Week one: Ancient Rome location and infrastructure Week two: Political architecture in Ancient Rome Week three: Religious architecture in Ancient Rome Week four: Life and death in Ancient Rome Week five: Bread and circuses (entertainment architecture) in Ancient Rome Most FutureLearn courses run multiple times. Every run of a course has a set start date but you can join it and work through it after it starts. Find out more This course is open to anyone with an interest in discovering more about ancient Rome. You might be: planning a visit to the Italian capital; an avid watcher of documentaries on Roman history; or considering studying archaeology, classics or history at university. You can use the hashtag #FLvirtualrome to talk about this course on social media.

Topics Covered

• Geographical and historical overview
• Introduction to the digital model
• Roman building materials and techniques
• The importance of aqueducts and sewers
• Using coins to illustrate ancient architecture
• The Imperial Fora
• The function and development of the Forum
• Types of monumental architecture
• Using poetry as evidence to investigate the past
• Overview of Roman religion
• The architecture of the Capitoline Hill
• Developments in Imperial temple architecture
• Worshipping the gods
• Overview of Roman housing
• Food supply in the ancient city
• How the Romans liked to be remembered
• Using inscriptions as evidence to investigate the past
• The importance of entertainment for Rome’s rulers
• The architecture and function of theatres and circuses
• Roman baths and bathing
• Using evidence to understand the Colosseum