When?
The aim is to address the period from 100 BC through to 400 AD - the periods often known as the Iron Age and Roman Britain. By addressing such a large span of history we are hoping to be able to connect themes across different ages and types of society and to convey the idea of the continuity of history. At present we are working almost exclusively on the 4th century, which was a particularly interesting time in Corinium.

In the later Roman period, which is considered today as the golden age of Roman Britain, the town of Corinium achieved a special rank. Britain was at that time divided into four provinces and Corinium was the capital of the one known as 'Britannia Prima', the name indicating that it was of particular importance.

Excavations in the town have shown that it was a thriving and relatively wealthy place during this period as befitted a provincial capital. At this time it was second only to London in size.

Where?

Throughout the 4th century Corinium was the centre of important industries and it lay at the heart of one of the richest agricultural regions of Roman Britain, supporting the largest concentration of Roman villas in north-western Europe. It probably acted as the major market for the goods being produced in this area. It was also the home to perhaps the finest school of provincial sculpture as well as the largest mosaic workshop in Britain.

The town appears to have been quite a prosperous place with many high status houses, many of which contained elaborate mosaics and wallplaster, heating systems and bath houses all of which were the signs of wealthy owners.

Excavations have revealed two particularly good examples of late Roman buildings in what is now known as Beeches Road. We use these buildings as inspiration for some of our interpretations of what life may have been like 1600 years ago.

   Click for more about the Beeches Road houses

What?
Another aim of the project is to address aspects of social history that are infrequently handled in computer simulations. To do this we have chosen topics such as housing and personal adornment.

We will be looking at changes in the style of house construction through the later Iron Age, through the later 1st and early 2nd century AD, through to the 4th century AD. We will be hoping to give an impression of what life within them may have been like and to convey the idea that, as today, not everyone lived in the same type of house. We know that, for example, the tradition of constructing round houses which were not that different Iron Age period houses continued to be built as late as the 3rd century AD in this area.

In the initial part of the project we have chosen to focus upon a small selection of the objects which were being used between the 1st century AD (the period leading up to the invasion of AD 43) and the 4th century AD. We have chosen to focus upon objects relating to personal adornment or that have practical use relating to dress. As the project develops we will be adding new categories of material which illustrate other aspects of life at the time.

All the objects used to illustrate this material come from the collections held by Cotswold Museum Service and come from a range of sites around Cirencester and the Cotswolds.

How?
The project aims to use the latest in digital technologies, provided that they are accessible to those with modest computing equipment. We want to see whether they can be incorporated in an appropriate way to make people more enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the past.

Our objective is not to work solely within the limits of certain knowledge. Visualisations of the kind that you will find here require an holistic approach: in putting together a picture one is faced by many questions for which archaeologists and historians may not yet have answers. Our guiding principle has been to put in nothing that we do not think is credible.

Exeter School of Arts & Design has provided the technical and design skills for the project. It is particularly interested in developing appropriate uses for new technologies, and uses which acknowledge the creativity that human beings bring to tasks.

Who?
The two institutions, the Corinium Museum and Exeter School of Arts & Design, are responsible for what you find on this site, but they have been assisted by many individuals and groups who have advised during the project.

In particular we would like to acknowledge the help of:
 * Ivan Lapper (Illustrator)
 * Cirencester Archaeological and Historical Society
 * Gloucestershire Archaeological Society
 * Cotswold District Council
 * Lechlade School

The Corinium Museum is part of Cotswold Museums Service, which is part of Cotswold District Council.

Exeter School of Arts & Design is part of the Faculty of Arts & Education, University of Plymouth.

Original Project proposal

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