Lesson Eight
Mystery at a RomanVilla
Enduring Understanding
Studying a Roman villa can help us understand Roman
people and culture.
Essential Question
How can investigating a Roman villa help us
understand Roman people and culture?
What Students Will Learn
• The names of rooms of a Roman villa in Latin.
• There are social implications revealed in the
design of Roman housing.
What Students Will Do
• Compare and contrast homes in Roman times to
modern homes.
• Label rooms using the Latin terms.
• Play INDICIUM Roman Villa (indicium is Latin
for the word “clue”) based on Hasbro’s Clue, The
Classic Mystery Game.
Assessment
Students will match Latin names of villa rooms to
the correct room on a map of the Villa at Oplontis.
Students will design a shelter based on what they
learned about a Roman Villa and Roman way of life.
SUBJECTS: social studies, Latin
CCSS and NGSS: L.3, L.6
SKILLS:
• Bloom’s Taxonomy: Knowledge,
Comprehension
• Facets of Understanding: Perspective,
Explanation
DURATION: 45-90 minutes
CLASS SIZE: groups of 3, 4, or 6
For Each Group
• Game board (back of guide in Resources)
• 6 character tokens (red, green, yellow, purple,
white, and blue)
• 6 weapon tokens/cards (back of guide in
Resources)
• 15 INDICIUM cards printed on cardstock (back
of the guide in Resources)
• 2 dice
• Murder Envelope
• “INDICIUM Case File”
For the Teacher
• PowerPoint of a Roman Villa
Background Information
Materials
A Roman villa and house served more
purposes than just a shelter. It was designed as a stage
for demonstrating wealth and power.You can discover
what it means to be Roman by looking at a Roman
house or villa. The villa played a key part in the
reinforcement of social hierarchy. The male head of
household, the paterfamilias, would accept clients into
For Each Student
• Map of Oplontis to take notes printed on 11” x
17” paper (back of guide in Resources)
• INDICIUM (Clue) Sheet
• “Map Matching” exercise
Leisure & Luxury in the Age of Nero
Copyright 2015 Project Archaeology-MSU
]109[
the public space of his house, the atrium. The atrium
is the heart of the home, a symbolic center of Roman
identity. For our Roman male head of household, his
house was an extension of himself and what he did
in the house had to do with his responsibilities as a
Roman citizen.
Clients would come to the villa and the
paterfamilias would put on his toga and meet them in
his atrium. He would stand framed by the columns
and greet his clients in the morning. This was a
public performance where he would grant favors,
make deals, and negotiate. As a client or guest you
would have to walk around the pool to get to the
paterfamilias. Depending on your relationship with
the paterfamilias (client, guest, family) you could be
invited from the public space into the more private
areas.
A typical house was built around an atrium
and often included a peristyle garden. Houses in
and near Pompeii ranged from properties with just
four rooms opening onto an atrium to grand villas
like those at Oplontis with a large atrium and two
peristyles. Since there are similarities in houses and
villas at this time period and location, we can say that
there is a distinct type, a predictability in the layout.
Much like today, if you were to walk into a modern
house, you would expect to enter a hallway not a
bathroom. If the home is two stories, bedrooms are
usually on the upper floor.
Archaeologists study the ruins of houses in
Pompeii and villas on the coastline to understand
what they looked like and what they were for, but
they mostly concentrate on the homes of the elite
because they are often better preserved, ornately
decorated, and have a wide range of artifacts. Thus we
tend to know more about the daily lives of the elite
class versus the lives of the majority of Roman people.
When you look at the vastness of Villa A at Oplontis
you may wonder how many people lived there. The
villa served as an entertainment machine and could
host large parties of people (300 for poolside dining).
Also, elite Romans lived in an extended family that
included cohabitating grandparents, aunts, uncles,
and cousins, etc. In addition, the definition for
family (familia) in Latin is a much broader term for
household and could include slaves and freed slaves.
A mix of materials were used to build these
structures (including stone, brick and rubble) as
a core for the walls, plastered on the exterior and
interior and smoothed. Wooden framework was
possible as were wooden doors and shutters. Windows
could have protective terracotta, wood or metal
screens (no glass windows). Roofs were terracotta
and included roof ornaments.
Misconception Alert!
Studying Past Cultures
Many people mistake archaeology for a
swashbuckling “Indiana Jones” adventure.
Archaeologists often are thought of as questing
after rare and beautiful artifacts. Although it is
true that at times archaeologists do find rare and
beautiful things, they could more accurately be
compared to Sherlock Holmes, a detective of the
past, gradually piecing together the culture of a
people to understand more about them. A single
artifact removed from its context discloses very
little about culture. By studying many sites and
artifacts and their relationship to each other and
the environment, one discovers the way people
lived. Archaeologists study a people’s culture by
the things they left behind, clues!
Preparing to Teach
1. Print game board pages and tape together the two
sides.
2. Print IDICIUM cards on cardstock and cut out
the cards.
3. Collect materials for the game (colored tokens,
dice, envelopes).
4. Review the PowerPoint presentation and prepare
to share the background information.
5. Post the Word Bank words.
6. Post the essential question.
Uncovering Prior Knowledge
1. Ask students: What are different rooms and
spaces in your home? Make a list on the board.
2. Categorize the list based on the people who use
the spaces (parents/caregivers, siblings, animals).
3. Ask students: How have you heard the word
“villa” used during previous lessons? A villa is
Latin for a type of house, often larger and more
expensive than average homes, in the countryside
or on the coast. Villas are often used by Roman
elite as places to go on vacation or as a retreat
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from Rome.
4. Have students reflect upon what kinds of rooms
or other living spaces they think would be found
in an ancient Roman villa.
Discovering New Knowledge
How can investigating a Roman villa help
us understand Roman people and culture?
Inform the students that this question will guide their
learning.
1. Take students on a tour of a Roman Villa using the
“Roman Villa PowerPoint” presentation.
2. Have students label a map with the Latin term for
each room and make notes on their map for each
room.
3. Discuss the roles of Roman people in society
through a series of questions to review what they
learned in the PowerPoint:
• What roles did people have in the Roman
empire from what we have studied?
(Senators, Emperors, writers, philosophers)?
And how would you describe these roles?
• What kinds of duties did people have?
• Who held the most power?
• What were the roles of slaves in villas?
• What was the size of a Roman family?
• Why did some Romans build villas?
• What were some of their luxuries? Why did
they have these luxuries?
• If you could ask a Roman a question about
their life, what would you ask him/her? How
could you find out more information?
4. Tell students Villa A at Oplontis is an example
of an archaeological site, a place where people
lived.You will be visiting Villa A at Oplontis
archaeological site by playing the game
INDICIUM (“Clue” in Latin).
5. Read the “Roman Villa Case File” aloud to all the
students.
6. Group students in teams of 3, 4, or 6 (not 5!).
Students will set up their game board and deal
the cards according to the Roman Villa Case File.
Help each group set up the game with three cards
in the murder envelope and crossing off the six
face up cards and the cards in their hand on the
Indicium (Clue) sheet.
7. Students play the game INDICIUM Roman Villa.
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Reflecting on New Knowledge
1. Draw a Venn diagram on the board with the
categories “Modern Home”, “Roman Villa”, and
“Both”.
2. Transfer the list of modern rooms students
described at the beginning of the lesson to the
Venn diagram placing the rooms that are in both
modern homes and a Roman Villa in the “Both”
category, then have students say the Latin names
for rooms only found in the Roman Villa.
Assessment
Check for understanding with a quick matching
exercise. Students will match the room on the map
with the correct Latin name of the room. Students
will design a shelter based on what they learned about
a Roman Villa and Roman way of life.
Go over “Bringing the Past into the Future” and
performance standards and help students understand
directions and expectations. Have students complete
drafts of their design in class or as homework. Check
the draft or have students critique each other’s drafts
and make suggestions for changes and improvements.
Have students revise their compositions and submit
them for a final grade.
Answer Key
1. C
2. F
3. I
4. E
5. A
6. G
7. H
8. B
9. D
Museum Activity
Flash Curation: Students will be curators of a
themed exhibit on Roman life. Assign a theme to a
group of students and they will explore the exhibit
to find five artifacts that represent their theme.
They may take pictures or draw the artifacts they
chose and write short captions and a description
of their exhibit. Students will present their theme
and artifacts to the rest of the class by stating a title,
describing one element of Roman life based on the
theme, and showcasing their five chosen artifacts.
Example themes could be religion, dining, slavery,
art, architecture, luxury, leisure, art, family, etc.
Guess your Roman. Have students experience the
exhibit as a particular Roman person. Tape the name
or role of a Roman on the back of each student and
through clues given by other students, they have to
guess their role. Once they have guessed correctly
they can move the name to their front. Examples of
roles could be 1) Romans: Nero, Pliny the Younger,
Pliny the Elder, Poppaea, Lucius Crassius Tertius,
Secundus, Methe, Julia Felix; 2) Occupations:
merchant, slave, slave child, elite child, painter,
builder, senator, guard, gladiator, amphora maker,
household slave, field slave, soldier, etc.
Resources for Teachers
Beard, Mary. 2008. The Fires ofVesuvius: Pompeii Lost and
Found. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard
University Press.
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Notes
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The Roman Villa Case File
Yesterday evening Poppaea Sabina, the second
wife of Nero, was found dead in her villa! The
Imperial Guard found six suspects and six
weapons in nine of the villa’s rooms, but could
not solve the case. So, now it is up to you to
solve the murder!
To win the game you must determine three
things about the murder:
1.
2.
3.
Who did it?
With what weapon?
Where?
WHO? Meet the suspects.
One of these six suspects is the murderer. You must find out who.
Nero
Emperor
Pliny the
Younger
Senator
Lucius
Crassius
Tertius
Manager
Methe
Slave Woman
Secundus
Slave Man
Julia Felix
Elite Woman
WHAT? Check out the weapons.
Amphora
Lucerna
Statua
Gladius
Venenum
Fretale
WHERE? Take a peek at the rooms.
One of these rooms is the scene of the crime. You must find out which.
Culina Atrium Lararium Cubiculum Triclinium Balneum Caldarium Peristylium Colimbus
SET UP
1. Place all the six weapon tokens and all the six character tokens in the Peristylium. Each student
chooses a character from the suspect list to play as. You will use your character’s matching color
token to move around the villa.
2. Sort the INDICIUM cards into Weapon, Suspect, and Room decks. Shuffle each deck separately and
place them face down on the table. Without looking, take the top card from each deck and put them
in the Murder Envelope. There should be 3 cards in the envelope (one Weapon, one Suspect, and
]114[
3.
4.
5.
6.
one Room card). These are the suspect, weapon, and room involved in the murder! Place
the Murder Envelope at the side of the board.
Shuffle the rest of the INDICIUM cards together. Place six cards face up. Deal all the remaining cards
out face down to each student. Shh! Everyone must keep their cards secret!
Give each student an INDICIUM sheet and pen. Shh! Always keep your INDICIUM sheet
secret!
Without letting anyone see, each student must secretly cross off the cards they have been dealt and
any cards that are face up on the table. Your cards are not in the Murder Envelope so they
are not involved in the murder!
Throughout the game, you will get to see other student’s cards one at a time. Every time you see
one, cross it off your INDICIUM sheet. It’s not in the envelope so it’s not involved in the
murder!
OBJECT OF THE GAME
Solve the murder! All while learning about the rooms of a Roman villa, the people who lived there, and the
objects they may have used. To win you must be the first player to find out which suspect, weapon, and
room cards are in the Murder Envelope.
HOW TO PLAY
1. Decide who goes first. Each player rolls the dice, the highest roll goes first. Play continues to the
left.
2. On your turn, move your token.
o On each turn, try to reach a different room. To start your turn, move your token either by
rolling the dice or, if you’re in a corner location, by using the Secret Passage.
o Rolling
§ Roll the dice and move your character token that number of spaces around the
board. You can move horizontally, forward and back through the corridor, but not
diagonally.
§ Always try to enter a room. You don’t need an exact roll to enter a room; if your
roll would’ve taken you beyond the room, just finish the move early and stop in
the room.
§ You may NOT enter the same room on a single turn.
o Secret passages
§ The rooms in opposite corners of the board are connected by Secret Passages. If
you’re in one of these rooms at the start of your turn, you may, if you wish, use
the Secret Passage instead of rolling. To move through a Secret Passage, announce
that you wish to do so, then move your token to the room in the opposite corner.
3. Then ask a INDICIUM question and get an answer.
a. If you enter a room, you must stop and ask an INDICIUM question about one suspect,
one weapon, and the room you’ve just entered. For example, if you have just
entered the Triclinium, you could ask: “Was it Emperor Nero with the Gladius in the
Triclinium?”
]115[
b. Hint! Try to ask about suspects, weapons, and rooms you haven’t crossed off your
INDICIUM sheet.
c. Bring the suspect’s character token and the weapon token you’re asking about into the
room with you.
d. The player on your left must be the first to answer your question. If they have any of the
cards you asked about, they must show one of them to you secretly. They should never
show you more than one card!
e. If they don’t have any of the cards you asked about, then they just say, “I cannot answer”
and the question passes to the next player and so on, until you have been shown one card.
f. What if no one can show you a card? As long as you were not bluffing by asking about one
of your own cards, you’ve figured out which cards are in the Murder Envelope.
4. Finally, end your turn by marking your clue sheet.
5. Cross off the card you have been shown on your Indicium sheet. It’s not in the envelope, so it’s not
involved in the murder.
6. Leave the character and weapon token you moved where they are. Now your turn is over. No
matter who answered your question, the player on your left goes next.
HOW TO WIN
Make an accusation. When you think you’ve figured out which three cards are in the Murder Envelope,
you may, on your turn, make an accusation and name any three cards you want. Say your accusation out
loud, “I accuse Pliny, with the Lucerna in the Caldarium!” Then without letting anyone else see, check the
cards in the envelope.
When you ask a INDICIUM question, the room you choose must be the room where your token is located.
When you make an accusation, the location you choose does not have to be the location where your token
is located. You can choose any room.
Winning. You win the game if your accusation is completely correct, and you got all three cards right!
Congratulations, you solved the murder! Reveal the cards in the Murder Envelope to everyone.
False Accusation. Oops! You’ve made a mistake and are out of the game. Secretly return the cards to the
envelope—don’t tell the other players which ones you got wrong! Keep your cards hidden and keep
answering the other students’ questions. Do not ask any further questions or make any further accusations.
]116[
INDICIUM (CLUE) Sheet
SUSPECTS
Emperor Nero
Julia Felix
Pliny the Younger
Lucius Crassius Tertius
Secundus
Methe
WEAPONS
Fretale (frying pan)
Lucerna (oil lamp)
Gladius (sword)
Amphora
Statua
Venenum (poison)
ROOMS
Balneum
Culina
Colimbus
Cubiculum
Atrium
Triclinium
Lararium
Caldarium
Peristylium
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Name: __________________________________________
Date: ______________________________
Period: __________________
Map Matching
Directions: Number a sheet of paper 1 – 9. Place the letter of the corresponding Latin room next to the number on your sheet of the correct room on the map.
A. Atrium
B. Balneum
C. Caldarium
D. Colimbus
E. Cubiculum F.Culina
1.
G. Lararium H. Peristylium I. Triclinium
9.
2.
8.
3.
4.
5.
6.
]118[
7.
Bringing the Past to the Future
One way to honor history is to use ideas from the past to create new things in the present. For example,
modern builders sometimes use Roman architecture to create buildings today.
Drawing
1. Imagine you are going to build a modern or futuristic villa. You want to use ideas from the Roman
Villa.
2. Think back to everything you learned about a Roman villa and way of life. Think about the rooms and
frescoes. Think about building near a volcano with the danger of earthquakes and eruptions.
3. Draw a modern or futuristic villa that includes at least three ideas from the Roman villa at Oplontis.
4. Label the ideas that you borrowed from the villa.
Performance Standards
•
•
•
Ideas from the Villa at Oplontis – My drawing includes three ideas from the villa.
Design – My design looks like a modern or futuristic shelter and is creative and neat.
Lines and Labels - I labeled all three ideas from the Roman villa.
]119[
Nero
methe
Balneum
DOOR
Caldarium
DOOR
DOOR
Colimbus
Roman VillaE
DOOR
SECUNDUS
INDICIUM
pliny
DOOR
Peristylium
DOOR
DOOR
Culina
DOOR
DOOR
DOOR
Lararium
DOOR
DOOR
julia
lucius
DOOR
DOOR
DOOR
Atrium
Cubiculum
DOOR
Triclinium
DOOR
DOOR
Lucius Crassius Tertius
Manager
Nero
Emperor
Pliny the Younger
Senator
Julia Felix
Elite Woman
Secundus
Slave Man
Methe
Slave Woman
]147[
Statua
Venenum
Poison
Gladius
Roman sword
Fretale
Frying Pan
]148[
Amphora
Lucerna
Oil Lamp
Colimbus
Cubiculum
Culina
Triclinium
Atrium
Caldarium
Lararium
Peristylium
Balneum
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Map of Villa A at Oplontis
Directions: Label the rooms of the Roman villa and take notes from the PowerPoint Presentation.
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Map of Villa A at Oplontis
Colimbus (Swimming Pool)
Caldarium (Baths)
Culina (Kitchen)
Balneum (Latrine)
Triclinium (Dining Room)
Lararium (place of worship)
Atrium (Entrance Hall)
Peristylium (garden)
Cubiculum (bedroom)
]151[