What would you do in the year 1000AD?

[Will]

Yes, combining the three techniques is the best bet, however, distilling water for, say, 10 000 men is too grandiose a project with tools [available] at that time. So sedimentation and boiling would have to do.

Still, as long as you managed to stay away from sights of epidemic outbreaks and take reasonable precautions, I don't think water or food or air for that matter would kill you any time soon. What would be more likely to kill you is the lack of food or water. And the ancestors, naturally. As I understand, many of them did not suffer weird strangers lightly.

10,000 men? I was really just talking about taking care of yourself in the immediate.

Actually, distillation could be worked into an aqueduct. Hmmm...Got it.

One would construct a dual aqueduct, with one side facing the sun and the other side shielded. The aqueduct on the left will have water, but will be heated by the sun and evaporate, gathering on the cool side and dripping down. This would have to happen over many, many miles, but it could produce quite a bit of distilled water.

[Asmodean]

Yes, combining the three techniques is the best bet, however, distilling water for, say, 10 000 men is too grandiose a project with tools [available] at that time. So sedimentation and boiling would have to do.

Still, as long as you managed to stay away from sights of epidemic outbreaks and take reasonable precautions, I don't think water or food or air for that matter would kill you any time soon. What would be more likely to kill you is the lack of food or water. And the ancestors, naturally. As I understand, many of them did not suffer weird strangers lightly.

10,000 men? I was really just talking about taking care of yourself in the immediate.

Actually, distillation could be worked into an aqueduct. Hmmm...Got it.

One would construct a dual aqueduct, with one side facing the sun and the other side shielded. The aqueduct on the left will have water, but will be heated by the sun and evaporate, gathering on the cool side and dripping down. This would have to happen over many, many miles, but it could produce quite a bit of distilled water.

Aye, that's an idea. Although you have to remember the fact that my glorious army would have to be mobile. And aqueducts tend to be... Well... Stationary. (Curse them!)

As for the immediate, yes, of course, number one comes first. However, in order for my plan to work, keeping that number one alive alone will not get you far.  

[myleviathan]

Wow, that does make it more difficult. I guess the parts with any prior knowledge and survival skills or training would still apply. Other than that it would just rely on native ingenuity and rolling with the situation.

Still, it's a great concept to speculate on.

Oh, yeah. It's supposed to be nearly impossible. It also sounds like a decent plot for a science fiction anthology.

You know Willravel, there is an entire GENRE of Scottish time travel romance novels. Where either a Scottish warrior gets transported to our time, or a lovely modern woman gets transported to their time. I only know because my mom went through a phase when I was in high school. It's almost like a porn fetish for the people that are into them. I always had a knack for flipping through the pages and finding the sex scene. It frequently involved a kilt and an unsheathed broad-sword.  

[Will]

Scottish? I've gotta admit, that's different. The scenario presented in this thread seems to be the opposite, but don't expect me to go sticking my goliath where it doesn't belong.

[Asmodean]

You know Willravel, there is an entire GENRE of Scottish time travel romance novels. Where either a Scottish warrior gets transported to our time, or a lovely modern woman gets transported to their time

...So that they can inevitably meet and so that the woman can admire his claymore?  lol[/quote]
Ah. Suspected as much.  

[Lexxvs]

Hey, I know the first priority here was just the mere survival. But wouldn’t it be gorgeous if we â€"somehow, I know, I know- get to be privileged witnesses of the now extinct marvelous species like the Giant Moa  from the â€"still undiscovered- New Zealand?
Hey, get scientifically romantic too. We could also find still undestroyed jewels from classic antiquity. Well, to whom are we gonna tell. But we can make records no one did. Ok, I also know Indiana Jones is going for a rerun.

[afreethinker30]

Another idea... Hows about finding a remote society, starting up a new religion, training the buggers in sneaky warfare and waging a holy war on Christendom?

Like Muhammad?

Yes. Somewhat.  Although my holy war would probably succeed.  

And who says atheists are no fun!

[Will]

Hey, I know the first priority here was just the mere survival. But wouldn’t it be gorgeous if we â€"somehow, I know, I know- get to be privileged witnesses of the now extinct marvelous species like the Giant Moa  from the â€"still undiscovered- New Zealand?
Hey, get scientifically romantic too. We could also find still undestroyed jewels from classic antiquity. Well, to whom are we gonna tell. But we can make records no one did. Ok, I also know Indiana Jones is going for a rerun.

Lexxvs! Excellent point. I feel ashamed that I didn't realize this.

Going back to 1000 AD to be a "naturalist" would be the chance of a lifetime. With a modern understanding of biology one could make discoveries that would normally be completely impossible. Scientifically romantic, indeed!  

[Asmodean]

Hey, I know the first priority here was just the mere survival. But wouldn’t it be gorgeous if we â€"somehow, I know, I know- get to be privileged witnesses of the now extinct marvelous species like the Giant Moa  from the â€"still undiscovered- New Zealand?
Hey, get scientifically romantic too. We could also find still undestroyed jewels from classic antiquity. Well, to whom are we gonna tell. But we can make records no one did. Ok, I also know Indiana Jones is going for a rerun.

Lexxvs! Excellent point. I feel ashamed that I didn't realize this.

Going back to 1000 AD to be a "naturalist" would be the chance of a lifetime. With a modern understanding of biology one could make discoveries that would normally be completely impossible. Scientifically romantic, indeed!   And maybe if I had such a chance, people would have had colonies on Mars today.   In any case, as interesting as past is, I'd much rather travel 1 000 years into future. Even to find a lifeless rock, I'd still take that chance.

[karadan]

Well, with nothing but beer or wine to drink, or maybe some very rancid goats milk, i think i'd get terribly ill quite quickly. So, my first task would be to build some kind of basic water filtration system. You can do this by layering sand then fine shingle, small pebbles, then larger pebbles into a container with small holes on the underside. Pour stream water in slowly then boil what comes out the bottom to have some odd-tasting, but drinkable water.

I'd then make a shelter as camouflaged as possible. At this early stage i'd really not want to come into contact with anyone at all! Even though people of that era may seem backward by our current standards, they still had weapons, and were bloody good at using them. Some of the skeletons of knights found in tombs showed them to have enormous frames with the kind of wear and tear on their joints to suggest absolutely enormous loads were burdened on them daily. Far, far more than any human these days is used to.

I'd have to think about what would give me an edge. I know that right up until the 1690's, vegetables were considered non nutritious and bad for you (can't really remember why, but think it might have something to do with them growing under the ground). So, because of this, people's staple diets were basically meat and ferns. Because of this, i'd start growing a LOT of vegetables. I'd also catch me some chickens, make sure they procreate and start a little farm in the middle of nowhere. I'd teach the locals with the virtues of eating well and healthily. Once i'd gained the trust of some locals i'd then start my experiments. I'd also reinvent the toothbrush

Electricity. That is the key. It would be fairly simple to make, too. Windmills and water mills were in abundance 1000 years ago. Usually these were used to crush grain for flour. It wouldn't be difficult to wrap any crank shaft in copper wire to make a generator. the hardest thing to create would be the copper wire itself. Copper was around then but not in huge quantities due to the difficulty in extracting it from ore. Copper isn't an easily malleable metal but it can work. I'm sure i'd be able to crack an efficient process with the help of a good blacksmith.

I'd make sure i get settled into a community which isn't completely insane over God (i'm sure these communities did exist back then). I'd be kind to them and help them all with their daily lives if i could. I'd soon curry favour with the locals to the point that, if i asked for something, i'd get it and if i needed protection, i'd also get it.

I'm sure i'd be able to come up with many more (re) inventions but the best ideas usually come under pressure. I've got a very inquisitive mind and i love experimentation and i'm sure my memory recall would remember stuff from physics and chemistry lessons long forgotten. One of my long-term goals would be to invent gun-powder.

I love interesting hypothetical questions like this.

[SteveS]

Sorry to say, but I think I'd be dead.  I had a relatively serious illness when I was a child, and without modern medicine I'd have probably kicked the bucket!  If I somehow survived, well, with nothing but beer and wine to drink there'd be plenty of vocational opportunity for an ale-maker, so that's what I'd be up to.  Might have less stress than my current job, too.....

[Smallville]

Hey, I know the first priority here was just the mere survival. But wouldn’t it be gorgeous if we â€"somehow, I know, I know- get to be privileged witnesses of the now extinct marvelous species like the Giant Moa  from the â€"still undiscovered- New Zealand?
Hey, get scientifically romantic too. We could also find still undestroyed jewels from classic antiquity. Well, to whom are we gonna tell. But we can make records no one did. Ok, I also know Indiana Jones is going for a rerun.

Lexxvs! Excellent point. I feel ashamed that I didn't realize this.

Going back to 1000 AD to be a "naturalist" would be the chance of a lifetime. With a modern understanding of biology one could make discoveries that would normally be completely impossible. Scientifically romantic, indeed!   And maybe if I had such a chance, people would have had colonies on Mars today.   In any case, as interesting as past is, I'd much rather travel 1 000 years into future. Even to find a lifeless rock, I'd still take that chance.

World domination at that time (A.D. 1000) would be difficult with the limited technology and resources available. Aside from some siege equipment standards left over from Greek and Roman times the most innovative weapon would be the recent crossbow. Gears and pulleys were the most advanced mechanisms. Communication was word of mouth since most did not know how to read and write. Then there's the matter of paying troops (pillaging only lasts so long), competition from the earliest crusades, and, of course, a long run of plagues.

[OldGit]

SteveS made me think...  What about all the zillions of nasty bugs that you'd have no immunity to?  You could take antibiotics, of course, but what about the viruses?
Take loads of bog-paper, plenty of spare underwear and a crate of tissues.

[karadan]

There was plenty of moss around back then... Wouldn't take much to make a batch of penicillin

[Will]

Electricity. That is the key. It would be fairly simple to make, too. Windmills and water mills were in abundance 1000 years ago. Usually these were used to crush grain for flour. It wouldn't be difficult to wrap any crank shaft in copper wire to make a generator. the hardest thing to create would be the copper wire itself. Copper was around then but not in huge quantities due to the difficulty in extracting it from ore. Copper isn't an easily malleable metal but it can work. I'm sure i'd be able to crack an efficient process with the help of a good blacksmith.

Yeah, um, good luck with that. I don't mean to be negative, but you're talking about a VERY difficult process. I have pretty advanced schooling in many sciences, but I'd never even hope to try and mine and process it myself.
http://www.mine-engineer.com/mining/copperm.htm