08-19-2011, 02:30 AM
Quote:it seems very wrong to make these Britons sound like they're the babies suckling on the Roman's bottle... it's common sense which even barbarians had...
Sure, but the Britons had an effective and evolved culture of their own going back for generations. If we suddenly see evidence of new styles appearing, it means that somebody was keeping an eye on what was happening across the Channel...
We know that Rome had trade and political links with various tribal states in southeast Britain - the Claudian invasion was supposedly intended to sort out a succession dispute. States friendly to Rome will have had access to the best that Rome could provide, and the elites of any society have always been keen to flaunt their connections by conspicuous display. This doesn't necessarily make them toadies or cultural traitors (although some at the time may have seen it that way!).
A similar thing happened, for example, in 18th-century India, where you find ornamental gardens laid out by native princes, and artillery forts built on the new French model by imported European engineers, a century and more before British domination.
I wouldn't be surprised, then, if Calleva was indeed a purpose-built tribal capital, constructed on the Roman model by the local ruler as a symbol of prestige, perhaps even using Roman architects and engineers brought from the continent.
As an aside, there is, I believe, evidence of 'Roman' arms and armour from British burial sites around St Albans, dating to before the invasion. This might just be evidence of a flourishing arms trade, but might also suggest that Rome was supplying her allies in Britain with military equipment, rather in the way that certain states today give surplus military gear to friendly nations overseas...
Nathan Ross
