For over three centuries, the inhabitants of North Britain faced the might of Rome, resulting in some of the most extraordinary archaeology of the ancient world.

This richly illustrated new history of Roman Scotland explores the complex, often tumultuous and frequently brutal interaction between the world's first superpower and the peoples who lived north of Hadrian's Wall.

With reference to the latest research and featuring all the key sites, it offers though-provoking re-assessments of many aspects of the story of the Romans in Scotland, from the loss of the IXth Legion and the reasons for building and maintaining Hadrian's Wall, to considering what spurred at least four Roman emperors to personally visit the edge of the empire.

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of plates and figures
• Acknowledgements
• Introductory note
• Foreword
• 1. What’s in a name? How we tell the story of Scotland’s past
• 2. Lost and found: the rediscovery of Roman Scotland
• 3. Scotland before the Romans
• 4. The gathering storm: a warning from the East
• 5. Tracking the tempest
• 6. Enter Agricola
• 7. Smell the smoke: the post-Agricolan black hole
• 8. Exit the IXth
• 9. The Wall
• 10. Burnswark: dark deeds in Dumfriesshire
• 11. Hail Imperator: the Antonine invasion
• 12. A Wall too far?
• 13. Trouble up north: bribery and incursions
• 14. The African emperor and his brats
• 15. The post-Severan aftermath and the rise of the Picts
• 16. The man who changed the world: the coming of Constantine
• 17. Stilicho and Traprain Law, the harpooned whale
• 18. Entering the darkness
• 19. Conclusion: the Eagle and the Bear
• Places to visit
• Glossary
• Further reading
• Index
• Plates