Roman Britain

1. Roman Britain Daily Life During Roman Occupation

2. Sources • Caesar, Commentarii De Bello Gallico • Tacitus, Agricola • NotitiaDignitatum • Tabula Peutigeriana, ItinerariumProvinciarumAntonini • Curse Tablets • Building Inscriptions, altars, tombstones, etc. • Skeletal Remains

3. Military Life in Roman Britain • Population impossible to determine • Male-Female ratio fluctuated • Army comprised essentially of legionaries and auxiliaries • Soldiers performed menial as well as skilled labor • A great deal of time was spent on construction

4. The Roman Army Camp I, L, M Allied infantry and cavalry P, Q, N Roman legionaries and cavalry F, E, G Forum, shrine, augury

5. Town Life The creation of coloniae were inextricably linked to Roman military camps.

6. Coloniae, Castra, and Vici • Castraeventually develop into towns, or attract the creation of Vici • Coloniaeare set up with the actual intent of spreading Roman culture and civilization • Coloniaeare populated with military veterans – Boudiccan revolt • Citizenship before 212 A.D. • Leading British families, municipia, and Italians • Cities were multicultural, and after occupation, consisted of many types of immigrants • Location, Location, Location – major intersections and natural resources

7. Towns and Industry • Many towns were developed for the extraction of a certain natural resource • Chalk, Iron, Gold, Silver, Tin, Wool, Slaves • Industrial areas are separate • Pottery and tile kilns, blacksmiths, stone masons, shoemakers, butchers, etc. • Immigrants were faced with a daunting paradigm shift • Money, Roman time, the Latin language

8. While small towns maintained a haphazard street plan, larger towns were built on the Mediterranean style.

9. The Courtyard House Plan Even after Roman occupation, the peristyle Mediterranean house plan was never popular in Britain. Even settled veterans take up the courtyard plan. Houses often contained gardens and farming workshops, suggesting some commoners carried out agricultural jobs within the city. Most rooms are impossible to identify.

10. Public buildings Forum or Macellum Temples, basilicas Roads Valetudinaria Mansiones • Aqueducts,Sewers, and Wells • Baths • Amphitheaters • Harbors

11. Population Men Women • Citizenship not guaranteed before 212 A.D. • Households often followed paterfamilias model • Few rights • Revolt of Boudicca • Curse tablets • Status of women in Celtic society vs. Roman Law

12. Government of Roman Britain • Governor (AulusPlautius, Gnaeus Agricola, Suetonius Paulinus, etc.) • Procurator • Juridici • Colchester • London • Roman Frontier

13. Slavery Slave quarters, Vindolanda • Slavery existed before the Roman invasion, but Romans recorded slave transactions • Variations in slave status • Slave rights • Forensic pathology and slavery

14. Families A Cemetary at Boscomb Down, England. The Bronze Age ditch became the Roman town boundary, beyond which they buried their dead. • Polygamy was known in parts of the empire, and there is evidence for pre-Roman practice • Marriage • Family size and contraception • Skeletal Remains Stone coffin from Boscomb Down, containing a woman and her infant child. c. 220 A.D.