Digging Deeper: Uncovering Roman Carlisle, a new exhibition showcasing the recent internationally significant finds from Carlisle’s Roman Bathhouse – including the two huge Roman heads – is opening at Tullie in Carlisle this weekend.
Going on display will be once in a lifetime Roman finds, which include the two large, sculpted heads, a vast collection of intaglios (delicately carved gems), a stone dolphin carving, hypocaust tiles and vaulting tubes, unearthed in May 2023.
The archaeological dig, which captured international media attention, was part of the ongoing Uncovering Roman Carlisle project, a community excavation of a Roman Bathhouse, believed to be the largest building on Hadrian’s Wall, on the site of Carlisle Cricket Club.
This new exhibition will be the first time these items will be on display to the public since their discovery, after lying hidden in the ground for over 1,800 years.
This exhibition also celebrates the monumental community effort behind the dig. The most recent phase of excavations has involved 373 volunteers, with more than 2,000 significant finds, and over 1,678 volunteer days given by volunteers since 2021.
Over 6,000 people visited the site, including 625 trips from local schools.
This high-profile dig, which featured in Channel 4/National Geographic’s Lost Treasures of Rome and is set to be part of the programme Digging for Britain, has captured attention worldwide.
It has also received several accolades, with past phases of the project being recognised by the Council of British Archaeology and the Marsh Charitable Trust as the Community Archaeology Project of the year 2021, with a member of the project team, Kevin Mounsey, nominated for Community Archaeologist of the Year.
Alongside the new finds, there will be another chance to see the items displayed as part of last year’s exhibition Uncovering Roman Carlisle, giving a sense of the dig’s progress since the discovery of the bathhouse site in 2017.
Digging Deeper: Uncovering Roman Carlisle will also feature drone footage of the dig site and a range of hands-on activities for all ages, including a digging area, games and logic puzzles.
The exhibition will run from Saturday, September 23 to Saturday November 11, opening Monday to Saturday 10am to 4pm.
Digging Deeper: Uncovering Roman Carlisle has been made possible with the generous support of Cumberland Council, Wardell Armstrong LLP, Carlisle Cricket Club and The Berry Family Trust.
Councillor Anne Quilter, Cumberland Council’s executive portfolio holder for vibrant and healthy places, said: “I am delighted that the artefacts found in Carlisle will be showcased in the city’s museum. This is a great opportunity to see some of the archaeological finds and also discover more about our area’s rich Roman heritage.
“I am sure it will be a must-see exhibition and would encourage everyone to make a visit.
This will be the first time the two monumental Roman heads, found this summer, will be put on show. So, do not miss the chance to see them and some of the other fascinating finds.”
Sarah McGlynn, exhibitions manager at Tullie, said: “These recent finds from the cricket club represent a hugely important time in Carlisle’s history and have inspired the whole community. We are delighted to be bringing them to Tullie for everyone to see.”
Frank Giecco, technical director of Wardell Armstrong, said: “We are very excited to be putting on an exhibition showcasing some of the amazing discoveries from Carlisle’s Roman Bathhouse, artefacts such as the Carlisle gems, and the Carlisle heads will be on public display for the first time.
“Many of these objects are already internationally recognised finds even though they were only discovered by our volunteers this summer. We hope that this exhibition can tell the story of how significant Roman Carlisle was, and how utterly unique these finds have been.
“Myself and the team at Wardell with the volunteers have been working away at identifying and understanding the staggering amount of discoveries, in particular those finds that have been recovered from the main bathhouse drains.
“The carvings on these gemstones tell so many stories from mythology and give us an insight into the minds of the Romans bathing 1800 years ago. As ever we are thankful to the cricket club and Cumberland Council for their continued support in exhibiting these finds.”
Mike Rayson, chairman of Carlisle Cricket Club, who own the artefacts, said: “When we first started exploring the site for the new cricket pavilion six years ago, I told Frank Giecco the lead archaeologist to find either nothing or to find truly something immense, and without a doubt he’s delivered.
“The finds from this site are staggering, we are rewriting Carlisle’s history. We need to move things on, it just takes Carlisle to a different level, the immenseness of it.
“Do we have here the ultimate Roman imperial story?”
Admission is free for kids and under-18s, current members and annual ticket holders.
