EVENTS
There are lots of reasons why people get involved in re-enactment but for some of us it is to re-connect with our past in order to learn more about our ancestors and ourselves, then to share this with the public to give them a broader understanding of history. Personally I'm lucky, as 100 yards from my home is an ancient standing stone in one direction and the site of roundhouses dating back to the Iron Age in the other ; but if you think about it you are probably in the same position yourself, even if you live in the heart of one of our great cities. On the British Isles history is everywhere if you just look. |
So why travel great distances as some of our contributors have done? That’s an easy one: to learn even more. You can only understand so much from reading archaeological reports and books. For example, only a few ancient buildings remain standing in Britain more than waist high so it’s hard to get the true impression of what they looked like, or felt like, during the period. Fortunately sites such as Pompeii and parts of Rome can conjure the scale, space and dimensions of buildings that existed there in the past.
Re-constructions of round-houses, Roman forts, villas, bathhouses and Dark Age villages give us a window into the past and an opportunity to relive the life-style (be it for a short time) of those people living here in times gone by. Sadly these are all too few and are spread around the country.
Re-constructions of round-houses, Roman forts, villas, bathhouses and Dark Age villages give us a window into the past and an opportunity to relive the life-style (be it for a short time) of those people living here in times gone by. Sadly these are all too few and are spread around the country.
So this is why we ‘tour’, to find that connection, to live the period, and to discover those aspects of historical location that a book can’t give you. Our tours are varied and we don’t always go in ‘period kit’, especially if just visiting the site for flavour or fact-finding. Most visits, however, are with period authenticity in mind, which requires us to leave the 21st Century and all its modern conveniences behind. No mobile, internet, gore tex jackets, etc. From a personal point of view it's heaven without them, perhaps with the exception of hot running water; but the process does help you to think differently and imagine how people in the past prioritised their lives. We also meet members of the public, and happily share what we've learnt with them!
- John Bee |
EVENTS LIST
On the March 2006-2012 School Visits 2011 Pompeii, Italy 2011 Hadrian's Wall Visit 2012 Cawthorn Camps 2012 Murton Park, Yorkshire 2012 Rome 2012 Hadrian's Wall Walk 2013 Brampton Festival 2013 Aldborough Museum 2013 Ryedale Roundhouse 2013 Flint Knapping 2015 Rome Again 2015 Corbridge Roman Fort 2015 Ryedale Roundhouse 2016 Iron Age Kitchen Weekend 2016 Prehistoric Tour of Wiltshire |