Roman Towns and Homes 8B History

Background Information Roman Towns In Ancient Roman towns and cities streets were narrow and space was limited so houses were usually small. They tried to make a limit to how high a building could be, and how much space there was between buildings. Roofs had to be flat and go between buildings to help when fire fighting.

Roman Towns cont. Towns in Rome were made up of streets and blocks - called insulae - which contained houses, shops, workshops and bars. Roman Insulae

Roman Towns – cont. At the centre of the town there was usually a forum, or market place, where people went to conduct business and gossip. Next to the forum was the basilica or town hall, dedicated to the old Roman Gods. Other temples around the town were dedicated to a variety of Gods.

Roman Towns cont. Bath houses were another type of building important to the life of town dwellers. Roman bathhouse

Roman Towns cont. Most Roman towns were smaller than modern cities, with populations ranging between a few thousand people to perhaps 30,000. Only great trading cities and capitals of the Empire were bigger than this. Rome was home to a million or more.

Task 1 In your history books, draw an aerial view of a typical Roman city, using the information provided in the notes above.

Task 1 cont. Include: Streets Insulae – apartments, shops, bars Forum/ market place Basilica/ temple – to the old Roman Gods, and to others Bath houses The city wall

Task 1 Make sure you label your maps. Colour code the buildings and write a key. In your key, explain in 1-2 sentences what each building was used for.

Task 2 Divide into groups of 4. Allocate each group member a task to find out about: Where the rulers lived Where rich people lived. Where poor people lived. Where slaves lived.

Task 2 cont. Separate and go to expert groups. Work together, using the links on the next slide, to find out information about where your people lived. Record the information in dot points in your books.

Task 2 – cont. Return to your original group. Each member has 3 minutes to share their information with the rest of the group. Use this information to draw up a table in your books comparing the way rich people lived and the way poor people lived.

Helpful Links Ancient Roman Homes Roman Houses and Villas Roman Houses Roman Slave’s Homes Roman Apartments Roman Domus Roman Villas Roman Palaces Roman Homes Roman Insulae A Roman House

Homework Draw a floor plan of a typical Roman House. Label each room. Choose 3 rooms and describe what they were used for.