New Research Project Explores Migration and Identity Through Roman Pottery Along Hadrian’s Wall
Press release 16th June 2026
A research project led by The Vindolanda Trust, in collaboration with the West End Refugee Service (WERS) Newcastle, will investigate North African–style pottery along Hadrian’s Wall.
Hadrian’s Wall is one of Britain’s best-known Roman monuments, yet the diverse people who lived, worked, and travelled along it have remained largely unknown to the public. The Vindolanda Trust, which holds significant archaeological collections from the Roman forts of Vindolanda and Magna, is working to help uncover these stories through the study of its pottery collections.
Following the discovery of pottery vessels whose style and form reflect ancient North African pottery types at both Magna and Vindolanda, The Vindolanda Trust, through The National Lottery Heritage Fund supported Magna Project, is embarking on a 12-month research project to investigate the movement of people, objects, and ideas in the ancient world. The project is being supported by clients of WERS – refugees and people seeking asylum, who have made their own journeys to the Northeast of England and are uniquely placed to bring contemporary relevance to these ancient stories.
The project is led by Sophie Westlake, Activity & Diversity Officer of the Magna Project, and Dr Cristina Crizbasan, Pottery Specialist and Post-Excavation Supervisor at The Vindolanda Trust, in partnership with the West End Refugee Service. WERS delivers vital services to people seeking asylum and refugees across the North East of England, empowering individuals and challenging systemic marginalisation.
As Sophie Westlake explains, “This project creates a space where ancient material culture and lived experience can come together, allowing us to explore questions of movement, identity, and connection across time in a way that feels both meaningful and accessible.”
The project’s introductory session has already taken place, with WERS’ clients visiting both the Roman Army Museum & Magna Roman Fort, and Vindolanda Roman Fort for guided tours of the sites and a hands-on session with the pottery collection. The response was overwhelmingly positive, with participants describing the experience as “inspiring”, “rewarding”, and “intriguing”, sentiments that reflected the atmosphere of the group as a whole.
Over the coming year, the group will take part in five specialist workshops covering archaeological interpretation, post-excavation work, research skills, and experimental pottery-making, led in part by ceramics specialist Graham Taylor of Potted History. They will also make research visits to sites across Hadrian’s Wall and the Antonine Wall, helping to build a broader understanding of how pottery styles and ideas spread across the Roman world.
Faye Douglas, Community Activities and Volunteering Coordinator at West End Refugee Service (WERS) said: “Our participants know what it means to make journeys, build new lives, and create belonging in new places. Engaging with the Roman past through this project helps open up important conversations about movement and identity across time.”
The project will culminate in a co-curated exhibition at the Roman Army Museum activity centre and a one-day public conference, where community researchers and academic specialists will present together on the theme of migration, both ancient and modern.
The support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, made possible by National Lottery players is enabling stories that are held within The Trust’s collections to be researched and shared with everyone.
Dr Andrew Birley, CEO of the Vindolanda Trust, commented: “The Vindolanda Trust is committed to engaging communities with research at our sites. It is wonderful to welcome those most closely connected to narratives of movement, resilience, and belonging to our sites, and to see them play a central role in bringing the stories held within the pottery collection to life.”
Helen Featherstone, Director, England, North at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “There have been some amazing archaeological finds as part of the Magna Project, including some that reflect styles from North-Africa. It’s now wonderful to see this research project take place that will bring together the fascinating heritage that has been unearthed so far and stories of movement from those with lived experience to further our understanding of the site. We’re thrilled to be supporting this project thanks to money raised by National Lottery players and we’re excited to see what stories will be revealed.”
ENDS
Notes to the Editors
All images © The Vindolanda Trust
About the Magna Project
Magna, a unique Roman fort on Hadrian’s Wall, under the care of the Vindolanda Trust, holds some of the keys to understanding the biggest questions about the people of the Roman frontier. Magna has it all and includes half a milecastle, part of Hadrian’s Wall, the Vallum ditch, a large town, rubbish dumps and pits, cemeteries and the fort itself. It’s the junction point between three Roman roads, the Military Way, the Stanegate and the Maiden Way. The site covers an area larger than Vindolanda and has the same preservation layers of organic remains and it is now under threat from climate change.
The Magna project is a five-year research project which commenced in 2023. It will examine three areas of the site, from north to south, building up a profile of the way the land has been used from ancient to modern times. It combines archaeological investigation with non-intrusive survey, and it builds and improves on the previous geoarchaeological investigation work that has taken place. The legacy of the project will be an informed management plan for Magna which provides the Vindolanda Trust with the knowledge that it requires to help preserve this irreplaceable landscape for years to come.
www.romanarmymuseum.com / www.vindolanda.com
Follow @VindolandaTrust on Facebook / Instagram and YouTube
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. That’s why as the largest funder for the UK’s heritage we are dedicated to supporting projects that connect people and communities to heritage, as set out in our strategic plan, Heritage 2033. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past.
Over the next 10 years, we aim to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to make a decisive difference for people, places and communities.
Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter/X, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLottery #HeritageFund
About West End Refugee Service (WERS)
WERS delivers services to people seeking asylum and refugees in North East of England, empowering individuals, building capacity, and spearheading campaigns to address systemic racism and marginalisation. www.wers.org.uk