Page 89 - Hrobat Virloget, Katja, et al., eds. (2015). Stone narratives: heritage, mobility, performance. University of Primorska Press, Koper.
P. 89
public presentation of stone monuments
David Mattingly’s book An Imperial Possession – Britain in the Roman Empire 54bc –
409ad (Mattingly, 2007) provided the narrative framework through which the collections
could be used to illustrate the story of the Roman occupation and the associated story of
the frontier. In the book, Mattingly explores the narrative of the occupation of Britain by
the Romans. »Its fundamental theme is the fate of Britain as an imperial possession dur-
ing nearly four centuries of foreign domination« (Mattingly, 2007, 3). In his Introduction,
Mattingly states that: »In attempting to write a new history for the globalised twenty-first
century, I have been much influenced by recent dramatic changes of emphasis and inter-
pretation. Studies of the pre-Roman Iron Age have been revolutionized by new theoretical
approaches and Roman history is also starting to be affected by post-colonial perspectives.
This book is very much concerned with the experience of people in Britain under Roman
rule and as such it is far more social history than political history … This is a post-colonial
history, in the sense that it questions aspects of the consensus model and attempts to wid-
en debate about the nature and impact of Roman rule in Britain.« (Mattingly, 2007, p. 3).
Development of the Roman Frontier Gallery provided the opportunity to move this
debate from the academic to the public domain and in so doing to challenge visitors to
think about the nature of the Roman occupation, its impact on native populations and its
legacy. The overarching concept for the Frontier Gallery was to invite visitors to explore the
narrative of the Roman occupation of Britain from the perspective of the north-west fron-
tier of the Empire and of Carlisle, its most northern urban centre, in particular. The princi-
ples advocated in the Interpretation Framework were used in developing and applying this
concept, in particular the belief that our cultural heritage should be accessible and invit-
ing, dynamic and people oriented, and relevant (though potentially challenging) to their
views, understanding of and interest in the world. A primary objective was to stimulate vis-
itors to think and to ask questions about the Roman occupation and its resonances with
the modern world.
Articulation of this concept into a structure for the Gallery was developed through
dialogue between interpreters (Nigel Mills and John Scott from The Hadrian’s Wall Trust,
Genevieve Adkins from the Centre for Interpretation Studies, Perth College) and the mu-
seum curator, Tim Padley, Curator of Prehistoric and Roman Antiquities, Tullie House
Museum. The structure was developed around five key themes. Throughout the exhibition
objects for display were carefully chosen to illustrate the themes and do not carry tradition-
al museum labels so as not to distract from the narrative. The axiom ‘less is more’ also in-
formed selection; there is no point in displaying multiple examples of a type of object unless
this adds to the story. A key and initially controversial decision was to use a replica of the
tombstone of Flavinus in Hexham Abbey to introduce the exhibition. This tombstone is
over 2.5 metres high and graphically depicts a Roman cavalryman riding down a barbarian,
a classic piece of Roman iconography known across the Empire. The controversy concerned
the use of a replica rather than a real object. Happily the value of the high quality replica as
an interpretive device was fully recognised and its dominating presence at the entrance to
the gallery effectively conveys the overarching concept of the exhibition.
The first theme (Figure 1) focuses on the relationship between Britain and the Empire.
The Roman Empire encompassed a huge area and Britain was its most northerly territory
or province. Conquest and occupation heralded new ways of living, trading, communicat-
87
David Mattingly’s book An Imperial Possession – Britain in the Roman Empire 54bc –
409ad (Mattingly, 2007) provided the narrative framework through which the collections
could be used to illustrate the story of the Roman occupation and the associated story of
the frontier. In the book, Mattingly explores the narrative of the occupation of Britain by
the Romans. »Its fundamental theme is the fate of Britain as an imperial possession dur-
ing nearly four centuries of foreign domination« (Mattingly, 2007, 3). In his Introduction,
Mattingly states that: »In attempting to write a new history for the globalised twenty-first
century, I have been much influenced by recent dramatic changes of emphasis and inter-
pretation. Studies of the pre-Roman Iron Age have been revolutionized by new theoretical
approaches and Roman history is also starting to be affected by post-colonial perspectives.
This book is very much concerned with the experience of people in Britain under Roman
rule and as such it is far more social history than political history … This is a post-colonial
history, in the sense that it questions aspects of the consensus model and attempts to wid-
en debate about the nature and impact of Roman rule in Britain.« (Mattingly, 2007, p. 3).
Development of the Roman Frontier Gallery provided the opportunity to move this
debate from the academic to the public domain and in so doing to challenge visitors to
think about the nature of the Roman occupation, its impact on native populations and its
legacy. The overarching concept for the Frontier Gallery was to invite visitors to explore the
narrative of the Roman occupation of Britain from the perspective of the north-west fron-
tier of the Empire and of Carlisle, its most northern urban centre, in particular. The princi-
ples advocated in the Interpretation Framework were used in developing and applying this
concept, in particular the belief that our cultural heritage should be accessible and invit-
ing, dynamic and people oriented, and relevant (though potentially challenging) to their
views, understanding of and interest in the world. A primary objective was to stimulate vis-
itors to think and to ask questions about the Roman occupation and its resonances with
the modern world.
Articulation of this concept into a structure for the Gallery was developed through
dialogue between interpreters (Nigel Mills and John Scott from The Hadrian’s Wall Trust,
Genevieve Adkins from the Centre for Interpretation Studies, Perth College) and the mu-
seum curator, Tim Padley, Curator of Prehistoric and Roman Antiquities, Tullie House
Museum. The structure was developed around five key themes. Throughout the exhibition
objects for display were carefully chosen to illustrate the themes and do not carry tradition-
al museum labels so as not to distract from the narrative. The axiom ‘less is more’ also in-
formed selection; there is no point in displaying multiple examples of a type of object unless
this adds to the story. A key and initially controversial decision was to use a replica of the
tombstone of Flavinus in Hexham Abbey to introduce the exhibition. This tombstone is
over 2.5 metres high and graphically depicts a Roman cavalryman riding down a barbarian,
a classic piece of Roman iconography known across the Empire. The controversy concerned
the use of a replica rather than a real object. Happily the value of the high quality replica as
an interpretive device was fully recognised and its dominating presence at the entrance to
the gallery effectively conveys the overarching concept of the exhibition.
The first theme (Figure 1) focuses on the relationship between Britain and the Empire.
The Roman Empire encompassed a huge area and Britain was its most northerly territory
or province. Conquest and occupation heralded new ways of living, trading, communicat-
87
