technology

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SYNOPSIS

1946. A few weeks after the first nuclear bomb tests on Bikini atoll in the Pacific, French designer Louis Reard created a new swimsuit. He called it the bikini. It caused a sensation. Almost no one realised that 2000 years earlier, the Romans had the same idea. Reard is not alone at being piped at the post with his “new” idea – many technologies like strengthened concrete, surgical instruments, sports arenas are not new ideas at all – the Romans got there first.

From 31BC until 476AD the Roman Empire dominated Europe. At it’s height it stretched from Egypt in the South, to Scotland in the North. It was one of the world’s earliest superpowers.

The secret of the empire’s success was the ability of the Romans to solve many of the technical problems modern cultures face today. They constructed massive cities, home to over a million people; build on grid systems with impressive buildings, amenities and even high rise apartment blocks. Their homes were the first to have window panes and some even had double glazing. They were able to achieve this largely due to the development of cement and concrete which used a special ingredient pozzolana which made it versatile and able to set under water.

Using this new form of concrete they built impressive buildings such as the Colosseum and Pantheon, both still standing today. The Pantheon has the largest self supporting spherical dome ever built. Perhaps their crowning architectural achievement was the construction of aqueducts that brought fresh running water into their cities. Rome alone had nine aqueducts running some 260 miles above and below ground bringing in enough water a day to fill 150 Olympic Swimming pools. The roman method of water transportation inspired similar systems in modern cities like New York.

The Romans were also innovators in medicine developing anaesthetics and carrying out a range of operations including varicose veins removal, cataract and even cosmetic surgery. They created surgical instruments that are the precursors of those still used in modern operating theatres.

The Romans also had an extremely effective military machine, boasting a professional army of 300,000 all using the most technologically advanced weapons of the day. The foot soldiers carried a two sided sword called a gladius and a curved shield made from laminated plywood. They also carried a spear called a pilum that could be thrown with deadly accuracy for 100yards. To prevent the enemy picking it up and throwing it back it was constructed with a soft neck which would bend on impact rendering it useless to the enemy.

The Romans Army also had artillery, they carried machines called Onagers or Ballistas that threw seven pound rocks over 1500 feet at speeds over more than 100 miles an hour.

Though the Roman Empire collapsed 1500 years ago, much of its technology is the still blueprint for modern living.

ASPECT RATIO 4.3
MAIN SOUNDTRACK English Stereo
DISC FORMAT DVD 5
REGION 1 NTSC
CLASSIFICATION Exempt
NOTE Not available for shipment outside the USA