Lesson video

Hello there, and welcome to today's history lesson.

I'm Mr. Moss, I'm really passionate about history, and I'm also really looking forward to teaching you.

With you today, you need to bring your looking eyes, your listening ears, and your thinking brains.

As well as that, having something to write with and write on, and someone or something to talk to, would also be really helpful.

Alright then, let's get straight into today's history lesson.

In this history lesson, we're going to be considering the buildings of Roman Britain.

The outcome will be, I can describe the sorts of buildings that Romans introduced to Britain.

Here are the keywords for today's learning, my turn, your turn, thatched.

Wattle and daub, Hadrian's wall, hypocaust system.

So, thatched roofs were made from a type of plant material like straw.

Wattle and daub were buildings made up of woven twigs and rods that had been covered in clay, are called wattle and daub buildings.

These thatches roofs and these wattle and daub buildings were commonly used by the Celts.

Hadrian's Wall was the northernmost border of the Ancient Roman Empire, and we're going to be looking at this very carefully, as a structure that was built by the Romans.

And a hypocaust system, was an ancient Roman underfloor heating system that was introduced to Britain by the Romans, and was found in Roman buildings.

So we are looking at the buildings of Roman Britain.

We're going to begin by looking at how were the Celtic buildings constructed? We're going to then consider what have archaeologists learned at Hadrian's Wall? And then we're going to consider what other Roman buildings have been found? So we're going to be looking at what buildings were like when the Romans first arrived, the types of buildings that Celts would've constructed, and then we're going to look at some structures and buildings that the Romans built, such as Hadrian's Wall and a few others.

So let's get on with looking at how were Celtic buildings constructed.

Before the Ancient Romans arrived in Britain, Celtic homes looked very different to today.

They were usually circular.

If you look to the left here, you can see an image of a reconstructed Celtic roundhouse.

This is not one that has lasted from that time period, but one that someone has rebuilt in the Celtic style.

Historians called them roundhouses.

Can you say it for me? Roundhouses.

Brilliant.

These were commonly found across Britain during the Iron Age.

The walls of their roundhouses were made using a method called wattle and daub, they were two of our keywords from earlier, aren't they? Can you say that for me? Wattle and daub.

Phots of a reconstructed wattle and daub wall can be seen here.

If you look carefully, you can see two different types of material being used, hence the wattle, and hence the daub.

They used wood from the forests, that would be your wattle, and mud or clay, that would be your and daub to make waterproof walls.

This method would've created waterproof walls that would've been very handy in what is quite a damp climate in Britain.

So Celtic homes were known as squarehouses, circlehouses, or roundhouses? Pause the video and select the correct answer now.

Great job, they were known as roundhouses because of their circular, round shape.

So Celtic roundhouses also had thatched roofs made from straw.

The steep slopes of the thatched roof allowed snow and rain to fall off easily.

You can see the thatch on this reconstruction to the left here.

That steep angle would've very helpful in the wet and snowy conditions.

So the Celtic people would've had a fire inside their home too.

You may be wondering, "But there's no chimney." This was for a very good reason.

The thatch roofs did not have any holes for the smoke to escape from, holes in the roof would have made the fires bigger and set the thatch on fire! so when the fire was burning, it would've been quite smoky inside of a Celtic roundhouse.

Can you match the keywords to the correct definition? Might turn, your turn, thatched, wattle and daub, and then we have two definitions to the right.

Woven twigs that have been covered in clay or mud to make walls.

The roof of a building made from straw.

Which of these keywords match with which definition? Off you go.

Great job, team.

So thatched is used to describe those roofs, isn't it? Made of straw.

And the roofs on those roundhouses would've been rather steep to help the runoff of both rain and snow, and wattle and daub, woven twigs put into strips that are covered in clay or mud to make walls, and these combined, would've created good waterproof walls for those Celtic roundhouses.

So Celtic walls made of wattle and daub and thatched roofs have not survived until today because of the materials that they were made from.

Archaeologists have to use other clues to find out about Celtic homes.

Archaeologists have been able to guess the size and shape of Celtic roundhouses from only the holes in the ground left by where the wooden walls have been.

This takes very careful and precise excavations, and it's really interesting how archaeologists are able to piece together the clues and imprints left from the past.

So true or false? Archaeologists can find out about Celtic roundhouses by looking at ones that still survive today, true or false? Off you go.

Brilliant, this is absolutely false.

We have none left, or that have survived until today.

Let's see if we can justify our answer then, with A or B.

Celtic roundhouses have not survived until today because they were made of wattle and daub.

Hmm, that is something we've learned about.

Celtic roundhouses have survived until today because they were made of bricks.

Well, this is categorically not true, That's not something we've learned in this learning cycle.

They were made of thatched roofs and wattle and daub walls, and therefore, have not survived till today.

Which means archaeologists have to be very careful and excavate very carefully to find out and learn from clues about what these round houses would've looked like and their size.

So for our practise task now, we've got a really fun activity to do.

I'd like you to add labels to describe this image of a reconstructed, so a modern rebuilding of a Celtic roundhouse.

This is what we think they would've looked like.

You could include what they were made from, their shape, and how archaeologists know about them.

Label the picture now, consider all that we've learned in this learning cycle, and really show off your knowledge, off you go.

Excellent job, team, you've clearly learned so much and now know so much about what these Celtic roundhouses would've been like.

So, things you could have included when labelling this image of a reconstructed Celtic roundhouse, wattle and daub walls, those wooden strips covered in clay or mud to create a waterproof walling.

Thatched roofs, created from straw, and remembering the angle to help with the runoff of water, and snow, or rain, that circular shape, that round shape, hence the name roundhouses.

No holes in the roof for fire smoke.

So they would've been quite smoky when the fire was on for warmth and cooking.

And archaeologists have found holes in the ground from where the walls used to be, and the stone was not used when making these houses.

So how did you get on with labelling your roundhouse there? Do you have any extra details that you wanted to add or share? Or do you need to add some that you've forgotten? Pause the video now, and make any additions.

Onto our next learning cycle then, which is what have archaeologists learned at Hadrian's Wall? So now we're going to start considering the buildings of Roman Britain.

So when the Ancient Romans invaded Britain, they built in stone, where previously, the Celts had mainly built in thatch and wattle and daub, they built in stone.

The Emperor Hadrian ordered a huge wall to be built at the northern border of the empire, to stop the tribes in the north, in what is modern-day Scotland.

The wall stretched right across Britannia, from the North Sea all the way to the Irish Sea.

If you look carefully at this map, we can see it stretching all the way from the North Sea to the Irish sea across Britain.

And work began or begun in AD or CE 122.

It is known as Hadrian's Wall after the Emperor Hadrian, and was so well-built that some parts of it still exists today, almost 2,000 years later.

In fact, I've been there to see parts of this wall myself, you can too.

So Hadrian's Wall was built across the north of Britain, from the North Sea to the Pacific Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, or Irish Sea? Select the correct body of water now, off you go.

Great, it was to the Irish Sea.

It stretched across from the North Sea to the Irish Sea.

Here you can see a photo of some of the above ground remains of Hadrian's Wall.

If you look really carefully, you can see it stretching off all the way into the distance.

Hadrian's Wall was so tall, that some parts are still above ground today, but lots of it are now below ground level, as over time, the ground has built up, up, and up around it, but we can still see parts of it to this day, and it's still in very good condition.

Archaeologists have found lots of artefacts from the area that give them clues about how the Ancient Roman army fought, and where the soldiers came from.

You can see here some photos of some artefacts found by archaeologists from along Hadrian's Wall.

As historians, we work really closely with archaeologists to help tell us about the past.

Archaeologists now know that North African soldiers defended Hadrian's Wall for some time.

Here, if you look carefully at our map of the Roman Empire, we can see the map showing the Roman Empire around the time Hadrian's Wall was built.

And you can see that part of Britain in red that was under the control of the Ancient Romans.

And you can also see labelled here, that part of North Africa that was also under control of the Romans.

Indeed, they were probably the first African people to live in Britain almost 1,800 years ago.

Who is correct about what archaeologists have found at Hadrian's Wall? We have two statements here, Sofia and Jacob.

Think like historians and use the knowledge that we've learned from today's lessons so far.

to help you answer this question.

"Archaeologists, says Jacob, "have not been able to find out much because Hadrian's Wall fell down." Hmm.

"Archaeologists have found out lots about the Ancient Roman army and soldiers from Hadrian's Wall." Pause the video now, who is correct? Consider what we've learned.

Brilliant job, well, absolutely, Sofia is correct, and we know this because Hadrian's Wall did not fall down, in fact, we can still see parts of it above ground to this day.

It had lasted a very long time, and archaeologists we know have found many artefacts scattered and littered along it, that tell us about how soldiers lived, and also where the soldiers came from.

So for our practise task, for this learning cycle, I'd like you to decide if each statement below about Hadrian's Wall is true or false.

Consider what we've learned.

Think like historians, and also use reason and logic to decide whether the statements are true or false.

The statements are: Hadrian's Wall was built from wattle and daub.

North African soldiers defended Hadrian's Wall.

Hadrian's Wall was built to defend the empire's border.

Emperor Trajan ordered Hadrian's Wall to be built.

Artefacts found at Hadrian's Wall give clues about how the Roman army fought.

Pause the video now, tick or true, or false for each statement, off you go.

Brilliant job, Hadrian's Wall was built from wattle and daub.

This is false.

We know that the Celts used wattle and daub for their walls, we know that Hadrian's Wall was built from stone.

It's one of the reasons why it's lasted to this very day.

North African soldiers defended Hadrian's Wall.

This is true, we have archaeological evidence to suggest this, and that shows this.

Hadrian's Wall was built to defend the empire's border.

Indeed it was, it was that really far northern border, wasn't it? Emperor Trajan ordered Hadrian's Wall to be built.

Well, this is false.

The emperor Trajan did not, it was the Emperor Hadrian that ordered that building on the wall was begun, and artefacts found that Hadrian's Wall give clues about how the Roman army fought.

This is true, Archaeologists have found many artefacts that show us the types of weapons that soldiers would have used.

So, we've looked at what Celtic buildings were like, and we've looked at that significant Roman infrastructure of Hadrian's Wall, now we are going to look at what other Roman buildings have been found.

So the remains of large Ancient Roman forts and towns can be found in places like Caerwent in Wales, Newstead in Scotland, and Bath, or Bath in England.

If you look carefully at this map of the UK, we can see the Romans didn't just concentrate in one particular place, they built buildings and structures all over Britain when they conquered.

You can see Newstead right in the far north there in Scotland.

Caerwent in the west, in Wales, and Bath in England.

True or false, the remains of Ancient Roman buildings have only been found in England? Brilliant, this is false, and let's justify our answer.

The remains of Ancient Roman buildings have not been found anywhere.

Well, that doesn't help justify our answer, does it? And it's categorically false.

We know from the remains of things like Hadrian's Wall, and from places that Newstead, Caerwent, and Bath, that we have evidence of Roman buildings.

The remains of Ancient Roman buildings have also been found in Wales and Scotland.

This is true.

We have the remains of Ancient Roman buildings in Wales, Scotland, and England.

Some of the Ancient Roman buildings have survived very well, like the remains of the Roman Baths, in Bath in England.

You can see an image here of the photo of the remains of Ancient Roman bath houses, which are in Bath, you can go there to this day.

In other places like Caerwent in Wales, only the foundations of the Ancient Roman buildings have survived.

We can see here a photo of the remains of Ancient Roman buildings in Caerwent in Wales.

You can see the foundations of the walls, you can get an idea of the rooms that would've been within this building.

Rich Ancient Romans, so those with money and wealth who were sent to live within Roman Britain, built great villas to show off their status, like the one at Chedworth.

Can you say that for me? Chedworth Villa.

Here we have an illustration of what Chedworth Villa may have looked like.

From the remains of the villa at Chedworth, Archaeologists think that it looked something like this, and you can see a very large group of buildings built together with walls.

We can see also the roofs, the stories, the windows, the outdoor space within this villa.

This would've, as we have said, been built to shaft the wealth and power of the Romans living there.

Select the places where the remains of Ancient Roman buildings have been found.

Bath, Caerwent, Chedworth, Newstead.

Brilliant, a bit of a trick question from me there.

They were indeed found in all of these places, Bath, we have those really well-preserved Roman Bath Houses.

In Caerwent, we have the foundations of those Roman buildings, don't we? Although, the walls have gone.

In Chedworth, we have the foundations of Chedworth Villa and that wonderful illustration we saw moments ago, of how fancy and wonderful that villa would've looked.

And in Newstead, in Scotland, there were buildings also found there.

So the villa at Chedworth, had lots of special building features to shave how rich the owners were.

And these are really fine examples of Rome building techniques at the time, that were then introduced into Britain.

Here we have some photos of the remains at Chedworth Villa.

Look really carefully at them for me.

One shows the above floor and what was then below it, the bottom picture shows what was below it.

Hmm, can you guess what this part of Chedworth Villa was for? Look, carefully, have a think.

Brilliant, amazingly, this was a hypocaust system.

Keywords here, my turn, your turn, hypocaust system.

This was used for underfloor heating.

This was an Ancient Roman heating system with an open space and a fire under the floor where hot air could flow through.

So you have those tiles below holding up the floor, and these spaces through which the fire and hot air could flow, to create underfloor heating.

This is an incredibly advanced piece of Roman engineering, that was then introduced into Britain.

This wouldn't have been found in Celtic houses that use wattle and daub, those roundhouses, this would've been found in Roman villas.

I mean, quite expensive.

Hypocaust systems were used for heating water in bathhouses and villas across the Roman Empire.

We can see here two illustrations of hypocaust systems. One in a bathhouse to create almost sauna-like rooms, you can see the heat being built up below from the fires, and then the hot air rising to warm the floor through.

We can then see an illustration of a hypocaust system being used to heat a tank of water, that could then fill a bath to be warm.

As well as that, we can see the gaps underneath the flooring so that the warm air could flow through and heat up the flooring.

So hypocaust systems were used for, heating, dancing, or gardening? Select the correct answer now, off you go.

Great job, they were used for, heating, heating both buildings, and also water.

The Ancient Romans also showed how rich they were by decorating their villas with expensive paintings and mosaics.

Here we can see a flaw mosaic from Chedworth Villa.

Chedworth Villa has lots of beautiful mosaics, which still survive to this day.

They're kept in brilliant condition, you can even go and see them.

This was a chance for those wealthy Romans living in Britain to show of their lavish wealth with mosaics and paintings by decorating their villas.

So help Jun to complete this sentence.

"The Ancient Romans showed how rich they were by building.

." Think about what we've learned, help Jun, off you go.

Excellent, I loved hearing your answers there.

You've clearly picked up so much knowledge from this learning cycle so far.

Here's what I came up with.

The Ancient Romans showed how rich they were by building huge villas with hypocaust systems, those heating systems, and by decorating their villas with mosaics and paintings, very different to the roundhouses that the Celts had previously lived in.

So, for our task now, what I'd like us to do is write two or three sentences to describe the buildings that the Ancient Romans built in Britain.

Here are some ideas for you.

You could mention Hadrian's Wall, bath houses, Chedworth villa, and hypocaust systems. Be as detailed as you can be, and think about everything we've learned, off you go.

Brilliant job, team.

So you could have included, "The Ancient Romans built Hadrian's Wall to defend the northern border, bath houses with hypocaust systems and large villas.

Villas like Chedworth Villa had beautiful mosaics and hypocaust systems to impress their friends.

These were built so well that parts still survive to this day!" It's nice there, that we've included some evidence, haven't we? Some actual archaeological evidence to back up what we're saying, about how the Romans built things.

We have examples of Hadrian's Wall and Chedworth Villa, that can tell us about how the Romans lived, and how they might have decorated, or the types of buildings they would've crafted.

Do you have anything else to add? Or do you need to add a bit more detail to your answer? Take some time to do that now.

So great job in history today, we've been looking at the buildings of Roman Britain.

Celtic Roundhouses were wattle and daub roundhouses with a thatched roof.

Archaeologists have uncovered all sorts of Ancient Roman buildings across Britain that show us how they lived, and many of these are in excellent condition.

Hadrian's Wall has revealed lots about the Roman army and a unit of North African soldiers that were stationed there.

The Ancient Romans built all over Britain, in Scotland, Wales, and England.

Bathhouses and villas had hypocaust systems and rich mosaics.

And remember, we had that example of Chedworth Villa.

Keep up the great history learning, and I'll see you again soon.