Ancient Rome

Where can I find information about ancient Rome?

(Years 5-8)

Colour photo of the Colosseum (an ancient amphitheatre in Rome, Italy). It shows the outer wall. — Image: Rom Colosseum by xiquinhosilva on Wikimedia Commons.

Entry last updated: 11/12/24

Introduction

The era of ancient Rome lasted from 753 BC to 476 AD. Founded by king Romulus, Rome grew into a rich and powerful city. By 117 AD the Roman Empire included Italy, all the lands around the Mediterranean and parts of Europe, including England, Wales and areas of Scotland. This entry has general websites with information about the history, culture, people and food of ancient Rome, as well as books you might like to read.

General websites

Romans were talented engineers and architects. They were the first to build long, straight, paved roads so that they could transport goods efficiently. These roads were so well made that some still exist today, nearly 2,000 years after they were made. Here are some websites that have reliable information about ancient Rome.

BBC Bitesize

This site has a range of resources that have been designed especially for school students.

Enter 'Roman Empire' into the search bar, at the top of the page.
Select KS2 History - Roman Empire.
This will bring up answers on life in ancient Rome, rulers of the Roman Empire, and the Roman empire at war.

Tips: Websites with .com or .co in the address can have good information, but you need to assess their reliability. Check the About the BBC link on the website if you can find one. That can tell you the company’s mission and values.

Britannica School Primary

This is one of the EPIC resources. EPIC is a collection of reliable databases that has some really good information on all sorts of topics including ancient Rome.

Log in using your school password (or ask a librarian on AnyQuestions).
Enter 'ancient Rome' into the search bar.
Choose ancient Rome (ancient state in Europe).

Tips: Britannica school has different levels. Choose level 2 for more in depth information.

Elementary (Gale In Context)

This is another EPIC database especially for primary students. It has a wide range of topics such as animals, arts, geography, health, literature, social studies and science.

Go to Social studies, then World History.
Look for Ancient Rome.
Read the quick facts, book and magazine articles on Ancient Rome.
Remember to select More Book Articles to find related topics like the geography of Ancient Rome, Roman education, Roman Emperors, Gladiators, the Colosseum and more.

Tips: If you run your cursor over the little square at the beginning of an article, a pop-up will tell you the reading level of that article.

Ducksters

Ducksters is an easy-to-read website with lots of interesting articles, diagrams and images on history, biography, geography and science.

Go to History and look for Ancient Rome.
This page has lots to look at about Roman arts and religion, daily life, famous Roman people, Roman mythology and the Roman Empire.

Tips: Some websites have advertisements (or ads) which ask us to buy something or tell us to ‘click here’. It’s best to ignore these ads and focus on the information we’re looking for.

Books

There are a number of books and stories that have been written about ancient Rome — check out your local public or school library to see what they have there.

Here are some recommended titles: