The Romano-British Peasant: Towards a Study of People, Landscapes and Work during the Roman Occupation of Britain

by Mike McCarthy

Overview

This important and significant volume examines, for the first time, the ordinary people of Roman Britain. This overlooked group – the farmers, shopkeepers, labourers and others – fed the country, made the clothes, mined the ores, built the villas and towns and got their hands dirty in the fields and at the potter’s wheel. The book aims to rebalance our view of Roman Britain from its current preoccupation with – archaeologically visible – elite social classes and the institutions of power, towards a recognition that the ordinary person mattered. It looks at how people earned a living, family size and structure, social behaviour, customs and taboos and the impact of the presence of non-locals and foreigners, using archaeology, texts and ethnography. It also explores how the natural forces which underlay the use of agricultural land and regional variation in agricultural practice impacted upon the size, health and nutrition of the population. The Romano-British Peasant leads the way towards a greater understanding of ordinary men and women and their role in the history and landscape of Roman Britain.

This title has been nominated for the 2014 Current Archaeology Best Book Award.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781909686090
Publisher:	Oxbow Books
Publication date:	04/30/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	12 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction.
2. Beyond control?
3. The People of Roman Britain.
4. Employment – farming.
5. Non-agricultural employment.
6. Society.
7. Envoi.

Editorial Reviews

Though not the first study to look beyond the Roman army and administrative and town elites to the archaeology of the peasant, this is, perhaps, the first to give the evidence a coherent consideration.

British Archaeology, March/April 2014 - Mike Nevell

"This well-written and enjoyable volume asks interesting questions and indicates useful areas for future research about daily life for free, semi-free and unfree peasant families during the period of Roman occupation of Britain."

Landscape History, Vol. 34, No. 2, 2013 - Susan Oosthuizen

"Books still tend to be written about the material culture of the wealthy end of the Romano-British social spectrum, not the peasant's hovel...Hooray then for Fellow Mike Mc Carthy's book, which assesses what we know about what New Labour politicians used to refer to as ‘hard-working families’, the ordinary people of Roman Britain, struggling to survive and sustain their families."

Society of Antiquaries of London Online Newsletter

There is considerable food for thought in this book and I hope it provokes scholars to ponder the scenarios and seek evidence to build upon the framework.

Bryn Mawr Classical Review - Eric C. De Sena