadrian realized that the empire was stretched too thin and decided to make a border. |
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17 Apr 05 - 09:17 AM (#1463463) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... From: The Fooles Troupe Now you know where the expression 'fuller ****' comes from... |
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17 Apr 05 - 10:41 AM (#1463520) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... From: Liz the Squeak We used to keep rabbits for the pot.... in hutches in the back garden. We had several at one point. One year the doe only produced one kit and died a few weeks later. We kept the kit to rear by hand and got so attached to him, we couldn't eat him. LTS |
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17 Apr 05 - 03:18 PM (#1463715) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... From: The Shambles My father-in-law had a great money making idea in rearing 'underground mutton' on a large scale - for food. The problem was that he was too soft to actually kill any of them. And in the end he had hundreds of them to find homes for. |
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17 Apr 05 - 03:27 PM (#1463717) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... From: Peace The NYPD, The FBI, and the CIA are all trying to prove that they are the best at apprehending criminals. The President decides to give them a test. He releases a rabbit into a forest and each of them has to catch it. The CIA goes in. They place animal informants throughout the forest. They question all plant and mineral witnesses. After three months of extensive investigations they conclude that rabbits do not exist. The FBI goes in. After two weeks with no leads they burn the forest, killing everything in it, including the rabbit, and they make no apologies. The rabbit had it coming. The NYPD goes in. They come out two hours later with a badly beaten bear. The bear is yelling, "Okay! Okay! I'm a rabbit! I'm a rabbit!" |
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18 Apr 05 - 02:05 AM (#1464062) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... From: The Shambles Now everyone knows that all you have to do is hide in a bush (with a big stone in each hand) and make a noise like a lettice........... |
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18 Apr 05 - 05:47 AM (#1464136) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... From: The Fooles Troupe Oh lettuce believe George could catch a rabbit, Shambles.... |
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18 Apr 05 - 09:11 AM (#1464271) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... From: mouldy One remark, made with regard to the bunny remains on Radio 2 this morning,and also in my newspaper - rabbits are quite good swimmers and the channel ain't all that wide! Andrea |
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18 Apr 05 - 09:20 AM (#1464275) Subject: RE: BS: I blame the Romans... From: The Fooles Troupe And many years ago the sea was much lower... |