Foreigners and locals in Roman Britain: painting a more complex picture for school children
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Reading
Department Name: Archaeology
Abstract
"A long way from home - diaspora communities in Roman Britain" (2007-2009: AH/E508758/1) was part of the AHRC programme on "Diasporas, migration and Identities" and explored the cultural and biological experience of immigrant communities in Roman Britain through an innovative combination of scientific archaeological techniques. The project revealed the considerable diversity of people living in Romano-British towns and resulted in national news coverage as well as a pioneering outreach project at the Yorkshire Museum. This follow-on project will enhance the value and impact of this research, and make these scientific findings available to a nationwide (and potentially international) audience of Key Stage 2/3 learners and teachers. This public engagement will be achieved through the creation of an interactive website and a teaching resource pact, in collaboration with the Runnymede Trust.
Using a range of scientific techniques, the AHRC-funded research project identified significant numbers of migrants in the burial record of Roman Britain, in particular at the important late Roman towns of York and Winchester. Osteological and forensic ancestry assessment was combined with oxygen & strontium isotope analysis to assess geographic origins. Our results show that a significant number of individuals sampled (up to 33%) can be classed as non-local, with a smaller proportion coming from outside the UK. Contrary to popular perceptions, there are women and children amongst these migrants.
Results were published in seven peer-reviewed journal papers and an edited volume. Our work was featured on the BBC 'The One Show' (3rd Nov 2009) and in The Times (26 February 2010) and we trialled outreach activities at the Yorkshire Museum (www.yorkshiremuseum.org.uk).
Having completed both the academic research and the initial outreach project, it has become apparent that the results of this work are of enormous significance to the way in which the Roman period is taught in British Schools. 'The Romans' are a central part of the primary school history curriculum in Key Stage 2 (ages 7 -11). Currently, the available teaching materials portray Roman Britain as homogenous, and any immigrants essentially as Italian, white and 'like us'. This kind of approach is exemplified by websites such as http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/romans/ and children's books such as the 'Usborne Time Traveller: Rome and the Romans' (see visual evidence attached). Such depictions fail to take into account both the epigraphic evidence (inscriptions mentioning foreigners) which in many cases has been known for two hundred years and more recent scientific findings. Previous work by the Runnymede Trust strongly suggests that there is a strong demand for innovative educational materials about cultural diversity in the UK.
This project will address the gap between academic perceptions of mobility and migration in the Roman world and current primary (and secondary) school teaching by creating a website for children aged 7-14 and a teaching resource pack for teachers and community workers. To achieve this we will work with the Runnymede Trust, the UK's leading independent race equality think tank (http://www.runnymedetrust.org/), which has extensive previous experience of designing and promoting educational websites. This project will be of relevance to all primary schools in Britain as it will enable teachers, especially those working with children from diverse backgrounds, to portray images of the Roman world that are not only more relevant but reflect new academic research on the topic.
Using a range of scientific techniques, the AHRC-funded research project identified significant numbers of migrants in the burial record of Roman Britain, in particular at the important late Roman towns of York and Winchester. Osteological and forensic ancestry assessment was combined with oxygen & strontium isotope analysis to assess geographic origins. Our results show that a significant number of individuals sampled (up to 33%) can be classed as non-local, with a smaller proportion coming from outside the UK. Contrary to popular perceptions, there are women and children amongst these migrants.
Results were published in seven peer-reviewed journal papers and an edited volume. Our work was featured on the BBC 'The One Show' (3rd Nov 2009) and in The Times (26 February 2010) and we trialled outreach activities at the Yorkshire Museum (www.yorkshiremuseum.org.uk).
Having completed both the academic research and the initial outreach project, it has become apparent that the results of this work are of enormous significance to the way in which the Roman period is taught in British Schools. 'The Romans' are a central part of the primary school history curriculum in Key Stage 2 (ages 7 -11). Currently, the available teaching materials portray Roman Britain as homogenous, and any immigrants essentially as Italian, white and 'like us'. This kind of approach is exemplified by websites such as http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/romans/ and children's books such as the 'Usborne Time Traveller: Rome and the Romans' (see visual evidence attached). Such depictions fail to take into account both the epigraphic evidence (inscriptions mentioning foreigners) which in many cases has been known for two hundred years and more recent scientific findings. Previous work by the Runnymede Trust strongly suggests that there is a strong demand for innovative educational materials about cultural diversity in the UK.
This project will address the gap between academic perceptions of mobility and migration in the Roman world and current primary (and secondary) school teaching by creating a website for children aged 7-14 and a teaching resource pack for teachers and community workers. To achieve this we will work with the Runnymede Trust, the UK's leading independent race equality think tank (http://www.runnymedetrust.org/), which has extensive previous experience of designing and promoting educational websites. This project will be of relevance to all primary schools in Britain as it will enable teachers, especially those working with children from diverse backgrounds, to portray images of the Roman world that are not only more relevant but reflect new academic research on the topic.
Planned Impact
This project will enhance the value and benefits of AHRC-funded research beyond academia through creative engagement with educational professionals, school children and the general public. The website and education resource pack will be of benefit to teachers engaged in delivering the Key Stage 2 (ages 7 -11) history curriculum but would also be relevant to those teaching citizenship at Key Stage 3 (ages 11 - 14).
Other audiences that will gain access to these findings will be visitors to both the Yorkshire Museum and Winchester Museum (where postcards promoting the website and resource pack will be supplied to school children). We will also supply a link from our website to that of the highly successful children's author Caroline Lawrence who sold over 1 million books in the UK and whose website and blogs receives ca. 7000 visitors per year. Caroline speaks at ca. 40 schools a year reaching between 8,000 - 10,000 British school children each year.
Finally, we intend to promote our findings and a link to the website in the magazine and on the website of the Young Archaeologist Club, an organisation promoting archaeology to young people up to 17 years of age (http://www.britarch.ac.uk/yac/).
The overall success will be measured in terms of numbers of unique visitors to our website and numbers of resource packs downloaded by schools and teachers. For the last three month of the project a part-time research assistant will evaluate current practice in a number of schools, and then conduct a focus-group survey on the impact of our new educational resource. This is not intended as a quantitative study but rather a qualitative assessment, and due to the timescale of this grant we will only interview a small number of teachers, focusing on York and Reading. York is chosen as one of the key case studies, and we will work with the education officer of the Yorkshire Museum to evaluate how teachers respond to the new information arising from the AHRC-funded research, which is now also incorporated into a new museum display. Reading Schools will provide convenient access for a researcher most likely drawn from either the Archaeology, Human Geography or Education department. If child safeguarding procedures and time allow, children may be interviewed before and after they have used the website. The researcher's findings will provide initial feedback to Runnymede and contribute to the final report to the AHRC; they will also contribute to a short article in the Magazine of the Young Archaeologist Club and the Institute of Field Archaeologists.
In terms of sustainability, the Runnymede Trust will maintain and update the website and cover the host costs of the server for at least 5 years (see costings). The website will be linked to the Real Histories website directory http://www.realhistories.org.uk/, a resource tool for teachers, parents, pupils and the wider community to support them in teaching and learning about cultural diversity in the UK.
Other audiences that will gain access to these findings will be visitors to both the Yorkshire Museum and Winchester Museum (where postcards promoting the website and resource pack will be supplied to school children). We will also supply a link from our website to that of the highly successful children's author Caroline Lawrence who sold over 1 million books in the UK and whose website and blogs receives ca. 7000 visitors per year. Caroline speaks at ca. 40 schools a year reaching between 8,000 - 10,000 British school children each year.
Finally, we intend to promote our findings and a link to the website in the magazine and on the website of the Young Archaeologist Club, an organisation promoting archaeology to young people up to 17 years of age (http://www.britarch.ac.uk/yac/).
The overall success will be measured in terms of numbers of unique visitors to our website and numbers of resource packs downloaded by schools and teachers. For the last three month of the project a part-time research assistant will evaluate current practice in a number of schools, and then conduct a focus-group survey on the impact of our new educational resource. This is not intended as a quantitative study but rather a qualitative assessment, and due to the timescale of this grant we will only interview a small number of teachers, focusing on York and Reading. York is chosen as one of the key case studies, and we will work with the education officer of the Yorkshire Museum to evaluate how teachers respond to the new information arising from the AHRC-funded research, which is now also incorporated into a new museum display. Reading Schools will provide convenient access for a researcher most likely drawn from either the Archaeology, Human Geography or Education department. If child safeguarding procedures and time allow, children may be interviewed before and after they have used the website. The researcher's findings will provide initial feedback to Runnymede and contribute to the final report to the AHRC; they will also contribute to a short article in the Magazine of the Young Archaeologist Club and the Institute of Field Archaeologists.
In terms of sustainability, the Runnymede Trust will maintain and update the website and cover the host costs of the server for at least 5 years (see costings). The website will be linked to the Real Histories website directory http://www.realhistories.org.uk/, a resource tool for teachers, parents, pupils and the wider community to support them in teaching and learning about cultural diversity in the UK.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Hella Eckardt (Principal Investigator) |
| Title | Cartoon/animation/video |
| Description | A 60 second video on migration produced with Cognitive media |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2016 |
| Impact | Launched on youtube in February 2016; over 1000 views to date |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/embed/LGpn04KVjwg |
| Title | Three short stories by Caroline Lawrence |
| Description | Short stories about some of the individuals analysed; for use on website and in York Museum |
| Type Of Art | Creative Writing |
| Year Produced | 2012 |
| Impact | Caroline's work contributed to the website, with the most recent analysis showing that the short stories are amongst the most heavily visited pages. |
| Description | Previous research at the University of Reading (2007-2009) has challenged popular perceptions of an essentially homogenous Roman population in Roman Britain, changing understanding and improving awareness of ethnic diversity in particular. The research demonstrated that later Romano-British populations were much more ethnically diverse than previously thought, with up to a third of individuals classified as non-local. Migrant populations were also shown to include women and children, in contrast to the popular perception that it was mainly adult males who moved across the Roman Empire. This grant was employed to develop a website and teachers' resource pack, produced in collaboration with a children's author (Caroline Lawrence) and the Runnymede Trust, the UK's leading race-equality think tank. The website and teaching resource (http://www.romansrevealed.com/) were launched on the 25th April 2013 and show how the concept of a diverse Britain is not new. As the introductory text explains, 'Links can be made between the way we understand modern multicultural British towns and cities and the very diverse groups of people who live in Romano-British towns such as York and Winchester. The resource offers young children the opportunity to engage with ideas about migration and diversity, as well as teaching them about the use of archaeological science in history. It thereby makes cross-curricular links between Key Stage 2 History, Geography and Science, while the activities and discussion materials, in particular, will help develop and consolidate English curricular skills'. The website features stories arising from collaboration with the established children's author Caroline Lawrence (author of "The Roman Mysteries", a major BBC series and Book series) and with a visual artist (Aaron Watson). Caroline Lawrence provided four short stories about specific individuals, using the scientific 'clues' provided by us, but adding a creative twist. In addition to the 'Ivory Bangle Lady' there is a girl from Winchester who has exotic grave goods but a local isotope signature, suggesting she is the child of migrants; a young man local both in terms of grave goods and isotopic signatures; and an older male from York who appears unremarkable in terms of grave goods but originates from a colder, continental part of Europe. |
| Exploitation Route | This project was designed for a non-academic audience, inpartiuclar Keystage 2 learners, teachers and parents. The website was only launched on 25th April 2013 but was trialled with ca. 200 children at primary schools in London and Reading. An initial assessment of its impact is encouraging as both children and teachers report an increased awareness of diversity not just in in terms of ethnicity, but also in terms of age and gender (Ottosdir 2013). We expect the website's reach to increase significantly through promotion at teachers' conferences and relevant websites and there are links through teaching resource sites such as: PrimaryResources, ThinkingHistory, Miminus Latin course, TES, History on the Net, MyLearning and the London Grid for Learning. Ottosdir, G. 2013. An initial assessment of the Romansrevaled website. Unpublished report, University of Reading; based on interviews with school children and teachers |
| Sectors | Education |
| URL | http://www.romansrevealed.com/ |
| Description | The research was used to produce a website aimed at Keystage 2 learners (http://www.romansrevealed.com/). The latest user figures show that this website had 11,194 visits between 1st January 2015 and 1st January 2016; Google Analytics recognised 8,715 unique users in 2015. Most of the users are from the UK, but there are increasing numbers from the US and Russia. 1,444 people viewed more than 20 pages, often focusing on the more narrative sections (i.e. the short stories by Caroline Lawrence). The webiste has been promoted to teachers and parents, and its use is regularly evaluated. The University of Reading outreach team now uses activities based on one of the characters on the website (the woman of African descent from York) for school activities and she features prominently in the Yorkshire Museum. Users of the website report changed undertanding in terms of diversity and mobility in Roman Britain. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2013 |
| Sector | Education |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal |
| Description | Animated cartoon/video |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Animated cartoon/video on the history of migration to Britain; produced with Cognitive media and the University of Kent. The video was released on youtube in January 2016 and we are now working at promoting it to History teachers and other interested parties. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/embed/LGpn04KVjwg |
| Description | Livestream event to primary schools |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | 6 London schools took part in a livestreaming event about Roman migration and mobility; this was organised by the Museum of London education team, and included the MoL osteologist and an actor |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | RomansRevealed website |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | www.romansrevealed.com. In 2012 we received AHRC Follow-on-Funding (62K) for a specific project to communicate our findings to school children, working with the Runnymede Trust, the UK's leading independent race equality think tank. This resulted in a website and teaching resource (http://www.romansrevealed.com/, launched on the 25th April 2013), which offers a more nuanced and subtle reflection of our research findings, drawsng on them our research findings to provide resources on the themes of Migration, Diversity and Evidence. It shows how the concept of a diverse Britain is not new. As the introductory text explains, 'Links can be made between the way we understand modern multicultural British towns and cities and the very diverse groups of people who live in Romano-British towns such as York and Winchester. The resource offers young children the opportunity to engage with ideas about migration and diversity, as well as teaching them about the use of archaeological science in history. It thereby makes cross-curricular links between Key Stage 2 History, Geography and Science, while the activities and discussion materials, in particular, will help develop and consolidate English curricular skills'. The website features stories arising from collaboration with the established children's author Caroline Lawrence (author of "The Roman Mysteries", a major BBC series and Book series) and with a visual artist (Aaron Watson). Caroline Lawrence provided four short stories about specific individuals, using the scientific 'clues' provided by us, but adding a creative twist. In addition to the 'Ivory Bangle Lady' there is a girl from Winchester who has exotic grave goods but a local isotope signature, suggesting she is the child of migrants; a young man local both in terms of grave goods and isotopic signatures; and an older male from York who appears unremarkable in terms of grave goods but originates from a colder, continental part of Europe. This project is of relevance to the national curriculum, in particular to Key Stage 2 (Age 7-11), as it enables teachers, especially those working with children from diverse backgrounds, to portray images of the Roman world that are not only more relevant but directly reflect new academic research on the topic. The website has had more than 1000 visitors and an initial survey has indicated that it changes views about the Roman world and how children and teachers view 'the Romans': "I was surprised to hear there had been people from other cultural backgrounds than just Rome" (see Ottosdir 2013). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |