Tales of Roman Lincoln - dipping my toe into writing

The closest I usually get to creative writing is either posting on this blog or pulling together new exhibition labels at the museum, but I was inspired some months ago to write a short adventure story based around somewhere I have a particular interest in - Roman Lincoln.

I've created a new tab at the top of this blog (imaginatively titled 'writing'), which explains a little about the idea behind it and the inspiration for the main character, a Romano-British blacksmith called Caradoc.  The title 'Concussio' is Latin word, meaning 'extortion', and gives a little hint as to the plot.

You can get the story in PDF format by going to the writing tab, or clicking on the link below.

If you feel inspired to give it a little read, I'd be grateful for any feedback in the comments below.  I'm certainly no author (so please be kind!) and I'm sure the influence of the authors I read will be obvious, but it was fun to write and I may well feel inspired to come back and add to the series at some point.

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Milton Keynes 'Roman ruins' vandalised

An article in the Milton Keynes Citizen newspaper reported the story that Roman remains in Milton Keynes had been 'ruined' by vandals, but the photograph accompanying the story made me look a little closer.

Its clear that the wall in the photo isn't Roman, and on digging deeper (no pun intended), it turns out that the site in question, that of Bancroft Roman villa, has the line of the Roman foundations marked in modern walling, but the original Roman walling preserved underneath and no longer visible.

Although I am in no way condoning the actions of louts who have been smashing bottles and daubing walls with paint, and who clearly didn't give a monkeys whether the walls they were damaging were modern, Roman, Medieval or even Neolithic, it would seem that the article title is somewhat sensational.  Of course, making the site neat and tidy again will cost money that would be better spent in other ways, so let's hope that, modern or not, this is the last time these particular walls hit the headlines for the wrong reasons.

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Travels with Li Dongni - Haarlem, Netherlands (June 2013)

Whilst on our trip to Amsterdam, we decided to venture out of the city for a day to see a nearby town.  Despite initially planning to go to Delft, we decided that the train tickets were just a little too costly for a day trip and so went to nearby Haarlem instead.  It turned out to be a very good decision indeed, for though I'm sure Delft is very nice, Haarlem turned out to be a lovely place to explore, even in the rain we had to put up with.  Incidentally, it is eternally connected with the artist Frans Hals, but although it gets good reviews, we declined the opportunity to pay to see the gallery of his works.

Grote kerk

The Grote kerk (literally 'great church') at Haarlem is hard to miss as it dominates the city's main square.  Consecrated as a protestant cathedral in 1559, it is dedicated to St Bavo and although the exterior is striking, it is the interior that really shines - particularly the organ and the timber ceiling.

One part of the church that particularly caught my eye was the wonderfully carved and painted choir gate, resplendent with lions, griffons, heraldic shields and even some characters biting the scenery!

Haarlem Archaeological Museum

This small museum goes down as the biggest surprise of the entire trip, as I don't think it appears on any tourism material at all - guidebooks, city maps etc just don't acknowledge it exists.  So to stumble across it while exploring the market stalls in the main square was a wonderful moment, especially considering that it is free!

The museum itself has only been in existence since 1991 and is run by an amateur archaeological society.  The museum seemed very keen to promote the importance of studying and recording archaeology, and it left me with the distinct impression that in a country that promotes its artworks to the highest pedestal, archaeology isn't seen in the same light that it is in the UK.  Although the displays didn't cover a vast range of time, they were neat and well presented, and there was a real focus on archaeological technique and hands on activities for kids.  A good few of them were in there getting involved during our visit.

Amsterdamse poort gateway

A short walk away from the city centre (for Haarlem is not the largest place) led us to discover the 15th Century 'Amsterdamse poort' gateway, one of the original gateways into the city.  Apparently it survived a number of 19th Century attempts to demolish it and underwent renovation in 1985.  Although located next to a fairly busy road junction and some rather derelict buildings, and the grass around it clearly being a popular spot for dog 'walking', the tower itself is still quite pretty.

Windmill de Adriaan

The final stop on our wandering tour was to head out to the de Adriaan windmill, built in 1779 but rebuilt after a devastating fire in 1932.  It is a smock mill, built on the site of a Medieval defensive tower and on the banks of the river Spaarne.  Sadly, we didn't get to go inside to see the mechanisms and museum as it was closed for a private function.

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Rutland water and the missing Roman shrine

I posted a little piece a few days ago (here) about the media coverage of a very interesting Roman shrine discovery on the banks of Rutland Water.  I said at the end of that piece that I'd be going to visit the Rutland Water visitor centre to see some finds from the site, as the BBC report said that they were on display there, alongside a little outdoor reconstruction of the shrine building itself.  So, did I go?  Yes I did.  Did I see the aforementioned finds and reconstruction?  Err, no...

The visitor centre does have a nice little display on local archaeology, including an Anglo Saxon skeleton discovered during its construction, and does have some printed material on the shrine discovery, but has nothing at all from the excavation.  In fact, the idea that they should seemed rather a surprise to the staff member on duty.  Curioser and curioser...

Despite not seeing any of the actual finds (which I confess I was disappointed about), I did find out a little more about the site - namely that despite the recent press coverage, it was actually excavated way back in 2008.  The male skeleton, of which much play was made by the media and which I suggested would be extremely interesting if Roman in origin, is actually Anglo Saxon, dating to the 5th or 6th Centuries.  The Historic Environment Record entry for the site can be viewed here.

I was able to find out a little more about the finds from the site though, such as the fact that an interesting little curse tablet was discovered, and that the bronze figurine fragment that was vaguely referenced in the media (but which I wrote would be key to identifying the deity being worshiped) turns out to be part of a Corinthian helmet, making it likely that Minerva, or possibly Mars, was the presiding deity.

The trip was far from wasted though, as a little stroll along the banks of Rutland Water in the sunshine is hardly a chore.

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Lincoln Cathedral's graffiti problem

Whilst at Lincoln Cathedral this afternoon, I found myself looking at a part of the building I don't often pay much attention to - the small vaulted alcove on the outside of the south side of the building, by the south transept.

Sadly, it seems like some other people certainly do spend some time in this secluded spot judging from the amount of graffiti, some sadly very recent, carved into the ancient walls.  Presumably the area has become something of a late night hang-out for a certain element of society, and judging by the same names appearing multiple times the same group are responsible.  Although Hitler himself may not actually have been present (see photo 7), it seems a shame that such vandalism, clearly going on for some time, cannot be stopped and the offenders punished.

This sort of thing seems particularly apt when considering the recent furore over Chinese graffiti at the Egyptian temple at Luxor - is this vandalism closer to home any more acceptable?  I would definitely say not.

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