Durotriges Project

17/10/2026

Did anyone see the programme *Rich Lives Poor Lives* on C5 this week with the AI in a Roman chariot pulled by 19th century horses surrounded by torch and pitchfork wielding extras from *The Bride of Frankenstein* with a burning Alpine village in the background?

If not, this is for you 😊👍

14/10/2026

You heard it here first 😊👇👇

Before Boudicca, another British leader brought the Roman war machi...

12/10/2026

From the same AI heavy documentary on Roman Britain currently on British TV, here's

[Checks notes]

the emperor Hadrian entering London in AD 122 😲😱

We really don't know where to begin with this

(except to say that it's just as plausibly a representation of Alexander the Great, Attlia the Hun, Vlad the impaler or Ming the Merciless)

This programme (like so many) would have been so much better if it hadn't used AI at all...

11/10/2026

We've been watching a documentary about the emperor Hadrian's visit to Britain in AD 122

There's a lot of AI

If you're going to use AI (which you really shouldn't), but if you do (which you shouldn't) at least get an expert to check it's OK

The Roman frontier system of Hadrian's Wall has been studied for 100s of years

There's lots of archaeological evidence available and there have been so so many reconstructions

We don't know what this Wall is, but it's not Hadrian's

Why is there a big gate (without a milecastle) topped by a Medieval farmhouse stuck in the middle of a post Medieval drystone wall with two legionaries standing on guard in front?

😬😬😱😱😱

03/10/2026

An excellent day spent at the CBA South East and conference in Lewes celebrating the life, work and legacy of Ivan Donald Margary, unsung hero of 20th century archaeology, history and heritage 🥳🎉

02/10/2026

Fishbourne is our favourite Roman palace 😘

(just don't tell all the other Roman palaces)

Council for British Archaeology South-East and Sussex Archaeology & History are putting on a conference celebrating the life and work of Ivan Margary this Saturday October 3rd, 2026, at Kings Church, Lewes.

Speakers will include Dr Miles Russell about the legacy of Fishbourne (see focus below); Dr David Rudling about the Life, Work and Legacies of Ivan Margary; Professor Naomi Sykes on her researches into the Animal Bone finds from Fishbourne, and Professor Tony King regarding the Iron Age and Roman routes to the west of Fishbourne. There will also be a display of recent finds from the Roman roadside settlement at Bridge Farm, near Barcombe, two book launches, and various new and second-hand book stalls.

For further details about the conference and to book a place in advance (otherwise tickets on the door):

https://tixoom.app/sussexarchaeology

Lecture Focus: 'At the heart of the kingdom? The legacy of Fishbourne and beyond'
Speaker: Dr Miles Russell (University of Bournemouth)

Fishbourne Palace is one of the undoubted marvels of Roman Britain, its preservation and presentation due to the generosity of Ivan Margary who bought the land and paid for the cover building and museum. A popular tourist destination since 1968, Fishbourne has remained the focus of considerable investigation. Much of this work has treated the palace as if it were a one-off: an oasis of Mediterranean culture set within an overtly Iron Age landscape. Archaeological fieldwork, however, has indicated that Fishbourne was not in fact unique, but part of a wider zone of early Romanitas. Unfortunately, the absence of a benefactor such as Margary meant that comparable Roman structures have been poorly recorded or lost. This paper celebrates the role Margary played in saving Fishbourne whilst highlighting other sites in Sussex and eastern Hampshire which help define the relationship between the provincial elite and the imperial first families of Rome.

02/10/2026

Another top find from the Dorset coast 🤩

02/10/2026

Some prehistoric bling to improve your online content this morning

Eight circular beads, 3 of stone and 5 of decorated glass, found with the burial of a young Iron Age woman of the Durotriges at Langton Herring in 2010 and now in Dorset Museum & Art Gallery

They may originally have been worn individually as charms or amulets, or threaded together as part of a necklace (as shown in the first image) 😍

Photographed Sept 2026 and July 2011

For a full report on these and the rest of the burial assemblage see the open access report:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00665983.2019.1573551