TYNE & WEAR ARCHIVES & MUSEUMS

ARBEIA ROMAN FORT PROMO VID

Roots & Wings was commissioned by the good folk at TWAM to produce a short promotional video for Arbeia – a fascinating former Roman outpost in South Shields – albeit tucked inconspicuously away amidst the modern housing that now surrounds this significant historical site.

Arbeia translates as ‘place of the Arabs’ reflecting its history as a cosmopolitan hub and home to people from all over the world, including Syrians, Iraqi Bargemen, Spanish Cavalrymen, North Africans and Frenchmen, who had all somehow or other found themselves stationed at this distant outpost of the Roman Empire.

Hopefully the video will help to attract hordes of visitors to Arbeia to engage with the important and thought-provoking question as posed by historian Mary Beard, What actually was a ‘Roman’?