We visited the site of the Battle of Verlamion.
In early May, Lower Third Form pupils took part in a History Field trip to the site of the Battle of Verlamion, near Wheathampstead, which was fought in 54BC between the armies of Roman General Julius Caesar and British King Cassivellaunus.
The children set out by coach at 9.30 am with an uncertain weather forecast for the day. Thankfully the sun came out as the party arrived in Wheathampstead and the rest of the day remained dry if not a little muddy under-foot. The site of the ancient city of Verlamion was extensively excavated by the eminent archaeologist Sir Mortimer Wheeler in 1932. The children spent the trip gaining first-hand experience of excavating and mapping the city’s defensive ditches and dykes. Using an LCD ultra-sonic distance meter, they discovered that the outer ditches were 130 feet wide at the top and had a depth of 40 feet. With the help of mapping, sketching and photography, pupils gained a first-hand experience of the difficulties the Roman army experienced in trying to break through the city’s defences.
‘We found out lots about the battle site even though there were a few puddles’, said Morgan Forbes. ‘Everyone drew pictures of what we thought the site looked like two thousand years ago and what is looks like now’, said Ausra Holbrook.