1/20/16 

We have had the best time in Rome! I loved learning about the ancient Roman Empire, it's success and downfalls more than 2000 years ago, and it's bridge with Christianity and Catholicism! It was truly shocking to visit sites from different time period in Rome's history, such as the Pantheon, the Colosseum, St Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel, all of them so well preserved throughout many centuries.

Another site that I really enjoyed seeing was Monte Testacchio, which was essentially a 3rd and 4th century garbage dump outside of the city walls! Through an article we read, and help from our guide Valeria, Bailey and I learned about the importance of what formed this "mountain" and got to share it with the group. Olive oil played such a critical role in the livelihoods of all social classes in the Roman Empire, because of its multiple uses as a food preservative, medicinal uses and as a massage oil or fragrance. It was imported from various places in S. Europe and N. Africa in gigantic clay pots called amphoras. Once it was delivered and distributed, these pots could not be used again. That is why Romans broke them and stacked them in terraces meters high over more than 3 centuries. 

Archaeologists today can look at the stamps or markings on many of these amphoras that provide a better insight on trade routes of the time, and just how far the Roman Empire reached in its prime. 

By Jackson Leech