ANCIENT ROME

Monuments of the ancient city

• Code R2
• DVD Video - Duration: 7 narrated segments plus bonus material
• Produced 2011
• Suitable for ages 12+

This DVD is loaded with information and resources to help students examine the major monuments and topography of Rome during the late Republic and early Empire periods.

The DVD contains seven narrated programs that use reconstructions and actual footage to recreate and explain the Roman Forum, The Pantheon, the Theatre of Pompey, the Forum of Augustus, the Palatine and several more locations.

In addition, bonus segments allow the viewer to navigate around yet more monuments such as the Domus Aurea (Nero’s Palace). A further program uses digital reconstruction and actual footage to reconstruct the house of Julius Polybius at Pompeii during the time of Vesuvius’s eruption.

This DVD uses the most recent discoveries and the latest technology to enable your students to appreciate how the great ancient city of Rome once appeared.

• Contains a background booklet

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NERO and the Golden House

• Code R6
• DVD Video - Duration: 30 minutes
• Produced 2011
• Suitable for ages 12+

This DVD is a skillful blend of actual footage, computer reconstructions and recreations by actors that together depict the reign of the Emperor Nero and in particular the great construction of his palace, the Domus Aurea or Golden House, that stood in the area where the Colosseum stands today.

The DVD examines how Rome would have appeared in Nero’s day and expertly shows the crammed tenements of the ancient city and the lives of the ancient Romans. The events surrounding the Great Fire of AD 64 are discussed and how this lead to a major rebuilding of Rome.

One of the greatest new buildings was Nero’s palace: the Golden House. This DVD examines its rediscovery, its architecture and what can still be seen today.

At its centre was an artificial lake which was drained by the succeeding dynasty and the land used to build the Colosseum: a name taken from a colossal statue of Nero that once formed part of the Golden House.

This DVD will help your students to understand the look and feel of Rome during the Julio-Claudian dynasty, the amazing engineering feats it was able to accomplish and the life and times of one of the most colourful and intriguing of Rome’s early Emperors.

• Contains a background booklet

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ANCIENT ROME: CD ROM

Code C1: (CD ROM only)

• Suitable for ages 12+

This CD ROM allows your students to explore the eternal city of Rome from its founding to the Fall of the Roman Empire. This CD takes the form of a virtual tour to some of Rome’s most important ancient monuments that are reconstructed with the most up-to-date research and using the latest digital graphic technologies.
Using the CD, students will be able to:

• Fly over (and often into) 12 urban areas reconstructed in 3-D
• Read historical cards and glossaries
• Listen to audio commentary with literary sources from Classical authors
• Use tools to show how the site looks today, superimposed with how it once looked
• Sites that can be visited include the Palatine Huts, the Temple of Capitoline Jupiter, the Basilica Aemilia, the Theatre of Pompey, the Forum of Augustus, the Circus of Caligula, Domus Aurea (Nero’s ‘Golden House’), the Colosseum, Domus Flavis (Domitian’s palace), Hadrian’s Mausoleum, the Baths of Caracalla and Saint Peter’s Basilica.

• System Requirements: WINDOWS ONLY (XP & Vista)
• Site licence for educational institutions included in sale price
• Focus questions for students available for download

• Student worksheets available: download here

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Images of reconstructions of Ancient Rome from the CD ROM.

ROMAN BRITAIN SERIES

Code V17: (DVD ONLY)

• Produced >20 years ago
• Suitable for ages 11-16

This DVD contains 3 programs

• Roman Provincial Society (25 minutes)
• Roman Britain: The Towns (15 minutes)
• Roman Britain: Fortifications (14 minutes)

Program 1
ROMAN PROVINCIAL SOCIETY

This video, presented by Magnus Magnusson, uses archaeological sites, reconstructions and actors to illustrate Roman provincial life - primarily in Roman Britain.

The Roman palace at Fishbourne, Chedworth villa, Bignor Villa and the Roman town of Verulamium are the principal sites investigated and there are brief excursions to Bath, Cirencester, northern France, Pompeii, Herculaneum and Numidia in north Africa.

The information in this video is clearly presented and focuses on the everyday life of Romans living and working in the provinces of the empire.

Program 2
ROMAN BRITAIN: THE TOWNS

When the Romans invaded Britain in the early first century AD, many things were introduced to the island for the very first time. One major change was the development of urban centres in Britain; a land which had formerly seen the existence of nothing larger than a village.

This video uses the site of Verulamium, present day St Albans, as an example of what a Roman town in Britain would have been like. It begins by examining common features of a Roman house including the method of heating and the house's decoration, before looking at the overall layout of these towns with their walls, gates, central forum and other features such as open-air theatres. The road system that linked the various Roman urban centres together is also shown, along with other famous sites such as Roman period Bath. Finally the video examines the people who lived in Roman towns including the everyday objects they once used. A typical Roman family scene is also recreated by actors.

Program 3
ROMAN BRITAIN: FORTIFICATIONS

This program begins by looking at the initial invasion of Britain in the early first century AD and the resistance offered by the local Britons. As a consequence of this resistance, and the threat of further revolts, the Romans had to build a network of roads and forts to secure the island.

The video shows how these forts were built to a similar design with room for granaries, barracks, stables and houses for the commanding officers. The program then examines the construction and use of Hadrian's Wall in northern England. This piece of engineering, stretching for over 115 km, shows the Romans' determination to keep their southern provinces peaceful. The design of this frontier defence is outlined and students are shown how it would had operated during a conflict. The video ends by looking at the 'Forts of the Saxon Shore'; a series of defences built in eastern England towards the end of the Roman occupation designed to thwart Saxon raiders who were then threatening Britain.

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GLADIATORS
Sports and Entertainment in the Roman World

• Code M4
• DVD Video - Duration: 22 minutes
• An illustrated lecture using many museum and archaeological examples
• Produced by the Institute for Mediterranean Studies © 1998
• Suitable for ages 14+

Deadly hand-to-hand combat, staged mass battles and helpless men thrown to wild beasts are familiar images when we think of events in the Roman amphitheatre. But are these images historically accurate?

To learn more about these popular athletes, this video uses archaeological evidence and ancient art to visit the barracks where the gladiators trained and the arena where they fought. We find them dining at banquets and parading through the streets. We learn of their unique types of armour and their distinctive methods of fighting. With a fresh look at a well-known subject, combat in the Roman arena appears in a new light.

Astarte Evaluation

This video is very interestingly produced and uses modern sporting events as well as historical depictions of gladiators to explain the role of blood sports in the Roman world. It is presented in an easy to digest fashion

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MYTH, MAN & METAL
Bronze Sculpture of Ancient Greece and Rome

• Code M3
• ONLY AVAILABLE IN VHS VIDEO - Duration: 31 minutes
• An illustrated lecture by Prof. Carol C. Mattusch, Exhibition Curator 'Fire of Hephaistos', Harvard University Art Museums.
• An illustrated lecture using many museum and site examples
• Produced by the Institute for Mediterranean Studies © 1996
• Suitable for ages 16+

A review of Myth, Man & Metal by R. Reagan for Video Librarian Vol 12/3

Despite the ravages of time, changing political and religious trends, and deterioration caused by environmental factors, enough ancient bronzes remain to intrigue both archaeologists and art historians.

A strong case is made in this video for "serial production" of statues (i.e. ancient mass-production); though pieces tended to be customised and finished differently, they were frequently composites made from near identical castings.

Some less-than-successful composites are shown, leading the viewer to wonder whether they became the equivalent of pink flamingo "yard art" in a previous millennium.

Including a contemporary demonstration of the lost wax casting method, this visually exciting piece is warmly recommended.

Astarte Evaluation

A rare insight into the process of bronze statue making in antiquity. Suitable for senior students. The sequence showing a present-day foundry producing statues by the lost wax technique is one of the better explanations we have seen.

Recommended as a teacher's reference and as a classroom resource where its use - particularly in sections - will be valuable.

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