Ancient Rome
me Ab out A ncient Ro
we unde d in the country Ancient Rome was fo over s of the River Tib er nk ba e th on ly Ita ll now ca wn, Rome ar ting as a small to 2,70 0 ye ars ago. St a huge come the capital of eventually grew to be Britain from the far north of empire that stret ched n to m mo dern -day Sp ai fro d an a, ric Af n er to north the power ring its long history, the M iddl e East. Du ecte d was held by either el of the Roman Empire n ma rors, and ancient Ro of ficials or by empe ousand ished for almost a th culture and lif e flour edible cr mans built many in ye ars. The ancient Ro s to stadiums and pala ce us mo or en m fro s, re structu which are and ro ads; some of temple s, aque ducts m visits of the places that To me So y. da to e us still in er at the t ha ve exist ed to geth in this bo ok ma y no Roman re all part of ancient we ey th t bu e, tim same culture and history.
Get ready to meet . . .
To m
Gr
a n ny B e a
Di
g by t h e c at
and spot the hidden eagle in every scene!
First published 2020 by Nosy Crow Ltd The Crow’s Nest, 14 Baden Place, Crosby Row, London SE1 1YW www.nosycrow.com ISBN 978 1 78800 100 7 Nosy Crow and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Nosy Crow Ltd. Published in collaboration with the British Museum. Text © Nosy Crow 2020 Illustrations © Fatti Burke 2020 The right of Nosy Crow to be identified as the author and Fatti Burke to be identified as the illustrator of this work has been asserted. All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of Nosy Crow Ltd. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Printed in China. Papers used by Nosy Crow are made from wood grown in sustainable forests. 135798642
Contents Page 4 - 5
Page 6 -7
Page 8 - 9
Page 10 -11
Page 12-13
Page 14 -15
Page 16 -17
Page 18 -19
Page 20 -21
Page 22-23
Page 24 -25
Page 26 -27
Page 28 -29
Page 30 - 31
Page 32- 33
Solutions
Page 34 - 38
Glossary
Page 38 - 39
Index
Page 40
Tom was an ordinary boy, most of the time. He was clever and brave, and he loved adventure. Tom’s grandmother, Bea, was an ordinary grandmother, most of the time. She was clever and brave, and a little bit mischievous, and she loved adventure, too. Which was just as well, since her job was digging in the dust and the dirt to discover how people used to live. Granny Bea was an .
Granny Bea’s cat, Digby, did not like digging in the dust and the dirt. Or getting wet. Or missing his meals. In fact, Digby did not like adventure at all. Especially after what happened the last time Tom came to stay . . . but that’s another story. 4
One cold, rainy day, Granny Bea called Tom up to her study. Digby was sitting on her lap on his favourite yellow blanket, purring loudly. “What’s that?” asked Tom, pointing at something shiny in Granny Bea’s hand. “It’s a coin from the time of ,” said Granny Bea. “He was an emperor of ancient Rome, almost two thousand years ago. Here’s his face, stamped on every coin during his reign.”
“Wow! May I hold it please, Granny?” asked Tom. Granny Bea smiled, a familiar glint in her eye.
Tom stretched out his hand to take the coin and . . .
5
Tom was in ancient Rome. He couldn't believe it! He was in some kind of market and there were people everywhere. But he couldn’t see Granny Bea or Digby. Tom knew Granny wouldn’t send him back in time on his own, so they must be near . . . but where? Just then, Tom spotted an orange tail disappear between some stalls.
The Forum was first built by the kings of Rome and then changed over many centuries. They had to drain a marsh in order to build it – that must have been hard work!
The Forum was above the , which was a giant sewer. Its main job was to take storm water away from the city, so it didn’t flood, but it was also used to drain , which were ancient Roman toilets. It was probably a bit smelly on a hot day!
6
me on e rea din g in the • So com mu na l lat rin e? m? • To rpl e o sen ato rs we ari ng pu • Tw t? en um tog as ha vin g an arg n jar ? • ADigbrobykethe cat? • A statue tha ha s los t its he ad ? • Someone takt ing a sn ea ky na p? •
It was an amazing place where , priests and market stallholders worked side by side. With law courts, temples and shops all mixed together, many different kinds of people used this space, sharing news and meeting friends.
7
As Tom chased Digby, he tripped over a yellow blanket. Granny Bea must have dropped it! Tom picked it up and ran up the hill, and soon found himself in a packed arena. The cheering crowd were all wearing colourful togas. Tom tied the blanket around himself to blend in. In the distance, he saw a startled cat. It had to be Digby!
8
Each race was seven laps around the , and each time a lap was completed, a metal egg and a metal dolphin were removed from two special columns, so the crowd could see how many laps were left.
This incredible arena was the site of races as well as games (or in Latin), including wild animal hunts and gladiator fights.
• A char iot m iss • A lost helmet ? ing a wheel? • Tom? • A horse eating one of the decoratio ns ? • Digby the ca • A rider wear int?g the wrong colou r • Someone selli ng honey ca kes? cloak ?
Chariot riders always wore red, blue, green or white silks, and chariots were pulled by teams of between two and 12 horses.
The Circus Maximus could hold over 250,000 people. That’s about the same as four completely packed football stadiums! 9
Outside of the arena, Tom hurried up another tall hill. There were soldiers everywhere, standing in large groups and wearing heavy polished armour. Granny Bea hated fighting, so surely she wouldn’t stay here for long? Just then, Tom heard an angry yowl from behind a wall of shields. What was Digby up to now? means 'the Field of Mars', who was the Roman god of war. The famous Roman army gathered and trained here, but it was also used for voting, the and for festivals.
The soldiers were called , and each legion of about 5,000 soldiers was commanded by a . 10
Each legion was organised into 10 , which were divided into centuries of around 80 men, led by a . The armies practised different formations standing shoulder-to-shoulder, such as the wedge formation and also the (which means ‘tortoise’ in Latin ).
• A sold ier who • A sleepy sold iehar?s lost his sa ndal? • Tom? • A sold ier hold ing his sword upsi de do w n? • A bi rd nest in nt ur io n’s he lm et ? • A sold ier havignginaasnceea ky sn ac k? • Digby the cat?
The was an emperor’s personal bodyguard. The emperor Augustus had about 4,500 soldiers to protect him! 11