Rome: The Megalithic Portal Expansion

Submitted by TimPrevett on Tuesday, 15 November 2005 Page Views: 9343

**Roman Standard** submitted by TimPrevett : A close up of the Roman Standard, used by the Legio XX Valeria Victrix based in Chester. A front page article is to follow soon, officially opening up the Roman Gallery on The Portal. In the meantime, feel free to take a peek HERE. (Vote or comment on this photo)

In 2004 The Megalithic Portal team began planning sister Portals to augment the already extensive prehistoric project. A demand for dedicated historic web sites was perceived. So, preparations began behind the scenes...

Given The Portal already took Dark Ages content in the form of old crosses and ogham stones, inclusion of material up to 1066 seems the clear place to provide a cut off. The question is then, if we take Dark Age material, as well as prehistoric, then what about that which lies in between: The Roman Conquest, Occupation and Romanisation of Britain?

There was already inevitable overlap with Iron Age sites into the Roman period, with such places which experienced the full might of the Roman military machine: Hod Hill and Maiden Castle in Dorset, and The Wrekin in Shropshire. Also Romano-British settlements on Anglesey (Din Lligwy and Caer Leb), and Castle Ditches, again in Shropshire. Back in Dorset, the henge momument at Maumbury Rings received heavy interference from the Romans, making it into an amphitheatre for their entertainment.

With the amount of work happening, The Megalithic Portal already gives the team of volunteers who help enough to do. Adding new sites, dealing with articles, fending off spam, and freely giving time to help make available as much content as possible (and more) constitute a large workload. The realisation that we can not do everything we would like to means that at least for the foreseeable future the best way forward is to open up the galleries which had been forming behind the scenes, and allow contributions to grow from there.

Roman Gallery Guidelines

The Roman Gallery will only take images. In that light, please include as much detail in the text as you can. If it is not a well known site, saying which county it is in will be helpful to assign it a correct geographical category. A grid reference will help enormously, and giving some information about the camera angle, or interpretive details will help the viewer of the photos - especially given there are no text pages for the Roman Gallery.

Areas of dense settlement likely to yield a good number of photos, will be given their own category. Uploading photos will be straight into the Photographers' Gallery, and then the History section. The photos will then be approved into appropriate subcategories.

Cities and towns with their own subcategory will be given with the modern European name first, and the Roman name in brackets. If you are not sure, say so, or get in touch

Hadrian's Wall
The major forts will have their own subcategory. Anything outside of a fort but within the militarized zone (between the course of Hadrian's Wall, and the corresponding earthwork to the south known as the Vallum) will go into the general Hadrian's Wall section. Other Roman features nearby, say along the Roman Road, would go into Cumbria, Northumberland or Tyneside, as appropriate.

Roman Roads
Make it clear where the road is! If taking photos of stretches of Road in the countryside, supply interpretive notes or diagrams so it can be understood. If taking photos of modern roads on Roman routes, ensure it is an enlightening photo clearly showing a good stretch.

Prehistoric Context ?
If the Roman site has a strong relationship with an existing historic site (as in those around Dorchester), or with large numbers of prehistoric sites along some Roads (such as those in Cowny between the Roman Forts along the road between Kanovium and Segontium through Rowen into the mountains), please say so. It helps to build the bigger picture, as well as remind us of what would have even then been historic features for the Romans.

A quick bookmark to get to the frontpage of the Roman gallery is www.romanportal.co.uk. We look forward to exploring Roman Britain, and the further reaches of the Empire within this gallery.A quick bookmark for the Dark Age gallery is www.dark-ages.co.uk

If you wish to discuss Roman issues and places, you can use The Portal's Forum, as well as the Yahoo! Group, Roman Britain

The Roman Gallery is administrated by Shropshire Traveller, in consultation with The Megalithic Portal editors and admin team. Any queries please contact Shrophshire Traveller.

Finally, the arrival of The Romans on The Megalithic Portal does not mean the end of its Prehistory! No indeed! We look forward to continuing to grow, improve and excel on presenting prehistoric heritage on the web.

Contributor Bio for TimPrevett: Based in Warrington, contributing since 2012. Favourite site: Taversoe Tuick. Occupation: Creative Media.

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