Semaphore Towers

[grumbler]

Not really no. There's plenty of strong prevailing winds all over the previous territories of the Roman Empire.

And we don't know that they didn't use some kind of windmill in those areas of the empire.  It seems a logical extension of the sails that people were using on their ships.  In Rome and Italy, where the historians tended to live, not so much.

[Razgovory]

I believe some windmills have been built in the Mediterranean.  Another example is the wheelbarrow.  There's not much evidence of Wheelbarrows in Rome.

[Zanza2]

I believe some windmills have been built in the Mediterranean.  Another example is the wheelbarrow.  There's not much evidence of Wheelbarrows in Rome.

They only had wheelbarrows in some parts of Ethiopia when I was there last year. I wondered what the reason for that might be. In other regions they carried 20-30 liter canisters of water on their backs for kilometers each day.

Wheelbarrows like this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ngari/4405137094/

[Viking]

Economic and biological reasons are the best reasons behind the great stirrup controversy and the wheelbarrow issue.

Regarding the stirrups, they are not as useful as they might appear. Modern day experimental archeology has pretty much settled the issue of the usefulness of stirrups. They do not improve performance in fighting except with the use of sword and/or mace from a stationary or slow moving horse. Stirrups were not used even by Cataphracts. In all likelyhood they became popular as large warhorses started being bred. I think the best explanation for why stirrups were not used at earlier times is that stirrups require a certain kind of saddle. You need the solid saddle to make use of the stirrup and the stirrup isn't of any use unless you have the large horse. It makes perfect sense to me that stirrups don't get invented until the time when the right kind of horses exist. The ancients were not stupid.

Regarding wheelbarrows, they seem to not have spread like wildfire after they were "re-invented" in the middle ages. Wheelbarrows existed in the far east and quite possible in ancient greece as well. A better explanation might be that certain economic conditions are required for wheelbarrows to be built and used. The ancients were not stupid.

[Josquius]

Wheel barrows are a faff, and they don't let you carry all that much more.
Hell. Why bother with a wheel barrow at all if you have a pull/animal drawn cart?

[jimmy olsen]

Wheel barrows are a faff, and they don't let you carry all that much more.

WTF, could you sound any gayer? You make Marty sound like the paragon of heteronormative behavior.

[Admiral Yi]

WTF, could you sound any gayer? You make Marty sound like the paragon of heteronormative behavior.

How's that.  A man who can carry a wheelbarrow load in his arms is a big brawny manly man.

Viking: where'd you get that about the useless stirrups?  Everything I've read (and I've read it countless times) is that the stirrup is what changed cavalry from nancy boys who pranced around and slapped people with their swords to knights couching their lances and charging home.

[jimmy olsen]

WTF, could you sound any gayer? You make Marty sound like the paragon of heteronormative behavior.

How's that.  A man who can carry a wheelbarrow load in his arms is a big brawny manly man.

Anyone who uses faff in a sentence should be drug out into the street and shot!

[Admiral Yi]

Anyone who uses faff in a sentence should be drug out into the street and shot!

I'd like to see you try.  Dude's got gigantic superpowered chav arms.  Arms genetically adapted for wrenching coal from bedrock 16 hours a day.

[Siege]

The horned saddle could probably keep a knight stabilized when charging home.
The question remains though, since we know the ancients knew how to built mail armor, why didn't the heavy cavalryman appeared earlier than it did.

It should be also noted that in the military not always what its better is embraced as it should. Culture plays a big role and sometimes it takes a major defeat, or a major victory, to make people accept and utilize new gear. And new gear by itself doens't add much. New tactics have to come with it.

I wonder how long it took for the newly minted Heavy Cavalry to change from charging with their lances overarm, to couching their lances underarm.

[grumbler]

Viking: where'd you get that about the useless stirrups?  Everything I've read (and I've read it countless times) is that the stirrup is what changed cavalry from nancy boys who pranced around and slapped people with their swords to knights couching their lances and charging home.

Plus, the argument that "are not as useful as they might appear" could only come from someone who has never actually ridden a horse! 

[Siege]

Viking: where'd you get that about the useless stirrups?  Everything I've read (and I've read it countless times) is that the stirrup is what changed cavalry from nancy boys who pranced around and slapped people with their swords to knights couching their lances and charging home.

Plus, the argument that "are not as useful as they might appear" could only come from someone who has never actually ridden a horse! 

Yeah. I can only imagine a knight in full battlerattle trying to mount a destrier without stirrup.

[Eddie Teach]

Anyone who uses faff in a sentence should be drug out into the street and shot!

Sounds like something Dr. Seuss would use.

[Razgovory]

Economic and biological reasons are the best reasons behind the great stirrup controversy and the wheelbarrow issue.

Regarding the stirrups, they are not as useful as they might appear. Modern day experimental archeology has pretty much settled the issue of the usefulness of stirrups. They do not improve performance in fighting except with the use of sword and/or mace from a stationary or slow moving horse. Stirrups were not used even by Cataphracts. In all likelyhood they became popular as large warhorses started being bred. I think the best explanation for why stirrups were not used at earlier times is that stirrups require a certain kind of saddle. You need the solid saddle to make use of the stirrup and the stirrup isn't of any use unless you have the large horse. It makes perfect sense to me that stirrups don't get invented until the time when the right kind of horses exist. The ancients were not stupid.

Regarding wheelbarrows, they seem to not have spread like wildfire after they were "re-invented" in the middle ages. Wheelbarrows existed in the far east and quite possible in ancient greece as well. A better explanation might be that certain economic conditions are required for wheelbarrows to be built and used. The ancients were not stupid.

There really isn't any evidence of wheelbarrows used in in ancient Greece, and they are certainly handy.

[jimmy olsen]

Anyone who uses faff in a sentence should be drug out into the street and shot!

Sounds like something Dr. Seuss would use.

As a nonsense word in a story.