Lena Peters
'Secrets of the Hidden North'
The objects were discovered in 2015 in the woods of Northumberland National Park, just above Hadrian's Wall, in the remains of a small settlement. According to archaeologists, they date from a period just previous to the construction of this wall; a time when the conflict between the invading Romans and the native Celtic Britons was at its peak. They are unique in terms of style, motif and decoration, but have clear Roman influences in some of the stories as well as in the form and design, whilst being simultaneously stylistically different enough for it to be obvious they were made by a different people. The objects in the images seem to be related to pagan rituals and worships, with an emphasis on nature and animals. Specifically, each image portrays the same woman in a variety of animal guises. Historians posit the theory that these objects were made by a group of combined Romans and Celtic Britons who chose to live outside of the conflict, living hidden just above the Roman territories until the fighting forced them to abandon their settlement. In this exhibition, we see their gods, their myths and their history for the first time.
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