Easter Monday.

Another cold day but the children still wanted to be out somewhere so we decided to visit Caerleon which is the site of a Roman legionary fortress and only 5 or 6 miles from where I live.  First we visited the ruins of the amphitheatre.  These spectacular ruins date to about 90AD.

                           

  Jasmine explored with her mum

 whilst the boys were running round imagining that they were Roman soldiers. 

 We thought the structure below might be an oven but the red brick arch above was not covered in soot like I would have expected it to be if there had been a fire below it. 

Next we went over the stile to the ruins of the Roman barracks where, according to the boys, the soldiers were stored.  

 

Below Jasmine is exploring the communal latrines at the barracks.  We learned that the soldiers cleaned themselves with sponges that were soaked in vinegar, which the children found very amusing. 

The adults were feeling very cold by now so we decided a visit to the

Museum was next on the agenda. Lots of Roman relics from the archeological sites we had visited and also from other sites nearby. These included a part skeleton in a stone coffin which had been dug up by a man with a JCB whilst he was working on the nearby college extension in the 1990s. Must have been a shock to him finding that.  

The boys enjoyed dressing up in Roman armour in the museum.

The shield was rather large .

Next we had lunch and then visited the Ffwrwm Arts & Crafts centre.  The children were pleased to find that there was an egg hunt going on there.  

  

Stuart relaxing

 Egg find on the dragon, Jakob looks like he is ready for a sleep. 

 Jasmine found the one by the otter

But didn't have a good view of this one.

They all had a prize of chocolate or eggs, as if they didn't have enough already.  Then we went home and I think they had all enjoyed their day.