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 final session on March 19 will discuss the Gardens of Pompeii.
Pompeii is famous for being the Roman town that was buried in AD 79 by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. This tragic event miraculously preserved unique evidence of the not just the town, but its people and their daily lives and the plants and gardens. Join Gillian as she reveals the amazing archaeological skills that have unearthed 2,000-year-old horticultural secrets from the gardens of this Roman town. We shall glimpse back in time, as we see not just personal gardens tucked into homes but also productive fertile orchards of delicious fruits and nuts (fed by the fertility that came from long forgotten volcanic eruptions). Squeezed into the town’s buildings and streets are commercial perfume growers, sacred religious symbols amidst the greenery, and gardens in memorial of the dead. All these carefully designed social space can now bring vividly to life the aspirations and pleasures of the folk of Pompeii. Pompeii is not just a ruined town of stone; its buried clues reveal a vibrant town alive with enterprising bustle of people and lush with plants flourishing for everyone’s enjoyment and use.
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.
