Ancient Rome: April 2015

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Internet Source: Roman Roads

Roman Roads

The Romans were famous for their roads. Some Roman roads exist to this day, nearly 2000 years after they were made. Roman roads were superbly made. Why did the Romans put so much effort into building roads?

Rome made a great deal of money from trade in Europe. Some of this trade involved transport by sea. More frequently, the Romans used roads. Also with so much of Western Europe conquered by the Romans, the Romans needed roads to move their troops around quickly. Poorly built roads would not help this.

When the Romans arrived in England, they found no roads to use. Instead they had to make do with tracks used by the Britons. It was not unusual for these tracks to be in very poor condition as they were usually on high ground and open to all types of weather.

A good road system also made it easier for the emperors to control their empire as messages and orders could be sent quickly.

Roman roads were famed for being straight and well made. However, the Romans usually built roads around a natural obstacle rather than go through it.

The Romans did not have a compass or maps to help them build roads. How did they manage it? Surveyors used a tool called a groma.

This was an instrument that had two pieces of wood nailed together so that they formed a square cross with right-angles in all the corners. Each piece of wood had lead weights attached to the ends. When one lead weight from the same piece of wood lined up with the one in front of it, the surveyor knew that he had a straight line.

Once the surveyor was convinced that he had mapped out a straight line, wooden posts were dug into the ground to mark out the straight line. The road was built along this line. Ditches were dug either side of the road to allow for drainage. Roman roads tended to be built higher than the level of earth around them – this, again, helped drainage.

The bulk of the actual building was done by Roman soldiers. By doing this, the Romans could rely on the gained expertise of the soldiers. The authorities could also rely on the fact that the soldiers would do the best they could for Rome – by building excellent roads.

Roman roads were well used throughout the empire. However, many of those who used them had to walk - including merchants - as chariots and horses were expensive. A wealthy merchant could afford a wagon pulled by horses. The roads were built so that two of these wagons could pass on both sides of the roads.

When the Romans left Britain, the Britons did not use their roads. Not only roads were not used, but villas, baths and other buildings were shunned by the Britons because of their association with the Romans. Also the Britons did not know how to keep the roads in good repair as they had not been used by the Romans when the roads were built.

Regardless of this, Roman roads were so well made that they lasted for centuries.

The main roads went from London to York (via Lincoln), London to Wroxeter, London to Dover and Exeter to York via Bath, Cirencester and Lincoln.

Source: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/roman_roads.htm

Internet Source: Roman Army

The Roman Army

The Roman Army was extremely important in explaining the success of the Romans and the expansion of the Roman Empire. The Roman Army, at the peak of its power, conquered what we now call England/Wales, Spain, France, most of Germany, the northern coast of Africa, the Middle East and Greece.

The Roman Army is recognised by historians as an extremely effective fighting machine. Ironically, its success also led to its downfall. The lowest level of soldier in the Roman Army was the legionnaire. Between 5000 and 6000 legionaries made up a legion that was commanded by a legatus. Legionnaires were trained to fight in a disciplined and co-ordinated manner. A whole legion could be punished for failing to fight well in battle - even if the Romans did win the battle itself! Training was brutal and tough but it paid huge dividends for the Romans.

A legionnaire went into battle equipped with three main weapons.Along with these weapons, the legionnaire carried a curved shield called a scutum. This gave the Roman soldier a great deal of protection as it curved around his body. It was also used by the Romans when they used what was known as a tortoise formation to move forward to a target that was well defended. A 'tortoise' was when the soldiers lifted the scutums flat above their heads so that they effectively interlocked and protected them from any missiles thrown at them from on high.

Source: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/roman_army.htm

Critical Thinking: My Personal Thoughts on Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome

I think that the most interesting and impressive thing that Rome did was build the aqueducts. It was such a great idea that they had and made Rome able to supply running water to all of its residents. It's so simple, gravity! They used gravity to get water from the mountains into their city. It changed the lives of all of the Romans because it gave them fresh, clean, and running water. They used arches to support it so they could use less building materials while still providing a strong structure for the water. They were just so smart and it was fascinating to learn about them!

Another very impressive thing was the Colosseum. Although it was used for bloody battles, it was an incredible structure. It is beautiful to look at and was fascinating to study. Learning about the trap doors was very cool, I had never heard about that before. They had trap doors under the arena where they would release animals or gladiators for a surprise attack on whoever was fighting in the arena. Sounds pretty mean, but it had to be interesting for the audience, especially since they were there to see blood. Not really my kind of show.

I took a trip to Rome in 2011 and it was very cool to study places (still standing) that I visited during my trip. Some places we went I didn't even realize were famous until I learned about them in class (I'm out of it!) Learning about Rome and their culture was a lot more interesting that I thought it would be. I thought it would all be things that I had heard or seen before, but I actually learned a ton! Studying about there Emperors was very educational, I had heard of many of them before, but I learned a lot about each one so that was pretty cool.

The Pantheon is definitely the coolest building we learned about. The fact that they were even able to build it and have it still standing is unbelievable. It's seriously amazing that they were able to build it the way that they did, I cannot even describe how impressive it really is! They invented a whole new way to make a building and they made it in a way that it stood the test of time. Very very cool building!

As usual, I am just very impressed with the Romans and their incredible work ethic. Today, people don't seem to work nearly as hard as they did or try to build impossible buildings either. I think that if we took more risks like the Romans did, we would have some pretty impressive buildings in the United States. They were fearless and weren't afraid to fail. I really enjoyed learning about their culture.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Ancient Rome Internet Sources

Some Great Internet Sources I found about Ancient Rome:

http://www.crystalinks.com/rome.html

http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/ancient-rome

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/romans/ (for kids)

http://www.ducksters.com/history/ancient_rome.php (for kids)

http://www.ushistory.org/civ/6.asp

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/questions_01.shtml

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/02/02/stoic-2

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/03/a-brief-history-of-applause-the-big-data-of-the-ancient-world/274014/

http://www.roman-empire.net/children/history.html (History)

http://ancient-rome.com/art_f.htm (Art)

Condensed Information: Ancient Rome

Aqueducts: An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose. In a more restricted use, aqueduct (occasionally water bridge) applies to any bridge or viaduct that transports water - instead of a path, road or railway - across a gap. Large navigable aqueducts are used as transport links for boats or ships. Aqueducts must span a crossing at the same level as the watercourses on each end. The word is derived from the Latin aqua ("water") and ducere ("to lead").

Arches: Triumphal arches are one of the most influential and distinctive types of architecture associated with ancient Rome. Thought to have been invented by the Romans, the triumphal arch was used to commemorate victorious generals or significant public events such as the founding of new colonies, the construction of a road or bridge, the death of a member of the imperial family or the accession of a new emperor.

Amphitheater: The name amphitheatre (alternatively amphitheater) refers to a level, open space surrounded by an oval area that gradually ascends. The area may be a man-made structure or a natural geographic formation, but it is suited for seating people on the sloping area for the viewing of spectator sports, games, concerts, displays, rallies, or theatrical performances. Today we might call it a theater-in-the-round. An amphitheatre can be classified as either an ancient amphitheatre, a contemporary amphitheatre, or a natural amphitheatre, being particularly associated with ancient Rome and ancient Greece. Amphitheatres were used for various types of public events.

Art: The earliest Roman art is generally associated with the overthrow of the Etruscan kings and the establishment of the Republic in 509 BC. Roman art is traditionally divided into two main periods, art of the Republic and art of the Roman Empire (from 27 BC on), with subdivisions corresponding to the major emperors or imperial dynasties.Roman art includes architecture, painting, sculpture and mosaic work. Luxury objects in metal-work, gem engraving, ivory carvings, and glass, are sometimes considered in modern terms to be minor forms of Roman art, although this would not necessarily have been the case for contemporaries.

Colosseum: The Colosseum or Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre (Latin: Amphitheatrum Flavium, Italian Anfiteatro Flavio or Colosseo), is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. It is one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and engineering. Occupying a site just east of the Roman Forum, its construction started between 70 and 72 AD under the emperor Vespasian and was completed in 80 AD under Titus, with further modifications being made during Domitian's reign (81Ð96). The name "Amphitheatrum Flavium" derives from both Vespasian's and Titus's family name (Flavius, from the gens Flavia).

Etruscans: Etruscan culture developed in northern and central Italy after ca 800 BC without a serious break out of the preceding Villanovan culture. The Villanovan culture, the earliest Iron Age culture of central and northern Italy, gave way in the 7th century to an increasingly orientalizing culture that was influenced by Greek traders and Greek neighbors in Magna Graecia, the Hellenic civilization of southern Italy. The Etruscan civilization flourished in Etruria and the Po valley in the northern part of what is now Italy, prior to the arrival of Gauls in the Po valley and the formation of the Roman Republic.

Hadrian's Wall: Hadrian's Wall is a stone and turf fortification built by the Roman Empire across the width of modern-day England. It was the second of three such fortifications built across Great Britain, the first being Gask Ridge and the last the Antonine Wall. All three were built to prevent military raids by the Pictish tribes (ancient inhabitants of Scotland) to the north, to improve economic stability and provide peaceful conditions in the Roman province of Britannia to the south, and to mark physically the frontier of the Empire. Hadrian's Wall is the best known of the three because its physical presence remains most evident today. The wall marked the northern limes in Britain and also the most heavily fortified border in the Empire. In addition to its use as a military fortification, it is thought that the gates through the wall would also have served as customs posts to allow trade taxation.

Pantheon: The Pantheon is a building in Rome which was originally built as a temple to the seven deities of the seven planets in the Roman state religion, but which has been a Christian church since the 7th century. It is the best-preserved of all Roman buildings and the oldest important building in the world with its original roof intact. It has been in continuous use throughout its history.

Trajan's Column: A continuous frieze winds up around the tower from base to capital. The relief portrays Trajan's two victorious military campaigns against the Dacians; the lower half illustrating the first (101-102), and the top half illustrating the second (105-106). The two sections are separated by a personification of Victory writing on a shield flanked on either side by Trophies. Otherwise, the scenes on the frieze unfold continuously and in tipped-up perspective. The imagery is not realistic as the sculptor pays little attention to perspective. Often a variety of different perspectives are used in the same scene, so that more can be revealed (e.g., a different angle is used to show men working behind a wall).

Source: http://www.crystalinks.com/rome.html