Ancient Rome in Motion (ARM) develops high-quality, research-led content, to support the teaching of Ancient History in High Schools and to engage the wider public. ARM creates content for short animated films that are designed to be accessible to a teenage audience, alongside additional resources (on this website) for teachers to build lessons around these films. The films create an environment for better student engagement and curiosity, whilst at the same time delivering content based on the latest academic research on Roman history and archaeology.

The Pompeii Series

This series of films explores the city of Pompeii. We’ll take a look at the streets in Episode 1; shopping in Episode 2; the worship of the gods in Episodes 3 and 4; and, then, in Episode 5 we explore the riot in the amphitheatre in 59 CE, just 20 years before the eruption of Vesuvius. Each of the films is supported by the “find out more” section of this website, where you will find the evidence for visual details in each film. Thus, linking the animation back to the actual archaeological evidence that you can see today in Pompeii.

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Who are we?

Professor Ray Laurence

Ray Laurence set up Ancient Rome in Motion in 2022. He is Professor of Ancient History at Macquarie University (Sydney, Australia). He researches and writes the scripts that are then developed as visual stories by We are Cognitive, an animation studio based in Folkestone (UK) founded by Andrew Park. Ray met Andrew back in 2012. They made two films for TedEd that have been viewed more than 20 million times. They have also made experimental films, such as a museum label about a statuette of a nursing goddess or Dea Nutrix on display in Canterbury’s Roman Museum. As well as a film about the history of migration to Britain - see below for the films.

Andrew Park

Andrew Park founded We are Cognitive in 2004. We are Cognitive</a>. Andrew thinks deeply about working on new subject areas and as he explains:

"The one thing that defines us as a species is our ability to tell stories. We can hold information in our memories, think about the past, present and future and use our prefrontal cortex to hypothesise possible scenarios and outcomes. To be innovative and creative".

His company makes ideas come alive and become tangible, whilst making those ideas engaging through visual story-telling. You can watch Andrew explain TedX Bermuda, how he developed the forms of visual storytelling that underpin the work of We are Cognitive.

Elena Gamper

Elena is an illustrator at We are Cognitive. Watching Four Sisters in Ancient Rome back in 2013 inspired her to take up animation as a career. She loves coming up with fun and memorable character designs.

Becki Lane

Becki is a pro at making sure a project ticks along smoothly. At We are Cognitive, she provides a critical link between clients and our creative team, keeping everyone in the loop and ensuring the team hits the brief on time. Becki has experience in project management roles across various industries, such as finance, engineering, exhibitions and interior design. She loves seeing Ancient Rome in Motion's projects evolve from initial ideas right through to the final launch.