Imperium Romanum

Patreon-only documentary!

Hi guys,

We're starting off our next season with a new format documentary, where we focus on a specific ancient building and the story behind it. Since were being shooed away from the Forum Romanum in Rome when we wore our authentic tunics, we had to make the video wearing modern clothes. This video will soon air on YouTube publically as well, but we're still waiting for some digital reconstructions to use, but didn't wanna wait any longer for you guys.

Hope you enjoy and please...

The Late Roman military belt

It's a race against time. We are busy preparing for a new video recording next month. The video is about a different era than what you are used to from us, namely the Late Roman era.

Since we don't have any equipment from a soldier from that century yet... we have to work to get it done as soon as possible.

The Late Romans looked completely different from, for example, the Romans in the first century AD.

The borders of the Roman Empire slowly crumbled. Christianity was on ...

Christmas shopping

Since the beginning of our YouTube-journey, we've always worked with rather (not to say: extremely) minimalistic gear; 1 camera and 1 gimbal (stabilizer), that's it. But over the years, the number of times where our equipment has failed us and ruined an entire day of filming is ... painfully many. 

These small DLSR camera's we use are great for travelling and easy to use for quick and dirty run-and-gun type shots. But being so small, they also lack a big screen. And this is a big d...

Next cingulum project

I had to catch up with all the projects that were running. My good friend Floris still didn't have a decent military belt (cingulum). This really couldn't go on any longer.

It was a difficult project, because Floris has a different waist size than me, it was difficult to measure because I couldn't fit the belt myself.

The leather was also very stiff and difficult to get through. I broke a lot of needles while stitching the leather. I also pasted a layer of linen in it, which is ...

A day of filming all along the watchtowers

Friends!

In the first week of november, as the wind began to howl, we set off for a day of filming. This time I took the GoPro with me, planning to give you guys a fun little look behind the scenes. The result might be a bit scrappy, but these days are always jampacked and sometimes it feels like there's too much confusion; I can't get no relief to pick up the camera. The hour's getting late, so let us stop talkin' falsely now and stop these cheesy references to Jimi Hendrix ;P. Go wat...

A Roman market scene

Last filmweekend we recreated a historical Roman market. We had many volunteers who participated in this scene. And it turned out great.

we bought authentic amphoras to give the scene extra atmosphere. We have seen the images and they are fantastic! Once we've edited the images, we might be able to show you a preview!

It was really a great day! The atmosphere was very cozy and luckily the autumn sun came out.

You can see the joy on their faces!

On the road again!

Autumn is in full swing. We hit the road again this weekend. In our small European cars, fully packed, we drove through half of the Netherlands towards Museumpark Orientalis in Nijmegen.

Marc had rented a camper so that his wife and daughter could come over. They also played a role in our videos.

It was wet, cold and windy but nevertheless we had a great weekend. We laughed a lot and had fun. 

We simulated a Roman market with almost 20 re-enactors, set up a cozy tavern,...

preview teaser pic

Last weekend we had a day of filming for an upcoming episode about … the thing you can see here in the background (how mysterious!). Our friend here portrays a Roman (auxilia) soldier coming back from a successful hunt, with his indigenous bow - with the string already detached - on his shoulder. By his cingulum (military belt), gladius (sword) and caligae (boots) he is still clearly identifiable as a Roman soldier. We were very pleased with the authentic and different look of this soldier/...

A message concerning the channel

Friends!

Here’s a message we recorded for you, to inform you on some things concerning the channel. Down below is the summary of the message, but you definitely want to check out the entire video, from start to END ;P

In short:
- we’ve had a major setback in the form of a harddrive crashing
- we need a bit of time to catch up to our regular posting schedule, but … it’s gonna be better than before, because:
- we’re gonna do weapons/armours testing (with slow-mo...

The city of L'Escala (Empuries - Hispania)

Last week we visited the amazing ruins of the ancient city of Empuries. Founded in the 6th century BC by Greek colonists. It flourished because of it's outstanding location for trade. After the second Punic war, the Romans took over and they built a typical Roman city right behind the Greek settlement.

The city had a grand forum, walls and an amphitheatre. It has some very well preserved mosaic floors and a large temple dedicated to the god of medicine, Asclepius. His statue still sta...

The city of Tarragona (Tarraco - Hispania)

This week we drove to the beautiful city of Tarragona in Northern Spain. Where Narbonne lacks monuments above ground, Tarragona has all you want.

Tarraco was the oldest settlement on the Iberian peninsula and became the capital of the Republican province of Hispania Citerior. In the time of the principate it became the capital of the reorganized province of Tarraconensis. 

The area of Tarraco was first inhabited by the native Iberians who were involved in a lot of trading wit...

The city of Narbonne (Narbo Martius - Gallia)

Sorry for a time of little uploads! Alain is traveling in Indonesia so he is unable to tend to the page so I, Marc, will take over:).

This month I am on holiday for no less than 4 weeks and of course I tricked my wife into visiting all kinds of nice places with beautiful beaches. One of those places is Narbonne, France, which besides some very nice beaches also has a splendid Roman past. Who would have thought;).

Founded in 118 BC during the Republic, Narbo Martius was quickly ma...

New video; Germanic society

Salvete Patreons,

As promised and exclusively offered to the Equestrian, Senator en Consul tiers, we present to you: our new video!

Now you can forget about the new Game of Thrones and the upcoming Rings of Power season, and instead enjoy this masterpiece video we are very proud of! (Haha ;P).

It was a difficult video to make because we had to rely a lot on other re-enactors; because we don't re-enact Germanic people/warriors ourselves we had to borrow much of the clothing a...

New video trailer!!!

We are very excited to announce our new video coming this Friday! 

Of course we don't keep you guys hanging with only our words. We put the video trailer online, exclusively for our Patreons.

Our new video is about the Germanic peoples from modern day Western-Europe. How did the Germanic people live, they're cultural aspects and how did they deal with conflicts like war.

What do you guys think of our portrayal?

Rome's unexpected Emperor Claudius

Last week we had a film day where we shot images for a future video with Emperor Claudius as subject.

We asked our good friend Bobby, who is also a Roman reenactor and hobbyist of Latin calligraphy, to play as the younger and adult Claudius.

The Praetorian Guard is woven into the unpredictable life of Claudius. We could not resist portraying a bodyguard of the Praetorian guard.

We took our inspiration from the Praetorian Guard from the Arch of Claudius, which is on display...

Plumbata throwing

Last week we already posted a post about the Late Roman event where we were guests.

We have practiced with the so-called "plumbata". A Late Roman invention where you can hurt your opponent badly.

I can describe the "plumbata" as a large weighted barbed dart. I found out that you had to throw the dart underhand to get the right result.

Am i doing it right?

We also made new friends. One of them was Joachim. He shows us how a Late Roman crossbow was loaded en used.

A new adventure in another century

Salvete Patreons,

Last weekend we stepped into another century, namely the 4th century AD. We were invited to participate in this Late Roman event in Museum Park Orientalis near Nijmegen. We took part in demonstrations and lived for two days as a comitatenses (late roman legionary).

Over the past few months we have been busy assembling an equipment of a comitatenses. As you can see, the Romans look completely different from the first century AD.

Which century would you like...

My squamata armour project

Salvete Patreons,

As you already know, Alain is the handyman of our group. He makes our clothing, military belts and the many props you see in our videos.

He has started a squamata armor project, recreated from the late Roman time. These were, as you can see in the last two images, longer than previous models. The length is about mid-thigh.

The armor consists of about 4.500 plates, connected in rows with a brass wire. When a row is finished, it is stitched to the linen with ...

Our first Roman event.

Last weekend we joined the Roman reenactment group Pax Romana in a huge historical event in Doorn, The Netherlands.

In cooperation with other Roman reenactment groups we built a camp with authentic Roman tents. We ate, slept and worked like the Roman Legionairs did.

We had to stand guard, followed training exercises and performed demonstrations for the public. It was an awesome experience ,which we want to show you guys.

We also made some great content by filming the whole c...

The Roman circus of Lisbon

Part 2 of my Lisbon holiday. It's hard to see in the photo. But if you look closely you can see a large square in the middle of the photo.

The square is now famous because of a famous statue, the "Estatua do Rei Dom Pedro IV". 

However, this square used to be known as the "Felicitas Iulia Olisipo" circus. To get an idea I have a blue print picture added of how the circus is located under the streets and buildings of Lisbon.

These types of circuses were known for the pop...

My vacation to Lisbon Portugal

Salvete Patreons,

Last week I was on holiday in the beautiful city of Lisbon in Portugal. 

When I go on holiday to places that used to belong to the Roman Empire, I always look for archaeological sites or museums.

With the help of a private tour guide we went to places where underground parts of the Roman city, then called Olissippo, were visible.

An earthquake in 1755 exposed underground Roman settlements, including a Roman theatre, through extensive damage and c...

All Helmets from A - Z

Salvete Patreons!

As promised you will get access to our new video.

Take a break from what ever it is you are doing. Grab a snack and make yourself comfortable. And at last... enjoy our video!

Let us know what you think!

NEW TRAILER! The Roman Helmet

Salvete patreons,

I'm very sorry it's a bit quiet for some time. We have been working day and night to prepare new videos. We have great news.... A brand new video will be released on Friday the 17th of June!

Here is the trailer for upcoming video. It's about the evolution of Roman helmets.

Enjoy and keep an eye out for the exclusive pre-release access to our new video, especially for the Equestrian, Senator and Consul tiers.

The Roman Signifer

Salvete Patreons,

Last weekend we spent a weekend filming some awesome footage to be used in the near future. We depicted a "Roman Signifer" (a roman standard bearer). They were the pride of the Roman army and marched in the front of the Legions or cohorts dressed in a bear skin or a lion pelt.

Are you curious to see this kind of content? Let us know!

The Veltweiss Roman Dice Tower

Salvete Patreons,

We promised you guys a finished result of the dice tower project (see previous posts). It turned out great and we are very happy with the results. 

We want to produce these towers if several people are interested.

Please let us know what you think of the tower and if you want one yourself.

Preview new content!

Salvete Patreons, 

We are very busy with a new video about Roman helmets. It's been a hectic few weeks, but there is a lot of content coming to you soon!

Enjoy these pictures.

Roman Dice Tower

Salvete dear Patreons,

We are very busy with preparations for our next video. Floris is very busy with writing our new script and Marc is busy editing our latest footage.

Alain is working on a new project for our new video. A replica of a Roman dice tower. The dice tower was discovered near Vettweiss-Froitzheim, Germany.  The tower dates to the fourth century AD.

The front face of the tower bears the words:

- PICTOS VICTOS

- HOSTIS DELETA

- LVDITE SECV...

Late Roman Cataphract

Salvete Patreons,

Last month we filmed some awesome footage for the youtube channel of our dear friend Invicta. Today this video will be released. It's about the Late Roman Cavalry.

Make sure to check it out!

Let us know what you think of it.

Roman food

Salve Patreons,

Enjoy our new early access video about Roman food. The video will be officially launched on Friday for the rest of the world. If you have any tips or questions about the video, don't hesitate to ask us. We are curious to hear what you think of the video!

Enjoy!

New Trailer: Roman food!

Salve! Dear Patreons, 

Check out our new trailer about Roman food. It was a difficult but very fun video to make. We prepared various authentic Roman meals with limited cooking utensils at our disposal. After all, the location where we filmed this video is a museum and really not suitable to make a 12 course dinner.

Yet we managed to make another informative sneak peek video for our loyal fans. We hope you enjoy it. The full early acces video will be available on next week fo...