Imperial Roman Legions to "invade" Mobile

Castra Romana will reconstruct how Roman soldiers lived, marched and fought 2000 years ago.

MOBILE, Ala. – Downtown Mobile will come alive with the bustle of an ancient Roman legion field camp, Saturday and Sunday, February 3 and 4, 2007. About 100 re-enactors from throughout the southeast, specialists in Roman legion and gladiator combat, wearing historically correct armor and military equipment, are expected to participate. They will be supported by roman civilians, period craftsmen and barbarian hordes.

The historical reenactment of a Roman Imperial Army encampment, known as Castra Romana, is organized by the Gulf Coast Exploreum to complement the international exhibition A Day in Pompeii, which opens January 12 and for a 145-day run at the Exploreum.

“Few other armies have captured our imagination so firmly as that of Imperial Rome,” said Michael Sullivan, Exploreum Executive Director. “Just as the Exploreum’s Pompeii exhibition uses archeological artifacts to educate visitors about life in that ancient town, these re-enactors add to our understanding of the Roman army by living out the soldiers’ daily experiences,” he noted.

The participating re-enactors represent many walks of life including present day U.S. military. All are dedicated hobbyists and several are accredited military historians. All share an interest in contributing to the understanding of the roman period of military history and to enlightening spectators about the life of the roman solider who built the vast Roman Empire.

“We are grateful that such a large contingent of dedicated military re-enactors are coming to Mobile to give visitors a chance to travel back 2000 years to meet some of the Roman legion’s finest, “ Sullivan added.

The Castra Romana camp, located on Royal Street directly across from the Gulf Coast Exploreum (the old courthouse site), will be open to the public Saturday, February 3rd from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, February 4th from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

As part of this living history tableau, re-enactors will set up tents and other equipment and live on site for the weekend, just as Roman legions would have done in the first century A.D. The lead group is the Sixth Imperial Legion of Rome, based out of Summerville, South Carolina and led by Commander Justus Longinus, aka Rusty Myers.

Various activities will be scheduled throughout each of the two days. These include archery demonstrations, combat engagements, gladiator fights, marching drills, a pay ceremony and lectures about what day-to-day life was like for a typical roman solider. A working field kitchen, set up by Lisa Holcomb-Blair of Mobile, will give visitors a taste of the roman soldier’s basic bread and bean diet.

Access to the campsite is free to anyone presenting an admission ticket or ticket stub to the Exploreum’s A Day in Pompeii exhibition. Otherwise, admission to tour the camp site, interact with the roman legionnaires and view the demonstration is $3 for adults (18+) and $2 for children ages 2 to 17. Children under 2 are free. Tickets will be on sale at the Exploreum Box Office or at the Royal street entrance to the campsite. No advance ticket sales.

A detailed list of participating legion groups and a daily schedule of camp site activities will be available by the middle of January.

The Exploreum will also launch a special Pompeii Lecture series on Saturday, February 3, to coincide with the Castra Romana weekend. The first speaker in the series, Daniel Peterson, is an experienced legion re-enactor and an historian with the U.S. Army. He has been active in the field of living history for many years and organized one of the largest and most accurate Roman reconstruction groups. He is a member of the world’s only authentically reconstructed Roman cavalry units and has authored a text on the Roman Legions recreations.

Mr. Peterson’s lecture topic is “The Remarkable Professional Army of the Roman Empire.”
With photographs and “living historians” wearing faithfully reconstructed armor and equipment, Peterson will recount what we have learned about Roman military and explain the thousand year evolution of the Roman soldier from the origin of the city state to the fall of the empire.

Tickets for the Pompeii Lecture Series are on sale at the Exploreum Box Office, 65 Government Street in downtown Mobile. Seating is limited to 177. Tickets are $10 per person, 18 years and older, or $5 for children and youths under 18. Exploreum Members: $8 and $4 respectively. For more details about this and other lectures in the Exploreum’s Pompeii Lecture series, check out www.exploreum.net.

Hours of Operation
Open daily January 12 to June 3, 2007 except Mardi Gras (Feb. 20) and Easter Sunday (Apr. 8). Open Monday – Saturday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Last exhibit entry 4 p.m.; gallery closes 5:30 p.m.
Last IMAX show 4 p.m.
Last Virtual Journey Tour of Pompeii 4:30 p.m.

Ticket Prices: For Pompeii exhibit, Acoustiguide audio tour, virtual tour of Pompeii and all Exploreum science galleries: adult $18.25; senior (60+); youth (13-18) $17.25; child (2-12) $11. Add the IMAX film on Greece to any admission for only $4 more.

For more information, call (251 208-6873 or (877) 625-4FUN, or visit www.exploreum.net.