A ROMAN festival is to be held later this month as Colchester prepares to celebrate its rich classical heritage.
Held at Lower Castle Park throughout the final weekend of July, Colchester’s first Roman Festival will see tickets priced at just £5 per adult with children admitted free of charge.
Colchester’s links to the Roman empire are internationally famous with the town being home to three theatres and Britain’s only Roman chariot-racing circus.
Archaeological digs in Colchester are a treasure trove for Roman artefacts, with the current excavation of the old Essex County Hospital in Lexden Road recently uncovering part of a chariot day racing cup and more than 50 roman burials.
And the Roman festival, which will run from 10.30am until 5pm on both the Saturday and the Sunday, will see a marquee full of Roman artifacts from Colchester Museum and the Colchester Archaeological Trust, with experts on-hand to guide visitors through each object.
The festival will also allow visitors to witness and experience some of day-to-day Roman activities which took place in Colchester thousands of years ago.
Among the events organised for the day are Vulcanilia processions, which offer worship to Vulcan, who was the Roman god of fire.
Archery, donkey rides, stalls, and a graffiti will all be available for children and adults alike.
The organiser of the event, Don Quinn – who is also the organiser of the Colchester Medieval Festival and the Colchester Food and Drink Festival – said the turnouts at the other events meant he is optimistic about ahead of this month's Roman Festival.
He said: “We had a stunning start to the season with an amazing turnout for both our Medieval Festival and our Colchester Food and Drink Festival, so we decided to give something good for everyone and reduce the cost of a terrific day out for all the family.”
“It has a high educational value for all as well as being huge fun for the whole family.
“We have the archaeological trust and the Colchester Castle Museum helping us.”
Parking for the event, which will be at Kings Meadows, is free of charge.
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