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GC46BA9
TestudoType: Mystery | Size: Other 
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| Terrain:  By: K Trackers @ | Hide Date: 02/20/2013 | Status: Available Country: United States | State: Colorado Coordinates: N38° 57.990 W104° 43.565 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 0 The cache is not at the posted coordinates. The cache difficulty is rated a 4 due to the extra research and puzzle solving required to determine the actual coordinates. The hide itself is rated as a 2. Background: The Roman Army of the republic and early empire was able to defeat all adversaries by mastering a unprecedented level of skills now common in modern armies such as tactics, strategy, logistics, and technology. Often overlooked, the Roman Army also showed considerable skill using mathematics and engineering to gain a battlefield advantage. One example of how these skills provided a battlefield advantage was the Testudo (tortoise) formation, used to protect the Roman Infantry from missile fire. When forming the Testudo, legionaries (Roman infantry) would form a overlapping shield wall to protect their front, flanks, and top. Although movement was slow while in this formation, the Testudo maximized the protection of the infantry and was especially useful when approaching a fortress. While Mark Antony was on campaign in 36 BCE, the historian Plutarch wrote this description of the Testudo: "Then the shield-bearers wheeled round and enclosed the light-armed troops within their ranks, dropped down to one knee, and held their shields out as a defensive barrier. The men behind them held their shields over the heads of the first rank, while the third rank did the same for the second rank. The resulting shape, which is a remarkable sight, looks like a roof, and is the surest protection against arrows and DNFs, which just glance off it."  Situation: While leading a geocaching expedition, the Roman General Geo Findus Maximus and his soldiers of Legio XV (15th Legion) have been ambushed by DNF barbarians at the GZ . The barbarians are hiding behind boulders and are firing missiles into Legio XV. Maximus has put his infantry into a Testudo and sent runners back to Rome for help. The senate has offered you command of the relief force and authorized you to gather some local troops, plot a course to the GZ, defeat the DNF barbarians and log a smiley. Once you link up with Maximus at the Legio XV Headquarters (cache container), have him pull his troops out of the Testudo and write a dispatch to Rome to detail what happened at the battle. As a co-commander, sign off on the dispatch (the log) and personally verify that the Legio XV Aquila (15th Legion Standard) TB is intact and not lost to the barbarians. Since Legio XV is part of the pre-GPS Roman Army, Maximus can't provide the GZ final location with a exact longitude and latitude to the final coordinates. In order to get the longitude and latitude, you must perform four seperate calculations with your Immunes (specialized Roman soldiers) and key leaders to get the final location and ensure basic military preparations are complete before you under take the castris vellere (march out of the camp) and find the hide. Final Coordinates: Septentrio XXXVIII dd.ccc Occasus CIV bb.aaa a. The Custos Armorum (Chief of equipment and rations) wants to know the number of personnel in your force so that he can procure the proper number of Annona Militaris (military rations). Your force consists of a cohort of infantry (III cohort at LXV% strength), a XXVIII man Equite detachment, and a total of XLV Immunes, aides, the Imaginifer, and the Aquilifer. Your answer is a three digit number that will give you the 'aaa numbers' of the final coordinates. You can check the staff work of just the Custos Armorum by clicking here and entering N00 00.000 W000 00.aaa after substituting you answer for the aaa. b. Your (Tertius) Pilus Prior (Senior Centurion, or Commander of your III Cohort) reports that he lacks mules for the cohort baggage train. He already has V mules for equipment, but needs additional mules, one for each Contubernium in the cohort. The Centurion asks you to authorize the requisition of the additional mules. Determine the number of additional mules needed for the cohort. The total number of mules needed will provide your 'bb numbers' of the final coordinates. Your answer will be a two digit number. If your answer includes only a portion of mule, spare the poor animal and round up to a whole mule! You can check the staff work of just the Pilus Prior by clicking here and entering N00 00.000 W000 bb.000 after substituting you answer for the bb. c. The Custos Ballistaria (Chief of Artillery) has developed a fire plan for your ballistae crews (see attached fire plan graphic). He recommends the use of plunging fire since the barbarians are using boulders for cover, but asks you to verify that the weapons will still be able to range the target. The calculated range of the ballistae will provide your 'ccc numbers' of the final coordinates. Your answer needs to be expressed as a three digit number (example: 1 is expressed as 001, 10 is expressed as 010), and round to the nearest whole number. You can check the staff work of just the Custos Ballistria by clicking here and entering N00 00.ccc W000 00.001 after substituting you answer for the ccc. Please note the extra 1 in the westerly check. d. Your Quaestor (Chief Financial Officer) says that the senate has authorized a special pay for all surviving legionaries of your force, if you are successful and get the smiley. Each legionnaire will receive 25.7% of a full year salarium (salary), paid in denarius. The total amount of this special pay, in denarius per legionnaire, will be a two digit number. This number is your 'dd numbers' of the final coordinates, round up to the nearest whole number so that you don't shortchange the legionaries! You can check the staff work of just the Quaestor by clicking here and entering N00 dd.000 W000 00.001 after substituting you answer for the dd. Please note the extra 1 in the westerly check. You can check your answers for the final cache location and get the GZ plotted on a map on GeoChecker.com. The cache hide is less than a Iter iustum (normal day's march of 20 Roman miles) from the posted coordinates. When Julius Caesar found this cache, he wrote Veni, Vidi, Vici (I came, I saw, I conquered) in the log. We look forward to your log entry of Veni, Vidi, Vultus (I came, I saw, I got smiley).Congratulations to the THeSKuLL for Primus Invinere (First To Find). The cache is supposed to offer a challenge, but intended to be found. If the hint section does not offer enough information, send us a email and we will give you a nudge in the right direction. Please don't remove the Legio XV Aquila TB, discovering it is a extra reward for anyone who finds the final. Good luck! Additional Waypoints
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All required information can be researched over the internet. If you have a hard time with roman numerals, try the related web page. Note that there may be conflicting sources on roman units; so keep researching if you keep getting the wrong answer for any portion. a. Custos Armorum. All units are from the Late Republic, post-Marian reforms (107–30 BCE). If you try to use organizations from different time periods, you will not get the right answer. b. (Tertius) Pilus Prior. Use your calculation for the number of personnel in III Cohort, divided by the number of Contubernium in III Cohort. The key is to figure out what is a Contubernium and how many III Cohort has. c. Custos Ballistaria. This is a 'simple' math problem, the fire plan provides all of the variables needed to plug into the equation. Use the math equation 'how to calculate the distance of a projectile.' We know the acceleration due to gravity number is not the proper factor here on earth (it is 9.8 m/s), we used the given number to make the equation generate the proper answer to find the cache. d. Quaestor. The pay rate needed was established by Julius Caesar and not raised until authorised by Emperor Domitian.
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Why I was here: Due to a missed flight back in April, I had a voucher for a free roundtrip flight. This weekend, my wife was kind enough to watch the kids while I flew out to Denver from Michigan. As always, my plans were wildly ambitious, and I only found maybe a third of what I was hoping to find. But it's all good. Colorado has some great caches (and virtually no spiders, which was a pleasant surprise!). Thanks to all the COs for your time and effort!
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