LATIN LESSONS

Apart from sanitation, aqueducts, roads, concrete, wooden pulleys and town planning, Tracy Spiers visits Cirencester to ask what have the Romans ever done for us

- Tracy Spiers

Before the Romans arrived, many of our towns were unknown. They shaped our society, they invented the wooden pulley, aqueducts, and concrete, they introduced new vegetables and foods and they made a significant impact on our language, architecture, government, and town planning. They certainly left a rich legacy in the Gloucestershire town of Corinium Dobunnorum – the name for Roman Cirencester.

But what can we learn from the Romans now as the nation – and indeed Cirencester, second only to London in size during the Roman era – recovers from COVID-19? The Romans were used to rebuilding and learning from disaster, war, and crippling inflation. So, what would they make of 2020, and are there any comparisons to be made or lessons to be learned from history to take us forward?

As I look around the Corinium Museum, I find a few clues. Namely resourcefulness, productivity, and innovation.

WIDER STREETS

The Roman Empire underwent a significant time of change from 235AD. It was rocked by a half a century of civil war and internal chaos. The people experienced ‘devastating epidemics, runaway inflation, and invasions.’ As the Museum’s customer advisor, Dan Billing explains, they were used to starting again.

“When Rome was burnt down after Nero, they had to rebuild it. They did so with wider streets to stop fires spreading quickly and they put more spaces between buildings. They went to great lengths to make the town safer for the future.”