The general perception of the west midlands region in the Roman period is that it was a backwater compared to the militarised frontier zone of the north, or the south of Britain where Roman culture took root early – in cities like Colchester, London and St Albans – and lingered late at cities like Cirencester and Bath with their rich, late Roman villa culture. The west midlands region captures the transition between these two areas of the ‘military’ north and ‘civilised’ south. Where it differed, and why, are important questions in understanding the regional diversity of Roman Britain. They are addressed by this volume which details the archaeology of the Roman period for each of the modern counties of the region, written by local experts who are or have been responsible for the management and exploration of their respective counties. These are placed alongside more thematic takes on elements of Roman culture, including the Roman Army, pottery, coins and religion. Lastly, an overview is taken of the important transitional period of the fifth and sixth centuries. Each paper provides both a developed review of the existing state of knowledge and understanding of the key characteristics of the subject area and details a set of research objectives for the future, immediate and long-term, that will contribute to our evolving understanding of Roman Britain. This is the third volume in a series – The Making of the West Midlands – that explores the archaeology of the English west midlands region from the Lower Palaeolithic onwards.

• Front Cover
• Half-Title Page
• THE MAKING OF THE WEST MIDLANDS
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• List of contributors
• Preface
• 1 The archaeology of the Romano-British West Midlands:overview and research priorities
  • Introduction
  • Selections and biases
  • Exploiting the region
  • Character of settlements and landscapes
  • Change over time
  • A ‘Roman’ West Midlands:two regions?
  • Research priorities
• 2 Fortress, forts, and the impact of the Roman army in the West Midlands
  • Introduction
  • The nature of the evidence
  • Evidence base
  • Military sites from the second to third century
  • Late Roman authority and control in the West Midlands
  • Economic and social role
  • Research questions
• 3 Roman Warwickshire
  • Introduction
  • The character of the resource
  • The late Iron Age
  • Conquest
  • Nucleated settlements
  • Rural settlements
  • Summary:strengths and weaknesses of the data for Roman Warwickshire
  • Some questions and priorities for further work
  • Outstanding publications
  • Notes and acknowledgements
• 4 Worcestershire in the Roman period
  • Introduction
  • Resource assessment:Roman Worcestershire
  • Research directions
  • Conclusions
• 5 Herefordshire in Roman Britain
  • Introduction: ‘Roman’ Herefordshire in context
  • The later pre-Roman Iron Age background
  • Roman invasion and pacification
  • Rural settlement and agriculture
  • The environs of Kenchester
  • Other settled landscapes
  • Ariconium and Romano-British rural industry
  • The road network and associated settlements
  • Characterising the Kenchester settlement
  • Temples, shrines and the ‘sacrilisation’ of Iron Age sites
  • The end of Roman Herefordshire
  • Climate and landscape change
  • Conclusion
• 6 Shropshire in the Roman period
  • Introduction
  • Chronological overview
  • Thematic overview
  • Conclusion
• 7 Staffordshire in the Roman period
  • Introduction
  • Early Roman period
  • Communications
  • Military
  • Towns
  • Rural settlement
  • End of the Roman period
  • Future research
• 8 Forts, farms, fields and industries:the Roman period in West Midlands county
  • Introduction
  • Before Rome
  • Forts and roads
  • Farms and fields
  • Landscape and land use
  • Kilns and quarries
  • Overview
  • Future research and curation
  • Acknowledgements
• 9 The distribution of Roman coins in the West Midlands:a regional analysis
  • Introduction
  • Reece Periods and the British Mean
  • Statistical methodology
  • Dmax-based Cluster Analysis
  • Correspondence Analysis
  • Conclusions
• 10 Joined-up thinking:reconstructing the Roman West Midlands from the ceramic evidence
  • Author’s note
  • Introduction
  • The current research agenda
  • The potential of Romano-British ceramic studies in this region
  • Initial suggestions for future study and strategies required
  • The relevance of Romano-British archaeology to modern-day society in the West Midlands
  • Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
• 11 Romano-British religious sites in the West Midlands region
  • Introduction
  • Urban temples:Wroxeter
  • Urban temples:Coleshill
  • Military temples:Rocester and Wall
  • Further religious evidence
  • Conclusions
• 12 From the Provinces to the Marches:the West Midlands in the fifth and sixth centuries
  • Introduction
  • Intellectual context
  • Methodological issues
  • Establishing a tentative narrative
  • Characterising the archaeological evidence
  • Research priorities
  • Acknowledgement