The Romans in Britain

Britain After the Romans

The Romans legacy

It is important to remember that the Romans brought many good things to Britain. They improved trade and the quality of life for many Britons.

Roman towns showed the Britons that life could be comfortable and pleasant.

Roman laws meant that arguments could be settled peacefully. Some of our modern laws are based on Roman laws.

The Romans brought milestones to Britain. This drawing shows a stone milestone from Hadrian’s reign. Originally it would have stood 2-3 metres high. The letters ‘MPIIII’ mean ‘four miles from...’

Other things the Romans brought to Britain

Lead pipes

Roof tiles

Cats

Wigs

False teeth

Cabbages

Carrots

Peas

Cherries

Plums

Roses

Pansies

Poppies

Stinging nettles

Many of our words are based on Latin words. The Romans gave us the names of all our months.

JANUARY named after the Roman god JANUS. He could look both ways at once because he had two faces, and was the god of gateways

FEBRUARY named after the Roman festival of FEBRUA

MARCH named after MARS, the Roman war god

APRIL from the Latin word APERIRE meaning ‘to open’ – because of the unfolding of buds and blossom in spring

MAY named after MAIA, the Roman mother goddess

JUNE named after JUNO, wife of Jupiter, King of the Roman gods

JULY named after JULIUS Caesar, who decided that the year should begin in January. Until then it had begun in March.

AUGUST named after the Roman Emperor AUGUSTUS

SEPTEMBER from the Latin word SEPTEM, meaning ‘seven’. It was originally the seventh month of the year

OCTOBER from the Latin word OCTO, meaning ‘eight’. It was originally the seventh month of the year

NOVEMBER from the Latin word NOVEM, meaning ‘nine’. It was originally the ninth month of the year

DECEMBER from the Latin word DECEM, meaning ‘ten’. It was originally the tenth month of the year

The fighting continued for almost twenty years after the Roman invasion.The Romans won many victories and it seemed as though nothing could stop them from ruling the whole country. Then, in AD 60, the Iceni tribe led by their queen, Boudicca, revolted.

Boudicca's army burnt the Roman city of Colchester, St Albans and London. They destroy the entire legion.

Boudicca meet Sueltonlus.

Other tribes joined Boudicca and soon she had a huge army of 100,000 soldiers.

Sueltonlus, the Roman governor of Britain, was in Anglesey fighting the Druids. Hearing news of Boudicca's army, he marched quickly south east with two legions to meet the Iceni. The great battle took place in the Midlands. Most of the British were killed and Boudicca herself took poison rarther than be captured by the Romans. The rebellion was over.

The New Britons

After Boudicca's revolt, the Romans brought a new order order to Britain. It became part of the Roman Empire and the Romas began to settle there. Latin became thу main language for administration. Everyone had to obey Roman and follow the Roman way of life. Soon it was hard to tell who had been born in Britain and who was a foreigner. Britons became 'Roman Britons'.
The Romans built towns and cities which became cetres of trade.

Some Roman Britons grew wealthy by selling goods to the Romans.
Roman governers were sent to rule Britain. The new laws brought peace although Roman Britons now had to pay taxes to Rome.
British nobles were trained to rule their tribes in the Roman way. This brought peace and riches to many, although some Britons who continued to fight against their new rulers were captured and became slaves. The Roman army built good roads so the legions could march to any part of the country to keep the peace.

The Roman House

Rich Romans and Roman Britons lives in the towns, in fine house-

villas, which were built in Roman the style. There were bedrooms, a kitchen, a toilet with sewer, a sitting room in the house with central heating system.

Hot air from a fire in the cellar passed under the floor and up the walls to heat the house. This central heating system was called hypocaust.

The floor were covered with mosaics - pictures or patterns made from tiny pieces of coloured marble stuck in cement.Walls were decorated with paintings or painted panels.

The Roman Army

The Roman soldiers who invaded Britain were part of the best army in the world. They were better trained and armed than the wild Britons.

The Roman army was divided into legions, each one containing roughly 5000 legionaries who signed up for 25 years. Each legionary was highly trained with daily sword practice and marching. Legionaries were also trained to build road, bridges, and forts.

A legionaries wore heavy armor had a large shield for protection! He carried 2 javelins and a short sharp sword. Each legionary took food, cooking gear, an axe and two sharp stakes to help to build a wall round the camp at night. The Roman army also contained many auxiliaries. These were soldiers from conquered tribes all over the Roman Empire.
Some auxiliaries had special skills:

Archer - many came from Syria.The Roman also used moutain archers.

Slingers - many came from Bolearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea.

The cavalry was used for scouting and carrying messages. They also chased fleeing enemy soldiers during battles.

The Roman Emperor, Claudius, even had some elephants.

Battle

Legionaries were taught to fight in different formations. This usually gave them an advantage over their enemies who were not so well organized. In battle the whole army could fight as one man or split into smaller groups. Trumpets were used to give the signals.

Cohort (about 480 soldiers) - the smallest unit that would normally ever operate independantly. The were 10 cohorts in a legion.

A standard bearer. Each legion had its own standard called an eagle.

An experiened officer called a centurion was incharege of a century (about 80 soldiers). There were 6 centuries in a cohort.

British hills forts

The British tribes had built many hill forts. The Romans could not conquer Britain until they had captured these strongholds.

There were different kinds of hill forts. Many had several ditches and walls round the hill top. A maze sometimes hid the main gate

The tribe lived in huts built inside the walls. They brought their animals into the enclosure for safety when the fort was attacked.

Maiden Castle - one of the largest of over 3,000 hill forts in Britain.

The Romans used large wooden catapults called ballistas to fier giant spears or bolts into a hill fort.

The Romans locked their shield together to protect themselves from rocks and spears. The foemation, which looked like a hard shell, was called tortoise.

Food and Feasts

Food in a rich household.

The kitchen was an open hearth filled with charcoal. Most of the cooking pots were made of pottery althoughsome were iron. The burning charcoal must have made the kitchen very hot for slaves who were getting thefood ready. The kitchen slaves washed the vegetables and herbs in a stone sink. Baking was very difficult because there was no oven in the house, so bread, cakes and puddings were usually bought from a baker.
A Feast

Most people were too poor to buy fish or meat. They ate mainly porridge, green vegetables, pancakes, washed down with watered wine.This is what a ferast in a rich Roman houshold may have looked like. For the first course they ate raw vegetables, shellfish,eggs or stuffed dormice. For the second course they ate boiled or roast meat, doves,chicken, pork or roast boar. For the third course they had fruit, honey cakes, spiced loaf or stuffed dates.Guests who were invited to a feast in a rich person's house lay on a couches and ate with their fingers. Slaves cut up the meat for them, served out the food and brought round bowls of water so that the guests could wash their hands between courses. Poets and musitians provided entertainment. They played string instrument called a cithara.