Part V – ‘Stone memorialisations’
Not every building in ancient Rome had a practical function. Monuments such as obelisks and arches cemented their builder’s legacy into the landscape of the city forever. I visit the …
Course: Rome: A Virtual Tour of the Ancient City
Matthew’s virtual tour: The Forum
Join me on a tour around the grand political and religious structures of the Forum in the high imperial period. You should get the flavour of the dynastic space taking …
Part IV – ‘The heart of the entire Roman Empire’
Last week you looked at the infrastructure of Rome such as the roads, aqueducts and sewers. This week you’ll investigate the political architecture at the heart of the Roman Empire. …
The digital model
A digital model is editable, flexible, navigable, transmissible and sharable. It can be a useful new way of presenting the past alongside more traditional methods. It’s an effective tool to …
Part III – ‘What have the Romans ever done for us?’
Although perhaps not the most glamorous of the city’s structures, aqueducts and sewers were a fantastic feat of engineering by the Romans. I explain how Rome supplied its million or …
Part II – ‘All the colours of the empire’
Before you look at the political, religious and entertainment structures which filled the landscape of Rome, it’s important to understand a little more about the materials and techniques used to …
Building materials and Techniques in Ancient Rome
What was ancient Rome built of? What tends to survive best is cheap, sturdy concrete at sites like the Baths of Caracalla. Valuable materials like marble, cut stone and the …
A potted history of ancient Rome
Watch our ‘potted history of Rome’ for a light-hearted approach to Rome’s fascinating but complex history from 753 BC to 337 AD. I hope you enjoy this animated introduction, and …
Ancient Rome: a historical overview
The passage by the Roman historian Livy praising the site of Rome is put into a speech by a general called Marcus Furius Camillus: Not without reason did gods and …
Part I – ‘Not without cause did gods and men select this place for our city’
Rome is a city of hills and valleys. This, together with the River Tiber, must have been important reasons why the area’s first inhabitants chose to settle there. In this …
Congratulations on completing Week 1
Congratulations on completing Week 1! Want to study further? If you are enjoying exploring ancient Rome, why not extend your study to the rest of the ancient world? The MA …
Further Learning
If you are enjoying exploring ancient Rome, why not extend your study to the rest of the ancient world? The MA Classics and Ancient History at the University of Reading …
Matthew’s Virtual Tour: circus and theatres
In this tour, you’ll see some of the specialist buildings the Romans constructed for chariot racing and theatrical entertainment. In the video and in the walkaround in the next Step, …
Part XI – ‘From a city of brick to a city of marble’
As you’ve heard in previous Steps, the Theatre of Pompey, one of the most lavish buildings in Rome, was built to capture the hearts and minds of the city’s people. …
Encountering the evidence: Colosseum and entertainment venues
In our final ‘Encountering the evidence’ video, I rejoin Dr Luke Houghton in Reading’s Ure Museum to discuss what poetry can tell us about the Colosseum and some of the …