We start Unit 2 by meeting a new family. The Roman aristocrat, Salvius, is the head of the household. A successful lawyer and senator in Rome, he's been sent to Britain to help to run the province. His family includes his wife, Rufilla, and many slaves, some of whom are Britons, others foreign. You'll get to know quite a lot about Salvius in this Stage!
Digital Activities
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Cultural Background
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Celtic Britain
CELTIC BRITAIN
The Celts:
Among the greatest people of European history, the people we call the Celts were not a single group of people, speaking one language, sharing exactly the same customs, and who called themselves "Celts".
Instead, these peoples - whose lands stretched through Spain, France, Britain, Ireland, southern Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and the Czech Republic and later into northern Italy, the Balkans and even central Turkey - were diverse in many respects. For instance, their kingdoms ranged from small tribal chiefdoms to huge regional superpowers; their houses were round in Britain but square in Gaul; and there were at least 5 main variants of the Celtic language (from which Irish, Scots Gaelic and Welsh are derived).
Their langauge does define these people though and the most satisfactory definition of "Celts" is "people who spoke one of the Celtic languages".
Great interactive map showing the spread and retreat of Celts in Europe over the course of over 1000 years - and their clash with the Roman Empire. One word of caution though: it now seems likely that the Celts were already in the British Isles way before the years 500-300BC when they traditionally are thought to have crossed from continental Europe.
Also check out the sections on the Celts and the Romans which include good stuff about their daily lives.
Great, activity-oriented website from BBC Wales. Although aimed at ages 7 - 11, this is real educational fun for all, with facts as well as on-line games and off-line activities. And the Welsh accents are (deliberately) hilarious!
Don't miss the activity "The Romans Rule"!
Simple introduction to the iron-age Celts in Britain - the people who lived on these islands before the Romans came.
Follow the link at the bottom of the page to go "back" to see more of life in Celtic times. Although aimed at younger surfers, this site is informative for all.
"Who were the Celts?"
Detailed explanation suitable for older users.
One of the best introductions to the British Iron-Age Celts on the web. From the Channel 4's TimeTeam - of course!
Great, beautifully illustrated website on the art and archaeology of the Celts, including sections on houses, dress, warfare, jewellery and pottery.
A short, illustrated note on the Celts in Britain in the Year AD 1 with links to Celtic objects in the British Museum.
Create fire, make bread and spin wool! 3 great "how-to" animations from BBCi.
Fantastic animated movie of how a Celtic roundhouse is built.
Forcegarth in County Durham is a Celtic farmstead which was lived in during the first century AD, during the Roman occupation of Northern Britain. Computer reconstructions of the farm and information about the activities and animals on the farm make a great website.
Roman-era Celtic village near Penzance in Cornwall.
Click the thumbnail photos to see how the ruins look today.
See how many "anachronisms" - things out of place and time - you can spot in this video by 80's and 90's Irish singing goddess Enya in her video for "The Celts". Great music though!
BRITISH TRIBES
Click for more info and links...
Celtic Gaul and Druids
CELTIC GAUL and DRUIDS
Click for more info and links...
Roman Britain - Introduction
ROMAN BRITAIN - INTRODUCTION
The first written references to Britain come from the Greeks. By the 300's BC they knew Britain as Albion, perhaps derived from the Greek for "white" and applied to Britain thanks to the spectacular white chalk cliffs on parts of her south coast. The Greeks also came to use the name Prettannia or Brettannia (apparently from a Celtic word meaning "people of the forms" perhaps referring to their body paint or tattoos); the latter name was adopted by the Romans as Britannia. Centuries of use shortened this to our modern-day Britain.
"The climate is pretty foul..."
Sections 10 and 12 provide a Roman rough guide to the geography and climate of Britain.
An excellent BBC website providing an accessible and interesting short account of Romano-British history, from invasion to departure.
For sixth-formers and older students, this is an excellent re-assessment of the traditional views on Roman Britain from Peter Salway. Unfortunately, to explore any of the hyperlinked Romans and/or Britons you or your institution will have to have a subscription to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
The first known representation of Britannia is a sculpted marble panel (the fourth down on the linked page) where she appears being conquered by Claudius. From Aphrodisias in modern south-west Turkey (perhaps from a temple) and dating to c.50AD. In Aphrodisias Museum (?).
Britannia first appears on coins in Emperor Hadrian's reign. On a bronze as of c.119 AD, she is shown as a warlike female, sitting on a pile of rocks with a spear and shield.
a similar picture was used on this sestertius pictured here which comes from the reign of Hadrian's successor Antoninus Pius and dates c.155AD. In the British Museum.
The old British 50p coin famously depicts a figure of Britannia - based on the Roman designs - seated beside a lion, with a shield resting against her right side, holding a trident in her right hand and an olive branch in her left hand.
Click for more info and links to:
THE ROMAN INVASIONS
and
THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN.
ROMAN WRITERS on BRITAIN.
Click for links...
Roman Britain - Economy
ROMAN BRITAIN - ECONOMY
Information for younger surfers about crops, animals, houses and tools, with emphasis on archaeological finds from Sussex.
As above but aimed at a slightly older audience.
More depth again about life in the countryside of Roman Sussex.
Fairly detailed site about how the Celts farmed before the Romans.
What the Romans did for us...
Excellent page on iron, lead, silver and gold mining in Celtic-Romano Britain.
Roman Britain - Villas
ROMAN BRITAIN - VILLAS
From BBC Bitesize: a wealthy Roman housewife, Romola, takes a merchant on a tour of her villa.
The Time Team return to the huge Roman villa at Turkdean in the Cotswolds that they discovered in 1998. This visit turns out to be even more rewarding than the first one.
Villas in Sussex are the focus of this webpage which looks at their shape and use.
Fabulous mosaics from this Roman villa in Sussex discovered in 1811 and one of the largest villas so far discovered in Great Britain.
Official site from the National Trust (unfortunately only detailing tourist info) of one of the largest villas in Britain, situated in Gloucestershire.
Image of reconstructed model of Chedworth. Then use the back arrows to see photos of the villa's remains, including its fabulous mosaics.
English Heritage website with descriptions and reconstruction images of this famous villa in Kent.
Salvius farm in Book II is imagined to be on the site of a Roman villa near Angmering in Sussex. This webpage offers a brief description of the villa with plan.
Objects held in the Littlehampton Museum, some of which were found by the archaeologists at Angmering.
It's not in Britain, but take this excellent virtual tour of a Roman villa in Germany. Many of the building's features are the same in villas all over the Roman world.
Click for our main section of links to
FISHBOURNE ROMAN VILLA
Roman Slavery
ROMAN SLAVERY
Click for links...
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