 GeographicalReferences to Britannia |
Geography
Itinerary
Dignitatum
Cosmology
Table
To the Romans, Britannia was a mysterious island lying beyond Oceanus, the great river described by Homer as encircling the entire inhabited world. Britain was therefore seen as a land beyond the limits of civilisation.
Britannia was first brought to the attention of the Roman people by the campaigns of Julius Caesar in 55 and 54 BC, but was not proven to be an island until the early eighties A.D., when the governor Gnaeus Julius Agricola sent an exploratory naval expedition around the north coast of Scotland.
This section describes Britannia as the Romans knew it, utilizing the British sections from the main classical geographies, also the works of Caesar, Livy, Pliny, and many more of the most learned men of the Roman era.
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| Ptolemy's Geography | (c.AD140) The first two chapters of Book II deal with the British Isles; Hibernia (Ireland) in chapter 1, and Albion (Mainland Britain) in chapter 2. | |
| Antonine Itinerary | (c.AD220) A list of fifteen routes throughout the Roman province of Britannia, with several repetitions and several notable omissions. | |
| Notitia Dignitatum | (c.AD395-430) A late Imperial administrative document is the unique historical source for the Saxon Shore Forts, a network of coastal defenses built around southeast Britain in the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. | |
| Ravenna Cosmology | (c.7th century AD) A list of Roman posting-stations, forts and towns, compiled by an unknown monk from Ravenna on the Adriatic coast of Italy. | |
| Peutinger Table | (c.11th century AD) This Roman map was cut into several pieces sometime during the Middle-Ages, a surviving portion of which shows a few towns in south-east England. | |
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Although Julius Caesar described the inhabitants of Cantium in south-eastern Britain as "most civilized", the Romans generally looked upon the Britanni, the inhabitants of Britain, as savages who painted their bottoms blue and sacrificed children to barbaric gods.
This section includes many classical references about the people of Britannia, and provides information on their general appearance, modes of dress, fortifications and towns, customs and religious beliefs.
 The Celtic Tribes of Ancient Britain |
 Iron-Age Hillforts |
Caesar made two expeditions to Britain in the successive campaign seasons of 55 and 54 BC, during which he effectively rattled his armour and thus coerced the native inhabitants to pay tribute to Rome.
Almost a century later the legate Aulus Plautius conducted the Roman invasion of southern Britain under the direction of the emperor Claudius. He and subsequent governors of Britain were to find the troublesome native tribes a severe test of their abilities as the province was expanded.
This section deals with all things Roman which affected Britain; the policies of the emperors, the campaigns of successive military governors, the legions stationed in the province, lists of consulars, Latin glossaries, et cetera.
 Roman Military LayerMap |
 Roman Military Introduction |
Exercitus Britannicae The Roman Army of Britain |
Vallum Hadriani Hadrian's Wall |
Vallum Antonini Antonine Wall |
The campaigns conducted in Britain by the militaristic governors of the first century, carried in their wake the luxuries of Roman civilization, and were to have a profound effect on the future development of the British Isles. Native British artisans, attracted by the regular salaries of the Roman soldiers, gathered outside the defences of almost every Roman fort in England and Wales. Some of these shanty-towns quickly disappeared once the military moved on, but where local conditions permitted, many communities were able to survive the resultant upheaval and later developed into self-sustaining settlements. As a tribute to the foresight of the Roman military engineers, many of their forts now lie buried yards deep beneath the streets of modern British towns.
This section deals with the political geography of Britain following the Roman invasion, and includes a separate page for every major Romano-British site.
 Romano-British Settlement LayerMap |
 Romano-British Settlement Index |
| Romano British History Timeline |
 FacieiVariendum Provincae Britanniarum |
Much of our information about Roman Britain comes to us through archaeological work carried out on the actual sites of Roman occupation, the epigraphic evidence recovered in the field forms a fundamental part of our understanding of each individual site.
The works of classical authors also contain many references to Britain, some of which have not yet been corroborated by physical evidence, the exact site of the last battle of Caratacus in Wales for example, is still unknown.
This section is dedicated to armchair archaeologists everywhere, and contains the major references from the classics, along with a complete bibliography and some reading recommendations.
 Classical Texts |
 Top Ten Books |
 Bibliography |
Salve! |
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