Talbot Heath Y4 Roman Interdisciplinary Design Day

Year 4 started the day looking at famous Roman inventions before being enlisted in the TH 4th Legion and carrying out drill and battle formations. They learned Latin commands for their marching and battle tactics, and discovered that life as a Roman legionnaire was not as easy as they thought. Trying to hold up a heavy scutum shield whilst not breaking ranks as part of the Testudo (tortoise) was a tiring activity! Once they understood how to defend themselves, they put it into practice as students learned how to operate Mr Morris’ custom-made TH onager catapult. Students worked as a team to calculate how many clicks of the ratchet were required to score a direct hit on the shield wall. In addition, the soldiers then went to the design studio to learn more about Roman engineering; they saw how Romans used plywood 2000 years ago to make their infamous curved shields (the scutum). They watched a demonstration on laminating and then had the opportunity to finish the design of their own mini scutum