Deva Roman Experience

And I heard him exclaim, as they marched out of sight -
“Io Saturnalia! And to all a good night!”

When what to my wondering eyes did appear,
But a parade of great merriment, filled with shouts of good cheer,
With a leader commanding, in good fun, never cru-el,
I knew in a moment he must be the Lord of Misrule!

Away to the lookout I flew like fleet Hermes,
In fear I might see Celtic arm-ies.
The moon glinted off the street market below,
Gave lustre midday to the objects, I-o!

And primus pilus in his focale, and I in my helmet,
Had just started my first watch, as a new legion ca-det.
When outside the fortress there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my watch-post to see what was the matter.

Sponges-on-sticks were placed in vinegar buckets with care,
In hopes that the gods, like good Saturn, would soon hear their prayers;
The soldiers were nestled all snug in their beds;
While visions of gladiator fights danced in their heads;

Our poem was too long for the alt-text, and so, we present to you:

‘Twas the night before Saturnalia, when all through the bathhouse
Not a creature was stirring, not even a dormouse;

Io Saturnalia!

We're looking forward to taking part in some of the fantastic events lined up to celebrate the Gladiators of Britain exhibition, coming soon to the Grosvenor Museum in Chester!

Deva is returning to term-time hours! We'll be open for school visits only from Monday - Friday.

We will be open to the public on weekends, Saturday and Sunday 10am - 6pm (last entry 5pm).

It feels like Back to School ads get earlier every year. But this is one we know you'll be happy to see - ROMAN SOLDIER SCHOOL IS BACK!

Weds and Sats throughout the summer! Lots of chances to have some fun before you have to do the real 'back to school' stuff. devaromancentre.co.uk/soldier-scho...

Two men, dressed as Roman soldiers, in a garden. They are using wooden staffs to point at a blue sign, which reads Tour Week, Summer in the City, with four little white icons on it: a roman helmet, foot prints, two eyes looking, and a column.

FREE TICKETS for our Roman Walking Tours have been released today as a part of @chesterbid.bsky.social Chester BID's Summer in the City Tour Week. Tickets are limited and are available on a first come, first serve basis - so book soon to avoid disappointment! www.chesterbid.co.uk/discover/sum...

And it looks SO good! We love our little Roman garden in the heart of Chester. It's such a nice green space and it's always wonderful to see people sitting and enjoying the calm it offers; eating their lunches, hanging out with friends, or just taking a break. 💚 It's our privilege to share it.

And timey wimey!

We caught Plaguey D getting into spirit of things at the @heritagechester.bsky.social launch event! We always suspected they weren't 100% doom and gloom. 🖤

@devaroman.bsky.social

Two men dressed in Roman garb one a soldier, one in a toga, performing a mock procedure on a skull, in front of a table with lots of ancient brass instruments.

Our Roman physician, Oligarchus, from @devaroman.bsky.social is outside Sick to Death today giving demonstrations on ancient Roman medicine for @chesterherifest.bsky.social!

Come learn how the Romans treated diseases and injuries and decide if you could have handled a visit to a Roman doctor!

A glass tile mosaic with a black and white border and a colourful geometric pattern being laid out on a mesh, it is still in progress.

Did somebody say #MosaicMonday? Here's an in-progress shot from the making of our mosaic, created during last year's @heritagechester.bsky.social! It will be unveiled in our Roman garden during this year's festival - and there will also be a chance to make some more on May 28th and June 4th!

Would watch this film. Would project it onto the screen in our amphitheatre. Would confuse visiting school classes. Would be worth it.

The front of building with a big white sign that says Deva Roman Experience, it's a terracotta colour with false pillars. In front on a ramp is a man dressed as a Roman solider holding a pillow sword and shield looking excited, while another man dressed as a senator poses to look strong and waves a flag.

We are OPEN! Our brand new family-friendly adventure is open 10am - 6pm (last admission 5pm) every day of the Easter holidays, including Easter weekend!

That's today April 16th and the 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st!

Come join us on a journey to Roman Chester!

A young white girl, under five, with curly brown hair tied up with bows, in a dress, holding a pillow sword and shield looking at the camera with a definitely cute but meant to be 'mean' expression. Beside her is an older white man dressed up as a Roman solider gesturing and glaring at the camera menacingly. Behind them in a wooden and old fashioned looking room.

Acquiring a legion's worth of pillow swords and shields might just be the greatest thing we've ever done! Our brand new family-friendly Roman history adventure is open and we think our staff might be having as much fun as our visitors. It's great to be back!

There are debates happening among the staff now. We're about to start writing down guesses as to how much this chainmail weighs and then we're getting the scales out. Anyone want in?

Like the Legionary, they also wear subarmalis as padding, but theirs is made of leather.

The very heavy looking armour is chainmail, is called lorica harmata.

And finally, their weapon! A bow, along with a bracer (manica cutanea), or arm-guard, and a quiver on their back for holding their arrows!

GRWD (Get Ready With Deva)! Today's edition is a Roman Archer (Sagittarius)! 'Saggitta' here is wearing:

A women's under-tunic, or underskirt, called a subucula.

Next, they've added an over-tunic, trousers which are braccae, and leather boots, perones.

From tomorrow (April 12th) we're open again from 10am to 6pm and all though next week and Easter weekend. The only restricted hours will be Tuesday April 15th, 3pm to 6pm.

Everyone got that? What could possibly be confusing about that? If you're not sure if we're open, just ask (or check Google)!

The 'this is fine' meme of a cartoon dog with a bowler hat sat at a table in a room on fire in the first panel. In the second panel there's a closeup and they're saying 'this is fine'.

When you’re based on the border of England and Wales and the centuries-old clashes between medieval kingdoms continues in the form of having different school half term dates.

We are back open, but we’re still welcoming over 150 Welsh school children every day, so apologies for the restricted hours.

Though not worn today, a typical helmet for this type of soldier would be a galea.

(And please forgive us the pixelated cover image. We have no idea why that keeps happens on export, but uhh, if anyone has any ideas, we'll lend you our ears.)

The nice shiny armour is called lorica sqaumata. It is made of bronze interlocked shells.

Then there's the balteus (belt) with the cingulum (the straps hanging off the front; it was a badge of military status).

And finally the weapon! This is a type of long sword called a spatha.

GRWD (Get Ready With Deva)! Today's edition is a Roman Legionary! Flavius is wearing:

Leather boots, called calcei.

The tunic or tunica is laced up to be just above the knee, for a soldier. (It would be below the knee for a citizen.)

Next comes subarmalis which is padded.

A marble effect background with a Roman spear on the left with three banners waving from it. Red, blue, and terracotta colours. The top of the image says Deva Roman Experience and there is a small image of gladiator in a chariot being pulled by horses riding along one of the banners. On the banners it says: Easter Hours Saturday April 5th & Sunday April 6th Open 10am - 6pm Saturday April 12th to Monday April 21st Open 10am* - 6pm 6pm *Tuesday April 15th, open from 3pm-6pm

Immerse yourself in the sights, sounds, and smells of Roman Chester, with our brand new family-friendly adventure, opening April 5th! Find out more and book your tickets now: devaromancentre.co.uk

A two-panel meme; first image shows Drake turning away in disgust, captioned "Travelling abroad for the Easter holidays through crowded airports to visit crowded museums in other countries"; second image shows Drake smiling in approval, captioned "Travelling through *time* to Roman Chester by visiting Deva Roman Experience as part of a relaxing day out in the North West"