Students in Flamingo Class have been busy researching aspects of Ancient Roman life this week, in preparation for a great debate!
Together they have discovered some incredible things about some of the inventions, buildings, ideas and beliefs that made the Roman Empire so influential in World history!
Read on and decide which of these facts you think is most incredible?
- The Romans built over 9,000 kilometres of roads around Europe to connect their empire. This improved trade, communication and the strength of the military!
- Romans enjoyed fresh water that was delivered by 11 huge aqueducts. The largest of these was 70 meters tall! Before aqueducts, Romans drank from the polluted River Tiber and sickness was very common. After the aqueducts were destroyed, during the invasion of Rome in 537AD, the population of the city fell by 90% due to the lack of clean water.
- The Roman military was made up of over 1 million soldiers. However, the job of the military wasn’t only to fight in wars! Roman soldiers acted as police within their communities and built the huge road system throughout the empire. Many Roman soldiers stayed in their communities when they retired, showing us that they were not always disliked or feared!
- Roman architecture is still world famous, nearly 2000 years after the most famous buildings were built. At the grand old age of 1933 years old, the Colosseum is still one of the most visited buildings on the planet! Roman architects combined the Greek use of columns with their own invention of arches and domes. This combination is still used today – the White House in Washington DC was built in the Roman style!
