Story
We are determined to change this and we are currently fundraising to renovate and redevelop the site, turning it into a fantastic and interactive visitor experience.
Our first aim is to develop inspiring new displays in the granary museum, telling the story of the fort and its role in the dramatic events of the mid-first century AD. We have successfully raised £55,000 and only need another £6,000 to complete the Granary museum's redevelopment.
The exciting new displays will explain why and how the fort was built, and how it fitted into the networks of trade and communication running through Roman Britain and the wider Empire. They will also look at the role of the Roman Army, the identities and everyday lives of the soldiers and the relationships between the soldiers and the local Celtic population.
The displays will enable visitors to:
· See Roman artefacts excavated from the site, ranging from coins and brooches to fine pottery and armour fragments
· Explore interactive exhibits explaining aspects of the fort and the Roman Army
· Meet characters from the fort talking about their daily lives
· Discover how the fort looked in its heyday through reconstructions
· Find out about the methods used by archaeologists to uncover the story of the fort and the garrison
· See full scale replicas of arms and armour used by the soldiers who were based here and even try some on!
The Lunt is a remarkable and unique site dating from 60 AD, just 17 years after the Roman invasion of Britain. This was a time of rebellion when the forces of the Iceni tribe, led by the formidable Boudicca, cut a bloody swathe through Roman Britain, burning Colchester, St Albans and London and slaughtering the inhabitants. The Lunt was built as a frontline outpost on the edge of enemy territory, as the Romans struggled to reassert their rule.
The temporary timber fort the Romans built has long since disappeared, but excavations carried out by archaeologists from the 1960s have revealed its fascinating story. In fact the Lunt is one of the most completely excavated forts in the Western Empire.
Today this exceptionally significant site features authentic reconstructions of a number of buildings including the gateway, a section of the ramparts, one of the granaries and the gyrus, a unique structure not found anywhere else in the Roman Empire and used for training cavalry horses. It is also the only extensively reconstructed Roman timber fort in England.
Thank you for your support