11 February 2026
What Would Ancient Romans Make Of Our Life Today – Ken Shaw

From our knowledge of what ancient Roman life was like, we can imagine what it would have been like for us living in those distant times.  However if a Roman were to visit our own time, what would his reaction be to our modern lifestyle?

Ken Shaw’s talk took a look at how an ancient Roman would react to some of our commonplace
objects and ideas. Obviously there are many aspects that a Roman would find amazing but on the other hand there are a surprising number that would be totally familiar to him.  
The talk revealed many unexpected facets of Roman life.  Who would have thought for example that some of our superstitions date right back to Roman times or that recycling back then was
commonplace?  Taking Pompeii as a case in point, we find that many of our modern traffic
management measures were firmly in place there.

This is a light-hearted talk, extensively illustrated & liberally sprinkled with humour but at the same time it invites the audience to take a serious introspective look at our modern lifestyle.