A dedicated group of volunteers are creating a garden at Aldborough Roman Site
Visitors can now see a wide range of plants that the Romans grew in Britain, the majority of which they introduced. These include fruit and vegetables, herbs, flowers, trees and shrubs, displayed in the style of a typical Roman garden.
The author Pliny the Elder listed 70 plants used for food or cooking and 101 with medicinal properties. There is an overlap between the different purposes of plants, with many having culinary, medical and ceremonial uses. Some were also used as perfumes, dyes and even poisons.
The Romans often had separate gardens for food production and recreation, both tended by slaves, but at Aldborough we have vegetable beds, herb beds, a soft fruit bed, a ceremonial pleasure garden and an orchard on the same site.
In addition to providing food and medicine, Roman gardens had broader health and healing roles in encouraging movement and enabling access to ‘pure air’ and sunshine, and enhancing mental health. The Aldborough garden is well-positioned to receive fresh breezes off the moors and the views towards the White Horse accord with the Roman approach to the benefits of ‘awe’. Planting with scented items such as roses, lavender, camomile, rosemary, mint, thyme, sage, lemon balm, chives, marjoram and fennel promotes the broader Roman approach to health and ‘re-balancing the humours’.
Recent events include a visit by the Mayor of Boroughbridge, Councillor Pauline Phillips and her consort for the presentation of a garden seat, donated by a FORA member. After the presentation, the gardeners led a tour of the garden, showing how the grassy area had been transformed into an immaculate, flourishing garden. Another donation to the garden is a beautiful notice board made by Jennyruth Workshops.
The Garden Group hosted a special event, Blood, Sweat and Tears: Medicine and Healing in Roman Britain, presented by Dr Nick Summerton, an expert in Roman medicine and author of several books on the topic. His entertaining, informative and interactive talk completely engaged the audience and set the scene for a tour of the Roman site afterwards. Both the presentation and the tour were extremely well received and we hope to host a similar event in the future.