I was searching for information on the Agrianian [I may have left an ‘n’ out, but these guys were the first hillbillies and would surely understand—besides it is Friday and five o’clock somewhere, and I have misplaced my copy of The Virtues of War, probably under this $11 fifth of rum bottled in—Baltimore: are you kidding me man…] javelin men, who served as one of Alexander the Pretty Good’s crack special ops formations. Most of the information was on an ancient combat forum that is the title of this ‘heads up’ article, and for which I have provided a link on the network page. If you want to know what I do with my time when I’m not being beaten with a stick, reading a book while dodging flying mucus at a ghetto bus stop, or writing one, I’m at my network page geeking out.

This page of the site is largely dedicated to our efforts at researching our ‘experimental archaeology’ method. The other day while geeking out on line, following a discussion on Roman Army.com about the relative merits of the Imperial legion [the guys on Trajan’s column that we have so much visual evidence of] and the late Roman legion [essentially the hybrid Roman/Greek/medieval combined arms force of the early Byzantine period], I realized that I had been remiss in not pointing our ancient combat readers to Roman Army.com.

Dude, these are some serious war retro-nerds!

When it comes to experimental archaeology I’m on the meathead squad, “Ugh, that hurt like hell—now I know why they armored that up!”

Now, as a relative meathead I have my place. But my efforts are meaningless without a geek cohort in support. I mean, someone has to know how this stuff was manufactured, right?

Okay, so if you want the nitty gritty on shoving a gladius into a Gallic* groin… go ask these guys!

Really, join their forum and ask a question and frightening nerds in body armor will fall out of the sky and spout wisdom at once arcane, brutal, pedestrian, and practical.

Go there.

*The outlaw bikers of the Republican and early Imperial period.