The exhibition is on tour from National Museums Liverpool but has been given a local twist for its stay in Lancaster with the addition of two cases of archaeological finds from the city and its surrounds.

Lancaster was an important Roman settlement with a fort on Castle Hill and a surrounding village populated by the families of soldiers, and various business and craftspeople. On display, among other things, are tiles from Lancaster's Roman bath house, Roman coins found at Silverdale and Docker Moor, evidence suggesting Roman metal-working at Carnforth and a tiny and unusual bronze cockerel found at Slyne-with-Hest.

The north west was on the very edge of the Roman Empire, and its Roman remains and archaeology have long been acknowledged as plentiful and significant. However, until recently, relatively little was known about the people who lived in the region when the Romans arrived, and how they were affected by the invasion and occupation.

Visitors to the exhibition are taken on a journey back in time to 2,000 years ago, and objects, images and interactive video and games are used to explore who the local people were, how they lived and worked, and how the Romans impacted on their lives and changed the face of the region.

This change did not just come about by military force, but through Roman settlement.

The Romans' need for local industries and produce, and their interaction with local tribes. Changes were not immediate but came about through a process of establishment and evolution.

Over a period of decades, the people of the North West began to use Roman money, dress in Roman fashions and pick up Roman customs. At the same time, the Romans themselves became integrated into society. For example, retired soldiers sometimes set up farms and worked the land themselves.

Archaeology suggests that local people picked up Roman methods such as bronze casting to make decorative items such as brooches, and blacksmithing to make their own iron tools.

Prior to the arrival of the Romans, the people of the North West tended to use wooden and leather items which rotted away over time, leaving few clues in the ground. For this reason, much of the earliest evidence for how North Westerners lived comes from the Roman period, and some of it is on display in the exhibition.

To coincide with the exhibition, there is a programme of family-oriented events taking place at the museum between January and April.

The programme kicks off tomorrow, Saturday, when the exhibition opens, with an afternoon of family fun. Go along from 1pm and meet a Roman soldier, dress like a Roman would have done, help make a mosaic and handle some real Roman archaeological finds.

ELLENOR SWINBANK, assistant keeper, Lancaster City Museum