A |
ADMINISTRATOR | person who plans and manages the affairs of an organisation |
| ALDERSGATE | One of the Roman gates of London – the name is medieval | |
| ALDGATE | One of the Roman gates of London – the name is medieval | |
| AMPHITHEATRE | A large oval place of public entertainment (amphitheatrum) designed to give everyone a good view | |
| AMPHORA | A large heavy clay container that held such liquids as fish sauce (garum and liquamen), wine (vinum) or olive oil (oleum). They were strong enough to travel long distances by cart and by boat | |
| ANTEMERIDIANUS or ANTE MERIDIEM |
The hours before midday (am) | |
| APODYTERIUM | The hallway or cloakroom of a bath-house | |
| APSE | A semi-circular end to a building | |
| ARCHAEOLOGIST | A person who digs in the ground to find out about the past. The name means 'someone who studies ancient things' | |
| ARCHER | An auxiliary soldier, skilled at firing arrows from a bow | |
| ARENA | The oval area of an amphitheatre where the entertainment took place. The Latin word arena means 'sand' and layers of sand were laid over the surface | |
| ARMOUR | Protective clothing worn by soldiers in battle | |
| ARMY COMMANDER | The army commander (legatus) was normally in charge of a legion of about 5500 men | |
| AUXILIARY | Soldiers, non-citizens, who provided such extra skills as archers, sling-throwers and horsemen | |
B |
BALLISTA | Heavy catapult machine that could fire iron-tipped bolts long distances |
| BARREL | Large wooden containers that contained wine from Germany | |
| BESTIARIUS | A gladiator who fought wild animals | |
| BISHOPSGATE | One of the Roman gates of London – its name is medieval | |
| BISHOPSGATE | One of the Roman gates of London – its name is medieval | |
| BISHOPSGATE | One of the Roman gates of London – its name is medieval | |
| BOADICEA | The old name for Boudica which happened due to spelling mistakes over many hundreds of years | |
| BOUDICA | Queen of the Iceni, a British tribe based in Suffolk and Norfolk. The name is sometimes spelt as Boudicca but it is thought to have been a spelling mistake | |
| BRACAE | The Latin word for trousers | |
C |
CALDARIUM | The hot room of the bath-house |
| CALIGAE | Latin word for military leather boots or sandals | |
| CATAPULT MACHINE | Heavy machine (ballista) that could fire iron-tipped bolts long distances | |
| CAVALRY | Soldiers, non citizens, who fought on horseback (equites) | |
| CEMETERY | The place where the dead are buried | |
| CENTURY | A legion was an army unit of 5500 men. It was divided into 10 units called cohorts which were divided into smaller units. Each century contained 80 soldiers | |
| CHARON | The ferryman who rowed the dead across the River Styx in order to reach the Underworld | |
| CHRISTIANITY | A religion that followed the sayings of Jesus Christ and believed he was the son of God. It competed with Mithraism to become the most popular religion | |
| CINGULUM MILITARE | The Latin word for the military leather belt | |
| CIRCUS | A place of public entertainment with long sides and curved ends to enable horses and chariots to race | |
| CITIZEN | Someone with 3 names which showed that they were allowed to vote in elections | |
| COBBLER | A craftsman who makes shoes | |
| COFFIN | A box in which a dead person is buried | |
| COHORTS | An army unit, legion, of 5500 men was divided into 10 units called cohorts which were divided into smaller units called centuries | |
| CONSERVE | Objects, once dug out of the ground, are cleaned and repaired by conservators to make them survive for a long time | |
| CONTRACT | A business agreement which is a legal document | |
| CORROSION | Metal objects, in particular, when buried in damp conditions can rust and fall apart. The rust and other types of damage is called corrosion and conservators have to carefully remove the corrosion to make the object safe | |
| COUNTRY HOUSE | In Britain in the 1800's, rich families built large houses in the countryside and farmed the land and the crops were grown for market | |
| CRAFTSMAN | Someone who is skilled in building or making particular objects that people want to buy | |
| CREMATE | The burning (cremation) of a dead body | |
| CRIPPLEGATE | One of the Roman gates of London – the name is medieval | |
D |
DECEMBER | The Latin word for what was originally the 10th month of the Roman Calendar but which became December |
| DEFIXIO | A lead curse that named someone for the gods to harm. The Latin means 'fixed or nailed up' as some curses were nailed to posts at shrines | |
| DEFRUTUM | The Latin word for a wine syrup made by boiling up wine to thicken it | |
| DIGITUS | The Latin word for finger which was used as the fraction one-sixteenth of the Roman foot measure because of the width of the finger | |
| DIMACHAERUS | Lightly-armed type of gladiator | |
| DIO CASSIUS | An historian who wrote a history of Rome some 200 years after the events had taken place | |
| DOUGH | The mix of flour, yeast and water for making bread | |
E |
EMPEROR | Originally the leader of the Roman Empire was an army general (Imperator). That name came to be used as part of the formal titles of the emperor |
| ENAMEL | A process that melts coloured glass powder to form a brightly-coloured hard layer used to decorate jewellery | |
| EQUES | Latin word for a cavalry soldier that was also used for a type of gladiator who rode on horseback | |
| ESSEDARIUS | A type of gladiator who fought from war chariots | |
| EVACUATE | When people have to leave a place in order to keep safe | |
| EXCAVATION | Ground where archaeologists dig to find out about the past | |
F |
FASCIA | Leg padding for a fighting gladiator |
| FEBRUARIUS | The Latin word for February | |
| FLAGON | A container, usually made of clay, that was used for storing and serving liquids | |
| FOCALE | The Latin word for the military scarf | |
| FORT | A group of buildings, encircled by a wall, which housed units of the Roman army. The soldiers were based there to protect the area from attack | |
| FORUM | A large public building in the centre of a town, that held the main market and richer shops | |
| FRIGIDARIUM | The cold room of the bath-house | |
G |
GALEA | The Latin word for s soldier's helmet |
| GALERUS | The metal shoulder guard worn by a type of gladiator | |
| GALLUS | Heavily-armed gladiator | |
| GATEWAY | Entrances and exits to major public buildings. Solid doors shut the gateways when the building was closed | |
| GLADIATOR | An armed fighter trained to fight, sometimes to the death, in the amphitheatre | |
| GLADIATRIX | A female gladiator | |
| GLADIUS | The Latin word for the legionary sword | |
| GOVERNOR | The commander of a Roman province, in charge of both the army and the civilian administration | |
| GRANARY | Every fort had a big food store where grain (for flour) and other foods were kept. It was built with a raised floor to prevent rats and mice from eating the food | |
| GREATER LONDON | An administrative area around London today made up of 33 boroughs | |
H |
HADRIAN | Leader (Emperor) of the Roman Empire from AD 117-138. He ordered the building of Hadrian's Wall in about AD123 |
| HADRIAN'S WALL | The Romans built a long wall that stretched for 80 Roman miles (73 miles or 117km) from Bowness in the west to Wallsend and South Shields in the east. It was built to protect northern Britain from attack by the tribes living in Scotland | |
| HASTA | The Latin word for the legionary spear, an iron-tipped throwing weapon | |
| HEARTH | A place for a fire in a house that was used for both heating and cooking. It could be set in a hollow in the floor or be a clay-built structure so that food could be cooked on it like a barbeque | |
| HOBNAIL | Small iron nail with a domed head, made especially for fixing soles to the bottom of leather shoes | |
| HOPLOMACHUS | Heavily-armed type of gladiator | |
| HYPOCAUST | The underfloor heating system for bigger houses that allowed hot air to flow underneath the floors and up inside hollow boxes inside the walls | |
I |
IANUARIUS | The Latin name for January. It came from the two-headed god Janus who looked back to the old year and forward to the oncoming year |
| ICENI | A British tribe based in Suffolk and Norfolk whose king was Prasutagus when the Romans conquered Britain | |
| IMBREX | A curved clay roof tile that fitted over where the sides of two flat roof tiles (tegula) touched together. This kept the rainwater out | |
| IMPORT | Something from abroad brought into the country to be sold in markets | |
| INFANTRY | Soldiers who fought on foot with hand-held weapons | |
| INSCRIPTION | Something that is written onto an object – it could be formal wording on a building or information written on a coin or writing tablet | |
| ISOTOPES | A scientific method that can measure oxygen, lead and nitrogen levels in a person's bones and teeth which is affected by what one eats and drinks | |
| IUNIUS | The Latin word for June | |
K |
KILN | A clay-built structure built to make (fire) pots. A fire heats the kiln up to reach a high temperature. The heat bakes the clay pots hard |
| KINGDOM | The area or country ruled by a king | |
L |
LACONICUM | A room with dry heat, like a sauna, in the bath-house |
| LANISTA | The trainer of a team of gladiators | |
| LAQUERARIUS | A type of gladiator who used a lasso like the Retiarius who used a net to capture his opponent | |
| LEGATUS | The legatus was the army commander. He was normally in charge of a legion of about 5500 men. | |
| LEGION | An army unit of 5500 men divided into 10 units called cohorts which were divided into smaller units called centuries | |
| LEGIONARY | An infantry soldier (legionarius), a citizen of Rome, who fought on foot with a sword as his main weapon | |
| LOOTING | After soldiers and fighters won in battle, they often celebrated by destroying buildings and stealing other people's possessions | |
| LORICA | Latin word for a Roman soldier's chest armour. There were different types of lorica – segmentata (metal strips), squamata (scale) and hamata (chain mail) | |
| LUDGATE | One of the Roman gates of London – the name is medieval | |
| LYRE | A stringed musical instrument | |
M |
MAIUS | The Latin word for May |
| MANICA | A padded protection for the fighting arm of a gladiator | |
| MANICURE | The care off the hands and finger nails using a set of small tools | |
| MARTIUS | The Latin word for March | |
| MEDITERRANEAN SEA | The sea surrounded by Europe and Africa. The Latin name means 'in the middle of land | |
| MEDUSA | A mythological creature with snakes for hair (Gorgon) who could turn a person to stone | |
| MERCHANT | A person who bought and sold goods, often involving trading with other countries | |
| MESSENGER | A soldier on horseback who travelled between the forts to deliver messages. Each legion had 120 scouts and messengers | |
| MILITARY SCOUTS | Soldiers on horseback who checked that the countryside was safe before the army marched. Each legion had 120 scouts and messengers | |
| MITHRAS | An eastern god who was favoured by Roman soldiers, administrators and merchants because he stood for courage and goodness. The worshippers were called Mithraists and the religion Mithraism | |
| MOCCASIN | A one-piece shoe of soft leather | |
| MORTAR | A mix of sand and lime mixed to a paste with water that was used in building | |
| MORTARIUM | A clay or stone vessel used in the kitchen to grind herbs, spices and for making sauces | |
| MOSAIC | A floor made of small coloured stone or clay cubes (tesserae). The best mosaics were made with patterns on them | |
| MURMILLO | Heavily-armed type of gladiator | |
N |
NAVE | The central area of a religious building |
| NOVEMBER | The Latin word for what was originally the 9th month of the Roman Calendar but which became November | |
O |
OCREA | A leg guard or greave for a fighting gladiator |
| OCTOBER | The Latin word for what was originally the 8th month of the Roman Calendar but which became October | |
| OVERTUNIC | A tunic that was worn on top of and over another tunic in order to keep warm | |
| OXEN | Oxen (singular ox)) were large slow-moving cattle used to pull ploughs and wagons | |
P |
PAENULA | The Latin word for a hooded cloak |
| PALAESTRA | The exercise yard of a bath-house or gymnasium | |
| PARMULA | Small shield used by types of gladiators | |
| PAULINUS | The governor of Roman Britain during the Boudican revolt was called Gaius Suetonius Paulinus | |
| PETITION | A formal request for something, usually in written form | |
| PIGMENT | Colouring produced as a powder, usually from a plant or animal, which was used to colour substances | |
| PILUM | The Latin word for javelin, an iron-tipped throwing weapon | |
| PORE | A small opening in the skin that allows sweat and body oils to come out | |
| POSTMERIDIANUS or POST MERIDIEM |
The hours after midday (pm) | |
| PRASUTAGUS | The king of the Iceni tribe who had supported the Roman invasion in AD43. In AD59 he died leaving his kingdom to both the Emperor and his wife, Boudica | |
| PROCURATOR | The head of finance in a Roman province. He was in charge of collecting taxes and government brickyards which made tiles for public buildings | |
| PROVINCE | As the Romans conquered different countries they made them into provinces, the administrative areas in the Roman Empire | |
| PROVOCATOR | Heavily-armed type of gladiator | |
| PTERUGES | Leather skirt with metal scales – part of a fighting gladiator's clothing | |
| PUGIO | The Latin word for a dagger | |
| PYRE | A ceremonial bonfire created in order to burn (cremate) a dead body | |
Q |
QUINTILIS | The Latin word for originally what was the 5th month of the Roman Calendar but which became July |
R |
RE-ENACTMENT GROUP | People who dress up in costume to show people what life must have been like at a certain period in history |
| REMUS | One of the twin baby boys, left to die, who were rescued and suckled by a she-wolf. They are said to have founded Rome | |
| RETIARIUS | Lightly-armed type of gladiator | |
| RIVER STYX | The river that had to be crossed by the dead in order to reach the Underworld | |
| ROMULUS | One of the twin baby boys, left to die, who were rescued and suckled by a she-wolf. They are said to have founded Rome | |
S |
SACRIFICE | The ritual killing of an animal or bird to please a particular god |
| SAGUM | The Latin word for cloak | |
| SAMIAN | An expensive red glossy pottery that was made as tableware in France. It was either plain or had moulded decorations | |
| SARCOPHAGUS | A stone coffin used by rich families to bury a dead person | |
| SCUTUM | A large rectangular shield used by both legionary soldiers and some types of gladiators | |
| SECURITY | Methods of keeping things and people safe | |
| SECUTOR | Heavily-armed type of gladiator | |
| SEPTEMBER | The Latin word for what was originally the 7th month of the Roman Calendar but which became September | |
| SEXTILIS | The Latin word for what was originally the 6th month of the Roman Calendar but which then became August | |
| SHRINE | A small place of worship where trinkets and gifts were left to the gods | |
| SHUTTERS | Wooden covers to windows that did not have glass in them | |
| SILK | A fabric made from silk thread produced by silkworms. This thread came from China in the Roman period | |
| SLAVE | Someone who was not free. They were often taken prisoner as the Romans took over new provinces and then sold into slavery | |
| SLINGER | An auxiliary soldier, skilled at throwing stones during battle using a catapult made of cloth or leather | |
| STATUS | Level of importance for a person – whether they are citizens or not and whether they are rich or poor | |
| STRIGIL | A curved metal tool (strigilis) that allowed bathers to scrape their skin to remove sweat and old oils | |
| SULIS MINERVA | A Roman goddess whose name was a mix of the classical goddess Minerva and a local deity Sulis. She was worshipped at the springs at the baths in Bath | |
T |
TACITUS | The most famous Roman historian who wrote about what happened in the Roman Empire and especially about early Roman Britain in the 1st century (AD43-70) |
| TAVERN | Somewhere to go to eat cooked food and drink | |
| TEGULA | A flat clay roof tile that had angled sides so that it would fit with the next tile | |
| TEMPLE | A place of worship, usually large stone buildings, where animal sacrifices were made | |
| TEPIDARIUM | The warm room of the bath-house | |
| TESSERAE | Small coloured cubes of stone or clay that were used to make up designs on mosaic floors | |
| THRAEX | Heavily-armed type of gladiator | |
| TOGA | A large semi-circular piece of cloth that a male Roman citizen wore draped around his body and shoulder. It showed his status as a citizen | |
| TOMBSTONE | A marker put up to show where someone was buried | |
| TRIBE | A group of people from the same families who lived in the same territory and had the same beliefs | |
| TRINKET | A small ornament or piece of jewellery of little value | |
| TRINOVANTES | A British tribe based in modern Essex. Colchester was their tribal centre | |
| TUNICA | The Latin word for a military tunic | |
| TUTOR | Someone who taught children not in school but at home | |
U |
UDONES | The Latin word for socks |
| UNCIA | The Latin word for the fraction one-twelth. It was used as a measure of the Roman foot (the Imperial measure words ' inch' and 'ounce' came from this) | |
| UNDERWORLD | The Romans believed that the dead had to travel below the ground to reach the afterlife | |
V |
VENATOR | A type of gladiator who hunted wild animals |
| VESSEL | A container, usually a bowl, dish or jar | |
| VILLA | A villa was a large farm owned by the government or a rich family but run by staff. The farm produced fresh food for nearby towns | |
W |
WAREHOUSE | A building built close to the port where goods were unloaded from boats and stored before being taken elsewhere |
| WATLING STREET | One of the earliest roads built by the Roman army. It ran from the Kent coast and Canterbury through to St Albans | |
| WATTLE & DAUB | A method of building walls of poorer houses. It was made by using bendy wooden sticks woven together (wattle) with a layer of clay (daub) over | |
| WEAPON | Something used to fight the enemy in battle |
