Newcastle academic’s research informs swords-and-sandals blockbuster. James Titcomb reports
Attending premieres, rubbing shoulders with Hollywood stars and visiting film sets are a far cry from the daily activities of the typical academic.
But for one historian, the worlds of research and show business collided when she was invited to contribute to the making of a big-budget film, The Eagle.
Lindsay Allason-Jones, director of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Artefact Studies at Newcastle University, served as the academic adviser for the film, which tells the story of a young Roman centurion in northern Britain in the 2nd century AD.
Ms Allason-Jones, an expert in Roman archaeology, said she was confident that the film, which is inspired by Rosemary Sutcliff’s 1954 novel The Eagle of the Ninth, would bolster popular interest in the history of Roman Britain.
“It’s such a good film it cannot fail to engage people,” she said.
If she is right, then Ms Allason-Jones’ work will be held up as an unusual example of the research “impact” that the UK government is so keen to promote.
Always interested to see how history/fiction interact, so the above story caught my eye.