Transcription
Hi, welcome back, or welcome if you're new. I'm Chloe, and I have time traveled to ancient Rome in the year 44. Today, I want to show you what it actually felt like to live here. The real stuff. Not the "There is a goat. There is just a goat on the hill."
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>> Okay, good morning, I think so. Welcome to Rome in the year 44 AD. And as you can see, this is no four seasons. [snorts] It absolutely stinks in here. Also, I have been sleeping on, um, an actual stone slab, like not firm stone. I did not sleep. I would normally do a bathroom tour right now, but, um, this is what I get. I am simply going to acknowledge that it exists, that Romans were a very practical people, and yeah, moving on.
Um, so, outfit check. It's giving ancient Rome. I'm into it. Okay, we are going out. So today, I want to show you the forum, which is like the center of everything here. We're going to get food. I want to check out the baths. And later, we are going to the games, which I have thoughts about. But first, I need to find a proper bathroom.
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One thing nobody told me about ancient Rome is that everything, like every single wall, is covered in graffiti. Political stuff, personal stuff, rude stuff. Romans were out here writing about each other on public walls in 44 AD. Yeah, who knew graffiti has been around for thousands of years?
Okay, so I asked someone where the bathroom was, and they brought me here. This is a public toilet. There are people, like men and women, in there just sitting together, chatting like it's completely normal, which apparently it is. Okay. Okay, I can do this. Oh. Oh, wow. Okay.
So, this is the forum. This is like, imagine if your town square, your courthouse, your marketplace, and your parliament all happened in the same place at the same time. That is this. And it is enormous.
All right, so, first myth bust of the day. You know how we picture ancient Rome as all white marble? It wasn't. All of this was painted bright colors. We only think it was white because the paint wore off over 2,000 years. Ancient Rome was actually very loud visually.
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So, this guy is basically ancient Rome's version of a fortune teller, and he has just grabbed my hand without asking, which is very on brand for Rome so far.
>> His face is doing something I really don't like. I'm sure it's fine.
>> So, I'm here at ancient Rome's version of grabbing lunch on the go. Most Romans don't have kitchens at home, so everyone eats out, but instead of a chicken sandwich, it's porridge and olives. Let's do it.
Okay, so this is Plus. It's basically a grain porridge with herbs. And it is... it's fine. It's not exciting. It tastes like oatmeal that's trying its best. The bread is actually really good, though. Romans ate in the streets like twice a day. Yeah. Seven out of 10.
So, this is garum. It is a fermented fish sauce that Romans put on basically everything. And it is made by—and I want you to really hear this—leaving fish guts in the sun for weeks. That is what this is.
>> It's kind of good. I'm so angry that it's good.
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>> So, this is the public baths, and the entry fee is the smallest coin you can get. Romans wanted everyone to use these. Clean population means fewer diseases. Very practical thinking. It's also the gym, the spa, and the gossip hob allin one.
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>> So, this is the changing room, and you just leave your stuff in one of these wall niches. No lock, no key, just hope for the best. Apparently, theft was extremely common in here, which is very reassuring.
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I'm going to keep the camera very close to me at all time. So, you start with the cold plunge. I'm not going to make a big deal of this. I'm just going to get in. It's going to be fine. Romans did this every day. Okay. It is not fine. It is not fine at all. Why is it that cold? How are these women just sitting there? What is happening? And before anyone says anything in the comments, yes, technically I shouldn't be wearing anything right now. I am aware of that. I did my research. But what do you think this is? We're on YouTube, guys. So, we're keeping the cloth.
So after the cold plunge, you come in here, the warm room, and your body just goes, "Thank you." The floor is heated from underneath, using a furnace underneath the building, pushing hot air through channels in the floor and walls. Romans invented underfloor heating. The Romans just want to acknowledge that someone in this place has definitely done something. And this woman knows everything.
Okay, so this is the hot room, and I can barely see anything, which I think means it's working. It is extremely hot in here, like uncomfortably hot, but also kind of amazing. The steam is coming from a huge bronze basin of hot water in the corner, and the whole room is just a lot in a good way.
Okay, the baths: 10 out of 10! Romans were absolutely onto something. My skin has never felt like this. I am now heading to the games: gladiators, animals, the whole thing. And I genuinely do not know how to feel about that. So, let's find out.
So, I just passed this laundry place, and I had to find out if the rumors were true. Ew. It's true. It's all true. They wash everything in urine. That tooga was dripping on me. I'm not okay.
This is a temporary wooden amphitheater. Rome built this temporarily just for the games as a flex. A very Roman flex.
So, where you sit tells you everything about who you are in Rome. Senators down the front. Best view. Then up here: women, the poor, everyone else. I am very much up here. Also, this little boy next to me looks like it's Christmas morning. Bless him.
So, the animal hunt is first. Exotic animals shipped here from across Africa and Asia. The crowd is [cheering]! Yeah, this boy is having the best day of his life. I mean, they didn't have Netflix, so you can kind of understand.
>> Sundis, I voted for you.
>> Gisses.
>> Ah, Bugria Ben.
>> He absolutely understood that. We are communicating. This is fine. He just patted me on the head.
So, this is Rome's main port. Everything that feeds this city arrives here: grain from Egypt, wine from Greece, olive oil from Spain, every single day. It is incredibly busy, and it smells, um, it smells like a river that a million people live next to, which is exactly what it is.
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So, this man wanted to give me a boat tour, which, um, all I can say is: don't try this at home. All right, so this is happening. Rome from the water is just... it's enormous. Like, you can't really understand the scale of the city until you're out here looking at it. A million people live in what I can see right now.
So, behind me is Rome's first stone bridge. It was originally built in 179 BC and is still standing in 2026, and people are still using it right now above our heads. Also, someone up there just dropped something in the water, which, yeah, very Rome.
Okay, so I got invited to dinner by a senator I met in the forum today. And this is his house. This is what money looks like in ancient Rome. That pool in the middle collects rain water through the opening in the ceiling. I was not expecting this after the stone bed situation this morning.
So, I wasn't aware, but Romans 8 ate lying down on couches, which sounds incredibly luxurious and is actually harder than it looks. These men are doing it completely naturally, and I cannot find a comfortable position. This is like the Roman version of a really good dinner party, except the host doesn't disappear into the kitchen for 40 minutes. Everything just appears silently. Someone refills your wine before you notice it's empty. Back home, I order a takeout and wait an hour and a half.
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>> All right. So, I'm back in my little paradise, and I am absolutely stuffed. Oh god. Sorry. Yeah, I ate all the things. I am going to attempt to sleep this off on my slab. Rome, it's been fun. Good night.