Table Of ContentOXFORD STUDIES IN THE HISTORY
OF ARCHAEOLOGY
Editorial Board
bettina arnold michael dietler
stephen dyson peter rowley-conwy
howard williams
Oxford Studies in the History of Archaeology consists of scholarly works
focusing on the history of archaeology throughout the world. The series
coversthedevelopmentofprehistoric,classical,colonial,andearlyhistoric
archaeologiesuptothepresentday.Thestudies,althoughresearchedatthe
highest level, are written in an accessible style and will interest a broad
readership.
The Recovery of
Roman Britain
1586–1906
A Colony so Fertile
RICHARD HINGLEY
1
3
GreatClarendonStreet,Oxfordox26dp
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Hingley,Richard.
TherecoveryofRomanBritain1586–1906:acolonysofertile/RichardHingley.
p. cm.—(Oxfordstudiesinthehistoryofarchaeology)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN-13:978–0–19–923702–9
1. GreatBritain—Antiquities,Roman. 2. GreatBritain—History—Romanperiod,
55B.C.–449A.D. 3. GreatBritain—Civilization—Romaninflucences. 4. Excavations
(Archaeology)—GreatBritain. 5. Romans—GreatBritain. 6. Imperialism. I. Title.
DA145.H555 2008
936.2’04—dc22 2008020988
TypesetbySPIPublisherServices,Pondicherry,India
PrintedinGreatBritain
onacid-freepaperby
CPIAntonyRowe,Chippenham,Wiltshire
ISBN978–0–19–923702–9
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
For David Breeze
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Preface
This bookexplores how ideas derived from the Roman domination
of Britain were articulated in the definition of nationhood between
thesixteenthandearlytwentiethcentury.Discoveriesofobjectsand
sites have contributed to this understanding of the pre-Roman and
Roman past. Dominant perceptions of Roman Britain have drawn
upon the writings of classical authors—including Julius Caesar,
Tacitus, and Cassius Dio—that addressed the ancient Britons and
the actions of the Romans in Britain. From the start of this period,
however,discoveriesintheBritishcountrysideandintownsbeganto
supplement the understanding derived from classical writers. This
book addresses how these finds were used to inform, develop, and
contradictknowledgederivedfromclassicaltexts.
Roman contact and control were thought to have allowed the
ancient Britons of the Lowlands to achieve civil behaviour. This
ancestral achievement was used to characterize the modern popula-
tions of Scotland, Ireland, and territories overseas as ‘uncivil’ or
‘barbaric’. The book explores the subsequent transformation of
ideasofcivilityundernewhistoricalcircumstances;ideasofRoman-
ized Britons and Romanization are referenced to account for the
gradual transformation of the material culture available to Britons
inimmediately pre-RomanandRomantimes.
This book was completed during a period of research leave in
autumn and winter 2006–7, funded by the University of Durham
and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (Research Leave
Scheme). I am very grateful to Professor Stephen Harrison for his
help with my grant application and to the two anonymous referees
fortheircomments.Iwouldalsoliketothanktherefereesselectedby
Oxford University Press for their very helpful comments on my
proposal for this book and a further referee for comments on the
finaldraftofthetext.
Manypeoplehavehelpedmewiththeresearchandpreparationofthis
book.Inparticular,ChristinaUnwinprovidedinvaluableassistancewith
theeditingofthetext,preparationoftheillustrationsandproductionof
viii Preface
theindex.IamverygratefultoDrAudreyHorningofLeicesterUniver-
sityforheradviceaboutearlymodernIreland;toDrAnneO’Connorfor
livelydiscussionsoftheoriesofhistoryandforlendingmehercopyofthe
1695editionofCamden’sBritannia;andtoDrDimitrisGrigoropoulos,
DrPhilFreeman,andColinWallaceforreferencestovariouspublished
works. Dr Rama Mantena allowed me to use material from her forth-
comingarticle,whileDrPaulBidwell,ProfessorDavidBreeze,DrNick
Hodgson,ProfessorLawrenceKeppie,andAdamRogersprovidedcom-
mentsonearlierdraftsofvarioussectionsofthetext.DrRobWitcher
and Dr Divia Tolia Kelly helped me to reconceptualize issues of geog-
raphyandmateriality,whileDrRebeccaJoneslentrelevantsectionsfrom
her unpublished PhD thesis. My thanks to Bernard Nurse and Adrian
James atthe Societyof Antiquaries, Dr SheilaHingleyatPalace Green
Library,UniversityofDurham,IanFrielofChichesterMuseum,andthe
City Clerk at Chichester for assistance with the permissions for the
reproductionofvariousimages.Haverfield’sunpublishedpaper(1913)
isreferencedherebypermissionoftheHaverfieldBequest,Universityof
OxfordandIamgratefultoProfessorAndrewWilsonforhisassistance
ingrantingpermissiontousethistext.Finally,Iamalsoverygratefulto
myeditorHilaryO’SheaatOxfordUniversityPress,tomycopy-editor
lanMcAuslan,tomyproofreaderChristineRanft,andtothestaffatthe
BodleianandSacklerLibrariesinOxfordandthePalaceGreenLibrary
andmainUniversityLibraryinDurhamfortheirunstintinghelpwith
myresearch.
R.H.
Shadforth,Durham
December2007
Contents
Listofillustrations x
Introduction 1
1. ‘Madeandnotborncivill’ 17
2. AwalltoseparatethebarbariansfromtheRomans 85
3. ‘Acolonysofertile’ 157
4. ‘TheRomanoccupationofBritainandourown
occupationofIndia’ 238
Conclusion 326
References 335
Index 375
