I have finished my excursion with the Romans. Am I Romanised or still a Briton? Hard to say, it’s a choice between tribal violence and slavery or silver coins and bathrooms and slavery. In fairness, the Roman power did seem to depress all those manic tribal leaders. The life of the average peasant was no fun when the Britons ruled. After 18 months research and writing, a 37 page article is the result. I submitted that to Bradwell Historical Society, an attempt to sum up all that we know. However, it is not a lot. At least I found two Roman roads whilst failing to find another four. The principal road, from Buxton to Navio, our local fort, is now definitive. It is shown incorrectly on all OS maps because it never went through the village. The Romans in Bradwell has been interesting.

Colonisation

It is odd to read all this stuff about the British empire. Yes, it was bad but reminds us that the victor takes all the spoils. However, we don’t make claims on Italy for all the stuff the Romans stole from us. There was a mountain of lead, lots of silver and gold, and any number of slaves. The enslaved were sent to some other Roman province to work and we have no idea where. Those people disappeared. The Romans also exported our grain to Europe to feed the troops who enslaved more people over there. However, we can hardly complain when slavery was normal here before the Romans arrived. We also continued it after they left. What’s new! The true cost of a modern bathroom and amazing plumbing and underfloor heating systems was rather higher than we might think.

The Romans in Bradwell

The Roman period in Britain is part of our history, both fascinating and frightening. However, what followed in the so called Dark Ages and beyond was also terrifying and no better for the man and woman in the street, before we had streets. Perhaps it reminds us, like it or not, that responsible power is always necessary. That as a democracy, we still need to be seen as unassailable. Otherwise, some pumped up idiot will continue to threaten by increasing their already bloated empire beyond its boundaries. Putin and Russia fit that bill even today. It is power gained using contempt for the little people. I wonder whether I should send my article to the Russian Embassy?

PS – Note that faint line of the Roman road on my screenshot