Hibernia

[Robert Vermaat]

I'd be interested in your reasons for pah'ing the Dunning theory, for starters - I much prefer Bennachie myself!

Me too, but please do so in a new thread. :wink:

[marka]

most of the western provinces didn't pay for themselves at least britain had good farm lands and resources ie tin.There were probably more strategic reasons for holding gaul and britain ie population movement control

Ireland had timber, wolfhounds gold and the most talented goldsmiths in western europe 8)

wherabouts where the gold deposits?where there any tin mines?
add slaves as well of course.
if the gold deposits were large i'm surprised the roman didn't try at least one invasion (gold was certainly one reason for invading dacia)

[Ceannt]

most of the western provinces didn't pay for themselves at least britain had good farm lands and resources ie tin.There were probably more strategic reasons for holding gaul and britain ie population movement control

Ireland had timber, wolfhounds gold and the most talented goldsmiths in western europe 8)

wherabouts where the gold deposits?where there any tin mines?
add slaves as well of course.
if the gold deposits were large i'm surprised the roman didn't try at least one invasion (gold was certainly one reason for invading dacia)

Gold in mayo, (we have coal as well but i dont know if it was mined then) most of ireland untill the 15th cen A.D was forested

[Nathan Ross]

From Juvenal's 2nd Satire (probably published somewhere around 115AD):

arma quidem ultra
litora Iuvernae promovimus et modo captas
Orcades ac minima contentos nocte Brittanos
sed quae nunc populi fiunt victoris in urbe
non faciunte illi quos vicimus

Juvenal - Satire 2: 159-163

Indeed, we have advanced our arms beyond the shores
of Ireland and the recently captured Orkneys
and the mighty Britons with their short nights
but the deeds we perform in our victorious city
will never be done by the men we have conquered

This is either
a) Poetic exaggeration
b) Confused translation - Iuvernae might not refer to Ireland...
c) Juvenal's ignorance of British geography
d) A scrap of evidence to suggest that, at some point around 100AD, the Romans did indeed 'advance beyond the shores of Ireland' :o

- N Ross

[marka]

the romans may well have tried to influence the successions of kings in ireland,may be even small scale training of troops but beyond that i tend to doubt it