We tend to think of the lifestyles of ancient peoples as being radically different from ours. But as you can discover on a visit to Wroxeter Roman City, near Shrewsbury in Shropshire, Roman Britain, it turns out, is a surprisingly familiar place.
The local residents went to their local sports center to exercise and used the hot and cold plunge baths and steam rooms much as we use saunas and steam rooms today. Their homes, at best guess, looked a lot like the villas you might rent on a Greek island vacation today.
Much more than a random pile of ruins, the English Heritage site at Wroxeter Roman City, is a fascinating and eye-opening place. If you are thinking of rounding off your London 2012 Olympics trip with a visit to Much Wenlock, home of the modern Olympics movement, plan to stop off at Wroxeter, just a few miles away, to learn about a Roman sports center and how it fit into daily life in Roman Britain.
Photo ©Ferne Arfin