Year 7 embarked on their first History experience outside of IPS Cascais
Year 7 embarked on their first History experience outside of IPS Cascais
What’s old collapses, times change, and new life blossoms in the ruins.
Frederich Schiller
Last Thursday, Year 7 embarked on their first History experience outside of IPS Cascais. Their visit to the Conimbriga Historical Site and Museum was a great success. A guided tour around the Roman ruins of one of the largest Roman sites in Portugal allowed pupils to visualise their learning about life in a Roman city and gain a better understanding of the architecture they had been studying. Pupils still came up with an array of interesting questions. One pupil asked about the importance of the main “via” (the Latin word for road) in trade at Conimbriga, which is also a topic we had studied in class.
IPS Cascais pupils gave a good representation of the school, behaving positively and politely to their guide and being extremely respectful to the site itself. I was very proud that despite nearly 3 hours on the road, pupils were still alert and engaged. The trip gave an insight into how the pupils' minds work, with one of them comparing the main forum to Cascais shopping mall. The depth and skill of the plumbing also impressed many of the pupils, particularly as one of the fountains in the best preserved villa still works. I do not doubt that the trip heightened the historical understanding and interest in History for many of them.
Conimbriga was first settled by the Celts of Portugal as a castle in the Neolithic period. It was further built upon by the Romans in the mid-2nd century BC. During the reign of the first Emperor Augustus, the main Forum and baths were built. A further defensive wall was built to defend the city in the late 4th century AD. The city as a Roman site fell into decline shortly before ‘the sack of Rome’ in 476 AD.
Conimbriga had stood as a reminder of Roman might and engineering well into the 18th century. However, during the Napoleonic invasions, much of the site was “repurposed” by local Portuguese residents who needed the stone and brick to rebuild after the French had damaged their local buildings. Archaeologists started to dig out the site in 1899. According to our guide, less than 20% of the original site has been unearthed, and much more of it lies underneath the current site of the modern town. Other parts that are not underneath the town require lots of funding to dig up, which is sadly not always freely available. I would encourage you and your children to visit the site, as all ticket costs go towards the preservation and rediscovery of the site, but the experience will also nurture your child's love and understanding of History.
written by Luke Provis
Humanities Teacher
