Legacy of Roman Empire Project Example

Roman Cities While the Roman Empire was mostly farms and fields, it also had many cities. The biggest city was Rome. Rome was the biggest city in the ancient world and had about one million people!

Modern cities Today, many cities have a million people or even more. Many important cities of today, such as London, Paris, and Cologne were founded by the Romans.

Roman Sewers The Romans used chamber pots and public restrooms for their bathroom needs. Chamber pots were usually emptied out of the window. Much waste was removed from the city of Rome with the world’s first sewer, the Cloaca Maxima, or “Greatest Sewer”. This sewer carried waste underground to the Tiber River, which took it out to sea.

Modern Sewers Modern sewers look a lot like the Cloaca Maxima. Many countries still use local rivers to carry waste away. Rich countries have built treatment plants that clean the water and destroy harmful bacteria and viruses in sewage.

Roman Entertainment Every Roman city had an outdoor theater for plays. Roman plays consisted of dramas and comedies. Most Roman cities also had one or more amphitheaters for sporting events. The biggest amphitheater was the Colosseum in Rome. It held gladiator fights and even mock naval battles. Roman cities also had racetracks for horseracing. These tracks were called circuses.

Modern Entertainment Modern cities still have theaters for plays and movies although most are indoors. Modern cities have sporting arenas that have much in common with ancient amphitheaters, but we have football instead of gladiator fights. Horseracing is still a popular sport and many cities also have tracks for motor racing as well.

Roman Housing Rich urban Romans lived in houses but over 90% of people lived in cheap, high-rise apartments called insula. Insula could be many stories tall and took up whole city blocks. The ground floors often had fast food restaurants because apartments were not big enough to have kitchens.

Modern City Housing Modern city people live in many types of housing including rowhomes, houses and condominiums. High-rise apartments are still a popular option.

Roman Water Supply Water was brought to Roman cities with aqueducts, large covered bridges that stretched for many miles. Aqueducts were built on a slight decline that allowed water to flow downhill using gravity. Aqueducts fed fountains, bath houses, and public pumps or basins for drinking water. Only expensive ground floor homes had their own water supply.

Modern Water Supply Modern cities get water that is purified and then pumped up into a water tower. Once in a tower, a modern system uses gravity to allow the water to flow down into the pipes that service our homes. Some modern systems, like Arizona’s, also use aqueducts.