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Roman Britain, or Romano-British

Submitted by Seren Langley on Fri, 2009-07-03 14:44
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Hadrian's Wall The Roman, or Romano-British Age in Britain was from 43 AD to 410 AD, around 1960 years ago. The Roman army first entered Britain under Julius Caesar, who led two invasions across the Channel in 55 and 54 BC. Britain ceased to be prehistoric and became part of history. We have names of local kings and tribes, and dated events. Some British kings were friendly to Rome. Others were hostile. Eventually, Emperor Claudius ordered a conquest of Britain which began in 43 AD and continued for the next 40 years. After attempts to conquer the whole of northern Britain failed, the frontier was first settled along the Forth and Clyde, just north of modern Glasgow and Edinburgh. It was later moved south to the line of Hadrian’s Wall.

Romano-British Sites

There are many sites from the Romano-British period which are open to visitors, including many sites along Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland. To explore some of these sites, visit our Romano-British page.

Some Important Facts about Romano-Britain

Names in Britain

For the first time, we know the names of people in Britain. Some key Britons who resisted Rome were Cassivellaunos and Caratacos, Kings of the Catuvellauni (south east midlands); Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni (Norfolk); Venutios, King of the Brigantes (Yorkshire); Calgacos, King of the Caledonii (Scottish Highlands).

Fortresses and Fortifications

Roman rule brought many new features to southern Britain. The most obvious new sites are the forts for the army. These vary from large legionary fortresses for thousands of troops to smaller forts for a few hundred, and temporary camps set up while campaigning. Early forts are all built to the same pattern as a rectangle with rounded corners. A series of large forts was built on the south and east coasts in the 200s to protect against Saxon attacks by boat from across the North Sea. Small watch towers were built on the north east coast in 300s to guard against attackers coming in ships. The most famous Roman features were the two walls built along the northern frontiers: Hadrian’s Wall between the Tyne and Solway, and the Antonine Wall between the Forth and the Clyde.

Roman Granary

Roman Roads, Towns and Structures

Connecting the forts were the Roman roads, well made of stone and in often straight lines. They remained in use for many hundreds of years and some still lie under modern roads. Along the roads would be small and large towns, inns and hotels. Living in towns was highly prized by the Romans. Many British towns began at this time, such as London, York, Chester and Lincoln. These were built on a grid of streets, with a forum or central market square, public baths, an amphitheatre, temples, shops and workshops. Outside the towns, the wealthier people lived in villas. These were often simply large farmsteads, but built in a Roman way with rectangular buildings, painted plaster walls, mosaic floors and ceramic roof tiles. By the 300s, some villas had become very large and grand, the equivalent of a rich country house. Most people still live in native wooden round houses, either as lone farmsteads or in villages.

Temples were built for worshipping native and Roman gods. These could be square or round, and varied from small shrines to large complex temples made up of several buildings. During the 300s, a range of new gods from the eastern Mediterranean were worshipped, such as Mithras and the god of the Christians. It is after Christianity was made legal in 312 that finds of Christian art and possible churches are found in Roman Britain. Worship of pagan gods was banned in 391, and temples went out of use after then.

Roman Artefacts

Among the new artefacts of the Roman period were the Imperial coinage, new styles of pottery, glass vessels, brooches, types of pot like mortaria for grinding food in the kitchen, and amphorae for transporting wines and sauces. An important early pottery style was shiny red Samian Ware, imported from Gaul for use on the dining table. Later Roman pottery was organised on a large scale as a profitable industry in some parts of Britain where clay for the pots and fuel to fire the kilns was to be found.

The Romans were keen to exploit Britain’s mineral wealth, and Roman mines or quarries have been found at various places. Gold was mined at Dolaucothi in south west Wales, lead and silver was mined in the Peak District and the Mendip Hills. Copper, tin and iron were also mined or quarried.

Roman burials were cremations in the early Empire, but by 300 most burials were inhumations*. Roman law forbade burial within the walls of a town and cemeteries grew up along the roadsides leading out of a town. Gravestones would be put up with inscriptions and sometimes sculptures about the dead person in the grave. Later burials were not usually buried with grave goods. Some archaeologists think this was because of growing Christian influence but others think it was simply a fashion of the time.

Life during Roman Rule of Britain

There is a lot of debate among archaeologists about how Roman the provinces of Britain actually were. Some see Roman culture as belonging to the army and the Imperial government, along with a small group of very wealthy native Britons. They think most ordinary people would have carried on their lives without feeling very Roman, or having access to much Roman culture. Other archaeologists say that Roman culture was very attractive to the natives who readily took it on and became Romanised. Both sides of the debate could be right! Most Roman culture was adopted in the south and east of Britain and seems to have been very widely adopted there. In the north and west of Britain, there was very little Roman culture outside the forts and villages connected to the army. In these areas, an Iron Age life probably continued. This was also true of life outside the boundary of Roman Britain where the Picts developed from earlier Iron Age peoples.

Only a few Emperors ever came to Britain: Hadrian, Septimius Severus, Constantius and Constans. Constantine the Great was proclaimed Emperor in York and began his conquest of the rest of the Empire from there in 306. Britain was involved in revolts against Rome in 260 to 274, and 286 to 296. Another revolt in 406 was defeated in 410, but by then Rome itself was under attack from ‘barbarian’ armies and could not send any troops or governors to take Britain back into the Empire. Britain was independent and left the Empire.

Finding out about the Romano-British Period with Archaeology

Some of the archaeological subjects which study the Romano-British period and professional Archaeologists who work with the Romano-British period include:

If you are interested in learning more about studying Romano-British Archaeology please visit the CBA’s Studying Archaeology page.

Glossary

Hypocaust
A form of central heating system where heat from a furnace was led through underfloor cavities and clay pipes to heat important rooms
Inhumation
The burial of an unburnt body in a grave
Mausoleum
A rectangular or square stone building, for housing coffins, often for members of one family. Mausolea is the plural
Portico
A porch built around an important house with a roof held up by a series of columns. It was designed to be an impressive outside of a building
Vicus
A civilian settlement, attached or near, to a Roman fort. People would have settled there to trade with and supply the soldiers in return for the soldier’s wages in money