The Archaeology of Roman Britain

Course code: HICL125S5

Tutor: Francesco Trifilo

Archaeology not only illuminates and challenges historical evidence for past societies, it also offers unparalleled insights into the daily life of ordinary people. This is particularly true of the archaeology of Roman Britain. Every year research across the country yields fresh evidence for life in the ancient province of Britannia. Drawing extensively on such material, this course will offer an outline history of three and a half centuries of Roman rule, as well as the periods immediately before and after it. Central topics covered include culture contact, religion, the emergence of towns, rural settlement and the impact of the army on society.

Preliminary reading: (* try to buy a copy)

A Birley The People of Roman Britain (1988)

B W Cunliffe Iron Age Communities in Britain (1991)

A S Esmonde Cleary The Ending of Roman Britain (1989)

S S Frere Britannia (1987)*

M E Henig Religion in Roman Britain (1984)

G D B Jones & D Mattingly An Atlas of Roman Britain (1990)

M J Millett The Romanization of Britain: An Essay in Archaeological Interpretation (1990)

M.J. Millett Roman Britain (1995)

T.W. Potter &C. Johns Roman Britain (1992)*

C.Renfrew &P. Bahn Archaeology, Theories, Methods and Practice (1996)*

P. Salway The Oxford Illustrated History of Roman Britain (1993)

Tacitus Agricola in Agricola and Germania (Penguin Classics)

C. Thomas Christianity in Roman Britain to AD500 (1981)

J.S. Wacher The Towns of Roman Britain (1974)