All Along the Watchtower

Late Roman guests from Germania Superior
before the watchtower

On Sunday, a local reenactment group had a walk in to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the reconstruction of a Roman watchtower of the ancient fortress of Fectio.

The priest making an offering to the gods to attract
their benevolence on the watchtower

This fortress was part of the Roman limes that ran along the Oude Rijn (which ends up in the North Sea at Katwijk and leaves the Netherlands to the east of Nijmegen).

Various types of armour in the smithy

One thing I had never seen before (not being an expert on ancient warfare) was a late Roman throwing dart, called plumbata, with a similar function as the pilum but a bit more practical.

A demonstration of the plumbata.  
The kids had a great time bombarding these guys

I brought my girlfriend and the kids, and the reenactors were very kind and forthcoming. They were happy to explain and show how things worked and let the kids hold the stuff. A great way to get people involved.

Some formations were shown

The watchtower stands next to the 19th century fortress Vechten, and shows the continuity of military geography.