Edwin Wood gave us an excellent ‘Romans in Britain’ day in Worthing Museum on Saturday. He began by talking about the Roman invasions of Britain from 55BC onwards, when and where they landed and why they came at all. He discussed the pre-existing relationships between the Romans and the various tribes of southern British and the lack of evidence for the camps they would have been expected to make on their arrival and journey to London and Colchester. The story was evidently not as simple as I had assumed.
After the morning break Edwin started telling us all about the range of weapons used by the Romans in Britain, from swords and daggers to javelins and sling shots. We were able to handle numerous replicas and he showed how they were used, and told us how the soldiers obtained them.
After lunch he went on to describe Roman armour and its development during the time of occupation from helmets to mail and shields. Again there were numerous replicas to handle and examine and were able to have a go at making the links for the chain mail.
In the last session Edwin talked about the role of the Romans in British society. There were plenty of questions from the audience with a lot of preconceptions debunked. Edwin was so knowledgeable and enthusiastic it made for a very entertaining day.
After the morning break Edwin started telling us all about the range of weapons used by the Romans in Britain, from swords and daggers to javelins and sling shots. We were able to handle numerous replicas and he showed how they were used, and told us how the soldiers obtained them.
After lunch he went on to describe Roman armour and its development during the time of occupation from helmets to mail and shields. Again there were numerous replicas to handle and examine and were able to have a go at making the links for the chain mail.
In the last session Edwin talked about the role of the Romans in British society. There were plenty of questions from the audience with a lot of preconceptions debunked. Edwin was so knowledgeable and enthusiastic it made for a very entertaining day.
