My Science School

Did the Romans conquer the whole of Britain?

                        The Romans gradually conquered the whole of England and Wales, partly through battle and partly by making political arrangements with some of the Celtic chieftains. When the Romans reached the north of England, however, they stopped. The Picts from Scotland fought the Romans fiercely, raiding their farms and garrisons. The Roman lines were over-extended and it was difficult to supply troops so far north. The soldiers were mostly from warm Mediterranean countries and they found the cold, wet northern climate of northern England difficult to adapt to.

                       The Romans built Hadrian’s Wall to keep the Picts out of the occupied territory. This huge structure stretched from east to west across northern Britain. The wall was garrisoned by soldiers and supported by a string of military forts.

 

Why did the Romans abandon most of their empire?

                      In the first few centuries AD, it became clear that the Roman Empire was far too big and unwieldy to survive in its original form. A huge civil service and army were needed to maintain the empire, and these became extremely expensive.

                         In addition, there were numerous rebellions in different parts of the empire, mostly headed by army commanders with designs on becoming emperor. Eventually, in AD284, Emperor Diocletian broke the Roman Empire into smaller self-governing units, each with its own army. The whole empire was split into two sections: Eastern and Western. The decline of the empire halted for a while, but soon the fighting resumed. Eventually the Roman Empire was weakened to such an extent that it was successfully attacked and overrun by invading barbarians.

 

 

 

How was Rome founded?

                     According to legend, Rome was founded in 753BC by twin brothers called Romulus and Remus, who had been raised by a she-wolf. By 509BC the original Etruscan Inhabitants of Rome had been driven out, and by 275BC Rome controlled most of Italy. The Phoenicians were great rivals of Rome, and they were finally defeated by the Romans in the Punic Wars (264-146BC). After this, the Romans were able to extend their empire with little organized resistance.

 

 

 

 

How far did Roman rule extend?

                           At its peak, the Roman Empire extended all around the Mediterranean — into Syria, Israel, parts of Turkey, most of Europe and the Balkan regions. A huge army was needed to maintain control over these regions, and the costs were tremendous. There were continual minor wars and skirmishes along the edges of the Empire, which meant that large garrisons of soldiers had to be maintained.

 

 

 

Why was the Roman army so successful?

                        The Roman army invented a method of warfare that persisted for 2,000 years. Its troops were rigorously trained and exercised, and divided into small detachments under the control of officers. Roman soldiers wore effective armour, and developed tactics that allowed them to fight successfully against almost any enemy. In particular, the Roman soldiers were very effective at defence. They closed ranks and protected themselves with large shields, which deflected arrows and spears, until they reached close quarters and could use their own weapons.

                            Paved roads were constructed to allow the Roman armies to move very quickly to any region where trouble flared up. A network of local forts and garrisons made sure that soldiers were always available.

Pictures Credit: Google

 

 Who were the Phoenicians?

                      Although their empire was not huge, the Phoenicians had a great influence on life around the Mediterranean. They were skilled seafarers, and were also merchants and even raiders at times.

                     The Phoenicians lived in the eastern Mediterranean, in what are now parts of modern Israel, Lebanon and Syria. The name ‘Phoenician’ comes from a purple dye that they produced from a sea snail, which was in great demand. The Phoenicians traded all along the Mediterranean coast, down the Atlantic coast of Africa, and as far north as Britain where they traded for tin.

 

 

Who made the terracotta warriors?

                              In China the powerful Qin dynasty came to power in the 3rd century BC. They swiftly conquered their neighbours to make a large empire covering most of modern China. The Qin emperor Shi Huangdi standardized weights and measures and introduced a single form of currency. He is best remembered for his construction of the Great Wall of China, which stretches for 2,250 km across the north of China. It was built to prevent raids from nomadic people in the north. When the emperor died, a huge tomb was built to hold his body. It was filled with a guardian army of thousands of life-sized terracotta (pottery) warriors. After the emperor’s death the Qin Empire broke up into a series of smaller states.

 

 

 

What were the Olympic Games?

                    The Olympic Games started as one of the religious festivals held in ancient Greece in honour of Zeus, the leader of the gods. The festival was held at Olympia, home of the gods, every four years.

                    The first games probably began around 1200BC, but the organized Olympic Games, which featured sports such as running and wrestling, began in 776BC. The games continued until AD393 when the ruling Romans banned them. They were revived during the 1800s after archaeological finds renewed interest in Greece. The first of the modern Olympic Games were held in 1896 in Athens, Greece.

                    The modern Olympic games are split into winter and summer events. Since 1994, the Winter and Summer Games have been divided and scheduled on four year cycles, two years apart.

Pictures Credit: Google

 

 

How did the ancient Greeks encourage scientific thinking?

            Most early peoples were interested in the things and events around them, but the ancient Greeks took their thinking a lot further. They used reason and deduction to try and decide about the meaning of the world, placing great importance on learning, music and writing. The ancient Greeks developed philosophy as a way of thinking about fife and the world we live in, and they also developed the rules of mathematics that are still used today.

            The ancient Greeks also developed their own system of medicine that persisted for 1,500 years or more. The Greeks were only interested in thinking about such things. They seldom experimented to see if their theories were correct.

 

 

Who was Alexander the Great?

                    Alexander was a king of Macedonia, a poor country that needed to expand in order to survive. Although he was only 20 when he became king, Alexander rapidly conquered Greece. He then led his armies against the mighty Persian Empire, and within three years he had conquered it too. He now ruled an empire extending from Egypt and the Mediterranean coast all the way into India.

                  Alexander developed various methods of warfare, such as siege engines, that were to be used for hundreds of years. He introduced Greek methods of thinking and religion into his empire, and divided it into a series of small kingdoms under his own authority. He was only 32 when he died at Alexandria, in Egypt.

Pictures Credit: Google

Who was Confucius?

                      Confucius was an ancient Chinese philosopher who taught the need for moral responsibility and virtue. His teachings did not make much impact during his life, but they later became the central part of Chinese moral and religious thinking. Confucius probably lived from 551 to 479BC, in the time of the Zhou dynasty. The Zhou was the longest-lasting group of Chinese rulers, who governed the country from 1122 to 256BC. Confucianism was probably the most important feature in Chinese life until the appearance of Communism in the 20th century. Confucianism resembles a religion, but instead of worshipping gods it is a guide to morality and good government.

 

Who were the Persians?

                        Persia was a great empire that was ruled from the region we now call Iran. The Medes and the Persians were descended from Aryan invaders who occupied the territory almost 3,000 years ago. The Persians, however, soon seized power. The modern name of Iran comes from an Aryan word meaning ‘land of the Aryans’.

                      The Persian emperor Cyrus built a huge empire by conquering all the neighbouring states, extending into Pakistan, Turkey, Libya and Egypt and northwards into parts of modern Russia. Cyrus and his successor, Darius I, set up a highly organized form of government, with local rulers, formal taxation and road building. The Persian Empire reached its greatest size in 500BC. It was eventually conquered by the Macedonian general Alexander the Great in 331BC.

 

 

Who was Boudicca?

                         Boudicca (Boadicea) was the queen of the Iceni, a tribe of Celts living in eastern England. Her husband was a governor, who worked with the Romans. After his death the Romans tried to take control. Boudicca led a rebellion, which sacked the towns of Colchester and London, until the Roman armies marched against her. The Romans defeated the Iceni and their Celtic allies. Boudicca took poison to avoid capture.

 

 

What happened when the Romans conquered the Celts?

                       After fierce battles with the Romans, the defeated Celts in Gaul (modern France) soon adapted to the Roman way of life. They lived in villas and began to intermarry with their Roman occupiers. The Celts were highly skilled metal-smiths and jewellers, as well as being poets and musicians. The Romans recorded details of Celtic life and culture.

                       Some of the Celts never accepted Roman rule in Britain. Instead they fled to isolated parts of Wales and Scotland, where they were never conquered. However, the Romano-British carried on a Roman way of life even after the Roman armies had withdrawn back to continental Europe.

Pictures Credit: Google

 

 

 

Have any Celtic cultures survived?

                           The Celts retreated westwards from the Romans and later invaders. They soon vanished from most of the huge territory that they had originally occupied. Today true Celtic cultures exist only because of their language. They can be found in Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and Brittany. Other Celtic languages recently died out in Cornwall and the Isle of Man.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What was the Celtic religion?

                      There was no single religion throughout the Celtic regions, but there was a common priesthood. These priests were known as druids. We know very little about the Celtic religion because it was ruthlessly put down by the Romans. We know that the Celts worshipped many different gods and goddesses, and they probably had a form of nature worship.

                     The druids were responsible for religious rituals. These rituals were never written down, but they were preserved by word of mouth and in songs and poetry.

Pictures Credit: Google

Who were the Indo-Europeans?

                         About 4,000 years ago, a race of people living in southern Russia began to migrate westwards. These people are now known as Indo-Europeans, or Aryans. However, the language they spoke can be traced all along the routes of their migration. This has meant that some almost identical words have persisted throughout Asia and Europe.

                       Some of the Indo-European people migrated south into India and Persia, while others continued westwards into Turkey, Greece and Western Europe. Eventually, the Indo-Europeans gave rise to the Celts.

 

 

What are hill forts?

                     Hill forts were enormous circular earthworks, which were built on high ground. They were built by the Celts, who were a warlike race. When attacked, the Celts retired to their hill forts.

                   The banks of the hill forts were surrounded by deep ditches, and were probably topped with defensive wooden spikes. The defenders repelled attackers with showers of stones thrown from slingshots. Many regions formerly occupied by the Celts, such as Britain and France, still have the remains of hill forts.

Pictures Credit: Google

 

Why were pyramids built?

                    Pyramid building developed only slowly in ancient Egypt. The first pyramids were simple structures called mastabas, which were platforms built over the tombs of important people. Over the years further levels were added, until a structure called a step pyramid was produced.

                        In later pyramids, the steps were filled in to produce the smooth conical shape of the famous Pyramids at Giza that we can see today. Pyramid building became an important part of the Egyptian civilization. Egyptians believed that the pyramids offered a pathway to heaven for their rulers, the pharaohs, who were buried with items they might need for the afterlife.

 

 

What were the Indus civilizations?

                         Several large civilizations developed in the Indus Valley, in what is now Pakistan and India. These civilizations built houses made from baked mud bricks. They also built toilets, wells and even bath houses. High protective walls surrounded the cities. Outside the cities, the people of the Indus civilizations cultivated cereal crops and dates and also made weapons and other items in bronze. Stone seals from the Indus civilizations have been found along the Persian Gulf and in the ruins of the city of Ur. The seals show how these ancient peoples developed extensive trade links. These civilizations collapsed in about 3500BC, because of invading tribes.

 

 

 

 

 

Who developed the earliest writing?

                        No one knows how the first writing system developed, because no records remain. The earliest known writing was recorded in the form of picture symbols on clay tablets by the ancient Sumerians, in around 3500BC. Hieroglyphics were a similar form of picture writing, and the oldest examples date from around 3000BC. Picture symbols were also used in the ancient Chinese writing that appeared in 1500BC. It is likely that all writing started this way, before shapes and letters were used to indicate sounds.

Pictures Credit: Google

 

When did metal working first develop?

                 Metal working seems to have been developed independently in several places in about 3500Bc.

                It appeared in China, India, Egypt and Mesopotamia at around this time. Bronze was the first metal to be worked.

 

 

 

Why did the Egyptian civilization develop?

                   The Egyptian civilization grew up as a result of the annual flooding of the River Nile. This provided a green and fertile strip of land that could be cultivated, even in an area that is mostly desert. Every year, when the Nile flooded, it deposited rich, fertile silt along its banks. The ancient Egyptians grew crops of barley, wheat and flax in the fertile soils. They used the flax to make linen for their clothes.

                   The river also provided the Egyptians with papyrus reed. They harvested the reed and used it to make a form of paper known as papyrus. It was easy to keep detailed written records on papyrus.

 

 

 

Where were the first cities?

                     The first known cities grew up in the Middle East, as much as 10,000 years ago. These ancient cities were built from stone and mud bricks. One city was destroyed to provide building materials for the next city on the same site, making it confusing to try to reconstruct them. Other ancient cities were built in present-day Turkey and China.

 

 

 

 

 

Who were the Sumerians?

                  The Sumerians developed the first known civilization, in 3500BC.They lived in Mesopotamia, a region between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in what is now modern Iraq. The Sumerians built large and elaborate cities, developed tax systems and government, and produced irrigation systems to water their crops.

                  Excavations of one major city, called Ur, showed signs of a great flood, which is thought to have been the Flood described in the Bible. The Sumerian civilization lasted for about 1,000 years.

Pictures Credit: Google

 

 

How can you find out about local history?

                     History is still happening all around you, and local history is an important field of study. It shows how ordinary people lived and worked. It is not difficult to find out what happened in your own area in the recent past. Most towns and cities, for example, have local museums that preserve items of interest. Libraries may hold stocks of old newspapers.

                    You could construct a family tree to trace the history of your own family. Usually parents and relatives can provide information about recent family members, but after a few generations you will need to check local records. In many countries, churches kept records of births, christenings, marriages and burials, and these records can be studied.

 

 

What is the Rosetta stone?

                       The discovery of the Rosetta stone in 1799 near Alexandria, in Egypt, was the key to unraveling the language of the ancient Egyptians. Hieroglyphics, a form of picture writing used by ordinary people in ancient Egypt, had puzzled archaeologists and historians for hundreds of years. The discovery of the Rosetta stone, which contained the same inscription in hieroglyphics and in Greek, allowed the meaning of the complicated hieroglyphic pictures to be understood. In turn, this allowed thousands of surviving ancient Egyptian inscriptions to be translated.

What does an archaeologist do?

                       An archaeologist reconstructs the past by studying buildings and objects that have survived. Sometimes historical remains are astonishingly well preserved, for example the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum which were overwhelmed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Many tiny aspects of Roman life were preserved, including graffiti on the walls. Such perfect preservation is very rare.

                           Archaeologists usually need to make a painstaking reconstruction, carefully excavating the remains of ruined buildings. Sometimes only the post-holes of a wooden building are left, but even they can provide useful clues about the type of building. The oldest archaeological remains come from the Stone Age. The remains of flint tools and weapons have survived, together with bones that show which animals were hunted and eaten.

 

 

Who were the first historians?

                            The first true historians were ancient Greeks, who wrote long accounts about historical events. However, they also wove fanciful events into their stories to make them more interesting, and it is sometimes difficult to separate truth and invention. The problem with ancient historians is that they put across a particular viewpoint. Often they were trying to glorify a local king or ruler. Sometimes a straightforward account of a particular event was written down. For example, Viking explorers recorded their voyages. In more recent times, detailed diaries provide a valuable source of information. Some modern history has been deliberately rewritten for political reasons.

Pictures Credit: Google

 

 

What do we mean by history?

                       History is the study of things that happened in the past. History can be very recent, or it can extend back to the earliest times from which any sort of records can be obtained. History cannot be understood properly by the study of a single event. It is necessary to understand the culture of the people among whom the event took place, and that of any other countries which could have affected the event. An understanding of history can only be obtained by piecing together knowledge from a whole range of sources, to provide a broad picture.

 

How do we know about the past?

                       Our knowledge of the past comes from a wide range of sources of information. Sometimes historians record their own version of recent history. Other information is obtained from material that was written down and contained passing references to people and events. A tablet recording the taxes levied on an ancient civilization in the Middle East, for example, can tell us what crops were grown, and the type of economy that existed.

                     History can sometimes be reconstructed even though information was never written down. For example, myths and legends containing historical truths can survive for hundreds of years, and the remains of some buildings can tell us how people lived in earlier times.

How are dates measured?

                  Accurate dating of archaeological remains is a relatively recent science. Wooden objects up to 8,000 years old can be dated by examining the growth rings in the wood. By studying the rings of very old, but still living trees, they can be dated very accurately, so surviving wooden implements and utensils can be dated exactly.

                  Radiocarbon dating takes us back much further. A radioactive form of carbon decays at a very slow rate, which can be measured exactly. By measuring the amount of carbon-12 and carbon-14 in a small piece of organic material, objects as old as 50,000 years ago can be dated.

                 Buried objects are often dated by looking at, and dating, nearby objects buried at the same time.

 

 

 

What is a healthy diet for older people?

            It is very important that old people eat fresh food. The elderly need to eat protein, fat and carbohydrate, which form the basis of any healthy diet. They need plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables.           

How can old people keep healthy and mobile?

            Exercise is important because it keeps bones, joints and muscles healthy. You cannot expect an older person to take vigorous exercise, but walking and even swimming help the circulation and keeps the joints supple. If old people are receiving medical treatment, it is important that their doctor advices on the proper level of exercise, to avoid doing any damage to their body.

 

Picture Credit: Google