interview
Archaeologist Eireann Marshall will lead specialist cruises in a tie-up between A-Rosa and operator Andante Travels next year. Laura French reports
Q. How long have you been an archaeologist? A. I started working as a historian and archaeologist in 1991. I’d always been interested in history – I was raised in an amazing 15th-century villa in Vicenza – but it was when I was studying Greek philosophy in New York that I became smitten. I was overwhelmed by just how much Athens and ancient Greece had shaped the world around us.
Q. How did the tie-up between A-Rosa and Andante come about? A. There seemed to be a natural synergy between the two brands, so we opened up discussions. My job was to decide which river cruises to select and to create archaeological itineraries around them.
Q. What will the cruises involve? A. Guests will have daily excursions to the most important archaeological sites in each region, and every evening, there’ll be a lecture on board exploring the area’s history – from Caesar’s Gallic wars to the amber trade along the Danube.
Q. What makes these rivers suited to archaeology tours? A. Rivers were essential trade routes in antiquity, which meant important cities developed near them. The Rhône was the artery through which foreign goods and ideas were transported in France. As a result, many of the most important archaeological sites in the country are located along the river. The Danube was also hugely important in antiquity. Everyone is interested in the silk trade, but not that many people focus on the amber trade, which took place here and is fascinating.
Q. What sites will you be visiting? A. Rhine itineraries include a visit to Strasbourg to see the elaborate castles that dot its coast, while Danube cruises include the ancient Roman fortress Carnuntum and Roman city Aquincum, near Budapest. Other highlights include Arles, Nîmes and the Pont du Gard. But what I’m most excited about is the Chauvet Cave in southern France, which has some of Europe’s oldest and most intriguing cave paintings.
Eireann Marshall Archaeology guide, Andante Travels
Q. What is it about archaeology that most interests you? A. I’m fascinated by the way physical remains reveal the past. I recently visited the Duomo of Syracuse, which began life as a Doric temple in 480BC. Every incarnation since then is visible today – and that’s what I love. You can see the original columns, the original temple walls, the baroque facade. Exploring a site so many generations have seen gives you a sense of co-existing with the past. You’re sharing the same space as ancient Greeks, Romans and Normans, and there’s something incredibly powerful about that.
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