What the Romans Did for Us
Encyclopedia
What the Romans Did for Us, is a 2000
BBC
documentary
series that examines the impact of the Romans on modern society.
The name of the programme is derived from the cult movie Monty Python's Life of Brian
, referencing the famous scene where the People's Front of Judea discuss "What have the Romans done for us?"
the series was re-edited into 10 minute sections for broadcast as programme fillers.
2000 in television
The year 2000 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 2000.For the American TV schedule, see: 2000-01 United States network television schedule.-Event:-Debuts:-1940s:...
BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
series that examines the impact of the Romans on modern society.
The name of the programme is derived from the cult movie Monty Python's Life of Brian
Monty Python's Life of Brian
Monty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 British comedy film written, directed and largely performed by the Monty Python comedy team...
, referencing the famous scene where the People's Front of Judea discuss "What have the Romans done for us?"
Production
In 20032003 in television
The year 2003 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 2003.For the American TV schedule, see: 2003-04 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-1940s:...
the series was re-edited into 10 minute sections for broadcast as programme fillers.
Episodes
Episode one: Life of Luxury
- Roman villas, such as Littlecote Roman VillaLittlecote Roman VillaLittlecote Roman Villa is a Roman winged corridor villa and associated religious complex at Littlecote Park in the civil parish of Ramsbury in the English county of Wiltshire...
visited by Hart-Davis, had elaborate mosaics and ornate gardensRoman gardensRoman gardens and ornamental horticulture became highly developed during the history of Roman civilization. The Gardens of Lucullus on the Pincian Hill at the edge of Rome introduced the Persian garden to Europe, around 60 BC...
. - The screw pressWine pressA wine press is a device used to extract juice from crushed grapes during wine making. There are a number of different styles of presses that are used by wine makers but their overall functionality is the same. Each style of press exerts controlled pressure in order to free the juice from the fruit...
, reconstructed using traditional techniques by carpenter Henry Russell, was used to produce WineWineWine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
. - Aqueducts, such as the one near Dorchester visited by Hart-Davis, exemplified the Roman’s mastery of hydraulic engineeringHydraulic engineeringThis article is about civil engineering. For the mechanical engineering discipline see Hydraulic machineryHydraulic engineering as a sub-discipline of civil engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water and sewage. One feature of these systems is the extensive...
. - HypocaustHypocaustA hypocaust was an ancient Roman system of underfloor heating, used to heat houses with hot air. The word derives from the Ancient Greek hypo meaning "under" and caust-, meaning "burnt"...
s, like the replica visited by Hart Davis, was the heart of ThermaeThermaeIn ancient Rome, thermae and balnea were facilities for bathing...
, such as those in Bath, Somerset visited by Hart-Davis. - Cooking implements, demonstrated by food historian and chef Sally Grainger, were used to create 3-course Roman meals.
Episode two: Invasion
- Galleys with banks of rowers, simple sails and twin steering oars brought over 40,000 troops that landed at RichboroughRichboroughRichborough is a settlement north of Sandwich on the east coast of the county of Kent, England. Richborough lies close to the Isle of Thanet....
. - LegionnairesLegionnairesLegionnaires may refer to:*Spanish Legion*French Foreign Legion*Legionnaires' Movement in Romania, see: Iron Guard*Legionnaires' disease*Legion of Christ*Charlemagne's Legionnaires*Legion of Super-Heroes*Legionnaire...
and cavalrymen with superior armour, battle formations, field weapons, and even elephants swept to victory. - Pre-fabricated forts, such as the reconstruction at LuntLuntLunt is a small village in the borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England, close to Sefton Village and to the west of Maghull and is in the L29 postcode.-History:...
visited by Hart-Davis, secured the victory and exemplified their engineering skills. - Roman artillery such as the OnagerOnagerThe Onager is a large member of the genus Equus of the family Equidae native to the deserts of Syria, Iran, Pakistan, India, Israel and Tibet...
and the BallistaBallistaThe ballista , plural ballistae, was an ancient missile weapon which launched a large projectile at a distant target....
secured victory at Maiden CastleMaiden Castle, DorsetMaiden Castle is an Iron Age hill fort south west of Dorchester, in the English county of Dorset. Hill forts were fortified hill-top settlements constructed across Britain during the Iron Age...
and Hodd Hill visited by Hart-Davis. - PharosPharosPharos may refer to:Lighthouses:* The Pharos of Alexandria, a tower built on the island of Pharos that became one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World* The Pharos, either of two Roman lighthouses built at Dubris...
, such as the one visited by Hart-Davis, guided Roman supply vessels into the great port at DoverDoverDover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
.
Episode three: Building Britain
- Intensive farming methods introduced by the Romans included the introduction of new crops, the draining of marshes, and iron ploughs.
- Trade and commerce settlements alongside the military camps grew into grid-patterned walled towns such as YorkYorkYork is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
visited by Hart-Davis. - SewersSanitary sewerA sanitary sewer is a separate underground carriage system specifically for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings to treatment or disposal. Sanitary sewers serving industrial areas also carry industrial wastewater...
, high-rise apartments, street lighting and glassGlassGlass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
windows were all features of Roman towns and cities. - Cafes and snack bars provided the Romans with fast food takeaways including pies, pastries, sausages and even hamburgers.
- Fire brigadesHistory of fire brigadesThe history of organized firefighting dates back at least to Ancient Egypt, where hand-operated pumps may have been employed to extinguish fires.-Rome:...
and primitive fire extinguishers, demonstrated by Hart-Davis, were developed under the auspices of the Emperor Nero.
Episode four: Arteries of the Empire
- Groma surveyingGroma surveyingThe Groma or gruma was the principal Roman surveying instrument. It comprised a vertical staff with horizontal cross pieces mounted at right-angles on a bracket. Each cross piece had a plumb line hanging vertically at each end...
, demonstrated by Hart-Davis, allowed the surveying of perfectly straight roads such as Watling StreetWatling StreetWatling Street is the name given to an ancient trackway in England and Wales that was first used by the Britons mainly between the modern cities of Canterbury and St Albans. The Romans later paved the route, part of which is identified on the Antonine Itinerary as Iter III: "Item a Londinio ad...
and Stane Street. - The construction of Roman roads, demonstrated by Hart Davis, has allowed them to endure to this day.
- VitruviusVitruviusMarcus Vitruvius Pollio was a Roman writer, architect and engineer, active in the 1st century BC. He is best known as the author of the multi-volume work De Architectura ....
's odometerOdometerAn odometer or odograph is an instrument that indicates distance traveled by a vehicle, such as a bicycle or automobile. The device may be electronic, mechanical, or a combination of the two. The word derives from the Greek words hodós and métron...
, demonstrated by Hart-Davis, were used for the accurate measurement and placing of milestoneMilestoneA milestone is one of a series of numbered markers placed along a road or boundary at intervals of one mile or occasionally, parts of a mile. They are typically located at the side of the road or in a median. They are alternatively known as mile markers, mileposts or mile posts...
s. - Roman merchants introduced mass produced pottery, glassware, amber jewellery, metal ware and amphora of wine and olive oil.
- GoldGoldGold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
was mined with revolutionary engineering, in places like Dolaucothi Gold MinesDolaucothi Gold MinesThe Dolaucothi Gold Mines , also known as the Ogofau Gold Mine, are Roman surface and deep mines located in the valley of the River Cothi, near Pumsaint, Carmarthenshire, Wales...
visited by Hart-Davis, for use in trade.
Episode five: Edge of Empire
- Hadrian's WallHadrian's WallHadrian's Wall was a defensive fortification in Roman Britain. Begun in AD 122, during the rule of emperor Hadrian, it was the first of two fortifications built across Great Britain, the second being the Antonine Wall, lesser known of the two because its physical remains are less evident today.The...
marked the northern boundary of the Roman Empire, and had defensive features such as milecastleMilecastleA milecastle was a small fort , a rectangular fortification built during the period of the Roman Empire. They were placed at intervals of approximately one Roman mile along several major frontiers, for example Hadrian's Wall in Great Britain , hence the name.Along Hadrian's Wall, milecastles were...
s and forts such as Housesteads. - At supply depots such as ArbeiaArbeiaArbeia was a large Roman fort in South Shields, Tyne & Wear, England, now ruined, and which has been partially reconstructed. It was first excavated in the 1870s and all modern building on the site were cleared in the 1970s. It is managed by Tyne and Wear Museums as Arbeia Roman Fort and Museum.-...
, Romans baked bread in open fires. - Roman soldiers used rounded stones as defensive weapons, and blacksmiths made arrowheadArrowheadAn arrowhead is a tip, usually sharpened, added to an arrow to make it more deadly or to fulfill some special purpose. Historically arrowheads were made of stone and of organic materials; as human civilization progressed other materials were used...
s and other items out of ironIronIron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
. - Many documents have been discovered at VindolandaVindolandaVindolanda was a Roman auxiliary fort just south of Hadrian's Wall in northern England. Located near the modern village of Bardon Mill, it guarded the Stanegate, the Roman road from the River Tyne to the Solway Firth...
fort, such as postcardPostcardA postcard or post card is a rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard intended for writing and mailing without an envelope....
s made out of thin wood veneerWood veneerIn woodworking, veneer refers to thin slices of wood, usually thinner than 3 mm , that are typically glued onto core panels to produce flat panels such as doors, tops and panels for cabinets, parquet floors and parts of furniture. They are also used in marquetry...
. - WaxWaxthumb|right|[[Cetyl palmitate]], a typical wax ester.Wax refers to a class of chemical compounds that are plastic near ambient temperatures. Characteristically, they melt above 45 °C to give a low viscosity liquid. Waxes are insoluble in water but soluble in organic, nonpolar solvents...
tablets were used for making temporary notes. - Flagged beacons were used to send messages between forts, milecastles, and watchtowers.
- Pre-determined messages were also sent using identical water-clocks, and signalling using fire.
Episode six: Ahead of Their Time
- The occupying Romans kept their people occupied with food and entertainment, or "bread and circuses".
- GladiatorGladiatorA gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the...
s performing in amphitheatreAmphitheatreAn amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
s would use a coin-operated water dispenser for cleansing as part of their pre-fight rituals. - Romans built automataAutomatonAn automaton is a self-operating machine. The word is sometimes used to describe a robot, more specifically an autonomous robot. An alternative spelling, now obsolete, is automation.-Etymology:...
driven by a weight sitting on a container of sand that was slowly allowed to empty. - Builders made mortarMortar (masonry)Mortar is a workable paste used to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between them. The blocks may be stone, brick, cinder blocks, etc. Mortar becomes hard when it sets, resulting in a rigid aggregate structure. Modern mortars are typically made from a mixture of sand, a binder...
out of chalkChalkChalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
and sandSandSand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
, and added volcanic ash to make quick-setting concreteConcreteConcrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
. This was used to make archArchAn arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...
ed and domeDomeA dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
d structures. - An anonymous work, De Rebus BellicisDe Rebus BellicisDe rebus bellicis is a 4th or 5th century anonymous work about war machines used by the Roman army of the time. It was written after the death of Constantine I , and before the fall of the Western Roman Empire...
, featured various war machines, such as an inflatable bridgeBridgeA bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
made out of animal skins. - Eventually, the Roman empire simply became too large and indefensible, and the troops were gradually withdrawn from Britain. Although some technologies were then lost, we still retain some to this day.