The Romans in Worcester a Town and Its Hinterland Education Pack

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The Romans in Worcester A Town and its Hinterland Education Pack

Education Pack

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The Romans in Worcester resource is intended to align with the national curriculum in England, with the focus on Worcester and its hinterland bringing the wider understanding of Roman Britain closer to home. The resource book provides information for teachers of Key Stage 2 learners, along with accompanying PowerPoint presentations, suggested activities and other resources. There is an accompanying loan box incorporating replica items as well as archaeological finds from the Mab’s Orchard excavation at Warndon, Worcester. The book is laid out with information for teachers shown alongside the relevant PowerPoint slides, to help you explore a variety of themes with your learners. At the start of each chapter and before each activity, we provide a listing of relevant points in the Key Stage 2 programme of study. The understanding of historical concepts, such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity and difference, is a key aim within the national curriculum for history, while the Roman Empire and its impact on Britain (including ‘Romanisation’ of Britain: sites such as Caerwent and the impact of technology, culture and beliefs, including early Christianity) is a required part of the Key Stage 2 curriculum. Therefore we have highlighted key changes and new introductions that took place in the Roman period by marking the text in bold. We hope that you will find this a useful and inspiring resource for bringing archaeology and the Romans into your classroom. There were glaciers in the Scottish Timeline of Archaeological Highlands until around 10,000 years ago Periods in England Last Ice Age

Palaeolithic 500,000 BC Hunting and gathering se of flint tools

Spear point

People being to move from hunting 10,000 BC esolithic and gathering towards food production i.e. farming Antler harpoon

Neolithic 4000 BC Farming economy onumental constructions egalithic e.g. Stonehenge architecture

Devlopment of 2600 BC Bronze Age metalworking technologies Bronze leaf-shaped ncreasing use of bronze spearhead

800 BC ronworking technologies ron Age PREHSTR onumental architecture Engraved mirror e.g. hillforts, oppida

Amphora Prehistory ends with the arrival of the AD 43 Roman Romans in AD 43

Early edieval AD 410 Anglo-Saxons 5th-11th centuries AD

Sutton Hoo Helmet Vikings 8th-11th centuries AD

Decorated bone comb The Norman nvasion (AD 1066 AD 1066 edieval marks the beginning of the Face jug edieval period

Post-edieval AD 1540 The edieval period ends with the HSTR dissolution of the monasteries in AD 1540

1485-1603 Tudor 1558-1604 Elizabethan

Tudor crown 1603-1714 Stuart 1603-1625 Jacobean 1714-1837 Hanoverian 1714-1830 Georgian odern AD 1901 1837-101Victorian PPT 1: Life Before Vertis Key Stage 2 Curriculum Links History: changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age Geography: human geography: types of settlement and land use, economic activity including trade links, and the distribution of natural resources including energy, food, minerals and water Slide 2: reconstruction image of Iron Age village The Iron Age (c. 800 BC to AD 43) is so called because of the adoption of iron working technologies. Iron was more complex to make than its precursor, bronze, but the finished result was more durable. Other metals such as gold and silver were also used at this time, and bronze was still widely used for the manufacture of weapons and tools. Settlement was usually more dispersed in the preceding Bronze Age. In the Iron Age, we begin to see more evidence of communal living. Ramparts and ditches were used to create enclosures on slopes, summits and promontories. Iron Age homes were round in plan. These roundhouses were made from a combination of materials including wood, stone and turf, with low walls and conical thatched roofs. Roundhouses vary in size but each one was probably home to an extended family group. Iron Age people were predominantly farmers, growing crops and rearing animals, but hunting, fishing and gathering played a small part in their economy too. Crops Wild Resources • Emmer wheat • Honey • Barley • Deer • Spelt • Nuts • Oats • Berries (e.g. raspberries, blackberries) • Celtic beans • Crabapples Animals • Fish • Sheep/goats • Cattle • Pigs • Horses

Slide 3: mapping Iron Age tribes in Britain Iron Age Britain was home to tribal peoples: much of what we now know as Worcestershire was occupied by the Dobunni while the Cornovii inhabited the northern part, and the south- western portion was home to the Silures. We can trace the territories of these peoples through coin evidence: there were eight coin-issuing tribes, one of which was the Dobunni. Each tribe 1 had a distinctive material culture – their own styles of pottery or personal ornaments, for example – which helps us to understand where their territories lay. Tribes were led by a chief, and society is generally believed to have been patriarchal. However, there are examples of female leaders including Queen Cartimandua of the Brigantes, and Boudica of the Iceni, the latter famous for having led an uprising against the Romans in around AD 60. Slide 4: beautiful objects, skilled craftspeople The material culture of the Iron Age includes some beautiful objects made by highly skilled craftspeople. Elaborately decorated jewellery is among the most impressive Iron Age metalwork. These rare and expensive high-status items would have belonged to the wealthiest members of society. The necklace shown is known as the Perdiswell Torc. It was discovered in Perdiswell, Worcester, in 1840 by workers who were digging for gravel. This one is made of copper alloy beads threaded onto an iron bar, but some are made of intricately twisted strands of gold. The Perdiswell Torc likely dates to the 2nd century AD, but torcs like this are characteristic of the Iron Age, and are rare but exciting finds. This style of torc is more commonly found in the north of England so it’s not clear how it came to be in Worcestershire – perhaps through trade links. 1 cow 1 sheep The comb was found by a metal detectorist in Warwickshire, who had no idea how old it was! It has intricate decoration including basketweave pattern with an ‘armadillo’ motif. It may have been for personal use but some people believe it was in fact intended for use on horses’ manes and tails. The five coins of theDobunni , discovered in the Droitwich area, date to around AD 20- AD 50. They feature a rearing horse, a motif which appears frequently on Iron Age coins. On the other side (not shown) is a tree/branch. It is clear that the Roman town of Vertis grew on a site that had previously been occupied: the Roman material overlies material relating to Iron Age occupation of the site, with Roman ramparts running along the same course (or, in fact, the same earthwork) as an earlier rampart, an Iron Age precursor. Some researchers have suggested that the number of coins found could suggest that this may have been an oppidum, an enclosed community a bit like a walled town. For much of the Slide 5: Activity | Trade & Exchange Key Stage 2 Curriculum Links Number – number and place value Number – addition and subtraction Number – multiplication and division For much of the Iron Age, trade was done using a bartering system rather than coinage. This activity enables your learners to explore ideas of trade and exchange. Photocopiable trading cards and instructions are found on the following two pages.

5 pots 1 bag of grain 2 1 cow 1 sheep

Iron Age, however, the economy was based on trade.

5 pots 1 bag of grain Tribal Trade & Exchange For much of the ron Age, trade was done using a bartering system rather than coinage. Wealth was measured in terms of resources - food, animals and other goods - rather than money.

1. Split into groups to represent different ron Age tribes. Give your tribe a name. 2. Trade with your neighbouring tribes, swapping resources. Remember that everyone needs to eat – try to avoid trading away all of your food! 3. At the end of each round, compare resources. Which community has the most food and which has the least? Which community would survive longest? s one team now wealthier than the others? The wealthiest tribe wins the game!

Round One ts been a good year theres been a plentiful harvest, and there are lots of cattle and sheep for meat and dairy products. Food is not scarce, so prices are fairly low. 1 cow 3 sheep OR 15 bags of grain OR 5 pots 1 sheep 3 bags of grain OR 15 pots 1 bag of grain 5 pots

Round Two There has been a bad harvest and the value of grain has gone up. Grain is now worth more than it was before, because there is less available. All communities need grain to make bread, so a shortage could cause problems. No-one wants to go hungry, so those without much grain simply have to pay the new, higher price! 1 cow 3 sheep OR 10 bags of grain OR 5 pots 1 sheep 2 bags of grain OR 15 pots 1 bag of grain 10 pots

Round Three: aggle our Way to Wealth! Haggling is bargaining or making a deal. Decide what you think your goods are worth and trade with your classmates. Do you need food more than pots? Would your community prefer to eat beef or lamb/mutton? How much do you need or want grain? Write the goods’ values (below) up on the board. Photocopy lots of trading cards and the instructions (previous pages), and distribute them among your learners, split into teams or tribes. Every tribe should have at least one food item i.e. sheep, cow or grain. Take a note of which items each tribe has at the beginning. Round One: over a defined period – perhaps a ten minute window, or over break-time, or even during the course of a whole day – let your tribes trade their resources. Group together again and discuss how many resources each tribe has now. If everyone traded according to the values assigned above, no tribe should have ended up any richer or poorer than they were at the beginning, although some may have traded away their food (i.e. grain, animals and the milk they produce) and ended up with nothing but pots. Round Two: tell your learners that there has been a bad harvest and the value of grain has gone up; it is worth more because there is less available. Round One Round Two 1 cow = 3 sheep / 15 bags of grain / 75 pots 1 cow = 3 sheep / 10 bags of grain / 75 pots 1 sheep = 3 bags of grain / 15 pots 1 sheep = 2 bags of grain / 15 pots 1 bag of grain = 5 pots 1 bag of grain = 10 pots

Let your learners trade again. This time, those with plenty of grain should end up richer because their peers will need to give more in return for their grain. Anyone who has traded away all their grain in return for other items might find it harder to rid get hold of grain now that it is more valuable. Gather together again and note down who has what. Discuss the results. Did people who formed groups have greater trading power because they had more items to trade? Did anyone end up with no food items at the end? What would the consequences have been in real life? Round Three: depending on the age of your learners, you might like to add another round of trading, this time allowing them the freedom to haggle and set prices themselves. The balance will likely shift so that some enterprising individuals end up with many more resources than the others! Again, discuss the likely consequences of an imbalance of resources and what this might have meant for Iron Age communities.

Slide 6: Iron Age Britain through Roman Eyes Greek geographer, philosopher and historian Strabo wrote about Britain, “Most of the island is flat and overgrown with forests, although many of its districts are hilly. It bears grain, cattle, gold, silver, and iron. These things, accordingly, are exported from the island, as also hides, and slaves, and dogs” (Strabo’s Geography, written in the late first century BC). The Iron Age in Britain is generally considered to end in AD 43, with the Romans invading England through Colchester. This is also seen as the end of prehistory, which ends with the emergence of written documents and the rise of literacy. However, the date AD 43 is really no more than a line in the sand, a convenient marker for archaeologists and historians. Some parts of Britain were never even occupied by the Romans. Rather, the events of AD 43 mark one stage in a much longer process of parts of Britain becoming integrated into a wider European world. By the time of the Roman invasion, Rome already played an important part in the lives of the people of south-eastern Britain. Consumption of Roman goods was an indicator of power and status

5 among Britons, but this does not mean that all British leaders were keen on the idea of their lands being taken over by Rome. Those who resisted were subject to ruthless force, and many thousands of people were killed in the process. As the Romans pushed onwards, some leaders would have opted for negotiation rather than conflict, and several were permitted to maintain their power and status, albeit within certain constraints under Roman rule. It is thought that the Romans reached the West Midlands in around AD 47. This phase of their campaign (AD 43-AD 47) saw around 30 battles taking place, with the Romans taking control of the entire south-east of England, as far north as the Humber and as far west as modern-day Dorset and Somerset. Current research suggests that most Iron Age settlement sites in Worcester area had fallen out of use by around the early second century AD. Activity | Interpretation Stations Key Stage 2 Curriculum Links Reading: word reading Reading: comprehension Art and design: mastery of art and design techniques Slides 7-10: excerpts from classical texts, and drawing prompts Written texts help us understand life in the Roman period. Some of these, like the Vindolanda tablets, are largely fact-based and provide information on day-to-day matters. Others offer a version of events rather than necessarily being 100% accurate. For this reason, we can use some Roman sources to explore the concept of bias. Mediterranean classical texts frequently refer to Britons as barbarians and savages, but their descriptions were influenced by a desire to depict the peoples of Britain as backwards, in doing so confirming the Roman notion of their own superiority over those that they conquered. It was important for the people of the empire to believe that the lands beyond Roman reach were uncivilised; it was essentially propaganda rather than fact. Archaeological evidence disproves much of what was written about Iron Age Britons. • Read some excerpts from classical texts with your learners, to find out how the Romans described the Britons Islides 7 and 8). Discuss the images that these descriptions bring up. Your learners could draw what they think an Iron Age person might have looked like (slide 9). • Then you could look at photos of examples of Iron Age material culture (e.g. the British Museum’s ‘Celtic Life in Iron Age Britain’ gallery on Google Arts & Culture) which show that Iron Age people were far from the savages that the Roman writers would have their readers believe. Would your learners draw their Iron Age people differently, having seen additional evidence (slide 10)? Discuss how likely it is that the descriptions are accurate, why the writers might have written things like this, and what impact it might have had on the people of the empire and their idea of the lands beyond imperial control. There are lots of texts to choose from, and translations are freely available online, but the edited excerpts given in the PowerPoint presentation create vivid images, and are useful for illustrating bias. It is worth noting that neither writer ever travelled to Britain.

6 PPT 2: Digging Roman Worcester Key Stage 2 Curriculum Links History: the Roman Empire and its impact on Britain Slide 2: Commercial Archaeology Archaeologists study the evidence left behind by people in the past (not to be confused with palaeontologists, who study dinosaurs and fossils). In the UK, archaeologists are working to try to learn more about the period after the retreat of the last ice sheet, which occurred in England around 13,000 years ago. Most of the archaeological work conducted in the UK today falls under the banner of commercial archaeology, either as part of a planning application, or when permission has been granted. If a development is likely to affect archaeological remains, the council may require a desk-based assessment (DBA), or potentially a field evaluation. And if remains are found which cannot be preserved during the development, archaeological recording may be needed (usually a watching brief, sometimes detailed excavation). Most councils employ a planning archaeologist, who oversees these matters and decides what sort of work should be carried out in advance of, or as mitigation for, a development. Developers will employ a commercial archaeological unit to help them with this, and all the archaeological work in the planning system is at the developer’s expense. • For a desk-based assessment, an archaeologist will look at old maps, written records and aerial photographs to assess the likelihood of the development affecting any remains. The first point of call for any research is the local Historic Environment Record (HER). There are over 80 HERs in England, managed and maintained by local authorities. They hold - and make accessible - a wealth of information about heritage features and any work that might have been undertaken in the past. • Where the archaeological potential is high, and a desk-based assessment wouldn’t provide enough information, a field evaluation may be required. This usually consists of trial trenches, initially excavated by machine; the archaeologists will record and assess any remains found. Other techniques such as geophysical survey are also used. • If the DBA or evaluation reveals that the likelihood of encountering archaeological remains is quite high, the developer might have to employ an archaeologist to watch the ground- breaking works in case the remains are disturbed. This is called a watching brief. Should something be discovered during a watching brief, it will be excavated and the results recorded before any development can continue. • Council planning officers have to balance a lot of factors in making recommendations, and the benefits of a development may outweigh the preservation of archaeological remains. In such cases a full excavation programme may take place before the development starts. • Very occasionally, discoveries made during a development are so significant that the developer might be instructed to change their plans - alter the route of a road, for example - so that the remains can be preserved. However, to make changes like this while a development is being built is extremely expensive. Adequate assessment and evaluation help to avoid this happening. Some archaeological fieldwork takes place to try to prevent or minimise the loss of information 7 where archaeology cannot be preserved. For example, a site on the coast that is subject to erosion cannot necessarily be protected from the sea, but excavating it, recording what is found, publishing the results and learning as much as possible from the evidence will at least mean that we are able to learn about the site before it disappears. Other excavations take place purely for research purposes, such as community archaeology projects or excavations undertaken by universities. In these cases, the site is being excavated purely so that we can learn about people of the past. Slide 3: Finding Archaeology While excavations lead to many exciting discoveries, much archaeological work is non- invasive and is related to identifying and/or recording archaeological sites. One question that archaeologists are often asked is, “How do you know where to dig?” Often, archaeological sites have been known about for many years, even if they have never been excavated. HERs hold information on the many thousands of known archaeological sites across the UK. Since 1913, significant known archaeological sites have been protected through scheduling. Scheduled monuments cannot be altered, damaged, removed or repaired (or, indeed, excavated) without written permission from the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. There are around 20,000 scheduled monuments in England. However, new sites are being identified all the time. We can look to aerial photographs (traditionally taken from light aircraft, but drones can now be used for low-level photography), historical documents and old maps to find out more about archaeological and historical sites without doing any digging. We can also undertake geophysical survey, which is a bit like X-raying the ground to identify hidden features such as walls and ditches. Slide 4 & 5: Roman Vertis on modern maps Lots of excavations have been carried out in Worcester over the years, and there are still countless secrets hidden beneath the city’s streets: modern Worcester lies above the remains of many centuries of occupation. The current known footprint of the Roman town can be pieced together from the results of numerous excavations which have taken place all over the city; every new discovery adds another piece to the puzzle. The Roman town of Vertis appears to have been established on the site of an existing Iron Age settlement. The central, urban core was surrounded by a sprawling settlement with homes, farms and industrial areas, all set within irregular enclosures. The presence of Roman-style buildings is indicated by the discovery of products not used in Iron Age architecture: stone and clay roof tiles, bricks, flagstones, tesserae (mosaic tiles), window

8 glass, and pieces of carved stone blocks used in buildings. Beneath Britannia Square lie the remains of what seems to be a villa complex. We don’t know very much about the street system but two parallel Roman roads are believed to have run along the line of the current High Street and 170m to its west. Smaller streets ran between the two. We do know the location of some of the main roads, approaching Vertis, though (see map on accompany PowerPoint). Wooden water pipes at Sidbury are believed to represent an organised water supply system. Beyond the limits of Vertis are settlements dispersed throughout the landscape. The keyed items marked on the maps on slides 4 and 5 are only an indication of what is currently known, as evidenced by excavation. There is undoubedtly much more evidence out there, yet to be discovered! Slides 6-9: Community Dig at The Hive Site Community excavations before construction of The Hive in Worcester in 2008 uncovered lots of evidence about life in Roman Vertis. Drainage and boundary ditches, cobbled roads, yards and buildings provided information about occupation between the late 1st and mid 4th century AD, occupation was most intensive between the mid to late 2nd century and the early 4th century. At this time, Roman settlement at Worcester was at the height of its economic development, with industrial levels of ironworking activity taking place. Later, the site was occupied by an aisled building, the traces of which are shown in slides 8 and 9. The square holes represent the footings of the aisled building: areas of compacted gravel serving as platforms onto which large timber posts would have rested. The building was probably built entirely of timber and compacted earth, meaning that there were no standing remains (i.e. walls) left behind for the archaeologists to excavate. The building was around 22m long and 11m wide and probably had a utilitarian function - it was perhaps an agricultural building associated with a nearby villa site or suburban farm. A wide range of artefacts were discovered, including pottery – some of which was made locally, and some traded from further afield - as well as coins, brooches, hair pins, finger rings, beads, bracelets, hobnails, and even a pair of tweezers! The buildings uncovered at The Hive site represent the first complete Roman buildings excavated in Worcester, and in recognition of the site’s significance, a stone-built kiln was reconstructed within The Hive as part of the development.

9 Activity | Explore Online Resources Key Stage 2 Curriculum Links History: a local history study Slide 10: Explore! Carry out a desk-based assessment on a local site in your area, using information in the HER, online or in the library. Your learners could create booklets, posters or written reports about local landmarks or archaeological sites. There are many resources that you can use to find information, photos, maps and more. • Explore your local Historic Environment Records (HER). Worcester City Council and Worcestershire County Council each have their own HERs which can be accessed via the Heritage Gateway website, or in person. Worcester City HER, The Guildhall, High Street, Worcester WR1 2EY | HER Officer is Sheena Payne-Lunn, who can be reached on 01905 721133 or [email protected] Worcestershire HER | Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service, The Hive, Sawmill Walk, The Butts, Worcester WR1 3PD | HER assistant is Andie Webley, who can reached on 01905 845 618 or [email protected] • The Hive has a dedicated history floor which is home to Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service (above). They can also offer tours, talks, behind-the- scenes visits and school workshops, including workshops on Roman Worcestershire. They will also visit schools to demonstrate how their resources can be used to give children a better understanding of their own locality. Find more information on their website. • Historic England’s PastScape website offers access to over 420,000 records that are held in the National Record of the Historic Environment (NRHE). You’ll find information on archaeological, architectural and maritime sites. You could search for Roman sites in your local area. • Search old maps via the British Library and the National Library of Scotland’s websites, or on the Old Maps Online website. Why not look at development over time in a certain area: are there local landmarks or familiar buildings that don’t appear on older maps? Can you work out when they were built by looking at lots of maps, working from oldest to most recent? • Find old photos of your local area. Historic England has a searchable library of historic and modern photos. Can you find images of your local area in the past? Perhaps there are photos of the high street showing different shop fronts, or even completely different buildings. •Search for aerial photographs of your local area. Historic England has over 4 million aerial photos, of which 95,000 are available online through Britain from Above website. Can you find your house, your school, or a local landmark?

10 PPT 3: Country Life Key Stage 2 Curriculum Links History: the Roman Empire and its impact on Britain Geography: types of settlement and land use; economic activity including trade links Slides 2-4: Excavations at Mab’s Orchard This resource was created as part of a project exploring evidence for Roman occupation at Mab’s Orchard, Trotshill, Worcester. Although the site falls within the modern city of Worcester, it would have fallen outside the boundaries of Roman Vertis, and would have been a rural settlement. Excavations there in late 2017 explored a small Roman period rectilinear enclosure dating to the later 1st/2nd century, along with a further field ditch of possible later 2nd/3rd century date. Significant amounts of pottery were discovered, which suggests that there was probably a settlement nearby. Almost all of the pottery dates to the 1st or 2nd century, suggesting that the settlement was abandoned in the early to mid-second century. This is broadly in line with the settlement pattern suggested by the evidence from other sites in the area; many settlement areas that had been occupied during the later Iron Age and early Roman period were abandoned in the early to mid-second century, during a period of changing settlement patterns and re-ordering of the landscape. The dominant domestic architectural form of Iron Age Britain – the roundhouse – made way for rectilinear buildings in the Roman period. Timber construction was used for anything from large agricultural barns to modest homes, and cob or turf buildings are also known. Rural settlement was characterised in the Worcester area by a mixture of farmsteads, roadside settlements and villages, as well as villas for the very wealthy. Slide 5: Farmsteads Rural settlement in the Worcestershire region intensified in the early Roman period.The majority of rural settlement in the Roman period took the form of farmsteads, mostly comprising clusters of buildings enclosed within earthen embankments or masonry walling. Excavation shows that these enclosed settlements often replaced the open farmsteads of the later Iron Age, a settlement type which eventually fell out of use altogether. 11 Farmsteads were home to extended family groups supported by a farming economy. Some communities would have grown crops while others kept livestock (some, of course, relying on a combination of both). The wealth of pastoral communities would have been based on cattle ownership: the more cattle you owned, the richer you were. Slides 6 & 7: What’s for Dinner? Farmed Foodstuffs, and Hunting and Gathering Food in Roman Britain was mostly drawn from agriculture: cultivated cereals, meat from farmed livestock, and milk from dairy animals, which was made into butter and cheese. We can learn a lot about Roman diet from evidence collected during excavations. •Work in Worcester has shown that emmer wheat and spelt were cultivated, as well as barley and perhaps rye. These grains could be ground for flour to make bread, or made into porridge. •Animal bone evidence indicates that cattle, sheep, pig and goats were being eaten as well as domestic fowl and geese. •Salt was used to preserve foods such as meat and fish, and it was added to butter and cheese. It was also used to make things taste better, just as it is today. • Farmed foodstuffs were supplemented by wild resources such as hazelnuts, which were gathered from wild hazel trees, and crabapples. Deer were hunted for their meat, and fish and shellfish were caught or gathered. • The Romans also imported exotic ingredients: amphorae of fish sauce and olive oil, herbs and spices, wine, and other things that they felt were essential! During this period, we see lots of new types of food being introduced to Britain. As a result, people’s diets became more varied. Some of the foods brought to Britain by the Romans include apples, asparagus, carrot, pear, turnip, celery and grapes. Discuss with your learners what people might have eaten in Roman Britain. You can find out more about foods introduced by the Romans in a video on the BBC Bitesize website. Slide 8: Villas: Homes for the Wealthy Villas, though synonymous with the popular image of Rome, were home only to a very rich minority, so they represent only a very small proportion of the total of rural buildings. These large, masonry buildings varied widely in layout but featured luxurious furnishing and embellishments including plastered walls, tiled roofs, heated rooms, corridors and glazed windows. Many villas are thought to have been situated on large rural estates which would have generated great wealth for their owners. The most palatial of these villas (mostly dating to the fourth century AD) could feature up to 70 rooms and must have belonged to the highest

12 members of the ruling elite. Worcestershire is home to a wonderful example of a Roman villa: Bays Meadow, in use from the mid 2nd to the late 4th century AD. It most likely belonged to a whoever controlled salt production at nearby Salinae (Droitwich). The villa was built by specialist contractors who were brought to the area specifically to carry out the work, including plasterers and mosaicists, whose skills would not have been available locally. It was richly decorated in a manner that suggested that it was home to a family of great wealthy and authority; indeed, this villa is one of the most impressive examples known in the west of England. You will find a fictional account of life for a child living in a villa in Roman Britain on the BBC Teach YouTube channel, entitled ‘Life in Roman Britain | History - The Story of Britain’. However, it is worth noting that this gives a snapshot of life for a very wealthy family; most people in Roman Britain would not have lived in villas. The remains of at least four, perhaps five, mosaic floors were identified at Bays Meadow villa. The complexity of the designs and the materials used varies with each example, suggesting that the mosaics were created at different times by different craftspeople. You will find a complete reconstruction image of the fragment of mosaic shown on this slide on the Research Worcestershire blog, run by Museums Worcestershire; search for “Bays Meadow mosaic” using the box in the sidebar. Activity | Create Your Own Mosaics Key Stage 2 Curriculum Links: Art and design – mastery of art and design techniques Slide 9: Villas: Create your own Mosaics Why not make your own mosaics? There are lots of materials to choose from (kits for making 24 mosaic tile coasters are available online at around £30 each for stone tiles, or less for self- adhesive foam tiles), but little squares of coloured paper and glue is a more economical option. Take old magazines – interiors, outdoor pursuits or food magazines are image-heavy with lots of colour and texture – and cut little squares, sorting them by colour. Draw out a design and then use the paper ‘tiles’ to fill in the gaps. Depending on the age/ability of your learners, you could encourage them to use colour in different tones to try to create a 3D appearance.

This fragment of a mosaic floor as discovered at Bays Meadow villa, Droitwich. The remains of at least four, perhaps five, mosaic floors were discovered during excavations there in in 19th and early 20th centuries. © Museums Worcestershire

13 PPT 4: Everyday Life in Vertis Key Stage 2 Curriculum Links History: changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age Geography: human geography: types of settlement and land use, economic activity including trade links, and the distribution of natural resources including energy, food, minerals and water Slide 2: Town Life Although Vertis is often referred to as a small Roman town, it was spread over an area of perhaps 70-95 hectares (0.70-0.95km2), larger than the medieval city. Buildings would have had lined the streets – mostly relatively simple timber structures – and shops would have sold all manner of goods. The population of Vertis would have been made up of a mixture of Romans and Britons. However, not all of the people whom we might think of as Romans would have been Roman citizens; they would have come from all over the empire. It is estimated that the ratio of Britons to Romans may have been in the region of 20:1, but the Roman minority made up the ruling elite. Roman and Iron Age cultures mixed to create a complex and diverse society. The image shown depicts an imagined street scene in Roman Wroxeter (Viroconium), Shropshire. The adoption of Roman building styles and infrastructure in Vertis is clear from various archaeological discoveries made across the city. The presence of high-status buildings such as villas is an indication of the presence of wealthy individuals, and in Worcestershire, this wealth was linked to the exploitation of two key resources: iron and salt. Slides 3 & 4: Industries: Iron Roman Worcestershire was a centre for industrial activity, and iron was central to the economy of Vertis, in both smelting (the extraction of iron from natural, iron-rich ore) and primary smithing (the creation of iron bars). • Extraction of iron took place in a smelting furnace. The heat of the furnace allowed the iron to be separated from the ore. The waste produced during this process is known as slag, © Museums Worcestershire a hard material with a fused, melted and often bubbly appearance. • Shaping and working the iron into bars and objects by heating and hammering is called smithing. Evidence of smithing is found in the recovery of hammerscale, tiny flakes or globules of metal that fly off red/white hot metal when it is hammered by a blacksmith. Hammerscale is usually recovered through a careful sampling process and identified with 14 the use of a magnet, since it isn’t always easily visible to the naked eye. Evidence from excavations across Worcester indicate that ironworking was widespread across Vertis, being undertaken particularly intensively from the early second century AD. Worcester seems to have been a focus for the production of iron itself but not the creation of finished objects (i.e. smelting and primary smithing rather than secondary smithing). This resulted in the creation of vast amounts of slag, which was put to use building up land on the floodplain and the river bank, and also for street and yard surfaces; Vertis was quite literally paved with iron. Slide 5: Industries: Salt A little further afield, Roman Droitwich (Salinae) was a centre for the production of salt. Salt was very important to the Roman economy, and it was kept mostly under state control throughout the central empire. Salt was used for preserving foodstuffs and in cooking, and perhaps also in other activities like tanning and in the dyeing of textiles. Salt can be drawn from natural brine springs, as at Droitwich, or from sea water. Salt water was heated in a vessel over a fire to until it evaporated, leaving salt crystals behind. These crystals were then dried and packaged for transportation. Droitwich was one of the main centres for the production of salt, with Roman period activity apparently building on an existing Iron Age industry. The construction of Dodderhill Fort may have been related to the Romans taking over control of the salt industry, and it is suggested that Bays Meadow villa probably belonged to a wealthy salt magnate. Slide 6: Pottery One of the most visible impacts of Romanisation in Britain is in the material culture – the objects that people used on a day to day basis. The Romans brought with them distinct styles of artefacts unlike those previously in use in Britain. These new kinds of objects were adopted – and adapted – by Britons to create a unique Romano-British style. Pottery in Iron Age Britain was mostly quite coarse, unglazed, and hand-built. Decoration was scored or stamped into the surface or applied onto it with additional clay. Roman pottery was made on the wheel, and the styles were very varied: from finely decorated Samian ware and delicate fine wares, to massive amphorae for the transportation of wine and olive oil, and mortaria for grinding foodstuffs.

© Museums Worcestershire Samian ware is a highly decorated glazed pottery made from a very smooth, red clay. It was produced in Gaul and exported across the empire. These dishes were used as tableware, i.e. serving dishes, rather than cooking or storage vessels. Malvern was a significant centre for pottery production in the West Midlands from the Iron Age onwards. We know this from the types of ceramics that are recovered during excavations as well as from the identification of kiln sites in the Malvern Hills. Microscopic examination of pot sherds allows identification of tiny fragments of local rock which was ground up and added to the clay. The main vessel types

15 produced in the Malvern area were utilitarian jars, bowls and tankards. Severn Valley ware vessels are usually brown or orange in colour, and display both Iron Age and Roman influences. Slide 7: Glass Glass did exist in Iron Age Britain in the form of beads and bangles (at least some of which were made from recycled Roman glass objects obtained through trade), but the range and quantity of glass objects increased during the Roman period: glass was used for beads, vessels, bangles, as a substitute for gemstones in jewellery, and as decorative plaques on expensive furniture. The Roman period also saw the introduction of glass windows in buildings. Much Roman glass is slightly cloudy in appearance. Slide 8: Coins Coins are really useful to archaeologists, partly because they help us to date sites. Coins have words or images on them that tell us when they were made. Take a look at all the coins that your learners have with them. Who is depicted on them, and when were they made? Who has the oldest coin? Coins can stay in circulation for a really long time. When a coin is found on an archaeological site, we know that the evidence we are looking at must date to sometime after the date on the coin, but not necessarily the same year. This is known as terminus post quem, the date after which an event must have occurred. Large collections of coins known as hoards are found quite often, sometimes by archaeologists and sometimes by metal detectorists. Depositing large amounts of valuable items was not a specifically Roman introduction; in the iron Age, people deposited weapons and metalwork in watery places, perhaps as offerings. Some people believe that Roman coin hoards were more likely deposited for safe-keeping, with the depositor intending to go back and get them. However, some hoards such as the Frome hoard, have been interpreted as potentially ritual in nature. Slide 9: The Bredon Hill Hoard In 2011, a Severn ware vessel containing around 3700 coins dating to the mid to late 3rd century AD was discovered by metal detectorists near Evesham, Worcestershire. This exceptional discovery is known as the Bredon Hill hoard. Museums Worcestershire acquired the hoard in 2012 so it could stay in the county.

Key Stage 2 Curriculum Links Writing: composition Writing: vocabulary, grammar and punctuation Do some research on the Bredon hill hoard with your learners. There are lots of articles about its discovery online, and information about the coins on the Research Worcestershire blog. No-one knows for sure why it was deposited, by whom, or whether they had planned to go back and get it. Compose a story about the Bredon Hill coin hoard. Who buried the hoard? Why? Where did they get the money in the first place? Did they deposit all the coins at once or did they add to the hoard over time? Did they plan to come back for it? If so, why didn’t they ever collect their coins? Slide 10: Bathing and Hygiene The Romans were nothing if not fastidious about their personal hygiene! Bath houses were a new introduction in the Roman period. They provided space for washing, socialising, exercising and relaxing and are found in public, private and military settings across the empire. No bath houses have yet been identified in Worcester or in Droitwich, although there may have been one at Bay’s Meadow villa. There is a wide range of Roman period artefacts that are related to grooming. • The copper alloy and enamel brooch shown is known as a chatelaine (which translates from French as “housewife”) or toilet set. It includes three tools for grooming: tweezers, an ear scoop for removal of ear wax (scoop attachment missing from this example), and a nail cleaner. The ear scoop shown separately was discovered in Worcestershire. • Strigils were used for scraping sweat from the body in the bath house. • Vessels for creams and potions are found, sometimes with traces of the unguents remaining on the inner surfaces. Slide 11: Waste Not, Want Not The Romans also introduced latrines – public toilet blocks with running water which carried the waste away. The example shown is from a thermae (baths) in Tunisia. You can see that going to the toilet could be a rather sociable activity, since there were no individual cubicles! Evidence from excavations in York suggests that moss was used like toilet paper. Sometimes archaeologists excavate the remains of these latrines, and they provide lots of information. The waste itself can tell us about the diet thanks to seeds and other food remains that survive al the way through the digestive tract. Latrines also often contain a surprising array of artefacts – finger-rings, coins and so on – presumably dropped by those using the facilities, but unwilling to go rummaging for lost property! In 2014, the earliest known wooden toilet seat was discovered at Vindolanda Fort in Northumberland, on Hadrian’s Wall. If your learners aren’t too squeamish, you may like to try making and excavating some ancient poos 17 with them! There is a really fun activity available on an archived section of the BBC website: search ‘Poos from the Past’ for instructions on how to make and excavate a selection of archaeological poos from different time periods (Roman, Viking and Tudor), with each poo containing clues about historical diets. Slide 12: Finding Food in the Archaeological Record We find evidence of ancient diets in the archaeological record. The images here show burnt grains and a cow bone with knife marks – evidence of butchery. We can also examine the contents of Roman latrines, for a really detailed examination of ancient diets! We can also look to written texts to find out about diet in the Roman period. Apicius’ Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome is believed to have been written in the first century AD. Highlights include stuffed dormice, rose pie, asparagus custard, and a ragout of brains and bacon. You can access it online via the Project Gutenberg website, or Sally Grainger’s Cooking Apicius: Roman Recipes for Today offers updated recipes. The Vindolanda tablets offer a snapshot of military life in Roman Britain, including information on diet and dining. Translations of some of the tablets are available online. Activity | Recreate a Roman Menu Key Stage 2 Curriculum links History: the Roman Empire and its impact on Britain Science: animals, including humans (re. food) Slide 13: Recreate a Roman Menu! Do some research with your learners about the kinds of food that were available in Roman Britain. Consider particularly the ‘new’ foods that the Romans brought with them. From the foodstuffs available, draw up a menu and complete the menu card at the back of the booklet. Bear in mind that it is unlikely that people would have eaten three main meals a day, the way we do; this routine was at least partly influenced by the Industrial Revolution, which saw working hours become more regular. The Romans preferred to eat a light breakfast (ientaculum) then a large meal at midday or in the early afternoon (cena), and a light supper (vesperna). If you have the facilities, why not do some cooking with your learners? Three are lots of recipes available online.

18 PPT 5: The People of Roman Britain NB this section and its accompanying PowerPoint contain images of human remains. Teachers should assess whether they think this content is appropriate for their learners. Key Stage 2 Curriculum links History: the Roman Empire and its impact on Britain Science: animals, including humans (re. the skeleton including describing the changes as humans develop to old age) Slide 2: A Diverse Population The population of the Worcester area in the Roman period would have been a mixture of Britons, i.e. the Iron Age peoples who were living here before the Romans arrived, and people from all over the Roman empire and beyond. This means that the population would have been, to some extent, multi-cultural and ethnically diverse. While we know this from documentary evidence, we are also now beginning to see the results of this in scientific research, particularly in studies of cemetery populations to examine the likely geographical origins of the deceased. This can be tested through the analysis of chemical signatures in the teeth and bones (stable isotope analysis). One example that made the news is Beachy Head Lady, a sub-Saharan African female whose remains were excavated in the Eastbourne area. Slide 3: Tall Stories Archaeologists are often asked if people were shorter in the past than they are today. The answer is yes, but not a huge amount. We can find this out by measuring the thigh bone (femur), which represents about a quarter of a person’s height. • The average height for a man in England today is around 177cm. • Recent research shows that the average height for a man (aged 18-49) in England rose from 168cm in the Iron Age to 169cm in the Roman period. Less is known about the average height of women in the Roman period. • After the departure of the Romans, the average height started to decrease again and, in fact, people in Roman Britain were taller than those living in the 1800s. This is probably because, as cities and towns developed, the Romans prioritised the need for good sanitation and water supplies, helping to prevent the spread of infectious and water-borne diseases. Diet also improved because of enhanced agricultural techniques leading to better yields and higher levels of meat consumption. The average age at death in Roman Britain was much lower than it is today. Death during childbirth and infant mortality were much more prevalent than they are today, and medicine was basic - a simple infection could quickly become life-threatening. Most people probably died in their early to mid-thirties, and few people would live to be over fifty. Despite this, the general populace was probably quite healthy on a day-to-day basis.

19 Slide 4: Roman Period Clothing Most people in Roman Britain would have worn quite plain clothing. The toga, iconic of Rome, was worn only by wealthy men. The general population would have worn clothing made from woven cloth: men, women and children wore woollen tunics with a belt at the waist. Women wore a longer robe called a stolla over the top, and a shawl called a palla for additional warmth. Men wore knee-length woollen tunics with cloaks over the top. These items were not dissimilar to the kinds of garments that people would have worn in Iron Age Britain. We when we think of Roman footwear, we often think of Roman sandals. The general population mostly wore carbatinae like the one shown, although hobnailed shoes were also worn. Roman soldiers wore a sturdy hobnailed sandal called caligae. Sometimes we find leather shoes preserved in wet conditions; the water prevents any oxygen from getting to the leather, meaning it can survive for hundreds or even thousands of years. More often, we find only hobnails, sometimes retaining their original layout, meaning we can see the pattern in which the nails were arranged and perhaps even estimate the site of the shoe itself. Slide 5: Adornment Jewellery provided adornment: brooches, bracelets, rings, necklaces, earrings and so on. Brooches were very common and were functional as well as practical, holding items of clothing together. Necklaces were made of brightly coloured beads (and it has been suggested that blue glass beads known as melon beads were even used to adorn the bridles of military horses) and other materials such as jet or amber. Finger- rings set with intaglios, a semiprecious stone with carved design, could be used as seals for important documents. Glass bangles like the blue one shown above were available, and metal bracelets in the shape of a snake were popular in the early Roman period. Jewellery was worn by men, women and children alike. Activity | Make Your Own Intaglio Key Stage 2 Curriculum Links Art and design: producing creative work, exploring ideas and recording experiences Art and design: becoming proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques Materials: computers/tablets for research, pencil, paper, air-drying clay, clay modelling tools

Finger-rings set with intaglios – semiprecious stones with carved designs – could be used as seals for important documents. The intaglios are often found without the rings, having been lost after falling out of their settings. Why not make your own intaglios out of air-drying clay? The word ‘intaglio’ 20 means “a design incised or engraved into a material” (Oxford Dictionaries). It is used to refer to gemstones with incised designs (such as these Roman intaglios), as well as a type of printing process, so you may need to help your learners differentiate between the two when they do their research online (below). Searching from “Roman intaglio” rather than “intaglio” will help narrow down the results. 1. Do some research! Look online for photos of intaglios that have been found so far. Navigate to websites with images of Roman finds. The following websites are good places to start: Portable Antiquities Scheme; Scran; Historic England Images; British Museum highlights on Google Cultural Institute. 2. Draw out a design on paper. Take inspiration from the intaglios you have just looked at online. Many feature a person – either a whole figure or a bust - but others feature animals or symbols associated with deities. You will be carving your design into the clay so a simple design would be best. 3. Shape a lump of air-drying clay into an intaglio shape. It should be an oval with a slightly domed surface. In real life, intaglios are only around 1cm long, so your learners’ replicas should be much bigger to give them plenty of space to carve out their designs. 4. Optional: leave your intaglios to dry for a little while, over break or lunchtime. The clay will harden a little, making it easier to carve (you might like to do a test run to see how long to leave it). 5. Carve your design into the intaglio using plastic tools. 6. Leave to dry according to your air-drying clay’s instructions. Paint and varnish if desired. Slide 7: What Can We Learn from Skeletons? One of the best ways that we can find out about past populations is by studying the remains of people who lived and died in the past. We can examine their bones and teeth as well as studying the grave itself, to learn more about their life, death and burial. During the Roman period, burial customs include both inhumation and cremation. Slide 8: How Old? Archaeologists who specialise in analysing human and animal bones are called osteoarchaeologists. They examine human bones to try to work out the age and gender of the deceased, as well as looking for evidence of disease or injury. The skull and pelvis are particularly useful in finding out both how old a person was when they died, and whether they were born male or female. We can age the skeletons of babies and children quite accurately since children’s bones grow and develop at very specific times in the life cycle. For example, the epiphyses on the ends of the bones in our arms, legs, hands and feet are not fused at birth. This allows these longer bones room to grow. The epiphyses fuse at specific times, meaning that archaeologists can examine a juvenile skeleton to see which epiphyses had fused by the time that individual died, to work out how old they were. Once a person reaches adulthood, their skeleton changes very little and it becomes more difficult to work out how old they were at death. We can look for evidence of disease, but in the past as 21 today, the age at which people are affected by disease (if at all) can vary widely: some 80 year olds might be in very good health, while some 50 years olds might already have arthritis, for example. Slide 9: Remember to Brush Your Teeth! Teeth are useful indicators of health: lots of caries can indicate a diet high in sugar; worn teeth can be an indicator of pipe-smoking (in later populations). Teeth are also useful in identifying where a person comes from: the teeth store a chemical signature which is based on the water they drank and foods they are while they were growing up; this signature indicates where that person grew up. This is useful for identifying, for example, whether a cemetery population is made up of local/indigenous people or those who have migrated into an area i.e. people who have come from elsewhere in the Roman empire. Case Study: Burials at Overbury In 2014, during building works, archaeologists discovered human remains: the graves of two people buried in the late 1st and early 2nd centuries AD. The deceased had been laid out on their backs. The skull fragments of one individual were found in the leg area of the grave, suggesting that this individual had been decapitated before burial. Hobnails were found in both graves, suggesting that both individuals were wearing Roman-style shoes when they were buried. One was possibly male and the other possibly female. Both were adults, and the female seems to have been quite a lot older than the male. Individual 1 • Possibly male • Possibly over the age of 25-30 • Probably around 1.67cm tall – a little shorter than average at the time • Evidence of muscular trauma in upper arms, suggesting that this individual undertook strenuous physical activity • Evidence of decapitation

Individual 2 • Possibly female • Possibly over the age of 50 • Severe osteoarthritis in hand bones and left hip • Decapitated before burial

22 These individuals were probably rural people – farmers living in a nuclear family unit, working a shared farmstead – and the evidence gathered from their graves and remains seems to support suggestions that rural burial practices at the time were dispersed i.e. the deceased were not buried in large cemeteries but in pairs or small groups, probably close to or within the family’s land. The discovery of hobnails within the burials is perhaps indicative of these individuals’ communities practicing a burial rite that seems to have been more prevalent in rural than urban settings: the deposition of shoes within the grave. While it might seem usual for people to be buried wearing shoes, there are examples of babies/juveniles being buried with adult-sized shoes, suggesting that the shoes didn’t necessarily belong to the deceased. Rather, they were considered necessary in the grave as part of a ritual practice. Perhaps the shoes were believed to assist the deceased in their journey to the afterlife. Grave goods were common throughout the 1st-3rd centuries; pottery and glass vessels, bracelets, brooches, coins and even parts of animals. It’s tempting to imagine that a burial in which the deceased had been decapitated is an indication of a gory, violent death. However, decapitation is not uncommon in Romano-Britain burials, and osteological analysis sometimes confirms that decapitation happened around or after the time of death rather than being the cause of death. Put simply, sometimes the dead were decapitated after they passed away. Some researchers believe that this practice may have been linked to a wish to release the spirit of the dead.

Recreate a Roman Menu! Photocopy the menu card below for the activity suggested in PPT 3: Country Life.

light breakfast

main meal of the day

light supper

23 Notes

24 Notes

25 Notes

Beneath the streets of Worcester lie thousands of years of archaeology, traces of past lives and past communities.

This resource was created on behalf of Worcester City Council as part of a community archaeology project at a small rural Roman settlement site at Mab’s Orchard, Warndon, Worcester. Archaeological fieldwork focused on the site of new allotments, which were funded by Worcester City Council. The project was supported by National Lottery players through the Heritage Lottery Fund, and by the Worcestershire County Councillors’ Divisional Fund. Geophysical survey was carried out by Magnitude Surveys and excavation fieldwork was led by Rubicon Heritage. The Romans in Worcester resource was produced by AOC Archaeology Group.