Year 4 began their Romans Design Day in style by being transported back to the age of Julius Caesar. Over the next two weeks all Year 4 students will enjoy an interdisciplinary day in the Hub, which explores how ingenious the Romans were and how their use of materials and technology helped them become so successful.
They started the day looking at famous Roman inventions before being enlisted in the TH 4th Legion and carrying out drill and battle formations. They learned Latin commands for their marching and battle tactics, and discovered that life as a Roman legionnaire was not as easy as they thought. Trying to hold up a heavy scutum shield whilst not breaking ranks as part of the Testudo (tortoise) was a tiring activity!
Once they understood how to defend themselves, they put it into practice as students learned how to operate Mr Morris’ custom-made TH onager catapult and then defend themselves against it.
In addition, the soldiers then went to the design studio to learn more about Roman engineering; they saw how Romans used plywood 2000 years ago to make their infamous curved shields (the scutum). They each made their own ‘teddy size’ shield, gladius, pilum and catapult. A very busy day of Roman activities!
