Food and Farming
Artist's reconstruction of the Roman villa at Gorhambury, near St Albans.
Verulamium became wealthy because of the fertile countryside around the town. This land was farmed by large estates called villas and the produce was sold in Verulamium's markets.
One such villa was Gorhambury, a kilometre from Verulamium, which is shown in this this artists impression. In the museum you can see some of the things excavated from Gorhambury villa, which tell us a lot about what it was like to live and work there.
Farming methods were much improved during the Roman period and there was a big increase in food production. See some of the tools they used and learn about the types of plants and animals they raised. You can touch real Roman tiles with animal paw prints impressed in them.
Here you can also see the kinds of foods local people ate. A touchscreen lets you explore more about food, recipes and cooking.
