A reconstruction can be argued with. An original object cannot: it is simply the thing itself, made by a particular person, carried by another, and lost or buried at a moment nobody troubled to record.
In 2025 the Society's exhibition at AUXILIA included, for the first time, selected authentic archaeological artefacts drawn from a long-established English private collection — weapons associated with the Sarmatians and with the Roman auxiliary forces, shown alongside the reconstructions that interpret them.
The display moved indoors to the fort's timber hall, where the banners of Legio IX hung behind the tables and visitors could take their time over what was in front of them. The conversations were longer that year, and better.
