2010 Round Up - Family Man Through the Ages

Fathers Plus and The North East Regional Museums Hub are working together on a programme called 'My Dad Matters'. It a new partnership which aims to help family men in Sunderland become more involved with their children’s learning.
At their launch even (Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens, 2 October 2010)there was a gathering of around 15 'dads from the past'. From 'Iron Age Dad' (me) to 'Future Dad' and almost everthing in between. Have a look at
http://www.fathersplus.org/media/2010/10/04/excellent-turnout-greets-sunderland-dads%E2%80%99-programme
Watch out for future events on the Father Plus website at http://www.fathersplus.org/

Rounding up 2010 - The Eagles Have Landed

Hello,

A New Year and time to tidy up last year and begin anew.

September and October saw the TYNE TEAM working on 'The Eagles Have Landed' a schools and community event programme to complement the touring exhibition of the same name. http://www.culture24.org.uk/history+%26+heritage/time/roman/ART308897897 for more info and where the exhibition is now.

We ran a 2 day public event at Segedunum (4/5th September), and a more in depth schools project involving Burnside Business and Enterprise College in Wallsend, then we followed the exhibition over to the other side of the Hadrian's Wall World Heritage Site at Maryport. We ran another 2 day public event at Senhouse Roman Museum and on the . We wanted to highlight the impact of the sudden appearance of the sophisticated and intimidating Roman Legions would have had on the locals.

Talk about Culture Shock!

Each of our characters took a view on this, from the soldiers extolling the virtues of the Army and recruiting with the promise of an easy life and wages, to the local craftspeople who may have seen new business opportunities and those who would have viewed all this with suspicion and fear. After all what did the Romans ever do for us?

The schools project involved working closely with all of Year 7 from Burnside College, we ran drama and storytelling workshops, explored the identity of those who may have lived near Segedunum and created a ceramic 'sculpture' which will follow the exhibition to Tullie House in the Spring. Watch out for the 'Teacher's Pack' based on our work.

Maryport Roman Festival

This is the second summer that Senhouse Roman Museum have held their Roman Festival. There aren't may places were you can have a converstaion with Centurion, a Potter and and Georgian Gentleman!

During July and August the TYNE TEAM made a number of apperances, bring the museum to life with activites and crafts.

Romans on the Railway

The Head of Steam - Darlington's Railway Museum at North Road Station held a Roman Festival in the 18th July.
Why? I hear you ask.
Darlington looks after the site of Roman Piercebridge and this is the second year they have held a Roman Festival complete with bus trips to the site of the fort and bridge at Piercebridge. I was providing Roman themed craft activities, this year we made 'signaculum' or 'little identifiers', the Roman equivalent of dog tags. Along with herbs and fish sauce to sniff and artefacts to handle, we had a very busy day.

Advanced Learning Centre - History. June/July 2010 at Segedunum

Based at Segedunum Roman Fort in Wallsend the Advanced Learning Centre is now in it's fourth year. For six weeks in June and July around 25 children each week ,gave up 6 of their Saturday mornings to find out more about History and Archaeology. We studied maps, aerial photographs, took part in a simulated 'dig', recorded finds and explored the ancient techniques of dying and weaving under the expert hands of 'Textiles through Time' - Ruth Hicken.
By using archaeology we developed new skills and hopefully inspired curiosity in the children, most of whom will start secondary school in September.
"Thanks very much - that was so much fun"

The Advanced Learning Centre is part of the North Tyneside Councils, Gifted and Talented provision.

Epic Epiacum

May saw a new venture to a new fort - Epiacum. Known locally as Whitley Castle, the fort lies on a hillside a few miles north of Alston, Cumbria and the site could well be described as the North of England's best-kept Roman secret. There have been just two recorded excavations, about 1810 a part of the bath house was exposed and in 1957/8 a trench was dug across the northern ramparts.

From the 18th to the 21st May 2010 over 200 primary school children visited the site. The living history event was organised by the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in partnership with Elaine and John Edgar, the owners of Castle Nook Farm and the land where Epiacum sits.

Firstly the children 'travelled back in time' using a train from the South Tynedale Railway. After a sort walk from the halt at Kirkhaugh up to the fort the children took part in a series of activities investigating the people who have been involved in landscape around Epiacum through the years. They discovered what life was like for the Roman soldiers stationed in the fort. Paul Mercer from the North Pennines Heritage Trust explained the lifestyle of the Miner/Farmer from the 18th Century. Archaeologist, Paul Frodsham and Naturalist, Heather McCarty brought the landscape up to date.

For Elaine Edgar of Castle Nook Farm, the event was the realisation of her dream of turning her farmland steeped in history into an education and visitor centre. She said: “This will be the first time we’ve had school groups visiting the Roman fort and bastle house. We’ve still got a long way to go, but the AONB Partnership events have got everything off to a terrific start.”

"Days like these stay with children forever and can inspire a lifelong interest.” Fiona Knox, Education Officer with the North Pennines AONB Partnership

Discovery Visits on Hadrian's Wall

For the last two years Maximus (Steve Richardson - http://maximusvi.terapad.com/ ) and myself have provided Discovery Visits for the English Heritage sites at Housesteads and Chesters. This year promises to be our busiest yet.
In costume, we explore Roman military life and discover how the building of Hadrian's Wall affected the local population. The Centurion Maximus or the Evocati Maximus Secundus will help the new recruits take on their role and explain their duties as soldiers of the Roman Empire. Recruits will be drilled and trained, before being shown the inside of the fort.
We use costume and objects, both real and replica to help immerse the childen in the experience and we hope to provoke curiosity about life on the edge of the Roman Empire.
Our first visits are as the weather picks up, towards the end of April and we are busy well into June.

For more details and how to book a Discovery Visit to Housesteads or Chesters, visit the Englilsh Heritage website at http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.19524