Roman Frontiers in Wales and the Marches

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Roman Frontiers in Wales and the Marches

Roman Frontiers in Wales and the Marches
Published by Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales
December 2010
ISBN: 978-1-871184-39-6
Price: £35.00
Postage: £0.00
Buy Roman Frontiers in Wales and the Marches

Review of Contents

From the mid-first century AD to the end of the fourth century or later the tribal peoples inhabiting Wales and its borderlands felt the full impact of the might of the Roman imperial army, both as a fighting force and an occupation garrison.

In the pre-Flavian period Wales was a frontier zone par excellence. With the Flavian conquest it was held in subjection by a huge garrison, typical for a newly conquered land at the edge of empire. By Hadrian's reign, however, the garrison had been massively reduced and, except for the legions, functioned as an internal security force. Frontier characteristics re-emerge in the AD 260s as the western littoral of the empire was threatened from without; this theme of constant pressure on the frontier continued to the end of and beyond the formal military presence in the region.

This book describes and analyses the remains of the Roman army's presence in Wales, with the exception of the ephemeral marching- and practice-camps dealt with in another volume. It is divided into two parts. The first contains a series of discursive chapters dealing with the history of military activity, followed by analyses of installations, communication systems, extramural settlements and discussions of the army's impact on the environment and the native economy.

The second part is a comprehensive gazetteer of known, probable and possible military sites and Roman roads.

CONTENTS
List of contributors
Chairman's preface
Editorial Note
Acknowledgements

Introduction
History of previous excavation and research
The pre-Roman background
Chronological issues
Epigraphy
Coins from Roman Frontier in Wales (P. Guest)
Pottery, chronology and the forts of Roman Wales (P.V. Webster)

A Chronological review of the development of the frontier
Early campaigning and pre-Flavian frontiers
The Flavian conquest
The 2nd- to 3rd-century garrison
The frontiers of the later 3rd and 4th century
The end of the Roman Army in Wales and the Marches (P.J. Casey)

The installations and their garrisons
Distribution
Siting
Morphology, size and internal plan
Defences
Annexes
Internal buildings
Parade grounds
Water supply
The logistics of construction
The garrison

The communication system
Roman Roads in Wales and the Marches (R.J. Silvester and H. Toller)
Shipping (E.M. Evans, D. Hopewell, D.J.P Mason, K. Murphy, O.T.P. Roberts and R.J. Silvester)

The military-civilian interface: extramural settlements and sites with military associations
Introduction
Planning and layout
Buildings
Economic activity
Specialised activities
Religious beliefs
Cemeteries and burial practices
Chronological issues

The military-civilian interface: aspects of the military community, the military impact on the environment and economy, and army supply
Introduction
The military community and local interaction
The military impact on the environment and economy (A.E. Caseldine, with contributions by JLD)
Military supply: the contribution of ceramic studies (P.V. Webster)

Gazetteer of Sites
Legionary Fortresses
Campaign bases/Forts
Fortlets
Watch-towers/signal stations
Sites with probable military associations
Sites with possible military associations
Problematical/Rejected sites

Gazetteer of Roads
(E.M. Evans, D. Hopewell, K. Murphy, R.J. Silvester and H. Toller)
Glossary of Terms
Ancient Sources and Bibliography
Index

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