Researching Roman women during an interactive workshop fascinated Year 8 Classics students from Monmouth School for Girls recently.

Pupils recently visited the Corinium Museum in Cirencester to learn more about Roman Britain and, specifically, about the lives of people in this area during the Roman period.

This was a particularly interesting visit as it coincided with the international Museums Week, so there was additional material on display with archaeologists on hand to explain and discuss some of the finds.

Head of Classics Mrs Beech commented: “The girls always enjoy the interactive workshops – where they get the opportunity to research the life of someone who lived in Corinium and then to dress up in character.

“This time all the Romans were women, which was unusual as women’s lives are often marginalised in the historical record. Pupils had the chance to take part in a replica exhumation based on one of the museum’s most recently acquired tombstones – a character, Bodicaccia – then had two costumes to try on. One was a costume of a British woman and another as a Roman bride.”

After their tour of the galleries, girls had time to explore the layout of the town in both medieval and Roman periods, seeing the layout of the medieval abbey and the remains of the original Roman city wall.