Colchester Museums have joined forces with historian Dan Snow’s History Hit Network to work on several exciting projects that showcase Colchester’s rich heritage and history.
One of the first projects the teams will working on is a new exhibition, Decoding The Roman Dead, which opens at Colchester Castle on the 24 July.
Decoding The Roman Dead will be investigating the first people that lived and died in Roman Britain’s capital city and will showcase the results of research conducted by archaeologists and specialists to ‘decode’ the hidden stories of Colchester’s residents during a time of invasion, construction, and dramatic change.
Following the runaway success of the daily podcast, Dan Snow’s History Hit, there have been four new podcasts added to the History Hit Network in the last 12 months, including The Ancients, which focuses on ancient history. In a new episode of The Ancients, to be released prior to the exhibition opening, the team will be talking to Colchester Museums curators Glynn Davis and Carolina Lima, to discuss the identity and lives of Roman Colchester’s earliest inhabitants and unlock the world of life and death almost 2,000 years ago. This is the first time that Roman cremation burials have undergone the scientific technique of isotope analysis to reveal where people grew up and travelled from in the Empire, so its findings are truly significant and of national importance.
Alongside its fast-growing audio network, History Hit also runs its own subscription video on-demand channel. Dan Snow and the team will be heading to Colchester Castle over the summer to film footage of the Decoding The Roman Dead exhibition, and Colchester Museums will contribute to a number of other podcasts and documentaries for the network.
One such project is a new documentary be released this summer on History Hit TV surrounding Colchester’s very own Queen Boudica. Filming for this documentary has already taken place at Colchester Castle and will offer viewers an amazing insight into Colchester’s bloody past.
Further projects include work on Colchester’s Roman Invasion, highlighting the town’s Gosbecks Archaeological Park, and late Iron Age Colchester featuring commentary from Colchester + Ipswich Museums Manager, Dr Frank Hargrave.
Councillor Darius Laws, Portfolio Holder for Economy, Business and Heritage, said: “Colchester Museums’ collaboration with History Hit is an incredible opportunity for viewers across the country to understand more about Britain’s First City and the importance of Colchester in the history books. Make sure you are following @ColMuseums and @HistoryHit on social media so you don’t miss out on new content about Colchester, and let's encourage people to come and visit our historic town this summer.”
Dan Snow of History Hit added: “Colchester was one of the first places I ever filmed, when I started at the BBC 20 years ago. I was there looking into the story of Boudicca's revolt. I was so impressed by the deep connection with Roman Britain, but there was frustration because, for all the archaeology, there was still a sense of so much more to be discovered and deciphered.
“Decades later I'm honoured to be involved, as experts do just that. Cutting edge technology is being deployed to tell us more about the inhabitants of Roman Colchester. I can't wait to learn more about who they were, where they came from and how they lived”.
Information about History Hit’s free podcasts can be found here.
Information about on demand documentaries and a free trial can be found here: History Hit
Page last reviewed: 5 July 2021