COLCHESTER is to be the host of a ground-breaking exhibition - with a little help from historian Dan Snow.
The Decoding the Roman Dead exhibition is due to open at Colchester Castle on Saturday, July 24 and is being organised by the popular historian alongside Colchester Museums.
Central to the exhibition will be the use of the scientific technique called isotope analysis to inspect Roman cremation burials.
It is hoped the results will reveal where Romans grew up and travelled from in the empire 2,000 years ago.
Research conducted by archaeologists and academics will also be showcased at the Decoding the Roman Dead exhibition to reveal just how Colchester’s inhabitants lived through the turbulent years of the Roman Empire.
Mr Snow, who has some historical connections himself as the great-great-grandson of former British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, has already voiced his excitement about the exhibition in Colchester.
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The host of the highly-popular History Hit podcasts, Mr Snow will also be talking to Colchester Museums’ curators Glynn Davis and Carolina Lima to try to discover just how people lived in Roman Colchester.
He said: “Colchester was one of the first places I ever filmed, 20 years ago, when I started at the BBC.
“I was there looking into the story of Boudicca’s revolt. I was so impressed by the deep connection with Roman Britain, but there was frustration because for all the archaeology there was still a sense of so much more to be discovered and deciphered.”
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Now, Mr Snow hopes to uncover the Roman secrets in Colchester which have been hidden for 2,000 years.
“Cutting-edge technology is being deployed to tell us more about the inhabitants of Roman Colchester,” he said.
“I can’t wait to learn more about who they were, where they came from, and how they lived.”
Mr Snow is also due to release a new documentary about Queen Boudicca on his History Hit TV channel, with film crews heading to Colchester Castle to gather footage over the coming months.
The exhibition will run at Colchester Castle until January, with information and content shared on the Twitter accounts @ColMuseums and @HistoryHit, as well as the website www.colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/DTRD/.
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