From 55 BC to 410 AD a large area of Britain was part of the great Roman Empire, a well-governed enclave, constantly under pressure from neighbouring hostile tribes and pirate raids. The comparative ease with which the Romans established themselves caused Tacitus to accuse the British mockingly of being tamed with novelties which they called civilization, but which were really forms of enslavement, such as roads, public baths, ampitheatres and central heating. Here surviving examples of Roman civilization and passages from contemporary writers are used to give a picture of the impact the coming of the Romans made on Britain, when for 400 years the country took on a character completely different from preceding and succeeding ages. Illustrated throughout...