York resources: Roman Africans and a York apprentice at the time of the Black Death

In the Yorkshire Museum are the remains of Julia Tertia. A mixed race Roman woman who died in York and whose skeleton and grave have been excavated by archaeologists. You can find a resource for primary children here and some of it could be used with Y7.

Julia Tertia is sometimes known as the ‘Bangle Lady’ due to bracelets found in her grave. There is a teacher script, PPT and cards that can be adapted for KS3 teaching in order to explore ancient migration and diversity.

On the same site is a KS3 resource for teaching about a teenager living in the York in the years prior to the Black Death. Students can learn about medieval history, osteology and biology and the human life-course. Again, scripts, PPT and resources are all provided here. You can find a 5 min YouTube film about the teenager William Westoby, telling his experience of moving from a village as the second son of a farmer to the city of York. The activity plan then goes on to the consequences of the the Black Death for people like William. Thus, it sets the Black Death in the context of a wider study of medieval life and links village and town life, approaching the topic through a teenager’s life.

Thank you to Prof. Hella Eckardt, Professor of Roman Archaeology at the Department of Archaeology, University of Reading for sharing these with us.