Year 3Lesson 5

Where did the Romans settle in Britain?

The Roman Invasion

• In 43 A.D., Emperor Claudius organised a final and successful invasion of Britain.

• General Aulus Plautius led four legions with 25,000 men, plus an equal number of auxiliary soldiers.

• They crossed the Channel in three divisions, landing at Richborough, Dover, and Lympne.

• The biggest battle was fought on the banks of the River Medway, close to Rochester. It went on for two days before the Celtic tribes retreated.

• Many tribes tried to resist the Romans. It took about four years for the invaders to finally gain control over southern England, and another 30 years for them to conquer all of the West Country and the mountains and valleys of Wales. The battle for Yorkshire and the remainder of northern England was still underway in AD 70.

Roman Roads

When the Romans arrived in Britain, the Celts did not have much of a road system.

So the Romans built new roads.

Watch this video about Roman roads.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/class-clips-video/history-ks1--ks2-explain-this-roman-roads/z7c8wty

How Did the Romans Build Roads?

1. After the straight lines had been marked,

2 feet ditches were dug on either side for

drainage.

2. A bank of earth called an agger was then

built. The earth was built up more in the

middle to create a curved surface called

a camber. This meant rain falling on the

road would drip down into the ditches.

3. Broken stones and gravel were then

spread on top of the agger.

4. Flint, stone or any other available hard

surface was then put on top of the gravel

and then compacted (pressed down

heavily).

British Roman Roads

The routes chosen by the

Romans for some of their

roads were so good that

they have been used for

modern motorways. Part of

the A38 in the Midlands

follows the route of Icknield

Street. Fosse Way in-

between Lincoln and

Leicester is now the A46.

Parts of the A2 and the A5

follow Watling Street. Dere

Street in York is the A1.

A clue to whether a place had a Roman

road is the word ‘street’ at the start of

its name as in Streatley, or Streatham

Did You Know?

Where did the Romans settle in Britain?

With a good road network now in place, the Romans could move around Britain.

Most buildings in Iron Age Britain were made of timber and were often round in form. The Romans built in stone, in straight lines and in a grand scale. Large settlements did exist in Britain before the Romans arrived, but they were the first to introduce significant 'towns' and administrative centres built to a plan.

Where did the Romans settle in Britain?

Look at the map to see where the Romans settled in Britain and the roads that they built to join the places.

Which Latin names are similar to the name of the place today?

Today’s Task

• Your task today is to label the places where the Romans settled in Britain. Can you find the places on the map? Can you find out the Roman name for each place and what it is known as today?

• You can print off the map (on the next slide) from the home learning tabs on the website or draw your own.

• There is a table of places to find and label on your map on the slide after, as well as the Roman names for the towns to match with the name of the towns today.

Map showing where the Romans settled in Britain.

You can either print a copy of the map from the home learning tabs on the school website or copy this map out.

Can you use the next slide to label the places marked?

Can you find where these places are on the map and label them?

Can you match the Roman name of the towns to their name today?

You can add other towns where the Romans settled to your map too. Can you add their modern name and their Roman name to your table?

Challenge:Can you mark the major Roman roads on your map? You could use different colours for each road and add a key.

Did you label the places correctly?

Did you manage to match the names of the towns today to their Roman name?