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ED 461 572 AUTHOR TITLE INSTITUTION ISBN PUB DATE NOTE AVAILABLE FROM PUB TYPE EDRS ,PRICE DESCRIPTORS IDENTIFIERS ABSTRACT DOCUMENT RESUME SO 029 518 Watson, lain Using Roman Sites: A Teacher's Guide. Education on Site. English Heritage Education Service, London (England). ISBN-1-85074-334-7 1997-00-00 42p.; For other teacher's guides in the series, see SO 029 517-521. English Heritage Education Service, 23 Savile Row, London, England W1X lAB, United Kingdom. Tel: 020 7973 3000; Fax: 020 7973 3443; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/. Guides Classroom Teacher (052) MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. Active Learning; Ancient History; *Archaeology; British National Curriculum; Community Characteristics; Cultural Background; Cultural Education; Elementary Secondary Education; Foreign Countries; *Gardens; *Heritage Education; History Instruction; *Local History; Social Studies; World History England; *Roman Civilization This book is about finding the evidence to help pupils discover the Romans, especially in Britain. The Romans changed the culture and landscape of Britain and left a wide range of evidence to be investigated today. Pupils need to be presented this range of evidence and the interpretations put on them. The evidence presented is both archaeological evidence and documentary eVidence. The chapter titles include: (1) "Historical Background"; (2) "Roman Sites"; (3) "Documentary Sources"; (4) "Educational Approaches"; and (5) "Roman Sites across the Curriculum." A bibliography and resources section are also part of the text. (EH) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.

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ED 461 572

AUTHORTITLEINSTITUTIONISBNPUB DATENOTE

AVAILABLE FROM

PUB TYPEEDRS ,PRICE

DESCRIPTORS

IDENTIFIERS

ABSTRACT

DOCUMENT RESUME

SO 029 518

Watson, lainUsing Roman Sites: A Teacher's Guide. Education on Site.English Heritage Education Service, London (England).ISBN-1-85074-334-71997-00-0042p.; For other teacher's guides in the series, see SO 029517-521.English Heritage Education Service, 23 Savile Row, London,England W1X lAB, United Kingdom. Tel: 020 7973 3000; Fax:020 7973 3443; e-mail: [email protected];Web site: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/.Guides Classroom Teacher (052)MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage.Active Learning; Ancient History; *Archaeology; BritishNational Curriculum; Community Characteristics; CulturalBackground; Cultural Education; Elementary SecondaryEducation; Foreign Countries; *Gardens; *Heritage Education;History Instruction; *Local History; Social Studies; WorldHistoryEngland; *Roman Civilization

This book is about finding the evidence to help pupilsdiscover the Romans, especially in Britain. The Romans changed the cultureand landscape of Britain and left a wide range of evidence to be investigatedtoday. Pupils need to be presented this range of evidence and theinterpretations put on them. The evidence presented is both archaeologicalevidence and documentary eVidence. The chapter titles include: (1)

"Historical Background"; (2) "Roman Sites"; (3) "Documentary Sources"; (4)

"Educational Approaches"; and (5) "Roman Sites across the Curriculum." Abibliography and resources section are also part of the text. (EH)

Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be madefrom the original document.

1E/Ifelt

..01111

PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE ANDDISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS

A

1

BEEN GRANTED BY

e

TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)

U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION(Ace et Educational Research and Improvement

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATIONCENTER (ERIC)

VI:his document has been reproduced asreceived from the person or organizationoriginating it

0 Minor changes have been made toimprove reproduction quality

Points of view or opinions stated in thisdocument do not necessarily representofficial OERI position or policy

A

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BEST COPY AVAILABLE

Books in the Education on Site seriesare written especially for teachers tohelp them make the best use of thehistoric environment.

Series editor: Mike Corbishley

Cover illustrations: Richborough RomanFort (English Heritage Photo Library)Inset back: At Wroxeter Roman City (LizHollinshead).

Edited with additional material byMike CorbishleyDrawings and maps by Peter Connolly,Judith Dobie, Peter Dunn, IvanLapper and Sean Whittle.

Drawings and maps remain the copyrightof English Heritage but may be repro-duced without written permission by edu-cational establishments for free distribu-tion for their own educational use.

Designed by Alan McPhersonPrinted by Hythe Offset, Colchester

Printed on recycled paper

First published 1997 by EnglishHeritageC Copyright English Heritage, 1997

ISBN 1-85074-334-7

EDUCATEON ON SETE

USINGROMAN

SITESIain Watson

4

ENGLISH HERITAGE

USING ROMAN SETIES

CONTENTSABOUT THIS BOOK 3

HISTORICALBACKGROUND 4Roman and Native 4Roman conquest 5

The province of Britain 6The end of Roman Britain 7

ROMAN SITES 9

Military 10Town and country 11Resource sheets:The Roman Army 12Roman Buildings 14Case Study: Lullingstone 16Resource sheet: A Roman Villa 18Religion and burial 20Industry 24Roads, bridges and aqueducts 25Resource Sheet: Crafts and Industries 26DOCUMENTARYSOURCES 28Wooden writing tablets 28Inscriptions 28Roman literature 28

EDUCATIONALAPPROACHES 30Searching for Roman sites 30Activities on site 31Making comparisons 32ROMAN SITES ACROSSTHE CURRICULUM 33BIBLIOGRAPHY ANDRESOURCES 35

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Gaming board foundat Corbridge; coin depicting Hadrian found in theRiver Tyne; Ermine Street Guard and visitors; classexamining the stonework of the Roman lighthouse atDover; recording column bases at Woxeter RomanCity; display of a project on the Romans at a primaryschool; inside the gymnasium of the baths at Wall; amodel of part of the site at Wroxeter; class visiting thesite at Wroxeter with the wall of the baths behind;"Spring" with a swallow on her shoulder from amosaic at Lullingstone Roman Villa.

25

USHNG ROMAN SITES

ABOUT THIS BOOKThis book is about finding the evi-dence to help your pupils discoverthe Romans, especially in Britain.The Romans changed the cultureand landscape of Britain and left awide range of evidence to be inves-tigated today. It is important topresent to pupils this range of evi-dence, and the interpretationswhich have been put on it.The evidence for the Romans in

Britain takes two basic forms:

archaeological evidencethe actual remains of the Romans,whether landscapes, buildings orobjects

documentary evidencewhether writings by Romanauthors about their way of life orevents in Britain or written evi-dence from modern authors.

It is important for pupils to under-stand that the 'Romans' were awhole mix of different peoples 60million people living in a numberof different provinces which madeup the Roman Empire and joinedpartly by one official language(Latin).

This poem was addressed to theemperor Titus in AD 80 byMarcus Valerius Martialis, knownin English as Martial. The poemwas to celebrate the opening of theworld's greatest amphitheatre, theColosseum. Martial grew up andwas educated in one of the 'newtowns' of the Roman EmpireBilbilis in Spain.Yet Martialthought of himself as a Roman nota Spaniard and in fact lived inRome for over 30 years.The poem makes the point about

the vast range of the Empire and itsdifferent peoples but also putBritain into that context.Theprovince of Britain was added inthe first century AD and was onthe furthest limits of the Romanworld. While it is clarly importantto us, as a significant part of ourearly history, it was only a verysmall, and mostly insignificantpart, of the Roman Empire. Butone legacy of the Romans can beseen in the words of the poemitself. How many of the Latinwords have given us English words

Excavating the remains of the baths at Wroxeter Roman city (see page 8 and artist'simpression on pages 14-15 and page 32).

Quae tam seposita est, quae gens tam barbara, Caesarex qua spectator non sit in urbe tua?

venit ab Orpheo cultor Rhodopeius Haemo,venit et epoto Sarmata pastus equo,

et qui prima bibit deprehensi flumina Niket quern supremae Tethyos unda ferit;festinavit Arabs, festinavere Sabaei,et Cilices nimbis hic maduere suis.

crinibus in nodum tortis venere Sugambri,atque aliter tortis crinibus Aethiopes.

vox diversa sonat populorum, tum tamen una est,cum verus patriae diceris esse pater.

What nation is so remote, Emperor, or so barbarous thatsomeone hasn't come from it to watch the games in your city?There are farmers from the Balkans here, natives from south-ern Russia bred on horse's blood, people who drink the Nile'swaters and even those from far away Britain*. Arabs, peoplefrom the shores of the Red Sea, as well as those from southernTurkey, have hurried here and German tribesmen andEthiopians each with their own peculiar hairstyles. Theirlanguages all sound different, yet they all hail you with asingle voice, Emperor, as the true father of our country.

we use today?Perhaps more significant is the

fact that the Roman occupation ofBritain changed our landcape. Westill drive along, or rather on top of,Roman roads. Many of our citiesand towns were of Roman founda-tion. The very High Streets we nowshop in may be there because theywere the main streets in Romantowns.

6

* The word 'Britain' does notappear in the poem but we knowit refers to Britain because it saysthat the 'wave of far away Tethys'beats on the shore. Tethys wasthe goddess wife of Oceanuswhom the Romans thought of asthe great ocean which stretchedout to the province of Britain onthe furthest edges of their world.

3

USIING ROMAN SITES

HISTORICALBACKGROUND

ROMAN AND NATIVEWhen the Romans invaded Britainit was not an empty country butinhabited by numerous tribes ruledby individual rulers. The differenttribes in Britain had different char-acters and different levels of tribalorganisation.The tribes in the south and east

had:

trading and other contacts withtribes on the continent and thuswith the Mediterranean world thecivilisations of Greece and Rome

at least some large settlements ortowns (sites such as St Albans andWheathamp stead are referred to as'oppida'- meaning a small provin-cial town)

a money economy, minting theirown coins

imported Mediterranean wineinto Britain along with other luxurygoods and in return exportedslaves, tin and other goods such ascorn.

The tribes of the north and westhad looser tribal organisations andpeople probably lived in extendedfamily units, but they were stillorganised societies.

In general the tribes of the southand east (such as the Atrebates andthe Catuvellauni) were more readi-ly assimilated into Roman cultureand settled into a Roman way oflife whilst the northern tribes con-tinued to offer resistance to theRomans. It is difficult to estimatepopulation figures for Britain in theRoman period but best estimatessuggest that at its height the popu-lation was approximately 200,000people living in the vici (civiliansettlements surrounding forts) anda rural population of 2 million ormore. A few people lived in villas,the rest lived an almost unchangedlife in small rural agricultural settle-ments, presumably still speakingtheir own Celtic languages, theonly difference in their lives beingthat they now paid taxes to theRomans rather than to their tribalchief.

Roman world/Modern worldPhotocopy the map (below) ofthe Roman world at its greatestextent in the second century AD.Ask your pupils to use amodern atlas to find out:

how many of the Romannames are used today, withoutany change (for example,Syria)

how many can still be guessedat easily (for example, Aegyptus)

how many have provided thebasis for words in modernEuropean languages, perhaps asadjectives (for example, Gallia)or are used today for regionsrather than whole countries (forexample, Alpes)

whether any boundaries ofRoman provinces are the sameas present-day ones

You could also use an atlas ormaps from earlier this centuryand compare the borders ofcountries then with now.

BritanniaGermania Inferior

Germania Superior

Belgica Black Sea

LugdunensisRaeti Noricum Dacia

allia Pannonia

Aquitania es PoeniIpes Cottia

ritim

iaerior

Constantinople

BithDalmatia

Moesiauperior

NarbonensisThracia

inaonti Cappadocia

Macedonia GalatiRome

ItaliaTarraconensis

HispaniaLusitania

Syria

EpirusSardinia

BaeticaAchaea

Siciliac==:2

Cretarabia

uretaniaingitana

auretaniaCaesariensis

Africa

The Roman Empire in the second century AD.

4 7

Cyrenaica Aegyptus

IHEISTORICAL ACKGROUND

ROMAN CONQUESTJulius Caesar, who had been cam-paigning in Gaul (modern Franceand parts of neighbouring coun-tries, see map on page 4), led expe-ditions to Britain in 55 and54 BC, won some battles in southeast England, made treaty arrange-ments with the tribes and imposedtaxes. The conquest of Britain didnot begin until AD 43 when anarmy of 40,000, led by the generalAulus Plautius, defeated the tribesof south east England and estab-lished Britain as a province of theRoman Empire, with a permanentRoman presence.:The EmperorClaudius came from Rome andmarched at the head of his army totake the capital, Camulodunum(Colchester) and received the sur-render of 11 British kings (seeDocumentary sources page 29).

To the Romans, Britain seemed along way away and, lying beyondthe great 'Oceanus' (the EnglishChannel), was regarded as a placeof mystery. The army which invad-ed Britain, however, was not madeup wholly of soldiers from Rome,or even Italy. Many of the soldierswould never have seen Rome. TheRoman Empire recruited soldiersfrom the provinces it conqueredand hence soldiers were of manydifferent nationalities. Soldiers didnot normally, at this time, servein the province where they hadbeen born and many of the soldiersof Claudius' army were from Spainand North Africa.

The first Roman sites in Britainwere built for and by the army. Y.=

Wherever it went the Roman armybuilt camps to protect itself againstsurprise attack. The XXth legionbuilt a fortress for itself atCamulodunum (Colchester), pre-viously an important centre for thedefeated Trinovantes tribe. Thiswas probably one of the first majorRoman sites in Britain.

Other army units moved northand west and by about AD 60 mostof England south and east of a linefrom the Wash to the BristolChannel was under Roman control.As well as the military sites,

Roman towns had now been estab-fished. These were organised in thesame way as a Mediterranean town Iand had the same facilities, such asa water supply, street pattern and '11

public buildings. Roman towns atCamulodunum, Londinium(London probably already the cap-ital of the province) and

Roman Britain in AD 60 with the tribal names.

Two coins from the pre-Roman capital at Camulodunum. One has an abbreviation of theword CAM. The other pictures a horse and part of the tribal king's name Cunobelin(CUN).

8 5

HIISTORECAL ACKGROUND

Verulamium (St Albans, anotherimportant pre-Roman centre)were particular targets for destruc-tion in the rebellion led by Boudica,Queen of the Iceni, in AD 60.In the second half of the first cen-

tury AD the army established con-trol over Wales, northern Englandand southern Scotland, and therewere campaigns into northernScotland. By about AD 105 anorthern frontier for Britain hadbeen established roughly along theline that was later to becomeHadrian's Wall, and the Wall itselfwas built about AD 122-137.

THE PROVINCEOF BRITAINHadrian died in AD 138 and wassucceeded as emperor byAntoninus Pius. A new northernfrontier was established for Britainalong a line from the Forth to theClyde. A new wall the AntonineWall was built and Hadrian's Wallwas largely abandoned. It seemsthat about AD 159 the AntonineWall was abandoned and Hadrian'sWall about AD 163. Hadrian's Wallwas re-established as the frontierand was to survive as such foralmost 250 years. The activity onthe northern frontier must havebeen due to unrest amongst thenative tribes, and attempts by thearmy to control them.In the third century it was this

northern frontier which gave theprovince of Britain the most trou-ble. Late in the second century theMaetae, a tribe who lived in theFalkirk/Stirling area, may haveinvaded the province. Repairs andsome rebuilding was carried out onHadrian's Wall in the first years ofthe third century and from aboutAD 208 until his death at York inAD 211 the Emperor Severus cam-paigned into northern Scotland.The campaigns of Severus and hisson Caracalla began a period ofpeace on the northern frontierwhich lasted almost 100 years.The end of the second century

saw major changes in the RomanEmpire as the provincial adminis-tration became more powerful andthe central administration less pow-erful. About AD 212 the EmperorCaracalla issued an edict that allfree born (ie not slave) people liv-ing in the Roman Empire shouldhave Roman citizenship givingthem extra rights under the law andthe right to hold certain officesfrom which they had previously

6

Antonine Wall

Hadrian's Wall

- Main roadsMain towns

Roman Britain c AD 122.

Hadrian's Wall at Walltown Crags.

RIESTORECAL ACKGROUNID

been excluded. About the sametime Britain was divided into twoprovinces Britannia Superior(governed from London) and anorthern province, BritanniaInferior.By the late third century

Germanic tribes, Saxons andGauls, were carrying out raids onthe shores of Britain and northernGaul. Along the east and southcoasts of Britain a series of fortswere built, known as the SaxonShore forts. In the late AD 280spower in Britain and NorthernGaul was seized by a naval com-mander, Carausius, and then by hisfinance minister, Allectus. In AD297 Constantius Chlorus re-estab-lished Roman power and in theearly fourth century the Britishadministration was revised andfour provinces were created; Prima(capital, Cirencester), Secunda(capital, York), MaximaCaesariensis (capital London)and Falvia Caesariensis (capital,Lincoln).From the third century the num-

ber of troops in Britain was greatlyreduced (the soldiers were neededelsewhere), and there were alsochanges in the organisationof the army. In the fourth centurythe power of the Roman Empirewas waning and for two significantperiods Britain was controlledalong with other western provincesby usurpers who had seized power.Britain also increasingly sufferedattacks from Scottish andGermanic tribes. There may havebeen a major invasion of Britain bythese tribes about AD 367 and fol-lowing this much rebuilding ofdefences at towns, at forts, and onHadrian's Wall was carried outby Count Theodosius.

THE END OFROMAN BRITAINIn the early years of the fifth centu-ry more troops were removed fromBritain and from about AD 407 theRoman Empire probably ceased topay the few troops left in Britain.Most of them had probably grownup near or in the forts wherethey now lived and would havestayed there along with their wivesand children, perhaps farming orworking as craftspeople. AD 410 isoften seen as the end of RomanBritain. In this year the EmperorHonorius, preoccupied with eventsin Italy (including the sack ofRome), wrote to the British that

- Limit of provinces

0 Provincial capital

Roman Britain in the third century AD.

BRITANNIASECUNDA York

Lincoln

FLAVIA\ CAESARIENSIS

MAXIMABRITANNIA CAESARIENSISPRIMA 0London

Cirencester

- Limit of pMvinces

0 Provincial capital

Roman Britain in the fourth century AD.

10

EIRSTOIECAL ie ACKGROUND

they could no longer rely on theRoman Empire for support andthat they must look to their owndefences.

By the early fifth century manytowns were already in decline as aresult of the unrest of the preced-ing years. In some places however,town life continued into Ehe midfifth century with aqueducts andfountains continuing to flow. Bythe mid fifth century tribes fromGermany (Angles and Saxons) hadinvaded and settled parts of southeast England.

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Wroxeter remains from the air. A - Basilica B - Main baths C - Main streetE - Market Hall F - Lavatory G - Street.

D - Forum

Pupils working on a project at WroxeterRoman City.

Fifth-century WroxeterThe Roman town of ViroconiumCornoviorum (now Wroxeter nearShrewsbury, Shropshire) beganlife as a series of first centuryRoman forts, culminating in alegionary fortress in AD 58. TheXXth legion who occupied thefort abandoned it in about AD 90and the site became a town forthe Cornovii tribe. The town wasdeveloped from about AD 90 toAD 120 but the arrival of theEmperor Hadrian to Britain inAD 122 saw a re-shaping of thecity centre (in particular, theforum and baths).The town started to decline inthe third and fourth centuries,probably because of widespreadpolitical unrest which affected thewhole country. At the end of theperiod when Britain ceased to beadministered by Rome in the fifthcentury, the town continued to belived in. The bath's basilica wasdismantled, but the site was laterused as a grand residence, possi-bly for a tribal king. This impres-sive timber building was sur-rounded by other, classically-inspired timber houses and amarket area. The centre of thecity had been rebuilt along theexisting streets.

8

Wroxeter Roman City.

The site of the basilica as it may have appeared in the fifth century after the baths hadgone out of use. A large timber-framed winged building was constructed along the northwall of the redundant basilica.

11

USIING ROMAN STIES

ROMAN SITESThe Roman occupation of Britainlasted for a period of almost 350years. Most of mainland Britain,except the highlands of Scotland,was at some time occupied by theRomans. There are many differentkinds of sites dating from the peri-od of Roman Britain. These can bedivided into two types:

Native sites before theRomans came to Britain the coun-try was inhabited by many differenttribes. These different tribes hadtheir own building styles andtheir own types of site. Most peo-ple, however, lived in round build-ings, built from stone, wood orother materials depending on whatwas available locally. In some partsof Britain some people lived in for-tified sites on hilltops, in other

58.parts they lived in large settlements 11

almost like towns or in more scat- 1.

tered small settlements.

Roman sites Roman architec-tural styles were quite different tothe native styles. For example,Roman buildings tended to be rec-tangular in shape and the moreexpensively-built ones could havefeatures such as painted wall plas-ter and elaborately decoratedfloors. These sites range from sim-ple farmhouses to sites such asforts which were built to a well-established plan, using Romanarchitectural techniques. At thestart of the period the people livingin these sorts of site would proba-bly have come to Britain fromother parts of the Roman Empire,although they may not have comefrom Rome itself. Gradually moreof the native people adoptedRoman architectural and buildingtechniques.

This teachers' guide is concernedmainly with Roman sites. Thesecan be divided up, by use, asfollows:

military sites

habitation sites (such as townsand villas)

religious and burial sites

industrial sites

roads, bridges and aqueducts.

tf7

Pre-Roman houses at Chysauster, Cornwall.

Artist's impression of part of the village of Chysauster.

An artist's impression of the Roman city of Wroxeter, Shropshire.

12 9

ROMAN SIITES

MILITARY

The Roman armyAt the time of the Roman invasionof Britain, the Roman army con-sisted of two types of troops.Legionaries were very highly trainedand very well paid. All legionarieswere Roman citizens. This did notmean that they actually lived inRome but that they had a certainstatus in society. By the time ofHadrian, for example, only abouthalf the legionaries actually camefrom Italy. Legionaries wereformed into units, about 5-6000strong, called legions. Most of thesoldiers in Britain were auxiliaries.They were less well trained and lesswell paid they were also sent intobattle first! The auxiliaries wereorganised into units of either500 or 1000 men known as cohortsif they were infantry auxiliary (sol-diers who fought on foot) or alae('wings') if they were cavalry.Legionaries were stationed infortresses, such as York orColchester, and there were nevermore than four legions in Britain atany one time. There were manymore cohorts and alae, which werebased in forts, mirroring, on asmaller scale, the buildings and lay-out of the fortresses. Towards theend of the Roman Empire therewere many changes in the Romanarmy and the earlier rigid organisa-tion was lessened.

Forts and defencesMilitary sites were generally builtto a regular pattern, particularly inthe earlier part of the Roman peri-od. A variety of building materialswere used including stone, tile, tim-ber, earth and turf. Evidence frominscriptions often records the actu-al soldiers who were responsible forbuilding work.There is a wide range of Roman

military sites. The most commonare fortresses (large camps built forlegions) and forts (smaller campsbuilt for auxiliaries). As well as themajor forts and fortresses whichwere built in stone and used overmany years, there are numerousmarching camps which are oftenonly detected by aerial photogra-phy. These are sites where thearmy camped overnight, or for ashort period of time when on cam-paign, but dug ditches and erecteda palisade to protect itself.The best known Roman military

site is Hadrian's Wall, a chain of

10

forts, milecastles (very small fortswhich could hold perhaps 30 or sosoldiers and provided gatesthrough the wall) and turrets (forlook out or signalling). All thesesites were linked, over a distance of117 kilometres by a stone wall upto 3.5 4m high and up to 3mthick. Other Roman sites connect-ed with the Wall include bridges, amilitary road and a great earthworkcalled the vallum which gave addeddefence to the stone wall. Manyforts were similar, although theirlayouts were not identical. Fortstypically had a playing card shapea rectangle with rounded corners.There was at least one major gatein each side and main roads ran tothe centre of the site from eachgate. At the centre was the mostimportant building the headquar-ters. This was normally enteredthrough a courtyard surrounded bya colonnaded walkway; behind this

was a halt with a raised platform atone or both ends. The hall wasused as an assembly hall foraddressing the troops.At the back of the building were

offices for the regimental clerksand the regimental shrine wherethe standards were kept along witha bust of the reigning emperor.The layout of the headquarterscommanding officer's house werenormally near to the headquarters.The granaries were strongly-builtfood stores. The floor was oftenraised to allow circulation of airand to discourage mice. The com-manding officer's house was a largeresidence often with luxuries suchas painted wall plaster, hypocaust(underfloor heating), mosaic floorsand a private bath suite. Some fortsalso had a hospital in this area, witha series of wards and either a cen-tral operating theatre or herbgarden.

Roman fort at Chesters, onHadrian's Wall. The Wall crossesthe River Tyne.

ABOVE: The Lunt Roman Fort, atBaginton near Coventry. Afterexcavation, some of the buildingswere reconstructed: part of the tim-ber and earth defences and maingate and a circular training groundfor horses, called a gyrus.

RIGHT: Plan of The Lunt RomanFort.A Headquarters buildingB Commander's houseC GyrusD BarracksE Gates

13

ROMAN SITESThe front and back of the fort

contained barracks, workshopsand, in the case of alae, stables. Atleast until the third century the bar-racks consisted of long narrowbuildings divided into about ninepairs of rooms. Each pair of roomsprovided accommodation for a con-tubernium (' tent') for a squad ofeight soldiers. There were largerquarters for the officers at the endof the block. Evidence fromHousesteads and Wallsend suggeststhat in the late third and fourthcenturies soldiers may have lived in :9

individual chalet-style buildings,perhaps with their families. It wasonly after about AD 200 servingsoldiers were legally allowed tomarry. Stables were similar in sizeto barrack blocks but areidentified by the lack of internaldividing walls and, often, a centraldrain for urine. Workshops are alsoof similar size.

TOWN AND COUNTRY

Roman townsWhen the Romans arrived inBritain they saw nothing whichthey would have called a town.There were certainly large settle-ments with an impressive level ofsocial organisation. But althoughpre-Roman defended settlementssuch as Danebury in Hampshireshow an organised layout of streets,houses and workshops, Romantowns were identifibale from anumber of planned features:

organised grid layout of streets

large stone building or otherstone architectural features

major civil engineering workssuch as aqueducts.

The towns of Roman Britaingrew up in different ways. Many ofthem were established on oraround the site of Roman forts orfortresses, others developed as the'capitals' or tribal centres of indi-vidual tribes.At the centre of a Roman town

were the forum and basilica. At thecentres of the forum was a largeopen space and on three sides of itwere porticoes, behind which wererows of shops and offices. On thefourth side was the basilica, a longaisled hall usually with raised plat-forms at both ends. The magis-trates conducted their business

3

A

Artist's impression of a pair of barrack blocks at Chesters Fort.

from these platforms. Offices andmeeting rooms were attached tothe basilica as was a shrine for stat-ues of the emperor and any localgods. Vitruvius, the Roman authorof a number of books about archi-tecture, wrote that basilicas'should be placed adjoining the forum

in as warm a position as possible, sothat in the winter businessmen maymeet without being troitbled by the

weather'.

Many towns also had

public baths

a theatre

an amphitheatre where specta-cles such as wild animal fights andgladiatorial combats took place

a number of different temples

and, in some cases,

walls to protect the inhabitants.

Continued on page 16 ,>>>

The main street of the Roman town of Wroxeter. The forum of the town is to the right.

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CASE STUDY

VillasTo a Roman the word villa meant anumber of different things. It couldmean a grand house in the country,sometimes with a farming estateattached to it. Some villas are basi-cally farmhouses which showRoman influence in the style ofarchitecture and in the fittings.Some simple rectangular wooden

buildings were probably lived in bysmall holders beginning to adoptRoman styles. Large, richly fur-nished villas may have been ownedby wealthy Romans or Romano-Britons and been at the centre oflarge estates. In some cases theowner may not have lived in thevilla, but may have had a farmmanager or bailiff who was respon-sible for the operation of thefarm and estate.There are about 1000 known

Roman villas in Britain and theyare mainly concentrated in areaswhere the land was best for farm-ing.

Lullingstone Roman VillaLullingstone Roman Villa lay at theheart of a large agricultural estate.Dating from the first century AD,it was occupied for nearly 250years. In the second century thevilla was remodelled and a bathsuite added. At the end of the thirdcentury, an underfloor heating sys-tem was installed in three roomsand intricate mosaics laid. Towardsthe end of the fourth century thevilla building was altered to acco-modate a Christian chapel.

ttli SNOW

An artist's impression of how Lullingstone Villa might have looked in about AD 350.

AD 80-150

EvidenceSmall villa building con-structed of timber and clayon footings of mortared flint(locally available stone). Ablock of rooms had a veran-dah in front and twoprojecting wings, one ofwhich had a cellar below.

InterpretationThe quality of the building'sconstruction suggests thatthis was a Romano-Britishfarmer. The plan of the villais typical of many built inthis period of prosperity inRoman Britain. The cellarmay have been used forstoring food.

West Veranda

AudienceChamber

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Plan of the villa in phase 1, about AD 80-150.

AD 150-200EvidenceThe villa is extensively altered.The basic plan has been added toon each end. The cellar now hasother stairs built and has elaboratewall paintings. In the second phaseof alterations a bath-suite is added.Finds from the excavations ofthis period include fine qualitypottery and glass.

InterpretationThe wealth shown in both thefinds and the alterations to thehouse suggest a very rich owner.The baths alone indicate greatexpense, not only in the construc-tion but also in the slaves/servantsneeded to maintain and run it.

1p 15

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Plan of the villa in phase 2, about AD 150-200.

16 19

ROMAN §ff ES

LEFT: The excavated floor of LullingstoneRoman Villa. All the information in thiscase study was recovered by archaeologistscarefully piecing together the evidencerevealed by sucessive excavations of thissite.

AD 275-350

EvidenceAt the end of the third century the villais remodelled again with a row of heat-ed rooms added. The baths were con-verted and enlarged. In the mid fourthcentury a large dining room was addedin a style found in other villas and townhouses throughout the Empire. Mosaic LIfloors are also laid including one with aLatin text. Carved busts from this peri-od were found stored in the cellar afterAD 350. A large granary and a temple-mausoleum were built at this time out- Bathsside the main villa building.

InterpretationThe owners were clearly wealthy torebuild and decorate the villa but thebusts, which were carved in theMediterranean style, indicate an impor-tant person coming to the province ofBritain from a more central part of theRoman Empire. The size of the granarysuggests that the villa was the centre of alarge agricultural estate.

West Veranda

AudienceChamber

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Plan of the villa in phase 3, about AD 275-350.

AD 360-425

EvidenceThe heated rooms and rooms overthe cellar on the north side of thevilla were converted into a chapeland ante room. Wall paintings withChristian sumbols and figures dec-orated the walls. There was evi-dence of occupation into the fifthcentury but the baths were in dis-use. A serious fire gutted much ofthe house.

InterpretationThe family had adoptedChristianity but were still using thehouse. Perhaps in the early fifthcentury the villa became unoccu-pied but the chapel remained inuse.

Heatedrooms

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ROMAN SITES

RELIGIONAND BURIALFor the Romans, religion was verymuch part of everyday life. EveryRoman house had a small shrinewithin it where the statues of thelares, the household gods, werekept. Offerings of food and drinkwere made to the lares and requestsfor favours and for protection weremade to them. As well as thesegods, Romans were also expectedto swear allegiance to the Emperor,and to the dead emperors whowere regarded as gods. It was

9because they refused to accept the k,

emperors as gods that Christians twere persecuted in the RomanEmpire to the Romans this sug-gested a dangerous lack of loyalty.Every Roman fort had a 'regimen-tal shrine' where the standards ofthe regiment were kept and wherethere were altars to the emperorand, normally, to

Jupiter who was the most impor-tant of the three main Roman gods,the god of the heavens

Juno, queen of the heavens andgoddess of women

Minerva, goddess of wisdom.

In Britain as in other parts of theEmpire the native people wereallowed to go on worshipping theirown gods although often thesegods became associated withRoman gods. Many native wargods, for example, became associ-ated with Mars, the Roman god ofWar. The exception to this reli-gious tolerance was the Druidswho were persecuted partlybecause of their practice of humansacrifice.

TemplesRoman temples were impressiveclassical-style buildings built by theRoman authorities as a symbol ofpower. The temple of Claudius atColchester, for example, was builtto impress the local people andshow the power of Rome inthe years after the Conquest.

20

This model of a dog(probably anAberdeen terrier)was found in a poolbeside the temple tothe water goddessCoventina atCarrawburgh, onHadrian's Wall. Itwould have been agift to the goddess,one of many thou-sands of objects,such as coins, potsand brooches.

Maiden Castle TempleMany archaeological siteswere occupied for differ-ent purposes at differenttimes separated by hun-dreds or sometimes thou-sands of years. MaidenCastle, Dorset, hasimpressive banks andditches built for defencein the Iron Age. This hill-fort was captured, after abloody battle, by theRoman army in AD 43 or44. Three hundred or so years later a temple was built in the easternpart of the hillfort. The temple was a small square building with aprecinct around it. Near to the temple were four burials.The excavator, Mortimer Wheeler, suggested that these could be the

graves of priests who had served at the temple. Finds from the templeincluded a bronze plaque with a figure of the goddess Minerva, a smallbronze figurine with a three-horned bull god, and a fragment of a mar-ble statuette (possibly Diana, goddess of hunting).

Temple of Claudius

23

ROMAN SIITIES

Romano-Celtic temples weremore common in Britain and Gaul(modern France and Belgium).These were small square buildingssurrounded by open areas orsacred precincts in which rituals oranimal sacrifices could be per-formed. Sometimes, as atLullingstone, burials took place inthis type of temple.

Activities that took place aroundtemples included:

sacrifice of animals

erection of altars on which offer-ings of corn or wine could be madeand small fires lit

ritual meals, using flagons (forwine), paterae (shallow saucepan-like bowls), large platters andspoons

writing of requests to the godsasking for favours in return formaking offerings to the gods

For example, a man calledSilvianus wrote a message to thegod Nodens at Lydney: 'To the godNodens, Silvianus has lost a ring, hepromises half its value to Nodens. Lethim not grant health to anyone calledSenicianus [accused of stealing thering] until he brings it back to thetemple of Nodens.' Curses andrequests of this type are commonas are altars thanking the gods forfulfilling requests. Often the 'deal'was that the individual promised toerect an altar if the god helped himor her. The altar was then erectedwith the letters VSLM on thebottom standing for votum solvitlibens merito, meaning 'willinglyand deservedly fulfilled the vow'.

offering of objects, either valu-able objects (such as gold or fineglassware) or symbolic objects afarmer might deposit a miniatureclay or bronze model of a piece offarm equipment to help his crops.

The Romans felt they had a veryclose relationship with the gods andthe Emperor Marcus Aurelius (AD161-180) wrote 'So then for thegods, by the daily experience that Ihave of their power, and providencetowards myself and others, I knowcertainly that they exist and thereforeI worship them.'

Other religionsAs well as the traditional Romanreligion, the Romans brought withthem other religions from theMiddle East, notably Christianityand Mithraism. Mithraismoriginated in Iran and was basedon the legend of Mithras slaying abull in a dark cave Mithraic tem-ples were built to represent thisdark cave. The remains ofMithraeums can be seen atCarrawburgh on Hadrian's Walland in Queen Victoria Street,London.

For much of the period of RomanBritain Christianity was an out-lawed religion and was not legaliseduntil the Edict of Milan in AD 313.Christian worship before AD 313must therefore have taken place insecret. Even after AD 313 there arefew remains of what could becalled churches although some vil-las certainly had rooms withChristian decoration, and theserooms may have been used aschapels.

The temple to Mithras at Carrawburgh, on Hadrian's Wall.

Reconstruction of painted wall plaster from Lullingstone showing the symbols associatedwith early Christianity - The first two letters of Christ X (CH) P (R) in Greek and alphaand omega.

24 21

ROMAN §I[TIES

When a person died, the body was carried on a bier in a procession to the cemetery which had, by law, to be outside the town's walls.Trumpeters or flute players led paid mourners and dancers while the relatives walked behind.

BurialEvidence for burial is particularlyimportant because gravestonesoften record information about thedeceased which does not surviveelsewhere. Some gravestones alsohave carvings of the deceased onthem. Many ordinary peoplewould be buried without anycarved tombstone, although thegrave might have been marked witha mound of earth, a pile of stones,or some wooden marker. Somepeople saved money specifically tobe used for their burial and tomb-stone. There were also 'burialclubs' where you paid a regularsubscription and the 'club' wouldpay for your burial. These 'clubs'were popular with soldiers.There are different styles ofRoman tombstones but many usethe same series of Latin words andphrases and it is therefore oftenpossible to work out what theinscription on a tombstone means,even if you are not a Latin expert.The complication is that becausecarving on stone was time-consum-ing (and expensive) words werevery often abbreviated.The main pieces of information

you normally find on a tombstoneare:

some reference to the gods

the name of the dead person

how old the dead person was.

You also often find:

the name of the person who putup the tombstone

the letters H S E (see table).

22

Deciphering Roman tombstones

Here is a guide to some phrases found on tombstones:

Abbreviation

D Mor VIX

AN

F CP CH S E

Latin

Dis Manibusvixitannos or annorumdiesfaciendum curavitponiendum curavithic situs estsacrummiles

English meaning

To the spirits of the deadLivedYearsDaysHad this madeHad this set upIs buried hereSacredSoldier

To read a Roman tombstone you will also need to knowthe Roman numerals

1

II 2III 3IV or IIII 4V 5VI 6VII 7VIII 8IX 9X 1 0

For example:

50100

XLI or XXXXI 41

XXV 25

25

ROMAN SITES

Burial practiceIt was forbidden to bury anyonewithin the limits or walls of a townand therefore the roads leading outof towns were usually lined withburials.

People were often buried withfood and drink so that they wouldnot go hungry in the next life.

They were often buried withmoney, with favourite objects, orwith games or things to do.

In the temple mausoleum atLullingstone a young man in hisearly twenties was buried in a leadcoffin along with two flagons, fourglass bottles, two glass bottles, twoknives, two spoons, and woodengames board with 30 glass coun-ters.

The remains of Romans buried at one of thecemeteries outside the walls of RomanColchester. These two people (woman, left andman, right) were buried in coffins in a timbervault.

This is the tombstone of a centurion, Facilis, who died in Colchester. The inscription translates as:'Marcus Favonius Facilis, son of Marcus, of the Pollian voting tribe, centurion of the Twentieth Legion, liesburied here. Verecundus and Novicius, his freed slaves, set this up.'

The figure of Facilis is just over a metre high. He is wearing full centurion's dress (except for his helmet,which is left off because it would mask his face): for protection, a moulded bronze breast plate, overlappingstrips of metal like a skirt and leg guards; for warmth, a cloak, a woollen tunic under his armour, and sandals.He carries a dagger on one side and on the other short sword. He is holding in his right hand a stick madefrom vine-wood. It symbolises the centurion's right to flog men under his command. The tombstone, likemost others, was originally painted.

This tombstone was found in 1868 in a Roman burial ground on the west side of Colchester and can bedated about AD48. Three clues give us some idea of the date: first there was found nearby a lead container,containing the cremated bones of a man, and a pottery cup (dated about AD50). Second we know from otherinscriptions that the Twentieth Legion moved to Gloucester in AD49 when colonia was established. Third,Facilis' face had been damaged, probably when the tombstone was overthrown by Boudica's army in AD60.

26 23

ROMAN SITES

INDUSTRYThere were a number of industriesin Roman Britain to provide for thearmy and for the -towns and villas.They also brought wealth into theRoman government. Some indus-tries, such as the mining of metalores were probably, at leastinitially, under official control.Others such as glassmaking orleather working were carried out byindividual craftsmen. There arefew known dedicated Romanindustrial sites in Britain, althoughworkshops are well-known both intowns and at forts.There was Roman gold mining at

Dolaucothi in Wales, whilst smallcrucibles which had been used forheating gold indicated the presenceof a goldsmith's workshop atVerulamium (St Albans).At Silchester (Hampshire),

hearths where lead ores were heat-ed to extract the small amount ofsilver present have been found.When lead is extracted from itsore it is normally cast into metalblocks or pigs which are then trans-ported to where the metal is want-ed, where they can be easilyworked. These pigs weighed80-90 kg and the moulds in whichthey were cast were inscribed, pro-viding evidence of the companiesworking the mines.

Tin was mined in Cornwall andDevon and copper was mined inCornwall, Shropshire and Wales.The main mining of iron ore tookplace in Sussex, Kent, the Forest ofDean, Northamptonshire andLincolnshire. Because of the hightemperature needed to smelt ironore into iron ore (around 1300 degC) the iron smelting furnaces werequite substantial. The remains of anumber of Roman iron smeltingfurnaces have been found in Kent.

Stone was used extensively, notonly for building but also for pur-poses such as making querns, ormillstones, and for grinding corninto flour. The site known asPen Pits, near Mere in Somerset,which consists of an extensiveseries of large pits is thought tohave been a quarry for quern-stones.

A number of quarry sites areknown, particularly on and aroundHadrian's Wall. At Coombe Crag,near Birdoswald, graffiti carved byRoman soldiers quarrying stone forthe repair or building of the wallcan still be seen.Another very large industry in

24

Roman Britain was the productionof brick, tile and pottery. In eachcase clay was dug from the ground,shaped in moulds or on a potter'swheel, and then heated in a kiln to'fire' the material. Much of thiswork was carried out by the armyand tile is often stamped with thename of the unit responsible formaking it.

Tile from Aldborough Roman Townstamped by the Ninth Legion. HISP refersto legion's distinguished service in Spain.

Some pottery production centreswere very large. For example atWater Newton in Cambridgeshire,and at Alice Holt Forest, inHampshire, pottery was producedwhich was traded all over Britainand beyond. Huge dumps at AliceHolt made of kiln wasters (pots

which had not been fired properly)and the remains of old kilnscan still be seen in the undergrowtharound the site.Glass-making also involved

heating material to high tempera-tures to fuse it into glass. AtWilderspool in Cheshire a furnacewas excavated which containedcrucibles and the remains ofmolten glass, and there is also evi-dence of glassmaking from excava-tions at Colchester, Leicester andother sites.A variety of other crafts and

industries took place at or aroundRoman sites. Some of them wereconcentrated in specialist produc-tion centres. Others were carriedout on a small scale whererequired. The included: spinningand weaving, leatherwork, bonework, mosaic making, carpentry.

Quernstone found at Chesters Roman Fort. Bronze jug from Corbridge.

Cup, bowls and cooking pot from Corbridge.

27

ROMAN SETES

ROADS, BRIDGESAND AQUEDUCTS

RoadsIt was the impressive network ofroads, originally constructed by thehighly skilled soldiers, whichallowed the Roman army to estab-lish effective control over areassuch as Britain.The word mile comes from the

Latin milia passuum, meaning'1000 paces'. One Roman pacewas what we would call two steps,left and right and, based on a stan-dard stride, the Roman mile is1536 metres, slightly less than astatute mile which is 1680 metres.Roads were generally laid out bysurveyors working from one hill

Wading Street, Northamptonshire. Thiswas one of the main roads of RomanBritain, running from Richboroughthrough London, St Albans (Verulamium)and Wroxeter into north Wales.

top to the next. Fires and beaconswould be used to make the hilltopsclearly visible. Roman roads, how-ever, did not always run inabsolutely straight lines. Zigzagswere used to climb steep slopesand when a river was to be crossedthe line of the road often deviatedfrom the straight to a point wherethe river could be forded bridgeswere vulnerable to attack and wereonly built where there was no alter-native.A typical Roman road consists of

a hump or 'agger' which was madeby digging ditches on either sideand piling the material to form theroad base. A foundation of largestone was then laid on this andsmaller stones or gravel (or what-ever material was available locally)were used to create the final sur-face. The road had a steep camber,that is it sloped from the centre to

each side to encourage rain todrain away. The ditches alsohelped drainage. In some cases, ason Dere Street, the road from Yorkto Corbridge, Hadrian's Wall andScotland, stone drains ran alongthe side of the road.

-

An artist's impression of the stone bridgeat Chesters Roman Fort.

BridgesMost bridges were probably builtentirely of timber like the bridgeover the River Nene at Aldwinklein Northamptonshire, the remainsof which were discovered duringgravel extraction.In the north of Britain masonry

abutments and piers were often-E:used with either masonry or wood- 3

en superstructures. At Chesters thebridge probably originally hadstone arches, as voussoirs havebeen found, but was later replacedby a bridge with a wooden super-structure. When building piers inthe river the builders would haveconstructed a watertight 'box', orcoffer dam, out of wood with thejoints sealed with clay. This wouldthen have been baled out and thepier built inside it.

AqueductsWhilst many building and engi-neering techniques used by theRomans were of Greek origin, theuse of arches, vaults and domes

and of construction with firedbrick, mortar and concrete wereRoman achievements. It was thesetechniques which the Romansbrought to Britain and used in thebuilding of bridges and aqueducts.Every major town in Roman

Britain was supplied with freshwater from an aqueduct. The waterwas distributed by wood, lead,stone or ceramic (pottery)pipes. Most of the water was chan-nelled to public baths althoughthere were sometimes drinkingbasins at street corners. Some pri-vate houses had a supply ofpiped water, for which they wouldpay a water rate. Others had to relyon wells, or carrying water fromsprings or streams.

This earth-cut channel brought about25,000,000 gallons of water daily to theRoman town of Durnovaria (Dorchester).

No aqueduct in Britain has beenfound on the scale of the Pont duGard. Most aqueducts consisted ofcarefully constructed open chan-nels bringing water, by gravity,from the nearest, sufficiently highsource of water. One exceptionseems to be Lincoln where archae-ologists suggest that there was apressurised supply to cross valleysalong the route of the aqueduct.

Pont du Gard, France carried water to the Roman town of Nimes, in Provence, south ofFrance.

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USHNG ROMAN SITES

DOCUMENTARYSOURCES

The principal documentarysources available for RomanBritain are:

Roman texts which have survivedin their original form (althoughpossibly damaged over time) forexample,

inscriptions (including buildinginscriptions, gravestones, mile-stone, altars, monuments)

graffiti

stamps on pottery

papyrus from the Near East

wax tablets or wooden writingtablets from sites such asVindolanda and Carlisle

writing in mosaic floors or onwall paintings.

Roman texts which have survivedthrough being copied in themedieval period.

Later writings describing Romanremains.

WOODENWRITING TABLETSWooden writing tablets are the old-est known handwritten documentsfrom Britain. A large number offragments of tablets have beenfound at Vindolanda on Hadrian'sWall, preserved by the waterloggedacid soil. The writing tabletsdate to the late first century AD,20-30 years before Hadrian's Wallwas built. In most cases the textsare written in ink on wafer-thinleaves of wood. Although generallyonly small fragments have beenfound and not complete letters,they form an important record oflife in the fort. They include lettersabout ordinary domestic matterssuch as a soldier receiving a parcelfrom home:

28

....I have sent you....pairs of socksfrom Sattua two pairs of sandals andtwo pairs of underpants, two pairs ofsandals....

Other writing tablets were moreelabrately made. One woodentablet found at the Walbrook,London, had originally had a sur-face of wax into which writingwas scratched with a stylus. All thewax had disappeared but some ofthe text had been scored throughinto the wood:

Rufus, Son of Callisunus, greeting toEpillicus and all his fellows. I believeyou know that I am very well. If youhave made the list please send. Dolook after everything carefully. Seethat you turn that slave-girl intocash

INSCRIPTIONSInscriptions on stone survive frommany sites. These include officialbuilding inscriptions such as thisone from the fort of Chesters onHadrian's Wall which records theprovision of a water supply (AQVAAD DVC TA) .

This inscription from Chesters records theprovision of a water supply (aqua adducta)by the Second Cohort of Asturians (whichhad originally been raised in north-westSpain) under the governor UlpiusMarcellus.

Hadrian's Wall itself contains anumber of inscribed stones record-ing the work of particular compa-nies of soldiers. This one, betweenHarrow's Scar milecastle andBirdoswald fort, records the build-ing of a section by the century (aunit of 100 men) of Terentius.

The centurial stone, Birdoswald Fort,Hadrian's Wall.

ROMAN LITERATUREThe writings of a number ofRoman authors have survivedthrough being copied out bymonks. You can use examples fromRoman literature to illustrateRoman life, for example

poems and letters often tell usabout ordinary peoples' lives

histories plot the story of Rome'sgrowth

architectural and building manu-als explain how buildings were con-structed and used

recipes and menus tell us the eat-ing habits of the Romans.

Two examples can ilustrate thispoint.

At the bathsI live over the public baths you

know what that means. Ugh! It's sick-ening. First there are the 'strongmen'doing their exercises and swingingheavy lead weights about with gruntsand groans. Next there are the lazyones having a cheap massage I canhear someone being slapped on theshoulders. Then there is the noise of abrawler or a thief being arrested andthe man who always likes the soundof his own voice in the bath. Andwhat about the ones who leap intothe pool making a huge splash as theyhit the water!'Lucius Seneca, around AD 63.

31

DOCUMEN ARY SOURCES

Home-made sweets'Stuffed dates: Stone the dates andstuff with nuts, pine kernels or groundpepper. Roll them in salt and fry inwarmed honey, then serve.'

'Honeyed bread: Remove the crustfrom a wholewheat loaf and breakinto largish pieces. Soak them inmilk, fry in oil, then pour honey overand serve!Marcus Apicius' recipe book, firstcentury AD.

Documentary evidenceabout Roman BritainThe first Roman attempt to con-quer Britain was described by theGreek historian Strabo, who diedtwenty years before Claudius' inva-sion of Britain:

The deified Caesar crossed over twiceto the island, but came back in hastewithout accomplishing much or pro-ceeding very far inland... However, hewon two or three victories over theBritons, although he took over onlytwo legions, bringing back hostages,slaves and much other booty:

Other authors described thewealth of Britain and the strangehabits of the Britons. The fact thatthe only descriptions of the Britishtribes are those written by theirRoman conquerors must be takeninto account when considering thehistorical accuracy of the descrip-tions:

'The nation of the Britons was still atthat time [at Caesar's invasion]uncivilised and used to fighting onlywith the Picts and the Hibernians,both still half-naked enemies.'An anonymous orator in AD 297.

'Most of the island is low-lying andwooded but there are many hillyareas. It produces corn, cattle, gold,silver and iron. These things areexported along with hides, slaves anddogs suitable for hunting. .. They [theBritish tribes] live much like theGauls but some of their customs aremore primitive and barbarous. Thus,for example, some of them are well-supplied with milk but are ignorant ofhow to make cheese; they know noth-ing of planting crops or of farming ingeneral. They are ruled by their own Ikings. For the most part they usechariots in war like some of the -Gauls. Their cities are the forests, for Ithey fell trees and fence in large circu-lar enclosures in which they build huts

and fence in their cattle, but not forany great length of time.The weathertends to rain rather than snow. Mistis very common, so that for wholedays at a stetch the sun is seen onlyfor three or four hours around mid-day.'Strabo

'Claudius waged war on Britain,where no Roman had set foot since thedays of Caesar. He also added to theRoman Empire certain islands in theOcean beyond Britain, called theOrchades and gave his son the nameBritannicus:Eutropius, a civil servant under theEmperor Valens (AD 364-78).

An important source of documen-tary evidence for part of the historyof the Romans in Britain comesfrom the work of the historian DioCassius. He was a Roman senatorfrom about AD 180. He wrote ahistory of Rome, in Greek, in 80volumes, although not all survive.This is part of his account of theuprising of Boudica,

'A fearful catastrophe took place inBritain. Two cities were sacked,80,000 of their allies persished andthe island fell into enemy hands. Itwas especially shameful for theRomans that it was a woman whobrought this on them.'

The end of Roman Britain isdescribed by Zosimus and dated toAD 410. Zosimus was a Greek civilservant who wrote a history of theRoman empire shortly after AD 500.

'Honorius [the Emperor] sent lettersto the British cities, telling them tolook after their own defence.'

Procopius, a Greek civil servantand prefect of Constantinople inAD 562, described the attacks ofthe Germanic tribes on the RomanEmpire in AD 411 writing,

'The army of the Visigoths underAdaulphus marched on Gaul, andConstantine was defeated in battleand died with his sons. Nonethelessthe Romans were no longer able torecover Britain, which from that timecontinued to be ruled by those whoseized power.'

In fact it is likely that the area ofBritain which had previously beenpart of the Roman Empire was nolonger controlled by one authority.

Later documentary evidenceThere are some reference toRoman sites in documents thathave survived from Anglo-Saxonor medieval times. For example,the Venerable Bede records that StCuthbert went to Carlisle in thelate seventh century and that theaqueduct was still working.From the sixteenth century

onwards there was renewed interestin ancient sites and a number ofantiquaries undertook tours aroundBritain visiting many of them.William Stukeley visited the

Roman site at Corbridge nearHadrian's Wall in the 1770s andwrote:

'Corbridge is built out of its ruins,which are scattered about there inevery house. Before the doors we sawmills [querns for grinding corn],pieces of shafts of pillars, capitals,bases [of columns], many pieces ofbasso relievo and carvings ... I haveendeavoured to do justice to these ele-gant sculptures, whereas they are gen-erally by others so very ill-done, as tobe disgraceful both to Romans, and toBritons, and to antiquity in general.'

BELOW: Engraving of Richborough Fortby Samuel and Nathaniel Buck, made in1735. Compare with front cover picture.

3 9 29

-USING ROMAN =ES

EDUCATIONALAPPROACHES

SEARCHING FORROMAN SITES

Maps, place names andbuildingsYou will find evidence for theRoman occupation of Britain fromvarious sources which pupils caninvestigate for themselves:

Ordnance Survey maps are agood starting point. Search your-self on large scale maps in the locallibrary, for your own area first. Ifthat does not yield evidence of theRomans, try maps around well-known Roman towns such asColchester, Lincoln and York. Themaps will show evidence such as

place names (see below)

Roman roads

some known Roman settlementsor villas.

Place names sometimes revealRoman origins. For example placenames ending in -chester, cester orcaster. These may indicate aRoman military site since theword -chester comes originallyfrom the Latin word castra mean-ing camp or fort. It passed intonames used today via the OldEnglish -ceaster. Some examplesare Manchester, Cirencester,Colchester, Silchester and, ofcourse, Chester.Another place name example is

the Old English straet or stret.Names beginning Strat-, Stret-,Strad-, Streat-, Street- and Stun-may indicate the existence of aRoman road or street, for exampleStreatham in south London.

Field names can be found onmaps (often with accompanyingdocuments), such as tithe maps,estate maps and sale notices. Someexamples are

Roman Field, Fyfield,Hampshire is the site of a villa.

30

Aerial photography: One of the most important of the archaeologist's techniques is aerialphotography. This photograph shows the field system (a), road (b) and the estateboundary (c) of a Roman villa at St Osyth, south of Colchester.

Pavement Field is found severaltimes in Cheshire indicating thediscovery of Roman mosaic floors.

Street Acre, Field or Furlong(from various counties) indicatingthe presence of a Roman road.

A detailed study of Shropshirefield names revealed a number ofinteresting names - The Romans,Bloody Romans, Romans Croft,Romans Tavern, Pavement Croft, forexample.

The upstanding end of the Roman theatreat Colchester was re-used as part of themedieval chapel of St Helen. The buildingmay even have been a Roman chapel.

Street names in towns and vil-lages will sometimes indicateRoman remains. Ancient namesmay refer back to Roman origins,such as The Pavement in Yorkor to town gates which may havebeen Roman in origin but were re-used in the medieval periodHeadgate (meaning the main gate)in Colchester.Buildings from the Roman periodstill survive as part of other moremodern structures. Look out fortypical Roman building materials(such as red tiles) and arch ordoorway constructions.

The RomanBuilder's HandbookThis activity is designed to helppupils understand how a Romanbuilding was constructed. Supplypupils with a plan of a site youare visiting. Pupils are asked toinvestigate the ruins on theground and are to make an imag-inative reconstruction using thehandbook. (opposite).

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5

EDUCATIONAL APPROACHES

MAKINGCOMPARISONS

Military sites

Visit a military site of a differentperiod and compare/contrast

A medieval castle.which wasbuilt as a defensive refuge unlike aRoman fort which was a base fromwhich the soldiers went out toattack.

A modern barracks. What fea-tures would be common to bar-racks and Roman fort?

Protective perimeter

Sentry on duty

Main road access to allow sol-diers to get to the perimeter andout quickly

Presence of soldiers at leisure insurrounding area

Development of garrison townssuch as Catterick or Aldershot

Does the NAAFI (Navy, Armyand Air Force Institution a socialclub and shop for service people)parallel the shops and inns of thevicus (the civilian settlementwhich grew up outside mostRoman forts)?

Roman bathsOne way to de-mystify Romanbaths is to make comparisons to amodern equivalent. Ask yourpupils to tell you what rooms orfacilities they expect to find in atypical leisure centre, and make alist of them. Then relate the func-tions of the rooms to those foundon site. The example used here isfrom Wroxeter Roman City.

LEISURE CENTRE FUNCTION WROXETER

adaptable space forexercises and courtgames such as bad-minton

exercising basilica

changing rooms changing clothes changing rooms

showers getting clean, relaxing frigidarium, tepidari-um and caldarium

squash courts exercising no equivalent

swimming pool swimming piscina, though morefor cold dip thanswimming

viewing areas spectating no equivalent, visitorscould chat to peoplein any of the rooms

sportswear shop selling luxury goods market hall, may havesold quality goods

vending machines selling food market hall, sold food

toilets going to the lavatory latrines

VillasOne good approach for investigating Roman villas is to ask pupilsbefore the visit to list all the rooms in their houses or flat and whetherthey have also got got features such as garages, gardens, yards, bal-conies. On the site visit they can see which of the rooms and facilitiesthey can find at the villa and comment on any differences. Anotherapproach is to give a list of features and ask them to discover what theRoman equivalent would have been, for example:

Modern

BathTap

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Central heating boilerRadiators and heating pipes

Brick wallsWindows

DrainsMicrowave

Roman equivalent

Bath houseFountain/spring/water tankPainted wall plasterMosaicTiled roofStore housesFurnaceHypocaust and flue tilesStone wallsWindows (either glazed or with grillesand shutters)DrainsOven built into wall

32

Artist's impression of the public baths at WroxeterRoman City as it may have looked in the second centuryAD. An aerial photograph of the same area(although from a different viewpoint) is on page 8.

36

USIING ROMAN STIES

ROMAN SITES ACROSSTHE CURRICULUM

ArtMany of the skills in the art cur-riculum are appropriate to study ofa Roman site. In particular pupilsare required to have the opportunityto record observations, to observepattern and texture in natural andman-made forms and to recogniseimages and artefacts as sources ofideas for their own work. The dif-ferent textures which can be foundon many sites can provide suitablematerial for taking rubbings (withthe Custodian's permission) forexample, dressed stone, roughstone and tile will produce differenteffects.A site such as North Leigh Villa in s

Oxfordshire with fine mosaics canbe used to study the complex geo-metrical motifs used and pupils canalso investigate ways in which the tmosaics reflect the time and placein which they were made. In theclassroom, pupils can use pre-cutsquares of coloured paper to recre-ate their own mosaics discoveringhow difficult it can be, for example,to achieve smooth curves withmosaic tiles.If you are visiting a site such as

Bath or Colchester where therewere fine classical buildings, youcan help pupils gain a knowledgeof the components of classicalarchitecture, and how they relate toeach other, by photocopying detailsof classical architecture from bookson architecture and getting chil-dren to cut out details such assteps, columns, pediments andfriezes, and 'create' their ownclassical buildings using these com-ponents.

EnglishAs recording, both in written formand using graphical means, is oneof the most important parts ofarchaeology, English skills are veryrelevant to a visit to a Roman site.As well as recording descriptions ofthe buildings and finds on a site,a Roman site can be used as thebasis for imaginative work or litera-ture work. Pupils should experi-ence myths, legends and traditionalstories. As part of school work a

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Jupiter mosaic, Lullingstone.

Roman site could provide a settingfor reading or telling Roman myths

the mosaic at LullingstoneRoman Villa in Kent, for example,provides a starting point for themyths surrounding Jupiter, thegreatest of the Roman gods.

In written and spoken English theconcept of preparing material fordifferent audiences is important.Preparing a site guide for a partic-ular audience is one way in whichpupils can be encouraged to focusin on the site.

HistoryAs well as the specific historicalknowledge which can be gainedthrough a visit to a Roman site, thevisit can be used to develop generalhistorical skills and broaden histori-cal understanding. A key skill iden-tified in the curriculum is forpupils to set their study of the pastin a chronological framework. Avery appropriate technique for thisis a timeline.

Preparing a guide forvisually-impaired visitors

You may want to:

Prepare an audio guide, andrecord a tape which the visitor canplay back on a 'Walkman'

Produce a Braille guide

Prepare a 'large print' guide forvisitors who have some vision

You will need to point out in yourguide:

Health and safety for examplewhere there are uneven surfaces orobstructions which visuallyimpaired people might trip over.

What is of interest in each areaof the site, explaining things thatare difficult to see

Where there are things that canbe touched safely for examplemarks on a piece of cut stone fromthe chisels of Roman masons.

3 7 33

ROMAN sEms ACROSS THE CURRICULUM

Design and TechnologyThe design and technology cur-riculum has an emphasis on study-ing and making simple things, eval-uating products and identifyingstrengths and weaknesses. Theremains of Roman buildings oftenprovide clues to how they werebuilt, which are much more diffi-cult to see, or are hidden, in mod-ern buildings.

MathsA viSit to a Roman site lends itselfto the maths curriculum particular-ly in the areas of measuring and ofrepresenting data with graphs anddiagrams. For example, choosingappropriate units of length andmake suitable estimates withthem in everyday situations. Therange of scales of things to be mea-sured on a site gives scope for useof a variety of measuring and esti-mating techniques.

Roman measurementRoman surveyors used a groma tomark out straight lines and rightangles. It consisted of a pole witha pivoted right angle extension atthe top. Each arm has a plumbbob.

-

Libra was the Roman poundweight (327.45 grammes) andwas divided into 12 unciae(ounces)

Sextarius for liquid measure(but also used for measuringcorn) which was just under a pint(0.96 of a pint)

Pes a Roman foot which mea-sures 29.46 centimetres (11.6inches) which was divided into12 unciae (inches)

Mille passuum the Roman milewhich was short of the Englishmile by 132 yards (1536 metres)

Information TechnologyWithin the area of using IT equip-ment and software to communicateideas and information there are

34

Building an archRound arches are characteristic of Roman architecture. They were usedfor bridges, doors, windows, ventilation holes, aqueducts. The reasonfor using arches is that in engineering terms they are very strong struc-tures. A well put-together arch is much stronger than a flat piece ofstone simply bridging a gap.You can easily show how an arch works practically in the classroom.Make a model of a stone arch with wedge shaped blocks made fromplasticine, clay or cut from wood. A 'former' made from a bent piece ofcard or half a plastic pipe is used to build the arch on and removedwhen it is finished. A card template made as shown helps get the rightshape for the blocks.

many useful exercises which can becarried out to follow up work at aRoman site. These could include:

Using a package which allowsyou to produce a newspaper torecord the site visit. One group ofchildren could act as reportersinterviewing the other childrenabout what they find out duringtheir site visit.

Using a graphic package to pre-sent data, for example, measure-ments of buildings on the site.

Use of a home design package toreconstruct rooms from a Romansite and furnish them as they wouldhave been in Roman times.

ScienceWithin the science curriculumthere is scope for investigating anumber of areas of Roman life,such as public health and hygiene,the uses of materials such asglass, wood, wool, and the availabletechnologies for lighting and heat-ing.

Measuring stones: Groups ofpupils can examine the stonewalls of different buildings andmeasure the lengths of a sampleof stone, drawing a graph of thedistribution of sizes of stone andworking out the different sizes ofstone in different courses, per-haps showing how the Romanbuilders deliberately selectedstones for particular purposes.

GeographyIt is impossible to understand a sitewhere people have lived or workedor worshipped without understand-ing how the site fits into its land-scape.

Why was it built where it is?

Where did people get waterfrom?

Was the site good for defence?

Was there wood or stone avail-able for building houses.

A geographical study of the areaaround a site might involve the useof Ordnance Survey maps to lookat the contours and see the slope ofthe land, and to look for the nearestriver or stream. Children can beencouraged to prepare their ownsketch maps of the location of thesite.

MusicMusic is a good way in which chil-dren can be encouraged to expressfeelings about a site and to create asense of atmosphere. You may beable to create a piece of musicinspired by a visit to a site and,with the permission of thecustodian, return to the site to per-form it. Although no Romanmusic, as such, has survived, theyhad a range of instruments, includ-ing harps, lyres, cymbals,tambourines, panpipes, and cor-nets and other brass instruments.

38

UEING ROMAN STIFIES

BIBLIOGRAPHYAND RESOURCES

Books which have an * are suitablefor pupils.

Roman EmpireCorbishley, M, The RomanWorld, Kingfisher Books, 1986,ISBN 0-86272-218-7.*

Corbishley, M, What do weknow about the Romans?Simon & Schuster, 1991,ISBN 0-7500-0852-0.*James, S, Ancient Rome,

Dor ling Kindersley, 1990, ISBN 0-86318-445-6. In the Eyewitnessseries in association with the BritishMuseum.*

Shephard, C and Corbishley, M,Discovering the RomanEmpire, John Murray/SchoolsHistory Project, 1991, ISBN 0-7195-5179-X.*White, R, Roman Period,

Northern Examinations andAssessment Boards, 1993, ISBN 0-901628-96-4. For A and AS levelstudents taking Archaeology.Available from English Heritage.

Roman BritainAlcock, J, Life in RomanBritain, English Heritage/Batsford, 1996, ISBN 0-7134-6745-2.Althea, Living in Roman

Times, Dinosaur Publications,1986, ISBN 0-85122-512-8.*Andrews, I, Boudicca's Revolt,

Cambridge University Press, 1972,ISBN 0-521-08031-2.*Birley, A, The People of Roman

Britain, Batsford, 1979, ISBN 0-7134-0580-5.Bédoyère, G de la, The Finds of

Roman Britain, Batsford, 1989,ISBN 0-7134-6082-2. Usefuldrawings and descriptions coveringall aspects.

Bédoyère, G de la, TheBuildings of Roman Britain,Batsford, 1991, ISBN 0-7134-6311-2. As above.

Esmonde Cleary, A S, TheEnding of Roman Britain,Batsford, 1989, ISBN 0-7 134-5275-7.Frere, S S & St Joseph, J K S,

Roman Britain from the air,Cambridge University Press, 1983,ISBN 0-521-25088-9. 142 aerial

photographs of the full range ofRoman sites with detailed descrip-tions and explanations.Jackson, R, James S & Myers, E,

The Romans Activity Book,British Museum Press, 1986, ISBN0-7141-1282-8.*Millett, M, The Romanization

of Britain, Cambridge UniversityPress, 1990, ISBN 0-521-36084-6.Millett, M, Roman Britain,

English Heritage/Batsford, 1995,ISBN 0-7134-7793-8.Potter, T W & Johns, C, Roman

Britain British Museum Press,1992, ISBN 0-7141-2045-6.Salway, P, The Oxford

Illustrated History of RomanBritain, Oxford UniversityPress, 1993, ISBN 0-19-822984-4.Thomas, C, Christianity in

Roman Britain to AD 500,Batsford, 1981, ISBN 0-7134-1442-1.

Army and fortsBidwell, P, Roman Forts inBritain, English Heritage/Batsford, 1997 forthcoming, ISBN0-7134-7100-X.Birley, R, Vindolanda, Thames

& Hudson, 1977, ISBN 0-500-27142-9.Bowman, A K, Life and Letters

on the Roman Frontier, BritishMuseum Press, 1994, ISBN 0-7141-1389-1.Breeze, D J, The Northern

Frontiers of Roman Britain,Batsford, 1982, ISBN 0-7134-7256-1.Breeze, D J, Roman Forts in

Britain, Shire, 1983, ISBN 0-85263-654-7.

Connolly, P, The Roman Fort,Oxford University Press, 1991,ISBN 0-19-917108-4. Excellentintroduction with reconstructiondrawings by the author.Part of series, see below.*

Connolly, P, The Cavalryman,Oxford University Press, 1988,ISBN 0-19-917106-8.*

Connolly, P, The Legionary,Oxford University Press, 1988,ISBN 0-19-917105-X.*

Crow, J, Housesteads, EnglishHeritage/Batsford, 1995, ISBN 0-7134-6085-7.

31

Johnson, A, Roman Forts, A &C Black, 1983, ISBN 0-7 136-2223-7. Standard reference withgood drawings/plans of forts inBritain and Germany.Johnson, S, Hadrian's Wall,

English HeritagefBatsford, 1989,ISBN 0-7134-5958-1.

Scott, J, Hadrian's Wall, HolmesMcDougall, 1984, ISBN 0-7157-2135-6.*Wilson, R, Roman Forts,

Bergstrom+Boyle, 1980, ISBN 0-903767-25-2.*

TownsBedoyere, Guy de la, RomanTowns in Britain, EnglishHeritage/Batsford, 1992,ISBN 0-7134-6894-7.Buchanan, D, Roman Sport

and Entertainment, Longman,1975, ISBN 0-582-31415-1.*Corbishley, M, Town Life in

Roman Britain, Harrap, 1981,ISBN 0245-53535-7.*Crummy, P, City of Victory -

the story of Colchester,Britain's first Romantown, Colchester ArchaeologicalTrust, 1997, ISBN 1-897719-04-3.Well-illustrated introduction to theRomans in Colchester.Hodge, P, Roman Towns,

Longman, 1977, ISBN 0-582-20301-5.*Hodge, P, The Roman House,

Longman. 1971, ISBN 0-582-20300-7.*Macaulay, D, City: A Story of

Roman Planning andConstruction, Collins, 1975,ISBN 0-00-192143-6. Marvellousresource for pupils full of detaileddrawings.*Strickland, T, The Romans at

Wilderspool - the story of thefirst industrial development onthe Mersey, Greenalls Group,1995, ISBN 0-9507194-1-2. Thisdetailed, but readable, study of onesettlement contains useful drawingsand plans of all aspects of life inRoman Britain, including the mili-tary period.

CountrysideBedoyère, Guy de la, RomanVillas and the Countryside,

35

e) UOGIRAPHY AND RESOURCES

English Heritage/Batsford, ISBN0-7134-7046-1.Davison, B K, A place in the

country: Roman villa, HamishHamilton 1984,ISBN 0-241-11241-9. Based onLullingstone villa.*Johnson, D E, Roman Villas,

Shire, 1988, ISBN 0-85263-961-9.Percival, J, The Roman Villa,

Batsford, 1976, ISBN 0-7134-3238-1.

Crafts/Industries/TechnologyGreen, M, Roman Technologyand Crafts, Longman, 1979,ISBN 0-582-20162-4.*

Hamey. L A and J A, TheRoman Engineers, CambridgeUniversity Press, 1981,ISBN 0-521-22511-6.*Johnson, P, Romano-British

Mosaics, Shire, 1982, ISBN 0-85263-616-4.Keppie, L, Understanding

Roman Inscriptions, Batsford,1991, ISBN 0-7134-5693-0.Ling, R, Romano-British Wall

Painting, Shire, 1985, ISBN 0-85263-715-2.McWhirr, A, Roman Crafts

and Industries, 1982, ISBN 0-85263-594-X.

Religion and burialGreen, M J, The Gods of RomanBritain, Shire, 1983, ISBN 0-85263-634-2.Scott Anderson, A, Roman

Military Tombstones, Shire,1984, ISBN 0-85263-571-0.

MiscellaneousBowman, A K, The RomanWriting Tablets fromVindolanda, British MuseumPress, 1983, ISBN 0-7141-1373-5.Renfrew, J, Food and cooking in

Roman Britain, EnglishHeritage, 1985, ISBN1-85074-080-1. Information andrecipes.

Educational approachesCopeland, T, Maths and theHistoric Environment, EnglishHeritage, 1992, ISBN1-85074-329-0.Copeland, T, Geography andthe Historic Environment,English Heritage, 1993,ISBN 1-85074-332-0.Durbin, G, Morris, S &Wilkinson, S, Learning fromObjects, English Heritage,1990, ISBN 1-85074-259-6.Keen, J, Ancient Technology,

36

English Heritage, 1996, ISBN 1-85074-448-3.Lumley, J, Using HistoricColchester, English Heritage,1997, ISBN 1-85074-666-4.Planel, P, Battlefields, defence,conflict and warfare, EnglishHeritage, ISBN 1-85074-590-0.Pownal, J & Hutson, N, Scienceand the Historic Environment,English Heritage, 1992, ISBN 1-85074-331-2.Purkis, S, Using Memorials,

English Heritage, 1995, ISBN 1-85074-493-9.Wheatley, G, World HeritageSites, English Heritage, 1997,ISBN 1-85074-446-7. Section onHadrian's Wall.

Videos for pupilsArchaeology at Work: Lookingfor the Past/Uncovering thePast, English Heritage, 1994, 58min. Shows and explains archaeo-logical techniques for finding,excavating and recording sites andmonuments.Archaeological Detectives,

English Heritage, 1990/91, 79 min.Four videos in which teams of chil-dren investigate buildings andobjects of the past.Lifting the Lid. Verulamium

Museum, 1991, 7 min. Roman'corpse' describes how archaeolo-gists have pieced together his lifefrom the evidence.Roman Writing Unravelled,

Hellenic Book Services, 1989, 60min. How to understand Latin oncoins, inscriptions etc.Romans and Celts, Channel 4,

1997, 75 min. Five programmesabout life in Roman Britain.Talkin' Roman, English

Heritage, 1996, 20 min.Investigates life in Britainunder the Romans using a chatshow format. Winner of theChannel 4/British ArchaeologicalAward 1996.

Computer programmeThe Roman Conquest ofBritain. This software simulationpackage consists of four modulesand a book for teachers. Suitablefor Key Stage 2. Available in BBCB and Archimedes 400. EnglishHeritage.

PostersArchaeological DetectivesPoster Games, English Heritage,1990, 4 A-3 posters to help pupilsunderstand the nature of evidence.

A Roman Villa Fading FromView, available from EnglishHeritage, 1995. Full colour postershows the story of a Roman villabuilt and then in decline.

Historical fiction for pupilsBreslin, T, Across the RomanWall, A & C Black, 1997, ISBN 0-7136-4664-0. A story set in theyear AD 397 which takes the char-acters from Hadrian's Wall toRome and back to Britain.Plowman, S, To Spare the

Conquered, Methuen or Penguin,1960. Queen Boudica leads thestruggle against the Roman occu-pation.Ray, M, Spring Tide, Faber,

1969. At a Roman garrison insouth Wales.Sutcliff, R, Song for a Dark

Queen, Pelham or Knight, 1978.An exciting story about Boudica.

Sutcliff, R, The Eagle of theNinth, Oxford or Puffin, 1954.Follows the Ninth Legion inBritain.

Sutcliff, R, Outcast, Oxford orPuffin, 1955. With the Roman sur-veyors in Kent.Treece, H, Legions of the

Eagle, Bodley Head or Puffin,1954. The Claudian invasion ofBritain.

OPPOSITE: The Ermine Street Guard area re-enactment group who take pride inthe accuracy of their uniforms, equipmentand weapons. (Mike Corbishley)

Our Education Service aims tohelp teachers at all levels makebetter use of the resource of thehistoric environment.Educational groups can makefree visits to over 400 historicsites cared for by EnglishHeritage. The following bookletis free on request.VisitingHistoric Sites and Buildings.Our Resources catalogue is alsoavailable along with our magazineHeritage Learning. Pleasecontact:

English HeritageEducation Service429 Oxford StreetLondon W1R 2HD

Tel: 0171 973-3442Fax: 0171 973-3443

4 0

41

4,re

'441 r

This book shows teachers how to usethe evidence left behind by the Roman

occupation of Britain. It looks indetail at forts, villas, towns, industrial

sites, temples and burials, withresource sheets for use in the

classroom covering the army, homelife, crafts and industries andbuildings. It suggests teaching

approAches across the curriculum,from understanding aerial

photographs and finding evidencein place names, to investigating

ruined sites and using a'Roman builder's handbook'.

Written by lain Watson, DurhamStudies Manager in the Arts,

Libraries and Museums Departmentof Durham City Council, who has also

written teacher's handbooks forEnglish Heritage on Hadrian's Walland Lullingstone Roman Villa. Thisbook is one of our Education on Site

series, suggesting educationalstrategies for the use of historiclandscapes, sites and buildings.

ENGLISH HERITAGE

001.1.t.,

ISBN 1-85074-334-7

9 /8151I

743347

U.S. Department of EducationOffice of Educational Research and Improvement (0ERI)

National library of Education (NLE)Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)

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