London’s History made of paper

Gli scavi per la costruzione della Crossrail/ Elizabeth Line, la linea ferroviaria veloce che, una volta completata, presumibilmente per la fine del prossimo anno, consentirà di attraversare Londra da est a ovest in tempi record, hanno fornito l’occasione senza precedenti per sbirciare sotto la superficie di una delle capitali più antiche d’Europa, rivelando, così, la pila di strati archeologici alta oltre 9 metri su cui sorge la città e portando alla luce un immenso tesoro di reperti archeologici.

Per commemorare gli oltre 40000 anni di storia della capitale Britannica, il National Geographic ha realizzato questo splendido video che ripercorre l’evoluzione della città dall’Età della Pietra fino ai giorni nostri, passando per la dominazione romana, la rivolta di Budicca, l’occupazione vichinga, l’invasione normanna, la morte nera, la dinastia dei Tudor, la grande peste, il grande incendio e la rivoluzione industriale. Il tutto utilizzando esclusivamente creazioni di carta. Bellissimo!

This stunning short film created by National Geographic brings to life over 40,000 years of London’s history using beautiful paper creations.
It is a journey through the city’s history, from the Stone Age of the woolly mammoths to the present day, made entirely of paper.

As you watch the video, try to catch the answers to the following questions:

◊ What animals roamed the tundra 40000 years ago?
◊ Why did nomads build wooden tracks through marshes during the Bronze Age?
◊ Was the Roman period a time of immense growth?
◊ Why did Queen Boudica lead a revolt against the Romans in 60 AD?
◊ What caused the death of half the city’s population in the 14th century?
◊ When did William Shakespeare write his plays?
◊ Why did doctors wear masks during the Great Plague?
◊ Where was London rebuilt after the Great Fire destroyed most of city?
◊ What other important event changed everything again?
◊ What has new construction in London revealed?

If you need help, here’s the transcript:

“Once upon a time London was a very different place and woolly mammoths roamed the tundra. Much later, as it got warmer, nomads built wooden tracks through marshes to make travelling and hunting easier.
People started coming from near and far and the Roman period was a time of immense growth, but living in peace wasn’t always possible. Queen Boudica led a revolt against the Romans in 60 AD.
In the 14th century half the city’s population died during the Black Death. Yet the city still continued to thrive.
William Shakespeare wrote his plays during the Tudor period.
During the Great Plague many thousands died and doctors wore masks they thought would protect them from the putrid air.
The Great Fire of London destroyed most of the city but it was rebuilt on the same spot.
And the Industrial Revolution changed everything again.
Today new construction in London has revealed many layers of history and each moment in time has left behind a powerful record of the people who lived and died here.”

And here are some words and expressions used in the video:

some verbs:

(to) roam = (to) go from place to place without purpose or direction, wander
(to) travel = (to) go from one place to another, as by car, train, plane, or ship
(to) hunt = (to) chase (wild animals) for the purpose of catching or killing
(to) thrive = (to) grow or develop successfully

some landscape-related vocabulary:

tundra = a large area of flat land with no trees in the arctic regions
marsh = an area of soft, wet land that has many grasses and other plants

some material-related vocabulary:

woolly = covered with wool or something resembling it
wooden = made of wood

some other vocabulary:

mammoth = a type of large elephant that lived in ancient times and that had very long hair and tusks
nomad = a member of a people who have no permanent home but move from place to place, in search of food, water, etc.
track = a path made by people or animals walking through a field, forest, etc.
growth = the process of growing
spot = a place
layer = a stratum
record = something that recalls or tells about past events

If you’ve enjoyed the video and want to learn more about how the paper city of London was built, don’t miss this other video by National Geographic: How We Built London Entirely From Paper (Behind the Scenes).

All this is simply amazing! Bye for now, j