Collection No. 03 of 24

Politics, government and law

Rulers, councils, laws, treaties, taxes and how power was held.

2 subjects · 7 lessons · 3 objects · 15 events

The thread through time

Everything in this drawer at its date. Objects above the line, lessons and events below. Each step to the right is ten times closer to today.

300,000 years ago10,0003,0001,000100nowCattle carved for King KhufuSeated statue of King MenkaureBronze for the ancestorsAsking the ancestorsThe Shang dynasty endsThe Rosetta StoneThe invasionBoudica’s revoltHadrian’s WallSeverus dies at YorkHow it endedThe ship in the field

Object Lesson Event

Lessons

  1. Asking the ancestorsHow did the Shang kings ask questions of the dead, and why does it matter that they wrote the answers down?Shang China · About 1254 to 1041 BC; found again from 1899
  2. Bronze for the ancestorsWhat were the Shang bronzes for, and what did a queen take to her grave?Shang China · About 1300 to 1041 BC; Lady Hao’s tomb found 1976
  3. The invasionWhy did Rome invade Britain in AD 43, and how did it win?Roman Britain · 55 BC to AD 47
  4. Boudica’s revoltWhy did Boudica rebel, and how much can we trust the story?Roman Britain · AD 60 to 61
  5. Hadrian’s WallWhat was the Wall for, and how was it built?Roman Britain · AD 122 to 410
  6. How it endedDid Roman Britain fall, or fade away?Roman Britain · About AD 250 to 500
  7. The ship in the fieldWhat does Sutton Hoo tell us about Anglo-Saxon kings?Anglo-Saxon Britain · About AD 625, dug 1938 to 1939

Objects

Subjects