DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 461 574 SO 029 520

AUTHOR Lumley, JanetTITLE Historic Colchester: A Teacher's Guide. Education on Site.INSTITUTION English Heritage Education Service, London (England).ISBN ISBN-1-85074-666-4PUB DATE 1998-00-00NOTE 41p.; For other teacher's guides in the series, see SO 029

517-521.AVAILABLE FROM English Heritage Education Service, 23 Savile Row, London,

England W1X lAB, United Kingdom. Tel: 020 7973 3000; Fax:020 7973 3443; e-mail: education@english-heritage.org.uk;Web site: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/.

PUB TYPE Guides Classroom Teacher (052)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS Active Learning; *Archaeology; British National Curriculum;

*Built Environment; Community Characteristics; CulturalBackground; Cultural Education; Elementary SecondaryEducation; Foreign Countries; *Heritage Education; HistoryInstruction; *Local History; Social Studies; World History

ABSTRACTThis handbook aims to help teachers use archaeological

remains and historical evidence in and around Colchester (England).Investigations supplement studies at Key Stages 2 and 3 of the BritishNational Curriculum and can also be used for cross-curricular topics. Thebook contains suggestions for work on the town walls, the British site atGosbecks and the nearby dykes, and the development of the town after the endof the Roman period. The chapter titles include: (1) "Historical Background";(2) "Timeline"; (3) "Documentary Sources"; (4) "Life in Colchester"; (5)

"Educational Approaches"; (6) "The National Curriculum"; and (7) "ActivitySheets." A bibliography and resource section are also part of the text. (EH)

Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be madefrom the original document.

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, EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATIONCENTER (ERIC)

" This document has been reproduced asreceived from the person or organizationoriginating it.

0 Minor changes have been made toimprove reproduction quality.

Points of view or opinions stated in thisdocument do not necessarily representofficial OERI position or policy.

2

Arranging a visitLocationColchester is a large town 80kmfrom London. It is on the Al2trunk road into Essex and also lieson the mainline rail link fromLondon to Norwich. GosbecksArchaeological Park isapproximately three miles fromColchester town centre and isapproached via the B1022 road toMaldon. Local bus services runclose to the site. The survivingdykes lie to the west of the towncentre. The best preserved can befound at 0.S.Refs TL9523,TL9624 and TL9724.

Educational visitsMany of the sites in Colchestermentioned in this handbook, arefreely accessible to pedestrians atany time. There is a charge forvisits to the Castle Museum inColchester and these can bebooked through the InformationOfficer on 01206-282937. Parts ofthe surviving dykes are now publicfootpaths and are shown on localmaps.Visits by educational groups to

Gosbecks Archaeological Parkshould be booked in advance.Details are available from theMuseum Resource Centre,Ryegate Road,Colchester, CO1 1YG.Tel: 01206-282931.

Site facilitiesGosbecks is an open-air site withat present no permanent facilities.Colchester's Museum EducationService can provide teachingmaterials and advice about usingthe site.The archaeological remains in

Colchester all lie within the towncentre which is served by anumber of car-parks and the usualfacilities. Coaches can drop offand collect parties from CowdrayCrescent outside the Castle Park atthe end of the High Street. TheMuseum Education Service has acomprehensive range of teachingmaterials about Roman andNorman Colchester and astructured programme of visits forschools to the Castle Museum.

Edited by Elizabeth HollinsheadIllustrated Michael J Richardson, LowestoftDesigned by Michael J Richardson, LowestoftPrinted by Palladian Press, Colchester

Printed on recycled paper

First published by English Heritage 1998©Copyright English Heritage 1998

ISBN 1-85074-666-4Front Cover: Colchester Castle, Colchester.

There are no facilities at thedykes and coach access is verylimited. A preparatory visit byteachers is essential to determinedropping off and picking uppoints.Wheelchairs can access all the

sites although both the park atGosbecks and the accessible dykeshave grassed or earthen paths.

Site safetyColchester town centre is a busymodern town with large volumesof traffic. Care must be taken toclosely supervise educationalgroups at all times. None of theremains or dykes should beclimbed on or damaged in anyway. Gosbecks is an open parkfreely accessible to the public.

The activities in this handbook remain the copyright ofEnglish Heritage but may be reproduced without writtenpermission by educational establishments for freedistribution for their own use. Illustrations credited tothe Colchester Archaeological Trust are the copyright ofthe Colchester Archaeological Trust.

3

A teacher's handbook to

Historic ColchesterJanet Lumley

ContentsAbout this book

Page2

Historical background 4History 4Understanding what is there 10

Timeline 12

Documentary sources 14

Life in Colchester 16The archaeological evidence 16Camulodunum 18Roman Colchester 19After the Romans 21

Educational approaches 22Understanding archaeology 22The Romano - Celtic period 24The evidence for the Romari town 25The medieval castle 26The siege of Colchester 26The town 27

The National Curriculum 28

Activity sheets 30Roman reporters 30Gosbecks 31The Balkerne Gate 32Colchester Castle 33Changing Colchester 34

Bibliography and resources 35

Bronze statuette of Mercury, the Romangod of merchants and travellers.Found at Gosbecks in Colchester.

41

About this bookColchester is a busy modern town,which began life as a Romanfortress nearly 2000 years ago.

It was here in AD 43 that theinvading Roman army establishedits first major military strongholdin its campaign to conquer Britain.The large fortress was subse-

quently converted into an impor-tant Roman town which was builtat a place already known to theRoman world as Camulodunum.This was the late Iron Age centreof the Trinovantes tribe, one of themost powerful Celtic tribes insouthern Britain at the time of theinvasion. Traces of a high statusfarmstead, belonging to the leaders

of these people, has been foundoutside Colchester town centre atGosbecks.

Colchester has beencontinuously inhabited since thattime and its lengthy history isreflected in the monuments andbuildings which can be seen today.Colchester's remaining Romanstructures, as well as the Britishsite at Gosbecks, will help pupils tounderstand the Roman invasion ofBritain and the effects which theRoman presence had upon theBritish population. Medieval life isreflected in the town's castle andmedieval buildings. A number ofbuildings in the town still provide

evidence for the destructioncaused by opposing armies in theEnglish Civil War.The aim of this handbook is to

help teachers use the archaeologi-cal remains and historical evidencein and around Colchester.Investigations will supplementstudies at Key Stages 2 and 3 ofthe National Curriculum, and canalso be used for cross-curriculartopics. The handbook containssuggestions for work on the townwalls, the British site at Gosbecksand the nearby dykes, and thedevelopment of the town after theend of the Roman period.

Stockwell Street in Colchester

2

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=1 ----King GeorgePlaying Fields

Gryme'sDyke

Ditgard Avenue

StanwayGreen

Town Centre0

Site of Co Ionia

Lexden Dyke

Site ofFortress

Triple Dyke

Gosbecks

River

Line of Roman roads

Surviving (above ground) dykes

la Toilets

1 Kilometre1 Mile

Roman wallPedestrian walkways

1:1 Parking (Park and Ride Saturdays Only)

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Town Centre

COWDRAY AVENUE

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EAST HILL

SIR ISAAC'S WALK ELD LANE

Bus & CoachStation

ROUCH ST

SOUTHwAyA1334

St. Botolph,sPrra ColchesterLA Town Station

Plan of Colchester

3

Historical backgroundHistoryIn the years before the RomanInvasion of AD 43, Britain consist-ed of a number of tribal kingdoms.Around AD 10, two of the majortribes in south-east Britain, theCatuvellauni and the Trinovantes,were merged into one largekingdom under the leadership ofthe Catuvellauni. On the eve ofthe Roman invasion, theCatuvellauni dominated thegreater part of south-east Britainand it is now thought that theadministrative and royal centre forthis vast territory was atCamulodunum.The power and influence of the

Catuvellauni leaders was acknowl-edged by the Roman EmperorClaudius and so Camulodunumbecame the primary target for theinvading army.

CamulodunumCamulodunum had become atribal centre of power by at least25 BC when it served as the centreof a region covering roughly thesame area as modern-day Essexand southern Suffolk and inhabit-ed by the Trinovantes tribe. Thesettlement which covered an areaof around 32sq km was describedby the Romans as an oppidum,which to them meant an urban-type settlement at the centre of alarge territory. At Camulodunumhowever, the oppidum was pre-dominantly rural and was chieflymade up of large numbers of scat-tered farmsteads. There were alsoareas dedicated to specific types ofactivity. One, next to the RiverColne at Sheepen, was a tradingand manufacturing centre, as wellas a port, whilst another atGosbecks had a high statusfarmstead, probably the tribalcentre, and a Celtic sanctuary.

Camulodunum becameespecially powerful and wealthyunder a king called Cunobelin who

4

An impression of Iron Age warriors charging through the dykes of Camulodunum, byPeter Froste.

was probably responsible formerging the two tribal areas of theCatuvellauni and the Trinovantesinto one large kingdom. Althoughhe was thought to be ofCatuvellaunian descent he set uphis royal court in the heart of theTrinovantian lands.

During his reign Camulodunumdeveloped further the good tradingand cultural relations alreadyexisting with the Roman Empire,which by this time included Gauljust across the English Channel.One Roman writer describedCunobelin as King of the Britonsand whilst this was an exaggerationhe does appear to have been seenby the Romans as a major force inthe region.The name Camulodunum means

the dunum or fortified place of theCeltic war god Camulos. Thefortifications were earthworks ordykes, built mostly along the west-ern edge of the settlement. Theyare the largest group of such earth-works to be found in Britain andwere intended as an impenetrablebarrier between two rivers, one inthe north and one in the south ofthe settlement. Built over a periodof 75 years or so, evidence nowsuggests that some were built bythe Romans up to 20 years afterthe invasion. Their true use is

;7

unclear.They may have been solely

intended for defence or may havebeen used as an impressive way ofmarking out this important settle-ment. They were an enormousundertaking, comprising a ditch upto 4.5m deep, and a raised bankrunning alongside the ditch andrising to a similar height above theground. If put end to end theywould have stretched for 19kms.They were a visible statement ofthe power of Camulodunum andits kings.

GosbecksThe site at Gosbecks is believed todate from at least the late firstcentury BC when the farmsteadwas first constructed by the leadersof the Trinovantes. Aerial pho-tographs show a system of track-ways fanning out from it into thesurrounding countryside. Nearby,within an area protected by a verydeep ditch, was some form ofCeltic shrine. Both sites lay closeto the dyke system.The Roman Emperor Claudius

ordered the invasion of Britainshortly after the death ofCunobelin, taking advantage of theunsettled political situation. Thearmy marching inland, probablyfrom Kent, crossed the Thames

and stopped on reaching the areawe today refer to as Essex. Theythen awaited the arrival of theEmperor who wished to lead theassault on Camulodunum.Historians disagree as to whetheror not a battle took place in thesettlement but it is recorded that anumber of British kings surren-dered there to Claudius.

A bronzehead ofClaudiusbelieved tohave comefrom a statuein Colchester

At some time between AD 43and AD 61, the Roman army builta small timber fort close to thefarmstead at Gosbecks. It was bigenough to house around 500 sol-diers, probably an auxiliary unit.A much larger fortress was builtthree miles away near the RiverColne, this fortress later becomethe Roman town of Colchester.The Romans were not interested

in the land at Gosbecks and it wasleft for use by the native popula-tion. The farmstead may haveremained in use during the earlyyears of the Roman occupation,

The Romano-Celtic temple at Gosbecks as it may have looked, by Peter Froste

and recent excavations in the northof the site have revealed depositsand traces of buildings dating tothe late first century. The wealthi-er members of the local nativepopulation adopted a Romanisedstyle of living and they built aRomano-Celtic temple and aRoman theatre at Gosbecks. Thetemple was on the site of theearlier Celtic shrine close to thefarmstead, and the theatre mayhave been a place for meetings aswell as for entertainment. Bothbuildings were large and impres-sive and were of a style found inother Celtic areas of the RomanEmpire.A Roman statuette of Mercury

was found near the temple inabout 1945. Mercury, as well asbeing the herald of the gods, was

The Roman theatre at Gosbecks as it may have looked, by Peter Froste

also the god of merchants andtravellers, which could indicatethat the area was used regularly bymerchants, and that perhaps mar-kets were held there. More recent-ly a ring bearing the image of Marswas found on the temple site. Bothof these gods were commonlydepicted in temples in Britain andthe temple at Gosbecks may havebeen dedicated to one of them.Archaeologists estimate that the

theatre could have accommodatedbetween 4000 and 5000 peopleseated and such large numberssuggest that some must have trav-elled from quite a distance. It istherefore possible that other build-ings, such as an inn and a bath-house, would have existed. Visitorscame to make offerings or to pray,as well as for the festivals and reli-gious ceremonies that were proba-bly held there at regular times dur-ing the year. The theatre may alsohave been used for meetings of thelocal British administrative coun-cil. The area was certainly impor-tant enough for a substantial roadto be built linking it to the Romantown three miles away.The buildings at Gosbecks had

been abandoned by the late fourthcentury and much of the buildingmaterial removed for use else-where. In the thirteenth centurythe land came under the control ofRoger de Gosebec and has since

5

only been used for agriculture.Today, because of the archaeologi-cal importance of the area the landis being managed as an archaeo-logical park.

Roman ColchesterRoman Colchester began life asthe large military fortress, thebuilding of which started in AD 43or 44. Its location was carefullychosen on a site overlooking theColne valley, close to a navigableriver and on land not previouslyinhabited by the native population.It also had a good supply of waterfrom nearby springs. Anyonestanding today at the top of NorthHill in Colchester can see themilitary advantages of building afortress here, as it not only over-looks the river, but also provides agood view of a large sweep of thesurrounding countryside.The fortress was built to accom-

modate the twentieth legion, whichcontained about 5000 men. Therewere at least 60 barrack blocks, aswell as a number of administrativebuildings, stores and workshops.The fortress was laid out on a gridpattern of north-south and east-west streets, with the buildingsbeing slotted into the street layout.For defence a V-shaped ditch withan earthen bank, topped by a tim-ber palisade, was constructedaround the outside.

Middkboroughhouse

BalkerneGat.-

North Gate

theatre ?Ntaterworks

Gate

South GateHead Gate

Plan of the Roman town, showing the town walls, streets and the principal buildings so fardiscovered

Two large Roman tombstonesfound in Colchester offer clues tothe identity of the troops based inthe area after the invasion. Bothbelong to soldiers who probablydied in the period from AD 43 toAD 49. Longinus Sdapeze was anofficer in the Thracian Cavalry,which was an auxiliary unit draw-ing recruits from among non-Roman citizens in countries con-quered by Rome. Marcus FavoniusFacilis was a centurion with thetwentieth legion who came fromnorthern Italy. Both tombstones,now on display in the CastleMuseum, were found in a largeRoman cemetery just outside thetown.In AD 49 when the area was

Artist's impression of the Roman town of Colchester, by Peter Froste

6

thought to be secure, the militaryunits left and the fortress was con-verted into a prestigious Romancolony, whose ,status wastechnically that of a self-governingextension of Rome. The legionarydefences were levelled and anumber of buildings constructedover them. The majority of themilitary buildings were adapted forcivilian use and civic buildingssuch as a theatre and a large tem-ple were built. The temple wasregarded as the centre for theImperial cult in Britain and wasdedicated to the Emperor Claudiusafter his death in AD 54.

At first only Roman citizens wereable to hold land in the town andthe early inhabitants were retiredarmy veterans and their families,provincial administrators andmerchants.

In this early period the town wasregarded as the provincial capitalof Roman Britain, and its inhabi-tants may have numbered between5000 and 10,000 people. A largearchway was built at the mainentrance to the town to celebratethe foundation of the colony; itwas later incorporated into thetown's Balkerne Gate.

In AD 60 Boudica, the Queen ofthe Iceni tribe, led an uprisingagainst the Roman authorities.Colchester with its Roman citizensand impressive buildings was an

The statue on the Embankment in Londonof Boudica and her daughters riding in achariot

obvious target for the anger of therebels. A number of local peoplehad also lost their lands to the newcolonists and so were ready to joinwith the Iceni in their revolt.The attack took the Roman

inhabitants of the town unpre-pared. Without defences and withonly a handful of resident soldiers,the town was easy prey forBoudica's followers who swiftlydestroyed it, killing many people.It is likely that every building inthe town was destroyed, mainly byfire. As devastating as this was forthe town and its inhabitants, thedestruction left invaluable evidencefor the archaeologists. Theremains of buildings, possessionsand food have all been found well-preserved within a burnt layer ofearth in the ground. It has provid-ed a rare and intimate snap shot ofdaily life in the early Roman town.When the rebellion had been

crushed rebuilding began. Thistime massive walls were construct-ed around the town as a defiant

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The Colchester Vase, decorated with agladiator and hunting scenes

Part of the Middleborough mosaic from atown house in Colchester, now on display inthe Castle Museum

statement to the native populationthat such destruction would not beallowed to happen again. Thetown flourished, becoming a busyport and attracting an expandingpopulation of retired army veter-ans, tradesmen and merchants.London was now preferred as theprovincial capital of Britain, butthe town retained its special statusas a colonia, and as the centre forthe Imperial cult in Britain.

Substantial town houses wereconstructed and at least 50 mosaicfloors have been found. Suburbsalso grew up close to the outside ofthe walls near the gates.By the middle of the fourth cen-

tury Christians within the RomanEmpire were able to practise theirreligion openly and a church wasbuilt just outside the town. It is avery early example of a Christianchurch in Britain. It was quitesmall and lay next to a large andolder cemetery and was probablyonly used for funeral banquets,with a larger church existing withinthe town itself.Ultimately the fortunes of Roman

Colchester reflected those of theRoman Empire itself. As the polit-ical system began to fall apart, itseverely hampered long distancetrade, as well as restricting the flow

of money needed to pay officialsand service the market. Theeconomies of towns like Colchesterquickly collapsed. At the sametime communities along the eastcoast were facing sporadic attacksfrom Saxon raiding parties; othersdeserted the area altogether andmoved westwards. More seriousattacks elsewhere in the Empireled to the recall of troops gar-risoned in Britain, and all Romanofficials returned home.

By AD 410 Roman rule inBritain had effectively come to anend. Increased numbers of peoplenow fled towns like Colchester andmoved to areas further inlandwhich were felt to be safer. Thetown decayed and by AD 450Saxon settlers were known to beliving among the ruined anddeserted buildings.

The next 500 yearsCompared to the earlier period inColchester's history, relatively littleis known about the town in the500 years following the Romanwithdrawal. We do know thatpeople continued to live within theRoman walls, mainly in the areaaround the High Street.Excavations in the Lion Walk areaof the town in the 1970s, revealedthe remains of two Saxondwellings. Both were apparentlysunken houses, one being builtagainst the wall of a Roman court-yard house. The discovery insideof a loomweight and spindlewhorl,suggests that it may havebeen a weaving shed.

An Anglo-Saxoncomb made frombone, found inColchester

7

Colchester'sNormanCastle

Town life as the Romans hadknown it had ceased to exist. TheSaxon settlers were predominantlyfarmers who cultivated plots ofopen land within the town's walls.Around AD 886 Essex became

subject to Dane law following anagreement between the EnglishKing Alfred, and Guthrum, theleader of the Danes. This was thestart of an unsettled period for thetown. In AD 931 Athelstan, thefirst Anglo-Saxon king to rule overa united England, held a council atColchester, by then regarded assome kind of royal estate. Thesecouncils were relatively largenational assemblies and were heldin important towns acrossEngland.

After the-Conquest the Normaninvaders quickly took control ofthe town and set about building acastle. We now know that the keepof this Norman castle was builtover the podium of the ruinedRoman temple. It is the largestNorman keep in Europe, as well aspossibly being the first stone castlebuilt in Britain, and was construct-ed with large amounts of Romanbuilding material.The castle, begun around 1076,

was intended as a quick defensive

8

measure. It was originally onlyhalf the height of the present castleand the early battlements can stillbe seen half way up the walls ofthe present building. More peace-ful times allowed the castle to becompleted, certainly by 1100, andit subsequently offered hospitalityto a number of kings who visitedthe area. In the 1070s the easternend of the High Street wasprobably altered from its formerRoman alignment, to allow for thecastle's new outer defences.According to Little Domesday

the town in 1086 had 419 houses,implying a likely population of2500. The majority of the houseswould have been timber-builtalthough a few stone buildings areknown to have existed.

The medieval townThe period after the NormanConquest was one of considerablegrowth for Colchester. Tenmedieval churches were built with-in the town or just outside it, closeto the walls. One of the best sur-viving examples is St James theGreat at the top of East Hill. Thesouth-eastern corner of the town

The west front of the now ruined StBotolphs Priory Church

was transformed by the foundationof two religious houses. St John'sAbbey, whose gateway still sur-vives, was established in 1096 on asmall hill overlooking the southside of the town. Closer to thetown, St Botolph's Priory probablybegan life as a small church butaround the end of the eleventhcentury became a community forAugustinian canons. Now the onlyvisible remains are the ruins of thechurch.

The town received its firstcharter in 1189 from Richard Iwhich allowed the burgesses of the

town the right to elect bailiffs.Suburbs began to appear in the

south of the town, close to StJohn's Abbey, and in the east, nextto the river at the Hythe.This later area became the port

for the medieval town. The townalso became established as animportant centre for the EastAnglian cloth industry, and itssuccess attracted Flemish weaversas early as the fourteenth century.The trade continued to grow in

later centuries and was for a longperiod the basis of Colchester'sprosperity. In the sixteenthcentury large numbers of Dutchimmigrants fleeing religious perse-cution at home arrived in the townand introduced the production ofnew draperies called Bays andSays.These cloths were to transform

the native cloth industry. Largenumbers of towns and villagessurrounding Colchester becameinvolved in their manufacture,employing many hundreds ofweavers, fullers, shearers anddyers. Today part of the areanorth of the High Street wherethese early immigrants settled isstill known as the Dutch Quarter.

The Civil WarIn 1648 Colchester once more sawopposing armies fighting for

JohnSpeed'smap ofCol-chester,1610

control of the town. The secondcivil war was nearing its end whenin June of that year an army ofweary Royalist soldiers arrived inthe town. Colchester had shownmixed loyalties during the conflictbut by this time had come out onthe side of the Parliamentarycause. The tired Royalist armyincluded Sir Charles Lucas, theson of a local landowner, and sowas reluctantly allowed to enterthe town for one night.

However, by the next day theParliamentarian army led by LordFairfax had caught up with themand they were trapped. Whentheir leaders refused to surrender,Fairfax decided to lay siege to thetown. It lasted for eleven weeks,during which time the 10,000inhabitants suffered greatly fromhunger and disease, with many los-ing their homes to fire. The walls,whose strength had prevented theParliamentarian army from storm-ing the town, were subject to con-tinuous bombardment. After theeventual surrender of theRoyalists, two of their leaders wereexecuted outside the castle, and astory developed that the grassnever again grew on the placewhere they fell. Today the spot ismarked by a small obelisk sur-rounded by tarmac.

Fairfax imposed a huge fine on

1 )

the townsfolk for their reluctantpart in sheltering the Royalist armyand ordered the town to demolishthe walls.These orders were never carried

out with any real enthusiasm andonly small sections of the wall weredismantled. However, now theywere no longer used for defensivepurposes, they had doorways cutthrough them, buildings placedagainst them and were generallyallowed to deteriorate.

The modern townThe town quickly recovered fromits Civil War involvement, and inthe following years many newbuildings were constructed as thetown expanded beyond the townwalls. Despite a decline in the for-tunes of the cloth trade, the townremained prosperous, and eleganthouses were built by those benefit-ing from Colchester's commercialsuccess. Two churches damagedduring the siege were rebuilt andthe castle, by now a ruin, wasrepaired to prevent any furtherdecay.The Napoleonic Wars brought a

large garrison to the town, the highnumbers of resident soldiers pro-viding an additional boost to thetown's traders and beginning amilitary presence which continuestoday. The modern town hall wascompleted in 1902 and is a testi-mony to Victorian building design.It stands prominently in the HighStreet, its clock tower clearly visi-ble from the many approaches tothe town. Another landmark onthe Colchester skyline is Jumbo, aVictorian water tower whichalthough now obsolete was, whenit was built, the largest water towerin England. It was named after acelebrated circus elephant of thetime by the rector of nearby StMary at the Walls when he lookedupon the unwelcome structurewhich had been built in his backgarden. Both the castle and thepark with the remaining castledefences were given to the

9

town as a war memorial in 1920.It was at this time that archaeolo-

gists, including Sir MortimerWheeler, put forward the theorythat the vaults which lay beneaththe Norman castle were actuallythe plinth of the Roman Temple ofClaudius. In 1935 the castle, since1860 the town's museum, was sub-stantially repaired and re-roofed.It contains an extensive collectionof artefacts from Colchester's past,especially the Roman period.

Understanding what is thereThis section gives a briefdescription of the remains in andaround Colchester, with sugges-tions of things to look out forduring your visit.

Gosbecks and the dykesAt present the site at Gosbecksbears little evidence of its impor-tant past. The land is mostly flat,open fields, except for the slightmound of the Roman theatre.However, the area is rich in buriedarchaeological remains and thelayout of both the temple and thenearby theatre have beenhighlighted on the ground.

Explore the temple first, enteringit using the markings on theground. The entrance would havebeen a covered passagewaythrough the portico, which was anouter enclosing building. Themarkings on the ground here indi-cate the three walls of the portico.The outer wall was solid, built ofstone and brick, whilst the innertwo walls were made up ofcolumns, which allowed thoseinside to view the activities takingplace in the courtyard.

Once through the portico, anoth-er set of markings outline the ditchwhich once enclosed the sacredinner area. The ditch, whicharchaeologists believe is older thanthe Roman temple, was around 3mdeep. It was used as a physicalbarrier separating off the differentusers of the temple, with only theimportant visitors being allowed to

10

Plan ofGosbecksArchaeologicalPark showingthe positions ofthe temple,theatre andRoman road.

Wildflowermeadow

Temple

GosbecksFarm

IronageFarmstead

Wildflowermeadow

Of.)

Theatre

Proposed heathland

Ironage and Romanfield systems

Tree plantation

cross it. Once past this, the site ofa small building, known as thecella, is in front of you. It had anouter veranda supported bycolumns which were painted togive a marbled effect, and insidethere was a mosaic floor made upof small black and white tesserae,and plastered walls. It would havehoused a large statue of the god towhom the temple was dedicated.From the portico a path leads to

the theatre. The markings on theground relate to the stone struc-ture built around AD 150. A tim-ber theatre existed for a few yearsprior to this. Again you shouldenter the site through what wouldhave been the main entrance. Thisis shown on the ground as a widepassage leading out from theauditorium. This would have beena processional route leading to thefront of the stage where officialsand dignitaries sat.Four other entrances are shown

on the ground and these werestone staircases in the outer wallleading to the upper levels of theseating area. The seating bank wasmade up from layers of turf placedon top of each other, topped withwooden seats and enclosed by ahigh stone wall. The stage is smalland excavations to date have failedto give a clear picture of its design.The site plan also shows the out-

line of a Roman road which linked

13

Gosbecks to Colchester. This wideroad was probably constructedfrom packed layers of gravel.Not far from Gosbecks are the

remains of the dykes built acrossthe western edge ofCamulodunum. Today footpathsrun along the silted up ditches ofsome of these earthworks.Gryme's Dyke, which was the lastto be built, is the most complete inlength and can be followed for adistance of nearly 5km. It can beaccessed at a number of pointsincluding Dugard Avenue(TL9624), where an interpretativepanel outlines walks which can betaken along it. A safer alternativefor a school party is to join it atStanway Green (TL9524),although coach parking could be aproblem here, or at King Georgeplaying fields (TL9625) wherecoaches can park. A walk startinghere and finishing at StanwayGreen would cover a distance ofabout 2km. However, it is worthfollowing the path a little furtherpast Stanway Green towards themain Maldon Road as this stretchincludes a fairly deep andimpressive part of the dyke.

Other accessible earthworks arethe remains of the Triple Dykewhich lies alongside Straight Roadin Lexden (TL9625) andBluebottle Grove which was partof Lexden Dyke (TL9725) and is

approached via Church Road andthen Parsons Hill in Lexden.Whilst walking along the dykes

pupils should remember that theditches were once much deeperand wider than they are today andalso had a raised bank abovetoday's ground level.

ColchesterAny study of Colchester's Romanpast must include a walk along atleast part of the town walls. Agood place to start this is onBalkerne Hill, which is on thewestern edge of the town centre.At this point the wall is close to itsoriginal height and you can alsosee the ruins of the main Romangateway into the town.This entrance once spanned a

double carriageway with pedestrianwalkways on either side of it.Outside of these and incorporatedinto the gateway were two guard-rooms. Today only the archwayover one of the pedestrian walk-ways and parts of the two guard-rooms survive. The other carriage-ways are indicated on the ground.

The wall at this point has beenonly sparingly repaired and soshows the original construction ofseptaria with layers of bricks.Septaria is a stone found in thecoastal areas of Essex and Kentand was cut into squared pieces foruse in the wall. It was also used inmany Roman buildings in the area.The wall is today nearly 5m highand 2.5m thick, and this is a goodplace to accurately record itsconstruction. Originally the wall

would have been topped by a para-pet with a walkway protected bybattlements.

Following the map provided onthe inside back cover, pupils couldbegin a walk around the townwalls from this point. The com-plete walk is likely to take aroundtwo hours, but can be shortened orlengthened as required. Whilstwalking pupils should note downwhere the wall no longer exists orwhere it has been repaired oraltered. They should also look forclues as to where entrances onceexisted. On reaching the park adetour can be made to the castleand its Norman earthworks, aswell as to Roman remains in thepark area.

In recent years large parts of thetown have been excavated ahead ofcommercial development and theCastle Museum contains artefactsfrom the Roman as well as laterperiods in the town's history.Visitors are also able to tour the

castle vaults which once formedthe base of the Roman temple. Inthe park, the tessellated pavementof a Roman courtyard house,which lay adjacent to a Romanstreet, has been preserved, as havethe remains of a Roman brickdrain. The park also contains theearthworks built to defend theNorman castle.

Nearby within a house inMaidenborough Street is a tinypart of a Roman D-shaped theatre,similar to the one at Gosbecks;part of the wall is indicated on the

pavement of the street out-side. The theatre remainscan be visited by arrange-ment with the MuseumResource Centre inRyegate Road, next to thecastle.Not far from the

Balkerne Gate are thepreserved remains of anearly Christian church.Much of this church hadbeen destroyed, mostrecently by sand andThe remains of the Balkerne Gate, once the

principal entrance to the Roman town

1 4

gravel extraction. However, in the1970s and 1980s prior toredevelopment, the remainingparts of the church were excavatedand the surviving ruins consolidat-ed for the future. The parts visibletoday are the foundations of theapse at the east end of the churchand the south-west corner of thenave foundation wall. The missingwalls are indicated on the groundby cemented strips, whilst lowwooden posts indicate the positionof the inner partitions of the nave.An interpretation board providesan artist's impression of what thefourth century church may havelooked like. The ruins should beapproached via the underpass inButt Road.The streets within the town

centre are the result of a mixtureof Roman, Saxon, medieval andmodern town planning, with thebuildings spanning manycenturies. In Trinity Street, thetower of Holy Trinity Church has aSaxon doorway and was builtusing Roman materials. Nearby isTymperleys which was part of thesixteenth-century home of WilliamGilberd, a one-time courtphysician to both Elizabeth I andJames I, and also a celebratedscientist. Many of the town'smedieval churches survive,including part of the remains ofSt Botolph's Priory church. Thedestruction caused by the CivilWar siege can be seen in the nowruined tower of St Martin'sChurch in West Stockwell Streetand the damaged town walls. Inthe Castle Park there is also amonument to the Royalist leadersexecuted after their surrender.

Finally, the surviving High Streetfollows the line of the eastern roadfrom the fort, which was laid downby Roman military surveyors. Itwas altered slightly at the easternend by the Norman builders and isthe centre for the town'scommercial activities.

1 1

TimelineCoin, showing Claudius and aTriumphal Arch built in his honour tocelebrate the successful invasion ofBritain

AD 49 The Roman authorities believe the areais now peaceful and transfers the army else-where. The military fortress is converted intothe Roman town of Colchester

AD43 Claudiusinvades Britain. Heleads the army as itadvances onCamulodunum andreceives the surrenderof tribal leaders.Between now and AD61 the army sets up asmall fort atGosbecks, close to theroyal farmstead andthe tribal centre of theTrinovantes.

AD 0

AD 60 Boudica and herfollowers revolt against Romeand march on Colchester.Joined by some localTrinovantes, they destroy thetown, killing manyinhabitants.

cAD 275 to 300East coast attackedby Saxon raiders.

250

cAD 375 Gosbecksnow probablyabandoned.

An intaglio ring with animpression of Mars, found atGosbecks

cAD 450 Saxonsettlers begin livingin the ruined town.

500 750 1000

AD 100 Gosbecksis now a nativereligious centre witha Romano-Celtictemple andRoman-style theatre

AD 49 o 60Colchester, now theprovincial capital ofBritannia, becomesa Roman colony.

AD 43 & 44 A largemilitary fortress isbuilt three miles tothe north-east ofGosbecks.

25 BC to AD 40Camulodunumis an importantIron Agesettlement.Cunobelin,controls a largepart of south-east Britain byAD 40.

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AD 61-75 Once therebellion is crushed,rebuilding begins andmassive town wallsconstructed.

Boudica and herfollowers ruthlesslydestroyed Colchester,killing its inhabitants.Artist's impression byPeter Froste

AD 408 Roman rule in Britaineffectively at an end.

AD 320-340 An earlyChristian church is builtin the corner of acemetery outside thetown at Colchester.

AD 886 Essex andColchester come underDanelaw.

AD 917 Edward theElder expels the Danesfrom the town.

The castle, as shown on JohnSpeed's map of Colchesterin 1610

AD 1076 The Norman, Eudode Rie, starts to build a largecastle keep over thefoundations of the Romantemple in Colchester.

1000

AD 1255 Gosbecks is nowheathland, under the controlof Roger de Gosebec.

1250

AD 1978 Archaeological excavationsin advance of the building of an officedevelopment in the town reveals analmost complete mosaic, now in theCastle Museum.

AD 1967 The theatreat Gosbecks isexcavated.

AD 1935 The ruinedcastle is repaired.

AD 1842 Gosbecks nowarable fields. Ploughinguncovers the remains ofa Roman buil ing.

1500 1750 2000

AD 1189 Colchesterreceives its first charterfrom Richard I

The first common seal of the Borough ofColchester, probably thirteenth century

AD 1648 The own walls aredamaged in the English CivilWar. The town is besiegedby the Parliamentary armyfor 11 weeks. After this, thewalls are never again used fordefence.

AD 1902 The presenttown hall is opened.

th

AD 1995 Gosbecks becomes anArchaeological Park.

Sir Charles Lucas, oneof the Royalist leaders

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Documentary sourcesWritten material is not confined to paper or its early equivalents: objects like coins and tombstones give inter-esting information about the times in which they were produced.

CunobelinCoins are a valuable source of evidence to archaeologists. The coins minted byCunobelin have been found throughout south-eastern Britain and so illustrate theextent of his influence in the pre-Roman period. The large numbers found alsoreflect the wealth of his kingdom. The coins were minted at Colchester and can

be identified by the marks CAMV for Camulodunum, and CVNO forCunobelin. Many different designs have been found, the most famous

one has a Celtic horse on one side and an ear of barley on the other.Pupils should look at modern coins and ask why are those images

there and what do they signify? They should then ask similarquestions of Cunobelin's coins. They could also look at Romancoins on display in the Castle Museum in Colchester and discussthe images on them and what they might represent.

The most famouscoin minted byCunobelin inCamulodunum

Roman Colchester

Here lies Marcus FavoniusFacilis, son of Marcus, of thePollian tribe, centurion of theXXth Legion. Erected byVerecundus and Novicius, his

freedmen.

14

These two tombstones were bothfound lying face down in a ceme-tery outside the town walls inColchester. They had both beendamaged, perhaps by Boudica andher followers in AD 60. Bothbelonged to soldiers thought tohave been stationed at the militarygarrison in Colchester in the yearsfollowing the invasion.The inscriptions tell us about the

soldiers and their units and theareas within the Roman Empirefrom which they came. The tomb-stones themselves provide evidenceabout the soldiers' dress andweapons, and one illustrates themessage which the Romaninvaders wished to impress uponthe native population, as thesoldier is depicted riding over asubmissive Briton. Pupils coulddiscuss what they think this might

The face ofLonginus, aduplicarius(junior officer),discovered in1996, nearly 70years after histombstone wasfound

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symbolise and the likely reasonswhy both tombstones were foundbadly damaged.

Here lies Longinus Sdapeze, sonof Matycus, duplicarius of theFirst Squadron of ThracianCavalry, from the district ofSardica, aged forty, with fifteenyears service. His heirs had thiserected in accordance with hiswill.

The Roman TownTacitus, who was born in AD 56, was a senator in Romewho turned to historical writing. He wrote a history of thelife of Agricola, his father-in-law, who became the provincialgovernor of Britain. One of the other great works byTacitus was called The Annals and covered events during theperiod AD 14 to AD 68. His surviving works provide animportant source of information about the Roman Empire.This extract talks about the Boudican revolt and its causes.

When using extracts from Roman histories pupils shouldalways ask what the likely motives of the writer might havebeen. Was he wishing to be seen praising a particularemperor? Was he critical of the army and the tactics of itscommanders? Despite such reservations these histories arestill .a,valuable source of evidence which can be usedprofitably to explore Roman Britain.

Their bitterest hatred was directed against theveteran soldiers recently settled in the colonyof Camulodunum, who were driving thenatives from their homes, forcing them offtheir land, and calling them prisoners andslaves. Nor did it seem a difficult task todestroy a colony that was unprotected by anyfortifications, something to which our com-manders, putting comfort before necessity, hadpaid too little attention.

Tacitus. Annals XIV

The siege of ColchesterThe siege of Colchester in 1648 was a protracted struggle which causedgreat hardship to the townspeople of Colchester caught between oppos-ing armies. These two extracts were written at the time of the siege fromopposing viewpoints, and offer a good opportunity to introduce pupils tobias in documents. The first forms part of a tract called Colchester'sTeares which was published after the siege by Parliament sympathisers.

As for these outrages committed in the Town we have them by creditablereport. The inhabitants are much straightened in their provisions, as itmay be a twopenny or threepenny loaf in a family of coarse bread perdiem , and if any complain for want they are checkt, and are told thatthey must not complaine until horse flesh be worth ninepence or ten-pence the pound, and reply was made by one (soldier) hearing awoman complain for food for herself and child, God damn me thatchild would make a great deal of good meat well boyld...To heare the lamentable cries of people comming from the Towne, oldand young women, children poor and rich, lying before and crying intothe Generalls guards to passe, and bewailing their folly in entertainingsuch guests as now will be sure to provide for themselves and leave theTown people especially (if there be the face of religion or civility onthem) to shift for themselves.

The second extract isfrom the diary ofMatthew Carter, whowas Quarter MasterGeneral for theRoyalist Army.

Contemporary drawing depicting theshooting of the two Royalist leaders afterthe ending of the siege of Colchester

Whereupon, the poor of the town, having quite exhausted their provision, began tothrong together, making great clamours and exclamations of their being ill-used...Sir Charles Lucas, at the next council of war, commisserating them as his own town'sborn people, petitioned the Lords that they might have some corn delivered them outof the general store-house, which was as readily granted as mentioned, and an orderimmediately given; ...to every family according to the number of people in it, acertain proportion of bread-corn, which amounted in the whole to three hundredquarters of wheat and rye; the want whereof proved so great an inconveniency toourselves, that half that quantity would have supported us till we had obtained betterconditions from the enemy than we did.

, I 315

Life in ColchesterThe reconstructed head of a Roman ladywhose skeleton was found in a Romancemetery in Colchester

The archaeologicalevidenceMuch of Colchester's history stilllies buried beneath the town'smore recent buildings. The build-ing of a new road, shop, or officeare all likely to disturb evidencefrom an earlier period inColchester's past and archaeolo-gists are continuously at workrecording and excavating sites inadvance of redevelopment. Thistype of archaeology, often calledrescue archaeology, is one of theimportant tasks facing Colchester'sarchaeologists. Their work is oftena vital attempt to record andexcavate sites before builders movein.For the earlier periods in

Colchester's history, archaeologyprovides us with the main body ofinformation that we have about lifein the area. From archaeology wehave learnt how people in theRoman period lived, the food theyate, the tools they used, and thegods they worshipped.

Archaeologists have found theremains of dates, figs, barley andlentils, as well as the remains ofamphoras used to transport wine,

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Objects from Roman Colchester,now on display in theCastle Museum

olive oil and fish sauce.They have uncovered the remains

of large and small houses and havefound evidence of pottery, metal-work, and glass workshops existingin the town.They have also been able to build

up a detailed picture of the Romantown from its beginnings as a mili-tary fortress. Modern developmenttherefore, whilst normally being adestructive process, has allowedarchaeologists the opportunity togain large amounts of informationabout Colchester's past.

Elsewhere where the archaeologyis not under threat, excavation isused only in a very limited form.On undeveloped sites likeGosbecks, methods such as aerialphotography are used in the firstinstance. The earliest aerialphotographs of the site were takenin the 1930s and not only con-firmed the existence of a Romanbuilding but also gave archaeolo-gists additional clues as to itsidentity.

By comparing these pictures withother Roman sites of the sameperiod, it became clear that the

19

building was in fact a Romano-Celtic temple.

Since the first aerial photographswere taken at Gosbecks manymore have confirmed the impor-tance of the site. In order to pro-tect the buried archaeology frompotentially destructive farmingoperations like ploughing, the sitewas made into an archaeologicalpark, with the full support of theowner.

More recent technologicaladvances have provided alternativetechniques for discovering what isburied under the ground.Resistivity surveys measure theresistance of the ground toelectrical pulses. An electric pulseis sent through the ground and if ithits a buried wall or ditch thesignal coming from it is altered.These variations are plotted andthe results produced as anenhanced computer image. Thismethod is very time-consuming asreadings have to be taken at onemetre intervals, but it does enableburied material or ditches to bepositioned accurately before adecision is taken to excavate.

number. At the end of the dig,archaeologists will have a picture ofwhere each piece of evidence camefrom and the exact location of anyfeature, such as a post hole orditch. Detailed plans are drawn ateach stage, as well as writtenrecords made of every find. Manyphotographs of the site are alsotaken.

The excavation should givearchaeologists a much clearerpicture of the site and itsdevelopment.

Aerial view of the temple at Gosbecks

Excavating a siteBy the time archaeologists decideto excavate a site they have alreadystudied a variety of sources relatingto it. Aerial photographs, geophys-ical surveys, Ordnance Surveymaps, old diaries, local historiesand the Sites and MonumentsRecord will all be consulted tobuild up a picture of the site,before digging begins. Your refer-ence library will be able to tell youhow to contact your local Sites andMonuments Record Office.

Archaeological sites consist oflevels of material which have builtup over a period of years. If thesite has never been disturbed bydevelopment the oldest materialshould be furthest down in theground, whilst any material near tothe surface should be more recentin age. On an agricultural sitesuch as Gosbecks, the first 30cmof soil is likely to have beenrepeatedly turned over by theplough and any material withinthat depth will have beencontinually disturbed. This mater-ial has to be removed before theundisturbed archaeology isreached. The area to be excavatedis carefully marked out andmeasured. Once the ploughsoilhas been removed, the area is dugin layers and material from eachlayer given a distinctive reference

Archaeological remains survive buried in layers in the ground which have built up overtime as plants and soil have accumulated over them. Later features, like posts or rubbishpits, sometime intrude into several layers.

17

Life in Camulodunum

Celtic village life.

The Trinovantes of Camulodunumlived in small groups of farmsteadsscattered across the settlement.Each farmstead probably con-tained two or three houses and anumber of smaller storage build-ings. They lived a largely self-suffi-cient existence producing cropssuch as wheat, barley and beans,and also kept sheep, cattle, pigsand chickens. They may also havehunted and fished. Evidencesuggests that they lived in housesmade from wood or clay, whichwere often rectangular in shape,and which had thatched roofs. AtSheepen, close to the River Colne,archaeologists have found evidenceof more concentrated industrialactivity. Numerous coin mouldshave been found and it is likelythat this was the entry point forgoods going to and coming fromthe Roman Empire.The farmstead at Gosbecks in

which the leaders of these peoplelived was very large and protectedby a large defensive ditch. Thefamilies who lived here would haveenjoyed a much more lavishlifestyle than the ordinary farmersof Camulodunum. They hadservants or slaves to look after theirneeds, and enjoyed food andluxury goods imported from theRoman Empire. Large numbers ofthe amphoras used to transportwine, fish and other products from

18

the Mediterranean have beenfound at Camulodunum. Not farfrom Gosbecks, a group of richburials have been found whichdate from the late Iron Age periodand continue through the earlyyears of Roman rule. Thesegraves, of wealthy, aristocraticBritons, contained many objectsimported from the Roman Empire.There were sets of pottery table-ware, glass, brooches, woollen tex-tiles, a spear and probably a shield.A nearby burial, known as theLexden Tumulus, is earlier andalso contained many high statusitems including bronze and silverornaments and a piece of chainmail. One item, a medallion of theEmperor Augustus, is thought tohave been a diplomatic giftbrought back from Rome. Manyof these objects are now on displayin the Castle Museum inColchester. Many goods includinggrain, cattle, slaves and importedwine and pottery, passed throughCamulodunum on their way to orfrom the Roman Empire.The leaders of the settlement

must also have been able to callupon the labour of large numbersof people. The dykes were hugeundertakings for a society restrict-ed to the use of only relativelysmall handtools. Whilst some slavelabour may have been used, themajority of the workforce probably

came from the small farms in oraround the area.

For many people, life after theRoman invasion would have car-ried on very much as it had donebefore. Some farmers had theirland taken from them when thecolonia was established, and wereforced to work for Roman mastersand it is likely that a numberjoined with Boudica in thedestruction of the town. The landaround Gosbecks never appears tohave been taken over by Romansettlers but it is unknown how longlocal leaders continued to livewithin the royal farmstead.Excluded by lack of Romancitizenship and alien habits frompartaking in Roman town life,ordinary Britons would havelooked to their former leaders forguidance and a sense of identity.This focus was further strength-ened by the development ofGosbecks after AD 100. Romangods were easily assimilated intothe Celtic religious system anddaily life for the Britons wouldhave continued to be guided byritual and belief. The templeobviously became very importantto them. The size of the buildingssuggests that large numbers visitedthe site for festivals andceremonies and the presence ofMercury, god of merchants,appears to point to the likelihoodof fairs and markets being heldthere.

An imported glass bowl found in one of thehigh-status burials at Stanway

Life in the Roman Town of Colchester

The temple and theatre in RomanColchester as they may have looked, byPeter Froste

The Roman citizens who came tolive in Colchester after the armymoved out in AD 49, expected toenjoy all the comforts normallyassociated with Roman living. Theutilitarian nature of the militaryfortress was transformed into animpressive Roman town whichwould have looked like manyothers built in the countries underRoman control. To these townsflocked retired soldiers, adminis-trators or officials drawn from vari-ous parts of the empire. A place tomeet, to do business, to be enter-tained, or just to be seen, wereimportant elements of town life.Public buildings such as a theatre,temple, forum (central market),basilica (town hall), and publicbaths were quickly built, inaddition to shops, businesspremises and houses.The town was laid out in a grid

of four east-west streets and sevennorth-south streets. The maineast-west thoroughfare followedthe line of today's High Street and

as now was the centre of commer-cial activity. There was a pipedwater supply, originating fromsprings and wells outside the townand carried to public buildings andimportant houses through woodenpipes. Drains ran alongside themain streets below the level of theroad and carried waste water away,depositing it in the town ditch out-side the walls.Veteran soldiers were given land

or money to enable them to builda home or set up a business andthe town soon became full of

craftsmen, merchants and busi-nessmen. Slaves and non-citizenswere also brought into the town tohelp run businesses and to work inthe houses.

Some craftsmen and traders livedoutside the town and travelled indaily to conduct their business.Others built open-fronted shops,and lived on the upper floors.Many of these buildings weremodest, constructed using woodenbeams with mud bricks or clay inbetween. More wealthyinhabitants built large houses fromstone, and many had mosaicfloors.

A town houseA large Roman house was foundby archaeologists in the CulverStreet area of the town duringwork on a shopping development.The evidence they found suggestedthat this house belonged to animportant resident of the town. Itwas designed around the four sidesof a square courtyard. Leading offfrom this were corridors and alarge number of rooms.The house was built using stone,

which was at the time consideredan expensive material, and manyrooms also had mosaic floors,some incorporating glass tesserae.The kitchen contained at least

Artist's impression of the large Roman house uncovered in Culver Street, by Peter Froste

19

eleven ovens, although they wereprobably not all in use at the sametime, and two hearths. It also hada piped source of water. In onecorner a stairway led to a partlysunken stone cellar.The main living room had under-

floor heating as well as a mosaicfloor. Despite the impressive styleof this house, most houses lackedsuch basic necessities as baths ortoilets, with most Romans visitingthe public baths daily. The housein Culver Street was built in thesecond century AD and lasteduntil around AD 300.The Castle Museum contains

many items excavated from thesites of Roman houses inColchester, including an almostcomplete mosaic from one housesituated just outside the town'snorth gate at Middleborough.

The theatreRomans loved going to the theatreand it is likely that the whole fami-ly would have regularly attended.Roman theatres were open-air andsemi-circular in shape and couldseat large numbers. Performanceswere free, paid for by the wealthycitizens of the town. Travellinggroups of actors (includingwomen) would perform comic ortragic plays, as well as mime. Theywore costumes but also carriedmasks which helped the audienceto identify the characters beingportrayed. Musicians also per-formed on occasions. The audi-ence sat in a raised seating areacalled the auditorium. Betweenthis and the stage was an areacalled the orchestra where digni-

A slave collar found in Colchester

20

Drains took waste from the streets of thetown and emptied it into the town ditchoutside the walls

taries and honoured guests sat.The stage had a permanent setoften containing tall columns withrooms behind for the actors toprepare themselves in.

The templeReligion was an important part ofthe daily life for both Romans andBritons. Most homes in RomanColchester would have had a smallshrine to one of the householdgods. Each day prayers would besaid to Vesta, goddess of the home,or Lares and Penates, theguardians of the family.The citizens of Colchester also

had a large and magnificenttemple, dedicated to the former

Roman Emperor Claudius. It wasa highly visible symbol of the state,and by worshipping there theinhabitants of the town demon-strated their loyalty to Rome.Although the temple building wasvery large, worship in the main wasindividual and involved offeringgifts to a particular god.There were also many festivals

held in honour of the gods.Such celebrations would be heldout in the open, in front of thetemple. We know that outside thetemple in Colchester there was ahuge stone altar. Each year theleaders of the British tribes wereforced to pay tribute to Rome atthis altar.The Britons normally worshipped

in their own temples locatedoutside the town. These Romano-Celtic temples like the one atGosbecks were found all over theCeltic provinces conquered byRome. At least seven have beendiscovered around Colchester.Here the Britons worshippedRoman gods but were able toassimilate many of their owndeities and festivals into theirworship. Rome tolerated thisreligious variety as long as the statewas acknowledged as the supremeauthority. Only when Christianitychallenged this did the statebecome less tolerant.

Artist's impression of the Christian church found outside the walls of the Roman town, byPeter Froste

?3

Colchester after the Romans

Artist's impression of a Saxon house, the remains of which were found during excavationsin the town, by Peter Froste

In the years after the Romans left,Colchester took on a much differ-ent appearance. The imposingbuildings of the Roman town fellinto ruins, unused by the Saxonfarmers who inhabited the town.Saxon houses built of timber andthatch were situated amongst thestone ruins and walls. All thischanged soon after 1066, when theNormans set about makingColchester into a strategic centrefor controlling the area. Their firstpriority was to build a strongdefensive base, for which theyfound ample building material inthe Roman ruins of the medievaltown.

Colchester Castle was begunaround 1076 and was the first andlargest of the castles built by theNormans in Britain. It was firstintended as a defensive measureagainst the Danes and reachedonly up to the present first floor.In the walls were narrow slitswhich allowed archers to see outwithout being at risk from attackfrom the outside.When the threat of attack passed,

the walls were heightened. Theground floor was then used for

storage and most of the life of thecastle took place in the grand hallon the first floor reached by a spi-ral staircase next to the entrance.Brick fireplaces supplied warmthfor the inhabitants and fresh waterwas provided from a well locatedinside the castle, close to themain entrance. There werealso garderobes or latrinesbuilt into the walls. As theNormans were Christians, achapel was also built in thesouth-east corner of the castle.

The siege of ColchesterBy the summer of 1648,Colchester was a busy com-mercial centre with a prosper-ous cloth trade and around10,000 inhabitants. The town,a mixture of stone and timberframed buildings, was stilllargely packed behind thesurviving Roman town walls.

Overnight the town wasforced to accommodate andfeed an extra 5000 Royalistsoldiers.

Immediately some peoplehad to leave their homes whilstothers found themselves

24

swamped with unwelcome lodgers.The cloth trade halted with mer-chants unable to sell cloth or buymaterials, and large numbers ofweavers were put out of work.Very soon the town's supply of

food began to run out. An attemptby Royalist leaders to breakthrough Parliamentary lines toacquire more food ended badlyand the Parliamentary leaderrefused to allow supplies to be sentinto the besieged town. Remainingsupplies were rationed andtownspeople were forced to findfood where they could. Somereports talked of dogs, cats, miceand rats being trapped to feedtheir families. Thatch was strippedfrom roofs to feed the horses, untilthey also were killed for food.A constant thud of cannon fire

rocked the town whilst bored orfrustrated soldiers fired occasionalvolleys of musket fire. Manyfamilies lost their homes andpossessions to fire, and childrendied of fever. To make the towns-folk feel even more wretched, thesummer of 1648 was particularlycold and wet.

Artist's Impression of a Norman stone housefound during excavations in the town, by PeterFroste

21

Educational approachesThis section suggests ways ofinvestigating the historicaldevelopment of the town with yourpupils. The activities cover a rangeof curriculum areas and combineboth site and classroom work.The activity sheets at the end ofthe section may be photocopiedfor use on site. The activities arebased around six key areas:

understanding the ways inwhich archaeologists work

investigating the dyke systemand the temple and theatre sitesat Gosbecks

looking at the evidence of theRoman town

examining the castle

the Civil War siege

exploring the modern town.

UnderstandingarchaeologyArchaeologists use different waysto interpret the past. Many ofyour pupils may know that archae-ologists dig into the ground to findout about the past, but lookingdown from high above, using aerialphotographs, is also widely used.

StratigraphyStratigraphy is based on theassumption that when diggingdown into the ground, the firstthings that the archaeologist findswill be those that were mostrecently deposited. The fartherdown the excavation goes, theolder the remains will be. Anexception to this is when a pit,perhaps for rubbish, wasspecifically dug by the originalusers of the site, and materialsdeposited in it.To help pupils grasp this idea,

22

find a couple of old sheets,different coloured ones for prefer-ence. Photocopy and enlarge thepictures in this book of anyRoman objects, and find some pic-tures of Victorian objects, or, ifyou live in an area where there is amuseums loan service borrowsome real Victorian artefacts. Youwill also need some modern rub-bish, like a crumpled-up softdrinks can, a sandwich wrapper, acoin, part of a toy, or anything elseto hand. Clear a space on thefloor, scatter the earliest pictures,and over this throw one of thesheets. Place the Victorian objects,or pin the pictures, randomly ontothis, and cover this with the sec-ond sheet onto which the modernobjects should be placed.Tell your pupils that the sheets

represent different layers in theground. Ask them to tell you asmuch as possible about the objectsin each layer, and what they revealabout the people who left them.To make this more fun, ask themto think what the top layer ofobjects would tell a visitingMartian about us. For instance,what does a drinks can reveal?They can make a list of questionsthe Martian might ask:

what is it for?

what did it contain are thereany clues? (solid, liquid?)

what is it made of?

where do the raw materialscome from?

how is it made?

what does the fact that it haswriting on it say aboutearthlings?

is it something of value? If not,does that say anything abouthow rich or wasteful earthsociety is?

Introduce the idea that archaeol-ogists record the position of every-thing before they remove it fromthe ground, as this often gives asmuch information as the objectitself provides. For example, if thesandwich wrapper and can werefound close together, this mightindicate that they were dropped atthe same time, and were possiblysomeone's lunch. Archaeologistsrecord the position of things in theground by imposing a system ofmeasured squares over the wholesite, so that the position of eachfind can be recorded, similar to theuse of geographical co-ordinates.

Pupils can decide on a scale andimpose the same grid system,using string, on their sheet layers,and record the position of theobjects on graph paper. This exer-cise will help pupils to understandhow archaeologists build up apicture of a site like Gosbecks,where the temple ditch was foundto have been made first, possiblyby Iron Age people as part of asacred site, and was then takenover by the builders of theRomano-Celtic temple.

Aerial photographsVegetation generally grows lesswell over stone foundations, and indry weather will wither morequickly, whereas vegetation in theground where there was once aditch, or where foundations onceexisted but have been removed,will be much richer. It is possiblein dry summers to make out thebelow ground position of buildingsand other buried features by takingphotographs from the air. Theseaerial photographs give archaeolo-gists information which it isimpossible to see at eye-level. Theimages seen are referred to as cropmarks.This aerial photograph of

Gosbecks was taken during the drysummer of 1992, and shows anumber of features. Pupils shouldbe able to make out the square

shape (off-centre right) of theRomano-Celtic temple, and, to theleft of it, the dark, semi-circularshape of the theatre. They canalso look for:

the dark rectangle to the left ofthe picture, which is a buildingas yet unidentified

a line which runs from thisbuilding at an angle and isthought to be a Roman waterpipe

the line of the outer enclosurewhich surrounds the theatre

the line of the road.

The foundations give an indicationof the shape of the complete build-ing. Help pupils to understandthis by asking them to match upthe plans and buildings below.They are not all on the same ori-entation. Then get them to identi-fy what kind of building the centralcrop marks shown in the aerialphotographs at Gosbecks mostclearly indicate. The aerialphotograph shows a road passingclose to the site: this suggests thatthe buildings were more likely tobe important or for public, notprivate use. Ask pupils if theythink the road supports the theorythat the buildings were a theatreand a temple.

Which shapes fit which ground plans?

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Aerial photograph of Gosbecksshowing cropmarks

Above are the ground plans of thetemple at Gosbecks and anotherRoman building. Which ground plansbelong to each building?

2G23

Gryme's Dyke

The Romano-Celticperiod

The dykesIn class, ask pupils to think abouthow they would defend their townagainst an army equipped withtanks. Do not spend too long onthis but get them to a point whereyou can ask the question of how todefend a place against men armedwith javelins, swords and daggers,chariots, rock throwing machines,and battering rams. Ask how theywould protect their living placeagainst the Romans, using materi-als that were available at the time,but excluding stone as a buildingmaterial. It is useful to havecovered the story of the Romaninvasion before the visit.

On site encourage your pupils tothink about the effort involved inconstructing the dykes, given onlythe use of small handtools.

Use the activity sheet Romanreporters to help pupils imagine thescene at the dykes during anattack. Ask them to imagine whatthe newspaper or television reportfor the event would have been likehad these media been available atthat time. The activity sheet asksthem to note down all the sounds,sights and smells around themwhen they are standing in, or on,the edge of the dyke. They shouldthink which of these are modern

24

phenomena, and replace them witha likely first-century equivalent.For example, birdsong is commonto both periods, but instead of theroar of cars there would have beenthe sound of horses' hooves andequipment, with the squeak ofwheels trundling over unevenground. Instead of classmateschattering there would have beensoldiers murmuring or sharpcommands being given.You can ask them for more

descriptive words by suggestingweather conditions, like the soundof wind or rain. In class, they canuse the words as a framework fortheir reports. Are they going to bean impartial observer, or a Romanor Briton, and how will thisinfluence their report? Use theopportunity to re-enforce the ideaof bias in historical documents,and how this affects interpretation.

Pupils need to ensure that theiraudiences know the circumstances,but not the outcome of the inva-sion, and it would add extra colourif they include what the armies oneach side looked like. This willnecessitate their own research. Ifthey are doing a television or radioreport, they can think about howto include background noises,tramping feet, the jingle of bridles,badly oiled wheels, shouting, andthe din of battle. A drama activity,recreating the scene, might help toget pupils to think about back-ground sounds.

As an extra discipline, and toencourage precision, either limitthe number of words to be usedfor the newspaper articles, or swapround the finished pieces and askothers to edit them down.Similarly, set a time limit on thetelevision or radio piece.

The temple and theatre atGosbecksAt the time of going to press, the

t only visible evidence on site is the.1 mound of the theatre, but, in time,4 full scale reconstructions may be

built. Pictures, models, or full-sizerepresentations of how things mayhave looked are often used to givean understanding of what life waslike in the past.

It is important to stress to pupilsthat these representations are justone interpretation of how some-thing might have looked, based onthe best knowledge at the time.The pictures of the Gosbecks tem-ple and theatre are made up froma combination of physical evidencefound by archaeologists, andinformation taken from similarsites or from documentary evi-dence.

More excavation, or fresh discov-eries at similar sites elsewhere maychange the view about what thebuildings looked like. Also, whenlooking at reconstructions of thepast, the individual style and deci-sions of the artists, model makers,or building designers have to betaken into account: they maychoose to use clean, clear shapes asif the buildings were brand new, orthey may wish to make them lookmore used and lived in.Figures might be included which

may subtly influence the viewerabout what life was like, forexample a happy smiling well-fed,richly clothed aristocrat carries adifferent message than a skinny,dirty, miserable-looking servant.

In the case of artists, even theweather conditions or the coloursused can determine a viewer'semotional response.

Artists' impressions of the theatre at Gosbecks,by Peter Froste and Keith Myrams

Use the twopictures here todiscuss with yourpupils the different views whichare presented to us of the past.The first illustration, is a bare linedrawing: it aims to give the basicinformation only, but the secondpicture has much more detail: askpupils to list all the extra informa-tion given in the second drawing.

Most of this is added from theartist's imagination, based on well-researched historical informationand advice from archaeologists,but it remains an interpretationonly.

Pupils can try making their ownimage of what the temple entrancelooked like. Photocopy the out-line, and using this as a guide, askthem to copy the shape and detailof the doorway to the outer build-ing. Use the sketch in a visit tothe museum to research the mate-rials from which it was built: pupilscan add this information to theirsketches. Archaeologists know thatthe building was made of Romanbrick, stone, tile and wood, andthat the walls were plastered, andcovered in parts to look like mar-ble. The columns were made ofthick curved tiles held togetherwith mortar and plastered andpainted, again to look like marble.Pupils can add in figures, alsoresearched at the museum. If youwant to make a point about theunderlying effect some interpreta-tions give, suggest that half theclass use the figures, and weatherconditions, to make the scene looksunny and happy, and the other

half to make the temple look bleak.At Gosbecks, give your pupils a

ground plan. Check that theyunderstand how the plan relates towhat is on site by marking the planin three places and asking them tofind the locations. Then give themphotocopies of the Gosbecks activ-ity sheet from the end of the book.The object of the exercise is to

re-enforce the idea of what the sitelooked like, by finding the posi-tions from which each picture wasdrawn. To encourage them to lookclosely, one picture is deliberatelyincorrect: warn them to look close-ly to check that the background ineach picture matches what wouldhave been seen from each location.

As a follow-up in class pupilscould use the pictures as part of adesign for interpretation panels

for the site. Their job is to writethe text. They need to decidefirstly who the intended audienceis, other children of their own age,younger children, or tourists. Thiswill help them sort out what factsmight be of interest and what lan-guage level would be appropriate.They will need to research howand why the site was used, perhapsadding their own figures of peoplein appropriate period clothes.They might want to add Roman-style decorative features such asborders to their panels: there areplenty of ideas for this in themosaics and objects in ColchesterMuseum.

The evidence for theRoman townThe most visible evidence forColchester's Roman past is thewalls built around the town in theyears AD 65 to AD 80. They aresome of the best-preserved Romanwalls in the country and can stillbe traced for long stretches. Inplaces they are still close to theiroriginal height, discounting thestone parapets which would havetopped them originally.

Using the plan on page three,pupils can locate the line of thewalls, adding the missing sectionson. Ask pupils if the line has beenmostly respected, or if new build

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2'3 25

-ings interrupt it. This can leadinto a discussion about the value ofpreserving the walls: should publicmoney be spent on them, or wouldthe town lose some of its characterif they were left to decay?

In Balkerne Hill the constructionof the walls can be clearly seen.They are made from layers ofsquared septaria, a stone muchused in Roman Colchester,separated by courses of red brick,like thick tiles. The bricks arebetween 5 and 6cm in depth andcontrast decoratively with thewhite septaria. Their function is toact as a bonding or levelling courseto the stone, giving the wall stabili-ty. Along the wall at a number ofpoints are drain arches whichcarried waste out of the townbefore depositing it in the townditch. Medieval bastions, or semi-circular towers, were added to thewall in Priory Street.

Before the visit look with yourclass at a map of modernColchester and decide where themain routes into the town aretoday. By comparing this with aplan of the Roman town, you willbe able to see that the majority ofthe routes pass through the formerRoman entrances. The mainexception is the Balkerne Gate,which, though originally of greatimportance, does not relate to anyroad today, and is solely for pedes-trians.

On site pupils can discuss wherethe line of the road through thegate might have been, and where itled to. Give them the activitysheet The Balkerne Gate, found atthe end of the book, and ask themto mark on the drawing the partsof the gate left standing. Lookingat the remains, ask what evidencethere is for the reconstructionpicture.

Ask pupils to make detailedsketches of a small section of thewall, labelling as precisely as theycan the different colours that theyfind, for example, robin red, softred-brown, orangey red, pale,

26

The Roman wall in Ba lkerne Hill

milky pink so that they can try toreproduce these colours in class.They can use their sketches tocreate posters to draw tourists tothe town, or they can print theirdesigns onto fabric, to make longscarves, or ties.

Using potato prints they cancreate their own gateway for theclassroom, printing their designsonto the reverse side of wallpaper,or onto flattened cardboard super-market boxes. Treat these first witha coat of white emulsion.The arch provides a good shape

to use as the frame for a noticeboard of Roman information. Ifyou intend to visit the museum,suggest that each member of theclass finds one fact about theRomans which they think otherswill enjoy knowing, and ask themto write it down but to keep it asecret. After the visit, set up anotice board by cutting round anarch picture and pasting it onto acork tile. Each day a new fact canbe pinned into the arch shape,identified by a Roman numeral.

The medieval castleColchester Castle is an imposingstructure which still dominates theskyline of the town when viewedfrom the north. Its size symbol-ised the power of its Normanbuilders.To help pupils understand what

the castle looked like when it was

2 9

built, use the activity sheetColchester Castle. This puts theminto the roles of assistants in mak-ing a film on medieval Colchester:they are asked to think about whatwould or would not have beenpresent on or near the castle then.They need to look at the outerwalls of the castle to find out moreclues as to how it originally looked.Ask them to find evidence forbattlements, additional entrancesand defensive measures.Suggest that the director of the

film wants to concentrate on howstrong the castle was. Ask pupilsto identify the defensive featuresand make simple labelled sketchesof, for example, the arrow slits, thethick walls, the barriers to gettingclose to the front entrance, themain door, the uncompromising,windowless wall at ground floorlevel. They can draw their ownoutlines of each wall and mark onthe defensive features to show thedirector where to film.

The siege of ColchesterThe siege of Colchester left deepscars on the town. Everyonesuffered, and some buildings stillbear the marks of cannon shot anddevastation.Use the extracts below to look for

the evidence of the siege: theplaces to study are the Churches ofSt Mary at the Walls and StMartin's, the stretch of town wallin Priory Street, and the memorialto the executed Royalist leaders in

The original battlements of the castle

Roman bricks and septaria used in thebuilding of the Balkerne Gate

Castle Park.Matthew Carter, who was in

charge of provisions for theRoyalist army, wrote of theParliamentarian force thatthey again fell to battering StMary's steeple, one side of whichwas some hours afterwards beatdown, with a great part of the saidchurch.Writing long after the event in

1724, Daniel Defoe, on a tour ofthe eastern counties, reportedthatSir Charles Lucas and Sir GeorgeLisle were shot to death under the cas-tle wall. The inhabitants had a tradi-tion that no grass would grow uponthe spot where the blood of these twogallant gentlemen was spilt, and theyshowed the place bare of grass formany years. However, the batteredwalls, the breaches in the turrets andthe ruined churches still remain.Your pupils can write an

illustrated guide for tourists on thesiege, what the background was,who the protagonists were, andwhat to look for in the town.Combined with the two extractsfrom the Documentary sourcessection, there is scope back in classfor a dramatic recreation of events.They can use these to piece

together what the ordinary peopleof Colchester might have felt, whatthose supporting the different sidesmight have said to each other, and

areas where they might have foundthemselves in agreement. On sitepupils can record what damagewas done, and try to imagine whatit might have been like to livethrough the destruction. Whatsounds, for example would thecannon balls make as they hit the

Memorial to Royalist leaders,Castle Park

3 0

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town walls, or as parts of St Mary'stower fell down?

If the school has a video camera,pupils can make a short film,incorporating sound effects, soundbites from the inhabitants, andatmospheric period music, andoverlaid with their own scriptedcommentary. A slide programmewill work as well.

The townColchester has been inhabitedcontinuously since the Romanperiod. The activity sheet calledChanging Colchester, at the end ofthe book, provides a map for pupiluse, and asks them to find thebuildings illustrated. It is a circu-lar walk, starting at the BalkerneGate.

Ask pupils to look closely at thematerials used in the buildings andto list them, and in particular tonote any re-use of Romanmaterial. The object of the exer-cise is to match different materialsto different periods, and to thefunction or status of the building.For example, the Roman walls andthe castle are of stone with brickbonds, and are very thick forstrength. Roman material is usedin the castle, because stone wasexpensive to quarry and transport,so good materials from obsoletebuildings were re-used. Thechurch is also of stone, but thewalls are not as thick as thecastle's, and are purely for status,not defence. Hollytrees and theTown Hall are brick, as by theeighteenth and nineteenth-cen-turies, this had become a morewidely available commodity.Similarly, glass became easier andcheaper to produce in the lastcentury, and is extensively used inmodern buildings, like those atCulver Square. In class, pupils canresearch where the building mate-rials have come from, including theconstituents for those that havebeen manufactured, and how theyhave been prepared for use.

27

The National CurriculumHistoryColchester and its surroundingarea provides a valuable opportuni-ty for pupils to learn about thedevelopment of a town from itsearly beginnings to the present day.It also provides evidence for theeffect that the Roman presencehad upon Britain. The town'sdevelopment since that period hasbeen continually influenced by thelayout and remains of the Romantown. The importance of its posi-tion in eastern England, valued inearlier centuries, has continuedthrough to modern times.Throughout all the activities sug-gested in this handbook, pupils willbe required to look for, and evalu-ate, evidence. They will also beasked to think about the way weinterpret the past today.The documentary sources include

extracts from ancient historieswritten after the events by authorswho may or may not have beenpresent at the time. Pupils shouldbe aware of this, and of the possi-bility of events being inaccuratelyreported. To illustrate this, askthem all to write down, very quick-ly, their version of an event they allwitnessed, like a recent assembly,or a television programme, or yourlast out-of-school visit. Read a fewout and see to what extent theaccounts offer the same informa-tion to someone who was notpresent at the event.The two extracts about the siege

of Colchester were eyewitnessaccounts written at the time of thesiege, and are a much more inti-mate account of events than theearlier Roman histories. These twoaccounts are good examples ofhow facts become distorted bybias. Your pupils can experiencethis for themselves: look at thetombstones in the Documentarysources section, and ask half theclass to imagine they are the

28

people who erected them, who arepaying their respects whenBoudica's army smashes them up.Encourage them to talk aboutwhat their relationship to the deadpeople was (loyal servants or closefamily and friends). The other halfof the class can imagine they areBoudica's followers; they can spec-ulate about how they would havefelt about the Romans. Ask themto write down quickly an accountof the destruction of these tomb-stones from their assumed charac-ter's viewpoint. This should alertthem to the fact that interpreta-tions of events can differ accordingto the personal situation of thewriter, and that they need to bearthis in mind when looking at docu-mentary evidence. Using the twoaccounts of the siege, ask them tomake a list of all the informationwhich is not clouded by theauthors' bias, as well as the partswhich influence the reader to takesides.

EnglishMany of the activities suggested inthis book involve the use oflanguage in a range of forms.Listening, questioning, discussingand recording are all skills neededduring a visit to any of the sitescovered in this book. Many taskscan be carried out by pupils inpairs or small groups and will pro-mote discussions of ideas. Pupilsshould be encouraged to recordcarefully information gathered inColchester as well as at theRomano-British site at Gosbecks,for later work back in school.Follow-up work could includeinstructions for a town trail, atourism leaflet, production of aguide book or an article for aschool newspaper.There is also scope for pupils to

devise and tell stories at varioussites. A Roman soldier could tell

of his day patrolling the mainentrance to the Roman town. ABriton could tell of his visit toGosbecks for a religious festival.Whilst the siege of Colchesterpresents many opportunities fordrama or imaginative writing, thereis also scope for devising casehistories for participants on bothsides or reporting on events. Thetheatre at Gosbecks provides anideal setting for a drama writtenabout an episode in Romano-British history.

MathematicsAll the sites covered in this bookprovide many opportunities formeasuring and estimation work.The size of the Romano-Celtictemple at Gosbecks could be mea-sured and later compared to thesize of the school. Flow chartscould be devised to show thesequence of events that took placein Colchester and at Gosbecksduring the Roman period. Use ofthe time line will help in this.

Pupils can also attempt to useRoman measurements. The unitof Roman measurement was thepes, which was 29.57cm. It wasusually called the Pes Monetalis,because the standard was kept inthe temple of Juno Moneta inRome. Confusingly there was alsoanother pes in use which measured33.3cm. This one was German inorigin and was called the PesDrusianus. Pupils can converttheir measurements of the templesite into Roman units. Using thepicture on the activity sheet ofwhat the Balkerne Gate may havelooked like in Roman times, yourclass can estimate the height of thepresent remains, and calculate thatof the original.

At the museum, ask for pupils'own designs for the decorativeborders for a mosaic floor for thecella, the innermost part of the

Roman MeasurementsDenomination Factor Length

Metric ImperialPes (foot) Monetalis unit 29.6 cm 11.65 inDigitus (finger) 1/16 1.85 cm 0.73 inUncia (inch) or Po llex (thumb) 1/12 2.47 cm 0.97 inPalmus (palm) 1/4 7.4 cm 2.91 inCubitum (elbow or cubit) 1 1/2 44.4 cm 17.48 inPassus (pace) 5 1.48 m 4.86 ftDecempeda (10feet)or Pertica (rod) 10 2.96 m 9.71 ftActus (furrow) length 120 35.52 m 116.54 ftStadium (stade) 125 paces or1/8 mille 625 185.00 m 606.9 ftMille passus (1000 paces)the Roman mile 5000 1480.00m 4856.00 ftLeaga (league) 1500 paces 7500 2220.00m 7283.00 ft

temple. They need to consider thesize of the repeat pattern and cal-culate it so that it fits exactly intoeach side.

Back in class, a map of R6manBritain can be used to measure thedistance between Colchester andother Roman towns. If soldierscould cover 25 miles a day, pupilscould calculate the length of timeit would take for help to arrive inan emergency such as theBoudican revolt.

ScienceStudying archaeological remainsallows pupils many opportunitiesto study different types of materi-als. Before the visit ask pupils tocollect any old pieces of buildingmaterials. Ask them to classify thepieces in some way, such as naturaland manufactured, metal and non-

A Roman face pot.

metal, or by their function such asuse in roofs, walls, windows.Whatever criteria are chosen willrequire pupils to study the piecesclosely. Ask pupils to think aboutthe properties of objects and howthey were used, and go on to con-sider the technology involved inextracting and manufacturingthem. How, for example, wereRoman tiles made, and what rawmaterials, including fuel, wereneeded? If pairs, or small groupsare made responsible for differentareas of research, they can presenttheir findings to the whole classlater. The museum can be used forfinding answers to some of theirquestions.

GeographyA study of the Roman invasion willallow pupils to use maps and anatlas to plot the invasion routetaken by the Roman army fromKent to Colchester. Pupils caninvestigate the constraints uponmodern building and road plan-ning in Colchester caused today bythe need to protect and accommo-date the Roman-built walls anddiscuss the issues that can arisewhen modern development threat-ens an historic site. They can lookat why Colchester was chosen bythe Roman army in preference toGosbecks as a military fortress and

3 )

why the town continued to be seenas strategically important byarmies through to the seventeenthcentury.

Historic sites and buildings canbe an excellent stimulus for pupilsto address modern issues such asconservation and tourism.

TechnologyPupils could be asked to design afuture plan for an archaeologicalpark at Gosbecks. They wouldneed to consider:

the need to protect thesite from any more damage

the visitor facilities

the interpretation needed forvisitors to enjoy the site

the natural environment

the educational use

They could also be asked to designpromotional material for the site oran introductory video.

ArtAll the sites covered can be record-ed using drawings and a variety ofmaterials. Photography could alsobe used to record and illustratefindings. Detailed drawings couldbe made of a section of the Romanwall to identify the materials usedin its construction. Mosaic pat-terns could be designed using thecommonly used motifs and byreferring to mosaics now inColchester Museum.

Religious studiesUsing the artist's impressions ofwhat the temple and theatre atGosbecks used to look like, pupilscan discuss what differences thereare in appearence and usage inplaces of worship between thenand now. This can offer the oppor-tunity to talk not just aboutChristian churches, but also abouttemples and mosques.

29

Roman reporters

The Roman invasion of Camulodunum was the most important news story of its time.

Imagine you are a Roman reporter covering the story. You will need to describe the scene in as muchdetail as possible.

You have had to take refuge in the bottom of the dyke, so you will need to make your report from there.Gather some background information by filling in the notebook below.

Noises I can hear now

What can I see now?

What I can smell now

WarlWould I have heard it then?

Would I have seen it then?

Would I have smelt it then?

Equivalent Roman noise

Equivalent Roman sight

Equivalent Roman smell

30 33

Forgery at Gosbecks?The archaeologists at Gosbecks only have the buried remains of the buildings to help them decide whatGosbecks once looked like.

A clever forger, hearing that reconstructions of the buildings are planned, has produced a box of pictureswhich he claimed to have found in a library. He says that these pictures were drawn when the site was inuse, but a quick-witted archaeologist spots that at least one of them is incorrect. Use the display boardson site or the picture on page 25 and this plan to find out which picture is the forgery.

Draw an arrow from the other pictures to the placesfrom which they were drawn.

31

3

The Balkerne GateThe Balkerne Gate was once the main entrance to the Roman town. This is a drawing of what thearchaeologists think the gate looked like in the Roman period. Mark on the drawing the parts thatremain today.

From the inside of the remaining guard-room look carefully at the way thearchway has been constructed.Complete the drawing, filling in themissing parts and shading in any modernadditions.

Look closely at the wall, and draw asection showing both the white stone andthe red brick.

32 0 3

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Colchester CastleA film producer wants to use the castle as a backdrop for a scene in a film about medieval Colchester.

Look closely at the picture and at the castle itself.

Note down all the later additions which will have to be hidden or removed before filming begins.

laMark on the drawing all the things that will have to be put back onto the present Castle to makelook like it does in the picture. I.

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Make a list in words or picturesof all the building materials thatwill be needed by the filmproducer to add on the missingparts.

33

Changing ColchesterPeople have lived in Colchester ever since the Romans built atown here. As you walk around, look for Roman materialsreused by later builders.Put an R on the map whenever you spot Roman buildingmaterials being used.

Stop at each of the places marked on the map, and match thepictures shown here to the buildings you can see.Draw a line from the picture to the right place on the map.

OC)

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-811111111111191

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Roman building material looks like this.

West Stockwell St

Culver Precinct Holy Trinity Church Scheregate Steps Hollytrees

Use the other side of this sheet to sketch building materials from two of the buildings.

34 37

Bibliography and resourcesBooks for teachers

ReferenceAlcock, J, Life in RomanBritain, Batsford/EnglishHeritage, 1996.ISBN 0-7134-6745-2Carlton, C, Going to the Wars,Experience of British Civil Wars,Rout ledge, 1992.ISBN 0-415-03282-2Carter, M, True Relation of theSiege Of Colchester in 1648.Copy in the Essex Record Office,Colchester Branch.Colchester's Teares, pamphletpublished in 1648. Copy held inLocal Studies Department ofColchester Library.Colchester Museum RomanPack. Colchester Borough Council1997. Available from the CastleMuseum.Colchester Museum NormanPack. Colchester BoroughCouncil, 1997. Available from theCastle Museum.Crummy, P, City of Victory, thestory of Colchester-Britain'sfirst Roman town, ColchesterArchaeological Trust, 1997.ISBN 1-897719-04-3An accessible and up-to-datehistory.Crummy, P, In Search ofColchester's Past, ColchesterArchaeological Trust, 1984ISBN 0-950-3727-5-7.Crummy, P, Late Iron Age andRoman Colchester, in VictoriaCounty History, Vol. 9. Librarieswill have copies of this volume.Gosbecks Teachers ResourcePack, Colchester BoroughCouncil, 1996. Available from theCastle Museum.Guide to Colchester, JarroldsPublishing, 1996.ISBN 0-7117-0885-1Hull, M.R, Roman Colchester,The Society of Antiquaries, 1958,Oxford University Press. This is adetailed study of Colchester based

on archaeological evidence.Ireland, S, Roman Britain, asourcebook, Routledge, 1986.ISBN 0-415-04316-6.This is useful for extracts oforiginal written material.Metcalf, D, The Romans inBritain, Batsford, 1993.ISBN 0-7134- 6575-1.Although this is primarily achildren's book it is advanced foryounger children and is a goodsource book for teachers.Potter, T.W, Roman Britain,British Museum Press, 1983.ISBN 0-7141-2023 -5.Salway, P, Oxford IllustratedHistory of Roman Britain,Oxford University Press, 1993.ISBN 0-19-822984-4This is a very useful and readablebook.Stephenson, D, The Book ofColchester, Barracuda Books Ltd,1978. ISBN 0-86023-056-2.Webster, G, The RomanInvasion of Britain, Batsford,1980. ISBN 0-7134-7253-7.

Educational ApproachesCopeland, T, Geography andthe Historic Environment,English Heritage, 1993.ISBN 1-85074-332-0.Copeland, T, Maths and theHistoric Environment, EnglishHeritage, 1992.ISBN 1-85074-329-0.Pownall, J, and Hutson, N,Science and the HistoricEnvironment, English Heritage,1992. ISBN 1-85074-331-2.Durbin, G, Morris, S, andWilkinson, S, A Teacher's Guideto Learning From Objects,English Heritage, 1990.ISBN 1-85074-259-6.Watson, Iain, Using RomanSites, English Heritage, 1997.ISBN 1-85074-334-7.Sealey, P, The Boudican Revoltagainst Rome, Shire Archaeology,1997. ISBN 0-7478-0352-8

q..1` 3 3

Books for pupilsCorbishley, M, History asEvidence: the Romans,Kingfisher Books, 1992.ISBN 0-86272-873-8.Honnywill, J, Invaders: theRomans, Collins Educational,1991. ISBN 0-00-315450- 5.Hall, J, and Jones, C, BBC FactFinders: Roman Britain, BBCEducational Publishing, 1992.ISBN 0-563-34999-9.McIntosh, J, Archaeology:Eyewitness Guide, DorlingKindersley, 1994.ISBN 0-7513-6032-5.Mason, J, Roman BritainResource Book, Longman, 1991.ISBN 0-582-07311-1.Mason, J, The Roman Empire,Longman,1991.ISBN 0-582-20736-3.O'Connell, M, History inEvidence: Roman Britain,Wayland, 1989.ISBN 1-85210- 574-7.Place, R, The Romans: Fact andFiction, Adventures in RomanBritain, Cambridge UniversityPress, 1988. ISBN 0-521-33787-9.Whittock, M, The RomanEmpire, Heinemann Educational,1991. ISBN 0-435-31274-X.Williams, B, History of Britain,Roman Britain, Hamlyn, 1994.ISBN 0-600-58086-5.

FictionHarris, S, Son of Rebellion,Anglia Young Books, 1989.ISBN 1-871173-05-1.Oakden, D, History QuickReads No 6: Stories of RomanTimes, Anglia Young Books, 1995.ISBN 1-871173-42-6.

VideosRoman Colchester andColchester Castle, ColchesterMuseums, 40 minutes. Two videostell the story of the development ofRoman Colchester and the build-

35

ing of Colchester Castle. Suitablefor Key Stage 2, Key Stage 3 andadults. Available from the CastleMuseum.

The Archaeological Detectives,English Heritage, 1991. 79minutes. Four programmes show-ing children applying archaeologi-cal methods to investigating build-ings, including a Roman site.Suitable for Key Stages 2 and 3.

Investigating Towns, EnglishHeritage, 1994. 30 minutes.Examines how archaeologists findout about a town's past. Suitablefor Key Stages 2 and 3, and in-service training.

Looking for the Past andUncovering the Past, EnglishHeritage, 1994. 58 minutes.Looks at the range of techniquesused by archaeologists. Suitablefor Key Stages 2 and 3 and adult.

Talkin' Roman, English Heritage,1996. 20 minutes. Investigateswhat life was like in Roman Britainusing characters from the past andfeatures Roman Colchester.Suitable for Key Stage 2, in-serviceand initial teacher training.

Teaching on Site, EnglishHeritage,1992. 73 minutes.Introduces approaches to using thehistoric environment in relation toprogrammes of study and attain-ment targets for different keystages over a range of subjects.Suitable for in-service and initialteacher training.English Heritage videos are avail-able on free loan from EnglishHeritage Postal Sales, PO Box229, Northampton NN6 9RY.

CD RomCastles, Anglia Multimedia, 1994.Suitable for Key Stage 3, GCSEand adult education. This discintroduces a large selection ofcastles throughout the British Isles.Individual castles can be selectedfor detailed study, or searched forin the school's locality. Availablefrom English Heritage.

36

SoftwareThe Roman Conquest ofBritain, English Heritage, 1994.Four modules which encouragedecision-making based on the factsof the invasion. Suitable for KeyStage 2, and compatible with BBCB and Acorn Archimedes 400computers.

PostersA Roman Villa Fading FromView, English Heritage, 1995.This full colour poster tells thestory of a Roman villa, showingvividly its decline over thecenturies. There are explanatorynotes and five photocopiable work-sheets on the reverse.

Roman Britain Poster Pack,English Heritage, 1997.ISBN 1-85074-692-3Eight A3 size posters covering thearmy, home life, buildings andcrafts, together with colourrepresentations of Roman sites.A useful classroom resource forintroducing the evidence leftbehind by the Roman occupationof Britain.

Our Education Service aims tohelp teachers at all levels makebetter use of the resource of thehistoric environment.Educational groups can makefree visits to over 400 historicproperties managed by EnglishHeritage. The followingbooklets are free on request.Visiting Historic Sitescontains details of how to book,a list of all English Heritageproperties and a booking form,and is packed with ideas andactivities for NationalCurriculum study and work onsite.Our Resources catalogue listsall our educational books,videos,posters and slide packs.Please contact:

English Heritage,Education Service

Freepost 22, (WD 214)London WlE 5EZTel: 0171-973 3442Fax: 0171-973 3443

Medical instruments found recently in Colchester, dating to c. AD 50

0 I c m1_1

:L]

Modern town centre of ColchesterThe footprints indicate a suitable walk for a school party exploring Colchester's Romantown walls. The walk can be followed entirely on pavements but many of the roads whichmust be walked along or crossed are often busy with traffic. Also the walk goes throughtwo small car parks.

Back Cover: Artist's impression of Gosbecks in the second century,by Peter Froste.

ENGLISH HERITAGE

Historic ColchesterA teacher's handbook

Colchester is one of the oldest recorded towns in Britain. It was anestablished settlement when the Romans arrived and it is closely

associated with Cunobelin, Claudius and Boudica, some of the mostfamous names from that period. The town retains an enormous amount

of the physical evidence of its past, including the pre-Roman defencesystem which surrounded the area, the buried remains of the Romano-British temple and theatre, the Roman city with its massive walls, the

Norman castle, and buildings which testify to the effects of thecatastrophic siege during the Civil War. This book offers support to

teachers who wish to look at aspects of the town's history or to study itover a long period of time. It is also useful for teachers anywhere as a

case study of the Roman influence on existing settlements.

9

-41

ISBN 1-85074-666-4

L11151 I I746669

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