The previous posting told of my visit to Italy last year. There I got to experience the 'ancient tour'. I got my picture taken in front of the Flavian Amphitheatre or the Colosseum and I got to experience of how it felt like walking on an ancient Roman gobble road. However, I did not learn much about the Roman life in ancient times. There simply was not time for that. Coincidentally, soon after, I travelled to the United Kingdom and found myself in Silchester in Hampshire taking part in a Roman festival.
The festival was organised by the Silchester Roman Society. It was held on an open day of the archeological excavations that have been conducted there in order to unearth the secrets of the ancient Roman town of Calleva Atrebatum. Besides of being introduced to ancient Roman life, especially the army life, the visitors to the festival got to inspect the archeological excavation site.
The Roman festival exhibited Roman solders with their full artillery, including a wooden machine that would throw rocks/oranges far over the field. There was a row of leather tents showing shops, midwife's equipments, an ancient medicine practicer's tent where a solder's leg was being ambulated and other exhibits of Roman daily living. Roman army practices were exhibited. They were conducted in Latin and quite educational to watch.
Afterwards the audience could meet the solders and examine their costumes and other equipment. We were told that the leather tents, such as the Romans had were very expensive to make today.
The existence of an ancient town of Calleva Atrebatum in Silchester has certainly given a lot of inspiration to ordinary people who witness the town being excavated, layer by layer, year after year, in their neighborhood.
It is slowly being uncovered as a project by the University of Reading archeology department's 'Town Life Project'. This summer it will be the 15th year that the dig has been there.
Every summer for a about a month the students come to excavate yet another layer of a part of the town. The purpose of the excavation project is to trace the life of the town from its time before the Roman conquest to the 4th and 5th Centuries when it was abandoned. The aim is to find the reason for the abandonment and uncover someting new about the life in ancient Britain.
A couple of years ago the excavation had already reached the Iron Age town that lay beneath the Roman town.
It was exciting seeing the dig and witnessing the work done by the students. It was also interesting to listen to the stories about the ancient life in the town.
It was there before the Romans conquered Britannia and clearly shows the process of Romanisation of the town. There are a few speculations of why the town was abandoned. However, this abandonment has left a possibility for the modern archeology to uncover some important secrets of the life in ancient times.
For the compassionate world traveler, Calleva Atrebatum is an ideal destination. Sharing the knowledge learned from the 'Town Life Project' gives us insights to the people and their world long gone. This year I am hoping to revisit the place with my daughter.
If you happen to be there in July and August, it is a worthwhile place to see.
Here is a link to a very informative article about the Calleva Atrebatum
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/archaeology/city_dead_01.shtml
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