Imagine sitting in a real Roman amphitheatre, hearing the roar of the crowd around you, and witnessing Roman gladiators fighting in the area.
You can experience this for free at Dorchester’s spectacular Roman Festival on Saturday 12th and 13th April 2025, during the school Easter holidays!
This amazing, unmissable new festival will be hosted in the iconic Roman amphitheatre of Maumbury Rings. Visitors of all ages will get to train like a gladiator, witness gladiator fighting, make mosaics, take part in Roman ceremonies, march with Roman soldiers, see real Roman finds and interact with Roman Living Historians.
In addition to the activities in Maumbury Rings, there will also be Roman Dorchester guided walks, tours and talks to book over the weekend, including on Friday 11th April. Many of these additional events are being hosted by Dorset Museum & Art Gallery, a key partner of the festival.
The whole town is getting involved in the festival. Dorchester Arts will be showing the film Carry on Cleo on the Saturday night. Shire Hall Museum will be running a Roman Crime and Punishment Trail on Friday and Saturday. There will be a fee for joining in with some these additional activities, but they all really will bring to life Dorchester’s Roman history.
As part of the festival you can expect two live, hour-long gladiator shows each day by Britannia Reenactment Society at Maumbury Rings. The afternoon show will include fake blood, the morning one will have no fake blood for those who are a bit more squeamish!
Dan Shadrake, Founder of Britannia added “Britannia will be putting on a gladiatorial combat event at Dorchester’s Roman amphitheatre. Britannia is an award-winning re-enactment and living history group, covering a range of periods from the Iron Age to WW1. Britannia has a versatile and talented team that are dedicated to delivering highly engaging displays that have been carefully researched to ensure the most accurate historical interpretation without compromising on the spectacle. To date, Britannia has worked on over 100 film and television productions, from serious documentaries to more light-hearted productions like Horrible Histories, (all seven series). We were also in the opening battle scene of Ridley Scott’s original Gladiator movie. With our wealth of experience and knowledge we guarantee that with Britannia, history will come to life. Come and cheer for your gladiator team and meet the Roman soldiers, gladiators and craft demonstrators in their encampment.”
It’s not all fighting and marching though. There will be a Roman God and Goddess area where you will be able to make flower crowns, dress like a Roman god or goddess and play Roman Games.
There will be food and drink stalls on site and Roman treasure to take a look at.
The festival is being coordinated by Dorchester Joint Heritage Committee and Dorchester Tourism Partnership with funding from Dorchester Town Council.
Cllr Gareth Jones, Chair of the Joint Heritage Committee said “Dorchester is incredibly proud of its Roman heritage. The town was founded by the Romans and was known to them as Durnovaria. We are thrilled that Dorchester is hosting a Roman festival in 2025. It is going to be a lively event for all ages and levels of interest that brings to life a period of Dorchester’s history that has left traces all around us. As well as the exciting fun activity taking place over the weekend, be sure to visit the Gladiators of Britain Exhibition at Dorset Museum & Art Gallery. Don’t miss visiting Dorchester’s Roman Town House as well, it is the only example of a fully exposed Roman Town House in the country and it is free to visit!”
The festival coincides with the fantastic new Gladiator exhibition at Dorset Museum & Art Gallery. This exhibition runs from 25 January to 11 May 2025 and showcases iconic objects like the Colchester Vase, depicting a real gladiatorial battle, and the Hawkedon Helmet, the only confirmed gladiatorial armour from Roman Britain. These artefacts, along with others, reveal the violent spectacles that entertained the public and underscore the significance of gladiators in Roman culture. The exhibition also features finds from Maumbury Rings in Dorchester.
Keep an eye on the website www.discoverdorchester.co.uk and Discover Dorchester social media channels for updates. Full festival schedule coming soon!
