Saturday 6 October 2018
Woburn Suite (G22/26), Senate House

The senses were functionally significant to all aspects of Roman life and played a central role in private and public events, from religious ceremonies to gladiatorial fights. While the sense of sight has dominated archaeological practice and theory for decades, scholars are now starting to address the ancient sensorium as a whole. This workshop will focus on the sensory implications of archaeological material from the Roman North (including modern France, western Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Britain), from their earliest interactions with Roman civilisation to Late Antiquity. National and international scholars will discuss the sensory impact that the influx of external material culture, behaviours, urbanism, and populations had on indigenous communities in the northern provinces, presenting their material in a sensorially engaging and un-traditional way.

10.00        Introduction – Giacomo Savani (Leicester)
        Chair – Giacomo Savani
10.15    Thomas Derrick (Leicester): ‘Sensory methodologies, urbanism(s), and the Roman North’
10.45    Andrew Gardner (UCL): ‘Theorising the immediate: the pitfalls and possibilities of sensory archaeology’
11.15-11.45     Coffee/tea break
11.45    Patty Baker (Kent): ‘Experimental archaeology and locating sensory perceptions of florae in Roman Britain’
12.15    Stuart McKie (Durham): ‘“A gift to the gods by which Butu has perished…” Curse tablets and votive rituals in the Roman north-west’
Discussion
13.15-14.00    Lunch
        Chair - Thomas Derrick
14.00    Caroline Lawrence (Author): ‘Writing Londinium with the five senses’
14.30    Sophie  Jackson (MOLA) ‘Evoking the experience of being in a mithraeum; how far do you go?’
15.00-15.30    Coffee/Tea break
15.30    Nicky Garland (Newcastle) ‘The sensory analysis of military structures in Britannia  - The Commanding Officers’ House, Arbeia, Hadrian’s Wall’
16.00    Mike Bishop ‘Roman Front Ears 2: Reconstructing a 2nd century AD soundscape of Hadrian’s Wall’
16.30    Anna Walas (Leicester) ‘Engaging senses, engaging the troops – The sensory experiences accompanying official military practices within military bases under the Early to High Empire’
17.00        Concluding remarks and discussion - Eleanor Betts (Open University)

Queries to the organisers: Thomas Derrick and Giacomo Savani - sensoryexpRNP@gmail.com  
Tickets for the event, including morning and afternoon refreshments, and a hot buffet lunch, cost £14 (Roman Society members / Students / Unwaged); £17 (full price).