Daily Life During Roman Occupation

ROMAN BRITAINDaily Life During Roman Occupation

Sources Caesar, Commentarii De Bello Gallico Tacitus, Agricola Notitia Dignitatum Tabula Peutigeriana, Itinerarium

Provinciarum Antonini Curse Tablets Building Inscriptions, altars,

tombstones, etc. Skeletal Remains

Military Life in Roman Britain Population impossible

to determine Male-Female ratio

fluctuated Army comprised

essentially of legionaries and auxiliaries

Soldiers performed menial as well as skilled labor A great deal of time was

spent on construction

The Roman Army Camp

I, L, MAllied infantry and cavalry

P, Q, N Roman legionaries and cavalry

F, E, G Forum, shrine, augury

The creation of coloniae were inextricably linked to Roman military camps.

Town Life

Coloniae, Castra, and Vici Castra eventually develop into towns, or

attract the creation of Vici Coloniae are set up with the actual intent of

spreading Roman culture and civilization Coloniae are populated with military veterans –

Boudiccan revolt Citizenship before 212 A.D.

Leading British families, municipia, and Italians Cities were multicultural, and after occupation,

consisted of many types of immigrants Location, Location, Location – major

intersections and natural resources

Towns and Industry Many towns were developed for the

extraction of a certain natural resource Chalk, Iron, Gold, Silver, Tin, Wool, Slaves

Industrial areas are separate Pottery and tile kilns, blacksmiths, stone

masons, shoemakers, butchers, etc. Immigrants were faced with a daunting

paradigm shift Money, Roman time, the Latin language

While small towns maintained a haphazard street plan, larger towns were built on the Mediterranean style.

Even after Roman occupation, the peristyle Mediterranean house plan was never popular in Britain. Even settled veterans take up the courtyard plan.Houses often contained gardens and farming workshops, suggesting some commoners carried out agricultural jobs within the city. Most rooms are impossible to identify.

The Courtyard House Plan

• Forum or Macellum• Temples, basilicas• Roads• Valetudinaria • Mansiones

Public buildings• Aqueducts, Sewers, and Wells• Baths• Amphitheaters• Harbors

Population

Citizenship not guaranteed before 212 A.D.

Households often followed pater familias model

Few rights Revolt of

Boudicca Curse tablets

Status of women in Celtic society vs. Roman Law

Men Women

Government of Roman Britain Governor (Aulus Plautius, Gnaeus

Agricola, Suetonius Paulinus, etc.) Procurator Juridici Colchester London Roman Frontier

Slavery

Slave quarters, Vindolanda Slavery existed before the Roman invasion, but Romans recorded slave transactions

Variations in slave status

Slave rights Forensic

pathology and slavery

FamiliesA Cemetary at Boscomb Down, England. The Bronze Age ditch became the Roman town boundary, beyond which they buried their dead.

Polygamy was known in parts of the empire, and there is evidence for pre-Roman practice

Marriage Family size and

contraception Skeletal

RemainsStone coffin from Boscomb Down, containing a woman and her infant child. c. 220 A.D.