KNOWING YOUR POSITION

ATL

Critical-thinking skills: Interpret data, Evaluate evidence and arguments in this activity we will use a coordinate system to locate objects on a map.

Some archeologists are researching and excavating in an old port known to have been used by merchants in the time of the Roman Empire. During their excavations, they discover a dried clay tablet with some directions scratched into it in Latin (Figure 1.11).

Directions translated from the clay tablet

From the Wharf Walk 1 along the sea front to the end of the wharf. ' '

Then turn and take the via Thermae north.

Pause and freshen your feet if you will, that you 5 may be pure on arrival '

Then walk 1 further along via Forum to the north and west. ‘

Purchase here your devotional offering. . Then walk I further north and east across the forum.

Search now at the feet of the vestal Virgin and you Will find your heaven on earth.

The archeologists think that the directions tell where to find a horde of valuable artifacts from the merchants’ ship. The archeologists have drawn a map of the excavation site (Figure 1.12).

Unfortunately, it is not clear from the clay tablet what unit is being used for the directions. One of the archeologists, Dr Boulos, thinks that the unit must have been the passus or 'pace'. Another archeologist, Professor Li, believes that the unit must have been the gradus or 'step'.

Figure 1.12 Map of the port excavation

1 Individually or in groups, search Roman measurement units to find out the length of each of the Roman units: the pace or the step.

2 Calculate the distance in meters for each of the Roman measurement units suggested.

3 Using the scale of the map in Figure 1.12, determine the coordinates for each of the points on the route given by the clay tablet directions, depending on whether you use paces or steps. Record your findings in a suitable table.

4 Suggest the predicted location of the horde, according to Dr Boulos or Professor Li.

5 After further excavation, the archeologists find another fragment from the clay tablet with an inscription on it. They translate the inscription to read:

'These directions are given for every five Roman feet (pedes).'

Using your research on Roman measurement units, deduce what unit the directions are actually using, and state which of the archeologists was right!

Assessment opportunities

In this activity, you have practiced skills that are assessed using Criterion A: Knowing and understanding.