Professor Alice Roberts Takes Us on a Journey Through Empire at Swansea Grand Theatre
- ontargetmedia8
- Jul 10
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 28
Professor Alice Roberts is hitting the road this year with her brand-new UK tour, Domination: The Rise and Fall of an Empire, timed to coincide with the release of her latest book.
What inspired this deep dive into the Roman world and its legacy?
“I’ve been looking at the way that burials and funerary practice have changed over time for ages, documenting some of those changes in my recent trilogy, Ancestors, Buried, and Crypt,” she explains.
“One of the questions that arises is whether you can track changes in belief systems, and indeed, political alliances, through such rituals. Over time, lots of observations and questions coalesced into a big question – how did Christianity spread through the Roman Empire?”
To find answers, Roberts turned to both history and archaeology, combining written records with physical evidence uncovered from the ground.
“I wanted to tackle that big question using not just historical sources but archaeology as well – going on a journey of investigation to dig out the clues. I ended up looking at clues buried in ancient letters and genealogies, in new discoveries on archaeological digs, and in the meaning of symbols, in mosaics, on coins and sculptures.”
Given her prominent role as Vice President of Humanists UK and her well-known Humanist beliefs, did this focus on the rise of Christianity create any internal conflict? Apparently not.
“My scientific background means that I try to approach questions objectively – whether those questions are scientific or historical,” she says. “All good historians do that too. All you can do is be aware of your own subjectivity and try to rein that in.”
Audiences attending Domination won’t just be hearing a lecture - they’ll be taken along on Roberts’ personal voyage of discovery.
“I’ll be taking the audience along with me on a journey of exploration and investigation – looking at finds from archaeological sites – from monasteries and villas to mosaics and coins – piecing the puzzle together,” she says.
And there are surprises in store. Even for Roberts herself, some conclusions were unexpected.
“There are some things I’ve discovered during my research that surprised me – and other archaeologists. Not to spill all the beans, I think the thing that surprised me the most is the conclusion I reached – that the western Roman Empire never really fell.”
If she had the chance to travel through time, where would she go? Unsurprisingly, the so-called Dark Ages spark her imagination the most.
“We have so little documentary evidence from these important centuries, but archaeology and archaeological sciences are helping shine a light on that period.”
And as for moments she wishes she could have witnessed firsthand?
“I have just been filming a new series about the Roman Empire for Channel 4 and I visited the wonderful Underwater Archaeology museum in Cartagena, southern Spain, where archaeologist Rocio Castillo showed me one of the recently conserved wooden boats that had been excavated from the seabed near Mazarrón. It’s Phoenician – around 2700 years old – I would love to have seen that emerging from the sand!”
Don’t miss Professor Alice Roberts live with Domination: The Rise and Fall of an Empire at Swansea Grand Theatre on 3 September.
