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We received an invitation from our friends from Corbvlo to join them at the Keukenhof. By itself not the most likely venue for a Roman event, let alone one that would have seen the presence of Late Roman soldiers! Nevertheless, the event had a special Roman reason.

Lisse and surrounding area.

Detailed image of the Keukenhof.

We had a very nice field all to ourselves. Space enough for a tent and a demonstration for land measurements. And then some!

We had been invited to Lisse as guests of our friends from Corbvlo, who generally represent the Principate period. We were a good deal later than that, but this hardly mattered – the ‘Caesarean’ bridge that was to be unveiled was even earlier. Most of us were enlisted to add some colour to the ceremony, which saw a good crowd of organisers, politicians, press and of course spectators.

With a few short speeches the well-built wooden reconstruction of the Caesarean bridge was opened for the public.

Andreas preparing an eagerly awaited meal.

Jurjen dressed to march; he is in training for a gruelling march experiment in the summer.

The centurio and his aide: Cordus and Tiberius preparing for things to come.

First event in style: Janneke in the dress of a Roman lady for the first time.

Next was a try-out of Corbvlo, who made their first steps into a more broad presentation of Roman military and civilian life, away from the more commonly presented show-and-tell of artefacts enhanced with a military drill. The roles to be tried out were that of the slave and the gladiator, with Jurjen testing out both. The shackles looked impressive, but apparently also had some drawbacks; they made walking too difficult and were chafing the skin too much. Something that might have not disturbed ancient slave traders too much, but certainly puts some limits on modern re-enacting.

It won’t fit! Too slim to be a proper slave..

Jurjen is the next candidate, apparently built well enough for slavery..

Shackled on neck, hands and ankles!

Apparently, slavery can be a thing to laugh about!

The gladiator-slave is readied to be paraded around the field.

Unshackled, the Thraex..

… ready to fight.

Jean, meanwhile, is explaining about Roman religion.

Jeroen being humoured by a travelling magician.

Roman family (no, we’re not).

A slave-trader and his prize possession.

The tables are turned – suddenly the former slave is holding the reigns!

After the ceremony at the bridge, the weather improved and we even had some sun, making it a humid but nice and warm day. Spectators did not exactly arrive in droves, but still it was crowded enough to keep us continually occupied.

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