The Hallaton Treasure and the Romans
Teacher Follow-Up Activity Ideas
Time Capsule
Resources:
For activity 1 you will need:

Access to the Treasure website
(http://www.leics.gov.uk/index/community/museums/harboroughmuseum/treasure
.htm).

You can also link to the Learn with Museums website for access to interactive
games, quiz, images and background information to support follow up activities.

A waste paper bin, a selection of objects that provide information about the life of
a real or fictitious character e.g. train ticket, postcard/letter, photograph, toy, a
bottle, a piece of pottery, jewellery, a piece of clothing, an empty tin of food, book.
For activity 2 you will need:

Definition of an archaeologist - archaeologists look at the remains left behind by
people to try and learn who lived in the past, where they lived, what they ate,
what they believed and the effect they had on their environment. Objects like
pottery, bones, weapons and jewellery, help archaeologists create a picture of the
past.

Plastic bottles to use as time capsules.
Activities
Recap of session:
Encourage pupils to think about what they remember from the session about:





Who lived in Britain before the Roman invasion?
Who discovered the Hallaton Treasure?
What does an archaeologist do and why?
What objects do they remember from the Exhibition? (e.g. pig bones, coins, the
Roman helmet, the glass eyes)
Think about the objects that were excavated from the sand pit activity – what
were the items made of? (e.g. pottery, metal)
Activity 1: Archaeological discoveries
This activity can be used to encourage pupils to understand what we can learn from
material evidence.
1. Take a waste paper bin and fill it with the selection of objects that provide information
about the life of a real or fictitious character. Pass the objects round the class and ask
pupils to talk about what each object suggests about the life of the person who may
have owned the items.
2. Encourage pupils to ask questions of the objects to build up a picture of the person
who owned the items and their lifestyle, e.g. when was the object made, what is it made
from, what was it used for, what do the objects suggest about the person’s lifestyle, who
might have used it (man, woman or child) and why might it have been thrown away?
3. Discuss with pupils objects that survive in the ground and those that decompose. Ask
pupils which items in the rubbish bin would survive? (metal, plastic, pottery) and which
would decompose (paper, wood, some textiles).
Look at some of the finds of the Hallaton Treasure
(http://www.leics.gov.uk/index/community/museums/harboroughmuseum/treasure/treasu
re_finds.htm) and ask the pupils to sort the objects into the materials they were made
from, i.e. pottery, metal, bone.
Activity 2: Time capsule
1. Ask the pupils to draw themselves carrying out an activity (e.g. eating a meal, playing,
working at school). Discuss the parts of them and items that they are wearing/using that
would survive if they were buried in the ground.
2. To prepare pupils for making their own time capsule practice looking at everyday
objects in the classroom and imagine what someone could learn about us from them.
Bags or pencil cases with brand or film logos on them can be useful objects to discuss.
3. Pupils hold a poll to select items to include in plastic bottles that they could bury.