Rome: A Virtual Tour of the Ancient City

Who is the course for?

This course is open to anyone with an interest in discovering more about ancient Rome. You might be: planning a visit to the Italian capital

an avid watcher of documentaries on Roman history

or considering studying archaeology, classics or history at university.

What topics will you cover?

Week one: Ancient Rome location and infrastructure

Geographical and historical overview

Introduction to the digital model

Roman building materials and techniques

The importance of aqueducts and sewers

Using coins to illustrate ancient architecture

Week two: Political architecture in Ancient Rome

The Imperial Fora

The function and development of the Forum

Types of monumental architecture

Using poetry as evidence to investigate the past

Week three: Religious architecture in Ancient Rome

Overview of Roman religion

The architecture of the Capitoline Hill

Developments in Imperial temple architecture

Worshipping the gods

Week four: Life and death in Ancient Rome

Overview of Roman housing

Food supply in the ancient city

How the Romans liked to be remembered

Using inscriptions as evidence to investigate the past

Week five: Bread and circuses (entertainment architecture) in Ancient Rome

The importance of entertainment for Rome’s rulers

The architecture and function of theatres and circuses

Roman baths and bathing

Using evidence to understand the Colosseum

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to…

Explore different categories of building within the city, and the functions they housed

Investigate a range of evidence including archaeological remains, coins, literary texts, and inscriptions to learn how we can understand and interpret the ancient past

Discuss the way the rulers of Rome used architecture to adorn the city and keep it functioning

Experience digital modelling as a way of presenting the ancient past, exploring models on screen and in videos and discussing what they can show us