Past and Present

Just down the road from chez nous there’s ancient Iron Age burial site on top of which lies a Roman settlement. On top of these is mostly open ground near the 4thC Roman fort that still stands.

We’ve been digging up the evidence for some years now but recent finds indicate that the burials date back much further. Bronze Age, in fact – the Dig Alderney team found the evidence (a well-preserved skeleton) a metre beneath Roman/Iron Age finds.

And one of the esteemed archaeologists, Dr Jason Monaghan, now suspects the Roman presence on our island dates back centuries earlier than the fort, to the mid-first century BC when Julius Caesar was coming over all Putin to plunder Gaul’s resources and send slaves back to Rome.

To a historical fiction author, this is very exciting. Alderney’s Roman name is Riduna, adopted by many including a local radio station and the football club. Earlier, there was a Celtic goddess, Ritona, associated with river crossings and linked by some (OK, me) to the concept of the ferryman and crossing to the afterworld, a popular concept among Greeks and Romans.

Dr Monaghan, himself a successful author, will hopefully forgive me for making these tenuous links. But for me, there’s a story right there. Alderney as the final resting place of great heroes of old, along with their treasure and maybe even their loyal slaves/servants.

Ruled by a Ritona priestess cult? Prompting a visit by Caesar himself, maybe an away-day to plan his excursions to Britannia in 55 and 54BC? You’ll see where I’m going with this. In fact, I’m 25k words into the story already.

The plan is for a series that explores what was going on in that 1stC BC when Caesar got it in his mind to pop over to the Kent coast to shake a sword at the British tribes. And a year later to cross the Thames to see if he couldn’t lay claim to some new territory to impress the Senate back in Rome.

Alderney’s Roman Fort with later Tudor, Victorian and WWII additions. Photo: Alan Perks. The track at the bottom of the photo leads directly on to the Iron Age/Roman site.

The clash of cultures between Rome and Gaul, then the British Celts, is fascinating, as are the contrasting militaristic approaches. Sure, Rome won the overall encounter, but there were also wins for the Celts along the way. Caesar and his scribes wrote accounts of these wars, much of it propaganda to enhance his standing in Rome, but a valuable resource nonetheless.

Unfortunately, Celtic and Druidic tradition was the opposite. Very little written down. Which means I can weed out the propaganda and fill in the Celtic gaps without too many ‘Ah Buts’.

Meanwhile, the archaeology on my doorstep is continuing to offer up slices of ancient history that inform the period I write about. Below, I’ve included a link to an article by the lead archaeologist here, Dr Phil de Jersey, writing in archaeology’s The Past, summarising what we have and where we’re going. BTW, the Dig needs funding so if you know anyone/group/organisation for whom this sort of thing is their bag, please share this with them.

I wish there was also an opportunity to buy my novels so far, but as I’ve said before, I’m ‘between publishers’ right now and the amazing team at Sapere Books is working towards a relaunch. You can be sure I’ll shout about that as soon as it happens…

Here’s the link I promised: Read Phil de Jersey’s article in The Past.