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Archives ACT: find of the month

This topic-based collection of primary source material provides a rich and varied source of official documents, guides and background information on the civic history of Canberra and the Australian Capital Territory. Produced monthly, this eclectic collection covers topics including the history of monuments, architecture, ...

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Vindolanda

This resource is about the Roman garrison established at Vindolanda. It includes extracts from the Vindolanda tablets dating from the period AD 97-103, which documented details of everyday life for a Roman soldier on the north-west frontier of Roman Britain. The resource describes the discovery of the tablets and their ...

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Gladiators: heroes of the Roman amphitheatre

This resource is about Roman gladiators and their role in Roman society. It covers the origins of the gladiatorial system as a funerary practice to honour the dead, which gradually became entertainment. Topic headings in the resource include: Conscripts and volunteers; Rules and regulations; Fighting-styles; Barrack life; ...

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Eric Bloodaxe

This resource is about Eric Bloodaxe, a Viking legend and the last Viking king of Northumbria. It includes text and some images. The resource is organised under six topic headings: What's in a name?; Exile to England; Invader or guest?; Conquest and reconquest; The end of the story; and Find out more. The images are interposed ...

Interactive

The chariot of Wetwang

The interactive resource is about the discovery of an Iron Age chariot in a grave in the Yorkshire village of Wetwang in 2001. It has three parts: an account of the discovery of the burial site and the contents of the grave; a detailed explanation of the reconstruction of the chariot; and a quiz to test the knowledge gained ...

Interactive

Gladiator: dressed to kill - game

This interactive resource is a game about gladiators. The game tests students' knowledge about the combat dress of three different types of gladiators known as Murmillo, Retiarius and Hoplomachus. Each uses different weapons and armour. In the game students are required to prepare each gladiator for combat with the correct ...

Interactive

Viking quest

This interactive game is about a raid by Vikings to gain the treasures of the monastery of Lindisfarne in Scotland. The game consists of a series of choices each player has to make at each stage of the raid. These include selecting a site to build a boat to sail to Lindisfarne, deciding on the size of the boat, and choosing ...

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Pillar of Ashoka

This resource is about a significant individual in history. It shows a fragment of a pillar built by the Emperor Ashoka in India about 240 BC. On the fragment is part of an inscription that uses a type of writing known as 'Brahmi'. The inscription is by Ashoka. It reads of how the great conquest in life is not over other ...

Interactive

Muck and brass

This interactive game is about town planning in Britain during the Industrial Revolution. It focuses on towns that have experienced rapid growth due to industrialisation but which have poor air quality and no efficient sewage disposal. Students assume the role of advisor to a town councillor who wants to improve the health ...

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Religion in late imperial China, 1644-1911

This online resource offers a comprehensive overview of the many forms of religion in late imperial China. It includes a detailed overview of religion under the following four headings: Religion in China: an overview; Popular religion and beliefs; Institutional religion: the three teachings; and Religion, the state and ...

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Roman women: following the clues

This resource is about Roman women. It examines sources of evidence about the lives of women in ancient Rome, given that there is little written material describing their lives. Sources include examples from literature, state inscriptions, tombstones and the bases of statues, Roman paintings and sculpture, all of which ...

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Enslavement and industrialisation

This resource is about the slave-based trade with the Americas and its contribution to Britain in the 18th century and today. The resource is organised under the following topic headings: Consumers and slaves; the Atlantic boom; Slave-related trade; Profit margins; Inherited privilege; and Find out more. It includes text, ...

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Medieval stonemasons

This resource is about the medieval stonemason. It includes text and some images. The resource is organised under four topic headings: A mason's craft; Soaring monuments; Heavenly Jerusalem; and Find out more. Interposed in the text are images of Ely Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral and Wells Cathedral.

Interactive

Battle of Hastings - game

This interactive game is about the Battle of Hastings in 1066 AD. Students are presented with a battlefield with two armies facing one other. They must decide whether to take the part of William of Normandy or of the Saxon king Harold Godwinson and choose from a range of tactics. Text and sound effects accompany the game. ...

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Black Death: the effect of the plague

This resource is about the effects of the plague, known as the Black Death, in rural England from 1348 to 1352. The resource describes deserted villages in rural England, uninhabited after the death of the population from the plague. It reports that the biggest effect of the plague was in rural areas because most people ...

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Black Death

This resource is about the plague that broke out in England from 1348-49. It provides an overview of the plague in the British Isles beginning with the initial outbreak in Dorset, which then spread to England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The resource includes many contemporary descriptions of the plague, the death toll ...

Interactive

Who wants to be a cotton millionaire?

This interactive game is about innovation in textile production in Britain in the 19th century. It focuses on the changes in the manufacturing of cotton, which shifted from the home to the factory with the advent of the steam engine. Students assume the role of advisor to a businessman who wants to manufacture cotton and ...

Interactive

Hunt the ancestor

This is an interactive game about an archaeological dig or quest. The object is to find an ancient burial site and protect it from being destroyed by local quarry owners who want to extract chalk from the field. Students are given an amount of money and have to locate where the burial site is using a variety of research ...

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Ancient China: geography - challenge

This is a game entitled 'Where do I live?' in which the user matches a set of four people and animals to the areas in China where they live. The challenge is based on understanding the different geographical features of seven regions and two river basins in China and identifying which of these matches the habitats of the ...

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Ancient China: crafts and artisans

This is a resource titled Workshop Alley, produced by the British Museum, in which the viewer explores three ancient Chinese workshops making jade, bronze and ceramic objects. Each workshop contains: an introduction to the material being worked; an illustrated description of the processes used; one or two questions and ...