I am studying the Romans, page after page, about 1500 so far and that is all in print. It is fascinating and I must avoid cliches. Yes, they had slaves and were cruel beyond belief but that was how it was at the time. They had an empire long before we had an empire. However, the Pax Romana was that they would give stability where it did not exist. Consequently, we Britons had 200 years of stability, trade flourished and so did many. If you worked with the Romans it went well, if you did not then it went badly. Little Bradwell, where I live, sits right where they sought lead. They built a fort, called Navio, just down the road. The foundations still exist, eight courses of dressed stone below ground. The Romans in Bradwell was an amazing period of our history.

Those Acquitanians

Our fort was built and manned by the 1st cohort of Acquitanians. They were young men from Gaul, in south west France. Each man had a Gaulish horse for which he was entirely responsible. He had to pay for its oats and fodder from his salary. The unit had a vetinarian whose job it was to care for the horses, or ponies. So, perhaps 35 young men, riding horses, and filled with testosterone (the men that is, and perhaps the horses). Where did those men relieve their sexual desires? Somewhere in Bradwell, those Gaulish genes are flourishing, but we have yet to find them.

Romans in Bradwell

Those Romans created a brand new, to Britain, commodity industry around lead. Sadly, they almost certainly spread poisonous smelting fumes everywhere and people died of lead poisoning. However, the silver denarius, their best coin, spread wealth, paid people and drove an economy. They might have appreciated this had they known what was to come. The Romans left and we then had Anglo-Saxons, Vikings and the Normans and killing and more killing. It was not nice. When I read about 1066, I can find no reason to support Harold. There is little between him and William from across the channel.

PS. My photo shows the houses of Smalldale lining the Roman road called Batham Gate, which climbs out of Bradwell and heads to Buxton