Description
Highlights:
- A tale of two temples: tracing religious remains at Maryport Roman fort
- Back to the future: visiting Time Team’s first new digs in a decade
- The triumphal arch: exploring the legacy of a Roman monument
- New light on Trimontium: building a museum against the odds
- Happy campers? Investigating the experiences of prisoners of war near Oswestry
It’s amazing to think that it was almost ten years ago that we reported (in CA 274) that Time Team was drawing to a close. Over two decades of digging, the popular programme had revolutionised archaeological television and was, for many, a key influence and inspiration for their own archaeological journeys (including yours truly, who grew up watching the show and worked as a researcher on Series 18 – ten points if you can spot me dressed as a Roman!). Now, though, the Team has reunited to film two new excavations: one exploring an Iron Age fogou in Cornwall, the other a Roman villa in Oxfordshire. Our cover feature takes you behind the scenes.
We next travel to the outskirts of Oswestry, to examine the remains of a camp that housed captured German servicemen during the Second World War. Wessex Archaeology’s excavations have given vivid insights into what life was like within the compound – apparently, relatively comfortable, although signs of escalating tensions between prisoners and camp staff could also be seen.
Moving from ephemeral outlines of buildings to monumental architecture, our third feature traces the evolution of the triumphal arch, and its lasting legacy.
Such arches were, of course, a Roman invention, and our final two articles discuss different aspects of Roman Britain. At Maryport, just south of Hadrian’s Wall, the remains of two temples first uncovered in the 19th century have been reinvestigated in detail. What can they tell us about cult activity on the Roman frontier? Meanwhile, in the Scottish Borders, intriguing research is emerging from Trimontium, a Roman fort with a remarkably turbulent past.
Cover Date: May-2022, Volume 33 Issue 2
