The Secret History Of The Roman Roads Of Britain

There have been many books on Britain's Roman roads, but none have considered in any depth their long-term strategic impact. Mike Bishop shows how the road network was vital not only in the Roman strategy of conquest and occupation, but influenced the course of British military history during subsequent ages. The author starts with the pre-Roman origins of the network (many Roman roads being built over prehistoric routes) before describing how the Roman army built, developed, maintained and used it. Then, uniquely, he moves on to the post-Roman history of the roads. He shows how they were crucial to medieval military history (try to find a medieval battle that is not near one) and the governance of the realm, fixing the itinerary of the royal progresses. Their legacy is still clear in the building of 18th century military roads and even in the development of the modern road network. Why have some parts of the network remained in use throughout?The text is supported with clear maps and photographs. Most books on Roman roads are concerned with cataloguing or tracing them, or just dealing with aspects like surveying. This one makes them part of military landscape archaeology.

There have been many books on Britain's Roman roads, but none have considered in any depth their long-term strategic impact. Mike Bishop shows how the road network was vital not only in the Roman strategy of conquest and occupation, but influenced the course of British military history during subsequent ages. ??The author starts with the pre-Roman origins of the network (many Roman roads being built over prehistoric routes) before describing how the Roman army built, developed, maintained and used it. Then, uniquely, he moves on to the post-Roman history of the roads. He shows how they were crucial to medieval military history (try to find a medieval battle that is not near one) and the governance of the realm, fixing the itinerary of the royal progresses. Their legacy is still clear in the building of 18th century military roads and even in the development of the modern road network. Why have some parts of the network remained in use throughout??The text is supported with clear maps and photographs. ??Most books on Roman roads are concerned with cataloguing or tracing them, or just dealing with aspects like surveying. This one makes them part of military landscape archaeology.

This volume aims to present the current state of research on Roman roads and their foundations in a combined historical and archaeological perspective. The focus is on the diverse local histories and the varying degrees of significance of individual roads and regional networks, which are treated here for the most important regions of the empire and beyond. The assembled contributions will be of interest to historians, archaeologists and epigraphers, since they tackle matters as diverse as the technical modalities of road-building, the choice of route, but also the functionality and the motives behind the creation of roads. Roman roads are further intimately related to various important aspects of Roman history, politics and culture. After all, such logistical arteries form the basis of all communication and exchange processes, enabling not only military conquest and security but also facilitating the creation of an organized state as well as trade, food supply and cultural exchange. The study of Roman roads must always be based on a combination of written and archaeological sources in order to take into account both their concrete geographical location and their respective spatial, cultural, and historical context.

This is the first in depth study on the history of Legio VI Victrix in Britain. Brought over from Germany in 122 to assist in the building of Hadrian’s Wall the Sixth Legion remained in Britain until the end of Roman rule. The book will investigate the changing military organization, weapons and warfare as well as the many auxiliary units posted in the north of Britain. We will meet members of the Sixth Legion known from inscriptions and literary sources. From lowly legionaries helping to build Hadrian’s or the Antonine Wall to Pertinax, tribune of the Sixth, and destined to become Emperor. Case studies will include a praefectus castrorum, Lucius Artorius Castus, along with the legionary bases at York and Corbridge. The men of the Sixth witnessed the tumultuous, and often bloody, history of Roman Britain: the border shifting back and forth under Antoninus; barbarian incursions and army mutinies under the murderous Commodus; the bloody civil war against Septimius Severus and the subsequent invasion of Caledonia. In the last century of Roman rule, the Sixth supported several rival emperors from Constantine the Great, Magnus Maximus until finally Constantine III. The journey will end with a discussion of the likely fate of the Sixth in the early fifth century after the end of Roman authority. A must read for anyone interested in the evolution of the Roman legion, the empire or Roman Britain in particular.

Adam Parker looks at some of the fascinating treasures that have been unearthed around the beautiful county of Yorkshire.

This book provides a unique take on the history of Roman Britain from Julius Caesar’s first invasion to the end of Roman authority. In 55 BC, on a stretch of beach near Deal in East Kent, the Romans’ first invasion was in great danger of being pushed back into the sea by a host of Britons defending the beach. The eagle bearer of the Tenth Legion jumped into the surf and urged his comrades to follow him, a pivotal moment in Julius Caesar’s first invasion. It was to be another ninety years before Claudius finally subdued part of the island and paraded in triumph into the stronghold at Camulodunum. Roman authority quickly expanded, from Vespasian’s dramatic campaign against the hillforts of southern Britain to Hadrian’s famous Wall in the north. This book will cover not the reign of Emperors but what posts they held in Britain prior to their achieving the throne. Titus served as a tribune directly after the Boudiccan revolt. Pertinax served in three posts: equestrian tribune of the Sixth Legion; praefectus of an auxiliary unit; and finally as a governor of Britannia. It will cover the civil war between Clodius Albinus and Septimius Severus and the later campaigns into Scotland. The upheavals of the third century and the breakaway regimes of Postumus and Carauius, ‘the pirate king’. In the fourth century Britain continued to produce usurpers and tyrants but only one managed to unite the empire, Constantine I. His namesake, Constantine III, was to be the last emperor to lead troops from Britain to Gaul, leaving the province to fend for itself into the fifth century.

A fascinating journey through the history of street furniture in the UK, written by a leading authority on the topic. Milestones, sign posts, benches and lamp posts are all included alongside fascinating obscure examples.