Reception is a term (often) used in classics when discussing literature, but it is not common in archaeology, at least not in Denmark. As archaeologists we are familiar with the term “experimental archaeology”, but I do believe a small part of this particular field can be categorized as “reception” because we are trying to reconstruct a past out of whatever material we can find in the present and hereby, e.g. relive the world of the Romans.

In Germany, and elsewhere, a tradition for living as Romans and having “roman festivals” is widespread in areas with roman remains and reconstructed fortresses. Here focus is on  communicating ideas to and entertaining visitors in a “historical way”. For these purposes reception or “use” of historical and archaeological material is valuable, but when it comes to research and knowledge of the roman world the experimental archaeology is exceptionally useful in questions of technology.

One area of interest in this field of research is the question of wagon-technology. Here researchers have the opportunities to reconstruct a piece of technology and to test the capabilities and different types of minor-technologies (the individual wagon parts) and thereby get an idea of the quality and durability of an area in roman technology. Unfortunately, in my opinion, this almost never happens. The reconstructions are often to expensive for the museums or research-institutions to “destroy” (use until some of the parts have to be renewed) and therefor the full-scale reconstructions is not much better, for a research purpose, than the much cheaper small-scale models. The reconstructions are valuable material in museum-communication, and therefor useful in the reception-part, but the full use of these wagons will not be determined until we start building wagons and use them as they where originally meant to. Then the experimental archaeology will help us answer the question of the usage and possibilities of wagon in the roman age. 

Most wagon-reconstructions that I know of in Denmark and Europe, have never or in a small degree been driven as they where originally meant to, and therefor, I think, they are a part of the field here called “reception” in Roman Archaeology.