> Skip to content
  • Published: 3 July 2025
  • ISBN: 9780241662168
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 224

There Was a Roman in Your Garden

A history of the Romans in 20 buried treasures





A new fun, fact-packed history series, from classical historian, author and broadcaster, Bettany Hughes exploring how children just like YOU lived back in the day.

It’s your LUCKY day! You’ve stumbled across an ancient treasure chest in your garden that was buried THOUSANDS of years ago by a child living in ancient Rome. And the chest is packed with 20 strange and curious items that tell us so much about their life, such as:

• Armour made of REAL crocodile skin
• Twinkling TREASURE said to protect its wearer from evil
• A fun game made of a PIG'S KNUCKLE
• Evidence of the world's first PIZZA!

Unpack the treasure chest and discover the objects that a child just like YOU was using thousands of years ago. You’ll uncover fascinating facts and true tales about their school, family life, clothes, games, favourite snacks and so much more.

The true, real-life experiences of children in ancient times is a part of history that has been neglected for far too long – award-winning historian, broadcaster and bestselling author Bettany Hughes is here to dig up this newly discovered information for young budding historians everywhere.

  • Published: 3 July 2025
  • ISBN: 9780241662168
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 224

About the author

Bettany Hughes

Bettany Hughes won a scholarship to read Ancient and Medieval history at Oxford and completed her post-graduate research while travelling through Eastern Europe and Central Asia. She has been widely acknowledged as the best of the new generation of TV historians and has fronted for Channel 4 acclaimed programmes on the Spartans and the Minoans as well as The Seven Ages of Britain - a social history from the Ice Age to the Industrial Revolution.

Also by Bettany Hughes

See all