The Hallaton Treasure and the Romans

Who lived in Britain before the Romans arrived? “I am Seren of the Corieltavi tribe. I will tell you about Iron Age life. The Romans are coming and we must protect our land.”

Why was it called the Iron Age? A new metal was discovered called _ _ _ _ What did Iron Age people use iron to make?

What is the Hallaton Treasure? Iron Age and Roman treasure that had been buried in a field near Hallaton around 2000 years ago Coins being excavated from the Iron Age shrine near Hallaton Over 5000 gold and silver coins were found, pig bones, jewellery and the remains of a Roman helmet

What can the Hallaton Treasure tell us? The Treasure was buried around the time of the Roman invasion of Britain in AD 43 Iron Age people didn’t read or write and we don’t know much about life in the Iron Age before the Romans arrived The oldest coin ever found in Britain was found at Hallaton. It came from the Roman Republic around 211 BC (Before Christ)

What was Iron Age life like before the Romans invaded? Some Iron Age people were farmers, some were craftsmen who made pots, jewellery and metal tools Most Iron Age people lived in roundhouses made of wattle and daub with 20–30 members of their family The Romans said Iron Age people wore colourful, long woollen clothes Iron Age people wore brooches, necklaces and armlets made of bronze and gold

Iron Age people lived in tribes Can you see the tribe that Seren belonged to? It covers the area we call the East Midlands

Why did the Romans invade Britain? We don’t know exactly… They had heard from traders that Britain had many riches and wanted to take it’s land and precious metals like iron, silver and gold Roman leaders wanted to become more popular amongst Roman people by conquering a new land and making Rome more powerful What do you think?

Would you have welcomed the Romans or fought them? The Romans said that when in battle, Iron Age people painted their skin with blue woad They spiked their hair into points and dyed it with limewash Why might Iron Age people have gone into battle made up like this? Iron Age warriors, Dover Museum, Stephen Arnold

Why did Iron Age people make sacrifices to their gods? Iron Age people sacrificed valuable items like coins or food to their gods The Hallaton Treasure may have been buried as sacrifices What might Iron Age people have been asking their gods for protection from?

Find out more about these words Limewash Sacrifice Settlement Roundhouse Tribe Woad Armlet Archaeologist Shrine Excavated Invader