Learn Through English

	Classiccal Studies
	A Roman Town. Silchester.

Silchester is the present name of a Roman settlement in England that has been rather well preserved as the town was abandoned after the Romans left Britain. This means that archaeologists can study its layout without disturbing anybody: unlike most ancient Roman towns no later town was ever built on it. Visit this website and then do the following exercises.

A. First of all, let’s get some general information about Silchester.

B. After that, let’s have a look at the evolution of the town.

C. Now consider Silchester as a Roman town.

D. Let’s talk about the end of Roman Silchester.

E. Navigate the town now. Look at its layout and make some comments on it. What public buildings can you identify? Read the information about them and write their most important features in the chart.

Finally, there are a lot of place names in Great Britain that contain or end in ‘chester’. This is because the town was founded on an old ‘castra’ (the latin word for camp). The word corrupted later on when it was added to the local languages (ceaster). Look at a map of Great Britain and try to find other place names including the word ‘chester’. Check when and how they were founded.

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