The general perception of the west midlands region in the Roman period is that it was a backwater compared to the militarized frontier zone of the north, or the south of Britain where Roman culture took root early – in cities like Colchester, London ,and St Albans – and lingered late at cities like Cirencester and Bath with their rich, late Roman villa culture. The west midlands region captures the transition between these two areas of the ‘military’ north and ‘civilized’ south. Where it differed, and why, are important questions in understanding the regional diversity of Roman Britain. They are addressed by this volume which details the archaeology of the Roman period for each of the modern counties of the region, written by local experts who are or have been responsible for the management and exploration of their respective counties. These are placed alongside more thematic takes on elements of Roman culture, including the Roman Army, pottery, coins and religion. Lastly, an overview is taken of the important transitional period of the fifth and sixth centuries. Each paper provides both a developed review of the existing state of knowledge and understanding of the key characteristics of the subject area and details a set of research objectives for the future, immediate and long-term, that will contribute to our evolving understanding of Roman Britain. This is the third volume in a series – The Making of the West Midlands – that explores the archaeology of the English west midlands region from the Lower Palaeolithic onwards.

Excavations of a large part of an extensive Iron Age settlement carried out between 1997 - 1998 at Covert Farm located near Crick in northwestern Northamptonshire.

The Small Towns of Roman Britain surveys a wide range of Roman town sites, answering many questions about their character and the archaeological problems they raise. The past thirty years have seen a dramatic increase in the quality of the evidence on these sites gained from fieldwork, excavation, and aerial archaeology. Because there is almost no documentary or epigraphic material of any real value on the small towns, this archaeological evidence provides a heretofore unavailable perspective. Authors Barry Burnham and John Walker have organized the information in a manner that is both useful to scholars and stimulating to history buffs or walkers interested in touring these sites. Each site is illustrated with a site plan, and many aerial photographs are provided as well. Introductory chapters provide an overview of the origins, development, and morphology of the towns; the special religious, governmental, or industrial significance of many sites; and the economic functions common to all. A comprehensive bibliography completes the volume. This is the eagerly awaited companion volume to John Wacher's watershed study The Towns of Roman Britain, which was highly praised for "its clean prose, excellent illustrations and fascinating story, . . . a most important contribution to scholarship, while remaining eminently attractive to the general reader." (Barry Cunliffe, Times Literary Supplement). The Small Towns of Roman Britain surveys a wide range of Roman town sites, answering many questions about their character and the archaeological problems they raise. The past thirty years have seen a dramatic increase in the quality of the evidence on these sites gained from fieldwork, excavation, and aerial archaeology. Because there is almost no documentary or epigraphic material of any real value on the small towns, this archaeological evidence provides a heretofore unavailable perspective. Authors Barry Burnham and John Walker have organized the information in a manner that is both useful to scholars and stimulating to history buffs or walkers interested in touring these sites. Each site is illustrated with a site plan, and many aerial photographs are provided as well. Introductory chapters provide an overview of the origins, development, and morphology of the towns; the special religious, governmental, or industrial significance of many sites; and the economic functions common to all. A comprehensive bibliography completes the volume. This is the eagerly awaited companion volume to John Wacher's watershed study The Towns of Roman Britain, which was highly praised for "its clean prose, excellent illustrations and fascinating story, . . . a most important contribution to scholarship, while remaining eminently attractive to the general reader." (Barry Cunliffe, Times Literary Supplement).

The newest research on a major Anglo-Saxon site paints a vivid picture of the beginnings of England. [Edited by Martin Carver] For decades scholars have puzzled over the true story of settlement in Britain between the fifth and eight centuries. Did the Romans leave? Did the Anglo-Saxons invade? What happened to the British? Newlight on these questions comes unexpectedly from Wasperton, a small village on the Warwickshire Avon, where archaeologists had the good fortune to excavate a complete cemetery and its prehistoric setting. The community reused an old Romano-British agricultural enclosure, and built burial mounds beside it. There was a score of cremations in Anglo-Saxon pots; but there were also unfurnished graves lined with stones and planks in the manner of western Britain. In a pioneering analysis, including radiocarbon and stable isotopes, the authors of this book have put this variety of burial practice into a credible sequence, and built up a picture of life at the time. Here there were people who were culturally Roman, British and Anglo-Saxon, pagan and Christian in continuous use of the same graveyard and drawing on a common inheritance. Here we can see the beginnings of England and the people who made it happen- not the kings, warriors and preachers, but the ordinary folk obliged to make their own choices: choices about what nation to build and which religion to follow. MARTIN CARVER is Professor Emeritus of Archaeology at the University of York; Dr CATHERINE HILLS is Senior Lecturer in Anglo-Saxon Archaeology at the University of Cambridge; Dr JONATHAN SCHESCHKEWITZ is Officer with the Ancient Monuments authority of Stuttgart.

This major survey of the history and culture of Roman Britain spans the period from the first century BC to the fifth century AD. Major survey of the history and culture of Roman Britain Brings together specialists to provide an overview of recent debates about this period Exceptionally broad coverage, embracing political, economic, cultural and religious life Focuses on changes in Roman Britain from the first century BC to the fifth century AD Includes pioneering studies of the human population and animal resources of the island.

This volume brings together a range of papers on buildings that have been categorised as ‘villas’, mainly in Roman Britain, from the Isle of Wight to Shropshire. It comprises the first such survey for almost half a century.