Seeking The Saxon Shore with Dr Maxwell Craven

Dr Maxwell Craven is speaking at Derby Museum & Art Gallery on Thursday 12 November, with the talk running from 2.30 to 4pm and doors opening at 2pm. He'll be talking about the 'Saxon Shore' forts — ten, possibly twelve, vast Roman fortified enclosures built along the southern and eastern coasts of Britain in the later third century AD to defend against Germanic marauders. The story he traces runs from the fort at Portchester in Hampshire to the site of Brancaster on the north Norfolk coast, following the route of Seeking the Saxon Shore, a Roman-themed voyage of discovery undertaken by Dr Craven and Carole Craven in June 2017, which he later turned into a book.

Craven is a Derby-based historian and archaeologist, born in London, educated in the West Country and at the universities of Nottingham and Leicester, and settled in Derby in 1966. He served as Keeper of Education and later Keeper of Antiquities at Derby Museum, where he oversaw the re-display of the Archaeology Gallery in 1984, and was appointed Derby Cathedral Archaeologist in 1982. He's written more than thirty books, mostly about Derby, and three on Roman history, including Magnus Maximus: A Forgotten Roman Emperor and his Legacy (2023). This talk draws on that same Roman interest, taking the 'Saxon Shore' forts from the page back to the map.

It's a suggested donation of £5, and free for Derby Museums Friends. The talk runs from 2.30 to 4pm, with doors opening at 2pm, so there's plenty of time to get settled before he starts.