Our session in September was something really special – a coach trip to the Newt Roman villa!  The Newt is a reconstruction of a complete Roman Villa built next to the site of the original villa which was discovered in 1832.

When we arrived we had an early picnic lunch and then headed over to the museum and villa.  We looked around the museum first and before we went in we were all given Wi-Fi headphones with special built-in sensors.  Once inside the museum the sensors detected when we were close to the displays and triggered an audio commentary about each exhibit.  Most of the displays included an interactive element which was great fun!

In the centre of the museum were the excavated remains of the original bath house including a glass floor so we could walk over and look down upon the excavated remains.

After this we went over to the reconstruction of the villa which was amazing!  The headphones continued to give us an audio commentary depending on which room we were in.  These included reception rooms, a dining room, a bath house suit, bedrooms, and a kitchen amongst others.  All were beautifully decorated and furnished.  The villa was surrounded by vineyards with a garden at the back and we felt like we had been really transported through time!

Our tour of the villa ended in a special room where we could use virtual reality headsets that made it appear like the Roman occupants of the villa were walking and talking around us.  The whole experience was absolutely amazing!

This visit was made possible by the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society’s Gray Fund who very kindly paid for the coach to take us there.  We are extremely grateful to SANHS for giving our members this wonderful opportunity.