Discovered in 1947 during the construction of the Long Cross road and the housing estate now built around it, 1700-yer-old Kings Weston Roman Villa in Lawrence Weston is the only place to see a Roman bath suite in Bristol, and one of the only places in Britain with an in-situ Roman mosaic floor. The villa site has been on display ever since its excavation between 1948 and 1950 – the remains of a Roman central heating system are visible from the roadside and visitors can also explore the remains of the villa walls. Situated at the centre of a farming estate, the villa eventually collapsed and was buried under topsoil, but is now Bristol’s only surviving Roman villa.
Photo credit: Bristol Museums
A new collaboration between Bristol Museums and UWE is led by the Science Communication Unit’s Dr Laura Hobbs and Kate Iles, Senior Curator for Archaeology for Bristol Museums. It uses the well-established Science Hunters approach to engage children with Kings Weston Roman Villa using Minecraft. A co-designed Minecraft building challenge related to the real-world site, contextualised through a learner-centred approach and supported with practical anchors such as object handling, will support children to explore themes, build upon their existing knowledge, and develop their understanding of archaeological science and local heritage.
The project is off to an exciting start. During the summer, the UWE team visited the site, worked with the museum team to gather information and are now working on an example build of the villa in Minecraft. The project will then provide opportunities for local schools and community groups in the areas surrounding the villa. UWE researchers and the museum team will run trial sessions in schools and community settings and use the game to explore how the villa may have looked. Participants will be able to build a version of the Roman villa for themselves, engage with real and replica Roman objects and find out more about the Roman villa on their doorstep. The project will be evaluated via mixed-methods analysis to explore science communication through play-based engagement linked to the site, its heritage and its artefacts.
For further information or to get involved, please email sciencehunters@uwe.ac.uk.
Supported by Bristol City Council, Bristol Museum Development Trust and UWE Bristol.
By Dr Laura Hobbs, Science Communication Unit, UWE Bristol and Kate Iles, Bristol Museums.