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9. F2011 Britannia in the third century
- 1. Britannia in the Third Century
- 2. Trouble North of the Wall • Virius Lupus – appeasement through bribes • Reinforcement of Hadrian’s Wall • 207 Governor Senecio requests troops • 208-211 Severan campaign
- 3. Praetorian Guard • Originally from central Italy • Expanded to Gaul and Hispania • Severus recreates guard • Participates in campaigns in Scotland
- 4. Severan Campaign British Archaeology, no 6, July 1995: Colin Martin York To Scotland then they came, burning
- 5. Reuse of Gask Ridge Forts
- 6. Other Developments • Round huts at Vindolanda – Refugee camp? – Prisoners? – North African troops? • Arbeia – South Shields – Change from cavalry base to supply fort
- 7. Round Buildings at Vindolanda
- 8. South Shields and Hadrian’s Wall
- 9. South Shields - Arbeia
- 17. Severan Camps
- 20. Caracalla • Legionary pay raised about 50% on top of Severan raise of same amount. • Soldiers permitted to marry. • Gives Roman citizenship to all free residents of the Empire in 212 CE • Army becomes a hereditary occupation.
- 21. Damnatio Geta
- 22. 120% Debasement of Denarius 100% Purity of Denarius (% silver) 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% -50 0 50 100 150 200 250 Year A. Severus
- 23. Antoninianus
- 24. The Roman Empires • 235-284 Barracks emperors • 260-274 Gallic Empire at Trier • 274 Restoration by Aurelian • 282 Campaign by Carinus(283-285) in Britain • 286 Diocletian
- 25. Monetary Problems 6 Caracalla Reunification of the Empire 5 Gallic Empire Forms 4 Gordion Aurelian Weight (g) ) 3 Gallienus Salonin 2 1 0 215 243 255 260 270 Year
- 26. 30 Weight (g) BC 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 -6 4A D 65 - 66 AD 72 - 73 AD 98 - 11 7A 98 D - 11 7A 15 D 9- 16 0A 19 D 3- 21 1A D Gold Period 22 6A D 23 8- 24 4 26 1- 26 8 26 1- 26 9 27 0- 27 5
- 27. Gallic Empire • Campaigns in east remove troops from the Rhine • Franks invade • Order restored by governor of Germania Inferior • Governor Postumus declared emperor by his troops (260-269)
- 28. Split in the Empire
- 30. Economics in Britain • Under Postumus – little trade with ‘Roman’ Empire • Later Gallic Empire – increased trade as coinage becomes debased • Expanded hoarding • Forged coins
- 31. Changing urban scene Late 1st-early 2nd century – Public buildings – Leisure facilities – Small to middling homes 3rd century – Declining construction – Defenses – Larger homes
Editor's Notes
- When plotted against a modern map of agricultural potential the putative Severan camps run unerringly through the most productive land of eastern Scotland, and if a radius of 10 miles is drawn round each, virtually no hectare of prime agricultural ground remains uncovered. From the secure base represented by each camp, determined troops would have had little difficulty in systematically destroying the productive capacity of such an area - burning the standing or stored crops and killing the livestock. If the business was conducted around harvest time, the crops would have been at their most vulnerable and the army itself could live off the countryside it was laying waste. The American Civil War Unionist General Sherman pursued just such a policy during his infamous march through Georgia in 1864. No direct contact with the enemy, whom Dio and Herodian describe as elusive, would have been necessary. Few would have survived winter in the devastated landscape; and in the following spring, competition for what little remained, combined with a chronic lack of seed and breeding livestock, would have made the catastrophe self-perpetuating. Severus's policy, in other words, seems to have been nothing short of an attempt at genocide of the Caledonian population. “When the inhabitants of the island [the Maeatae, it turns out] again revolted, he summoned the soldiers and ordered them to invade the rebels' country, killing everybody they met; and he quoted these words [from Homer]:“Let no one escape sheer destruction,No one our hands, not even the babe in the womb of the mother,If it be male; let it nevertheless not escape sheer destruction.” ”Dio Cassius (Xiphilinus) ‘Romaika’ Epitome of Book LXXVI Chapter 15
- The Director of Excavations Dr Andrew Birley explained the latest theory about the buildings ‘these are remarkable structures to be found inside a Roman fort- unique in fact. They are the sort of building you might expect to find north of Hadrian’s Wall in this period, used by small farming communities. It is quite possible that what we have here is the Roman army providing for these farmers – creating a temporary refuge for the most vulnerable people from north of the Wall. Those people may have helped to feed the army and traded with the soldiers and would have been regarded as being traitors and collaborators in the eyes of the rebellious tribes to the north. It would make a certain sense to bring them behind the curtain of Hadrian’s wall and protect them while the fighting continued as they would have had real value to the Romans and they certainly tried to protect what they valued’. Dr Birley went on to note that ‘It is perhaps somewhat ironic that we may have found evidence for an army, led by an Emperor who came from modern day Libya, that may have been engaged in intervening and protecting some Britons from others whilst the modern British army is engaged in Libya today’.
- The first stone fort was built around 160 as a conventional fort. However around 200 everything was reorganised and it became a supply base. A dividing wall was built across the middle and in the northern half all the barracks were pulled down and replaced by granaries. However around 230 AD it was re-organised yet again. In the northern half even the headquarters building was now replaced by a couple of granaries and a new mini-headquarters building was erected in the southern quadrant. This lasted to around 300 AD when it was all burnt down – accidental fire or enemy attack? And the new luxurious house was then laid out.Underneath the barracks there have been further surprises. The most unexpected was the discovery of the parade ground of the very first fort of all. This is a large area of cobbles, all beautifully laid. The Roman soldiers clearly took their drill very seriously.
- Marble inscription with damnatiomemoriae of Geta, son of Septimius SeverusRoman, AD 193-211From Rome, ItalyRemoved from the memory of Roman societyThe inscription was dedicated by Antonius, a libertus or freed slave, and commemorates the safe return of the emperor Septimius Severus (reigned 193-211), his wife Julia Domna and their children Caracalla and Geta. The names of Geta and Plautilla (Caracalla's wife) were erased after Geta's murder and Plautilla's execution following her implication in plots against Caracalla.Caracalla and Geta were bitter rivals and their attempt to partition rather than share the empire after the death of their father was only narrowly thwarted by their mother. In 211 Geta was killed by Caracalla, according to some reports in his mother's arms. Geta, Plautilla and others suffered damnatiomemoriae; their names were expunged from all official records and inscriptions and their statues and all images of them were destroyed. This process was the most horrendous fate a Roman could suffer, as it removed him from the memory of society. Ironically, Geta's popularity with the Roman people and the army ensured that Caracalla had to give him a decent funeral and burial on the Via Appia near Rome.