CHARIOT RACING

DID YOU KNOW ......

- Chariot racing is first seen as a sport in Rome.

- Females aren't aloud to participate in this sport.

- We wore heavy equipment that kept us safe.

- We had heavy weapons and tried to kill other riders.

- The chariot has two wheels while it is pulled by horses.

- Chariot races are viewed all over Rome.

roman picture

here is a roman chariot race and it is awsome.

Journal Entry

Dear Journal, Feb/27/50 BC 6:30 AM

I woke up early this morning because I had an important race today at the stadium. Everyone is depending on me, I'm so nervous and the race may cause me serious injuries. Today's race is a two people race and its so nerve wreaking just thinking about it. Now I need to go and warm up before the big race.


Dear Journal, Feb/27/50 BC 4:41 PM

Today's race was really intense. My opponent was Severus Konar. He is one of the best charioteers in ancient history. Julius Caesar was watching our race, that made me even more nervous. We raced around the track 12 times. When I fell during the race I thought I had already lost. Then I got up and chased after my horses and got back on to my chariot. The race was not over yet but Serverus had already lapped me once, I wasn't going to let him lap me again. My arm was bleeding non-stop but I needed to win this race. If i didn't, people who bet on me would loose their money and my family and I would be the laughing stock of Rome! I tried my hardest to catch up to him... after a few minutes I was right beside him! Then... next thing you know, I lapped him twice! It was finally my twelfth lap and just when I was about to finish my lap... Serverus came chasing after me with his flax. He was about to cut my reins off but instead he accidentally let go of his reins and dropped the falx. I ignored it and got to the finish line... I WON! I couldn't believe it! The crowd went wild! I turned around, there stood Julius Caesar on the riser looking as proud as ever down at me clapping his hands together. Today was the happiest day of my life.

A Chariot Race

Chariot Races Important Facts

Chariot racing is one of the most popular sports in Rome and one of the oldest too. It is also a way for us Romans to demonstrate our prosperity at the games. Although chariot racing is fun to watch, it is also very dangerous. It is dangerous to both drivers and the horses because serious injuries and deaths are common in this sport.

After the race has begun, the chariots would move in front of each other to cause their opponents to crash in to a spinae. (A spinae is a divider down the middle of the circus/stadium.) Racers can also carry a weapon while racing to make it harder for the other racer to finish their laps. There are four horse chariots and two horse chariots. However, the four horse chariots are more common at the games since it is more exciting to watch.

No one knew exactly when chariot racing began, but it may have began since the invention of the chariot itself. We (Romans) use to race around a tree trunk before there was such thing as a stadium. At the race a person will announce the competitors names, and they will have to race around the stadium for six to twelve laps. Each lap had sharp turns around the post on either ends. In order to start the game, both competitors have to be behind a gate and wait till the gate to be lowered. The game doesn't start just yet, the actual game starts when the final gate is opened.

Chariots is a wooden cart with two wheels on either sides and an open back. The competitor will be standing while racing with reins around their waist or holding them with their hands for the horses. The charioteer's feet is held in place, but the cart is rested on an axle which makes it bumpy. The most exciting and most dangerous part of the race is when the racers have to turn at the end of the hippodrome. These turns are often dangerous and deadly.

Chariot races are often held in colossal stadiums, which can seat between 150,000-180,000 people. Usually there are 24 races per day during the fourth century, then take place on the 66th day each year.

The rules to chariot racing is that we can not let go of the reins in a crash because if we do let go then we are disqualified from the race. This means that we may even be dragged around the stadium until we are killed or severely injured. In order to cut the reigns and keep from being dragged, we carried a falx, which is a curved knife. We also wear helmets and protective gear to prevent injuries that are likely happens.

A ROMAN DAM

An example of a Roman Dam.

Daily Scrolls Main Topic of the Day...DAMS!

The Subiaco Dam is an example of one of the earliest Roman Dams ever built and has remained the highest in Rome. Although the dam is thin, it still remains unbroken until it fell apart in 1305. People blame the two monks who removed a few stones from the dam, to lower the level of the lake which was flooding their fields.

Romans are good dam builders, we built many number of Roman dams in Italy. The largest reservoir impounded by us Romans was created by a dam which is located near Homs, Syria in 284 AD. The Dam has an incredible length of 2000 meters and impounded around 90 million meters cube of water.

In 1767 and 1800 the first triangular gravity dams were built in Mexico but the person who built it is unknown. There are many types of dams in Rome such as Rock-fill Dams, Earth fill Dams, Coffer Dams, Asphlat Concrete Core, Tiber Dams, Wooden Dams and Steel Dams. Many dams now are built with cement/concrete. Later dams were built with steel it helped to raise existing gravity dams to a higher crest level.

What is the purpose of the dam? Many people wonder why; the dam can provide us with a reservoir of water for industry and domestic use. Dams are really important to us because it helps us make every day life easier. Such as saving water for us, giving us water supplies and retaining water. Dams also help us keep away liquids that may affect our living, restore water and produce electricity.