[SCA-AS] What The Ancients Knew DVDs

[mmagnusol]

http://shopping.discovery.com/  has the wonderful
What The Ancients Knew DVDs for sale for $10 each.
The Roman one is astounding.   The wide range of 
technology
is fantastic.  Glass making and forming [extremely
advanced], military weapons and artillery, engineering
hypocausts, baths, aqueducts, the colloseum, heavy
lifing machinery, roads, etc.  The Portland Cameo
Glass Vase and a double layered lattice carved glass
one far more complicated  are in it.

The Roman Artillery works and works very well indeed.
It makes the last program mentioned below look very
very bad.  I doubt it as new struts have been added
[Baatz's design?] but it might possibly be the 
ballista
that Colonel Schramm made post WWI and nearly
killed the Kaiser when a ball lofted and landed right
next to him.  This was at Saalburg, and I think this
catapult and scorpion are at Xanten.   Schramm built
a number of siege engines.  The largest ones burned
during WWII but the smaller ones at Saalburg were
preserved.

Archäologischer Park Xanten  as opposed to Saalburg
Roman Limes Fort in Germany.  The Limes were a
massively long earthwork in Germany built to keep
the German hordes out at the edge of the Empire.
They had castles every 4 miles.  Xanten and Saalburg
were two of them.

If you like Roman Artillery http://www.shirebooks.com/
has an excellent little book on a number of 
replicas made
in Britain and the book is titled Roman Artillery.
Ospreypublishing.com also has multiple books on 
ancient,
medieval and Chinese siege engines.  Sold through 
motorbooks.com
in the USA.
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They also have Egypt and China currently.

 From the Discovery  Store:
 From the Roman Empire to the Chinese Dynasties to
the early Egyptians, take a journey into the
ancient, technological past and learn how it
continues to shape our modern world. Discover how
the difficulties of pre-industrial life sparked a
number of ingenious engineering solutions and how
much of the science and technology we consider to
be "modern" was actually created by civilizations
long ago.

The Romans
More than 2,000 years ago, the mighty Roman
legions built one of the largest empires in human
history. But while territory was won by the blade
of a gladius, hearts and minds were captured by
the grandeur of aqueducts and the convenience of
paved roads. Learn how outstanding civil
engineering projects like aqueducts, sewer
systems, fountains, paved city streets and covered
plazas were managed in ancient times and discover
how the engineer played a key role in establishing
the unprecedented standard of living that
characterized the entire empire.

The Egyptians
Archaeological evidence tells us that life in
ancient Egypt revolved around preparation for the
afterlife. As the desire and financial ability of
Egyptians who sought the afterlife increased, a
highly specialized and diversified work force was
created for the specific purpose of building the
great pyramids and other enormous faith-based
projects. Examine the rise and fall of pyramid
construction, its methods and techniques, and –
even more impressive – how Egyptian engineers were
able to create such unrivaled objects of
perfection with the most rudimentary tools.

The Chinese
 From 600 to 1500 AD, China was the most
technologically advanced society on earth.
Building on thousands of years of observation and
experimentation, ancient Chinese researchers
sought to harness the power of the classic
elements – earth, wind, water and fire. In an
effort to provide their emperors with everything
from practical tools to battlefield advantages and
even eternal life solutions, Chinese experimenters
created some of the most important breakthroughs
in history – movable type, the multistage rocket
and the blast furnace.
back to top
Format: 	DVD
Running Time: 	50 minutes each
Gift Wrap: 	Available

Superweapons of the Ancient World: The Ram DVD
#714527 	 $9.95
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They also have that program on Building the Impossible
Roman Catapult.  Watch a team of modern engineers make
a 20 foot tall mega-catapult that doesn't fire at 
all far.
I'd be so embarassed I wouldn't want to show 
myself in that one.
At least it is cheap here versus the 
historychannel.com store.

Master Magnus, OL
Great Barony of Windmasters' Hill, Manx, Adria, 
GDH, Archer-Antiquaries