Blogging from Newcastle, United Kingdom on October 24, 2019

Bloggers: Mila and Margaret with guest star Jake Maguire!

Steps Taken: 8,200

We woke up this morning bright and early to grab breakfast in Chester. Immediately after leaving breakfast, we stopped to grab another coffee at Cafe Nero. Then, we went to the remains of an ancient Roman amphitheater.

According to the signage, the second phase of the Chester Roman Amphitheatre was built in the first century A.D. The Roman community in this area was known as Deva Victrix, or simply Deva, and it was part of the Roman province of Britannia. Containing a fortress and a town, Deva Victrix was strategically located along the north side of the River Dee what is now Cheshire County, United Kingdom. We analyzed the two phases of the amphitheatre and the signage assured us that the Roman Amphitheatre in Chester was perhaps the “largest and most elaborate amphitheatre in Roman Britain.” It served as the site for various wild-beat hunts and blood sports.

We learned from Professor Stewart that the natural topography of the site aids in the protection of the fortress and that, keeping with common Roman practices, the Romans (unlike the Greeks) changed and carved out the land where they desired to build amphitheaters. The seating space in this amphitheatre was relatively small compared to some of the others we have seen in Italy, though made up for its small size with a beautiful mural reconstruction to show how the rest of the amphitheatre might have looked. Leo preferred this reconstruction to the digital one in the London amphitheatre, and many of us agreed.

Following our visit to the Chester Roman Amphitheatre, we visited an aesthetically pleasing park in downtown Chester. Although the columns and other remains from Roman times have since been rearranged and removed at the whim of landscape architects, the remains of an elegant Roman bath still stand in what appears to have been their original location. We next walked a few blocks to examine the walls of Deva Victrix. Like many other Roman cities, Deva Victrix was a walled city and significant portions of its walls have withstood the tests of time.

After our walk around the amphitheater and the walls, we went to the Grosvenor Museum, which has an impressive collection of 150 grave monuments found in Roman Chester. Armed with guides to the monuments (which included a picture and line drawing of the monument, and where applicable, an expansion of the inscription and its translation into English) to study gender and ethnicity in Roman Chester as evidenced by the tombstones. Though a loud group of five year olds were looking at the graves as well, and were far less concerned with close study than they were with playing with the lights in the exhibit, we were able to learn that people from across the Mediterranean lived in Chester – they came from as far away as Sarmatia, Greece, Syria and Spain. We also noticed the presence of families in the area – despite it being a military installation – and that some women were wealthy enough to claim heirs. Very cool.

Then we headed to a pub for a true British™ experience. In the dark pub, five people got the Big fish and chips, and it was Kylie’s first fish and chips experience. She gives it a hearty two thumbs up. Mack tried to get Luxury hot chocolate (with whipped cream) but unfortunately it was only regular hot chocolate. We talked with Anna about the differences between the U.K. and the U.S.A. A great lunch, and our third sit-down (the little things matter).

Then we returned to the hotel to grab our bags and get back on the bus to travel the rest of the way across Britain. For a brief while we discussed the tombstones and tried to place them in time. Then we all turned to our own activities like sleeping, listening to music, and reading. Four hours and two bathroom stops later, we arrived in Newcastle, where we’ll be blogging from for the next few days.

Cheerio mate!