Everyday Roman Life
- Houses in Roman Britain
Many people in Roman Britain-and across the empire- lived in villages. Houses had wood and a thatched roof. Wealthy Romans lived in villas and palaces or villas. Most of these areas were wild with nature such as mountains and forests. Families that were fortunate enough had servants and farmers to do the work in their villas. Some Roman-British houses were kept warm with a heating system below the floor called a 'hypocaust'.
2. Roman Families
In a Roman family, women were considered to be less important than men. Life for them was hard. Many girls were arranged to be married by their teenage years. If a wife failed to give birth to a son, she was allowed to be divorced by her husband. There were a lot of common diseases, a consequence of this was: many people died young either after giving birth or falling seriously sick. Children were often named after their fathers; Roman boys were given long names whilst girls were given short ones. If there was more than one girl they will be given a number. For example, if a name of a girl’s father was Domitius she would be named Domitia I, Domitia II, Domitia III etc. The Father was the head of the family; he was allowed to beat his children to death.
3. Religious Beliefs
During the reign of Emperor Constantine, AD306-337, the main religion of the Roman Empire was Christianity. Before this, the Romans believed in many gods. They had a God/Goddess for almost everything, including the sewers. Romans believed that their gods were more pleased by ceremonies, not personal faith. In an attempt to remain on the positive side of their Gods, Romans constantly created and improved shrines or offerings at temples. From lands they conquered, like Egypt, the Romans took beliefs and made them their own.
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