The BAFTA-award winning historian Dan Snow has paid a visit to a ground-breaking history exhibition taking place at Colchester Castle.

Decoding the Roman Dead, which is now on display in Colchester Castle’s Charles Grey Room, delves into the lives of Roman Colcestrians from thousands of years ago.

And Colchester Museums has put together a partnership with popular historian Mr Snow, who presents the UK’s number one history podcast, History Hit.

The Decoding the Roman Dead exhibition will run until January and reveals archaeologists’ research on just how life was lived by the inhabitants of Roman Colchester in a time when invasion and turbulence were the norm.

The calibre of the exhibition was praised by Mr Snow, who highlighted the quality of the research and the number of artefacts as stand-out aspects of the exhibit.

He said: “This is one of the best Roman exhibitions I’ve seen in the UK.

“The team has used objects that have been in the collection for generations, and have used new scientific techniques to discover huge amounts of new material about the lives of these people who were cremated and buried outside Colchester nearly 2,000 years ago.

“From a potful of bones shards we can build a picture of a life lived in a world different to our own, but strangely familiar.”

Gazette: Dan Snow

Colchester councillor Darius Laws emphasised the innovative techniques being used by archaeologists which have helped bring the exhibit to life.

He said: “This is the first time that Roman cremation burials have undergone the scientific technique of isotope-analysis in Britain and we are thrilled to be able to reveal the results.

“The exhibition showcases findings that are significant and of national importance.”

Curators of Colchester Museums Glynn Davis and Carolina Lima have also taken part in Mr Snow’s podcast in an in-depth discussion about the archaeological and scientific research behind the project.