Field Trip 1: The Old Roman City

September 14, 2010

            The first field trip we went on was the only one where we actually entered a museum.  We were privileged enough to visit the old Roman City inside the museum.  We also saw remains of the first Roman pillars at Temple D’August.  The area we were in still has structures in it that date back over 2,000 years.  I know this because we took an elevator that was supposed to be a “time machine” that showed us going back all the way back to 12 B.C.  This “time machine” allowed us to see what kind of life the Roman settlers of the time lived.  From their houses to their baths, their cooking utensils to their winery, we saw a glimpse into the past.

            I think the thing that shocked me most (other than stepping foot in a place that someone used to call “home” 2,000 year ago) was how sophisticated many aspects of these ancient people’s lives were.  I was expecting something along the lines of preserved tents and cabins, not complex sewage systems and advanced methods of preserving meats.  The winery also surprised me.  I am used to seeing the ancient Romans drinking wine when I see them in movies and television, but to think that they were technologically savvy enough to develop such a sophisticated system for brewing and storing their own brands was never something that crossed my mind.  It is too bad that the only very few remains of such an interesting civilization are still around.  Things might be different if the creators of more modern day Barcelona didn’t tear down all the older buildings to use the stones in newer, more ugly and historically insignificant buildings.

            The last thing I want to comment on is how hygienic these ancient people seemed to be.  I had always heard of disease running rampant in antique cities, but it seemed like these people were pretty health conscious.  They had a complicated sewage system, local bathing facilities (which are supposedly the sites where politicians would socialize and make plans, such as killing Cesar), and even a clever system (Urine and coal!) devised to keep clothing clean.