Engaging with Heritage on Roman Point

3 years ago I handed in my Undergraduate dissertation examining the construction of gender, family and sexuality through a roman heritage site in Nene Park on the western side of Peterborough. I went back recently, walking our dog around the lakes, and stumbled across a new exhibition drawing visitors to 'Roman Point' - the site I had examined. 

I had seen adverts in the local press and online for a Roman themed activity day that had taken place the week before and that I had unfortunately been able to attend. It sounded like a great way to introduce more people to the otherwise largely unnoticed roman heritage of the area. One of the main activities it advertised was 'make a roman pot' and I'm definitely all for the idea of hands on activities that bring the past to life. It takes a certain kind of person to want to go out to look at a static display of pottery, but the act of making, designing and making a physical connection with the past is much more appealing. And pottery is the key feature of roman archaeology in this area. 

I was dissappointed however, that as I walked past, the one interpretation panel for the roman foundations laid out on the peninsula is unchanged. Not just since I wrote my dissertation three years ago but, from the style, I would guess since the park opened 25 years ago. My findings in my studies were that the information on this panel was confusing, in places misleading and simply not interesting to the average visitor. Yes, the bird poo had been cleaned off the sign and it looked a little more inviting for that reason alone, but I still think there is more that can be done for reasonably little cost to make the roman heritage accessible and engaging all year round - not just on one day.

However, what had drawn me to the peninsula on this particular day was a new exhibition running the length of the path largely unconnected to the roman period. The '25 Years On' exhibition celebrates the silver anniversary of the Nene Park Trust who run the whole park with a photography exhibition. The photographs were taken by well known local photographer Christ Porsz and explored the activities of visitors to the park throughout all four seasons. 

During my dissertation I examined the reports and marketing materials (particularly the images they contained) from the early 1990s, the first five years of Nene Park Trust. What I found in those were images that largely conformed to gender stereotypes and the heteronormative nuclear family. With my understanding of where the image of the park had been during those latter years of 'the Peterborough Effect', this exhibition 25 years later really did demonstrate to me perhaps how the people of Peterborough have changed, but more likely how we are now much more comfortable giving a more realistic representation of the diverse make up of our communities. 

As well as the foresight to show the park as a year round destination (as opposed to the summer sunshine pictures used almost exclusively in the much earlier materials) the exhibition included people with a diverse range of ethnicities, genders, ages, abilities, family structures and activities they were taking part in. The exhibition succeeded in making me feel like I was welcome in the park regardless of my identity.