Roman Tombstone

This is a Yorkshire World Collections object, one of 100 chosen by young people aged 16-24, as part of the London Cultural Olympiad programme Stories of the World.

This tombstone depicts a Roman family group. The Manor House Art Gallery and Museum sits on the site of a Roman fort which dates to the time of Agricola, the first Roman governor of Britain who led a campaign to quash the Brigantes in the 1st Century AD, and who was responsible for much of the Roman conquest of Britain. The fort was developed and rebuilt a number of times and Roman occupation continued until the late 4th to early 5th Century.

The Brigantes were a Celtic tribe who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of what would become Northern England, and a significant part of the Midlands. Their kingdom is sometimes called Brigantia, and it was centred in what was later known as Yorkshire.

Discussion Ideas:

• What kind of family would have been able to have a tombstone in the 1st Century?
• What kinds of families still have group memorials these days?
• Have things changed?
• If you think they've changed why do you think that is?
• What countries in more modern history do you know have been 'invaded' and by whom?
• Can you imagine what it is like to live in a country that has been invaded? Here is an account by Sayed about his experience of having to escape his invaded country.
• What good things came out of the Roman invasion of Britain?

Have a look at other resources on My Learning: Raging Romans and What Did Romans Eat?