04-06-2009, 03:38 PM
Hi Crispus,
Terminus ante quem refers to the date before which an artifact or feature must have been deposited. Used with Terminus post quem ("limit after which"), similarly, terminus ad quem ("limit to which") may also refer to the latest possible date of a non-punctual event (period, era, etc.), while terminus a quo ("limit from which") may refer to the earliest such date.
Vegetius tells us the tale of the late 3rd c. units 'developing' this weapon, but of course we a) do not know how much of the tale is true (he refers to those units in the past tense, btw) and b) if the weapon was really as new as Vegetius thought it was.
Quote: That sees to the terminus post quem for the plumbata, but what I was really after was the current terminus ANTE quem.Ah, I mixed them up? Are you sure?
Terminus ante quem refers to the date before which an artifact or feature must have been deposited. Used with Terminus post quem ("limit after which"), similarly, terminus ad quem ("limit to which") may also refer to the latest possible date of a non-punctual event (period, era, etc.), while terminus a quo ("limit from which") may refer to the earliest such date.
Quote: I don't know if they were in use during the later third century AD but I have for a long time been given to understand that they were in use by the mid fourth. So when does the earliest evidence date from?That's even harder to say, because we're currently using the written sources as a base for the date of the artifact. Meaning that we date archaeological layers from 9amongst other things) the occurrance of plumbatae, which are dated by.. Vegetius.
Vegetius tells us the tale of the late 3rd c. units 'developing' this weapon, but of course we a) do not know how much of the tale is true (he refers to those units in the past tense, btw) and b) if the weapon was really as new as Vegetius thought it was.
Robert Vermaat
MODERATOR
FECTIO Late Romans
THE CAUSE OF WAR MUST BE JUST
(Maurikios-Strategikon, book VIII.2: Maxim 12)
MODERATOR
FECTIO Late Romans
THE CAUSE OF WAR MUST BE JUST
(Maurikios-Strategikon, book VIII.2: Maxim 12)