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EAL Nexus resource
Romans definitions games
Images and explanations
Subject:
History
Age group:
8 - 11
Topic:
The Romans in Britain
Licence information | This resource is free to use for educational purposes.
Source | This resource was originally developed by Jenny Rhodes and has been adapted by EAL Nexus.
©British Council 2014
The Romans in Britain
the months in
our calendar
a way of heating new and different
food to eat
our houses
mosaic pictures
roads
writing and a
number
system
baths and
washing
a way of carrying
water
bricks
The Romans in Britain
toilets
coins
pavements
glass
literature and
poetry
jewellery
pet cats
games like
hopscotch
surgery and
medicine
The months in our calendar
The Romans originally had ten months in their
calendar. Some were named after their Gods
(Mars, God of War), and others after numbers
(September, 7th month of the year).
Later two more months were added and named
after Emperors Julius and Augustus
January
Janus, god of
doors
This months opens the year
February februare = to
purify
Roman month of
purification
March
Mars, god of
war
Start of soldiers’ year (no
fighting in winter)
April
aperire = to
open
Plants and trees open their
leaves
May
Maia, goddess
of growth
Plants growing fast
June
Juno, queen of Goddess of weddings
the gods
© British Council 2014
July
August
Julius
Caesar
Augustus
Named after an Emperor
Named after an Emperor
September septem = 7 Was the 7th month of the
Roman year
October
octo = 8
Was the 8th month
November novem = 9
Was the 9th month
December decem = 10 Was the 10th month
A way of heating our houses
 Rich Romans liked to be warm, so they invented
the ‘hypocaust’
 Their houses had floors laid on piles of bricks with
an empty space under
 Hot air from fires passed around this empty space
 Slaves kept the fires going
New and different foods
When the Romans came to Britain, they
brought new foods:
 Meat: rabbit, chicken, dormice and
pheasant
 Vegetables: onions, garlic, leeks and
peas
 Fruit: apples, grapes and cherries
 Herbs: mint, basil and rosemary
 Nuts: walnuts and sweet chestnuts
 Drinks: wine
Mosaics
 Roman buildings often had floors with mosaics in
 They were pictures made with thousands of tiny
stones called tesserae
 They had scenes of everyday life or from stories
Roman roads
 Britain had no proper roads
before the Romans
 Roman soldiers built good roads
 They were made of stones and
they were often very straight
 People used to travel on them
in a horse and cart
Aqueducts
 Romans built aqueducts to carry water from one
place to another
 They needed fresh water for drinking, watering
crops and for public baths
 Aqueducts were long stone channels which
carried water from hills to towns
 Some aqueducts had different levels: for walking,
chariots and water pipes
Writing and numbers
 Writing spread around Britain after
the Roman Conquest
 Roman writing has been found on
tombs, mosaics, coins and walls
 They also wrote on wax tablets for
daily use
 The Romans introduced a number
system which was used for some
time
 We do not use it now as it has
letters which makes calculation
difficult, but you can still see it on
some clocks
Roman baths and washing
 The Romans built many public bath-houses
 People went to them to exercise, wash, relax
and socialise
 The public had to pay to use them
 They believed the waters from underground
springs could cure many illnesses
Bricks for building
 The Romans introduced building with bricks
to Britain
 The legions (soldiers) made fired clay bricks
 They were made of clay and sand, shaped
into a long, flat block shape
 First they were dried in the sun and then
baked in a hot oven called a kiln
Toilets
 The Romans started using sitting toilets with
running water
 The soldiers sat together on a bench with holes
over a big trench. Water ran in a ditch at their feet
to flush waste away.
 Romans did not have toilet paper but used a
sponge on a stick
Coins
The Romans used coins made of gold, silver and
copper
They showed pictures of emperors, owls, horses
and even elephants
They had letters and numbers on to show their
value
Pavements
 The Romans built pavements with large stone
slabs laid on layers of sand, gravel and rock
 They were useful for soldiers to march on, so
they didn't sink into the mud
Glass
 Roman glass-makers could make blue,
brown, green and clear glass
 Cups and vases often had pictures and
patterns on
 Roman glass found in Britain is usually dug
up from burial sites
Literature and poetry
 Many stories, poems and plays have survived
from Roman times
 One very famous poet was Virgil
 Here is the first page of Virgil’s Eclogues, a
poem written in Latin about his farm
Jewellery
 The Romans made beautiful jewellery in gold
 This bracelet was a gift for someone called
Juliane, and has a good luck message inscribed
into it: VTERE FELIX DOMINA IVLIANE, which
means ‘You be happy Juliane’
Cats
 The Romans brought cats
to Britain to control the
mouse population
 It is likely they kept them
as pets too.
Games
 Indoor games were popular and
the Romans played board games
with counters and dice
 Outdoors, games like hopscotch
were invented as training for
Roman soldiers to become faster
and stronger. They ran along a
huge hopscotch pitch wearing
heavy armour
 Later, children made a smaller
game and scored points.
Roman medicine and surgery
 Roman doctors carried out first aid and simple
external surgery on injured soldiers
 They also used herbal medicine to cure
common illnesses
calendar
months
hypocaust
cherries
apple
rabbit
chicken
mosaic
roads
aqueduct
writing
numbers
baths
bricks
villa
toilets
coins
pavements
glass
literature
poetry
jewellery
cats
games
surgery
medicine
Speaking frame
 The Romans made these for …
 The Romans used these for…
 The Romans invented these because…
 The Romans built …
 The Romans created…