Year Six Trip to Caerleon - Our personal highlights

What was the highlight of the trip for you?

I enjoyed... going to the amphitheatre because when I was in the middle of it, it felt like people were watching me. It was weird that the theatre was still together from two thousands years ago! I thought it was very surprising that there was a lot of Roman ruins left after two thousands years. I thought that the Roman army suits were very fascinating because they were really heavy and looked very strange. Charlotte

I enjoyed the amphitheatre the most because we did drill practice and it was quite hard to stay in time marching to and fro. We gave up in the end but we had a laugh all the same. I thought it was good that we got a go at it because it was fun and I learnt at the same time. I found that being able to touch artefacts from two thousand years ago was surprising and interesting, you could feel the dips and bumps on the gravestones of past legionairies. Emily


The thing I enjoyed most was going to the museum because I found out about the money that Romans used. They used the bronze as and the silver denari. Also I liked the fact I could touch the gravestones and see the gem stones. I also enjoyed going to the amphitheatre because we got to try drill work. Going to the hut was the most interesting because we got to find out about the Roman celebration of Saturnalia, which is the festival which they celebrated instead of Christmas. Rebecca


I most enjoyed the part when we went to the festival of Saturnalia because it was just like going back in time. Also it was rather funny because we told Dorothea about Christmas - about modern toys and Father Christmas - and she knew nothing about these things!
I found it fascinating when we went into the best amphitheatre in the UK. I was shocked it was even still standing. It must have been standing for just short of two thousand years; I was surprised that stone could last so long. Felicity

Going in to the barracks and dressing up in armour was fab, because I got to feel how heavy the child's size armour was. We didn't wear the chainmail, but if we had put the full-blown armour on, I'm not sure if I could have stood up! The Roman shields are rectangular - they were called scutum. I posed for a photo holding a scutum and a pilum, which is a javelin. The sword was called a gladius - it was double edged. Every soldier would have a helmet made from bronze or iron, with leather cheek pieces. I think this experience taught me a lot about Roman legionary soldiers. Robert

I found it fascinating that Romans wouldn't have known about turkey and Christmas. I know this because there was a woman in role as Dorothea, a rich Roman, who gave us wine (blackcurrant) and raisins and explained the festival of Saturnalia. She told us that the Romans wore hats: the white and grey hats were worn by slaves and the red and purple hats were worn by rich Romans. At the festival of Saturnalia, the slaves got to be served by their masters. Luke

I thought the museum was fantastic! I really enjoyed being able to touch Roman artefacts from 2000 years ago - you wouldn't normally be able to do that. I was able to trace the lettering on some clay bricks and I tried to work out what the lettering said. Ashleigh


The most enjoyable thing about the trip for me was seeing the remains of the cold room in the Bathhouse and the heating system because it made me think 'these Romans were clever as I couldn't have come up with something like this'. CJ


I enjoyed the Saturnalia part most because I learnt about Saturn and what he was god of. Three of us were asked to read a poem about Saturn and everybody else said the chorus. " Yo, Saturnalia, optimus derus." I learnt that on that day only, rich masters became slaves and slaves became masters. Olivia

The museum was what I found fascinating because we could actually touch things from 2000 years ago. The tiny objects that archaeologists have found were the most impressive. The soldier statues were also really detailed with all the armour the Romans wore. Katy

I really enjoyed the museum most because I liked seeing the Roman soldiers and the jewellery. I found the Bathhouse fascinating because there was a swimming pool where 500 people could swim in one day. Marie

The museum was impressive. The best exhibit was the galea - the helmet - because it was found in one piece and since it had been underground for 2000 years, it was very surprising that it was in such good condition. It was a bit rusty, but not as rusty as I would have thought. Also, I saw a brilliant mosaic floor; I was surprised that there weren't more pieces missing. William

I enjoyed going to the barrack room because we got to see what the Roman legionary wore and we got to try it all on! The shield must have been very heavy as the ones we tried were quite heavy and they weren't full size. Katie

I found that the shoes were fascinating considering that they had studs on the bottom. They were like girls' school shoes because they had straps. They were very heavy. Joe

I most enjoyed going to the Bathhouse because I learnt a lot from the video the class saw and the talk on the ruins and from the information boards. I liked it there because it helped me to understand why the Romans went there and the how the buildings were used. Before I went there, I thought it was used just for washing because of the name. All the footprints around the pool were fascinating. I would recommend going again. In fact, I am going there on holiday in August! Amy


I really enjoyed going to the amphitheatre because we got to march around in a group and were ordered around by Mrs K. But the hard part was the orders were in latin. I'll give you some examples:
intente - that means attention; silente - also means silence; gladius stringite - means draw your swords. When I was marching, I could imagine what it was like in Roman times; if you were training, you'd have to get it right otherwise you'd be punished. Jake


I was surprised that the Romans invented central heating. I learnt about it from the video at the Bathhouse and then I saw some brick piles on the floor of what used to be the changing room for the bathhouse. The Romans lit a fire next to the room they wanted to heat and then the heat went under the floor between the brick piles and heated the floor above. The smoke went out a sort of chimney. Peter


I liked the Bathhouse because I saw a huge drain cover made from stone and a mosaic of a bird - like a swan- and also footprints made by Romans on the side of the swimming pool. I think the Romans were very clever because they had actually made the pool and the central heating and it's still standing and in one piece. Ashley


Our trip to Roman Carleon.

When we went to Carleon,
We went to Roman sites.
We saw lots of subjects there,
Like jems and graves and armour wear.

The largest item in the museum,
Was an ancient floor mosaic.
Then we went to the bathhouse,
With a deep, hollow drain.

There was a reconstructed barrack room,
With bunk beds and a kitchen.
We went to the Saturnalia room,
And learnt about their festival.

Finally we went to the Amphitheatre,
And tried doing simple drills,
On the way there we were very excited,
But on the way back we were all half asleep.

You can tell we enjoyed our day!

By Chloe and Felicity.

When we went to Fort Isca,
We visited the museum,
We looked at coins and gems and spears,
Pots and shields and mosaics.


The Romans were great builders,
Their roads were very straight,
Their bath house was extremely posh,
With drains full of Roman gems.


When the Romans went to war,
They went in legions,
Their tortoise form was pretty good,
Alongside with the square bashing .


First we went to Saturnalia,
The lady's name was Dorothia,
She did not know about our Christmas,
That we celebrate each year.


We had to wear different hats,
White and red and purple,
The Roman god was Saturn,
He was extremely popular.


By Katy Legg.