Britannia - Roman History Database-general index

General Index

Britannia Provincia

Back to Britannia

Book Reviews

Amphitheatres	Aqueducts	Archeology	Army	Art
Baths	Books	Building & Engineering	Childrens Rome	Citizens & Senators
Crafts & Trades	Dates, Time & Numbers	Dictionary (Latin)	Events	Family life
Festivals	Food & Cooking	Forts	Gardens	Glossary of Terms
Gods & Goddess	History of Roman Britain	Latin	Letters	Legacy of Rome
Legions	Money	Mosaics	Republic	Roads/Places
Roman Law	Roman Objects	Science	Sports	Temples & Religion
TV, Radio & Films	Topic of the Month	Transport	View of the World	Villas
General Studies
Click to subscribe to BritanniaProvincia	Historial Tours	JOIN NOVA ROMA		Any Questions

With contributions from Citizens of Britannia Provincia

	Amphitheatres: An introduction

Further reading
Websites	web1
Check The Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web
Back to Top

	Aqueducts: An introduction

Further reading
Websites	Web1
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web	Web
Back to Top

	Roman Archeology: An introduction

Further reading	Reviewed books
Websites	British archeology Society of Arch ARA Archeology co uk Archeology studies
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web
Back to Top

	Army: An introduction

Further reading	Reviewed Books
Websites	Army in Britain Arms & Armour Arms & Armour2 Auxiliarys Legions in Britannia Military Studies
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web	Caesars Gallic War Julius Caesar Various Wars
Back to Top

	Art: An introduction

Further reading	Roman Art
Websites	Art&Literature Art Works Music Musical instuments
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web
Back to Top

	Baths: An introduction

Further reading
Websites	Baths in Britain Web1 Baths general
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web	Vituvius
Back to Top

	Buildings and Engineering: An introduction

Further reading	Roman Towns in Britain by G. de la Bedoyere, 1992, London Roman Arcchitecture Reviewed Books
Websites	3d Collosseum Circus Maximus Forum of Trajan Houses Villas Buildings 3D reconstructions Sanitation
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web
Back to Top

	Citizens & Senators: An introduction

Further reading
Websites	Virtuals Julius Caesar in Britain Tribes of Britain Govenors of Britannia
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web	Caesars Gallic War Marcus Aurelius Augustus Cicero-Various
Back to Top

	Childrens Rome

Further reading
Websites	Roman Town on the web Roman Britain Roman Bath Childrens Resources Hadrians Wall Temples, Gods & Goddess
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Back to Top

	Crafts & Trades: An introduction

Further reading
Websites	NovaRomaMarket Ceramics Pottery
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web
Back to Top

	Dates, Time & Numbers: An introduction

Further reading
Websites	Calendar Numerals Time NovaRoma Calendar2 Tables
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web
Back to Top

	Events
Roman Living	Newport Roman Villa, IOW. 21/22 August 2004 INFO

Back to Top

	Family Social life: An introduction

Further reading	Reviewed Books
Websites	Virtues Romanway Womens world Tribes Women Women Weddings Clothing Family life Buy Shoes Pets
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web
Back to Top

	Festivals: An introduction

Further reading
Websites
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web
Back to Top

	Food & Cooking: An introduction

Further reading	Reviewed Books
Websites	Cooking Apicius Apicius2 Cooking Nova Roman Food Group Upper class cooking in Britain
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary

Classic texts on web	Apicius in Latin
Back to Top

	Forts: An introduction

Further reading
Websites
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web
Back to Top

	Gardens An introduction

Further reading	Reviewed books
Websites	Plants Roman Agriculture
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web
Back to Top

	General Information
Further reading	Beginning of Rome Handbook of Ancient Rome Life in Ancient Rome
Websites	Ancient Rome Roman Encyclopaedia Virtual Rome Roman Empire Roman History Roman Provinces on line Portraits of Roman Emperers Clothing Clothing(Womans)
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web
Back to Top

	God & Goddess An introduction

Further reading	An Introduction to Roman Religion A Dictionary of Roman Religion
Websites	Druids Religion
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web
Back to Top

	History of Roman Britain: An introduction
	ULTIMA BRITANNIA By Caius Moravius Brutus In Latin sources the adjective ‘ultima’ is most commonly linked with Thule, a term referring to an ill-defined land at the very northernmost limits of the known world, possibly Shetland, Iceland or mainland Scandinavia. In the period before the Roman conquest it was also occasionally used to describe Britain. The poet Catullus speaks of‘ultima Britannia’ - ‘furthest Britain’ and of ‘horribilesque ultimosque Britannos’ - ‘formidable Britons, the remotest of men’. In the poems of Horace also Britain is referred to frequently as a symbol of remoteness from civilisation and, together with the equally distant Persia as an epitome of the very world’s edge. Of course in reality Britain is not very much further from Rome than the territories of northern Gaul and Germany that were already under Roman rule before Horace’s own time, nonetheless it is useful for a poet to have to hand symbols that can be easily wheeled out and to which the listening public can relate! ‘Preserve great Caesar [Augustus] as he prepares to go to remotest Britain’ he says and adds:- ‘Augustus will be held to be a God in our midst when Britons and dread Persians are added to the empire.’ But how remote and barbarous was Britain. The reality of course was that in many ways, then as now the island was something of a little world in its own right. Certainly Strabo says of the Celts ‘Forest thickets are their cities. They fence round a wide clearing with felled trees and here they make themselves huts and keep their cattle.’ And Julius Caesar adds ‘Most of the tribes of the interior do not grow corn, but live on milk and meat, and wear skins.’ In addition both he and Tacitus leave bloodcurdling accounts of British religious practices designed no doubt to horrify and titillate their readers at home. ‘It was their religion to drench their altars in the blood of prisoners and consult their Gods by means of human entrails.’ There is another side to this coin however. The Celts, despite being hampered by poisonous and deep-seated internecine rivalries, had created a high warrior culture which dominated and straddled Europe for centuries producing works of superb craftsmanship and subtlety and oral traditions that survive to this day. The Britons were also by no means isolated from mainland Europe. Strong tribal relationships spanned the channel and trade had been widespread from the earliest times. There is clear evidence of commerce with lands as far away as Greece and Phoenicia and even of some religious beliefs and practices that were common to both Northern Europe and the Mediterranean basin. A great temple of Apollo (Stonehenge?) is mentioned in some classical descriptions as is a great oracle (the shrine of Sulis at Bath?). According to some theories the Hyperborean priestesses that were regularly sent to the shrine of Apollo at Delos in the Aegean came from Britain. Hyperborea after all means the Land Beyond the North Wind. Even before the exploratory Julian invasions of the first century BC some commercial relations with Rome had been established and when Claudius’ armies invaded in earnest almost a century later they found willing allies among certain tribes, notably the Atrebates of modern day Hampshire and Sussex. Even at the height of Boadicea’s revolt this tribe supported the legions and gave refuge to those fleeing from the massacres at Colchester, London and St. Albans. In the area of the Atrebates’ capital Calleva- modern Silchester - there is archaeological evidence that some Britons were already living a distinctly Romanised existence even before 43 CE. After the invasion it was some years before things really settled down but the assimilation of Roman soldiers and settlers into British life, and of Britannia into the wider Empire began almost immediately. One aspect of this process is summed up by an inscription left by a Syrian legionary to his wife at Chesterholm on Hadrian’s Wall:- ‘To the spirits of the departed and to Regina, his freedwoman and wife, a Catuvellaunian by tribe, aged thirty; Barates of Pakmyra set this up.’ Beneath this Latin inscription Barates has also written movingly in his native Palmyrene script:- ‘Regina, the freedwoman of Barates, alas!’ It is a strange fact that despite often bloody conquest and ferocious resistance the Celtic provinces of Gaul and Britannia came to be considered among the most loyal in the Empire and there seems often to have been a meeting of these very different minds at quite an instinctive level. The Emperor Julian as late as 361CE speaks of support he had received from Britain and fondly of the simple directness and honesty of his Celtic subjects and whatever desperate struggles gave rise to Arthurian legend seem shot through with a nostalgia for a lost and more peaceful age. Caius Moravius Brutus
Further reading	Roman Britain
Websites	Romans in Britain Roman place names BBC on Romano Britain Julius Caesar in Britain Tribes in Britian Changing shape of Britain
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web
Back to Top

	Latin An introduction

Further reading
Websites	Latin Studies More Latin Studies The Latin Site
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web
Back to Top

	Legacy of Rome: An introduction
	When the western Empire fragmented in 476 AD citizens all over the old Empire struggled to hold on to their customs in the face of invading barbarians. Although Towns like Calleva Artibatum (Silchester) held out for a hundred years or more. They eventually took on new ways, new religions and later generations grew up that never knew that the ideas, customs and ingenuity of Rome still influenced their lives. Towns declined and villas were abandoned, skills were lost as the Roman talent for large-scale organisations was forgotten. Many ideas and customs survived such as:- Law. Under Roman law, a judge and jury tried most cases. Roman lawyers had built up a large set of laws, which became a model for the laws of many countries. Architecture. In Britain when the Saxons built in stone, they used arches and vaults influenced by the architecture of Rome. In the 15^th century architects started to copy the Roman style of building and have done so ever since. Modern styles and fashions come and go, most look dated after a decade, but Roman classic architecture still looks grand and imposing after thousands of years. Our Sewage and water systems are similar to the Romans and many of the original Roman systems are still working. Language. French, Italian and other national languages are Latin based. The Bishop of Rome in the services of the Catholic Church maintained the Latin language. Christian monks, who copied out Latin texts, preserved roman learning. Now Latin is preserved in legal language and more importantly in the common language of science. Religion. Remember that Romans first bought Christianity to these shores. It was hundreds of years before Christian missionaries ventured here again. Celebrations. The Christmas celebrations we have today include many elements of the Roman festival of Saturnalia. The Romans had feasts, gave presents, played games, decorated their houses with green garlands and even decorated trees, although not inside. Many other Christian customs have their origins in the feasts and festivals of Rome. Government. In the 18^th century, Republicans in France and America saw the Roman Republic as the best example of a state without a monarch and America today still has a senate and senators based on the Roman Senate at the time of the Republic. Life. People now live in houses with central heating. They eat fast food at snack bars( Even hamburgers were a Roman delicacy). They travel a vast network of well made roads, stop for a drink at pubs and restaurants. On long journeys they stop at hotels. Our businesses trade with countries far away in a vast free trade zone. We visit swimming pools, saunas and we also use gymnasiums. Does this not all sound familiar. The Romans bought all these ideas and ways of life to our shores and they are still a part of our modern life. Other Roman introductions like waterproof concrete,street lighting, lighthouses, fire brigades, prefabricated buildings, military machines, reaping machines, arenas, theatres, public lavatories, bikinis and even slot machines all had to be reinvented hundreds of years later. Above all, they gave Britons the sense of being one nation rather than just a group of separate quarrelling tribes.They bought large-scale organisation to Briton. They turned the ordinary man from a servant of the chieftain, working the fields to people running their own businesses in a vast free trade zone. The experts say "Lets not forget the slavery, brutality and corruption in the Roman world." We would say they were common anyway in most of the ancient world, but we still have those problems today and now we have less excuse for them in a so-called civilised, modern world. Romans were no saints, but then neither were they the devils that some would have us believe. There are those who think the modern world is new, unique and entirely separate from anything that went before. They think that history is quaint, or just some other boring subject that once studied might get them a certificate and then can be quickly forgotten. History is what the modern world is built on and it has been observed that those who cannot learn from errors of the past are often condemned to relive it. D.Maxentiys Silvanus
Further reading
Websites
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web
Back to Top

	Legions An introduction
	New Legions in Britannia Ermine Street Guard Oakland Farm, Dog Lane Crickley Hill, Witcombe, Gloucestershire, GL53 4UG mailto:theesg@aol.com http://www.esg.ndirect.co.uk Legio II Augusta David Richardson, 61 Totland Road, Portsmouth, PO6 3HS Phone: 01705 369970 mailto:leiiavg@cwcom.net Ludus Gladiatoria Graham Ashford, Fareham, Hampshire, United Kingdom Phone:01329 232912 mailto:ashfordians@btinternet.com http://www.ludus.org.uk/ Legio XIIII Gemina Martia Victrix (Coh.I Batavorum, & Roman Military Research Society. Mark Olejnik, Recruiting Officer, RMRS, 23 Gilbert Scott Court, Towchester, Northants, NN12 6DX mailto:Suavis@nationwideisp.net http://homepages.nationwideisp.net/~olejnik/ Legio XIIII Gemina 75 Birdie Way, Hertford, Hertfordshire, SG13 7SY Phone: 01992 552223 mailto:marcus@legion-fourteen.com http://www.legion-fourteen.com The Antonine Guard (Leg. VI Victrix, Roman Research Society) 29 Letham Rise,St Davids Bay, Fife, Scotland, Ky11 5FW mailto:tag@cybercult.net http://tag.cybercult.net Colchester Roman Society (Coh.I Varduli) Grahame A.Appleby, 8 Crowhurst Court,Crowhurst Road, Colchester, CO3 3JN mailto:grahame.a@virgin.net http://www.romanauxilia.com/crswebsite/INDEX.htm Quinta (Cohors Quinta Gallorum) Arbeia Roman Fort Baring Street, South Shields, Tyne and Wear, GL3 4UG http://www.shef.ac.uk/misc/personal/cs1jwh/quinta/ Milites Litoris Saxoni John Harris, 82 London Road, Faversham, Kent, ME13 8TA The North Guard Eddie Barrass, 8 Leechmere way, Ryhope, Sunderland, Wear Side, SR2 0DH Phone 0191 523 6377 Coh I Britonnum ULPIA Torquata pf MCR http://www.ad500.org.uk/vicus
Further reading
Websites	call to arms Roman Army BuyRomanKit Legions in Britannia
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web
Back to Top

	Money: An introduction

Further reading
Websites	Coins general BritishCoins
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web
Back to Top

	Mosaics: An introduction

Further reading
Websites	BBC
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web
Back to Top

	The Republic: An introduction

Further reading
Websites	Republic Romanway Late Roman Republic Politics
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web	Livy History Rome Tacitus Annals Tacitus history
Back to Top

	Roads & Places An introduction

Further reading
Websites	Lancashire Maps Ordnance survey (Roman) maps Place names Roads in Britain Roman Sites Roman Sites2 Geography of Britannia Roads
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web
Back to Top

	Roman Law An introduction

Further reading	Law, State & Religion: Pagan Rome
Websites
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web	Apuleius
Back to Top

	Science & Technology An introduction

Further reading	Reviewed Books
Websites	BBC Medicine Technology Science & Technology Handbook Mining
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web
Back to Top

	Sport An introduction

Further reading
Websites	Chariot Racing Boardgames NovaRoma
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web
Back to Top

	Temples & Religion An introduction

Further reading	An Introduction to Roman Religion A Dictionary of Roman Religion
Websites	Sulis Minerva Essays on Roman Religion Religion Novaroma Priests Rituals Roman Religious Sites
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web
Back to Top

	Transport: An introduction

Further reading
Websites	Ships British wrecks Traction
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web
Back to Top

	TV, Radio & Films -whats on and whats new
This Week	Monday 7th June 2004 Channel 4. 9.00 Beasts of the Roman Games-part of the excellent "Secret History" series. An historical investigation into the trade in animals for Roman tournaments.
Websites	BBC History Channel4 History Discovery Channel UK TV History
Back to Top

	The Villa: An introduction

Further reading	Reviewed Books
Websites	Villa Rebuildingavilla Finest Villa
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web
Back to Top

	The Roman View of the World An introduction

Further reading
Websites	Roman Discussion Group Roma life
Check the Latin	Latin Dictionary
Classic texts on web	Lucretius the Nature of things Marcus Aurelius Ovid
Back to Top

	Topic of the Month




Back to Top