Roman life in Malton and Norton will be celebrated next weekend.

Malton Museum is hosting a Roman Festival on Saturday, September 23 at Orchard Fields.

The event will include live action demonstrations from the Roman Cavalry by Equistry, marching and battle sequences from Magister Militum, Roma Antiqua and Legio VI Victrix.

These well-known re-enactment groups will also have military encampments that demonstrate the changes in military equipment and Roman life throughout the 400 years of Roman occupation of Britannia.

There will be plenty to interest children including a “Children's Roman Army” segment, mosaic making, paint your own shield, wax tablet drawing, and ‘archaeological digs’, as well as being able to dress up as an Ancient Briton or a Roman Soldier.

There will also be a ‘birds of prey’ display courtesy of Animal House.

A‘mini Malton Museum’ will include displays from Roman interest groups in the region, as well as a number of authors who cover the period in their work including:

• Simon J Turney – author of several series of fictional books such as Marius Mules and Praetorian.

• Simon Elliot - who has a book on Legio IX Hispana out in the near future. This was the legion that marched out of York and was never seen again.

• Kate Cunningham – children’s author of “Vlad and the Roman triumph” and other books.

• Julian Morgan – author of is publications include Nero, Hadrian, Constantine, and Cleopatra.

And if you fancy some food and drink whilst visiting the festival, then we have a Roman style taverna, courtesty of Ryedale Vineyards, the Bistro Guy, Malton Relish and Mead courtesy of Crossroads Brewery.

The original Roman Fort in Malton appears to have been built around AD 71, some 30 years after the Romans invaded Britain, and was almost continuously occupied into the 5th Century AD . It is almost double the size of some of the forts on Hadrian’s Wall - reflecting the strategic importance of Malton and Norton, now known to have been called Delgovicia, to the Roman occupation. The fort and much wider civilian and industrial settlement to the north and south of the River Derwent in the present-day communities of Norton and Malton, still has much to tell us about life in Roman Britain.

The Roman Festival is open from 10.30am to 3.30pm.

The cost of entry will be £10 per adult and £20 per family with children under 14 go free. For online booking via our website, please see www.maltonmuseum.co.uk for further details.

Parking is available at Tate-Smiths yard (at the river end of the site) or the other nearest carpark is Wentworth Street, Malton.

The event is being staged by Malton Museum in conjunction with the Kirk Settlement Trust, Malton Town Council and the Fitzwilliam Estate.