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
A day school to be held in Trinity University College, Carmarthen on ‘Demetia to Dyfed’, jointly sponsored by the Carmarthenshire Antiquarian Society and the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology at Lampeter.
For full details contact Heather James: h.james(at)btinternet.com
Speaker: Roger White.
For full details contact Richard Brewer (richard.brewer(at)museumwales.ac.uk).
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 cntact Dr Peter Guest (guestp(at)cardiff.ac.uk)
Provisional Programme
1. Overview to main events and themes within Wales
2. Settlement traditions, centres of power and external contacts
Centres of power in south Wales
Settlement traditions in north Wales
Caerwent and settlement in the south-east
3. Thematic issues
Language and literacy
Christianity
Continuities and discontinuities in material culture
4. Rome and Welsh Identity
For further details, contact Professor Barry Burnham (b.burnham(at)lamp.ac.uk)