The Finds of Roman Britain

In the ancient world the Roman Empire was not only a great military power but also a trading and industrial one. This was no less true in Britain where in archaeological terms Roman levels are distinguished from prehistoric and post-Roman ones by the sheer mass of finds - pottery, coins, brooches, tools and all sorts of everyday objects - made of almost every material known at the time. Excavations since the 19th century have produced a vast amount of information and artefacts from the Roman period. In the last 20 years or so there have been many finds of great importance - for example, the contents of the sacred spring at Bath, and the Water Newton and Thetford Treasures. The spread of modern urban and road development has added huge quantities of Roman material to museum stores. These events have made the late 20th century one of the most exciting periods in which to study Roman Britain. Dealing with this mass of finds has always been a problem for archaeologists and students of Roman Britain. Anyone new to the subject is confronted by an array of academic monographs on specialized subjects, substantial site reports, histories of Roman Britain and coffee table books. This book explores the finds from Roman Britain in terms of their function. Examples have been selected from sites across the country, and more than 500 are illustrated throughout the text. In this way the author covers the army, crafts and industries, the household, the individual, public life, religion and coinage. Modern understanding of the consumer society of Roman Britain is summarized and each chapter is accompanied by a bibliography.