Primary 4 were put through their paces in training for the Roman Army this week. We had a fantastic afternoon learning about what life was like for soldiers in the Roman army.
We learned lots of facts about the structure of the Roman army and had the chance to try on some pieces of armour and clothing. The armour was extremely heavy and this made us think about just how tough it would have been for soldiers marching for hours at a time in the time of the Roman Empire.
We learned that the shields that the Roman soldiers would have used were extremely useful for both defending and attacking because it protects almost your whole body at once – we had the chance to test this out by trying to “stab” Joe, our Roman reenactor, with a sword, but he was far too quick with the shield!
Joe brought lots of Roman artefacts with him that we were able to have a look at. One big discovery we made was that the Romans didn’t have toilet paper, but instead used a sponge on the end of a stick that would be dipped in water while at the communal toilets – we’re certainly glad things have changed now!
The highlight of the afternoon was getting to practise some Roman battle formations. To help us march in time, we shouted “Sin, Dec, Sin, Dec” in rhythm with our feet. The whole class used their shields to create the Turtle formation. This was used by the soldiers when their opponents had archers. By the end, we found that our arms were starting to get very tired from carrying the heavy shields for so long!
St Catherine's R.C. Primary School, Edinburgh 