The sights, sounds and smells of a Roman fort

The sights, sounds and smells of a Roman fort

From The English Heritage Podcast by English Heritage

September 10, 2026 · 51 min · Season 2 · Episode 67

About this episode

The episode explores the sensory experiences of Roman Britain at Housesteads fort.

Housesteads Roman Fort on Hadrian's Wall is Britain's most complete Roman fort. From the remains of its buildings, we can get a good idea of what it looked like. But how did the bathhouse smell? Or, perhaps more importantly, what about the latrines? What did the food taste like? And what sounds would the Roman soldiers stationed there have heard?  Join Amy, English Heritage Curator of History, Andrew Roberts and sensory archaeologist Dr Giacomo Savani on site as they explore this remarkable fort.  Follow this podcast wherever you get your podcasts and leave a review if you love the show.   Join English Heritage: ⁠https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/join/⁠   Podcast listeners can get 20% off the first year of an annual membership. Use code POD20 at checkout.*   Support our work: ⁠https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/support-us/⁠   The English Heritage Trust is a charity, no. 1140351, and a limited company, no. 07447221, registered in England and Wales.    *Offer is available through the use of this code and valid for new memberships by annual Direct Debit only. It cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion, on life…

People in this episode

Host: Amy

Guests: Andrew Roberts, Dr Giacomo Savani

Topics covered

  • Roman Britain
  • Housesteads
  • sensory archaeology
  • history
  • Roman fort

Keywords

  • Roman fort
  • Housesteads
  • sensory tour
  • archaeology
  • Hadrian's Wall

Sponsors

English Heritage

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: English Heritage, English Heritage Trust

Places: Housesteads, Hadrian's Wall

More episodes of The English Heritage Podcast

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The English Heritage Podcast podcast page.