The Romans
43 AD - 410 AD . . . History begins!
START: 43 AD was the year Emperor Claudius made Britain part of the Roman Empire.
END: 410 AD was the year the Roman army left Britain.
See also Romans in Langar and Placenames.
History
is information about the past that has been written down.
So British history begins with the Romans.
Roman writers
The Roman Emperor Julius Caesar wrote a book about his British adventures and the Roman writer, Tacitus wrote about Agricola his father-in-law who was a Roman governor of Britain. Other Roman authors wrote about the geography of Britain.
So there is some written evidence about Britain in Roman times and even a little about the East Midlands. However, much of what we know about the 400 years of Roman Britain comes from archaeology.
The Roman Conquest
The Emperor Julius Caesar came to Britain in 55 BC and again in 54 BC.
But it was almost a hundred years later in 43 AD that the Emperor Claudius returned to make Britain part of the Roman Empire. Britain remained a Roman province for almost 400 years.
Key
Claudius,
Emperor of Britain
In May 43 AD Claudius sent 50,000 Roman soldiers across the English Channel from France to begin the conquest of Britain.
The Ancient British warriors were no match for the disciplined Roman legionaries and the south east of England was conquered in less than two months.
The red arrows on the map show the first stage of the attack in 43 AD.
The yellow arrows show the Roman army pushing northwards from 43 - 47 AD.
Emperor Claudius followed the troops north through London and on to the local capital at Colchester where 11 British kings surrendered to him.
It must have been an impressive and frightening sight for the Ancient Britons: tens of thousands of uniformed Roman soldiers, cavalrymen on horseback - and elephants which had never been seen before in Britain!
Emperor Claudius then went back to Rome where he was received in triumph.
The Romans advance
The general in charge of the invading Roman army was Aulus Plautius. After successfully defeating the Britons in the south-east of England, he sent one legion to conquer the west, another legion to conquer the west Midlands and the 9th Legion, the Spanish (Legio IX Hispana) north towards Nottinghamshire and Lincoln.
Within four years of the invasion, most of the country between the estuary of the River Severn and the Humber was under Roman control. The line between the Severn and the Humber is followed by the Roman road known as the Fosse Way which runs between Exeter and Lincoln.
The Romans in Nottinghamshire
Britain was part of the Roman Empire for 400 years and evidence of the Roman period has been found all over the East Midlands.
The Fosse Way
In our part of Nottinghamshire, evidence of a major Roman road, the Fosse Way has been discovered - this is now the A46 road. The small Roman town of Vernemetum stood on the Fosse Way near Willoughby on the Wolds. Archeologists have found evidence here dating from the 2nd to the 4th centuries - the remains of a watch tower, a cobbled road, pottery, Roman coins, mosaic tiles and five skeletons of people from the Roman period.
Margidunum
Archaeologists have also excavated a larger Roman town, Margidunum on the Fosse Way near Bingham. When the Roman army first moved into the area, they built a fort here which grew into a market town. More than 20 buildings have been excavated; many of the discoveries can now be seen in Nottingham University Museum.
Discovered at Margidunum
↓ Below: objects found at Margidunum now in Nottingham University Museum - photographs by Robin Aldworth on the Bingham Heritage Trails Association website.
Lots of evidence of the Roman period has been found in our area:
-
Pieces of Roman pottery have often been found by field walking -
at Bingham, Cropwell Bishop, Cropwell Butler, Elton, Tithby and Wiverton Hall. Some of it was made in Britain, some was brought from elsewhere in the Roman Empire. -
Coins of the Roman Empire have found by metal detectorists or by chance -
at Cropwell Bishop, Kinoulton, Owthorpe and Sutton. -
And evidence of Roman villas has been found -
at Bingham, Car Colston, East Bridgford, Shelford and Newton.
Roman Leicester
Ratae Corieltavorum (Fortress of the Corieltauvi) was the Roman capital of the East Midlands.
Weblink
Romans in Langar
But were there Romans in Langar?
YES and NO!
Weblinks
Watch the video:
The Story of Britain - Life in Roman Britain
Life in Roman Britain - a family 2000 years ago.
The Roman Empire The Roman Invasion Roman Britain
All these weblinks take you out of this website.
Listen
Latin - as the Romans spoke it.
This weblink takes you out of this website to YouTube.
Latin course on YouTube created by Evan Millner, founder of the Latinum Institute.
Britain was part of the Roman Empire for 400 years and evidence of the Roman period has been found all over the East Midlands.
The Fosse Way
In our part of Nottinghamshire, evidence of a major Roman road, the Fosse Way has been discovered - this is now the A46 road. The small Roman town of Vernemetum stood on the Fosse Way near Willoughby on the Wolds. Archeologists have found evidence here dating from the 2nd to the 4th centuries - the remains of a watch tower, a cobbled road, pottery, Roman coins, mosaic tiles and five skeletons of people from the Roman period.
Margidunum
Archaeologists have also excavated a larger Roman town, Margidunum on the Fosse Way near Bingham. When the Roman army first moved into the area, they built a fort here which grew into a market town. More than 20 buildings have been excavated; many of the discoveries can now be seen in Nottingham University Museum.