A Brief History of Roman Britain: January 2014

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Top 10 Roman Forts in Britain

Heritage Daily also compiled a list of what they consider to be the "Top 10 Roman Forts in Britain." The Google Map satellite view makes this list an interactive experience.

The following is our view of the top ten roman forts in Provincia Britannia. Provincia Britannia, today known as Roman Britain, was a province of the Roman Empire from 43AD to 409AD, spanning at its height in 160, the southern three-quarters of the island of Great Britain. Roman officials departed from Britain around the year 410AD, which began the sub-Roman period (5th–6th centuries), but the legacy of the Roman Empire was felt for centuries in Britain.

Vicus at Vindolanda

Top Ten Iron Age Hill Forts In Britain

Heritage Daily's "Top Ten Iron Age Hill Forts In Britain" starts off with Maiden Castle at Number One (of course) and includes an interactive Google Map satellite window that is zoomed in on each site.

A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage.

The fortification usually follows the contours of a hill, consisting of one or more lines of earthworks, with stockades or defensive walls, and external ditches. Hill forts developed in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age, roughly the start of the first millennium BC, and were in use by the ancient Britons until the Roman conquest. There are around 3,300 structures that can be classed as hillforts or similar “defended enclosures” within Britain, all worthy of considering. The following list represents ten of the most impressive examples.

Well worth taking time for a look-at.

Another Heritage Daily page details the possibility that some Iron Age hill forts also had suburbs.

Summer 2013

Syllabus: A Brief History of Roman Britain

Lecture and discussions will rely on archaeological and historical sources.

Session 1 - The Celtic and Roman Invasions

Tuesday August 6, 2013 5:30-7:00 PM

(no pre-class assignment due)

Definition of “Romanization,” Greek, Roman and archaeological sources on Britain, Julius Caesar’s invasion of Britain in 55-54 BC

Homework: Read assigned sections of The Gallic Wars by Julius Caesar and summarize each paragraph (chapter) in your assigned section in a single sentence.

Guiding Question: What can we learn about the Germans or the Britons from the these readings? Make a list of what you find.

Session 2 - Life in Ancient Britain

Tuesday August 13, 2013 5:30-7:00 PM

Conquest of Britain in AD 43, Boudicca’s rebellion, Tacitus Agricola, Hadrian’s Wall. Celtic society and Romano-British culture, the role of the civitas in Roman imperial administration; Romanization of Britain vs Romanization in other Roman Provinces, the importance of roads, villas, and other Roman infrastructure.

Session 3 - Fall of Roman Britain and...Romanization?

Tuesday August 20, 2013 5:30-7:00 PM

The legions of Roman Britain. Romano-British architecture from first through fifth century. The rise of piracy and barbarian attacks in the third and fourth centuries, coastal fortifications and walled towns, the significance of coin hoards, the withdrawal of Roman forces in the early fifth century, the transition from Sub-Roman Britain to Anglo-Saxon England; the importance of archaeology in the absence of historical records and recent trends and historiography regarding the concept of “Romanization.”