An Imperial Possession Read online

  Contents

  Cover

  About the Author

  The Penguin History of Britain

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  List of Figures and Tables

  Preface

  Part One

  Introduction

  1 The Spectre of Empire

  2 Sources of Information and Rules of Evidence

  3 ‘Nothing for us to Fear or Rejoice at.’ Britain, Britons and the Roman Empire

  Part Two

  The Military Community

  4 The Iron Fist Conquest (43-83) and Aftermath

  5 Britannia Perdomita: The Garrisoning of the Provinces

  6 The Community of Soldiers

  7 The Fashioning of the Military Identity

  8 De Excidio Britanniae: Decline and Fall?

  Part Three

  The Civil Communities

  9 Forma Urbis: The Development of Towns

  10 Townspeople: Demography, Culture and Identity

  11 The Urban Failure?

  Part Four

  The Rural Communities

  12 The Villa and the Roundhouse

  13 Provincial Landscapes

  14 Free Britannia: Beyond the Frontiers

  15 Rural Culture and Identity

  Part Five

  Comparative Perspectives and Concluding Thoughts

  16 Different Economies, Discrepant Identities

  17 ‘No Longer Subject to Roman Laws’

  Bibliographical Essay

  Index

  PENGUIN BOOKS

  THE PENGUIN HISTORY OF BRITAIN

  GENERAL EDITOR: DAVID CANNADINE

  AN IMPERIAL POSSESSION

  David Mattingly is Professor of Roman Archaeology in the School of Archaeology and Ancient History at the University of Leicester, having held previous university appointments at the University of Michigan and the University of Oxford, where he was a British Academy Post-Doctoral Fellow. His research focuses on the archaeology of the Western Roman Empire and he has carried out fieldwork in Libya, Tunisia, Jordan, Italy and Britain. His publications include An Atlas of Roman Britain (co-author); Tripolitanis; Farming the Desert: The UNESCO Libyan Valleys Archaeological Survey. Vols 1-2 (co-author); Dialogues in Roman Imperialism (editor); Leptiminus (Lamta: A Roman Port Town in Tunisia, Reports 1-2 (co-author); Life, Death and Entertainment in the Roman Empire (co-editor); Economies beyond Agriculture in the Classical World (co-editor); and The Archaeology of Fazzan. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, London.

  THE PENGUIN HISTORY OF BRITAIN

  Published or forthcoming

  I: DAVID MATTINGLY Roman Britain 100-409

  II: ROBIN FLEMING Anglo-Saxon Britain: 410-1066

  III: DAVID CARPENTER The Struggle for Mastery: Britain 1066-1314

  IV: MIRI RUBIN The Hollow Crown: Britain 1272-1485

  V: SUSAN BRIGDEN New Worlds, Lost Worlds: Britain 1485-1603

  VI: MARK KISHLANSKY A Monarchy Transformed: Britain 1603-1714

  VII: LINDA COLLEY A Wealth of Nations? Britain 1707-1815

  VIII: DAVID CANNADINE The Contradiction of Progress: Britain 1800-1906

  IX: PETER CLARKE Hope and Glory: Britain 1900-2000

  DAVID MATTINGLY

  An Imperial Possession

  Britain in the Roman Empire,

  54 BC-AD 409

  PENGUIN BOOKS

  PENGUIN BOOKS

  Published by the Penguin Group

  Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

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  First published by Allen Lane 2006

  Published in Penguin Books 2007

  1

  Copyright © David Mattingly, 2006

  Maps copyright © J. E. Skinner and David Mattingly, 2006

  All rights reserved.

  The moral right of the author has been asserted

  Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject

  to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent,

  re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s

  prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in

  which it is published and without a similar condition including this

  condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

  EISBN: 978–0–141–90385–9

  For the Harolds

  Figures and Tables

  Figure 1. Britain and the Roman empire in the mid-second century.

  Figure 2. Map of the British archipelago.

  Figure 3. Peoples of Britain, including Ireland, in the Roman period.

  Figure 4. Southern Britain in the late Iron Age.

  Figure 5. Changing garrison patterns in Britain under Roman military occupation.

  Figure 6. Military sites in southern Britain.

  Figure 7. Military sites in northern Britain.

  Figure 8. Hadrian’s Wall and the Antonine Wall.

  Figure 9. The province of Britannia and its sub-divisions.

  Figure 10. The main towns and peoples of Britain.

  Figure 11. The road network, major towns, small towns and garrison settlements.

  Figure 12. Rural settlement in southern Britain.

  Figure 13. Rural settlement of Roman date in the East Midlands.

  Figure 14. The villa landscape of the West Country.

  Figure 15. Rural settlement and (inset) Roman material culture in northern Britain.

  Figure 16. Ireland in the late Iron Age/Roman period.

  Figure 17. Comparative distributions of villas and Romano-Celtic temples.

  Table 1. Key dates in Roman history and of Britain in the Roman world.

  Table 2. Main campaigns and battles of the conquest phase.

  Table 3. Wars and revolts, 84–211.

  Table 4. Civil wars and secession, late first to late second century.

  Table 5. Religious dedications from Vindolanda.

  Table 6. Wars, civil wars and revolts in Britain, 235–409.

  Table 7. The army of Britain in the Notitia Dignitatum.

  Table 8. The Antonine Itinerary and the connectivity of towns in Roman Britain.

  Table 9. The current state of archaeological knowledge of the principal Roman urban sites in Britain.

  Table 10. Inscriptions recording public benefactions in British towns and small towns.

  Table 11. Curse tablets from Britain.

  Table 12. Urban defences in Roman Britain.

  Table 13. The main phases of construction of urban defences.

  Table 14. Religious identity in Britain defined by differences in practice.

  Preface

  The Pelican Histories of England wer
e landmarks in the field and have served their reading audience well through the second half of the twentieth century. As I sit typing the final words of my own book, I am very conscious of the fact that Ian Richmond’s Roman Britain was published in 1955, exactly fifty years ago, and, with revisions, has remained in print ever since. The story of Roman Britain has been written many times; indeed, perhaps too often and rarely with the verve or insight of Richmond. Consequently, and like other writers in this new series, I have felt humbled and daunted by the task of writing an account for the twenty-first century. Over recent decades Britain has become one of the most heavily researched provinces of the Roman empire, but this in itself makes the task of synthesis ever more difficult. Another challenge has been to address the subject as a history of Britain, rather than of the limited south-eastern part of the archipelago. Every telling of history is a product of its age and while Richmond’s account was from the twilight zone of the modern colonial period, my perspective has been built up in a much more sceptical post-colonial world, where ‘empires’ are no longer assumed to have been benign civilizing powers. The realities of Britain’s status as an imperial possession are not all comfortable ones for modern readers schooled on a vision of Roman imperialism as essentially a civilizing force for good.

  Writing this book has taken me far longer than Penguin or I anticipated (and here I must acknowledge the patience and persistence of my editors David Cannadine and, most directly, Simon Winder). The delay in part reflects the explosion of new publication in the last decade, and in part my determination to bring a freshness of approach in comparison with what has become a rather jaded format in some of the rival books on Roman Britain. In short, I have tried to write a controversial book, but one that will be accessible to a wide audience, a book that will make people think for themselves about issues, and that does not always have clear answers to difficult questions. In the process I have tried to dispense with a series of sacred cows – most notably the intellectually lazy recourse to the concept of Romanization (which ultimately means everything and nothing). In place of Romanization, I offer a framework of analysis based on three broad groups of provincial society (military, urban and rural communities) and the diverse identities that they gave rise to in responding to the challenges and opportunities of Roman rule.

  The fact that this book is in a history series has determined something of its structure. The conventional narrative framework of Roman Britain is heavily weighted towards military matters, though I believe I offer a new interpretational slant on traditional approaches to these sources. My focus is on the broad features of military occupation and I have endeavoured not to get too bogged down in the minutiae of the dating of occupation phases at individual forts. I have also attempted to show how the community of soldiers intersected with the civilian communities, wherever possible introducing the names of real people into the account. At the same time, my exploration of the social and economic history integrates a wide range of archaeological evidence. A synthesis focused more single-mindedly on archaeological evidence would have produced a rather different sort of book and it was a deliberate choice to try to integrate discussion of conventional history with the sort of social issues that recent work in theoretical archaeology has highlighted. One of the problems we face in reconstructing the lives of ordinary people is the difficulty of interpreting their thoughts and actions from their use of material culture. I strongly believe that the massive accumulation of high-quality data, especially relating to finds assemblages, makes Britain a particularly suitable case-study for the investigation of discrepant identities in the Roman empire. This book can only offer a rough framework – it is my sincere hope that other researchers will help put flesh on these bones.

  This is my personal vision of the history of Britain under Roman imperial rule and I hope to show that this was a rather different world from that encountered in many other books on the subject. At the same time, I am conscious that my viewpoint depends on the fact that I am standing on the shoulders of giants, whose achievements have made possible this re-evaluation. I hope that the book succeeds in bringing together the best of older and newer approaches to the subject. There is a necessary level of speculation here – though I would contend that key assumptions of more orthodox views equally lack substantiation in the preserved evidence and my text is suitably qualified at many points. Above all, I want to engage and excite readers both new to and expert in the subject, even if some may choose ultimately to disagree with aspects of my conclusions. The date range of my title defines the period within which I believe that it is reasonable to argue that part of Britain was considered an imperial possession, from the conclusion of Caesar’s second campaign in 54 BC to the final revolt of the province in 409. This represents a lengthy interlude of foreign domination. As one reviewer of this book in draft succinctly put it, a key element of my view is that the ‘Romano-British episode was nasty, brutish and long’.

  My debts to others are myriad and I can only acknowledge a few here. The book is dedicated to the two Harold Mattinglys, who first illuminated the ancient world for me. Some of my earliest memories are of sitting on my grandfather’s lap and hearing the myths of ancient Rome. My copy of his Penguin translation of the Agricola of Tacitus is among the most well-thumbed of all my books. My father has been a constant influence and I hope I have inherited some of his characteristic ability to ask really awkward questions about academic orthodoxies in ancient history. A third major influence was Barri Jones, my PhD supervisor at Manchester, who inspired me to commit to Roman archaeology. His early death in 1999 deprived me of a friend and adviser, and I have particularly regretted the loss of the opportunity to share drafts of this book with him. Tony Birley similarly nurtured my interests in Roman history and has remained a tremendous source of advice and support. Having provided extensive comments on early drafts of several chapters, he then made available to me (ahead of its publication) his indispensable The Roman Government of Britain and last, but far from least, undertook to read the entire typescript. As well as saving me from a truly embarrassing number of errors, he contributed much general wisdom and many insights on specific points to help me make this a far better book than it would otherwise have been. Numerous other academics and professional archaeologists have answered my questions, served as sounding boards for my wilder flights of fancy and sent me off-prints and texts of unpublished work. Particular thanks are due to Graeme Barker, Paul Bennett, Robin Birley, Roger Bland, David Breeze, Peter Carrington, Hilary Cool, John Creighton, Barry Cunliffe, Simon Esmonde Cleary, S. S. Frere, Mike Fulford, Michael Given, Chris Gosden, Bill Hanson, Ian Haynes, Richard Hingley, Bruce Hitchner, Nick Hodgson, Rick Jones, John Manley, Martin Millett, David Potter, the late Tim Potter, Richard Reece, Tim Strickland, Roger Tomlin, Peter Wells, Steve Willis, Andrew Wilson, Roger Wilson and Greg Woolf. I must also express my gratitude to Suzanne Blackmore of Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College, Leicester, who patiently answered questions about the current teaching of Roman Britain at A Level (as well as bringing the subject alive for my daughter Rebecca).

  Since 1992, I have profited hugely from being part of the thriving Roman and Iron Age research cluster in the School of Archaeology and Ancient History at the University of Leicester. I am profoundly grateful to both short- and longer-term colleagues – Colin Adams, Graeme Barker, Richard Buckley, Neil Christie, Patrick Clay, Nick Cooper, Hella Eckardt, Andy Gardner, Mel Giles, Annie Grant, Colin Hasel-grove, Simon James, Alan McWhirr, Rachel Pope, Jonathon Prag, Eberhard Sauer, Sarah Scott, Graham Shipley, Jeremy Taylor, John Vanderspoel, Marijke van der Veen, Jane Webster. I have also benefited from a terrific pool of Leicester postgraduate students with Roman interests (not all British focused), who have helped my understanding of the subject and particularly of new more theoretical approaches: Jennifer Baird, Andrew Birley, Alfonso Burgers, Fran Condron, John Coombs, Laura Cripps, Garrick Fincham, Colin Forcey, Hannah Friedman Gillian Hawkes, Anna Leone, Michelle Mann, Judy Meade, Phil Mil
ls, Dominic Perring, Nick Ray, Judith Rosten, Tom Rust, Irene Schrufer-Kolb, Dan Stewart, Rob Witcher, Stephen Young. At another level, many of the more speculative ideas advanced here have been tried out on successive undergraduate classes, who have grappled with post-colonial thinking and the concept of identity with good humour and enthusiasm, coming up with some remarkable insights of their own.

  In addition to Tony Birley, Paul Booth of Oxford Archaeology read the entire text with his habitual astuteness; many of his suggestions (plus information on new discoveries) are incorporated in my final version. Individual sections of the book were greatly improved by suggestions from the following additional readers: Neil Christie, Simon James, Richard Hingley, Colin Haselgrove, Bruce Hitchner, Mick Jones, Andrew Birley, Judith Rosten. Joe Skinner produced the illustrations from my roughs, though Jeremy Taylor provided the raw data on which Figure 13 is based. Simon Winder at Penguin was the ideal editor, gently persuading me to shed the excess baggage of an overweight first draft and providing perceptive and incredibly helpful guidance on how to sharpen the argument. Richard Duguid, Rebecca Lee and Chloe Campbell saw the book through production, with copy-editing input from Janet Tyrrell. Jenny Mattingly compiled the index.

  It is customary to excuse those who read the draft work of responsibility for remaining errors. This is more than ever necessary here as in many ways this is an experimental, speculative and heretical book. In choosing not to follow every suggestion I have had from my readers, I have sought to retain the architectural structure of the book as I conceived it. In the end, this is my ‘take’ on the story and I unreservedly take responsibility for all remaining errors. This is a book about identity, communities and regions and in places there is a necessary level of detail to illustrate these themes. I hope that readers both familiar with and new to the subject will rise to the challenge this presents and will be encouraged to follow the bibliographical guidance for yet more detailed discussion of specific topics.

  The book was completed during the 2004-5 academic year with the benefit of University of Leicester study leave and an AHRC Research Leave award. I am most appreciative of the support of my colleagues and especially of my Head of School, Marilyn Palmer. The observant reader may spot that a few paragraphs spread across several chapters are based on material published by me in rather different form (with fuller referencing) in the Journal of Roman Archaeology, and it is a pleasure to record my gratitude to its editor, John Humphrey.