New
New
Year 4

The buildings of Roman Britain

You can describe the sorts of buildings the Romans introduced to Britain.

New
New
Year 4

The buildings of Roman Britain

You can describe the sorts of buildings the Romans introduced to Britain.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Celtic buildings were usually thatched, wattle and daub roundhouses.
  2. Archaeologists can look at the remains of buildings to construct arguments about the impact of the Romans in Britain.
  3. Evidence of North African Roman soldiers has been found at Hadrian’s Wall, a major Roman architectural feature.
  4. Caerwent, Trimontium and Bath are all places that have examples of the sorts of architecture the Romans built.
  5. Rich Romans built villas in the British countryside with expensive mosaics and hypocaust systems for heating.

Common misconception

Pupils may think that Hadrian's Wall was not very high, as remaining stretches have been damaged.

Remind pupils that Hadrian's Wall is over a thousand years old, and any sections still standing were much taller.

Keywords

  • Construct - To construct is to make or build something.

  • Thatch - Thatch is a type of plant material, like straw, used to cover the roof of a building.

  • Wattle and daub - Buildings made up of woven twigs and rods that have been covered in clay are called wattle and daub buildings.

  • Hadrian’s Wall - Hadrian’s wall was the northernmost border of the Roman Empire.

Try to emphasise the difference in construction techniques between Celtic buildings and Roman villas and buildings.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which statement is true?
Religion in Britain changed completely under Roman rule.
Religion in Britain did not change at all under Roman rule.
Correct answer: Religion in Britain changed somewhat under Roman rule.
Q2.
The religious leaders of Celtic Britain were called the .
Correct Answer: druids, Druids
Q3.
Which Celtic leader was taken to Rome in chains following their attempts to resist the Roman invasion?
Boudica
Sulis Minerva
Cernunnos
Correct answer: Caratacus
Q4.
Place the events of Boudica's rebellion in order, starting with the oldest.
1 - Boudica grew weary of Roman rule.
2 - Boudica destroyed the town of Colchester.
3 - Boudica burnt down the city of London.
4 - Boudica was defeated by a Roman legion from Wales.
Q5.
Why had Claudius invaded Britain?
Britain was wealthy and full of natural resources.
Correct answer: Claudius wanted to prove his strength.
Britain was a serious threat to the Roman Empire.
The senate had instructed Claudius to invade Britain.
Q6.
Which of these helped the Romans to invade Britain so successfully?
Forts
The weakness of their enemies
War elephants
Siege engines
The legionaries' tactics

6 Questions

Q1.
Most Celts lived in buildings called .
Correct Answer: roundhouses, round houses
Q2.
Which of these were materials used by the Celts in their buildings?
Correct answer: wattle and daub
brick
concrete
clay tiles
Correct answer: thatch
Q3.
Which emperor built a great wall on Britain's norther frontier?
Augustus
Caligula
Claudius
Correct answer: Hadrian
Q4.
Historians have named the North African unit of soldiers in northern Britain the .
Correct Answer: Aurelian Moors, aurelian moors, Aurelian moors, aurelian Moors
Q5.
Some Romans built lavish country estates known as .
Correct Answer: villas, villa
Q6.
Which these were found at Chedworth?
Correct answer: mosaics
a temple
Correct answer: a hypocaust system
military artefacts

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