Transcript natasha-historical

Ancient Rome
Simon James
By Natasha Bohl
Summary
The book that I read is all about ancient Rome. It has
so many facts, and of coarse the books title is
Ancient Rome by Simon James. The book Ancient
Rome tells you about. How sea battles were staged
in the coliseum, What roman children learned at
school, How Roman society was organized, How the
Romans built roads, and much more. This book
shows lots of interesting things like inside the
coliseum, a gladiators helmet and shield, children
with marbles. Here are some very educating and
interesting facts that are in the book.
1st interesting fact
• On page 26 There is a very interesting fact
that I found called a plumb bob. A simple
bronze weight on a string, it gave a perfectly
vertical line to make sure that walls were
straight. The owners name Bassus, is
inscribed on the bob. Such simple tools were
used to plan and build the Pont du Guard. (a
building).
2nd interesting fact
• On page 45 I found another interesting fact it
was a bronze strainer. Roman cooks used
strainers as cooks do today. To drain boiled
food and to separate juices and sauces. This
one was made of bronze. Then an elegant
pattern of holes was a made afterward. The
saucepan was hung on a kitchen wall by a
hole at the end of the handle.
3rd interesting fact
• On page 53 the book shows an antique tablet
called a curse tablet. One way to seek revenge
on enemies who have done something was to
place a curse onto the temple. This lead plaque
from the temple at Utley in Gloucestershire,
England, asks mercury to make thieves who
stole a valuable animal fall sick until they return
it.
4th interesting fact
• On page 54 it shows that herbs then were
known to be healing. Many plant materials were
known to have medicinal properties and were
used to make drugs and ointments. Sage, a
powerful healer, was sacred to the Romans.
Elecampane was used to help for digestion.
Fennel was thought to have calming properties.
Rosemary was widely used in Roman medicine.
5th interesting fact
• On page 44 I found a very interesting fact. Glass
bottles with handles were used to trade valuable
liquids, but when they were empty they were
often used to store food in the kitchen, as we
reuse glass jars today. That fact I found very
interesting.
6th interesting fact
• On page 41 it shows split-nib pens of reed and
metal were used with ink to write on vellum,
papyrus, or wood. The pointed stylus was
designed for writing on wax tablets.
7th interesting fact
• On page 32 it says… Bears were to be found
within the empire for entertainment in the arena,
and sometimes rarer animals from beyond the
Roman world were obtained. These include
polar bears, Indian tigers, and rhinoceroses.
8th interesting fact
• On page 42 the last but not least bands of
colored glass and gold were imported into some
vessels, like delicate little jars and lids. It
probably graced an elegant woman's dressing
table, and was used to store and expensive
cosmetic.