Eboracum Roman Festival 2025!

Schools Week, 19 – 23 May 2025

Family festival, 24 – 31 May 2025

York Museums Trust is leading the charge of partners in the Festival, along with York Minster, York Archaeology, the University of York and York Civic Trust to bring a host of events and activities which shed light on the city’s Roman past. From online resources and learning activities for local primary schools, a living history encampment and an impressive parade through the streets, to a symposium and a lecture series featuring Professor Mary Beard, Peter Addyman, John Oxley and many others, the Roman Festival will have something for everyone.

Highlights of this year’s Festival will include:

• Saturday 24 May – Sunday 25 May: Living history displays, reflecting civilian and military life, in the Museum Gardens on the lawn in front of the Yorkshire Museum, including craft stalls, a Roman fortune teller and light-hearted storytelling. Children can join marching and drill activities to see if they have what it takes to become a soldier in the great Roman army. There will also be artillery demonstrations on the Pavillion lawn! Living history activities continue at York Minster for the rest of the Festival.
• Military Parade, taking place between Museum Gardens and York Minster on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 May, giving visitors a chance to see just how impressive a Roman legion would have been, marching towards the site of the original Roman fortress!
• A Roman treasure hunt, a free activity for families spread across the city, from the Yorkshire Museum to DIG in St Saviourgate. Participants will help save Eboracum from disaster, whilst learning about life in Roman York. The trails runs 24-25 May, and 28-30 May from 10am to 3pm.
• The ‘New Perspectives on Roman York’ Symposium, Friday 23 May from 1pm – 5pm. The symposium will showcase current archaeological research relating to Roman York, bringing together the most important scholars working on the archaeology of York and Yorkshire, including talks by Martin Millett, Alisha Meadows, Maureen Carroll and James Gerrard.
• Roman Living History in York Minster, from 29-31 May. An opportunity to discover more about belief and religion in Roman York with interactive living history sessions in St. Stephen’s Chapel. There will be an opportunity to try out Roman crafts with historical interpreters from Days Gone By living history company. (Normal admission prices apply, children go free with a paying adult; free for York residents).
• Coney Street: Beetles or Bargains? is a special walk and talk by York Civic Trust ahead of the redevelopment of Coney Street to create a new riverside space as part of York’s premier shopping street. Taking place on Tuesday 27 May, participants will hear about the Roman origins of Coney street, and how this history has affected the area for 2000 years – even having an impact on the forthcoming developments. This is one of a series of walks by York Civic Trust exploring the Roman impact on York’s city landscape.

It is hoped that every child in Key Stage 2 in York’s primary schools will have the opportunity to engage with the Festival as part of a city-wide celebration of Roman history. The schools learning teams from York Museums Trust, York Archaeology and York Minster have together created a range of resources, including an Introducing Roman York video and a digital Schools Pack, which focus on the stories that key objects can tell us about everyday life in Roman York, and an exciting CPD event for teachers at the Yorkshire Museum on Thursday 15 May.

Information about the schools learning programme, alongside details of all the events taking place as part of Eboracum Roman Festival, can be found by visiting yorkshiremuseum.org.uk/roman-2025. Tickets for the lecture programme will be available on the website.

All events can be found on our website here: Events | Yorkshire Museum