Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Ancient Roman Mealtime

Rich hosts would display their wealth by having expensive meals.  Some dining rooms had mosaics showing scraps of food. Sometimes the host would present entertainment.  They would have musicians, acrobats, dancers, jugglers, conjurers, and poets for entertainment.  For dessert, Romans ate stuffed dates. Dinner had three courses.  Slaves would wipe the guests' hands between courses.
Poor Romans didn't even have a kitchen because they lived in the top floors of apartments.  They can't have a woodburning stove because the apartment is also made out of wood.  They would visit a tavern like you would a restaurant!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Ancient Roman Structures


Some Roman structures are even better than the ones we have today. 

Roman roads are beautiful!  Romans were the first people to use concrete.  They realized that mixing volcanic ash, water, and lime gets you concrete after it dries.  The Appian Way is a speical road that connects Rome and cities in Italy.

Rome didn't just build roads.  They made aqueducts that would help make water travel to a city or cities.  Romans also built apartments that weren't fit for living by today's standards because they could collapse any second!  Their apartments were made of concrete and wood.  Some of the larger buildings are still standing today.