Ancient Roman Ruins

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I have to be honest and say that when I found out we were going to go to the ancient Roman ruins of Conimbriga, I was giddy with excitement, and my children thought that surely I have lost my mind.

Conimbriga is the location of Roman ruins dating back to the time before Jesus Christ! This was the field trip of a lifetime for us and I wanted to make sure we took full advantage of all it had to offer. The picture above is the remains of the home of the ruler of this area, and his home was 47,000 square feet in size! He lived there with his wife and children, who at one point were captured by enemies.

The pictures really do not do this place justice...

The Romans were a very advanced civilization and it shows in their arquitecture and by the fact that they had indoor plumbing and central heating!

A large aquaduct was used to carry water to the city, which had a population well into the thousands. Romans spent hours each day bathing and caring for their skin, which is why there were so many baths here, both public and private ones.

At this point, only 15% of the area has been excavated, so as we looked out into the land infront of us, it was amazing to imagine how great this city once was.

The mosaic tile work was beautiful and I could not believe how detailed it was! Someone spent a long time working on them...

There is also a museum on site, where you can see all the beautiful artifacts found here, including pottery, columns, busts, tools, and tombstones.

The large tombstone to the left of my oldest daughter was quite interesting to me. It belonged to a freed slave.

We left Conimbriga with so much information, and amazed at the beauty and history uncovered here. This was such an exciting field trip, especially because we will be studying ancient civilizations this year. How many kids can say they have actually seen the remains of an ancient civilization!