This photograph shows a small part of the town clock of the old town of Rothenburg on the River Tauber in Germany. The part of the clock not shown celebrates how in the 17th Century, the town was saved by the drinking of a large quantity of wine! But notice that the clock face is marked with Roman numerals: I, II III, IIII, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII. Can you count to 1000 in Roman? And how did the Romans do simple calculations using this system? In what basic ways does it differ from our modern numeral system? Be thankful the Roman system didn’t prevail!
