Chloe E. 5Ca

Ancient Roman Civilization

Food         

Romans had breakfast they ate, bread with honey, oats with grains, and watered down wine. For their second meal they would have bread with cheese, dates, fruits, and occasionally some meat the servants start to bring out the food to the tables. On the menu they would serve… appetizers, the main course, and dessert. Each dish consists several of the meals. The Romans ate tons of vegetables such as olives, asparagus, mushrooms, beans, and broccoli. The meat they ate where fish, lobster, oysters, eggs, poultry, and pork but they rarely ate beef. The Romans liked to put sauces on their food. Their favorite sauce was garum. Garum was a special sauce made of fish, salt, and herbs.  At parties they cooked boiled ostriches, roasted flamingos, stuffed dormice sprinkled with honey and topped with poppy seeds.  Back then they didn’t have forks and knives. They only had spoons but mostly ate with their hands. 

Curing  The Ill

The Romans didn’t understand the way of curing the ill properly. Romans believed that the illness was caused by witchcraft, curses, and the gods. The Romans went to doctors but it was very expensive and some doctors were even frauds. Even professionals couldn’t  cure everyone.

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Arches and Concrete

The Romans were great builders. Almost all the structures that are built today were designed by the Romans. The Romans made arches all the time.  An arch is a curved structure that holds tons of weight.  Arches helped Roman architects because they could build large structures called aqueducts.  Aqueducts brought water to the hills to get to the city of Rome.

 Clothing

Roman men wore complicated clothing they wore Knee length tunics, with short sleeves. Roman citizens wore a toga over their tunics. A tunic is like a long sheet that they would wear around their bodies. Women wore longer tunics around their bodies with a shorter tunic on top. This was called a palla. Palla is another cloak that goes on top of all the rest of the sheets and it goes over the shoulder and under the arm.

Concrete and Arches

Romans invented concrete. It is made of lime and water. A roman builder would make a mushy paste then he would add volcanic sand and pebbles. They would stir the mixture hard and they would have to be very strong. After that the mixture would be a big messy blob, and you could make it into any shape you wanted. After then it would dry and never be soft again. Even in the rain it doesn’t get mushy or ruined.

Worship and Sacrifice

The Romans feared the gods. They would always ask for help. People would pray and make offerings at the temples and would return the favor later on. Offerings came in different shapes and sizes, from coins and brooches left by the poor and silver statues donated by the rich. People also donated food and drinks, and then they would burn incense at altars. Animal sacrifices were common, ranging from a single bird to a sack of cattle. They always relied on the gods to solve all their problems.