0:00:17 > 0:00:22Over 2,000 years ago, the Romans first arrived in Britain.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25Although that was way back in the past, many clues still
0:00:25 > 0:00:29survive which tell us what life was like during Roman times.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33From the remains of ancient forts to the jewellery, letters
0:00:33 > 0:00:37and household items still being dug up by archaeologists today.
0:00:38 > 0:00:43We can find out brilliant details of what they ate,
0:00:43 > 0:00:47what their homes looked like and even what they did for fun.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51And thanks to a book written all those years ago by the famous
0:00:51 > 0:00:55Roman Commander, Julius Caesar, we also know one reason why
0:00:55 > 0:00:59the Romans wanted to come to Britain in the first place - they wanted
0:00:59 > 0:01:04to make use of the amazing natural resources to be found here.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06Caesar wrote...
0:01:06 > 0:01:09"The Britons have a huge number of cattle.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12"They use gold coins or iron bars as their money,
0:01:12 > 0:01:14"and produce tin and iron."
0:01:16 > 0:01:19That description helps to explain why Caesar
0:01:19 > 0:01:23and his army decided to pile over here to Britain to try to invade.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28Rome wanted to get its hand on all those British resources to
0:01:28 > 0:01:30make itself even richer.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37Back then, before the Romans invaded, we didn't have one
0:01:37 > 0:01:39king or queen ruling over the nation.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43Britain was made up of different groups, or tribes,
0:01:43 > 0:01:46known as the Celts or native Britons.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52We get an idea of what the native Britons looked like thanks to
0:01:52 > 0:01:54a description of them in here.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57But do remember, of course, they were Caesar's enemy,
0:01:57 > 0:01:59so his opinion might be a little bit one-sided.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05"All Britons used woad to dye their bodies a blue colour,
0:02:05 > 0:02:08"which makes them terrifying when they are fighting in battle."
0:02:09 > 0:02:12The Celts also put lime in their hair to make it stiff
0:02:12 > 0:02:15and thick, which made them look even more ferocious.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19"They used their chariots in battle,
0:02:19 > 0:02:23"steering them in all directions while hurling their weapons,
0:02:23 > 0:02:27"generally causing the enemy to separate apart.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31"Then one of the warriors leaps from the chariot and fights on foot."
0:02:32 > 0:02:36It was all just too much for Caesar. He invaded the country twice,
0:02:36 > 0:02:39but he never actually managed to take over.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42That would have to wait until 100 years later
0:02:42 > 0:02:47when the Emperor Claudius tried again and this time, he succeeded.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51And that is how we became part of the Roman Empire.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54'But what exactly was the Roman Empire?'
0:02:55 > 0:02:59The Romans actually started out in life as just a small tribe in Italy.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03They fought battles with local people and took over their land.
0:03:03 > 0:03:08And then they wanted more, so they could become super rich.
0:03:09 > 0:03:14Eventually, the Roman tribe grew to be in charge of vast areas
0:03:14 > 0:03:16across Asia, Africa and Europe,
0:03:16 > 0:03:18including Britain.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21And all the land they controlled came to be known
0:03:21 > 0:03:23as the Roman Empire.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28This is the great city of Rome, in Italy.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31It was once the capital of the Roman Empire
0:03:31 > 0:03:33and this is what it looks like today.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36The remains of the town, built thousands of years ago,
0:03:36 > 0:03:39are still there for us to see, giving us
0:03:39 > 0:03:43great clues as to how the Romans lived their lives.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45At the centre of ancient Rome was the Forum - a big,
0:03:45 > 0:03:49open area where markets took place and people heard the latest news,
0:03:49 > 0:03:52a bit like a modern-day shopping centre.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56People living and working in Rome worshipped at temples or visited
0:03:56 > 0:04:00the amphitheatres to watch animals and gladiators fight to the death.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05The Romans believed in this way of life so deeply
0:04:05 > 0:04:07that they brought it right across the Empire,
0:04:07 > 0:04:10even the gladiatorial fights.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12The Romans didn't just bring their way of life to Britain,
0:04:12 > 0:04:16they also brought their Roman-style buildings too,
0:04:16 > 0:04:20creating whole new towns, almost like mini versions of Rome.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24Many of the cities we live in today were once Roman towns
0:04:24 > 0:04:26with Roman names.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30The town of Corinium Dobunnorum
0:04:30 > 0:04:32is now modern-day Cirencester.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36This is what Cirencester looks like today.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42The people living in these new Roman towns had to obey Roman laws
0:04:42 > 0:04:46and pay money to the Roman Empire, known as taxes.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48But it wasn't all bad.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50Wealthy people and those with important jobs
0:04:50 > 0:04:53lived in posh Roman houses known as villas,
0:04:53 > 0:04:57with new types of decoration and sophisticated technology.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00It's still possible to see some of the clever technology
0:05:00 > 0:05:02they had in Roman houses.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04In this museum in Cirencester,
0:05:04 > 0:05:07there's an example of Roman underfloor heating.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12It's called a hypocaust and it's a brilliant idea,
0:05:12 > 0:05:15cos we all know how chilly it can get here in Britain.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17Now, this is how it worked.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21The floor was built on top of these piles of tiles and then,
0:05:21 > 0:05:25down in that little hole there, a fire would be lit.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29The fire would push out hot air and smoke under the ground, and up
0:05:29 > 0:05:33through these kind of clay tubes that went through the hollow walls.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36There'd be slaves down there keeping the fire going the whole time,
0:05:36 > 0:05:38so the house stayed warm.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41But they also constantly had to keep a watch out that the fire
0:05:41 > 0:05:44didn't go out of control and burn the whole house down.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51And in some villas, if you could afford it, then you'd have
0:05:51 > 0:05:55had one of these beautiful things called a mosaic on your floor.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58Now, mosaics are made up of lots of tiny little bits of coloured
0:05:58 > 0:06:03stone, or sometimes glass, and they usually tell a story.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06And the story that's being told here is about a man called Orpheus,
0:06:06 > 0:06:08that's Orpheus in the middle there,
0:06:08 > 0:06:10and he's playing an instrument called the lyre and,
0:06:10 > 0:06:15as he does so, he's charming all of these animals around him.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18This one was actually found 200 years ago,
0:06:18 > 0:06:20very close to Cirencester.
0:06:20 > 0:06:25And isn't it fantastic to think that, somewhere near you,
0:06:25 > 0:06:28there might still be a Roman mosaic under the ground,
0:06:28 > 0:06:30just waiting to be discovered?
0:06:39 > 0:06:44Close on 2,000 years ago, the Romans arrived in Britain.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47They ruled over our nation for almost 400 years,
0:06:47 > 0:06:51bringing with them Roman soldiers with deadly weaponry to build
0:06:51 > 0:06:55defensive walls and stone forts to protect their new territory.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59We can still see the remains of some of their building work today,
0:06:59 > 0:07:02including these stones, which are all that's left of the famous
0:07:02 > 0:07:07Hadrian's Wall, which once stretched right across Northern Britain.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11Built around 200 years after they first arrived,
0:07:11 > 0:07:12the wall was protected by a number
0:07:12 > 0:07:14of specially built forts, like
0:07:14 > 0:07:19this one at Vindolanda, which were heavily guarded by Roman soldiers.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22Hadrian's Wall marked the northern frontier,
0:07:22 > 0:07:25the northernmost point of the Roman Empire.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29And you mustn't forget that the Roman Empire was massive.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32If you imagine you were standing here,
0:07:32 > 0:07:35then you could travel 2,500 kilometres to the south,
0:07:35 > 0:07:37to the Sahara Desert, in Africa,
0:07:37 > 0:07:41and 4,000 kilometres to the Middle East, to modern-day Iraq,
0:07:41 > 0:07:43and you'd still be in the Roman Empire.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47Because the wall's so old, a lot of it has crumbled away,
0:07:47 > 0:07:49and so, this is a copy, or a replica.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51But it gives you a really good impression of what it would
0:07:51 > 0:07:53have been like originally.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57Because, when it was first built, Hadrian's Wall was
0:07:57 > 0:08:02almost as wide and almost as tall as a double-decker bus.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09Even more impressive was the massive Roman Army.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12This was divided into groups called Legions,
0:08:12 > 0:08:17which were based right across the Roman Empire, including Britain.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21Each one was made up of around 6,000 soldiers, known as Legionaries.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26The Legionaries didn't just fight big battles,
0:08:26 > 0:08:28they had other jobs too
0:08:28 > 0:08:31and one of them was to collect money called a tax
0:08:31 > 0:08:34to help pay for the work of the Roman Empire.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36Now, as you can probably imagine,
0:08:36 > 0:08:40the locals were often not very happy about that.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43They hadn't asked the Romans here in the first place,
0:08:43 > 0:08:44so why should they pay them money?
0:08:44 > 0:08:47But did the Romans care?
0:08:47 > 0:08:49No, they did not.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52If you stepped out of line, then you could have your head
0:08:52 > 0:08:56chopped off and it could be stuck on the top of the fort walls,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59which is exactly what happened to this poor lad here.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05The fort here, at Vindolanda, was the home to 800 soldiers
0:09:05 > 0:09:07and their job was to guard the wall
0:09:07 > 0:09:12against people they described as "barbarians".
0:09:12 > 0:09:15Now, for the Romans, barbarians were local tribes who lived the
0:09:15 > 0:09:19other side of the wall in what's now northern England and Scotland.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24But it wasn't the Legionaries who guarded the wall.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27This was the job of auxiliary soldiers who
0:09:27 > 0:09:30came from right across the Roman Empire,
0:09:30 > 0:09:35places like Belgium, Spain, Greece and even as far away as Africa.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40After 25 years working as an auxiliary,
0:09:40 > 0:09:42you could become a Roman citizen.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47And when the soldiers weren't on duty guarding the wall,
0:09:47 > 0:09:49they lived here with their families.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52These are their barracks and we can still see their remains today.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57Barracks are soldiers' homes.
0:09:57 > 0:10:02These ones at Vindolanda used to have two floors and an attic on top.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04This was the main road in the middle
0:10:04 > 0:10:08and it would have been humming with activity, with the soldiers coming
0:10:08 > 0:10:11out and washing themselves in the morning and at the end of the day.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14That big building that you can see at the end there,
0:10:14 > 0:10:16that was basically the posh bit.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19That was where the Centurions slept, so they were the bosses
0:10:19 > 0:10:22keeping their eyes on all the soldiers down here.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28This is one of the three public loos
0:10:28 > 0:10:30that's been left here, at Vindolanda.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34You'd have had 12 wooden seats along here, you'd sit down,
0:10:34 > 0:10:37do your business straight into the drain below,
0:10:37 > 0:10:40and probably have a chat with some of your friends as you did so.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43And I know it looks a bit odd, but that's because, in Roman
0:10:43 > 0:10:47times, people all used to go to the loo at the same time together,
0:10:47 > 0:10:49so it wasn't very private.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54For the last 40 years, archaeologists,
0:10:54 > 0:10:56who are really like detectives,
0:10:56 > 0:10:59have been digging carefully through layers of soil,
0:10:59 > 0:11:02finding extraordinary evidence of the lives
0:11:02 > 0:11:05of the soldiers who'd once lived here.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07What we're looking for are the little things
0:11:07 > 0:11:08that they dropped and left behind -
0:11:08 > 0:11:10shoes, writing tablets,
0:11:10 > 0:11:11little bits of weapons and armour.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14And like a detective, those are the clues that we use to find
0:11:14 > 0:11:18out what the Roman people were doing here all that time ago.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21And what's particularly special about what's being found here?
0:11:21 > 0:11:24The undoubted highlight from Vindolanda are the amazing
0:11:24 > 0:11:26writing tablets that we find.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30And these are tiny little postcard-sized scraps of birch
0:11:30 > 0:11:32and alder wood that the Roman soldiers had written
0:11:32 > 0:11:35to each other, and further afield, with an old-fashioned iron pen that
0:11:35 > 0:11:39they'd dip into the ink and write straight on top of the bits of wood.
0:11:39 > 0:11:40And, from those letters,
0:11:40 > 0:11:44we just have an enormous amount of information about the Roman
0:11:44 > 0:11:46soldiers, but others as well, and exactly what they thought
0:11:46 > 0:11:50about living right at the edge of the Empire, on Hadrian's Wall.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55These letters are very fragile and difficult to read,
0:11:55 > 0:11:58but special infrared photographs of them show up the text,
0:11:58 > 0:12:02which has been written in the Roman language - Latin.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06"The Britons do not protect themselves by wearing armour..."
0:12:06 > 0:12:10"Farewell, my sister, my dearest and most longed-for soul..."
0:12:10 > 0:12:12"I implore you not to allow me, an innocent man from overseas,
0:12:12 > 0:12:13"to be beaten by rods..."
0:12:13 > 0:12:16"Make sure that you send me cash, so that I may buy grain..."
0:12:16 > 0:12:18"I pray that you are enjoying the best of fortune
0:12:18 > 0:12:20"and are in good health."
0:12:20 > 0:12:22The letters reveal the most fantastic
0:12:22 > 0:12:26details about the soldiers' lives, how they missed their friends
0:12:26 > 0:12:29and their families, and the good wine back at home.
0:12:29 > 0:12:34But the main thing that they seem to moan about is the freezing cold
0:12:34 > 0:12:36up here, in the north of England.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39Luckily, some of their mates could send them supplies.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43"I have sent you some pairs of socks from Satua,
0:12:43 > 0:12:47"two pairs of sandals and two pairs of underpants.
0:12:47 > 0:12:52"I pray that you live in the greatest of good fortune."
0:12:52 > 0:12:56Well, it's good to know that even the Romans had to wear pants.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00The brilliant thing about the discoveries here
0:13:00 > 0:13:02is that they don't just give you the kind of
0:13:02 > 0:13:06official version of what life was like in the Roman Army.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09The letters that were dug up here were written by ordinary
0:13:09 > 0:13:13soldiers, men who were bothered by what they had for dinner,
0:13:13 > 0:13:17how cold it was and whether or not they had damp socks.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20So, these letters give us a wonderful opportunity
0:13:20 > 0:13:24to read the actual words of the men who lived here with their families,
0:13:24 > 0:13:27bringing their intriguing world back to life.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35"Claudia Severa to her Lepidina. Greetings.
0:13:35 > 0:13:40"On the 11th of September, sister, the day I celebrate my birthday,
0:13:40 > 0:13:44"I send you this warm invitation to make sure you come to ours.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47"I will enjoy the day so much more if you are there.
0:13:47 > 0:13:52"Farewell, sister, my dearest soul, as I hope to prosper and hail."
0:13:54 > 0:13:59It's incredible to think that this invitation, almost 2,000 years
0:13:59 > 0:14:04old, was dug out of the ground at this Roman fort here, at Vindolanda.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08It was written by the wife of one of the camp commanders.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11Now, the fantastic thing about it is it tells us
0:14:11 > 0:14:14that, at these Roman forts, there weren't just male,
0:14:14 > 0:14:18muscly soldiers, there were also women and children here too.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27This is a copy of that letter and it tells us
0:14:27 > 0:14:31all kinds of useful things, that the Romans wrote in Latin, that they
0:14:31 > 0:14:36celebrated birthday parties and that the woman who wrote it was obviously
0:14:36 > 0:14:39rich enough to be educated, in that she could read and write.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41And it's really fantastic,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44cos most of this has been written by a kind of official scribe,
0:14:44 > 0:14:47and then you've got her actual handwriting here in the corner.
0:14:47 > 0:14:52And this is the oldest handwriting of a woman from anywhere
0:14:52 > 0:14:54in the Western world.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58After the Romans took control of Britain,
0:14:58 > 0:15:00with the exception of a few religious roles,
0:15:00 > 0:15:04a woman's job was pretty much to run the household.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09Of course, if you were rich, you had slaves to help you clean,
0:15:09 > 0:15:13look after your children and prepare and serve food.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15Before the Roman invasion, the locals mainly ate
0:15:15 > 0:15:21a kind of porridge with either vegetables or nuts or berries.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23But the Romans introduced all kinds of different foods that,
0:15:23 > 0:15:27funny enough, we now think of as being typically British,
0:15:27 > 0:15:33things like lettuce and cabbage and apples and even peas.
0:15:33 > 0:15:38Now, when they had a banquet, they really let rip.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42Then they'd eat roasted swans, pig udders,
0:15:42 > 0:15:45dormice sprinkled with honey or poppy seeds.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49They also used to eat a really disgusting kind of fermented
0:15:49 > 0:15:52fish sauce - there's actually some in here.
0:15:52 > 0:15:56Ooh! Even the smell makes me want to gag.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00And if you did feel a bit queasy or if you had tummy trouble,
0:16:00 > 0:16:04then the Romans recommended pickled cabbage.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06Urgh!
0:16:07 > 0:16:10As well as eating new foods, women in Britain, at this time,
0:16:10 > 0:16:13began to wear the latest trends that the Romans had introduced to
0:16:13 > 0:16:15this country.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19We know this from looking at statues, mosaics and paintings,
0:16:19 > 0:16:22but we can also get clues from artefacts that have been
0:16:22 > 0:16:24excavated, like this shoe.
0:16:24 > 0:16:29This is such a beautiful little piece. How old is this?
0:16:29 > 0:16:34This shoe is, actually, almost 2,000 years old.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36It's a wonderful, wonderful piece.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40It's a lady's slipper, probably used indoors, erm,
0:16:40 > 0:16:45and here and here, you can just make out the stamps of the maker.
0:16:45 > 0:16:46Amazing. So it's like a branding...
0:16:46 > 0:16:49- It is.- ..like we'd have on a trainer today.- It is.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53But this is the kind of very high fashion, sort of, piece.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55It would have been very expensive.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58But the interesting thing is you can see, just here, it's broke,
0:16:58 > 0:17:00just in between the toe
0:17:00 > 0:17:04and so, she had enough money that she just threw it away.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07Most of our shoes show evidence of repair,
0:17:07 > 0:17:10so not everyone had the money that she did.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14This is an example of one of our finger rings.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17It's made of silver, and we do have a few silver rings
0:17:17 > 0:17:20and a few gold rings, but not very many.
0:17:20 > 0:17:25This one has been inscribed with "Matri, Patri" - mum and dad.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28Ah! And that's somebody who's missing their mum and dad, is it?
0:17:28 > 0:17:31Yes, yes. Well, that's what we can interpret from it.
0:17:31 > 0:17:33It really makes you feel close to them,
0:17:33 > 0:17:35to those people who lived all that time ago.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37When you start to look at their stuff, you start to feel that
0:17:37 > 0:17:40you, you begin to know them.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42Archaeological discoveries also reveal
0:17:42 > 0:17:45the kind of hairstyles some women had.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50This stone carving is the head of a woman from Roman Britain and,
0:17:50 > 0:17:55because it was made close on 2,000 years ago, it's got very worn.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59So, her nose has been chipped off and her chin's gone a bit peculiar.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03But just come and have a look round here.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06This is just brilliant because you get a fantastic idea of what
0:18:06 > 0:18:09her hairstyle would have been like.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13She's got this great mass of curls up here and then the rest
0:18:13 > 0:18:18of her hair has been wound round in a really elaborate kind of a bun.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21I know it does look a bit odd but, believe it or not,
0:18:21 > 0:18:24this was the height of fashion back then.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31Women have often been written out of history because, generally,
0:18:31 > 0:18:35they didn't do the big stuff, like run countries or start wars,
0:18:35 > 0:18:38but the brilliant thing about the discoveries here,
0:18:38 > 0:18:42at Vindolanda, is that you do feel really close to them.
0:18:42 > 0:18:46And thanks to those lovely letters from women like Claudia,
0:18:46 > 0:18:51here, women have written themselves back into history itself.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01"To the spirits of the departed.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05"Mercatila, foster daughter of Magnus,
0:19:05 > 0:19:07"who lived for one year,
0:19:07 > 0:19:10"six months and 12 days."
0:19:11 > 0:19:16Those words were written down almost 2,000 years ago on this Roman
0:19:16 > 0:19:20tombstone and they celebrate the life of a little girl who was
0:19:20 > 0:19:23called Mercatila. This is just the beginning of her name here,
0:19:23 > 0:19:28"Merc", who died before she was two years old.
0:19:28 > 0:19:33Lots of children died back in Roman times of disease or accident,
0:19:33 > 0:19:36or just because they didn't have enough to eat.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39Life was pretty tough then.
0:19:39 > 0:19:44Discipline for children was very firm in Roman times
0:19:44 > 0:19:46as it was thought to make them strong, to improve
0:19:46 > 0:19:51their character and, for boys, to prepare them for life in the Army.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55Before the Roman invasion, most British children had
0:19:55 > 0:19:58learnt about their histories and their tribal customs through
0:19:58 > 0:20:04stories and songs shared with their families around a fire at night.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08But once the Romans were here then, for the posh kids at any rate,
0:20:08 > 0:20:10you had to learn to read and write.
0:20:10 > 0:20:15And what they were learning to read and write was, of course, Latin.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21This is a wax tablet and it's what school children in Roman Britain
0:20:21 > 0:20:24would have used when they were learning to read and write.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26Erm, it's really cleverly designed,
0:20:26 > 0:20:30cos it's basically just two bits of wax put on top of some wood,
0:20:30 > 0:20:33and they're joined together with a bit of string or leather here.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36Erm, and this doesn't look like it, but this is a Roman-style pen -
0:20:36 > 0:20:38it's just a bit of pointy metal.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41And the very clever thing is that you could write down your word,
0:20:41 > 0:20:45and I'm going to write a word, "Londinium", which is
0:20:45 > 0:20:47what the Romans called London.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50But, if you made a mistake,
0:20:50 > 0:20:53then you could rub it out with this flat end of the pen.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57So, I'm writing Londinium
0:20:57 > 0:21:01and it will look like I've made a mistake at the end,
0:21:01 > 0:21:03because when they were writing capitals,
0:21:03 > 0:21:07the Romans didn't use a U, like we use, they used a V instead.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11So, it looks like I've written Londinivm, but I haven't.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15I've actually written the Roman name for London - Londinium.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21Some girls were educated, but it was mainly the boys.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25And if you were poor or a slave, then it was very,
0:21:25 > 0:21:30very unlikely that you'd get the chance to be taught at all.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32Those children privileged enough to receive an education
0:21:32 > 0:21:38learnt reading, writing and maths, as well as other subjects,
0:21:38 > 0:21:41such as how to speak in front of an audience, which would
0:21:41 > 0:21:44prepare them for important jobs, like being in the Roman Army.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50Children didn't spend all their time studying, they did have fun too.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52They had plenty of games, like knuckle bones,
0:21:52 > 0:21:55played using the knuckle or ankle bones of a sheep.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58These were thrown up and caught on the back of the hand.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01Points were given to the side of the bone that landed upwards
0:22:01 > 0:22:04and whoever got the highest score was the winner.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07Roman children also played with toys and there have been
0:22:07 > 0:22:11some incredible discoveries at Roman sites, like Vindolanda.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16Have any toys actually survived in Vindolanda?
0:22:16 > 0:22:18We have two examples of toys.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22This one is a Roman toy, gladius,
0:22:22 > 0:22:24or a sword.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27It's made of wood and, you can see, it's quite thin.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30Er, and it's very, very light
0:22:30 > 0:22:34and would have been quite fun for the child to use.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38And this one here is a toy dagger.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41And would these just be a toy, or would they be ways that
0:22:41 > 0:22:44children would be starting to learn about fighting properly?
0:22:44 > 0:22:46Most...most children in the ancient world would grow up
0:22:46 > 0:22:48and do what their parents did.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52And by handing a child, especially a boy child, a toy sword,
0:22:52 > 0:22:56they were learning the basics about how to use a sword.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00And is that another? Is that a little child's shoe, is it, there?
0:23:00 > 0:23:01I love these.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04These are children's shoes and, as you look at it,
0:23:04 > 0:23:07- it almost fits in my palm. Would you like to hold it?- I'd love to.
0:23:07 > 0:23:08SHE GASPS
0:23:08 > 0:23:13This child's shoe has fallen apart and now all that's left is the sole.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16It would have looked a bit more like this before it broke.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18It's only about the size of a hand,
0:23:18 > 0:23:22probably more than likely a toddler's shoe.
0:23:22 > 0:23:27It's so amazing to think that this was first worn by a child
0:23:27 > 0:23:32close on 2,000 years ago and yet I can hold it in my hand today.
0:23:33 > 0:23:38It might just be a little shoe, but it's also a traveller in time.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49"Docilianus, son of Brucerus,
0:23:49 > 0:23:55"to the most holy Goddess, Sulis, I curse him who stole my hooded cloak.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58"Whether he be man or woman, slave or free.
0:23:59 > 0:24:04"Goddess Sulis, inflict death and not allow him sleep, now or in the
0:24:04 > 0:24:08"future, until he brings my hooded cloak back to the Temple of Sulis."
0:24:10 > 0:24:14Those bloodcurdling words were scratched out onto a thin
0:24:14 > 0:24:19sheet of metal and tossed into the water here close on 2,000
0:24:19 > 0:24:22years ago, when most of Britain was part of the big Roman Empire.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28I'm in a city called Bath and it's named after these Roman Baths,
0:24:28 > 0:24:32where ancient people used to come to get fit and to get clean,
0:24:32 > 0:24:36to meet friends - a bit like a modern-day leisure centre.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39So why then, was somebody writing such horrible words onto a
0:24:39 > 0:24:44curse tablet and throwing it into that water?
0:24:44 > 0:24:47The Romans believed the naturally warm water that bubbles
0:24:47 > 0:24:51up from the ground had special magical powers.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55The Romans called this place "Aquae Sulis" and they named it
0:24:55 > 0:24:59after the Goddess Sulis, who was an ancient goddess from Britain.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03She was thought to be terribly powerful and, in a way,
0:25:03 > 0:25:06her power was thought to actually live in these waters themselves.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09And that's what explains these curse tablets.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11So, if somebody was really cross about something,
0:25:11 > 0:25:14what they'd do is they'd get one of these bits of metal,
0:25:14 > 0:25:16scratch out a message to Sulis,
0:25:16 > 0:25:21then fold it all up into a kind of package and throw it into the water.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25'And this is that actual curse, scratched out by one very
0:25:25 > 0:25:29'angry person nearly 2,000 years ago.'
0:25:29 > 0:25:31The man who wrote this one had obviously come here and had a
0:25:31 > 0:25:35lovely afternoon. He'd met friends, he'd gone to the baths and then
0:25:35 > 0:25:39he'd got out and got himself dry, and somebody had stolen his cloak.
0:25:39 > 0:25:44It was probably the only one he had and it was freezing outside.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47And he was in such a rage that he thought the only creature who
0:25:47 > 0:25:52could help him get it back was the Goddess Sulis herself.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54This was a job for her.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59And this is what they thought she looked like.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02She's pretty impressive, isn't she?
0:26:02 > 0:26:07This head is made of bronze and it's been covered in pure gold leaf.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10Originally, there'd have been a body too and the whole
0:26:10 > 0:26:14statue would be housed in a special religious building called a temple.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16And people would travel for miles
0:26:16 > 0:26:20and miles just to pay their respects to her.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24As well as taking revenge against people who'd been wicked,
0:26:24 > 0:26:29Romans believed that the Goddess Sulis could cure them of illness.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33The Romans came here to be cured of all kinds of things - from skin
0:26:33 > 0:26:38diseases to just feeling troubled about life, and even constipation.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42In return for Sulis' help, people threw gifts,
0:26:42 > 0:26:45known as offerings, into the baths.
0:26:45 > 0:26:50Over 12,000 of these Roman coins were found in the water.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53And now, the brilliant thing about these coins is that,
0:26:53 > 0:26:56when they were made, they had the face of the emperor who
0:26:56 > 0:27:01was in charge put on one side, so we know exactly how old they were.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05This one's got the face of the Emperor Hadrian on it, and you might
0:27:05 > 0:27:10have heard of him because he's the man who built Hadrian's Wall.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13Aquae Sulis was particularly important to Roman Britons,
0:27:13 > 0:27:17but public baths like this were a popular part of everyday life
0:27:17 > 0:27:19all across the Roman Empire.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23Although, in some ways, these places were a bit like a modern-day
0:27:23 > 0:27:25gymnasium or a leisure centre,
0:27:25 > 0:27:27they used very different kinds
0:27:27 > 0:27:29of equipment, didn't they?
0:27:29 > 0:27:31Well, they did and erm, well,
0:27:31 > 0:27:33this is certainly a very strange object, isn't it?
0:27:33 > 0:27:35Er, it's something called a "strigil",
0:27:35 > 0:27:39but it would be something that people used to clean themselves.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41The way this would work is that, first of all,
0:27:41 > 0:27:43- someone would pour oil over you. - Yep.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45- OK, thank you.- That's all right.
0:27:45 > 0:27:51And you would then scrape down, like that, to remove the oil
0:27:51 > 0:27:55but, in so doing, it would also remove all the dirt,
0:27:55 > 0:27:58all the gunk, all the nastiness, all the dead skin.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01That would all go, and slosh, away it would go.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03And so, once you'd scraped yourself down would,
0:28:03 > 0:28:05would you then end up in the water?
0:28:05 > 0:28:08You would. At that point, you would go into the water,
0:28:08 > 0:28:10you would rinse it all off.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12And so, if lots of people were doing that,
0:28:12 > 0:28:15you could end up with some pretty gunky water.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17It must have been disgusting.
0:28:19 > 0:28:21For people lucky enough to come here,
0:28:21 > 0:28:27close on 2,000 years ago, Aquae Sulis was somewhere super special.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30This was a place you came to get fit and clean,
0:28:30 > 0:28:34to meet your friends, or to curse your enemies.
0:28:34 > 0:28:37It was also somewhere you came to worship a great goddess,
0:28:37 > 0:28:42for whom you had huge amounts of respect.
0:28:42 > 0:28:44So, Aquae Sulis was somewhere you came to look after
0:28:44 > 0:28:48both your body and your soul.
0:29:12 > 0:29:15Subtitles By Red Bee Media Ltd