Pupils watch a brief introductory video for just 70 seconds, the point at which the film stops short of identifying all the evidence for existence of Black people in Britain in Roman times. The pupils’ job is to write the next 45 seconds of the film outlining the other evidence that the BBC film makers could have used.
To do this they investigate a range of sources including another video and a website which refers to: the evidence for the existence of the ‘Ivory bangle lady’ in York, discovered as recently as 1902; evidence for the Libyan born emperor Septimius Severus who came to Britain in AD 208; proof of the Aurelian Moors who were stationed on Hadrian’s Wall; and objects of African derivation found in London.
Learning objectives
- Pupils understand that the first Black people on the landscape of Britain were Roman soldiers
- Pupils can make deductions from clues
