The Ivan D Margary Memorial Conference 2016 Roman Roads: Past, Present & Future Research Saturday 12th & Sunday 13th November 2016 Burn Hall Hotel, Tollerton Road, York YO61 1JB
Margary’s name is synonymous with the study of Roman roads, indeed he has had more influence over our understanding of the Roman road network in Britain than any other individual researcher. His gazetteer, “Roman Roads in Britain”, remains the most comprehensive and detailed work ever written, over 60 years since it was first published. Margary numbers, the system he devised for numbering and classifying Roman roads are still used by archaeologists today.
Ivan Donald Margary died on the 18th February 1976 and to mark the 40th anniversary, the Roman Roads Research Association is hosting two conferences in Portsmouth and in York. Nationally renowned Roman archaeologists, researchers, and academics will describe some of their recent work and discoveries in this field and will demonstrate how new technologies and approaches have moved and will continue to move forward our understanding of the Roman road network our understanding in the years to come. Speakers will show how Roman Roads research has delivered a great number of new discoveries, roads, forts, signal stations, settlements and associated sites. Speakers and discussion groups will provide a stimulating and rewarding programme for everyone attending. The York conference comprises two days in which six key themes are explored through the talks and discussion groups involving all. Everyone who attends will be encouraged to participate to help us as an association to shape and move forward future research on and understanding of Roman Roads in Britain.
What’s Included? All conference sessions and discussion groups. A two course lunch is provided free of charge on both Saturday and Sunday and tea, coffee and biscuits at breaks throughout the conference programme. The cost is just £45.00 per person.
The optional Margary Memorial conference dinner takes place on Saturday evening. Accommodation if required can be booked through RRRA. For those travelling by train, arrangements will be made to collect delegates from the station, and return them to the station on Sunday afternoon.
There will be space allocated for displays, stalls and posters for delegates to view during breaks. If any delegate, on behalf of their organisation, wishes to set up a stall, please let us know.
Contact Us: Mike Haken, Chairman RRRA, mike@romanroads.org or telephone 01457 872281 .
We are keen to make this inaugural conference a huge success, please do get in touch with any questions you may have.
Programme for Day One, Saturday 12th November 2016
- 8.45 Enrolment, networking & coffee SESSION 1 – Margary and his legacy
- 9.30 Ivan D Margary and his contributions to archaeology Dr. David Rudling, Sussex Archaeological Society
- 10.05 Roman Roads in Britain; Margary’s magnum Opus online Scott Vanderbilt, software developer & creator of RIB online
- 10.25 Margary numbers – 60 years on, what issues need to be addressed? Mike Haken, Chairman, Roman Roads Research Association
- 10.50 QUESTIONS & COFFEE SESSION 2 – Questioning received wisdom
- 11.15 The road over High Street in the Lake District: is it Roman? John Poulter
- 11.50 Wade’s Causeway – the end of the Roman Road? Dr. Blaise Vyner
- 12.25 QUESTIONS
- 12.35 LUNCH provided free to all delegates SESSION 3 – New Technologies, New Approaches
- 13.25 LiDAR – The game changer Bryn Gethin, Warwickshire Archaeology
- 14.00 Geophysical prospecting and Roman roads – an overview James Lyall, independent archaeologist & geophysicist
- 14.35 Between the Walls – Modelling movement on the northern frontier Graeme Erskine, University of Edinburgh
- 15.10 QUESTIONS & COFFEE SESSION 4 – New Technologies, New Approaches 2
- 15.40 Could OSL provide the dating evidence needed to better understand the Roman road network? T.B.C
- 16.10 The RRRA Online Database and Archive – A critical resource for research Mike Turpin – Roman Roads Research Association
- 16.45 QUESTIONS, leading on to DISCUSSION GROUPS Group 1. What are the key questions about Roman roads that remain to be answered? (led by Pete Wilson) Group 2. Margary Numbering – the Road forward to meet future needs (led by Mike Haken) Group 3. How we can best obtain, verify and add road data to the RRRA database (led by Mike Turpin)
- 17.50 Main Hall, Discussion Group Leaders report back to Conference
- 18.00 Close of Day One
- 19.30 MARGARY MEMORIAL DINNER. Optional three-course dinner, £20.00 per head, guests welcome.
Programme for Day Two, Sunday 13th November 2016
- 8.45 Coffee and welcome SESSION 5 – Roman Surveying and the Road Network
- 9.15 Long distance alignments and the political geography of Conquest Britain. Rob Entwistle – independent researcher
- 9.50 Margary’s centuriation at Ripe in the context of Roman land surveying in southeast Britain. Dr. John Peterson, University of East Anglia
- 10.25 QUESTIONS & COFFEE SESSION 6 – Some insights into Roman roads in the north 1
- 10.50 Roman roads in the York area: what do we really know about them? Dr. Patrick Ottaway
- 11.25 Margary Through Sheffield: Historical Inaccuracies and Modern Technologies David Inglis, University of Sheffield
- 12.00 Margary 712, Manchester to York in Kirklees – not quite where Margary thought it was! David Cockman & Nick Brook, Huddersfield Archaeological Society
- 12.35 QUESTIONS
- 12.45 LUNCH, provided free to all delegates SESSION 7 – Some insights into Roman roads in the north 2
- 13.30 Revisiting Margary’s network in Lancashire & Cumbria David Ratledge, Independent Researcher
- 14.05 Scotch Corner; the impact of recent work on our understanding of the early Roman road network David Fell, Senior Project Officer, Northern Archaeological Associates
- 14.40 Medieval Progresses, Military Campaigns, and the Roman Road Network II (north) Dr. M.C. Bishop – University of Oxford
- 15.15 QUESTIONS & COFFEE
- 15.40 Discussion groups Group 1. A Lasting Legacy to Ivan Margary – a Visible Reminder in the Landscape? (led by Mike Haken) Group 2. Road Planning Alignments & Their Function (led by Rob Entwistle) Group 3. What contribution can volunteers make to ongoing work on Roman roads? (led by Jayne Knight)
- 16.30 Main Hall, Discussion Group Leaders report back to Conference
- 16.40 Closing Address: Towards a co-ordinated approach Mike Haken, Chairman, RRRA
- 17.00 CLOSE OF CONFERENCE