video

This Saturday, the light up of Hadrian's wall crated a spectacular line of light from coast to coast. The once in a lifetime event - 'celebrating' (remembering might be more appropriated) the End of Roman Britain in (more or less) AD 410 saw the entire route of the 84 mile long Hadrian's Wall Path National Trail go up in flames lit by flaming torches. Sean and Sam have tweeted us updates from the Illumination, there are tons of great photographs of the Light Up event on Flickr, and Illuminating Hadrian's Wall 2010 has now also released some preliminary, overnight, quickly-edited but still incredibly impressive film footage shot from the helicopter that followed the trail of light. These 30 seconds are definitely worth watching twice... or trice... *hits replay*.

In 2009 archaeologists in Weymouth made a gruesome discovery: 51 skeletons were found buried in a pit - separated from their 1000-years-old heads. Further analysis of the skulls using the latest forensic techniques confirms that the victims were all came from a very cold climate. One of the executed warriors even originates from north of the Arctic circle.

Boudicca massacred 80,000 people on her way to infamy, as she left Colchester, London and St Albans little more than smouldering husks in 60AD. And it's no surprise to learn that her appearance matched her bloodthirsty attitude. Boudicca was "a great big busty woman," says expert Mark Hassall, "with a blonde mass of hair falling down to her shoulders.

Boudicca is one of ancient Britain's biggest names: she's even got her own statue overlooking Parliament. (Click to watch the Boudicca video) But for all today's archaeological breakthroughs, we still don't know where she's buried right now. In fact, we don't even know where she and the Romans played out a bloody denouement to the rebellion at the Battle of Watling Street. Even Tacitus and Cassius Dio, the Roman historians who chronicled the event, can't agree whether she committed suicide or fell victim to illness.

This weekend Hadrian's Wall will be put in the spotlight - quite literally - when approximately 500 beacons will illuminate the 84 mile wall in its entirety. It will surely be a memorable sight (and one to capture on video, in pixels, and in Tweets)! As we're all anxiously awaiting the weekend, let's have a look at how Hadrian's Wall, and the bridge and fort complex nearby called the Pons Aelius, might have looked in 200AD!

The history of Newcastle begins about AD120, when Roman engineers constructed the first bridge across the River Tyne. The bridge was called 'Pons Aelius' - meaning 'Bridge of Aelius' - a reference to Emperor Hadrian's family name.

Hadrian's Wall snakes its way through 84 miles of barren British countryside, the frostbitten tip of the Roman empire. Yet you needn't leave your PC to get a feel for this weekend's illuminations event, which promises to be a spectacular celebration of Roman prowess.

Nicole, Sam and myself will be heading up to the wall to watch the illuminations for an Ancient World in London video about the bits of Britain even Rome dared not tinker with. We'll be visiting some of the wall's best-known sites, and speaking to experts about its glorious past.

The future of Britain's only chariot racetrack is looking a lot brighter this week, as the public funding needed to save Colchester's Roman circus was reached yesterday. The £200,000 raised by Colchester Archaeological Trust and Destination Colchester will join £30,000 from the local council and £550,000 in loans and grants. The total will go towards buying the Sergeant's Mess, a Victorian building which stands upon the circus' gates. To see an in-depth blog on the campaign itself, click here.

Colchester can lay claim to a bevy of titles: some impressive, some not so. For instance, you might not know that it's the first-ever town in Britain, founded as a Roman soldiers' outpost shortly after Claudius' 43AD landing. You may also be unaware that it's the home of Mary Whitehouse, Colchester United and Darren Day. A mixed bag, admittedly.

Now on iTunes - The Ancient World in London videos are available to download for free!

In our ever continuing quest to bring you media in as many formats as we can, and in many ways as we can, we're happy to announce the first episodes Ancient World in London video series are now available to download from iTunes. This means you can transfer them to your iPhone, iPod and iGizmothingys until your hearts are content.

Despite the clear fact that Blackberry's are superior phones, I'm prepared to acknowledge the growing popularity of iPhones and as such, all the forthcoming episodes will also be available to download for free from the iTunes store.