Ancient Roman Achievements

Facts on Roman Battlefield Aid

Bound Books Facts

• Augustus established a military medical corps that was one of the first dedicated field surgery units.
• These specially trained medics saved countless lives through the use of Roman medical innovations
• Roman military medicine proved so advanced at treating wounds that soldiers tended to live longer
• Hemostatic tourniquets and arterial surgical clamps were methods used to stop blood loss of soldiers

• Bound Books were the earliest form of books instead of clay tablets and scrolls
• The Romans sealed the medium by creating the codex, which was like a cover
• The first codices were made of bound wax tablets, but these were later replaced by animal skins that more clearly bind the pages.
• Julius Caesar created an early version of a codex by stacking pages of papyrus to form a notebook

Roman Battlefield Aid

Bound Books

Questions

1. What did Titus do to open the Colosseum?

2. What was the point of the Colosseum? What did it provide?

3. What did Aqueducts do?

4. What happened by the third century in the progression of aqueducts?

5. Name some Roman structures that were built out of concrete?

6. How was concrete made?

7. How were early newspapers made?

8. What did a newspaper typically include?

The Colosseum

Invention of Welfare

Facts on Roman

Welfare

• Welfare helped modern government programs, including measures that subsidized food, education and other expenses for the needy.
• Lex Frumentaria was a law that ordered Rome’s government to supply its citizens with amounts of cheaply priced grain.
• They later made a program known as “alimenta” to help feed, clothe and educate orphans and poor children.
• Other items including corn, oil, wine, bread and pork were eventually added to the list of price-controlled goods.

The Julian Calender

Facts on Julian Calender

The Colosseum Facts

• Early Roman calendars were likely copied from Greek models that were based around the lunar cycle
• They also altered their calendar to ensure that each month had an odd number of days because they considered even numbers unlucky
• Caesar lengthened the number of days in a year from 355 to the now-familiar 365 and eventually included the 12 months as we know them today.
• The Julian calendar was almost perfect, but it miscalculated the solar day by 11 minutes, which ultimately threw the calendar off by several days.

• Built in 70 A.D., Rome's Colosseum has been the site of celebrations, sporting events and bloodshed.
• Titus opened the Colosseum with 100 days of games, including gladiatorial combats and wild animal fights.
• The Colosseum was officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater
• After 4 centuries of use, two-thirds of the theater was destroyed.
• The Colosseum was also a gift to the public from the government

Ancient Roman Achievements

Roman Concrete

9. What did the government supply with welfare?

10. What was the Lex Frumentaria?

11. What was a codex?

12. How was Julius Caesar involved with Bound Books?

13. What were these great Roman Roads made of?

14. What did stone mile markers do to help travel?

15. How did arches help support buildings?

16. What were arches also incorporated with and why?

17. Why did all months in a Julian calendar end on an odd day?

18. What happened due to time of each day being off by 11 minutes?

19. What did the medicine tend to make soldiers think?

20. How did Augustus affect the aid of soldiers?

Aqueducts

Development of Roads and Highways

Facts on Aqueduct

• Rome delivered fresh water to its people by building massive aqueducts.
• By the third century AD, the city had eleven aqueducts that gave water to over a million people in Rome
• Hundreds of aqueducts eventually were built throughout the empire, some of which transported water as far as 60 miles.
• The development of aqueducts led to them creating a sewage system.

Newspapers

Roman Arches

Facts on Concrete

• Many ancient Roman structures like the Pantheon, the Colosseum and the Roman Forum were built due to the development of Roman cement and concrete.
• Concrete was used to build things such as aqueducts, buildings, bridges, and monuments.
• The recipe for concrete was slaked lime and a volcanic ash known as pozzolana to create a sticky texture.
• It is said that roman concrete is the most durable type of cement of its kind due to its use of volcanic ash.

Facts on Roman Newspapers

Roman Arches Facts

• The Romans were known to talk to the public through the use of official texts detailing military, legal and civil issues.
• Newspapers were known as Acta Diurna or "Daily Acts"
• Early newspapers were written on metal or stone and then posted in areas like the Roman Forum.
• Newspapers typically included details of Roman military victories, lists of games and gladiatorial bouts, birth and death notices and even human interest stories.

• Arches were built for bridges, monuments, and buildings
• The design of the arch allowed the weight of buildings to be evenly distributed along various supports
• Along with columns, domes and vaulted ceilings, the arch became one of the defining characteristics of the Roman architectural style.
• Arches were also incorporated with components of Greek architectural traits because of the sophisticated look they brought

Facts on Roman Roads

• The Roman Empire scattered a total of 1.7 million miles and they built roads to help govern the area
• These roads were constructed with a combination of dirt, gravel and bricks made from granite or hardened volcanic lava.
• The Romans built over 50,000 miles of road by 200 A.D.
• Highways allowed the Roman military to travel as far as 25 miles per day
• Stone mile markers and signs informed travelers of the distance to their destination