Category: Daily Life in the Past

By Tim Lambert Early Firefighting Fires were a major hazard in the past when towns were crowded and houses were often made of wood. Worse roofs were often thatched. In the Middle Ages, thatched roofs were banned in London because of the risk of fire. In smaller towns, thatched roofs were not banned till much… Continue reading A Brief History of Firefighting

By Tim Lambert Ancient Food Food in Ancient Egypt For most people in ancient Egypt, food was plain and dull. The staple food of the Egyptians was bread and beer. The bread was baked outside and because of the desert sand was often blown into the dough. In time eating bread with grains of sand… Continue reading A Brief History of Food

By Tim Lambert Prehistoric Furniture When people learned to farm and lived in permanent settlements they began to make furniture. In Europe, some of the earliest known furniture comes from a stone-age village at Sara Brae in the Orkney Islands in Scotland about 2,000 BCE. The Stone Age farmers lived in stone huts with roofs… Continue reading A Brief History of Furniture

By Tim Lambert Games and Pastimes in the Ancient World Egyptian Pastimes In Ancient Egypt people enjoyed swimming. They also liked boxing, wrestling, and archery. They played a game that involved standing on a boat and trying to knock their opponents into the water with a stick. The Ancient Egyptians also played a board game… Continue reading A Brief History of Games

By Tim Lambert Gardening In The Ancient World The earliest gardens were grown for practical reasons. People grew herbs or vegetables. However, when man became civilized an upper class emerged with the leisure to enjoy purely decorative gardens. They also had servants (or slaves) to do the gardening for them. Gardening in Ancient Egypt In… Continue reading A Brief History of Gardening

By Tim Lambert Early Hats People have worn hats since Ancient Times. They protected the head from the elements. But hats also sometimes showed a person’s wealth and status. In Ancient Greece people sometimes wore wide-brimmed hats to shade themselves from the Sun. In Europe in the Middle Ages, men wore hoods or berets. In… Continue reading A Brief History of Hats

By Tim Lambert Basil Basil is native to India but it was known to the Greeks and the Romans. From the 16th century, basil was used to make pesto sauce in Italy. Bay Bay leaves are native to the Mediterranean area. Bay was well known to the Greeks and the Romans, who held it in… Continue reading A Brief History of Herbs

By Tim Lambert Early Holidays In the Middle Ages, wealthy people went on pilgrimages for religious reasons. However, pilgrimages were not holidays – or they were not meant to be! In the 14th century, Chaucer wrote the Canterbury Tales about a group of pilgrims on their way to Canterbury. In England, people went on pilgrimages… Continue reading A Brief History of Holidays

By Tim Lambert Celtic Homes The Celts lived in roundhouses. They were built around a central pole with horizontal poles radiating outwards from it. They rested on vertical poles. Walls were of wattle and daub and roofs were thatched. Around the walls inside the huts were benches, which also doubled up as beds. The Celts… Continue reading A Brief History of Homes

By Tim Lambert Early Hospitals The first hospitals were founded in the Ancient World. There were hospitals in India and Sri Lanka before 200 BC. By the 2nd century AD, the Romans had military hospitals called Valetudinaria. In the late 4th century The Roman Empire split in two, east and west. Meanwhile, Christians believed they… Continue reading A Brief History of Hospitals