Our topic in Year 4 is the Romans this half term.  We have already learnt lots and are really enjoying this topic, especially the blood and gore. 

Perished Pompeii

Mount Vesuvius erupted on the 24th August 79AD.  It destroyed Pompeii and over 20,000 people died.  Molten lava burst out of the volcano like a massive bomb.  Your only chance of escape was sprinting to the harbour and climbing onto a boat and rowing to a different country.  It destroyed everything in sight including massive monuments, including the Pantheon.  They praised it and called it their protector, but it turned out to be their destroyer.

Roman soldiers

There were different types of Roman soldiers, the legionaries and the auxiliaries.

Their uniform was made up of the following:

Cassis (helmet): Roman warriors wore a helmet, which was made out of bronze metal.  The helmets were lined with leather to protect the soldier’s head.

Lorica Segmentata (armour): The Romans wore armour with tunics underneath (a bit like a dress!).  

Scutum (shield): The Latin word for shield is Scutum.  It has an iron bulge in the middle for battering your enemies away.  It has fierce patterns on it.  The tustedo is a type of movement that protects the soldier from foot to head.

Caligae (sandals): They wore sandals, which were made out of leather layers and they were quite comfy to wear.  The underneath has metal studs to kill the enemy with.

Pilum (spear): The pilum is a spear, which was used in battle to stab the enemy with.

 

The Attack:

The Romans came from Italy, but wanted to rule more than just one country, they wanted to rule the whole world.  They created the Roman Empire.  By the time they invaded Britain, they already ruled France, but there were problems there, so the Romans came to England.  The Celts lived in England at the time.  In 55 BC the first raid happened under the general Julius Caesar.  The Romans were used to the calm, Mediterranean Sea, but the English Channel had high tides, storms and sudden change in weather. The Romans had big boats, so had to anchor their ships in deep waters and swim to shore.  They underestimated the Celts and left partly because it was cold and rainy in Britain and hot in Italy.  

One year later Caesar returned with 5 legions and 2000 cavalry men.  Britain agreed to pay tributes to the Roman’s so that they were left in peace.

In 43 AD came the third raid under the Emperor Claudius.  Claudius had sent 40,000 men and won.  Rome only had elite soldiers.

 

Boudicca and Hadrian’s Wall:

Boudicca’s husband Prasutagus made agreements with the Romans, so he got to stay as a ruler.  When he died, the Romans took over and when the Roman leader was out leading an army in South Wales, Boudicca led an army against them.  Boudicca set fire to Colchester, Londinium and Verulamium (St Alban’s).  In 117 AD a great general called Hadrian became Emperor and built Hadrian’s wall, so the Scots Couldn’t get through as they were thought to be savages.  It was 3 meters thick, 6 meters tall and 180 km long.

 

We hope you enjoyed reading this and we will report more once we have finished our topic.

 

Written by Zara and Beth