Last year, our friends at the Park In The Past project in Wrexham, Wales, launched their new flagship event - Auxilia, Rome's Cutting Edge. This event hosted at their own reconstructed Roman fort, Castra Ovum, saw the site host an international gathering with Roman reenactment groups from the UK and Europe representing soldiers from across the Roman empire to celebrate the diversity of the multi-cultural Imperial army. 

Titled “the cutting edge of Rome”, the event focuses primarily on the auxilia corps of the early Imperial Roman era - non-citizen soldiers from around Europe and Africa serving as specialist cohorts to support the heavy infantry legions as skirmishers, archers, slingers, cavalry, and standing shoulder to shoulder with their citizen comrades in the front-line. The skills brought to the Roman army by these specialist soldiers from their homelands would eventually be absorbed into regular training, and by the 4th century helped form the most flexible and well-trained military force until at least the early modern period. This evolution is what Magister Militum will be keen to represent at the event alongside our early Roman colleagues, demonstrating the absorbtion and evolution of these specialist auxiliaries into the main bulk of the Roman legions. 

The event this year is set to boast not only reenactment groups from across Europe (including Rome herself) with full camps and living history demonstrations, but also displays of Roman artillery, archery, weapons demonstrations and have-a-go elements for younger visitors, particularly one of the finest children's army displays available. Extra displays this year will also include pottery making sessions showing how to craft a Roman-style amphorae, and a collection of genuine Scythian weapons and equipment. 

We hope to see you there at this highly diverse and exciting event!

Tickets are costed at £8 for adults and £5 for children, or £19 for a family. No booking required, simply turn up on the day!