On Wednesday 29th May 2024, at 11am, 23 u3a members met inside the Visitors’ Centre for a private tour of the Colchester Roman Circus, the most northerly one in the Roman Empire and the only one in Britain.
We were warmly welcomed by our very experienced and knowledgeable guide, Linda Martinez, who gave us a lively and insightful introductory talk on the Roman occupation of Colchester, detailing the discovery of the Circus and the archaeological excavations in the Garrison Headquarters’ grounds.
Surprisingly, considering the importance and size of Colchester’s Circus, the second largest one known to date, in the Roman Empire, it was not discovered until 2008, as no written records have been found of its existence. It might have remained unknown were it not for advances in modern technology enabling detailed pictures to be taken from the air of unusual contours in the ground.
The tour continued into the museum’s rooms which contain models, artifacts and visual information around the walls. Particularly striking was the amazing model of Roman Camulodunum. This and the brilliant model of the chariot racing track itself, provoked much discussion and many questions, all ably answered by Linda.
The tour continued outside to view some of the excavations, including the site of the eight starting gates. The walk, which most of us undertook, of the entire route of this extensive track, really bought home to us the size and scale of Colchester Circus.
Throughout the two hour visit, Linda was extremely engaging and informative, giving us a different slant on the talk which many of had heard two weeks’ earlier “Antonia Augusta goes to the Camulodunum Races”, delivered by Samantha Rowley.
We were delighted with the enjoyable experience and afterwards, having thanked Linda, as they departed many of our tour group expressed their thanks to the organisers.
