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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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Rural exodus

This resource is about the exodus of country people over the last two centuries from the villages and hamlets of Britain to the towns and cities and overseas. It is organised under the following topic headings; Introduction; a better life; Leaving the Highlands; Relative opportunities - pros and cons; and Find out more. ...

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 ...

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Rome's pivotal emperors

This resource is about the Roman emperors who greatly influenced the empire's structure and direction. It introduces six of the most important emperors: Augustus, Vespasian, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, Septimus Severus and Constantine. Images of the emperors link to descriptive text about their lives and pivotal aspects of ...

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Roman religion: gallery

This resource is about Roman religion. It consists of nine images that link to text about the different practices and beliefs that existed in ancient Rome. It includes information on the state-recognised worship of traditional gods and about some of the diverse religions that were tolerated in ancient Rome as long as they ...

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Agricultural revolution in England 1500-1850

The resource is about the agricultural revolution in England. It includes a discussion of the ongoing controversy over when and how the agricultural system changed from being one of peasant farmers working in a subsistence economy to a capitalist farming system, using new machinery and supporting millions of people in the ...

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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.

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Viking women

This resource is about the role of women in the Viking world. It includes text and some images. The resource is organised under six topic headings: Female Vikings?; Viking women in England; Scandinavian immigration; Daily life; Women of influence; and Find out more. The images are interposed in the text.

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. ...

Interactive

Genocide under the Nazis: timeline

This interactive timeline is about the persecution and mass murder of the Jews, Gypsies and other people by Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945. It includes background material and a description of how the timeline works. It shows events in the same sequence as experienced by those who lived during the twelve years of Nazi ...

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Winding gear animation

This animated resource is about technical innovations in 19th-century Britain. It shows the winding gear used in coalmines to raise and lower people or equipment in a cage. Background material is provided, an animation shows how the winding gear operates and a quiz tests students' knowledge of the names of the parts of ...

Video

Spinning mill animation

This resource is about spinning mills in 19th-century Britain. The animation shows how a spinning mill used line shafting to spin cotton. Students read text material, then view the stages of line shafting: coal-fired furnaces produce steam, which passes through the valves and powers the piston rod; the piston rod transfers ...

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Stephenson's Rocket animation

This animated resource is about innovation in railway technology in 19th-century Britain. It models an early steam locomotive called Stephenson's Rocket, which won the Rainhill Trials in 1829, a competition to find the best locomotive engine for a railway line approaching completion. It includes background material, an ...

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Blast furnace animation

This resource is about blast furnaces and innovations in smelting iron in 18th-century Britain. The animation show how a blast furnace used a combination of iron ore and limestone with coke to produce iron. Students read text material and then view the animation, which also includes a segment on how to build a blast furnace.

Interactive

Beam engine animation

This animated resource is about innovation in steam engine technology in 19th-century Britain. It shows an early steam engine called the beam engine, which was developed to pump out floodwater from the deep mines in Cornwall. It includes background material, an animation of the workings of the beam engine, a clear, detailed ...

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Viking religion

This resource is about the Vikings attitude to religion. It includes text and some images. The resource is organised under six topic headings: The age of conversion; Pagan belief; Gods and giants; Pagan and Christian together; Conversion in Scandinavia; and Find out more. Interposed in the text are images of an amulet, ...

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The Mongols' pastoral-nomadic life

This resource, a component of the online resource The Mongols in world history, details the nomadic lifestyle of the Mongols and the rise of Temujin (Genghis Khan). It includes a list of the animals upon which the precarious pastoral-nomadic life of the Mongols depended. It describes the various uses of the animals by the ...

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Black Death: the disease

The resource is about the plague, the disease known as Black Death in 14th-century England. It describes the three variations of the disease: bubonic, pneumonic and septicaemic, and the causes and symptoms of the disease. It also considers the origins of the bacteria, the conditions needed for an epidemic to occur and the ...

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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 ...