A new exhibition at Abingdon Museum called ‘Romans, Britons & Abingdon – After the Oppidum (AD 43 to AD 410)’ takes us back to Roman Britain. Following on from last year’s Iron Age display, this year’s focus is on how life changed when the Roman Empire arrived in our part of the world, but also includes some Iron Age displays. The exhibition runs until September 28th 2025.

The exhibition includes display boards exploring:
* Food and cookery,
* Religion,
* Roads and travel,
* Burial customs,
* Pottery, clothing, and jewellery
* What a typical Roman town looked like,
* Maps and place names in Roman Britain.

One board tells how places like Calleva (modern-day Silchester) began as an Iron Age settlements and were transformed into full Roman towns. Something similar might have happened in Abingdon. Plenty of Roman artefacts have been found here — but no sign (yet) of large buildings in the current town centre. However, there were Roman villas at Barton Court and villas and a temple near Marcham.

Abingdon was well-placed in Roman times. It stood near key Roman roads linking Dorchester-on-Thames, Alchester, and Silchester — all important Roman towns. The River Thames could also have played an important role.

There’s also a short film about an Iron Age to Roman excavation at Little Wittenham in 2025, where a large barn has been found.

The exhibition includes a few objects, but Abingdon Museum already has a permanent Roman display which offers more objects, including:
* a wooden plough,
* two hobnail leather shoes, including one from a child,
* many pots and a large bowl for grinding cooking ingredients,
* a flask for perfume
* broaches and tools
* bits of mosaic flooring (tesserae) and tiles from Barton Court.

These small objects help us imagine the everyday lives of people who lived here nearly two millennia ago. For a closer look, the museum’s own blog has a piece called A Day in the Life of a Roman in Abingdon.

Admission is free, and the museum is run by Abingdon Town Council.