Ancient Identities in Britain: Exploring heritage in the making

Ancient Identities in Britain investigates how ideas about the Iron Age and Roman past remain socially relevant: how they are studied in UK classrooms and presented in the media, and how they are projected by ancient monuments, open-air museums, re-enactments, living history exhibits and community projects across England, Scotland and Wales. Adding to this survey, fieldwork and interviews at five heritage venues, including Vindolanda, Castell Henllys and Butser Ancient Farm, reveal the principles and motivations of professional staff and the different styles of presentation for the public. An engaging and nuanced account of everyday practices, this study sheds new light on the processes through which heritage has been made. Throughout, Ancient Identities in Britain explores the actions, ideas and material conditions through which these periods become, and have become, heritage in the present, and investigates how contemporary social practices are transformed through encounters with material traces and conceptual legacies.