Very true, most of this history and study of these ancient arms entails some of the most arcane material imaginable, and gets very scientific and technical , very much my weakest areas. But recently I have become determined to finally dig deeper into this material, all the more perplexing due to the conflicting ideas and perspectives of the scholarly material which is at hand.
Thanks for the note on my library, which is indeed formidable as it is more of an archaeological dig than simple pulling a book off a shelf.
Quite honestly I am virtually always stumped on something, which is wht I write here. I pour out compiled data from my research (why my missives are so loquacious) hoping for corrections and elucidation.
It is not gluttony for punishment, but an obsessive quest for resolution.
Ive learned more than can be imagined tracking with you on the mysteries of Shotley! and hope to keep following those methods and tenacity into this most formidable area. This is the place to do it, as those already active on this thread are among the 'heavy hitters' already well into this material.