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Revolutionary Romans

RR ruins

Last summer we worked with 70 young people from North Yorkshire Coast to create Games Up, a story that reimagined local landmarks and defeated the most evil of villains!

This year, we're back, bigger and better than ever with the Revolutionary Romans... but we need your help. The remains of a unique Roman villa have been found in Eastfield but we need to figure out exactly what happened; who lived there, and what it was used for.

With help from Scarborough Museums Trust - Rotunda Museum & Scarborough Art Gallery and the magic of your imagination, we're going on an adventure like no other. Together, we'll create the greatest story the North Yorkshire Coast has ever heard.

Young writers and illustrators can take part in the whole nine weeks of challenges, or dip in and out as they fancy. At the end of the nine weeks, best-selling children's author and Literacy Champion Saviour Pirotta will collate submissions into one GIANT story inspired by the amazing discoveries in Eastfield.

Meet the team!

Share your ideas and creations with us and our brilliant team will work their magic on them to create a magnificent story inspired by the discovery of Roman ruins in Eastfield!

Part one: Questions and artefacts

Some ancient ruins and artefacts have been found in Scarborough and we need your help to get to the bottom of this intriguing mystery!

Nadia's got lots of questions and she needs some answers! Watch Nadia's video and think about:

  • How did the ruins get there?
  • Why did the Romans choose Eastleigh for this extraordinarily rare structure?
  • Who exactly were these Romans who came all the way to our seaside town?

Toby, our Ancient Ruins Correspondent from Freeman News, has been doing some digging of his own and has made some compelling discoveries! Watch his special report video and come up with your own ideas for what you think the artefacts could have been used for!

Get involved on the Our Stories Facebook page and let us know what you think these ruins could have been all those thousands of years ago.

Part two: What makes a good story?

Nadia has been sharing her best tips to help you start thinking about your characters!

Watch the video and think about things like:

  • What is your character's name?
  • What about their friends and family? Do they come from a big family, or maybe they have lots of friends?
  • What do they look like?
  • What's their personality like?

Saviour has also been busy working on some top tips to help you create your Revolutionary Romans story. Watch his video for his expert tips on creating:

  • Characters
  • Objects
  • Places

You've got lots to start thinking about, so dig out that archaeologist hat and get going! Keep drawing or writing your characters and head over to the Our Stories Facebook page to share them with us.

Part three: What could the ruins be?

Now we've looked at characters, it's time to start thinking about the location! Saviour's made a handy video to help you think about the different locations we'll be using to create the story.

Nadia's wants you to decide what the ancient ruins could possibly have been used for. Think about things like:

  • Were the ruins a Roman army fort?
  • Perhaps they were a hiding place for a secret king?
  • Or maybe the ruins were a jewellery factory?

And Toby, our special Ancient Ruins Correspondent from Freeman News, is back with another amazing discovery!

Watch the videos and help to keep the story going by sharing your own ideas on the Our Stories Facebook page.

Part four: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?

We're one step closer to the end , but we're still missing a few key ingredients...

Saviour has once again created some handy videos to help get you thinking about things like:

  • Conflict

Who are the goodies and the baddies in our story? What are they fighting about? Who is the main hero and who is our villain?

  • Strong characters

They could be feisty and powerful, or wildly adventurous, maybe they're very young or very old? It's all up to you!

  • Animals

Our story won't be complete without some animals! They could be real or imaginary - get as imaginative as you'd like!

  • Backstory

Use 'Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?" questions to come up with an interesting history for the things, locations, and people you create.

Watch the videos and continue to amaze us by sharing your own ideas on the Our Stories Facebook page.

In partnership with

Scarborough Museum Logo