Lytham St Annes CA

On 23^rd September, we kickstarted our tenth anniversary programme with our first ever weekend special event – the LSA CA Roman Day. We are very grateful to AKS Lytham for their generous contribution towards funding the event and to the Classical Association for their grant as we couldn’t have run the event without their financial assistance.

Our programme was packed full of experts and activities and, thankfully, the storm clouds broke to give us some lovely September sunshine as stalls were erected in the sunken garden, Leafy Lytham’s Roman plants were brought out for their beautiful display, Queen Cartimandua prepared her yurt and Alisa the Gladiatrix (after an epic journey) sharpened her [blunt!] swords ready to wield.

The hundreds of visitors who came along were greeted by Stephanus the Soldier, Jilliana the Matrona and Emperor Nigellus and our budding young detectives set out on a quest to crack the treasure hunt and find Decianus the Detector, complete with golden Mercury wings. On their way, they stopped off at Chris’ brooches, Greg’s garden, Tony’s team of booksellers and the super shield stall where swords could also be made and decorated. That’s if they weren’t too distracted by the stacks of home made cakes on the refreshments stands, the many prizes ready to be won on the tombola or Betsy’s tasty Pompeian Pizza special!

It was great to welcome new experts and collaborators to the branch, including the author Graham Sumner, William and Harold from the Lune Valley Metal Detecting Club as well as Matthew from Ribchester Museum and local historian Gary Thornton, who delivered an excellent and very well received talk on the Romans in the Fylde. Meanwhile, volunteers were busy getting creative helping our younger visitors create their own Roman outfits, from marvellous masks to striking shields.

Just as popular as the gladiatorial uniform were the poo sticks! We welcomed back to the branch bestselling author of The Roman Mysteries, Caroline Lawrence, for not one but two special talks and as she explained in her first talk, Shocking Facts about Ancient Rome, the Romans used shared sponge sticks in public latrines after doing their business, just washed through with water and occasionally some vinegar. Our sponges, not for practical use (!), fit with googly eyes were used as batons, beacons, and good luck charms and had a gladiatrix’s seal of approval.

We cannot laud enough the stellar creativity of our volunteer team and all of the preparation and hard work behind the scenes, from those who hand painted fabulous cut outs, crafted 70 DIY shield kits, designed all of the pieces of the treasure hunt and made the 62 beautiful volunteer sashes! Thanks to some very generous donations, we also had a bumper raffle with top prizes of Italian food themed hampers going down a treat as well as Greg’s terrific planter, and we must give special thanks to John McVitie who filmed and took stills across the whole day.

We were so grateful to Caroline who delivered a second illustrated talk to a really mixed audience which cast light on how she uses ancient archaeology to tell captivating stories – from her Time Travel Diaries inspired by London’s Mithraeum to the amazing story of Amarantus which is based on the excavations at Region I, Insula 9 in Pompeii led by Dr Sophie Hay and Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill… who was our keynote speaker!

Professor Wallace-Hadrill presented prizes to students in the AKS Creative Classics Competition before delivering his lecture Winning Freedom in Pompeii and Herculaneum where he chose not to use the traditional pointer to highlight his slides but a full sized pilum! Andrew is a wonderful speaker and his knowledge limitless. His wide ranging talk covered a range of evidence, including archaeology and epigraphic inscriptions, which helps historians to uncover the lives of enslaved people in the ancient world – where they came from, how they lived and how they might gain their freedom.

The Q&As were another highlight and there were lots of great questions from students aimed at all the speakers (including our Chair, Katrina, who spoke with Greg Anderton about Roman gardens and the uses of plants and herbs!) – everyone went away feeling like they had learned lots and got a greater understanding of the realities of ancient Roman life, from exploding toilets to social mobility, honey cakes and guard dogs to fighting on the frontiers of the empire.

From listening to a world expert on Pompeii and Herculaneum to making a poo stick, there was something for everyone – as five year old Kobyn proudly told us, dressed as a Roman soldier with his recently made shield and sword: ‘This is the best day of my life!’ We are extremely grateful to all of our volunteers who helped on the day and behind the scenes to make it happen; a huge thank you as well to everyone who gave donations and helped us raise enough money on the craft stalls, raffle, tombola, books and refreshments to fund three student bursaries for 2024.

We can’t wait to see you on Saturday 27th April 2024 for our Ancient Worlds Day with our President, Professor Michael Scott, and other special guests! If you’d like to become a member of the branch, for just £12 a year (or £5 for students or remote members), you can access our annual lecture programme, socials, and recordings of recent lectures. Join now here!