Snippets - Commonly Asked Questions

A selection of questions we are commonly asked on tours and site visits.

Questions:

	1.   What does S.P.Q.R. mean?
	2.   What size was a Roman Legion?
	3.   How many Roman legions were there in Britain?
	4.   Were Roman Villas built in Scotland?
	5.   Did all Roman forts have a bathhouse?
	6.   Is it true the Romans never came north of Hadrian's Wall?
	7.   To the Romans the weather of Scotland would have been like Siberia to us.
	8.   Did Roman soldiers bring their families with them to Scotland?
	9.   Nobody knows where the Picts came from and where they disappeared to.
	10.   Where can I see Roman altars?
	11.   In the film King Arthur the Picts are called "Woads", is this because this is what they used to tattoo or paint their bodies?
	12.   Who is the first mentioned Scot?
	13.   The Romans set up a milestone each mile along their roads.
	14.   Roman Legionaries were never stationed in Scotland, only Auxiliaries.
	15.   Romans used sponges on a stick instead of toilet paper.
	16.   Where is the island of Thule?
	17.   Was ancient Rome's name for Scotland "Caledonia"?
	18.   Pontius Pilate was born in Fortingall in Glen Lyon.
	19.   A Romans soldiers diet was mainly vegetarian.
	20.   Did the Romans use steel?
	21.   People from Scotland were barred from joining the Roman army.
	22.   The Romans did not like being in Scotland as they did not like eating barley.
	23.   A money system based on Roman coinage was not in operation in Scotland.
	24.   The Romans did not wear trousers.
	25.   What is the difference between a Theatre and an Amphitheatre?
	26.   What was Garum?
	27.   What was the Roman name for the North Sea?
	28.   Were Roman roads in Scotland paved with stone slabs?
	29.   The Roman IXth legion was destroyed in battle by the Jews or Parthians.
	30.   Why were so many Roman Legions stationed in Britain?
	31.   What was the Roman name for the Clyde?
	32.   Did gladiatorial fights take place in Scotland?
	33.   Roman forts did not have very strong defences as the Romans placed no reliance on them, marching out instead to fight their opponents in the open field.
	34.   Petillias Cerialis (a); campaigned in Scotland long before Agricola and (b); built the Gask Ridge frontier which was (c); Rome's first "frontier"in Scotland.
	35.   General Roy in his "Military Antiquities of the Romans in North Britain" speculated that Dalginross was the setting where the Ninth Legion was almost over-run in its camp by the Caledonians.
	36.   Where was the battle of Mons Graupius fought?
	37.   Did Romans use scale armour?
	38.   Why did Roman Legions have an eagle standard?
	39.   What was the Roman name for the Cairngorms?
	40.   How did Romans tell the time?
	41.   I was fascinated to read about Roman Garum fish sauce, is it available today?
	42.   What was a "Decurion" and what does it mean?
	43.   What was an Onager?
	44.   Records mention the Romans measuring long distances in paces. How long was a Roman pace?
	45.   Where is the most northerly Roman fort in Scotland?
	46.   Which coin was worth more, a Sestertius or a Denarius?
	47.   Did the Romans eat pizza?
	48.   What colour were Roman soldier`s tunics?
	49.   Modern "Turkish baths" are based on how the Romans bathed.
	50.   The Roman term for Emperor was "Imperator".
	51.   Surely water drawn into a fort through a sealed underground aquaduct would not be particularly fresh to drink.
	52.   What did the Romans ever do for us?
	53.   The Picts were a strange squat dark featured people.
	54.   The Romans never fought the Scots as Scotland never existed in those days.
	55.   Was a Roman soldier well paid?
	56.   Did the Romans steal the land to build their forts and frontiers on?
	57.   Who is the first known Scotswoman?
	58.   When was Roman Christianity introduced into Scotland?
	59.   What are the Cramond lioness and eagle?
	60.   Were Roman soldiers barracks built two storeys high?
	61.   Did the Romans really have flushing toilets and central heating?
	62.   What is “site structural sequence”?
	63.   Did the tribes use chariots after the battle of Mons Graupius?
	64.   How does the Roman numbering system work?
	65.   Why did the Romans use scrolls, could they not bind books?
	66.   How did the Romans build arches?
	67.   Did the Picts shave their heads bald?
	68.   What are hoards and why are they buried?
	69.   Did the Romans wear socks?
	70.   Why did the Romans name their roads in Britain with very un- Roman names like Watling Street and Dere Street, or are these names not Roman?
	71.   Were Roman forts reused after the Romans abandoned them?
	72.   What are finger key-rings?
	73.   Did the Picts speak Gaelic?
	74.   Who were the Otadeni?
	75.   What was a Clibinarius?
	76.   Who was the Romans’ chief God?
	77.   Why are the Caterthuns known as the White and Brown Caterthuns?
	78.   What is a cingulum?
	79.   Were Roman Emperors Gods?
	80.   Were Roman marble busts painted?

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©2009 Roman Scotland. All Rights Reserved
First Published March 2009