Romanian people living in Cumbria can take part in a new creative writing project.
Voices from the Wall will be led by Cumbrian-based writer Bronwen Riley and Romanian writer Ioana Morpurgo and work with Romanian people living in the north of England to explore through creative writing their own lives in parallel with their Dacian ancestors – who came from what is now Romania – and who helped to build Hadrian’s Wall.
The project is run in association with Carlisle’s Tullie House Museum and the Romanian Cultural Institute, London during Hadrian’s Wall 1,900th anniversary year, with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund/Arts Council England.
Dacians were sent to Britain. The first cohort of around 1,000 Dacians were among an estimated 10,000 auxiliary soldiers from many parts of the empire who were stationed in the military zone on and around Hadrian’s Wall. They were stationed first at an outpost fort at Bewcastle, north of the Wall, and then from at least the early third century, their base was at Birdoswald Fort.
Bronwen said: “This ancient Dacian-British exchange presents such a rare piece of shared heritage for us, linking Romanians in a tangible way to Britain’s built heritage – as they helped to construct Hadrian’s Wall.
“Our aim is to co-create bilingual narratives, through creative writing, looking at artefacts and visiting the sites where the Dacians stood on Hadrian’s Wall. We will look at the past objectively and honestly through shared experience, celebrating common culture through millennia and challenging unhelpful nationalist narratives in both the UK and Romania.”
Organisers are now looking for people to take part in Voices From the Wall. No experience of writing or film-making is necessary. The project begins on May 21 with a day spent meeting writers and curators at Tullie House, followed by a visit to Birdoswald Fort.
Workshops will be held in Romanian and English and will be available online. Contributions are welcome in both Romanian and/or English and all work will be translated into both languages.
Anyone over 18 years who would like to take part is asked to email daciansonthewall@gmail.com in no more than 200 words about why they are interested.
The project will culminate in a short film, exhibition and event to be held at Tullie House and the Romanian Cultural Institute in London later in the year.
