Book contents
- Frontmatter
- PART I NARRATIVE
- PART II GOVERNMENT AND CIVIL ADMINISTRATION
- PART III THE EMPIRE
- PART IV ROME, ITALY AND THE PROVINCES
- 12 Rome and Italy
- 13 Spain
- 14 Gaul
- 15 Roman Germany
- 16 Africa
- 17 Cyrenaica
- 18 Britain
- 19 The Danube provinces
- 20 Greece and Asia Minor
- 21 Syria and Arabia
- 22 Judaea
- PART Va ECONOMY AND SOCIETY
- PART Vb ART AND CULTURE
- Chronological Table
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Index
- 1 The Roman world in the time of Marcus Aurelius
- 7 The Danube provinces
- References
18 - Britain
from PART IV - ROME, ITALY AND THE PROVINCES
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 March 2008
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- PART I NARRATIVE
- PART II GOVERNMENT AND CIVIL ADMINISTRATION
- PART III THE EMPIRE
- PART IV ROME, ITALY AND THE PROVINCES
- 12 Rome and Italy
- 13 Spain
- 14 Gaul
- 15 Roman Germany
- 16 Africa
- 17 Cyrenaica
- 18 Britain
- 19 The Danube provinces
- 20 Greece and Asia Minor
- 21 Syria and Arabia
- 22 Judaea
- PART Va ECONOMY AND SOCIETY
- PART Vb ART AND CULTURE
- Chronological Table
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Index
- 1 The Roman world in the time of Marcus Aurelius
- 7 The Danube provinces
- References
Summary
Almost the entire period between the accessions of Vespasian and Septimius Severus was dominated by military affairs in Britain. Even during those relatively short periods when little or no campaigning is recorded as having taken place it can be argued that developments elsewhere in the civil zone of the province were conditioned by events on the frontier. Recently, greater emphasis has been placed on the achievements of the native aristocracy where the development and pace of romanization is seen to reflect more the latter's attitudes and aspirations towards Rome rather than the results of policies imposed by the invader. However, it is difficult to isolate civil developments from a framework imposed by the progress of conquest and its associated administrative structure.
Our written sources are dominated by Tacitus and, in particular, by the biography of his father-in-law, the Agricola, which also includes a commentary on political developments in Britain before the latter became governor. The Histories also offer some useful insights into the Civil War of 68–9 and relations with the Brigantian client kingdom during that period and at the start of the 70s. Second-century historical sources are much more limited, but nevertheless, and in conjunction with a rich epigraphic record, offer a framework for the principal developments on the northern frontier: the construction of Hadrian's Wall and the Antonine Wall. Although the recently discovered series of documents from Vindolanda offer vivid insights into military organization and military life in the north at the very beginning of the second century, they do not add materially to the historical narrative.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge Ancient History , pp. 559 - 576Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2000
References
(1979) The Legionary Bath-House and Basilica at Exeter (Exeter Archaeological Reports 1). Exeter
(1980) Roman Exeter: Fortress and Town. Exeter
(1981) The Fasti of Roman Britain. Oxford
(1971) ‘The fate of the ninth legion’, in (1971)
(1995) Cursus Publicus. The Infrastructure of Government in Roman Britain (British Archaeological Reports, British Series 241). Oxford
and (eds.) (1984) Military and Civilian in Roman Britain: Cultural Relationships in a Frontier Province (British Archaeological Reports, British Series 136). Oxford
and (eds.) (1990) The Early Roman Empire in the West. Oxford
(1994) Life and Letters on the Roman Frontier: Vindolanda and its People. London
(1985) The Catuvellauni. Gloucester
and (1987) Hadrian's Wall. 3rd edn. London
(1982) The Northern Frontiers of Roman Britain. London
(1993) ‘Venta Silurum: a civitas capital’, in (1993)
(1991) ‘Celtic coinage in Britain III: the Waltham St Lawrence treasure trove’, British Numismatic Journal 60Google Scholar
and (1990) The Small Towns of Roman Britain. London
(ed.) (1971) Soldier and Civilian in Roman Yorkshire. Leicester
(1992) ‘Carlisle: excavation of a section of the annexe ditch of the first Flavian fort, 1990’, Britannia 23Google Scholar
(1977) ‘The classis Britannica’, in (1977) 16–19
(1984) Excavations at Lion Walk, Balkerne Lane, and Middleborough, Colchester, Essex (Colchester Archaeological Reports 3). Colchester
(1992) Excavations at Culver Street, the Gilberd School, and Other Sites in Colchester 1971–85 (Colchester Archaeological Reports 6). Colchester
(1993) ‘The development of Roman Colchester’, in (1993)
and (1985, 1988) The Temple of Sulis Minerva at Bath. Vol. i The Site; ii The Finds from the Sacred Spring. Oxford
(1969) Roman Bath. London
(1971) Excavations at Fishbourne 1961–1971. Vols. I–II. London
(1973) The Regni. London
(1984) The Cantiaci. Gloucester
et al. (1980) ‘The Hayling Island temple and religious connections across the Channel’, in (1980)
(1980) ‘Non-classical religious buildings in Iron Age and Roman Britain’, in (1980)
, and (1994) Salisbury Plain Project 1993–4 Interim Report. University of Reading
and (1985) in and (eds.) The Romano-British Temple at Harlow, Essex. Gloucester
(1972) Verulamium I. London
(1983) Verulamium II. London
and (1984) ‘The building of town defences in earthwork in the second century A.D.’, Britannia 15Google Scholar
(1984a) Silchester Defences: Excavations 1974–80 (Britannia Monograph 5). London
(1984b) ‘Demonstrating Britannia's economic dependence in the first and second centuries’, in and (1984)
(1989a) The Silchester Amphitheatre: Excavations 1979–85 (Britannia Monograph 10). London
(1991) ‘Britain and the Roman Empire: the evidence for regional and long-distance trade’, in (1991)
(1992) ‘Iron Age to Roman: a period of radical change on the gravels’, in and (1992)
(1993) ‘Silchester: the early development of a civitas capital’, in (1993)
and (1994) ‘Lowbury Hill, Oxon.: a reassessment of the probable Romano-Celtic temple and the Anglo-Saxon barrow’, Arch J 151Google Scholar
and (eds.) (1992) Developing Landscapes of Roman Britain. The Archaeology of the British Gravels: A Review. London
(ed.) (1993) Roman Towns: The Wheeler Inheritance. York
and (1983) Rome's North-West Frontier: The Antonine Wall. Edinburgh
(1987) Agricola and the Conquest of the North. London
and (1988) The Brigantes. Gloucester
(1972) ‘The Roman occupation of Scotland: the evidence of the Samian ware’, Britannia 3Google Scholar
(1984) Religion in Roman Britain. London
(1995) The Art of Roman Britain. London
and (1984) The Carvetii. Gloucester
(1988) ‘Gloucester (Glevum)’ in (1988a)
(1993) ‘Roman Carmarthen’, in (1993)
and (1981) Whitton: An Iron Age and Roman Farmstead in South Glamorgan. Cardiff
(ed.) (1977) The Saxon Shore. London
and (1990) An Atlas of Roman Britain. Oxford
(1988) ‘Lincoln (Lindum)’, in (1988a)
(ed.) (1991) Roman Britain: Recent Trends. Sheffield
(1948) Excavations at the Jewry Wall Site, Leicester. Oxford
(1982) Excavations at Catsgore, 1970–3. Bristol
and (eds.) (1983) Roman Urban Defences in the West. London
(1981) Report on the Excavations at Usk 1965–1976: The Fortress Excavations 1968–1971. Cardiff
(1989) Usk: The Fortress Excavations 1972–1974. Cardiff
(1989) The Romans in Scotland. Edinburgh
(1991) Roman Waterlogged Remains and Later Features at Castle Street, Carlisle: Excavations 1981–2. Stroud
(1988) ‘Cirencester (Corinium Dobunnorum)’, in (1988a)
(1990) The Romanization of Britain: An Essay in Archaeological Interpretation. Cambridge
(1995) Roman London. London
, and (1990) Excavations on the Iron Age, Roman and Medieval Settlement at Gorhambury, St Albans. London
(1989) ‘The Stanwick villa, Northants: an interim report on the excavations of 1984–88’, Britannia 20Google Scholar
(1974) The Excavation of a Roman Villa in Gadebridge Park, Hemel Hempstead 1963–8. London
(1976) ‘The excavation of three Roman buildings in the Bulbourne Valley’, Hertfordshire Archaeological Review 4Google Scholar
and (1994) ‘The Roman temple at Wanborough, excavations 1985–1986’, Surrey Archaeological Collections 82Google Scholar
and (1991) The Early Development of Roman London West of the Walbrook. London
(1991) Roman London. London
and (1985) Inchtuthil: The Roman Legionary Fortress (Britannia Monograph 8). London
and (1992) Roman Britain. London
(1978) The Parisi. London
and (1985) Rivenhall: Investigations of a Villa, Church and Village 1950–1977. London
(1978) ‘Rivenhall and the emergence of first-century villas in northern Essex’, in (1978)
(ed.) (1980) Temples, Churches and Religion in Roman Britain (British Archaeological Reports, British Series 77) Oxford
(1980) Roman Britain. Oxford
(1980) Rudston Roman Villa. Leeds
(ed.) (1978) Studies in the Romano-British Villa. Leicester
(ed.) (1981) Roman Britain (55 B.C.–A.D. 400). Brighton
(ed.) (1989) Research on Roman Britain 1960–89 (Britannia Monograph 11). London
and (1982) Early Roman Occupation at Cirencester (Cirencester Excavations I). Cirencester
(1995) The Towns of Roman Britain. 2nd edn. London
(1988b) ‘Wroxeter (Viroconium)’, in (1988a)
(1993) ‘The city of Viroconium (Wroxeter): its military origins and expansion under Hadrian’, in (1993)
(ed.) (1988a) Fortress into City: The Consolidation of Roman Britain, First Century A.D. London
and (1993) The Uley Shrines: Excavation of a Ritual Complex on West Hill, Uley, Gloucestershire: 1977–9. London
, and (1993) Excavations at the Old Methodist Chapel and Greyhound Yard, Dorchester, 1981–1984. Salisbury
and (1990) Dalton Parlours: Iron Age Settlement and Roman Villa. Wakefield
- 3
- Cited by