Big Roman Week will be hailed by legions

Thanks to the annual Big Roman Week, which starts this weekend, the ancient culture is alive and well and this year’s festival promises to be the biggest and best yet with something for everyone.

Walks, talks, family events and film shows have been organised to help people find out more about the famous Antonine Wall, which runs from Bo’ness right across Falkirk district to Old Kilpatrick near Glasgow.

Adrian Mahoney, who has been helping to organise the festival, said: “We’re repeating our Antonine Wall community conference in the fantastic Hippodrome cinema this Sunday morning and this will allow local people to hear from Roman experts and find out about more developments right along the Antonine Wall.

“There will also be an update on efforts to win funding for new community projects to promote the World Heritage Site. We have great speakers lined up, as well as short films about Roman sites.

“The conference is open to everyone and tickets are still available through Eventbrite or the Big Roman Week website.”

Other highlights of Big Roman Week, which Friends of Kinneil started back in 2009, include a Big Roman Day at Kinneil House, in Bo’ness, on Saturday featuring the Antonine Guard re-enactment group and, for food lovers, Roman cooking displays with culinary expert John Crouch and an Italian night to showcase some of the country’s top dishes.

Most of the events are free and brochures for the nine-day festival are now available from local libraries and museums, by logging onto the website at www.bigromanweek.org.uk or by calling 01506 823714.