So finally the Romans conquered Britain and made her part of the Roman Empire. This became a time of great change in Britain for the Romans introduced many new things to us. Some people aren't always keen on change but for the most part, the Celts seemed to adopt the Roman way of life rather willingly. There was one tribe - the Iceni's, who were not all impressed with the Romans or their culture and attempted to do something about it. But, we'll look at that later.
For now, let's concentrate on some of the good stuff that came our way via Rome!
Peace At Last!
After years of fighting amid the Celtic tribes, a period of peace came with Roman rule. As I mentioned before, if the Celts had been united before the final invasion, we just might have been more than the Romans could handle! Still things calmed down and I'm sure the average Joe Bloggs heaved a sigh of relief.
Roads
And straight ones too! The Romans had a rather large amount of troops and needed to move them around with ease. Straight roads therefore made perfect sense and one thing is for sure – they didn't drive you around the bend! Probably the most famous road in Britain is "Watling Street." Beginning near Kent on the coast of England, it went through London and almost all the way up to Leicester before changing direction and heading towards north Wales. That's one heck of a road, especially when you consider that they didn't have Bob the Builder in those days!
Baths
The Romans loved their baths, and we can thank them
and not our parents for introducing them. Take heart, when you're forced to bathe just remember that you are amid good company. Hail the Romans, after all isn't it better than being a gladiator? I mean, at least you can get out of the bath and in one piece too!
The Calendar and Months of the Year
The calendar was in use by the Romans for a long time, but Julius Caesar gave us the Julian calendar. Although we no longer use this version of calendar, our months of the year were formed from it. So were you born in Iunonius or perhaps Ianuarius? See here.
Utilities
The Romans also gave us glass. Oh we already had the stuff but we hadn't a clue how to make it, until the Romans shared their knowledge. They even had window glass in their villas, whereas we didn't even know what a villa was!
Villas were made of plaster and beautiful mosaic, our chicken bones would have looked rather nice on the mosaic floor don't you think?
