ROMEC 21 in Brno was, as usual, informative, exciting, and thought-provoking exploration of Roman military equipment. At the same time, it was a friendly, informative, and a fitting tribute to Jon. His wife Hazel attended and spoke at the end about how it was exactly how he would have wanted it. She had provided the idea of, and a contribution to, several travel bursaries for early career or independent scholars who might otherwise not have been able to attend. This is an idea which hopefully can continue for future ROMECs.

The conference was hosted by the Archeologický ústav AV ČR Brno, v.v.i. They treated attendees not only to their generous hospitality, but also to a detailed tour of their impressive scientific facilities. An excursion to the site and visitor centre at Mušov was accompanied by the chance to see the exhibits in the museum in Mikulov castle. These included more from Mušov and the stunning palaeolithic visitor centre at the mammoth-hunting site at Pavlov. Re-enactors, a live traditional Moravian band, and a superb evening meal in a marquee, on the slopes of the Burgstall, on a gorgeous evening were all part of the fun.

Discoveries

The theme was armour and protective equipment. Some truly astounding finds helped to demonstrate how new developments cause old ideas to evolve. The find of a warehouse in Lyon with a floor scattered with over 500 items of Roman military equipment was exciting enough, but to see analysis of shield components from there, as well as the possibly ritual placing of what may be the real pila muralia (now we know what they look like) was the icing on the cake. There were details of the new Vienne lorica segmentata, the older Aalen and Kalkriese cuirasses, as well as the Sarmizegetusa fragments (and, finally, the manica … or rather manicae!). These all showed how much we have yet to understand about this form of armour. The surprises in store with semi-rigid scale (and even some lamellar) armour definitely gave pause.

However. the welcome star of the show was definitely metallurgical analysis which was, quite literally, everywhere. Intimations of subtleties in the control over alloys, and the application of selective tinning, practised by the Romans were intriguing. This demonstrated how far our knowledge had come.

At the request of the organisers, MCB provided a brief tribute to JCNC’s contribution to military equipment studies.

The future

Publication of the conference will be split between a monograph from the institute and a future volume of JRMES. The organisers hope open-access options will be available.

No definite venue for the next conference emerged, but there were several possibilities that are being pursued and the ultimate decision will be made known as soon as possible.