Living Museums is dedicated to history and heritage projects - created with and for young people
DODDERHILL ROMAN FORT LIVING MUSEUM
Project created by Year 3, Woodrow First School Redditch
Here are two views of St. Augustine's Church in Dodderhill- today (left) and c.1915 (right)
In AD 61, Dodderhill was the site of a Roman wooden fort, built to defend the valuable salt trade in Droitwich Spa, at the time of the Boudiccan uprising. The Romans called the town Salinae. We tried to imagine what the site would have looked like, if you were able to travel back in time ...
IWe tried to imagine what it would be like if we could create a "living history" museum on the site today. This isn't possible because the church is in the way! So we have created a a virtual museum instead. We thought about all the people in role that you might encounter if you visited the fort, such as stablehands, metalworkers, servants, soldiers etc. We hope you like it!
The fort in Dodderhill was built in AD61. The same year saw the final battle between the Romans and Boudicca, at Mancetter. That is just 46 miles away. So we imagined that the soldiers in the fort might have taken part in the battle - marching along the Icknield Road and then along Watling Street, to join the other forces amassing on the battle site.
So the visitors to our living history museum will find the fort in a high state of alert - ready to defend the fort and town from local tribes, but also, prepared at any moment to be summoned by Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, the governor of Roman Britain, to take part in the war...