In BC 55 Julius Caesar came, saw, conquered and then left. It was not until AD 43 that the Emperor Claudius crossed the channel and made Britain the western outpost of the Roman Empire that would span from the Scottish border to Persia. For the next 400 years the island would be transformed. Within that period would see the rise of Londinium, almost immediately burnt to the ground in 60 AD by Boudicca; Hadrian's Wall which was constructed in 112 AD to keep the northern tribes at bay as well as the birth of the Emperor Constantine in third century York. Interwoven with the historical narrative is a social history of the period showing how roman society grew in Britain.

A Brief History of Roman Britain

Jones offers a lucid and thorough analysis of the economic, social, military, and environmental problems that contributed to the failure of the Romans, drawing on literary sources and on recent archaeological evidence.

The End of Roman Britain

This book sets out to provide a new synthesis of recent archaeological work in Roman Britain.

The Romanization of Britain

This book tells the fascinating story of Roman Britain, beginning with the late pre-Roman Iron Age and ending with the province's independence from Roman rule in AD 409. Incorporating for the first time the most recent archaeological discoveries from Hadrian's Wall, London and other sites across the country, and richly illustrated throughout with photographs and maps, this reliable and up-to-date new account is essential reading for students, non-specialists and general readers alike. Writing in a clear, readable and lively style (with a satirical eye to strange features of past times), Rupert Jackson draws on current research and new findings to deepen our understanding of the role played by Britain in the Roman Empire, deftly integrating the ancient texts with new archaeological material. A key theme of the book is that Rome's annexation of Britain was an imprudent venture, motivated more by political prestige than economic gain, such that Britain became a 'trophy province' unable to pay its own way. However, the impact that Rome and its provinces had on this distant island was nevertheless profound: huge infrastructure projects transformed the countryside and means of travel, capital and principal cities emerged, and the Roman way of life was inseparably absorbed into local traditions. Many of those transformations continue to resonate to this day, as we encounter their traces in both physical remains and in civic life.

The Roman Occupation of Britain and its Legacy

“Lucid and engaging . . . should take pride of place on the bookshelf of specialists and non-specialists interested in Roman Britain.” —Minerva This illuminating account of Britain as a Roman province sets the Roman conquest and occupation of the island within the larger context of Romano-British society and how it functioned. The author first outlines events from the Iron Age period immediately preceding the conquest in AD 43 to the emperor Honorius’s advice to the Britons in 410 to fend for themselves. He then tackles the issues facing Britons after the absorption of their culture by an invading army, including the role of government and the military in the province, religion, commerce, technology, and daily life. For this revised edition, the text, illustrations, and bibliography have been updated to reflect the latest discoveries and research in recent years. The superb illustrations feature reconstruction drawings, dramatic aerial views of Roman remains, and images of Roman villas, mosaics, coins, pottery, and sculpture.

Roman Britain: A New History

A fully revised edition of an accessible and authoritative account of Roman Britain. Presented in a logical, clearly written and readable style it is the ideal introduction for the newcomer to the subject and a valuable sourcebook for the specialist. John Wacher is Emeritus Professor of Archaeology at the University of Leicester and author of many works on Roman Britain including the highly regarded Towns of Roman Britain.

Roman Britain

The People of Roman Britain

This revised edition of the classic text of the period provides both the student and the specialist with an informative account of post-Roman English society. ...

From renowned and respected author David Shotter, this updated and expanded edition of Roman Britain offers a concise introduction to this period, drawing on the wealth of recent scholarship to explain the progress of the Romans and their objectives in conquering Britain. Key topics discussed include: * the Roman conquest of Britain * the evolution of the frontier with Scotland * the infrastructure the Romans put in place * the place of religion in Roman Britain. Taking account of recent research, this second edition includes an expanded bibliography and a number of new plates which illustrate the various aspects of the Roman occupation of Britain.

Weaving together the results of archaeological investigation and historical scholarship in a readable, concise account, this text charts life in Roman Britain from the first Roman invasion to the final collapse of the Roman Empire, around 500 AD.

Roman Britain: A Very Short Introduction

The most authoritative history of Roman Britain ever published for the general reader.

Superbly illustrated throughout, this illuminating account of Britain as a Roman province includes dramatic aerial views of Roman remains, reconstruction drawings and images of Roman villas, mosaics, coins, pottery and sculpture. The text has been updated to incorporate the latest research and recent discoveries, including the largest Roman coin hoard ever found in Britain, the thirty decapitated skeletons found in York and the magnificent Crosby Garrett parade helmet. Guy de la Bédoyère is one of the public faces of Romano-British history and archaeology through his many appearances on several television programmes and is the author of numerous books on the period.

Part of the Penguin History of Britain series, An Imperial Possession is the first major narrative history of Roman Britain for a generation. David Mattingly draws on a wealth of new findings and knowledge to cut through the myths and misunderstandings that so commonly surround our beliefs about this period. From the rebellious chiefs and druids who led native British resistance, to the experiences of the Roman military leaders in this remote, dangerous outpost of Europe, this book explores the reality of life in occupied Britain within the context of the shifting fortunes of the Roman Empire.

An Imperial Possession

A set of posters depicting Roman Britain. Four of them have colour views of significant sites, and the other four, in black and white and with explanatory text, show a Roman villa, Roman crafts and industries, the Roman army, and Roman buildings.

Roman Britain Poster Pack

In the mid fourth century Britain was a full member of the still-powerful Roman Empire; a century later the decaying empire could no longer defend or administer Britain. In the fifth century Anglo-Saxon settlement was limited: what sort of society succeeded that of Roman Britain in areas not yet overrun by the Anglo-Saxons? In the sixth century the Anglo-Saxons gained the upper hand, but was this a process of assimilation rather than conquest? In answering these questions the author avoids the limitations from which previous treatments of this topic have suffered: insularity and dependence on the historical sources. He places Britain firmly in the wider European context and takes as his basis archeological evidence and methodology, not history. The historical sources are seen as dubious, and are only seen as descriptive, not prescriptive evidence.

The Ending of Roman Britain

This title introduces readers to life in Roman Britain from a child's viewpoint. The book introduces general features of the time period, but focuses on what life was like for children, including where they lived, what they learned at school, and where they worked. The text is supported by primary source material (paintings, artefacts, quotes, etc.) that brings the past to life. A final section explains how we use historical evidence to reconstruct the past.

Life in Roman Britain

This book provides a twenty-first century perspective on Roman Britain, combining current approaches with the wealth of archaeological material from the province. This volume introduces the history of research into the province and the cultural changes at the beginning and end of the Roman period. The majority of the chapters are thematic, dealing with issues relating to the people of the province, their identities and ways of life. Further chapters consider the characteristics of the province they lived in, such as the economy, and settlement patterns. This Handbook reflects the new approaches being developed in Roman archaeology, and demonstrates why the study of Roman Britain has become one of the most dynamic areas of archaeology. The book will be useful for academics and students interested in Roman Britain.

The Oxford Handbook of Roman Britain

Later Roman Britain, first published in 1980, charts the end of Roman rule in Britain and gives an overall impression of the beginning of the so-called ‘Dark Ages’ of British history, the transitional period which saw the breakdown of Roman administration and the beginnings of Saxon settlement. Stephen Johnson traces the flourishing of Romano-British society and the pressures upon it which produced its eventual fragmentation, examining the province’s barbarian neighbours and the way the defence was organised against the many threats to its security. The final chapters, using mainly the findings of recent archaeology, assess the initial arrival of the Saxon settlers, and indicate the continuity of life between late Roman and early Saxon England. Later Roman Britain gives a fascinating glimpse of a period scarce with historical sources, but during which changes fundamental to the formation of modern Britain began to take place.

Later Roman Britain (Routledge Revivals)

Combining classical scholarship with recent archeological discoveries, Scullard recreates what life was like in Roman Britain, detailing merchants' activities, the mixing of pagan and Christian religions, and the emergence of the city.

In this book, David Braund offers a significantly different perspective upon the history of Roman Britain. He concentrates upon the literary evidence, which has been studied to a lesser extent than archaeology in recent years. Close attention to the Greek and Roman sources enables the construction of a new approach to Roman Britain, its history and its archaeology. For the first time, monarchy is identified as a key issue in the history of Roman Britain.

Ruling Roman Britain

The Roman Government of Britain is a completely rewritten version of Professor Birley's Fasti of Roman Britain (1981), with biographical entries for all higher officials from AD 43 to 409. Several new governors, legionary legates, tribunes, procurators, and fleet prefects are included, and the entries for those previously known revised; and in this edition translations of all sources have been added. Introductory sections deal with career-structures in theprincipate and the changed system of the late empire. Evidence for imperial visits is also quoted and discussed. The work provides a full conspectus of all the literary, epigraphic, and numismatic sources for the history of Roman rule in Britain.

The Roman Government of Britain

Although lowland Britain in 300 CE had been as Roman as any province in the empire, in the generations on either side of 400, urban life, the money economy, and the functioning state collapsed. Many of the most quotidian and fundamental elements of Roman-style material culture ceased to be manufactured. Skills related to iron and copper smelting, wooden board and plank making, stone quarrying, commercial butchery, horticulture, and tanning largely disappeared, as did the knowledge standing behind the production of wheel-thrown, kiln-fired pottery and building in stone. No other period in Britain's prehistory or history witnessed the loss of so many classes of once-common skills and objects. While the reasons for this breakdown remain unclear, it is indisputable the collapse was foundational in the making of a new world we characterize as early medieval. The standard explanation for the emergence of the new-style material culture found in lowland Britain by the last quarter of the fifth century is that foreign objects were brought in by "Anglo-Saxon" settlers. Marshalling a wealth of archaeological evidence, Robin Fleming argues instead that not only Continental immigrants, but also the people whose ancestors had long lived in Britain built this new material world together from the ashes of the old, forging an identity that their descendants would eventually come to think of as English. As with most identities, she cautions, this was one rooted in neither birth nor blood, but historically constructed, and advanced and maintained over the generations by the shared material culture and practices that developed during and after Rome's withdrawal from Britain.

The Material Fall of Roman Britain, 300-525 CE

Combining a fresh analysis of the archaeological evidence with the traditional historical accounts, Neil Faulkner presents a new interpretation of the decline and fall of Roman Britain. The original conquest of Britain was one of the last successes of Roman military imperialism, whereas the Romans' repeated failures on the north British frontier shows the limits of this system. A new order became established in Britain: a centralised, military-bureaucratic state, governed by a class of super-rich landlords and apparatchiks, who siphoned wealth out of the provinces to defend the frontier. As a result the towns declined and the countryside was depressed. This process of decline led to the great military crisis of the last fourth century. The Roman imperial army, bled white by defeats on continental battlefields, withdrew its troops from Britain to defend the imperial heartlands, and the Romano-British elite succumbed to a combination of warlord power, barbarian attack an popular revolt. The study concludes by discussing the legacy of Roman's and the significance of the so-called 'Dark Ages'. Neil Faulkner is an Honorary Research Fellow at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London. He is a freelance lecturer in archaeology and ancient history as well as being Director of the Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research project in north-west Norfolk, where he is excavating a Saxon village and cemetery.

The Decline and Fall of Roman Britain

This history of early medieval Britain sheds light on the real King Arthur and settles longstanding historical misconceptions about the period. The Long War for Britannia examines some two centuries of ‘lost’ British history, while providing decisive proof that the early records of the time are far more reliable than many scholars believe. Historian Edwin Pace also demonstrates that King Arthur and Uther Pendragon are the very opposite of medieval fantasy—even if different British regions had very different memories of these post-Roman British rulers. Some remembered Arthur as the ‘Proud Tyrant’, a monarch who plunged the island into civil war. Others recalled him as the British general who saved Britain when all seemed lost. The deeds of Uther Pendragon replicate the victories of the dread Mercian king Penda. Pace demonstrates how these authentic—yet radically different—narratives have distorted the historical record in way that persist today.

The Long War for Britannia 367–664

Graham Webster gives background on Britain before the invasion and goes on to describe the Roman forces, the personalities involved, the actual invasion and Claudius' triumphal entrance into Camulodunum, the British capital.

The Roman Invasion of Britain

The Roman Conquests series seeks to explain when and how the Romans were able to conquer a vast empire stretching from the foothills of the Scottish Highlands to the Sahara Desert, from the Atlantic to the Persian Gulf. How did their armies adapt to and overcome the challenges of widely varied enemies and terrain? In this volume, Dr Simon Elliott draws on the latest research and archaeological evidence to present a new narrative of the conquest (never completed) of Britain. From Julius Caesar's initial incursions in 55 and 54 BC, through the Claudian invasion of 43 AD and the campaigns of expansion and pacification thereafter, he analyses the Roman army in action. The weapons, equipment, organization, leadership, strategy and tactics of the legions and their British foes are described and analysed. The ferocity of the resistance was such that the island was never wholly subdued and required a disproportionate military presence for the duration of its time as a Roman province.

Roman Conquests: Britain

*Includes pictures *Includes ancient accounts of Britain *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading "[The Romans] thinking that it might be some help to the allies [Britons], whom they were forced to abandon, constructed a strong stone wall from sea to sea, in a straight line between the towns that had been there built for fear of the enemy, where Severus also had formerly built a rampart." - Bede's description of Hadrian's Wall in the Middle Ages The famous conqueror from the European continent came ashore with thousands of men, ready to set up a new kingdom in England. The Britons had resisted the amphibious invasion from the moment his forces landed, but he was able to push forward. In a large winter battle, the Britons' large army attacked the invaders but was eventually routed, and the conqueror was able to set up a new kingdom. Over 1,100 years before William the Conqueror became the King of England after the Battle of Hastings, Julius Caesar came, saw, and conquered part of "Britannia," setting up a Roman province with a puppet king in 54 BCE. In the new province, the Romans eventually constructed a military outpost overlooking a bridge across the River Thames. The new outpost was named Londinium, and it covered just over two dozen acres. For most of the past 1,000 years, London has been the most dominant city in the world, ruling over so much land that it was said the Sun never set on the British Empire. With the possible exception of Rome, no city has ever been more important or influential than London in human history. Thus, it was only fitting that it was the Romans who established London as a prominent city. Londinium was initially little more than a small military outpost near the northern boundary of the Roman province of Britannia, but its access to the River Thames and the North Sea made it a valuable location for a port. During the middle of the 1st century CE, the Romans conducted another invasion of the British Isles, after which Londinium began to grow rapidly. As the Romans stationed legions there to defend against the Britons, Londinium became a thriving international port, allowing trade with Rome and other cities across the empire. By the 2nd century CE, Londinium was a large Roman city, with tens of thousands of inhabitants using villas, palaces, a forum, temples, and baths. The Roman governor ruled from the city in a basilica that served as the seat of government. What was once a 30 acre outpost now spanned 300 acres and was home to nearly 15,000 people, including Roman soldiers, officials and foreign merchants. The Romans also built heavy defenses for the city, constructing several forts and the massive London Wall, parts of which are still scattered across the city today. Ancient Roman remains continue to dot London's landscape today, reminding everyone that almost a millennium before it became the home of royalty, London was already a center of power. The Romans were master builders, and much of what they built has stood the test of time. Throughout their vast empire they have left grand structures, from the Forum and Pantheon in Rome to the theatres and hippodromes of North Africa and the triumphal gates in Anatolia and France. Wherever they went, the Romans built imposing structures to show their power and ability, and one of their most impressive constructions was built on the northernmost fringe of the empire. Shortly after the emperor Hadrian came to power in the early 2nd century CE, he decided to seal off Scotland from Roman Britain with an ambitious wall stretching from sea to sea. To accomplish this, the wall had to be built from the mouth of the River Tyne - where Newcastle stands today - 80 Roman miles (76 miles or 122 kilometers) west to Bowness-on-Solway. The sheer scale of the job still impresses people today, and Hadrian's Wall has the advantage of being systematically studied and partially restored.

The Roman Conquest of Britannia

In AD 60/61, Rome almost lost the province of Britain to a woman. Boudica, wife of the client king Prasutagus, fomented a rebellion that proved catastrophic for Camulodunum (Colchester), Londinium (London), and Verulamium (St Albans), destroyed part of a Roman legion, and caused the deaths of an untold number of veterans, families, soldiers, and Britons. Yet with one decisive defeat, her vision of freedom was destroyed, and the Iceni never rose again. Boudica: Warrior Woman of Roman Britain introduces readers to the life and literary importance of Boudica through juxtaposing her different literary characterizations with those of other women and rebel leaders. This study focuses on our earliest literary evidence, the accounts of Tacitus and Cassius Dio, and investigates their narratives alongside material evidence of late Iron Age and early Roman Britain. Throughout the book, Caitlin Gillespie draws comparative sketches between Boudica and the positive and negative examples with which readers associate her, including the prophetess Veleda, the client queen Cartimandua, and the rebel Caratacus. Literary comparisons assist in the understanding of Boudica as a barbarian, queen, mother, commander in war, and leader of revolt. Within the ancient texts, Boudica is also used as an internal commentator on the failures of the emperor Nero, and her revolt epitomizes ongoing conflicts of gender and power at the end of the Juilio-Claudian era. Both literary and archaeological sources point towards broader issues inherent in the clash between Roman and native cultures. Boudica's unique ability to unify disparate groups of Britons cemented her place in the history of Roman Britain. While details of her life remain elusive, her literary character still has more to say.

Boudica

Based on new archaeological finds, this book introduces a novel rethinking of the whole of British history before the coming of the Romans. So many extraordinary archaeological discoveries (many of them involving the author) have been made since the early 1970s that our whole understanding of British prehistory needs to be updated. So far only the specialists have twigged on to these developments; now, Francis Pryor broadcasts them to a much wider, general audience. Aided by aerial photography, coastal erosion (which has helped expose such coastal sites as Seahenge) and new planning legislation which requires developers to excavate the land they build on, archaeologists have unearthed a far more sophisticated life among the Ancient Britons than has been previously supposed. Far from being the woaded barbarians of Roman propaganda, we Brits had our own religion, laws, crafts, arts, trade, farms, priesthood and royalty. And the Scots, English and Welsh were fundamentally one and the same people.

Britain B.C.

The Romans built roads and towns, introduced new plants and methods of farming, and changed the face of Britain forever. The legacy of the Romans lives on today in the English language, the British landscape, and in the Roman remains that survive today in places such as York and Bath.

The Roman Empire and its Impact on Britain is a fascinating account of British history from a period that begins with the invasion of the Romans on Britain in 55BC to AD410, when they finally left. The book describes how Roman settlers have influenced everyday life, from their introduction of the hypocaust system for keeping houses and baths warm through to their building of roads. It also features important figures in this period of history, including Boudicca - a key figure of rebellion from Roman rule. Find out more about her as well as Hadrian's Wall, the Vindolanda Tablets and how the Roman language has survive in the current English language in this amazing history of early British life.

The Roman Empire and Its Impact on Britain

A history of English history from the Roman to Anglo Saxon period.

Roman Britain and the English Settlements

This edition of the text has been rewritten and re-illustrated to take account of the extensive new excavations and interpretations that have taken place since the book was first published twenty years ago. The central section of the text covers the origin, development, public and private buildings, fortifications, character and demise of each of the twenty-one major towns of the province: the provincial capital of London; the coloniae - Colchester, Lincoln, Gloucester and York; the first civitas capitals - Canterbury, Verulamium and Chelmsford; from client kingdoms to civitas - Caister-by-Norwich, Chichester, Silchester and Winchester; Flavian expansion - Cirencester, Dorchester, Exeter, Leicester and Wroxeter; and Hadrianic stimulation - Caerwent, Carmarthen, Brough-on-Humber and Aldborough. The introductory chapters address the general questions of definition and urbanization, while the concluding chapter examines the reasons for the decay and final demise.

The Towns of Roman Britain

The Landscape of Roman Britain is the first book to combine the latest advances in the archaeology of the period with new scientific approaches to environmental reconstruction. It brings together information from excavated sites and archaeological survey data with that provided by the study of ancient plant and animal remains in order to produce a fuller picture of the society, economy and natural environment of the Romano-British countryside than has, until recently, been possible. Throughout, recent discoveries and established interpretations are discussed, and new analyses and reinterpretations are outlined, making this a fascinating and timely book. Written in an accessible style and clearly explaining each stage of the arguments employed, this book will be essential reading for both amateur and professional archaeologists of Roman and medieval Britain, and for students of British archaeology and landscape history.

The Landscape of Roman Britain

There have been many books on Britain's Roman roads, but none have considered in any depth their long-term strategic impact. Mike Bishop shows how the road network was vital not only in the Roman strategy of conquest and occupation, but influenced the course of British military history during subsequent ages. The author starts with the pre-Roman origins of the network (many Roman roads being built over prehistoric routes) before describing how the Roman army built, developed, maintained and used it. Then, uniquely, he moves on to the post-Roman history of the roads. He shows how they were crucial to medieval military history (try to find a medieval battle that is not near one) and the governance of the realm, fixing the itinerary of the royal progresses. Their legacy is still clear in the building of 18th century military roads and even in the development of the modern road network. Why have some parts of the network remained in use throughout?The text is supported with clear maps and photographs. Most books on Roman roads are concerned with cataloguing or tracing them, or just dealing with aspects like surveying. This one makes them part of military landscape archaeology.

The Secret History of the Roman Roads of Britain

When the Romans left Britain around AD 410 the island had not been fully subjugated. In the Celtic fringes the unconquered native peoples were presented with the opportunity to pillage what remained of Roman Britain. By way of response the Post-Roman Britons did their best to defend themselves from attack, and to preserve what they could of the systems left behind by the Romans. The best way to defend their territory was to create fortifications. While some old Roman forts were maintained, the Post-Roman Britons also created new strongholds, or re-occupied some of the long-abandoned hill-forts first built by their ancestors before the coming of the Romans. Packed with photographs, diagrams and full color artwork reconstructions, this book provides a unique examination of the design and development of the fortifications during the Age of Arthur, analyzing their day-to-day use and their effectiveness in battle. It closely describes the locations that are linked to the most famous warlord of the Dark Ages, the legendary Arthur - Tintagel, Cadbury and "Camelot". Although these great bastions were to eventually fall, for a few brief decades they succeeded in stemming the tide of invasion and in doing so safeguarding the culture and civilization of Post-Roman Celtic Britain.

British Forts in the Age of Arthur

This book aims to examine and define the functions of towns in Roman Britain and to apply the definition so formed to Romano-British sites; to consider the towns' foundation, political status, development and decline; and to illustrate the town's individual characters and their surroundings.

TOWNS OF ROMAN BRITAIN

Companion to Roman Britain

Definitive and comprehensive presentation, translation and interpretation of all the known, major inscriptions from Roman Britain and key related inscriptions from Italy and the Roman provinces arranged chronologically and thematically.

Britannia Romana

How the Roman system influenced the politics, art, religion, and general way of life of the native peoples of Britain after the Claudian invasion of AD 43. Despite the richness of archaeological, epigraphic and literary evidence, what actually occurred remains a subject of keen debate.

English Heritage Book of Roman Britain

What was it like to live in Roman Britain? What sort of house would you have lived in? What sort of clothes would you have worn? This book takes us back in time to see what it was really like to live in Roman Britain, what kind of sights and smells would be around us, and what our daily lives would have involved.

The ancient counties surrounding the Weald in the SE corner of England have a strongly marked character of their own that has survived remarkably well in the face of ever-increasing population pressure. The area is, however, comparatively neglected in discussion of Roman Britain, where it is often subsumed into a generalised treatment of the ‘civilian’ part of Britannia that is based largely on other parts of the country. This book aims to redress the balance. The focus is particularly on Kent, Surrey and Sussex account is taken of information from neighbouring counties, particularly when the difficult subsoils affect the availability of evidence. An overview of the environment and a consideration of themes relevant to the South-East as a whole accompany 14 papers covering the topics of rural settlement in each county, crops, querns and millstones, animal exploitation, salt production, leatherworking, the working of bone and similar materials, the production of iron and iron objects, non-ferrous metalworking, pottery production and the supply of tile to Roman London. Agriculture and industry provides an up-to-date assessment of our knowledge of the southern hinterland of Roman London and an area that was particularly open to influences from the Continent.

Agriculture and Industry in South-Eastern Roman Britain

Library Friendly Edition of original- A comprehensive history of the Romans in Britain, from Julius Caesarâe(tm)s first invasions and Boudiccaâe(tm)s rebellion to the founding of Roman London and the building of Hadrianâe(tm)s Wall.

Essay from the year 2007 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1.0, University of Duisburg-Essen, course: Old English, 3 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: There are several reasons why the Roman’s interest in Britain increased from the beginning of the second century BC. Therefore, I would like to illustrate one of them as an introductory approach to Roman Britain based on the book called Greeks, Romans and Barbarians by Barry Cunliffe. Since Rome had become an imperial power and had destroyed its two most powerful trading rivals, Carthage and Corinth, in 146 BC, the Roman state required a constant flow of raw materials such as iron and bronze. This need, and the endemic militarism of the state, led inevitably to a process of economic exploitation of peripheral areas, followed by conquest (Cunliffe 1988: 10). In this way, as Cunliffe points out, the Roman traders and the army leapfrogged over each other across barbarian Europe, beginning to absorb the largely Celtic tribes into the Roman system from 54 BC to 440 AD when the Romans left Britain due to shrinking empire.

Wanderings in Roman Britain

The Romanization of Roman Britain

Picture of the times and daily life of individual Britons during the more than 400 years that Rome occupied their island province.

Roman Britain, a pivotal era in the island's history, witnessed the transformative influence of the Roman Empire from AD 43 to the early 5th century. This period, marked by Roman colonization, advanced infrastructure, and cultural assimilation, left an indelible mark on Britain's socio-political landscape. The Romans constructed roads, fortifications, and cities, such as Londinium (modern-day London), fostering economic growth and urbanization. Additionally, their governance and legal systems laid the foundation for the region's future development. The interplay of Roman traditions with indigenous cultures during this time gave rise to a unique blend of identities. As we delve into the intricacies of Roman Britain's legacy, it becomes evident that this era serves as a fascinating crucible of history, shaping the trajectory of a nation and leaving an enduring legacy that continues to captivate historians and archaeologists alike.