Join The Gardens Trust and Gillian Hovell and discover how the ancient Romans set the seeds of the shape and uses of our modern gardens. Explore the truly ancient, vibrant and fascinating origins of our personal garden spaces and of the grandeur of public gardens. Find out why, if the Romans could have had ‘House and Garden’ magazines, they would have reveled in them! See gardens anew through ancient kitchen gardens, mythological stories, attitudes to wildlife and public parks that all still flourish in our green spaces. Then stroll through the gardens of Roman Pompeii, now blossoming with new insights. This fifth session on March 12 will discuss the origins of public parks.
Just as our towns are adorned with green open spaces and public gardens open to all, so were the urban spaces of the Greeks and, later, to a greater degree, the Romans. Discover how the Romans invented the actual idea of public parks as we know them today. We follow the intriguing tale of how and why public spaces were first created. It’s not as altruistic or philanthropic as you might hope, but the results changed our town lives for ever.
So what were the motives and the uses of this new concept? We explore the many and varied reasons that public gardens came into being and their diverse uses. Sacred, commercial, political, social, artistic, well-being, romantic and ritual moments, as well as a celebrity factor, are all here. Join Gillian for this special session that really does change the way you imagine Roman town life; it will also help you to see afresh how we use our own modern public garden spaces.
After graduating with 2-1 (Hons) in Latin and Ancient History from Exeter University, Gillian Hovell worked in BBC Television and became an award-winning freelance writer, author, public speaker & broadcaster in the media and online. As an independent expert in the ancient world she specializes in archaeology, prehistory and in the Greek and Roman eras. She is a lecturer at York University and can be seen and heard on TV & Radio.
Gillian has excavated at major sites in the UK and Europe (hence ‘The Muddy Archaeologist’) and she shares her expertise and her passion with diverse audiences in the UK and internationally. For history and archaeology are everywhere, and they add colour, depth and meaning to every aspect our lives today.
Her series of The Muddy Archaeologist Online Courses enables you to explore ancient history, archaeology and Latin with her at any time. An ever-growing collection is available, and they can also be found on Gillian’s website here.
This ticket (REGISTER HERE) is for this individual session and costs £8, and you may purchase tickets for o the entire course of 6 sessions at a cost of £42 via the link here. [Gardens Trust members may purchase tickets at £31.50 for the series or £6 each talk]. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and again a few hours before the talk. A link to the recorded session (available for 1 week) will be sent shortly afterwards.
