It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience: the chance to see one of the greatest -- and most fragile -- works of European art before your very eyes. The illustrated manuscript known as the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry contains images that have shaped our view of the late Middle Ages, but it's normally kept under lock and key at the Château de Chantilly, north of Paris. It's only been exhibited twice in the past century. Now newly restored, the glowing pages of Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry are on show to the public for just a few months. "Approche, approche," the Duke of Berry's usher tells the visitors to the great man's table for the feast that will mark the start of the New Year. It's also your invitation to examine closely the illustration for January, one of the 12 months from the calendar in this Book of Hours -- a collection of prayers and other religious texts -- that form the centrepiece of this exhibition in Chantilly. It's su...
Almost 2000 years on, the men and women of Roman London still have tales to tell.
The place to learn some of their secrets, and to puzzle about many more, is the Museum of London Docklands, whose intriguing (and free) Roman Dead exhibition peels back the centuries and uncovers a multi-ethnic metropolis marked by poor health, violence and inequality.
Last year, a rare Roman sarcophagus was unearthed during preparations for building work in Southwark -- it's only the third to be found in the city since 1999. Around it, the museum has built an exhibition with about 250 objects to show how the Romans of London died and how they were buried or cremated. It sounds macabre -- and be warned, there are human skeletons on display, including those of babies -- but the details the curators have drawn out are fascinating.
Let's start with the sarcophagus, because that's the focal point, though you don't actually see it until you're half way round. You're struck by its size: It's huge, weighing 2.5 tonnes, and it's made of limestone quarried in Lincolnshire. Romans burials were generally in wooden coffins, though if you were rich you could afford lead or stone. Imagine the cost and logistics of shipping this thing half way across Britain.
There's a very good explanatory video running on a screen behind the empty sarcophagus, which sits on a strengthened platform, and it perhaps makes sense to view this first; you can hear the commentary running as you enter.
Even though the sarcophagus had been broken into in the 1600s, the remains of a woman and of a baby were still inside. As the contents were meticulously sifted, two tiny pieces of jewellery came to light, with other precious items having apparently fallen victim to graverobbers.
More than 250,000 people lived in London over its four centuries as a Roman city, but evidence has been found for the burial of less than 1% of them. A series of skeletons that have been subjected to the latest scientific testing provides some remarkable revelations.
One of those on show is that of a woman from the cemetery at Lant Street in Southwark, where the sarcophagus was also found. The shape and appearance of her skull bones show she was of Black African ancestry, as in fact were four of 18 individuals analysed there. She may have been a merchant's or soldier's wife or daughter, demonstrating how London drew in goods and people from across the Roman Empire.
She wasn't healthy, though. Small holes on the outside of her skull point to insanitary living conditions, a poor diet and disease, while degenerative changes to her vertebrae would gave given her back pain and she had osteoarthritis in her elbow, the result of a fractured forearm.
Violent death wasn't unknown in Roman London. Waterlogged pits near London Wall contained the remains, mostly skulls, of 40 people. Many showed signs of multiple blows from blunt and sharp objects.
It's not all bones, though. There are some remarkable glass and pottery objects on show that were found in graves, many used to hold ashes from cremations. This pot decorated with a human face was discovered at Roman London's western cemetery at Fetter Lane.
This is an illuminating exhibition, well worth seeing, but you need to allow yourself time to absorb the wealth of scientific and archaeological information the curators have provided. Catch it in the summer holidays or at weekends when you won't have any distracting school parties running round.
More Romans in London
A fascinating and recently opened attraction in the centre of the City is the restored Temple of Mithras under Bloomberg's new European headquarters building on Walbrook. The mysterious religious cult spread across the Roman Empire, and the temple was first discovered during building work after World War II.
The Bloomberg Space features a well presented collection of Roman artefacts and an interactive display about the temple and the cult. Then you descend into the Mithraeum itself for an atmospheric exploration of the remains. Entry is free, though you need to book in advance.
(Full disclosure: One of the authors of this blog used to work as a journalist for Bloomberg.)
Female skeletal remains discovered within Roman sarcophagus. (c) Museum of London
Face pot used as a cremation urn. (c) Museum of London
The place to learn some of their secrets, and to puzzle about many more, is the Museum of London Docklands, whose intriguing (and free) Roman Dead exhibition peels back the centuries and uncovers a multi-ethnic metropolis marked by poor health, violence and inequality.
Last year, a rare Roman sarcophagus was unearthed during preparations for building work in Southwark -- it's only the third to be found in the city since 1999. Around it, the museum has built an exhibition with about 250 objects to show how the Romans of London died and how they were buried or cremated. It sounds macabre -- and be warned, there are human skeletons on display, including those of babies -- but the details the curators have drawn out are fascinating.
Let's start with the sarcophagus, because that's the focal point, though you don't actually see it until you're half way round. You're struck by its size: It's huge, weighing 2.5 tonnes, and it's made of limestone quarried in Lincolnshire. Romans burials were generally in wooden coffins, though if you were rich you could afford lead or stone. Imagine the cost and logistics of shipping this thing half way across Britain.
Even though the sarcophagus had been broken into in the 1600s, the remains of a woman and of a baby were still inside. As the contents were meticulously sifted, two tiny pieces of jewellery came to light, with other precious items having apparently fallen victim to graverobbers.
More than 250,000 people lived in London over its four centuries as a Roman city, but evidence has been found for the burial of less than 1% of them. A series of skeletons that have been subjected to the latest scientific testing provides some remarkable revelations.
She wasn't healthy, though. Small holes on the outside of her skull point to insanitary living conditions, a poor diet and disease, while degenerative changes to her vertebrae would gave given her back pain and she had osteoarthritis in her elbow, the result of a fractured forearm.
Violent death wasn't unknown in Roman London. Waterlogged pits near London Wall contained the remains, mostly skulls, of 40 people. Many showed signs of multiple blows from blunt and sharp objects.
It's not all bones, though. There are some remarkable glass and pottery objects on show that were found in graves, many used to hold ashes from cremations. This pot decorated with a human face was discovered at Roman London's western cemetery at Fetter Lane.
Practicalities
Roman Dead runs at the Museum of London Docklands until October 28, It's open daily from 1000 to 1800, and entry is free. The museum is just a few minutes' walk from Westferry or West India Quay stations on the Docklands Light Railway.More Romans in London
A fascinating and recently opened attraction in the centre of the City is the restored Temple of Mithras under Bloomberg's new European headquarters building on Walbrook. The mysterious religious cult spread across the Roman Empire, and the temple was first discovered during building work after World War II.
The Bloomberg Space features a well presented collection of Roman artefacts and an interactive display about the temple and the cult. Then you descend into the Mithraeum itself for an atmospheric exploration of the remains. Entry is free, though you need to book in advance.
(Full disclosure: One of the authors of this blog used to work as a journalist for Bloomberg.)
Images
Stone sarcophagus from Harper Road, Southwark. (c) Southwark CouncilFemale skeletal remains discovered within Roman sarcophagus. (c) Museum of London
Face pot used as a cremation urn. (c) Museum of London
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