Ancient Identities in Britain : Exploring heritage in the making

Abstract

How are ideas about Iron Age and Roman pasts relevant to people in contemporary Britain? And how do the interests and ideologies of our own society shape the way we present, curate and understand these histories? This book is the first detailed study to explore these questions. It addresses how Iron Age and Roman heritage in Britain is conceived and understood today and sheds new light on the continued social significance of these ancient histories. Ancient Identities in Britain investigates how ideas about the Iron Age and Roman past remain socially relevant: how they are studied in UK classrooms and presented in the media, and how they are projected by ancient monuments, open-air museums, re-enactments, living history exhibits and community projects across England, Scotland and Wales. Adding to this survey, fieldwork and interviews at five heritage venues, including Vindolanda, Castell Henllys and Butser Ancient Farm, reveal the principles and motivations of professional staff and different styles of presentation for the public. An engaging and nuanced account of everyday practices, this study sheds new light on the processes through which heritage has been made. Throughout, Ancient Identities in Britain explores the actions, ideas and material conditions through which these periods become, and have become, heritage in the present, and investigates how contemporary social practices are transformed through encounters with material traces and conceptual legacies.