Sanitation



The Legacy of the Roman EmpireThe legacy of the Romans is extremely important.? Many things that form part of everyday life were introduced or improved by the Romans.? Over the centuries, since the collapse of the Roman Empire, Romans ideas, literature, art and architecture have influenced many people around the world. The question is 'what have the Romans ever done for us?' well actually, they did quite a lot of us which is what we are going to learn today.Some examples of things that Romans introduced to Britain that are still in use today:ArchitectureArtLiteratureLanguage(Latin)Sanitation(sewage)AqueductsEducationIrrigation(water supply)The calendar(names of months, leap years)CoinsCement and bricksPublic heated bathsTurnips and carrotsPaved streets and pavementsApples, pears and grapes?Benefits (free food) for poor citizensRoadsWineCatsStinging nettlesTownsGlassStreet CleanersShopsLawsTenement Blocks(blocks of flats)Public orderFiremen and Police?ParksCabbages & peasPublic librariesPublic notices and advertisementsLiteratureRoman authors followed the famous Greek authors, often developing and building upon Greek writing.? Most surviving literature is written for or by the rich people.? Writers were supported by the rich people and wrote what their patrons were interested in.?Many writers since the fall of the empire have been influenced by the Romans and their stories: Julius Caesar, Augustus and Cleopatra. TASK: Cleopatra is known as the Egyptian Queen which I’m sure you know because you have lots of knowledge on Ancient Egypt from Year 3, but why was Cleopatra linked to Ancient Rome and Julius Caesar?ArchitectureMany Roman buildings still stand - just this is evidence of how good Roman architecture was.? Roman architecture has many connections with Greek architecture through the use of pillars and arches.? Since the Renaissance period, this style has been popular around the world.?TASK: Have a look at Roman buildings on Google images and think about the buildings we looked at during our Ancient Greece topic. List the similarities and differences. You could even draw The Parthenon and a Roman building and then label the similarities and differences. ArtRoman art has influenced many people.?The use of pictures of emperors on coins and sculptures introduced powerful images to society. TASK: Why do you think they put the face of emperors on coins and made sculptures of these emperors? Think of someone who is an inspiration to you and design your own coin or sculpture with them on it. Think about why they are inspirational to you then think about why Julius Caesar was an inspiration. 3049905635000649605635000SanitationWhen the Victorians built sewers underneath towns in Britain, they copied the designs of Roman sewers. In York, there is still a section of Roman sewer in use today. In Rome itself, the Roman system still does the job in parts of the city it has always done.TASK: watch this video about the Roman toilets that carry water from a source to its distribution point which may be very far away. They still protect and carry water are in use today. Many fountains in Rome are still fed by the original Roman systems that fed them. We still use the general principle to feed towns today.TASK: think about why aqueducts are so important? If we didn’t have aqueducts to carry and protect water around our country, how would this affect our lives today?List all of the ways you use water in your house and have a think about how different our lives would be today if we did not have water so easily.EducationSomething we are all familiar with today, the idea that young people are taught skills and knowledge for life. The Romans did not create schools. They home schooled their children just like we are doing at the moment. If a family had someone who knew how to read and write, the boys were taught how to.? They were also taught how to be warriors.? Finally, they were taught how to manage the farm or business and how to behave in society by the males in their household. TASK: why do you think only the men were educated? , And why do you think they were taught how to manage farms and businesses?IrrigationWater for crops is vital to certain crops and many countries would starve without the water keeping all of the crops alive. Irrigation controls and gives a specific amount of water to crops. TASK: Think about the food you have in your house (go and have a look in your fridge, freezer, cupboards etc. and list the food which was grown from the ground. If irrigation didn’t exist, these crops would not stay alive or grow which means we would not be able to have this food.Fruit and vegetablesThe Romans liked to eat and where ever they went, they looked to grow fruit there. They also brought cabbage, carrots, onions and peas to all of their countries which they invaded. Many of their meals were made up of fruit and vegetables only. TASK: Can you think of a meal you would eat which is only made of fruit and vegetables?Miss Biggadike’s meal would be: vegetable soup with a fruit salad.CatsThe Romans brought cats with them from Egypt. Cats were used to control the population of mice and rats in cities. Anyone who killed a cat was severely punished; they were seen as a sign of good luck.Cement and bricksThe Romans invented concrete and it was used to build all over the empire. The concrete foundations of the Roman amphitheatre in London were found to be 18 metres thick. They even invented a concrete that could dry out and go hard under water. Clean water The Romans always made sure that there was free water available to all people in their towns. They made sure this water was pure and clear. Rich people got it in their houses, poor people from fountains.Luckily in Britain, we are all able to access water in our houses. In other countries, they have to travel up to 10 miles to access a water source. Can you think of a book we have read in English where the main character had to travel a few miles to access water? CoinsThe Romans were the first to introduce coins to Britain. Before the Romans, if you wanted something from another person or trader, you would swap things for what you wanted.Imagine if coins were not introduced, and you wanted to buy something at a shop, you would have to give something up to get that item. For example: if I wanted to buy a purse, I might have to trade my favourite coat for it. Fireman and Police The Romans introduced the police and fire service to Britain. The laws and how we decide what to do with someone (trial by jury) when they are accused of doing something wrong, came originally from the Roman Empire. TASK: Why is this important? List all of the positives about having the fireman and police service in Britain. Research or ask other members off your family all the things fireman and police officers do.Glass The Romans brought Glass to Britain, not only for drinking from, but also for windows in important buildings. Before the Romans, windows did not exist in Britain!Language Many words that we use today are almost directly from the Roman language of Latin. The languages of countries that were in the Roman Empire all are very similar.Libraries The Romans loved reading the writing of others, they would be kept in scrolls in buildings where people could come and look at them. Many Roman plays still survive today because of their libraries.Public heated bathsThe Roman baths were like a modern day leisure centre. There were swimming pools, gyms and saunas. They were used for people to keep clean, relax or just keep fit.TASK: Can you find out which cities and towns in England still have ruins of Roman baths?Public parks The Romans were the first to make sure that in towns there were green spaces where people could relax and walk. There were even rivers and lakes to swim in.Some even had simple play areas for children!Roads Roman roads were straight, this meant that you got to places faster than on a winding road. Many modern day roads are built over the old Roman ones. There were 10,000 miles of Roman roads in Britain.Stinging nettles Believe it or not, these were brought to Britain to make clothes from by the Romans. They can also be eaten like spinach when cooked! TASK: We now use stinging nettles as an ingredient in medicines for muscular pain. Stinging nettles allow people to walk and do daily activities pain free. Have a think about why stinging nettles being brought to Britain by the Romans are so important.Street cleaners The Romans paid people to keep the streets clean from things that were thrown into them, including human waste! They made sure that the drains were not blocked and that anyone found guilty of throwing waste into the streets were fined.Does this still happen today?The calendar The calendar that we use today is roughly the same as the Roman’s one (they started it). Some of our months are named after Roman Gods and rulers.TASK: watch this video which explains the link between the Romans and our calendar today TASK – What did the Romans do for us?Create a diamond 9 with the ideas. You can only use 9 (pick the 9 you think are most important to us today).Out of your 9, rank these from most important to least important.What do you think is the most important thing the Romans did for us?Which ones are fairly important but not the most important?What do you think is the least important thing the Romans did for us?4010025-353060Most importantMost important-525780-618490004124325196850Least important0Least importantNow create a PowerPoint presentation or poster with what you consider to be the top 5 examples (most important) of what the Romans left behind. You may even think of some more that are not included on this list.You must include...Why you have chosen what you have chosen. Examples (if you can find them) of Roman and modern aspects of your choice. For example – the Romans decided to pay people to clean the roads. Do we have that now? If so, what are they called?Use evidence to back up your ideas from research, the creation/improvement cards and your own knowledge of what we have in our lives today.A conclusion slide or paragraph about what you feel the legacy of the empire is/was. (You may want to choose more, but you must do 5) ................
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