A CELEBRATION of Roman history will be held to mark the launch of a new app which aims to bring the past to life.

Signal Media Arts Centre, a charity based in St Runwald's Street, Colchester, has teamed up with the Colchester Archaeological Trust to build the new Roman Circus App and create a short animation called Dig Deeper which aims to give a brief explanation about archaeology.

Young people aged between 11 and 25 have been working on the Heritage Lottery funded project throughout the summer and are now ready to showcase their work as part of Heritage Open Day on Saturday, September 10.

The group will parade from Colchester Castle, known as the Temple of Claudius in Roman times, to the Roman Circus, following in the footsteps of charioteers who would have taken the same route two thousand years ago.

All are welcome to join the procession, which will leave shortly after noon, with participants urged to wear horse, Roman or ancient Britain costumes.

After arriving at the circus, a range of themed activities will be on offer alongside the launch of the app, which is free to download on Android and Apple devices,will include three audio stories to go alongside the attractions telling tales about how the venue affected the lives of different Roman Colcestrians.

App developers Teaboy Games will also be giving a talk from 2pm, after the premiere of the Dig Deeper film and at 10am there will be a free family workshop at the Signals studio to create Roman costumes and horses with the help of artist tutors.

Signals director Rachel Hipkiss said she was delighted the project was finally coming to fruition.

She said: "More than 50 local young people have taken part in this project - it has been a very creative summer with activities as diverse as photography and robot making.

"We are very excited to share the work of so many talented young people with the rest of Colchester and hope that this will encourage more people to visit and learn about Colchester’s very special Roman circus."

For more information about the parade, app or open day visit www.signals.org.uk/dig-deeper