The first field study we participated in was a trip to the old Roman city which was once called Barcino. Currently the ancient city is surrounded by shops, cafes, and Barcelona's famous La Catedral; but it once was a bustling city square full of families, merchants, and soliders all thriving as a part of the Roman Empire. Emperor Augustus founded the city in 15 b.c. and it started as a peaceful area with a prime location near the ocean where ships could come and go bringing imports and exports. At first the colony was built and settled by soldiers of legions, but with the construction of the Via Augusta the colony grew commercially and economically, and gained immunity from imperial taxation. The Roman city was set up like a military camp with the Forum acting as the central meeting place of the city where the two main roads connected all others. The north-south Cardus Maximus and the east-west Decumanus Maximus were the names of the main streets that connected all the alleyways and the people of the city could follow these two roads in and out of the city. No civilization can thrive without water and the Romans knew this all too well, so they constructed an aqueduct which funneled water into the city.
Today when you walk around the ancient Roman city you can still see the old foundation that the Romans built. The walls of a building look like sedimentary rocks where there are separate visible layers of different types of stone, the oldest being on the bottom. When we visited the ancient city all I could think about was how life must have been in these ancient times. I imagined walking in the forum and seeing all the people going about their daily business. What astounded me the most was thinking about how these structures were built only by hand. The structures are made of massive stones and there was no machinery to cut and shape the stones into the cubes that were necessary for building walls and aqueducts. It was truly amazing. The most interesting aspect of our visit to the Roman town was the remains of the Temple of Augustus. The temple was built as a worship place for Emperor Augustus and today there are still three massive pillars standing on the original foundation they were layed. When we walked into the room where these pillars stood there was a peaceful quiet because no one was talking but everyone was thinking and admiring the sheer beauty and size of these ancient stones. Today you can still see the remains of the aqueduct the Romans built to bring water into the ancient city. Although it is only a sliver of what the original aqueduct was you can still admire the craftsmanship and intellect of the Romans. These people were extremely intelligent, diligent, hard workers that strove to flourish in all aspects of their lives, and this is the reason why the Roman Empire stood strong for hundreds of years.
Today when you walk around the ancient Roman city you can still see the old foundation that the Romans built. The walls of a building look like sedimentary rocks where there are separate visible layers of different types of stone, the oldest being on the bottom. When we visited the ancient city all I could think about was how life must have been in these ancient times. I imagined walking in the forum and seeing all the people going about their daily business. What astounded me the most was thinking about how these structures were built only by hand. The structures are made of massive stones and there was no machinery to cut and shape the stones into the cubes that were necessary for building walls and aqueducts. It was truly amazing. The most interesting aspect of our visit to the Roman town was the remains of the Temple of Augustus. The temple was built as a worship place for Emperor Augustus and today there are still three massive pillars standing on the original foundation they were layed. When we walked into the room where these pillars stood there was a peaceful quiet because no one was talking but everyone was thinking and admiring the sheer beauty and size of these ancient stones. Today you can still see the remains of the aqueduct the Romans built to bring water into the ancient city. Although it is only a sliver of what the original aqueduct was you can still admire the craftsmanship and intellect of the Romans. These people were extremely intelligent, diligent, hard workers that strove to flourish in all aspects of their lives, and this is the reason why the Roman Empire stood strong for hundreds of years.
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