On Friday 6th October all of year 9 visited Richborough Roman Fort near Sandwich. This is the site where the Romans first landed when they came to Britain in AD 43. It is also the last site they were present at before they left in AD410. Almost 400 years of the history of Roman Britain is evident on this site as well as indications of what happened afterwards.

Essentially year 9 looked at evidence of the invasion and appreciated the highly organised strategies involved in landing over 900 ships and 40,000 men. Then Year 9 studied the remains of the thriving town and port that grew up after the conquest from about AD100 to AD 300. This included a monumental arch which was one of the largest in Northern Europe and was known as the Gateway to Britannia. Finally Year 9 observed the decline of the Roman hold on Britain and the raids by the Saxons, necessitating the construction of a military fort and strong stone walls 10 metres high.

Year 9 diligently applied themselves to their workbooks, seeking answers to the questions from the evidence before them and earned the praise of several members of the public for their quietness and application. They enjoyed climbing the reconstructed Roman gateway and seeing how the shore line had moved from the edge of the fort to some two miles distant due to the silting up of the Wantsum Channel. More imagination was needed for the appraisal of the amphitheatre; nevertheless the girls enthusiastically reenacted gladiatorial contests and engagements with wild beasts to truly express their appreciation of the site.

After this we made a short visit to the coast near Sandwich and Deal where with a little more imagination we envisaged the invasion of 900 Roman galleys approaching across the horizon. We were blessed with excellent weather. It was a beautiful day and has successfully laid the foundations for this year’s study of Roman Britain and the concepts of conquest, resistance and the policy of assimilation.

by Mary Frankland, Classics Teacher