2010 is the 1600th anniversary of AD 410, often seen as the “end” of Roman Britain. It is also the 1800th anniversary of the last major Roman invasion of Scotland led by the emperor Septimius Severus. To mark these anniversaries, the Glasgow Archaeological Society, in association with the Roman Society, is holding a day seminar on 23 October in St Mungo’s Museum of Religious Life & Art in Glasgow.
This event is intended for a general audience, and aims to convey something of the excitement of recent and current finds, perspectives and debates in Roman Scotland. Click here for the conference programme and booking form.
To commemorate the 1600th anniversary of the End of Roman Britain, and to celebrate The Roman Society’s centenary, Cardiff University and the Monmouthshire Antiquarian Association are hosting a two-day conference to explore the evidence for Roman continuity in western Britain in the 5th century.
The traditional date of A.D. 410 for the end of Roman rule in Britain has less resonance in Wales where, since Gildas, the important date has always been AD 383 when Magnus Maximus, the Macsen Wledig of medieval Welsh tradition, allegedly removed the last Roman troops from western Britain. The archaeological evidence, however, indicates that a Roman way-of-life and perhaps formal Roman administration too, continued in Western Britain for far longer than further east where the coming of the Angles, Saxons and other German settlers marks the beginning of English history.
Did the end of Roman rule mean the sudden abandonment of Roman culture throughout Britain? How much of Roman culture and traditions survived into the 5th century in Wales and the West? Did people continue to think of themselves as Romans or Roman Britons after 400? How did events in England affect how population of Western Britain saw themselves and the world around them?These and many other fascinating questions will be the subject of ‘Emperors, Usurpers, Tyrants’. The results of new archaeological research have an important contribution to make to the study of the emergence of an early Welsh identity from the legacy of Roman Britain, and 2010 is a timely opportunity to bring this work together and attempt a synthesis. The conference will include a wide range of papers on the history and archaeology of 5th century Wales and Western Britain, delivered by experts at the forefront of current research who have been invited to speak on their specialist subjects. Themes and topics include the survival of town life, the Roman army, Roman and ‘post’-Roman material culture and the transition to Christianity, as well as coinage, pottery and inscriptions. Members of the audience will be able to put questions to the experts during a ‘Question Time’ panel discussion on the second day.
‘Emperors, Usurpers, Tyrants’ will be held at Cardiff University over the weekend of 30-31 October 2010. The conference is sponsored by The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies.
For further details, please see the website:
http://www.cf.ac.uk/hisar/newsandevents/archaeology/emperors-usurpers-tyrants-the-history-and-archaeology-of-western-britain-from-ad-350-to-500.html
The Yorkshire Archaeological Society and the Roman Society will jointly present a day-conference in November 2010 to commemorate the 1600th anniversary of the end of Roman Britain and the Roman Society's centenary. The keynote lecture will be given by the Archaeology Committee's Secretary, Dr Fraser Hunter (National Museums Scotland), on The Traprain Law Hoard.
Please click here for the preliminary notice (further details will be available on this webpage shortly).