An archaeologist has triggered a scathing response with her claim that Legion, the British Museum’s latest exhibition, features “unrelenting fascist imagery and sexism”.
The museum’s major new show, billed as offering an insight into life in the Roman Army 2,000 years ago, opened to rave reviews last month.
However, Dr Claire Millington, a Visiting Research Fellow at King’s College London, was less impressed.
Posting on X, formerly Twitter, yesterday she shared a screengrab from the museum’s official Instagram account which shared a picture from the event, proclaiming: “Girlies if you’re single and looking for a man, this is your sign to go the British Museum’s new exhibition Life in the Roman Army and walk around looking confused you’re welcome x.”
Dr Millington commented: “Unrelenting fascist imagery and sexism dolloped on top. This is the BM’s insta today.”
Historian and author Dr Robin Douglas said: “Various people are knee-jerking at Claire’s tweet. (All men, from what I’ve seen.)
“One can debate whether retweeting the BM’s post is wise, but the militaristic framing of this exhibition does seem quite problematic.
“And there is a distinctly fascistic aesthetic to that picture.”
However, commentator Benedict Spence was unconvinced, writing: “An archaeologist has complained the Roman legionary exhibition at the British Museum contains “unrelenting fascist imagery” and once again I am proposing we just close half the universities, the experiment has clearly failed.”
“The ‘militaristic framing’ of an exhibition on… Roman legionaries. ‘Fascist aesthetic’.
“I am *yearning* for it to be a joke, for their sakes and ours.”
Tom Jones, a Tory councillor on North Yorkshire Council, was similarly unimpressed in his reply to Dr Millington’s post, commenting: “The majority of the population, who are normal, will enjoy this exhibition, because they are normal.”
The museum describes the exhibition as exploring “the reality of daily life for the men, women and children who were part of the machine which allowed Rome to master its vast empire”.
The Roman empire stretched from Scotland to the Red Sea, with the exhibition intended to “challenge some of the perceptions about what it meant to be a Roman soldier by showing the army was as much an engine of social change as a formidable war machine”.
Richard Abdy, Curator of Roman and Iron Age coins, comments: “This is a really exciting opportunity to present an epic subject on a human scale.
“Every soldier has a story: it’s incredible that these tales are nearly 2000 years old.”
Sir Mark Jones, Interim Director of the British Museum, said: “The story of the Roman army is more than just pitched battles and war. Legion: life in the Roman army is a chance to show different perspectives and showcase the lives of the men, women, and children who formed one of the most famous armed forces in the world.”
