Roman celebration at RAMM

The Seaton Down Hoard Roman Roadshow will be at Exeter’s Royal Albert Memorial Museum’s (RAMM) on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 February 2017.

Buried in East Devon around AD350 and only discovered in 2013, the Seaton Down Hoard is made up of 22,888 coins and three iron ingots. It is the fourth largest hoard of Roman coins ever found.

Saving it for Devon was made possible by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Clinton Estates, a private donation by Patrick Long, and many contributions by members of the public. To celebrate its return, a Roman Roadshow is touring Devon.

The Roadshow started visiting local schools in November and the February celebration at RAMM is one of a range of events planned to take the hoard and its fascinating stories of 4th century Roman Devon to wider audiences. The programme will culminate in an exhibition at RAMM in July 2017 featuring the entire hoard.

The Roman celebration is for people all ages and abilities. Activities range from making metal coins, just as the Romans would have done, to tours of RAMM’s Roman displays; from playing board games to quizzing curators to meeting Roman characters who might have buried the hoard.

Specialist days at RAMM for conservators and metal detectorists are scheduled for Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 April. The Hoard will also be the focus of museum activities at the Devon County Show and Exeter Respect Festival and excursions to East Devon communities are planned for May.

Talks, tours, and workshops for groups like history societies, university students, metal detectorists and children in care are booked by emailing Lizzie.Mee@exeter.gov.uk