Roman villa rustica in Sorviodurum
The ambitious Romans had long been on the move in the Gallic and Germanic regions. The Mediterranean and North Africa were not enough for them, they wanted to go north.
In the second half of the 1st century AD, their legions were also in Raetia. They could no longer be stopped and set about colonizing the northern areas of the Alps as far as the Danube. The "wet limes" was created. Legionnaires, traders, farmers and craftsmen arrived, settled the land and left their traces, which today tell us a lot about their way of life, craftsmanship, architecture and their art of war.
Forts and manor houses were built, most of them made of wood, which is why they can no longer be reconstructed today, but a villa near Straubing, the ancient Sorviodurum, has been well researched and served as a model for the Roman villa rustica craft sheet.
- 4 A4 pages of crafting funScale
- 1:87
- LxWxH 37x19x7cmDifficulty
- : easy
The Roman villa rustica was luxurious and practical
Anyone who has ever been in an ancient Roman house knows that these people loved luxury.
The standard of living of a Roman was far higher than that of a Germanic of his time.
The Roman villa rustika had a floor area of 48 x 24 square meters, two large building complexes were connected by a portico.
This hall was adjoined by the atrium, an unroofed courtyard with the impluvium. This was a tiled basin for collecting rainwater, with a cistern underneath from which the water could then be drawn.
Murals adorned the walls and at least two rooms of the villa rustica had underfloor heating - of course, it was too cold for the Romans north of the Alps anyway, so they heated up the rooms, these heaters had an elaborate substructure and required vast amounts of wood.
Several outbuildings and kilns for making bricks were part of the estate and although the inhabitants received wine and olive oil from Italy, a lot of grain and vegetables were grown and livestock was kept, as the legions had to be fed. It was mostly former legionaries who were given such villas at the end of their military service as compensation for farming.
Roman villa rustica cut-out sheet
It looked exactly like the one on this construction sheet, because the ancient Roman villa rustica from Straubing served as a model.
The Roman Villa rustica cut-out sheet consists of 4 DIN A 4 pages of sturdy paper and has a scale of 1:87. It matches the size of the other Roman models so that great complexes of buildings can be put together.
The Roman villa rustica is not only fun to make, it is also a vivid demonstration object for history lessons.
The buildings can be used to teach pupils about the life of Roman farmers and legionaries almost two thousand years ago.
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