The Society holds an extensive collection of over 5,000 slides of buildings, monuments, mosaics and sculptures from across the Roman world - from the Antonine Wall in the west to Palmyra in the east, and from the Republic to Late Antiquity. These slides have been donated over many years and they can be borrowed by members of the Society to support teaching in schools and universities. However, slides are seen as somewhat ‘old-fashioned’ in the 21st century and recent years have witnessed a decline in donations and lending requests. Therefore, to commemorate the Roman Society's centenary, and to provide a fitting legacy for the next 100 years, the Society plans to digitise its slide collection and make this comprehensive and extremely useful resource available via the new website. Members will be able to search for images of Roman monuments and antiquities based on location, type or date, which can then be downloaded in a variety of resolutions and formats. The aim is to launch the image bank at the official centenary celebrations in June 2010, by which time we should have found a more memorable name to represent the Roman Society’s slide collection in the digital age (suggestions welcome!).
Dr Peter Guest
Chair, Archaeology Committee