Battle With the Britons! Read online

II (1 + 1) = 2

  VIII (5 + 1 + 1 + 1) = 8

  CLI (100 + 50 + 1) = 151

  That seems easy

  enough! I’m off to

  collect some rocks.

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  I

  II

  III

  IV

  V

  VI

  VII

  VIII

  IX

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

  20

  30

  40

  X

  XI

  XII

  XIII

  XIV

  XV

  XX

  XXX

  XL

  50

  60

  70

  80

  90

  100

  200

  L

  LX

  LXX

  LXXX

  XC

  C

  CC

  When a smaller numeral comes

  before a larger numeral, take

  away the value of the smaller

  numeral from the bigger one.

  So 4 is IV?

  Yes! And 9 is IX, and 40

  is XL, and 90 is XC.

  To summarize: Always read Roman numerals

  from left to right. If a larger numeral

  comes before a smaller or equal numeral,

  add them. But if a smaller numeral comes

  before a larger numeral, subtract the

  smaller number from the bigger one before

  moving on to the next letter in the row.

  If there

  is a next

  letter, of

  course!

  Here are

  some to help

  you along!

  FURTHER INFORMATION

  WHAT THE ROMANS BROUGHT TO BRITAIN

  ADVERTISING

  We are bombarded by advertising at

  every turn these days, and life wasn’t

  so different in Roman Britain. The

  Romans would stick up posters for

  political messages, social events, and,

  of course, sports events. No doubt

  Julius had his beautiful face drawn on

  such a poster!

  APPLES AND PEARS

  Often used by the Romans to sweeten

  recipes. Today, Brits tend to enjoy

  them in pies, crisps, and crumbles.

  BATHS

  Washing and gossiping were two of

  Rome’s favorite things, which is why

  their baths were so popular. Widely

  introduced throughout Britain, the

  bath was such a hit that they even

  named a city after it! Toilets were just

  as popular with Romans, so I think we

  got off lightly there.

  CALENDAR

  Romans loved their calendars, and our

  current Gregorian calendar is a direct

  descendant of the old Roman calendar

  and Julius Caesar’s Julian calendar.

  They gave us most of our months,

  including September (from the Latin

  septem, meaning seven), October

  (from the Latin octo, meaning eight),

  November (from the Latin novem,

  meaning nine), and December (from

  the Latin decem, meaning ten). We’ve

  added a couple of months to our

  calendar since, so those names don’t

  make much sense now!

  CARROTS

  Originally came in red, black, yellow,

  and white, as well as the familiar

  orange. Romans found them useful

  for medicine and for feeding all the

  rabbits that had recently turned up.

  (See Rabbits)

  CATS

  Brought over as mascots by the

  Roman Army, domestic cats were

  also revered as gods of liberty. This

  meant they could come and go as they

  pleased, a privilege unchanged for the

  last two thousand years.

  CEMENT

  Being great engineers, the Romans

  used copious amounts of cement

  to construct their statues and

  buildings, plenty of which survive

  today. Workers even added volcanic

  ash to the mixture, which, when

  left in water, would set as hard as

  rock. Whether Roman construction

  workers were also behind the origin of

  “plumber’s crack” is not so clear.

  CENTRAL HEATING

  Villas and baths were kept warm and

  cozy for chilly Romans by the circu-

  lation of warm air pumped up through

  holes in the floor and walls via a

  furnace tended by slaves. The warm

  air vents were also greatly appreciated

  by lazy cats.

  FLUSHING TOILETS

  Thanks to their great ingenuity and

  love of cleanliness, Romans intro-

  duced continuously flowing water to

  their latrines. Toilets were communal,

  so you could sit and merrily chat

  with your buddies as you did your

  business.

  LANGUAGE

  The Roman language, Latin, still

  permeates modern English to this day.

  Initially adopted by the aristocracy

  for official documents, people of all

  classes now use Latin phrases ad

  infinitum. (See what I did there?)

  LAW AND ORDER

  The Romans introduced the world’s

  first organized police force, run much

  like an army, throughout their empire.

  PAVED STREETS

  The Romans built the first towns in

  Britain, introducing rigid grid networks

  of paved streets running between big

  stone buildings. The Britons had never

  seen anything quite like it!

  PEAS

  Originally brought over by the

  Romans from the Middle East, peas

  are now an important staple of the

  British Sunday roast. Not so great on

  toast (believe me, I’ve tried).

  RABBITS

  Rabbits were first domesticated by

  the Romans, who bred them for their

  meat, fur, and wool. And also because

  they were cute, with adorable little

  faces. Probably.

  STINGING NETTLES

  Used by Romans for treating sore

  muscles and also for keeping legs

  warm by slapping them against the

  skin. Nowadays stinging nettle soup

  is sold in fancy supermarkets in the

  spring.

  STRAIGHT ROADS

  When the Romans got to Britain,

  muddy, twisty-turny roads were

  OUT; straight stone roads were IN —

  all ten thousand miles of them. The

  Romans made their roads straight so

  that their marching army could invade

  your rebellious village even more

  quickly. Hooray!

  TURNIPS

  Widely used by Romans as food

  for livestock during the cold winter

  months. Wow, eating turnips on a

  cold, wet day, standing in a muddy

  field: sheep and cows always knew

  how to have a good time.

  WINE

  Water was very unsafe to drink two

  thousand years ago, so Romans drank

  wine instead. W
ine was so popular

  with the Romans that they drank

  25 million gallons (100 million liters)

  a year in the city of Rome alone!

  In Britain everyone drank cheap beer,

  but the Romans hated the stuff, so

  they stuck to their wine.

  FELIX’S AWESOME ROCK COLLECTION

  Green and sparkly

  Rock with grass

  growing out of it

  Coughed up by a duck

  Piece of the Pyramid of Giza

  Almost like bacon

  Nose fallen off a statue

  Looks like the Moon

  Lucky stone

  (My second one; lost

  the first one.)

  Looks a bit like Julius

  Found under my bed

  Street cobblestone

  Reminds me of home

  Identical stones

  Dropped from my ear

  Amber with fly inside

  Stone from Londinium river

  From the race track at

  the Circus Maximus

  Volcanic sponge

  Actually floats

  Emperor Nero’s favorite rock

  (replica)

  Fell off the Colosseum

  Smallest stone in the world

  Old stone tooth

  From Hadrian’s garden