The London Mithraeum, discovered in 1954 under the bombed out ruins of London and now rebuilt to give you a "memorable, powerful and authentic experience."

/ London Mithraeum/

The London Mithraeum, discovered in 1952 under the bombed out ruins of London, is now rebuilt and open to the public to give you a "memorable, powerful and authentic experience."The London Mithraeum was built 1800 years ago by the Romans and dedicated to the god, Mithras. In 1952 a small section of a Roman building was discovered and on the last day of the dig in 1954 its function was confirmed as a temple devoted to the God Mithras. The evidence on that last day was a sculpted head of Mythras. The temple was first built around 240-250AD and was eventually abandoned in about 380AD and is now open to the public in the Bloomberg building. A further excavation took place between 2012-2014 and discovered more than 14 000 artefacts, together with 63 000 pieces of pottery and 3 tonnes of animal bones. This together with the original finds means that this was has become a highly important site in the history of London. Over 400 pieces of writing tablets have been found and this includes the first known reference to London and the earliest hand written document. Some 600 artefacts are on display as well as the temple itself. Several other key finds are on display in the nearby Museum of London. (20 minutes walk)

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Visiting London? The Museum of London, is one of the best museums in the UK and is free. (Part 1)

/ Museum of London/

Visiting London? The Museum of London, is one of the best museums in the UK and is free. You can see amazing objects from thousands of years of life in London, from a Mammoth tusk to a pilgrims badge representing a visit to St Thomas Becket’s tomb. You can get up close to those objects and see their little details. The displays are bright and informative. There are rooms set out as though they were from a Roman villa placing Roman finds in context. Several models are on display such as London’s Roman forum and Basilica as well as the original gothic St Paul’s Cathedral

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Bones, stones , pots and relics, one of the best museums to get close to your ancestors at Corinium museum in the Cotswolds.

/ Corinium museum/

Bones, stones , pots and relics, one of the best museums to get close to your ancestors at Corinium museum in the Cotswolds. It is , by far, one of the best museums to get see prehistoric, Roman and Saxon remains. There are so many things to see and so many information boards that it is impossible not to learn a huge amount about our ancestors. It gives visitors an opportunity to handle replicas such as in the two photos above. You will be able to get a close look at archaeological discoveries that are regularly discovered with great excitement on tv programmes but then are taken off to be studied in private at universities. The Neolithic and Beaker people pottery are good examples of this, whilst at this museum, you can see all the decoration on their pots and begin to see how different decorations show different periods of prehistory. You can see various graves that have been reconstructed and appreciate the work of archaeologists carefully uncovering such finds to get the full picture and maximum information from their dig.

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Butser Ancient Farm, five thousand years of history.

/ Butser Ancient Farm/

Where did our ancestors live when they came down from trees? Where did Cave men live if there weren’t any caves about? They had to build them. At Butser Ancient Farm, you will see an amazing collection of reconstructed houses from the Neolithic period, five thousand years ago to the Saxons in the early medieval period. You can look closely at the building techniques, styles and materials from the different time periods. It is one thing to see artist versions in books but it is a very different thing to see a reconstructed building based on actual examples and then walk inside it. At Butser you can also see how the interiors were furnished and decorated. There is even an amazing reconstructed Roman villa for you to wander through. Butser Ancient Farm is full of exceptionally friendly and helpful staff who love the place, are very knowledgeable and are very keen to tell you all about it. You will come away with an improved knowledge of living spaces over thousands of years, an enhanced love of history and some excellent stories.

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Portchester Castle, a medieval castle within a Roman fort.

/ Portchester Castle/

Portchester Castle is one of history’s “must see places”. It is the best preserved example of a Roman fort north of the Alps and within its walls , is one of the best preserved examples of a medieval square keep. You get two for the price of one at Portchester! Whereas, in many square keeps, access is only available on the ground floor, at Portchester 3 floors of the keep are open to the public and covid permitting, so is the rooftop with a fine view over the harbour. Originally built to curb the activities of “Frankish Pirates” it then took on a medieval identity with many key events in English history are associated with it such as the battles of Crecy and Agincourt.

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Dover Castle, the mightiest castle in Britain, defending our shores from the Middle Ages to the Cold War!

/ Dover Castle/
Dover Castle, the mightiest castle in Britain, defending our shores from the Middle Ages to the Cold War!

If you only have time to see one castle, then Dover is the one to see. Eighteen hundred years of history is something to boast about. A visit to Dover Castle is a day worth spent and will leave an everlasting impression on you. If you love history, you will love this place. It has it all. It is only 21 miles from France and has long been considered to be the gateway to England. If Dover fell, then the rest of the country would be wide open for conquest. It is a brilliant example of a medieval castle but it also has a complex of underground tunnels that during the second World War, was where the evacuation of Dunkirk was masterminded. You can also go back in time and see amazing sections of the “Great Tower” set out in the style of Henry II’s court.

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Lullingstone Villa; a great insight into Roman life in Britain and remarkable secret christian church.

/ Lullingstone Villa/

A visit to Lullingstone Villa will give you a great insight into life in Roman Britain. You can survey the whole villa and study, from a raised gallery, two wonderful mosaics based on the stories from ancient literature. The inhabitants of Lullingstone were early converts to Christianity who created their own “house-church”, to worship their new god. On our visit we came across lots of families having a great time working together to answer English Heritage question sheets. Four hundred years of development is explained in a good audio visual display and colourful information boards around the building.

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Reading Museum; home of Britain's own Bayeux Tapestry and the lost Roman town of Silchester

/ Reading museum/

No need to go to France to see the Bayeux Tapestry, go to Reading Museum instead. It’s there in its entirety for all to see and its free! Whilst you are there, have a look at the Silchester exhibition, the story of the old Roman town of Calleva Atrebatum that was abandoned and returned to agricultural land. Behind the museum are the remains of Reading Abbey, one of the largest in the country and the burial place of Henry I.

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Colchester Castle; one of the finest archaeological collections in the country and brilliant for kids.

/ Colchester Castle/

This is the largest Norman Keep in Europe built on top of the remains of the great temple of Claudius the conquering Roman Empire. Objects from over 2000 years including the Iron Age, Boudicca’s uprising, the finest display of Roman glassware rivalling that of the British Museum, are here along a gruesome dungeon section focusing on the BloodY Mary burning people at the stake, Matthew Hopkin’s witchfinding, There are countless invitations to touch objects and children’s activities include a roman chariot race simulation, 4 dressing up stations, use of tablets to compete an electronic quiz and creation of a mosaic.

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