The 9s tasted the realities of of Roman culture via a trip to Verulamium where they handled household artefacts and inspected the underfloor heating
The 9s have been learning about ancient cultures as part of their Humanities lessons and on 4th October, they enjoyed enlightening experience of the realities of Roman living when they visited Verulamium, a Roman city, north of London.
The trip provided hands-on experience of day-to-day life in Verulamium. As part of an artefacts workshop, children were able to handle objects commonly found in Roman kitchens and bathrooms and to compare them to their own household mod-cons.
On a tour of the museum, they marvelled at the magnificent mosaics and even had a go making their own.
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For a gallery of photos
They visited the amphitheatre and imagined what the Romans would have seen there - plays? wrestling? And how did they perform without lighting or electric speakers?
A special highlight was the Hypocaust. Discovered and excavated in the 1930s, the Hypocaust was once part of an ancient villa and features an underfloor heating system that was created more than 1800 years ago to shield its Roman occupants from the chill of the English winter.
The city walls were also impressive. Up to 4 metres in height, they controlled who went in and out of the city, especially as there was no CCTV then!