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Calling all armchair generals! Boudica's Last Stand.
(12-18-2017, 01:00 PM)Nathan Ross Wrote:
(12-18-2017, 12:10 PM)MonsGraupius Wrote: include in my consideration the possibility of timescales and sequences of events for which we have no evidence.

I suspect this is a point of critical difference. What you call 'a long logical chain of inference' is just the evidence that we have available.

Tacitus does not tell us where the battle took place, or very much about how it happened, but there is enough in his account to enable us to reconstruct the overall course of events with some degree of accuracy and narrow down the area of speculation somewhat.

Expanding the speculation beyond the evidence involves, in this specific case of chronology, ignoring certain aspects of that evidence. Unless you would like to propose a radical reinterpretation of Tacitus's account, with particular reference to chronology, I think that such an approach would go against the usual structures of historical methodology.
I'm not asking you to expand anything, I would only suggest that if I thought it would be fruitful, and as we know so little and there is such a huge potential area to explore.

Let me tell you an old joke.

A man comes along and finds another (it was Irish when I first heard it), scrabbling on the floor under a lamp post. He asks "what are you doing", the man (who is not Irish in this joke) says "I'm looking for sixpence". Our man offers to help and after searching for 10minutes, says: "where exactly did you lose it". The (not Irishman) pointing some distance away says: "over there". To which our man says: "Then why are you looking here". To which the other says: "because this is where light is".

I've always loved this joke, because it was supposed to tell us how stupid the Irish are. However, I think he might be the smart one. Because although the money was lost some distance away and so there is only a small chance that the money can be found, there is a much higher chance of finding it where the light is. Indeed, given the area without light is so large and there is so little light, there may be negligible chance of finding it in the dark.

So, sometimes, looking for something where there is very little chance it will be - but it is a relatively small area may be much better than searching a massive area where it is much more likely to be but almost impossible to find. This is why I'm not against looking around Watling Street - even if I personally would consider a much larger area (but where there is almost no chance of finding anything except by pure fluke)

As for evidence: It is quite possible to include in any analysis things for which we have no evidence. As a simple example, we have no evidence that the Iceni ever drank water, but it is reasonable to believe they would drink water. On a more practical vein, we know they would avoid crossing marshes. So, everyone accepts that we can include things for which the texts give us no evidence. I have seen one approach that assessed the suitability of water supplies.
Oh the grand oh Duke Suetonius, he had a Roman legion, he galloped rushed down to (a minor settlement called) Londinium then he galloped rushed back again. Londinium Bridge is falling down, falling down ... HOLD IT ... change of plans, we're leaving the bridge for Boudica and galloping rushing north.
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Messages In This Thread
Re: Calling all armchair generals! - by Ensifer - 03-11-2010, 03:13 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-18-2012, 06:26 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-19-2012, 12:02 AM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-19-2012, 02:50 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-19-2012, 05:40 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-19-2012, 11:26 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-24-2012, 05:11 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-24-2012, 09:42 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-24-2012, 10:10 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-25-2012, 03:11 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-25-2012, 03:25 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-25-2012, 08:36 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-26-2012, 02:57 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-27-2012, 01:50 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 08-05-2012, 02:24 PM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-07-2014, 02:18 PM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-08-2014, 01:50 AM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-11-2014, 02:03 AM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-18-2014, 07:54 AM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-20-2014, 02:37 AM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-25-2014, 08:29 AM
RE: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica's Last Stand. - by MonsGraupius - 12-18-2017, 02:39 PM

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