An illustrated history of the best Roman sites and artefacts to be found in Britain, for anyone wanting to discover the Roman past.

Archeology.

Bidwell describes the development of the forts from the invasion until the end of Roman rule in the early 5th century AD and uses archaeological evidence to examine the everyday lives of those serving in the army, from commanders to ordinary soldiers.

Although the exact dates of construction of the so-called Saxon Shore forts are uncertain, the development of the frontier system that ran form the Wash to the Solent on the south-east coast of Roman Britain was spread over at least a century and a half. Many of the new forts were notable for the superior strength of their defences, with thicker stone walls bristling with projecting curved bastions. These and other features were clearly designed to them more difficult to storm than old-style frontier forts with their classic playing-card shape and internal towers. Defense earlier in the Roman era had meant aggressive response in the open field or even offensive pre-emptive strikes into enemy territory. The new trend was to build stronger, the emphasis being on solid, more static defense, anticipating attack and absorbing it rather than going out to meet it. Most of the major harbours and estuaries of the east and south-east coasts of Britain were fortified in this manner. There was a similar series of military installations across the Channel in Gaul, extending along the northern coast as far as what is now Brittany. Whatever their precise tactical and strategic function, a continuing debate to which this book contributes, the construction of these stone forts represented a huge outlay of money, and commitment of manpower and materials. The Saxon Shore Forts are among the most impressive surviving monuments of Roman Britain. This book addresses a number ofthe fascinating questions they provoke - Who built these Forts? When and for what purposes? How were they built? How did they operate? Who garrisoned them, and for how long?

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.

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

An overview of the archaeology of Roman camps from a respected authority.