So where does Adams land on these big questions? In terms of the broader political picture, he is definite in his rejection of a one size fits all approach, advocating instead a nuanced version of political and social change based on diverging trajectories across the different regions of Britain. For example, he is at one with Morris and Naismith in envisaging the role played in the north especially by allied Germanic foederati or auxiliary troops stationed in the forts along Hadrian’s Wall. Adams also dismisses the tendency of historians in the 19th century and beyond to obsess about ethnicity and to portray the conflicts of the period in binary terms, Celts versus Anglo-Saxons. Britain under the Romans is one of my favorite historical era's so not surprisingly, I found the book very informative. If you are a fan of British history in general you might find the book interesting. If you care for neither, stay away. It is inherently unlikely that the majority of people in Britain would have ended up speaking English – a Germanic language – had there not been a great many immigrants from Germania.

Juxtaposing his caution in interpreting the archaeology is his general acceptance that any Roman document must be true - a general bias within the discipline of Classical Studies that is really underlined here. For a fun, interactive non-fiction text that children love to pore over, try Romans Magnified– a seek-and-find introduction the the Roman world with plenty of historical detail to discuss. Are lesson plans or resources available for any of the recommended KS2 Romans books? In accordance with Aldhouse-Green’s interpretation of the archaeological surveys that have been conducted since the 1970s, Cirencester somehow epitomised Romano- British syncretism as it was a vividly religious town whose inhabitants worshipped deities ranging from Gallo-Roman ones such as Cernunnos to Roman State Gods which included Jupiter, Mercury, Minerva and Diana, along with Roman Gods with a Celtic side. In Gaul and Britain, Mercury acquired an indigenous consort, Rosmerta while Jupiter was given qualities which were decidedly Gallic or even Germanic. Evidence for these Gallic features can be found in fragments of a Jupiter-Giant column where he is depicted as a sky-horseman. These motifs clearly reveal a wonderful blend of Roman and Gallic iconography as the two religious mindsets overlapped. The all-ecompassing nature of Romano-British religious syncretism is by no means confined to Iron-Age Celtic gods and Roman deities. In the gladiatorial combats many persons took part, not only of the foreign freedmen but also of the British captives. He (Claudius) used up ever so many men in this part of the spectacle and took pride in the fact. Book LXIII, Chapter 1 – The Tribes of Britain Revolt. (60/61AD) After this, each chapter focuses on a different aspect of Roman rule: government, the military, urban life, etc. Bédoyère spends a lot of time explaining how we know what we do about the period. As far as written sources go, we have to rely primarily on Tacitus and Cassius Dio. In other words: on the Romans. But the same is also true of archeology. Roman material culture, in the form of large-scale public and military building projects, pottery, mosaics and other objets d'art, have left us a clearer picture of rulers than the people being ruled over. Moreover, much of what we do find is related to the Romany army. Bédoyère points out the difficulties this leaves us with if we want to talk about Roman Britain as a whole based on archaeological evidence. The army represented only a tiny fraction of the population.

Plautius for his skilfull and successful conduct of the war in Britain not only was praised by Claudius but also obtained an ovation. In this respect, Roman gods were essentially supernatural versions of human beings and people thought of their relationship with the gods in contractual terms. Summoners would ask for divine favour and, if the favour was granted, they would return it with a votive gift. By contrast, in Gallic and Britannic mythology, worshippers experienced a world much different from the human one; a sort of dimension represented by the crossing of the boundaries between realism and surrealism. This concept has its roots in the Iron Age tradition of otherness whereby divine forms dwelled outside the normal template of human and animal imagery. Therefore, the Gallo-British pantheon is populated by entities with shape-shifting abilities, such as people with horse heads or horns, and even bird men. Boudicca drove around all the tribes in a chariot with her daughters in front of her. "We British are used to woman commanders in war." she cried. "I am descended from mighty men! But now I am not fighting for my kingdom and wealth. I am fighting as an ordinary person for my lost freedom, my bruised body, and my outraged daughters." (330)

I found this an engaging and thorough introduction to the topic. Perhaps like many I had a vague outline of key events: Caesar's initial sortie, Hadrian's conquest, Boudica's revolt, the departure of the Romans - but Bédoyère's book grounded them in a deeper context and provided a wealth of detail.

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This book theorizes, in passing, that since we have no Celtic records of Boudicca's existence, perhaps the spin-doctoring Romans invented her (the greater the enemy, the greater the victory).