Professor Michael Fulford at the University of Reading has been studying the Roman town of Silchester for almost 50 years.
This might seem a long time to stay interested in the same subject, but Professor Fulford has turned a childhood interest into a lifelong passion, and has no intention of slowing down. In his new book, “Silchester Revealed” he has taken his extensive background of knowledge and opened up his specialist subject to a much wider audience, writing an overview of his findings in a manner accessible to a general reader. We spoke to Professor Fulford to find out more.
Can you tell us about your latest book, Silchester Revealed?
Set against the background of the excavations undertaken at Silchester in the 19th and early 20th Century, Silchester Revealed summarises the results of the excavations I have directed in and around Silchester since I joined the University of Reading in 1974. Perhaps the most important of these are the excavations on the site of the forum basilica – the principal public building of the town, the amphitheatre, Insula IX, one of the residential blocks of the town, and, most recently, the public bath-house. The book is very much written with a non-specialist, general interest readership in mind.
You’ve spent many years studying Roman Britain. What first sparked your interest in this period of history?
When I was about 11, an inspirational teacher who had finished the syllabus for the term decided to spend a lesson telling us about Roman Britain. It grabbed my interest! I then started visiting Roman sites whenever I could.
“Silchester Revealed” isn’t your first foray into the town’s history – what draws you to keep on writing about the town?
As a result of those early excavations for very many years it was thought there was nothing more to discover at Silchester. How wrong that was! Now we can see that this early work only scratched the surface and so we have scarcely begun a voyage of discovery which could continue for many hundreds of years. For example, we now know that a complete Iron Age town lies beneath the Roman, but we’ve only just begun its exploration.
The Silchester Eagle and the works of historical fiction it inspired is another area you’ve written about – are you a fan of Rosemary Sutcliff’s work, or is this a case of fact being more interesting than fiction?
I certainly am a fan of Rosemary Sutcliff’s work and The Eagle of the Ninth and The Silver Branch, both partly set in Calleva (Silchester), are great reads. As an archaeologist they also inspire me to use all the available scientific techniques to delve deeper in order to get as close as possible to reconstructing everyday life in the Roman past.
Which do you prefer – making discoveries in the field or writing about them afterwards?
Excavation is exciting because you never know exactly what you are going to find and it invariably produces surprises. It’s also great to work with a team of students and to share the excitement of the moments of discovery with them and the visiting public. But researching what you have discovered in the laboratory afterwards is just as exciting. This process of writing up archaeological excavations to leave a permanent legacy also produces new discoveries and new perspectives on what you have found. It is impossible to be abreast of the significance of the finds and environmental evidence as they emerge from the excavation day-to-day and you need to draw on the expertise of a whole team of specialists. Drawing all those various strands together inevitably produces new knowledge.
Is it very different writing for a popular audience rather than an academic one?
Yes, because you have to be constantly aware of not using jargon or a specialised vocabulary or of assuming too much prior knowledge on the part of the reader.
What is your favourite fact or discovery you’ve made about the history of Silchester?
Without any doubt it is the discovery and investigation of the Iron Age predecessor to the Roman town and the transformation of that settlement into a Roman city in the later first century AD. Silchester is very unusual in having that direct succession of Roman from Iron Age on the same site. Looking to the future, the realisation that Silchester is not a worked-out site and that there is so much more to discover both within the town walls and in the suburbs beyond is very important.