Colchester Roman Festival runs this weekend, but what will it involve?

From the ancient ruins we walk past every day to the artefacts lying undiscovered beneath our feet, history is alive all around us.

Children learn about the world’s most famous civilization in the classroom, and even the street names throughout Colchester show that the Roman Empire is not confined to textbooks and academic monographs.

It, therefore, seems strange that it was only last year the first standalone event was staged to celebrate Colchester’s Roman heritage.

After all, this is a city which was mentioned in the scriptures written by the great Roman author Pliny the Elder, a city which was the location of the great Iceni revolt, a city which has a bar bearing the city’s Roman name, Camulodunum.

Although the legacy of the Roman empire is all around us, Roman Festival organiser Don Quinn, 75, is still intent on giving people the chance to experience how it must have been to have lived as a Roman would have done.

Organiser – Don Quinn has been behind the Roman Festival, which is being held for only the second time (Image: Steve Brading)

This weekend sees Colchester’s Roman Festival enter only its second year.

To place that in a very specific context, that’s the same amount of time Constantine II ruled the Roman Empire – in other words, not very long.

But that doesn't make the event any less significant, not least to Mr Quinn himself.

After decades of pondering why Colchester doesn’t have a Roman festival, Mr Quinn is now hoping the event can become Colchester’s trademark festa.

He said: “For years and years, I’ve wanted to do a Roman festival – it seemed like a no-brainer for a city like Colchester to have one, because there was nothing to celebrate our wonderful history.”

Armed – Roman armour and weaponry will be available for visitors of all ages to test out (Image: Steve Brading)

Having lived in Colchester for more than 40 years, one suspects there must surely have been a Roman celebration in some guise during that time – but Mr Quinn seems certain that, at least as far as he can remember, a festival which marks Colchester’s Roman past had not been held before last year.

“There was a sort of pageant years and years ago, so that was maybe a nod to it, but there has been nothing more than that," he said.

“This event is a fusion between sheer entertainment and education – it'll be better than last year and that’s how I want it.”

Mr Quinn said the festival will include the Ermine Street Guards – one of the foremost British classical re-enactment societies – which will be dressing as Roman troops and bringing Roman weaponry too.

On the march – a re-enactment society will show visitors just how the Romans looked thousands of years ago (Image: Steve Brading)

In the marquee will be well-known historical novelists, including the highly regarded Lindsey Davis.

Colchester Museum and Colchester Archaeological Trust, as one might expect, is getting involved too in order to offer a glimpse of what the city would have looked like in Roman times.

Castle Park may not have the remains of an ancient amphitheatre, but there will still be gladiators re-enacting a fight to the death, something which Romans revelled in watching.

But one aspect about which Mr Quinn speaks with particular excitement is the Roman equivalent of Red Bull, which will be concocted for visitors next weekend.

Posca, a drink consisting of water, red wine vinegar, and honey was a common beverage for Roman soldiers who endured marching 20 miles a day, although visitors to the Roman festival won’t be repeating soldiers’ exertions, they can at least get a flavour of what kept them going.

“It’s something quite spectacular – the very first energy drink," Mr Quinn said.

“The red wine vinegar meant you could use pretty much any water, and the honey knocks the edge off the vinegar.

“We’ll be serving that in Roman terracotta cups which you can either take home or give back.”

Gladiators, are you ready – there will be re-enactments of the famous gladiatorial games at the festival (Image: Steve Brading)

Running the same weekend is the Nearly Festival, which will take place at Old Heath Recreational Ground, but Mr Quinn doesn’t see the event as a competition – the two, he says, can happily co-exist.

“We don’t compete – it’s always been the same and we don’t take trade off each other.”

Tickets for the Roman Festival, which cost £12 for a weekend pass, don’t see the event return a profit however, and it means helpers and volunteers are always in demand.

The reward for Mr Quinn, as well as anyone else involved, is seeing everything work like clockwork.

“If you ask a painter what they enjoy the most, they say it’s seeing it all come together – that’s exactly the same as an organiser.

“Last year, at the end of the festival, I was really fulfilled and happy – this year, I’ll be the same.”

So too, one hopes, will all the visitors as they immerse themselves in Colchester’s Roman past.