Fectio
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Fort Vechten
Sundays in 2008 |
| Saturday
15th November 2003, the
groundwork was laid for a replica of a Roman
watchtower as could be found all along the Limes.
This turris or watchtower has now been
built between the 19th-century
fortress and the field which
still covers the remains of the castellum
Fectio. The tower was officially opened
on May
16th, 2004. Every
season since then the tower is open on Sundays
from about April until late July, and August
until late October. During some of these Sundays
(and of course the Open Monument Weekend in
September) the tower is guarded by a patrol of
Roman soldiers, and sometimes that guard is
provided by Fectio. |
Fort Vechten, southeast of Utrecht. |
Detailed image of the area. |
September 28th: Fectio
is at the tower for the last time this season.
    
Our
final stint at the tower this year, and we had good
weather too. Time to explore the mysteries of the
Limyrint, or
enjoy the food we brought along.
    
September 27th: Corbvlo
is at the tower.
   
Fall
has begun, but summer still lingers on - no complaints
from the guards!
July 13th: Fectio
is back at the tower.
 
Summer
is in full swing, good news for our third guard at the
tower. Fectio has now three soldiers!
    
The
labyrinth in the cornfield, or Limyrinth as it's
dubbed, hasn't been officially opened yet, but Jeroen and
I couldn't resist taking a short stroll in the green
field.
    
Not
too many visitors, but enough to make it a nice day out
in the sun with friends -
Cor (our distant offfspring) was also present, meaning we
had access to modern food and futuristic weapons.
June 8th: Corbvlo
is at the tower.
  
A
week on, and it's the turn of Corbvlo again. Optio
Jurjenius braved the very hot weather to educate the
passing visitors..
June 1st: It's
our turn again - Fectio
returns to the Limes.
  
A
humid day, this start of the summer, when the Fectienses
Seniores minus Chariovalda return to the Limes.
      
A
drizzle soon halted, allowing us to erect the tent in dry
conditions. Too humid maybe for armour, but excellent
conditions to test out the new <hobnailed> shoes,
that would otherwise have slipped on the wet grass. It
took some time before we had the first visitors. But when
the temperature went up and the sun came out, more
cyclists turned up.
     
Soon
we had plenty of kids who were eager to take a shot at
Jeroen, who happily dodged volley after volley of our
practise plumbatae.. And to the delight of some
members of the public, we also did a few 'father and son'
training fights.
May 18th: Corbvlo
is at the tower.
    
A
week on, and it's the turn of Corbvlo. Optio
Jurjenius and miles Tiberius had the job of
checking border traffic, asking for passwords and
extorting the locals who wanted to pass by the tower..
May 11th: Fectio
returns to the Limes.
  
Finally it's time for the Fectienses Seniores to
set up camp again at the tower. A warm day, reasonably
cool when the strong East wind was blowing, but suddenly
very hot (already temperatures towards the upper 20
degrees) when that wind slackened around mid day.
We were not alone - already before arriving at the tower
we met up with Cor again, our French napoleontic guest
who often keeps us company during our guard stints. And
as usual, Cor brought a nice wine that went well with our
supply of of grapes and strawberries...
But we also had a special guest - Janneke, who visited us
to get a first look at what re-enactment looked like.
    
    
Well,
it was a bit of a slow day for re-enactment. Maybe it was
the wind of the heat, but not very many cyclists stopped
for a chat or an educational mini-show. Which gave us
plenty of opportunity to chat, or throw plumbatae
and javelins, to Jeroen's delight!
May 4th: Pax
Romana at the tower.
   
A
nice surprise - not only glorious weather during this may
holiday, but also an unexpected guard at the tower. Again,
the legionaries of Pax Romana had taken up the
guard duty at the Limes. With freshly painted
legionary shields of the 15th voluntary cohort (Cohors
XV Voluntariorum Civium Romanorum) leaning against
the tower, signifer Maarten and optio
Menno had set up their tent next to the tower. Time to
chat about new gear while the kids ran amongst the many
flowers.
April 20th:
Romans return to the Limes.
Lovely weather and the first guard, but
just one, had re-appeared at the tower. A lone legionary,
Frank of Pax Romana, had taken up position to
overlook this quiet section of the Roman frontier.
Spring finally greets the tower in a proper way -
with warm sunshine! |
A nice blue sky.. |
.. and the first guard! |
Viewed from the tower, the ground is pitted with
molehills.. |
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