this post was submitted on 04 Sep 2024
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Historical Artifacts

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Just a community for everyone to share artifacts, reconstructions, or replicas for the historically-inclined to admire!

Generally, an artifact should be 100+ years old, but this is a flexible requirement if you find something rare and suitably linked to an era of history, not a strict rule. Anything over 100 is fair game regardless of rarity.

Generally speaking, ruins should go to !historyruins@lemmy.world

Illustrations of the past should go to !historyillustrations@lemmy.world

Photos of the past should go to !HistoryPorn@lemmy.world

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[–] drolex@sopuli.xyz 37 points 2 months ago (3 children)

You're being attacked by mounted archers? Testudo.

You're attacking mixed infantry? Testudo.

You're taking a hill defended by auxiliaries? Testudo.

You're mounting a wall? Believe it or not, testudo.

[–] edgemaster72@lemmy.world 21 points 2 months ago

We have the best empire in the world. Because of tetsudo.

[–] tiredofsametab@fedia.io 17 points 2 months ago

When a problem comes along, you must testudo!

[–] Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 2 months ago

Riding a futuristic motorbike through the streets of neo Tokyo? Oh, no, my bad, that's TETSUO!!!

[–] Lemminary@lemmy.world 21 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

I imagine someone slipping and stabbing their homie in the arm. Like, aye fucking Jeb hold onto something ya clumsly drunken mule.

[–] ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works 14 points 2 months ago

But do they make the Transformers sound when they combine into a ramp?

[–] kurikai@lemmy.world 10 points 2 months ago

That's really cool

[–] HootinNHollerin@lemmy.world 9 points 2 months ago

Ramp Assemble!

[–] Nikko882@lemmy.world 8 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Wouldn't it make more sense to overlap the shields the other way, to transfer the weight of the guy down and into the ground? I'm assuming they tried both ways and the other way has problems that I'm not seeing, but I'm not seeing it.

[–] thetreesaysbark@sh.itjust.works 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I wonder if this way around was to help the climber get a foothold above the shield whilst being shot at.

My imagination tells me they'd be sprinting up there whilst having arrows shot at them, so anything to get their foot on would be handy.

Maybe the other way around they'd be more likely to catch their foot under the shield in front of them too, tripping them up.

The above is all just my imagination though so hopefully there's someone better read around here that can answer more accurately.

[–] Nikko882@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago

That would make sense, yeah. I suppose you can see that on the picture too, he's standing on the shield boss of one shield and the edge of another. It still seems like it would be very heavy for the guy at the top, but I suppose they don't spend that long standing there, maybe.

[–] PugJesus@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I guess I'm not seeing what you mean by overlapping the shields the other way?

[–] Nikko882@lemmy.world 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The way they are currently set up the bottom shield is in front of the shield above it, so that when it gets pushed on it is supported by the next shield (which is again supported by the next shield, and so on).

It feels more intuitive that the shield should overlap the other way (instead of the top of your shield being supported by the next shield, the bottom of your shield would be supported by the previous shield) because the final shield in the row has to be the heaviest to hold and the first one is supported by the ground.

[–] PugJesus@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago

Okay, I see what you mean now. Not sure why they didn't do that.

[–] Batman@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago

What if we built some stairs, rolled out up to the wall and iunno call the stairs "testudo" ? Because I'm seeing a few OSHA violations in just this picture. No one is wearing high visibility gear. That wall could collapse at any time, and their ramp is not handicap accessible!

[–] mrfriki@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I mean it’s really cool and all bou I wouldn’t like to be that lonely guy on his way to taking the wall solo.

[–] PugJesus@lemmy.world 9 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Bravery in battle could get you military awards and bonuses - or even better, promoted. Under the Imperial Roman military, a legionary made about as much as a well-paid-but-unskilled urban laborer did per year. A centurion made 16x that. And centurions were promoted from the ranks - primarily for bravery, skill, and good conduct. See where this going?

Someone tells me that hopping up and soloing a bunch of barbarians for a minute or two until backup climbs up the testudo after me could net 16x pay (and 16x the retirement bonus, and 16x the share of the plunder) for the next ~20 years of my career, you bet your ass I'd at least consider it!

[–] mrfriki@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

That's a neat piece of information, I didn't know it was like that. Still, you need to still be alive in order to collect that wage. I guess that I will be one of the fellas under the shields.

[–] SRo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 months ago

Eh, life's cheap - just go for it

[–] Rayspekt@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago

Everything is chill until the Gravedigger jumps into your fort using the testudo.