Roman Britain From The Air 1x60

All content within is embargoed until Tuesday 9th December 2014.

Press Contacts Stephen Barber Stephen.barber@itv.com Pictures: Peter Gray Peter.gray@itv.com

       

Programme Information TX Tuesday 23rd December, 8pm. Week 52 In a unique journey across Britain by helicopter, Christine Bleakley and historian Dr Michael Scott tell the story of what life was like for Romans and Britons 2000 years ago. The Romans were the first to invade and occupy Britain and their architecture and way of life have left a legacy that’s lasted 1600 years. From Hadrian’s Wall to the 6000 seat Amphitheatre at Caerleon, Britain has some of the most remarkable Roman remains in Europe. Christine Bleakley takes to the skies in a helicopter to see the Roman remains that are best viewed from the air. Meanwhile, historian Michael Scott tracks down the fine details of Roman Britain on the ground. Their journey takes them from London, across to Wales and north to the spectacular Hadrian’s Wall. The programme visits fascinating sites including the best-preserved Roman legionary barracks anywhere in Europe, the best-preserved outdoor Amphitheatre in Britain and Roman town walls that stretch for over a mile. In 43AD, the Romans landed an invasion army of 40,000 men on the Kent coast. Four years later they started work on a new town called Londinium, where London still stands today. Christine says: “London was a Roman invention. There was nothing here until the Romans arrived, they built it all from scratch.” Michael is taken to an underground car park where he sees the remains of the Western wall of a Roman fort, Londinium’s military headquarters. The wall was 20 feet high and up to nine feet thick, surrounding London on just three sides, with the fourth boundary being the River Thames. Enthralled, Michael says: “It’s frankly astonishing, just how much of a Roman London wall is visible in an underground car park. Here we are, amongst the motorbikes and the cars, pretty much the most impressive piece of the Roman wall I’ve ever seen.” As well as their architectural feats, the Romans have left lots of evidence of their wealth. The biggest collection of Roman luxuries is held at the Museum of London.

 

Michael and Christine visit the museum to look at some of its rare artifacts, including a jar of cosmetics that, when it was found, was still wet. When Christine asks about the fingerprints inside the jar, Caroline McDonald, from the Museum of London, says: “This is what it looked like when it was found, and you can see somebody has scooped a finger in. Everything that women do today – face packs, hair removal, eye brow plucking, it was all done 2000 years ago, nothing is new.” Michael and Christine then head to the Guildhall in London to find out about the darker side of Roman life. Incredibly, twenty feet under modern London, is an Amphitheatre. Archaeologist Nick Bateman shows Michael and Christine what remains of the original building. Events in the Amphitheatre would range from theatrical experiences, jugglers and tumblers, as well as gladiators. Christine takes to the air to see just how large the arena would have been, and how it would have been a central part of the area it stood in. Travelling away from London and towards Wales, Christine and Michael visit Caerleon, seeing forts, barracks, spas and the best-preserved Roman Amphitheatre in Britain. In Caerwent, Christine and Michael visit the ruins of a ‘Forum’, a big open marketplace where people came to trade and meet socially. Michael says: “Increasingly, trade would have been coinage based. Local tribes had been getting used to dealing in coin with the Romans over a long period of time and by the time this place was built, in the 2nd Century AD, they’re fully versed in it.” Michael is then taken to visit the ruins of a Pagan temple in South Wales built around 330AD. Explaining an artifact found at the site, Professor Miranda Aldhouse-Green says: “It’s a curse, a spell. It’s made out of lead and it has an inscription, which is a message to the Goddess Nemesis about somebody who’s stolen someone’s cloak and boots. The prayer is from the victim, saying that the person who’s done this has got to pay for it with his life’s blood.” Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland is one of the Roman Empire’s greatest architectural and military achievements. Originally 73 miles long, it stretches from Newcastle in the East to Carlisle in the West. Walking along the wall, Michael says: “In places, the wall was up to 20 feet high and eight feet thick. It’s said to have taken the man-power of three Roman legions around six years to build.”

       

From the air, local archaeologist Justin Blake explains to Christine: “The wall was under construction in 122 AD, on the orders of Emperor Hadrian. He basically ring-fences the entire Empire, deciding a complete change of policy from expansion to consolidation.” Michael then visits Housteads Fort, on the frontier of Hadrian’s Wall, where he finds a communal Roman toilet. Michael says: “The chaps would come in, sit down on the benches running all the way round here – maybe have a chat, do their business. Then when they were done, they would take a sponge on the end of a stick, dip it in fresh water which would be running around the drains, clean themselves and head off.” The Romans built their first fort here in the first century AD and some of the museum pieces excavated from the site include Roman coins, beads, brooches, a leather headdress for a horse, and the largest collection of Roman shoes in the world – over 4,500. Christine goes to visit the civilian village, which sprang up outside the fort walls, where a lot of the people who owned these shoes would have come from. Michael says: “By the time the Romans left in around 410 AD, they’d put their stamp on this country and changed its character forever.” At the end of their journey around Roman Britain, Christine says: “Their legacy is everywhere – the Roman roads, the central heating, the Amphitheatre, the forts, all of their letters and coins and shoes – Britain has a fabulous hoard of Roman leftovers.”

 

Christine Bleakley Q&A

How much did you know about Roman Britain before making the programme? I was a little bit of a geek beforehand, reading up on bits and pieces, trying to brush up on what we’ve been taught at school. I certainly didn’t know anything more than the basics. I have to admit, I found myself completely blown away by some of the stuff. Dr Michael Scott is one of the loveliest people; I was absolutely blessed to be paired with him. He’s an incredibly knowledgeable, smart man who knows everything about everything – his mind is astonishing. I certainly wasn’t afraid of asking basic questions and he was brilliant at conveying things properly. It was the most extraordinary masterclass in Roman history. There were so many bits of history that I just wasn’t aware of and didn’t appreciate until working on this programme. It was one of the best times filming I’ve ever had, from start to finish. I was also blessed with having a different vantage point from the air. How was it seeing these sights from the air? It was great being in the helicopter because there’s so much of Roman Britain that you just can’t see from the ground. It’s not until you get to the air that you can see the viewpoints and get the perspective. Hadrian’s Wall and the Vindolanda from the air was just fantastic. As amazing as it was walking around the ruins, you didn’t get a sense of it until you were above it. From that perspective, it was fantastic. I was learning something constantly. What was the most impressive sight? I found the Amphitheatre in London extraordinary. I did not know it even existed and it was absolutely amazing. You walk in and you get a complete and utter sense of what went on there. That, for me, I thought was astonishing, and that’s free for everyone to go and look at whenever they like. When we went to Caerleon and the Vindolanda, from the air that blew me away because you got a sense of what it took to create these huge structures. What were the other highlights? Discovering some moisturiser with the fingerprints still in it was amazing and something we can relate to now. We came across beautiful little hair combs and hairpins and different bits of jewellery too. There was obviously a bit of a hierarchy amongst women, they wanted to show off their big hair and makeup to prove that they were the ones with money and that their husbands were successful.

       

I thought to myself, all these years later, we’re still thinking about getting our hair done and what moisturiser to use – and this was all existing centuries ago! We also came across a stone that they think was part of an engagement ring. They think a jeweller was raided and the couple never received the ring. The thought that we were looking at something that the couple it was intended for never got to see, that was a moment that really got me. Going from those touching real-life moments to the sheer brutality of the Amphitheatre and the awful stuff that happened there, and the impressiveness of the Vindolanda – it’s all so extraordinary.

 

Michael Scott Q&A

What can viewers expect from the programme? They can expect a totally unique and novel view of a country they thought they knew. The programme not only focuses on the bits of Roman Britain that are poking up through the ground all around us, it’s studying them from the air and giving you a real sense of perspective and understanding of how the modern and the ancient sit together. What is it about the Roman era of Britain that’s so fascinating? The Romans are special and they mean so much to us because they were on our shores, they were fundamentally part of making our culture the way it works today. Without the Romans and without them invading our country and taking it over for a couple of centuries, we wouldn’t be Britain as we understand it. For example, we wouldn’t have the straight road of Oxford Street in London, we wouldn’t have our language in the shape and form it is today. Does seeing things from the air add a different perspective? Whatever level of knowledge you have, the perspective of the air brings something new and interesting. What was your favourite thing you saw whilst filming? My favourite thing was seeing the gravestones of the Roman veteran out in Caerleon in Wales, who died aged 100. Plus, we also found the gravestone of his wife, aged 75, so she was at least 25 years younger. It was a wonderful spotlight into the real world of this retired veteran solider being quite a catch in the local community for a young woman whose children would go on to be Roman citizens. Out of the places you went to, where would you encourage viewers to visit? For me, the outstanding sight was Housesteads up on Hadrian’s Wall. The Roman’s fought on the wall and you got a real sense of the front line there and at the same time you got a wonderful sense of the average day. I have never seen a Roman toilet in such good condition! It showed how the Romans took advantage of the bad British weather and collected the rain water right by the toilet so they had fresh running water in their loos – absolutely fantastic.

       

Notes to Editors Produced by Tern TV, Executive Producer Brendan Hughes.

For further information, please contact:

Publicist: Stephen Barber, stephen.barber@itv.com, 0207 157 3687 Pictures: Peter Gray, peter.gray@itv.com