Kate and Madeleine in Y3AC has produced a wonderful powerpoint all about Roman settlements.

1. Roman settlements By Kate and Madeleine

2. The Romans took over lots of countries including Gaul which we now call France. They also took over England (but not Scotland). Romans planned their towns carefully. In every town there were; villas, temples, shops, public baths, workshops, houses and yards for animals – people gathered in the forum (a meeting and market place) They went to arenas and amphitheatres for entertainment.

3. Rich Romans had more than one home, they had another one in the countryside. Their town house was called a domus. Some people lived in blocks of flats although sometimes these collapsed. Trades people lived here, their flats were called insulae. They sold goods at the front of their house and lived behind or above it. They were built by or near Roman forts and other areas of trade and near rivers and ports.

4. Pompeii was a Roman town near Naples. In 79 AD a volcano called Vesuvius erupted over Pompeii and covered it in ash, cinders dust and rocks. Many people died and Pompeii was forgotten for many years About 250 years ago people started to dig out all the hardened ash and find Pompeii again.

5. We think that Pompeii is a good example of what life was like in a roman town because it was preserved and for that reason it is the most famous. You can see the arena and go inside it , lots of mosaics and artwork were preserved as well as lots of buildings.

6. People were killed by poisonous fumes and the body decayed under all the hardened ash leaving a space around the skeleton. Archaeologists poured plaster into this space and the plaster hardened to form the shape of the body.

7. In Pompeii archaeologists (people who find out about History by digging for things) found a Roman cafe called a thermopolium which had a counter with holes in it and hot water. They would put jugs and pots in the holes and the hot water kept the food inside warm. They also found a bakery and a loaf of bread!