Category: Daily Life in the Past

By Tim Lambert Early Shops In the centre of Roman towns was a rectangular space called the Forum. It was lined by shops and by a public building called the Basilica. Markets were also held on the forum. In a large Roman town, other main streets were also lined with shops. In Roman times shops… Continue reading A Brief History of Shops

By Tim Lambert Ancient Silver From Ancient Times silver has been used for jewelry and for eating and drinking vessels. People have been mining silver since at least 3,000 BC. Silver was also used for coins. From about 400 BC silver coins were used in Greece. The Romans had a silver coin called a denarius.… Continue reading A Brief History of Silver

By Tim Lambert The beginning of space exploration In the early 20th century Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857-1935) realized that only a rocket could provide propulsion in the near-vacuum of space. He also proposed that a rocket should be built in stages so it would dump each stage when its fuel was exhausted. In 1926 Robert H.… Continue reading A Brief History of Space Travel

By Tim Lambert St George is, of course, the patron saint of England. ‘Cry God for Harry, England, and Saint George!’ Those immortal words are from Shakespeare’s Henry V, but who was St George and how did he become the patron saint of England? St George was a Roman soldier who lived in the 3rd… Continue reading A Brief History of St George’s Day

By Tim Lambert The Origins of St Valentine’s Day The Romans held a fertility festival called Lupercalia in mid-February. However, it’s not clear if there is any link between the Ancient festival and modern St Valentine’s Day. 14 February was not associated with romantic love until the late Middle Ages. In the 14th century, people… Continue reading A Brief History of St Valentine’s Day

By Tim Lambert Early Tea According to legend, tea was first discovered in 2737 BC by a Chinese emperor called Shen Nung when some leaves blew into hot water. In reality, tea drinking was discovered much later in history (we are not sure exactly when), and we don’t know who discovered it. From China, tea… Continue reading A Brief History of Tea

By Tim Lambert Early Law Enforcement From the Middle Ages, there were local officials in England called constables who were responsible for keeping the peace. Men took it in turns to take the post for one year and it was unpaid. Also if somebody witnessed a crime he was supposed to raise the alarm and… Continue reading A Brief History of the British Police

By Tim Lambert The Family in The Ancient World Most children in Ancient Egypt did not go to school. Instead, boys learned farming or other trades from their fathers. Girls learned sewing, cooking, and other skills from their mothers. Girls from well-off families were sometimes taught at home. When a father died his sons inherited… Continue reading A Brief History of the Family

By Tim Lambert The Early Olympic Games In Ancient Greece, the Olympic Games began in Olympia in 776 BC. They were held in honor of Zeus, the leader of the gods, and people from all over Greece and the Greek colonies came to participate in them. Wars stopped to allow everyone to take part. Greek… Continue reading A Brief History of the Olympic Games

By Tim Lambert The Poor in Tudor Times In Tudor times there were thousands of people without jobs wandering around looking for work. There were also disabled beggars. Some people pretended to be mad or disabled to beg. Tudor governments tolerated people who were disabled begging. However, they did not tolerate able-bodied people without jobs… Continue reading A Brief History of the Poor Law