Roman Britain: New Findings & Discoveries

[Floyd]

Southwark: Rare Roman mausoleum unearthed in London​

Not sure why hard hats are necessary though.....

A "completely unique" Roman mausoleum has been discovered by archaeologists in south London.
The remains of the structure at the Liberty of Southwark site in Borough have been described as "extremely rare" and feature preserved floors and walls.
Archaeologists think the site was used as some form of burial ground or tomb for wealthier members of Roman society.
Work on creating a permanent display is planned, says the team behind the find.

The discovery was made at the Liberty of Southwark excavation site
The dig was led by the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) on behalf of Landsec and Transport for London (TfL).
MOLA believes the quality of preservation makes it the most intact Roman mausoleum ever to be discovered in Britain.
Alongside the central mosaic, raised platforms were found and steps on the lowest side were still intact.
Excavators were surprised to find two layers to the site, with another similarly designed mosaic found beneath the first floor. They believe that the building was modified at some point, with the floor raised.
"All signs indicate this was a substantial building," says MOLA, "perhaps two storeys high."

A second mosaic was found beneath the first, suggesting the floor was raised at some point
While the site is believed to be a burial location, no coffins were found. However, more than 100 coins, fragments of pottery, roofing tiles and pieces of metal were discovered.
There has been a sustained period of excavation at the site, where the largest Roman mosaic found in London for over 50 years was uncovered in 2022.
Antonietta Lerz, senior archaeologist at MOLA, says the site is a "microcosm for the changing fortunes of Roman London" and provides "a fascinating window" into the life of its settlers.

The aim is to preserve the area alongside continued urban development
Archaeologists from MOLA hope to pinpoint the age of the mausoleum and have provided a three-dimensional model of the site.
Landsec and TfL say they are committed to restoring and retaining the mausoleum for permanent public display.

 

[Ronnie Jersey]

How long did the Romans occupy England??

 

[SimonBurchell]

How long did the Romans occupy England??

They invaded in 43 AD, and told the Brits they could no longer help defend them anymore in 410, taken as the end of Roman Britain; the Romanised province is regarded as "sub-Roman" after that, with its political makeup obscure as it gradually disintegrated and was conquered by the Anglo-Saxons. So they were here for just under 400 years.

 

[ramonmercado]

A meeting with Medusa.

A nearly 1,800-year-old silver military medal featuring the snake-covered head of Medusa has been unearthed in what was once the northern edge of the Roman Empire.

Excavators discovered the winged gorgon on June 6 at the English archaeological site of Vindolanda, a Roman auxiliary fort that was built in the late first century, a few decades before Hadrian's Wall was constructed in A.D. 122 to defend the empire against the Picts and the Scots.

The "special find" is a "silver phalera (military decoration) depicting the head of Medusa," according to a Facebook post from The Vindolanda Trust, the organization leading the excavations. "The phalera was uncovered from a barrack floor, dating to the Hadrianic period of occupation."

The hand-size Medusa medal dates to the Hadrianic period at Vindolanda, a Roman auxiliary fort in England. (Image credit: The Vindolanda Trust)

Medusa — who is known for having snakes for hair and the ability to turn people into stone with a mere glance — is mentioned in multiple Greek myths. In the most famous story, the Greek hero Perseus beheads Medusa as she sleeps, pulling off the feat by using Athena's polished shield to indirectly look at the mortal gorgon so that he wouldn't be petrified, according to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Roman culture drew on Greek myths, including Medusa's story. During the Roman age, Medusa was seen as apotropaic, meaning her likeness was thought to repel evil, John Pollini, a professor of art history who specializes in Greek and Roman art and archaeology at the University of Southern California, told Live Science. Pollini was not involved in the find at Vindolanda.

Alexander the Great is depicted as wearing a breastplate with the gorgon Medusa in this famous mosaic of him from Pompeii. (Image credit: Image courtesy Wikimedia, from an ancient mosaic in Pompeii, Italy)

"From Greek times on, this is a potent apotropaic to ward off bad things, to keep bad things from happening to you," Pollini said. Medusa's serpent-surrounded head is also seen on Roman-era tombs, mosaics in posh villas and battle armor. For instance, in the famous first-century mosaic of Alexander the Great from Pompeii, Alexander is depicted with the face of Medusa on his breastplate, Pollini noted.

https://www.livescience.com/archaeo...a-discovered-at-roman-fort-near-hadrians-wall

 

[ramonmercado]

There's a bit of a mystery about this find.

In an isolated field near a Roman villa in Wales, archaeologists have discovered the skeleton of a man buried facedown. Adorned with a silver pin and a sword, he may have been a Roman soldier — but large nails near his neck, back and feet offer tantalizing evidence that he was restrained at death.

This burial and four others, which date to the mid-third to the late-fourth centuries, were discovered by Red River Archaeology, a U.K.-based archaeological firm, during a road improvement project near the town of Barry in south Wales. Archaeologists think the burials may be associated with the Whitton Lodge Roman villa, which was originally excavated half a century ago.

The man, estimated to be between 21 and 25 years old at death, was placed in a rock-cut grave that may have been edged with wooden planks, based on the discovery of nails at the top and bottom of the pit, according to Mark Collard, managing director of Red River Archaeology. In an email to Live Science, Collard noted that "the prone [facedown] position and very large nails at the back of the neck, shoulder and between the feet may indicate restraints."

Archaeologists found a silver crossbow-style brooch in the man's burial. It was likely used to fasten a cloak. (Image credit: © Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales)

Contrary to an interpretation of a non-elite or enslaved individual, though, the man's personal ornaments — an iron sword, hobnailed boots and a silver crossbow-style brooch — suggest he may have been an elite member of the Roman military.

Evan Chapman, senior curator of archaeology at Amgueddfa Cymru — Museum Wales, said in a statement that "this is the first example of a Roman silver crossbow brooch to be found in Wales." These brooches, likely used to fasten a cloak, were often associated with the Roman military. "The presence of the sword would support the military connection in this instance," Chapman said. ...

https://www.livescience.com/archaeo...-with-sword-may-have-been-restrained-in-death

 

[ramonmercado]

A pet or a hunter?

The remains of a tiny Roman dog have been discovered at a popular walking spot.

An archaeological dig at Wittenham Clumps in Oxfordshire has uncovered the 1,800-year-old remains of a 20cm tall pooch. The animal's remains were unearthed at the site of a villa believed to have been owned by a wealthy Roman family. Researchers say the dog is one of the smallest found in the UK, and was likely to have been a "much-loved pet".

IMAGE SOURCE, DIGVENTURES Image caption, A sketch of what researchers believe the small dog would have looked like

The discovery was made at the site of charity Earth Trust's headquarters by archaeologists from DigVentures, a social enterprise that organises crowdfunded archaeological excavations.

Hannah Russ, a zooarchaeologist who analysed the animal remains, said: "While it's possible that this dog was used for hunting, we know that Romans in other parts of the empire had begun to breed and keep small dogs as pets. The fact that this dog was so small and had bowed legs suggests that she probably wasn't bred for hunting [and] makes it far more likely that she was kept as a house dog, lap dog, or pet."

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-66294261

 

[ramonmercado]

Out of hiding after 40 years in a basement.

IMAGE SOURCE, HISTORIC ENGLAND Image caption, The wall has been incorporated into the design of the new building

A large section of a Roman wall found in the City of London has gone on display after spending more than 40 years hidden in a basement.

The wall, which was uncovered in 1979 at Roman Wall House, can now be seen alongside other artefacts at the City Wall at Vine Street museum display.

The venue is free to visit and forms part of a redevelopment of the site, which includes student accommodation.

The wall was previously tucked away at the bottom of an office building.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-66365542

 

[ramonmercado]

He probably arrived by Ryan Chariot Ferries

Scientists from the Francis Crick Institute, Durham University, and MOLA Headland Infrastructure have discovered that a man who lived between AD 126–228 during the Roman period did not originally come from a rural farmstead near where he was buried, but likely thousands of miles away, possibly outside of the Roman Empire.

His remains were found in 2017 during excavations by MOLA Headland Infrastructure near the village of Offord Cluny in Cambridgeshire, as part of the National Highways A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon Improvement Scheme.

In research published Dec. 19 in Current Biology, the researchers revealed this man carried ancestry related to people in the Caucasus and Sarmatian individuals. The Sarmatians, Iranian-speaking nomadic peoples, were renowned horse riders who mainly lived in an area around modern-day southern Russia and Ukraine.

The man, known as Offord Cluny 203645, was buried by himself without any personal possessions in a trackway ditch, so this analysis gave archaeologists a glimpse into his life.

DNA analysis was conducted as part of a Wellcome Trust project on ancient genomes in Britain led by Pontus Skoglund, Head of the Ancient Genomics Laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute.

Marina Soares de Silva, postdoctoral fellow in the Ancient Genomics Laboratory at the Crick, said, "We began by extracting and sequencing ancient DNA (aDNA) from the bone of the individual's inner ear, as this is where it is best preserved. This is not like testing the DNA of someone who is alive, as the DNA is very fragmented and damaged. However, we were able to sequence enough of his DNA to good quality and compared it to samples of people who lived at different times and places in the past.

"The first thing we saw was that genetically he was very different to the other Romano-British individuals studied so far. In fact, our analysis showed that he had common ancestors with previously studied individuals from the Caucasus and Sarmatian groups."

https://phys.org/news/2023-12-reveals-born-thousands-miles-east.html

 

[ramonmercado]

Vid at link.

Roman armour to go on display after experts complete ‘ancient jigsaw puzzle’​

Conservator with the arm guard

An “incredibly rare” piece of Roman armour from the second century has been reconstructed from dozens of fragments. The brass arm guard, owned by National Museums Scotland, will be seen for the first time in its entirety in nearly 2,000 years when it goes on loan next month to the British Museum in London for its exhibition, Legion: Life In The Roman Army.

Conservators spent weeks reconstructing the arm guard, which is the most intact example of its kind and is one of only three known from the whole Roman Empire.

The armour was previously in more than 100 pieces when it was discovered at the Trimontium fort site near Melrose, Scottish Borders, in 1906.

https://www.breakingnews.ie/world/r...s-complete-ancient-jigsaw-puzzle-1577801.html

 

[ramonmercado]

What dis the Romans ever do for us? They brought bedbugs with them.

Bedbugs have been plaguing the British for at least 1,900 years, new research reveals. Archaeologists discovered the earliest evidence of the bloodsucking parasites in the U.K. at Vindolanda, a Roman auxiliary fort just south of Hadrian's Wall in England.

Katie Wyse Jackson, a graduate student of archaeology at University College Dublin, made the discovery while investigating ancient insect remains at the fort, according to The Guardian. She found two thoraxes, the insects' midsections, at the lowest layers of Vindolanda, which was initially built in the late first century and was remodeled over the years.

The finding supports the idea that the Romans brought bedbugs (Cimex lectularius) to Britain after they invaded the isle in A.D. 43. Despite the empire's penchant for frequent bathing, evidence of bedbugs has been found at other sites in England — including a Roman settlement in Warwickshire dating to the middle to late second century — and ancient Roman sites throughout Europe. In fact, a 2016 study in the journal Parasitology found just as many bedbugs at Roman archaeological sites as in Viking and medieval ones. Considering the Romans bathed much more frequently, the finding highlights how hard it was to eliminate these pests. ...

https://www.livescience.com/archaeo...ars-ago-roman-fort-near-hadrians-wall-reveals

 

[catseye]

Does this prove that the Romans brought them? Or is it just that Roman remains are better preserved than many earlier ones and therefore the bedbugs have survived?

After all, Britain had trading links with Rome and Phoenicia and plenty of links with the continent before the Romans came here, so I'd expect a fair few 'travellers' coming in with consignments of luxuries. We just haven't found any bedbugs with them. Yet.

 

[ramonmercado]

Does this prove that the Romans brought them? Or is it just that Roman remains are better preserved than many earlier ones and therefore the bedbugs have survived?

After all, Britain had trading links with Rome and Phoenicia and plenty of links with the continent before the Romans came here, so I'd expect a fair few 'travellers' coming in with consignments of luxuries. We just haven't found any bedbugs with them. Yet.

I'm sure the researchers took that into account but there's more here: https://www.theguardian.com/environ...veals-bedbugs-came-to-britain-with-the-romans

 

[catseye]

So they aren't actually saying that the Romans introduced the bedbug to Britain as I assumed, they are saying that the Romans brought bedbugs with them when they came. And, because the findings are rare, they've managed to find them. So they could have been here already. I see now.

 

[ramonmercado]

No yolk as shell shocked diggers find Roman egg.

Aylesbury Roman egg with contents a 'world first', say scientists​

This egg was cast into a watery pit 1,700 years ago - possibly as part of a Roman funeral rite

The only intact chicken's egg found from Roman Britain is now thought to be the only one of its type in the world - after scientists found it still had liquid inside.

The egg, which is about 1,700 years old, was found during a dig in Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. Researchers said at the time it was a "genuinely unique discovery". However, they admitted they were "blown away" recently to find it still contained the yolk and egg white. A micro CT scan - that produces 3D images - revealed the contents of the egg, complete with the air sac.

Edward Biddulph, senior project manager at Oxford Archaeology, which oversaw the excavation, said while finding the only intact egg from the period in Britain was "amazing... the fact that the egg still retains its original contents, however, is absolutely incredible".

He said: "We were absolutely blown away when we saw the contents in there, as we might have expected them to have leeched out."

The egg was found with others during a dig that took place between 2007 and 2016, ahead of a housing development at Berryfields, in Aylesbury.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-68247184

 

[maximus otter]

No yolk as shell shocked diggers find Roman egg.

Aylesbury Roman egg with contents a 'world first', say scientists​

This egg was cast into a watery pit 1,700 years ago - possibly as part of a Roman funeral rite

The only intact chicken's egg found from Roman Britain is now thought to be the only one of its type in the world - after scientists found it still had liquid inside.

The egg, which is about 1,700 years old, was found during a dig in Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. Researchers said at the time it was a "genuinely unique discovery". However, they admitted they were "blown away" recently to find it still contained the yolk and egg white. A micro CT scan - that produces 3D images - revealed the contents of the egg, complete with the air sac.

Edward Biddulph, senior project manager at Oxford Archaeology, which oversaw the excavation, said while finding the only intact egg from the period in Britain was "amazing... the fact that the egg still retains its original contents, however, is absolutely incredible".

He said: "We were absolutely blown away when we saw the contents in there, as we might have expected them to have leeched out."

The egg was found with others during a dig that took place between 2007 and 2016, ahead of a housing development at Berryfields, in Aylesbury.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-68247184

- Soon to be part of a British Rail Full English breakfast.

maximus otter

 

[Mythopoeika]

- Soon to be part of a British Rail Full English breakfast.

maximus otter

The Chinese have '1000-year eggs'. This beats that.

 

[ramonmercado]

A very important find.

Smallhythe Place: Rare Roman head of Mercury found during dig​

The rare Roman head of Mercury was unearthed at Smallhythe Place in Kent

An "incredibly rare" Roman head of Mercury has been discovered during an archaeological dig.

The find was made during excavations at the site of a medieval shipyard at Smallhythe Place, in Tenterden, Kent. Roman figurines in pipeclay were mainly used for private religious practice and placed in the graves of children. Fewer than 10 pipeclay heads are believed to have survived from Roman Britain, according to the National Trust.

Smallhythe Place has been the subject of investigations for several years by archaeologists undertaking research on the shipyard by the River Rother, which was one of the most significant royal shipbuilding centres of medieval England.

As part of their excavations they uncovered a previously unrecorded Roman settlement, dating from 1st to 3rd Century AD.

The 5cm-tall (2in) head of Mercury was discovered with no body. But evidence suggests that deliberately breaking some figurine heads was an important ritual. ...

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-kent-68358986

 

[ramonmercado]

A rather larger head found on this occasion.

A digger driver working on a new car park uncovered a Roman statue thought to date back 1,800 years.

Greg Crawley was working at Burghley House, near Stamford, in April 2023 when he noticed a face on an item he thought was a rock. He had uncovered a marble head, which experts have dated to the First or Second Century.

A bust for the statue was unearthed weeks later. Both are to go on display at the country house later this month.

The statue is thought to be 1,800 years old

Mr Crawley said: "I had a real shock as the digger bucket rolled over what I thought was a big stone, to reveal a face. When I picked it up, I realised it was a head of a statue. I couldn’t believe it when they told me it was a Roman marble statue. t was an amazing feeling to have found something so old and special – definitely my best-ever discovery."

An iron dowel found in the marble head, which probably would have been added in the 18th Century, would have allowed it to be added to a bust or pedestal, experts said. It was an adaptation often carried out by Italian antique dealers at the time to make excavated ancient relics more attractive to travelling aristocrats.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cxezg1jyd4ko

 

[Frideswide]

Greg Crawley was working at Burghley House, near Stamford, in April 2023 when he noticed a face on an item he thought was a rock.

Pareidolia, eat your heart out!

 

[ramonmercado]

The Size of Silchester in Roman Times.

'Missing' houses offer a new perspective on Britain's Roman period​

by Blake Puscher, University of Colorado at Boulder

A plan map of Silchester created with data from the Silchester Mapping Project of the Archaeology Data Service. Credit: Credit: Britannia (2023). DOI: 10.1017/S0068113X23000375

A rough site plan for the Roman-era village of Silchester in south-central England, now a ruin, has existed since antiquarians excavated it in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Though extensive, these efforts used techniques that are now outdated and, modern researchers note, represent only the most well-preserved structures.

Accordingly, the popular estimates of Silchester's residential population, which suggest around 4,000 people at its peak in the Late Roman period, may be inaccurate, new research suggests.

This seems particularly likely considering more recent excavations of the site and other sites nearby, which have shown a large proportion of timber houses relative to stone ones. Newer studies have provided evidence along the same lines through a combination of geophysical survey and aerial photography.

In research recently published in Britannia, Scott Ortman, a University of Colorado Boulder associate professor of anthropology, and John Hanson, formerly a CU Boulder postdoctoral researcher and now a University of Oxford associate professor of Roman archaeology and art, were inspired by these developments to make a new estimate of Silchester's peak population. Their final figure of about 5,500 people has implications for not only the history of Silchester, but also Roman Britain and, potentially, the entire Roman Empire.

Many Roman towns in Britain fell apart around 400 A.D., when the Roman period ended, leaving behind a layer of "dark earth" in the archaeological record from decomposing organic materials in the abandoned buildings.

The town that is the focus of Ortman and Hanson's research is technically called Calleva Atrebatum, but is referred to as Silchester for simplicity, although the site is about a mile from the modern village of Silchester. The distinction between modern Silchester and Roman Silchester is important because many of the towns and cities established across the Roman Empire continued to be built over until the present. So-called greenfield sites like Silchester, however, were abandoned at the end of the Roman period and never reoccupied.

"There are a lot of towns that didn't survive, but then new towns grew up on top of them later," Ortman explains. "So today, it's very difficult to get access to the remains from the Roman period, and you only see it in little, tiny windows that happen to be cleared when there's some kind of modern redevelopment project."

When a site isn't built over, though, "the Roman remains are the uppermost level of the remains that are there, so it's much easier to observe what the Roman town looked like overall."

Like the evidence and archaeological techniques available, scholars' views on towns like Silchester have changed. Ortman notes that "perceptions of the Roman period of Britain have evolved over time as … the more recent history of Britain has proceeded. In the early 20th century when archaeology was first developing, my impression is that scholars of the time thought about the Romans as a sort of civilizing force." ...

https://phys.org/news/2024-03-houses-perspective-britain-roman-period.html

 

[blessmycottonsocks]

The Size of Silchester in Roman Times.

'Missing' houses offer a new perspective on Britain's Roman period​

by Blake Puscher, University of Colorado at Boulder

A plan map of Silchester created with data from the Silchester Mapping Project of the Archaeology Data Service. Credit: Credit: Britannia (2023). DOI: 10.1017/S0068113X23000375

A rough site plan for the Roman-era village of Silchester in south-central England, now a ruin, has existed since antiquarians excavated it in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Though extensive, these efforts used techniques that are now outdated and, modern researchers note, represent only the most well-preserved structures.

Accordingly, the popular estimates of Silchester's residential population, which suggest around 4,000 people at its peak in the Late Roman period, may be inaccurate, new research suggests.

This seems particularly likely considering more recent excavations of the site and other sites nearby, which have shown a large proportion of timber houses relative to stone ones. Newer studies have provided evidence along the same lines through a combination of geophysical survey and aerial photography.

In research recently published in Britannia, Scott Ortman, a University of Colorado Boulder associate professor of anthropology, and John Hanson, formerly a CU Boulder postdoctoral researcher and now a University of Oxford associate professor of Roman archaeology and art, were inspired by these developments to make a new estimate of Silchester's peak population. Their final figure of about 5,500 people has implications for not only the history of Silchester, but also Roman Britain and, potentially, the entire Roman Empire.

Many Roman towns in Britain fell apart around 400 A.D., when the Roman period ended, leaving behind a layer of "dark earth" in the archaeological record from decomposing organic materials in the abandoned buildings.

The town that is the focus of Ortman and Hanson's research is technically called Calleva Atrebatum, but is referred to as Silchester for simplicity, although the site is about a mile from the modern village of Silchester. The distinction between modern Silchester and Roman Silchester is important because many of the towns and cities established across the Roman Empire continued to be built over until the present. So-called greenfield sites like Silchester, however, were abandoned at the end of the Roman period and never reoccupied.

"There are a lot of towns that didn't survive, but then new towns grew up on top of them later," Ortman explains. "So today, it's very difficult to get access to the remains from the Roman period, and you only see it in little, tiny windows that happen to be cleared when there's some kind of modern redevelopment project."

When a site isn't built over, though, "the Roman remains are the uppermost level of the remains that are there, so it's much easier to observe what the Roman town looked like overall."

Like the evidence and archaeological techniques available, scholars' views on towns like Silchester have changed. Ortman notes that "perceptions of the Roman period of Britain have evolved over time as … the more recent history of Britain has proceeded. In the early 20th century when archaeology was first developing, my impression is that scholars of the time thought about the Romans as a sort of civilizing force." ...

https://phys.org/news/2024-03-houses-perspective-britain-roman-period.html

The Silchester ruins are not far from me and I never tire of hiking around the perimeter walls. The arena, where gladiatorial combat was thought to have taken place, is particularly evocative.

 

[ramonmercado]

The Silchester ruins are not far from me and I never tire of hiking around the perimeter walls. The arena, where gladiatorial combat was thought to have taken place, is particularly evocative.

Any time slips, ghosts?

 

[blessmycottonsocks]

Any time slips, ghosts?

Funny you should say that!
I took my bike on the train down to Mortimer and cycled across to Silchester one Summer 4 or 5 years ago.
I stopped at the Calleva arms for a couple of ales and then locked up my bike and walked around the Silchester walls.
It was a steaming hot day, but I still felt a chill when I reached the gladiators' arena - that place never fails to spook me.
Maybe 45 minutes later, half way around the perimeter walls, I started to feel a bit drowsy and sat down on a slab (ancient Roman public bench), near the remains of one of the gate-houses.
I started half-drowsing and remember thinking "These must be the perfect conditions for a time-slip to occur".
And....

Spoiler: Did I slip or did I not?

Despite being in absolutely the right frame of mind and almost palpably willing a time-slip to occur, I'm afraid it didn't!

 

[ramonmercado]

Vid at link.

'Remarkable' Roman villa discovered at Grove housing site​

A "remarkable" Roman villa has been unearthed on a housing development.

Archaeologists from the Red River Archaeology Group came across the complex while working on a Barratt and David Wilson Homes housing development at Brookside Meadows in Grove near Wantage, Oxfordshire. The site sits on a landscape inhabited since the Bronze Age which has been described as "artefact-rich".

Video journalist: Chris Wood

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-68735364

 

[Aydee_Aitchdee]

Funny you should say that!
I took my bike on the train down to Mortimer and cycled across to Silchester one Summer 4 or 5 years ago.
I stopped at the Calleva arms for a couple of ales and then locked up my bike and walked around the Silchester walls.
It was a steaming hot day, but I still felt a chill when I reached the gladiators' arena - that place never fails to spook me.
Maybe 45 minutes later, half way around the perimeter walls, I started to feel a bit drowsy and sat down on a slab (ancient Roman public bench), near the remains of one of the gate-houses.
I started half-drowsing and remember thinking "These must be the perfect conditions for a time-slip to occur".
And....

Spoiler: Did I slip or did I not?

Despite being in absolutely the right frame of mind and almost palpably willing a time-slip to occur, I'm afraid it didn't!

Maybe one did and you slept through it?

 

[Giant R]

They invaded in 43 AD, and told the Brits they could no longer help defend them anymore in 410, taken as the end of Roman Britain; the Romanised province is regarded as "sub-Roman" after that, with its political makeup obscure as it gradually disintegrated and was conquered by the Anglo-Saxons. So they were here for just under 400 years.

I always struggle to imagine what it must have been like for the Brits to have heard that news. It would be like us now hearing that the structure, defence and government was changing drastically from what we had been used to since the early 1600s under king Charles 1st.

 

[SimonBurchell]

I always struggle to imagine what it must have been like for the Brits to have heard that news. It would be like us now hearing that the structure, defence and government was changing drastically from what we had been used to since the early 1600s under king Charles 1st.

My guess is that the writing was on the wall, so to speak, and the news didn't come as a great shock to the political leaders of the day. For locals, they just carried on as normal, in an atmosphere of general decline and rumours of war getting ever closer, until the Anglo-Saxons were knocking on the door, or perhaps more likely, kicking the door in. It was a process that lasted almost two centuries. Having said that, certainly at the beginning there must have been a great shock - I think the time between the legions leaving and Britain being told they weren't coming back was only 3 years.