Hello folks

[NAeuroMUT]

Greetings friends,

apologies in advance for the lengthy post.

I have just logged for the first time, thanks to some help from one of your wonderful Mods.

I am here for two reasons. One is, I am researching a work of fiction that I have been itching to write for a long time. As part of this, I have been researching the Vandals, and their alliance with the Alans, and Suieve. There just does not seem to be much out there in documentation form in the way of evidence that has not been tainted by the Romans and their descendants.

And secondly, the debates here are fantastic. So I am hoping to spark one that will not only help me, but enlighten others. I suspect that the Vandals are no where near the criminals that the Romans make them out to be.

I have recently watched a documentary narrated by Terry Jones
(yes the one from Monty Python) regarding "Barbarians". I was able to see on google videos, but it seems that it is no longer there. I suspect the recent copywrite issues had them removed.
One of the episodes covers Geiseric and Attila, but they spend so little time on the Vandals that it is difficult to make any conclusions. He did do an interview with an archaeologist that is working in Tunisia on the Carthage dig. So far the dig has uncovered evidence of Arian/Vandal poetry, not in Aribic or latin but Vandal. Unfortunately, I do not recall the scientist's name. (Arian is a Christian denomination NOT A RACE btw)
I am interested in the Vandals and their allies for several reasons other then what I am working on as well. I suspect that they are decedents of peoples displaced by the Baltic flood, hence their constant migration until conquaring North Africa. I also suspect that they were very much like the Celts of mainland Europe (pre-genocide) which would explain their enmity with Rome, and the Goths.
I have also seen the five part series done by the "history" channel. Talk about a Roman spin, my goodness those folks need to change the name of that station to the Spun history Channel.
I welcome any input on this subject, and hope that I am not the only that has seen this work by Terry Jones and the BBC.

[MichelleH]

Welcome to our add and merry band NAeuroMUT!

[Beagle]

Hello NAeuroMUT, and welcome aboard. I'll be looking forward to learning more about the Vandals.

[NAeuroMUT]

Hello NAeuroMUT, and welcome aboard. I'll be looking forward to learning more about the Vandals.

Thanks Beagle

[NAeuroMUT]

It seems that I was premature in my statement about the Terry Jones Documentaries on google.
I have heard that is a problem among men my age, but I have yet to confirm that

oops, forgot the link.....here it is:

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=b ... jones&so=0

[NAeuroMUT]

At the risk of being thought a troll, here is my 12th and final post…..at least for a few hours. My wife is getting a bit upset with me. So I’ll make this short...sort of. We did the local, but I could not get my mind off the discussions here. So we came home early.

I think the reason we look into the past is to answer questions….Before the learned say “well Duh!”

Let’s look at the nature of our specie. Why did you become a scholar? Was it to gain something? Well yes. Knowledge and contribution would be the noble pursuits. I think it is something deeper however.
I believe that a very long time ago, at the dawn of our cranial expansion (for lack of a better way to put it) a young person presented the ultimate question to an Elder, “Why?”
At that moment the elder was perplexed so he/she made something up out of whole cloth thinking it made sense(religion). The youngster listened, and nodded but didn’t buy it completely. So he/she started making records on the walls, or on other handy surfaces to confirm, or deny the past to his/her fellows and ancestors. Eventually these pictures became Hieroglyphics, Runes, and later Letters. Today we have a multitude of languages that span the globe chatting about this and that at the speed of the internet. I also think this “why” question and its result concerning communication have a great deal to do with commerce. For instance; a farmer/hunter that is able to maintain records of trading partners would find greater success in diversification than one that traded with a single partner or a few partners. And in this record keeping would spread this knowledge, knowingly or otherwise.
The point here is this. The root cause is the basis for all that follows. What is the root cause? I am prepared to say that I DO NOT KNOW. But, I am having a blast trying to find out. Once we as specie become one with the fact that we just don’t freaking know, we will move on to something wonderful. What that something is, well…….I DON’T FREAKING KNOW! I’ll tell ya when I get there
In closing I would just like to say that it is an honor to be a member of this community. Finally I have had the opportunity to view the sky free of the smoke and grime of my cave. It is truly a wonderful world!

[Frank Harrist]

Welcome! This should be interesting.