Fancy a Hot Date?!

You have Julius Caesar to thank for those New Year’s Day hangovers, after a night of ringing in the New Year! In 45 BC he revamped the Roman calendar and pronounced January as the first month of the year.

Coin of Janus from the reign of Antoninus Pius AD 138-161

January was named after the Roman god Janus, the god of beginnings, doors and gates – a very appropriate choice with the start of the New Year being a time for new starts and opening the proverbial doors to a new future and a new you (or at least the intention for a new you! Personally, my resolution to eat and drink less is turning into an annual habit!)

Janus was often depicted with two faces. I’m sure it wasn’t a slur on his character but, to represent looking both to the past and the future.

On the 28th December, the Roman Baths hosted a "make an oscilla of a two faced Janus" event! The day was a success, with many families trying their hand at a bit of crafts!

New Year’s Day was called Kalendae Januariae and, just like today, was a day of celebration that they dedicated to Janus. On this day you could only say good things (not something I could promise!)

Cakes and sweets were eaten and presents were exchanged between family and friends. A popular gift was an oil lamp as the light of the lamp shining in the darkness symbolized looking into the unknown future that the New Year brings.

Some dates!

A sweet treat, that would have been devoured, was Hot Dates, hence the title! This comes from the recipe book of the Roman cook Apicius who lived during the 1^st century AD!

To truly celebrate New Year's Day Roman style, on 1st January, we served Hot Dates to visitors and it was safe to say they went down well! 

To have a go at making the dish yourself, here's the recipe! If you do make any at home you could put your creation up on The Roman Baths Facebook page! I'd love to see them!

Dates Alexandrine

Ingredients:

20 (whole) dates 
20 blanched almonds
1 tsp cinnamon
Butter
Salt
Liquid honey

Remove stones from dates. Roll almonds in cinnamon and stuff one in each date. Place dates on greased pan. Lightly sprinkle salt over the dates. Then coat each one with honey. Glaze in an oven then serve and enjoy!

Emma

My Placement at the Roman Baths part 1

This was an exciting three week placement at the Roman Baths Museum supported by the British Council. The British Council and Ministry of Culture of China organized a programme called the China-UK Arts Management Development Programme which aims to promote cultural exchange and dialogue between the two countries. This year 12 Chinese young people who work in the fields of performing arts, visual arts, museums, and design joint took part. Luckily, I got the chance to work at the Roman Baths.

 

The 12 young applicants of 2013 in front of the British Council

 I am a curator of highlights, gold and silver ornament, working at Nanjing Municipal Museum. Nanjing is a city of some 6.5 million to the north west of Shanghai. Our museum is located in the largest Qing Dynasty palace in South China. It has over 100,000 artefacts. It also has an in-house archaeology department doing ongoing excavations.  I joined the Programme because I am particularly interested in exploring how the museum can serve the needs of both academic study and engagement with the wider community, and would like to see how technology and exhibition design can help casual visitors interpret the objects.

 

Nanjing Municipal Museum

First we had a 5 day introductory workshop in London. Then we went to different organizations across UK. I had been to the Roman Baths two years before and was so impressed with this fantastic site. This time was more exciting because I could shadow the Manager of the Roman Baths, Stephen Clews.

Roman Baths Museum

In the first week were various talks and meetings with staff, to experience the daily management of the museum. The second week was Heritage Open Week and I joined a lot of tours and workshops to find out how they interpret the museum.

 Wang Pu 

时间飞逝，转眼我就要结束在罗马浴场博物馆三周的实习工作。这次实习是英国文化委员会和中国文化部联合举办的中英艺术管理人才培训的重要组成部分。中英艺术管理人才培训自1999年起，在中国选拔数位优秀的年轻艺术管理人才前往英国各大艺术机构实习，旨在促进两国的文化交流和对话。今年共有十二位来自博物馆、剧院的年轻人入选。而我很幸运的得到了在罗马浴场博物馆工作的机会。

我来自于中国南京，在南京市博物馆保管研究部工作。南京市博物馆位于朝天宫，是一个拥有数十万件藏品的综合性博物馆。我工作的主要职责是管理一级品及金银器类文物，协助举办展览，以及做相应的研究工作。参加这次培训，我主要是希望了解到在英国博物馆的日常运营方式、藏品管理方式以及博物馆的教育工作是怎么开展的。

抵达伦敦后，我们首先参加了五天的短期培训。在这五天里，来自各大艺术机构的重要人物为我们介绍了英国艺术的现状及发展，让我们对英国的艺术领域有了一个直观的了解。随后，我们各自踏上了实习的旅途。两年前，我曾经在旅行的时候到过巴斯罗马浴场博物馆，当时对罗马时期的如此宏伟的浴场留下了深刻印象。没有想到两年后的今天自己居然有机会在这里工作，实在令人兴奋。在浴场博物馆馆长史蒂芬克鲁斯的安排下，我全身心地投入了紧张忙碌的工作。

第一周主要是与各个部分的负责人见面，请他们为我介绍这里的主要工作方式和方法；第二周碰巧是巴斯的文化遗产周，博物馆免费面向当地的居民开放，并提供了各种各样丰富多彩的活动；第三周则是在巴斯的各个博物馆访问参观。