The percentage of people living in Roman Britain from the Conquest in 43 AD to 410, when the Roman Army departed for good and shortly thereafter for which we have any record, was maybe 1% of the total population. But we're lucky to have at least the names of people who actually lived, and for some, more of their stories. Through the years archaeologists have uncovered inscriptions, some besides giving us names, also listed accomplishments. We have the records of both the high and the low, the latter mostly tradesmen and artisans. Interesting examples are: the incompetent Aldgate-Pulborough potter; Regina, the freed British slave of a Syrian trader--arguably the most famous woman after Boudica; various soldiers of all ranks who put up altars, fulfilling vows; a letter from one of the two wives of the commanders of two forts on Hadrian's Wall to another--this last was found among the Vindolanda Tablets, a treasure trove of information about the army--and many others. During the reigns of the pretenders Carausius and Allectus, soldiers were pulled from the Wall to fight for them and the spate of military inscriptions ceased. In the last few generations, opulent villas, a pagan temple complex, and treasure troves with engraving on some of the pieces [mostly spoons] give us clues as to the Romano-Britons who may have possessed them or at least buried them.

This was a fascinating recent archaeological study where the author tried to give us a sense of Roman Britain and people who really lived although what remains of their lives to us are merely snapshots. I appreciated the numerous color plates. Recommended. ( )

Guy de la Bedoyere tried to connect some of the existing epigraphy of the Romans in Britannia with what other evidence we have for the lives revealed by the written material. Sadly, there are blanks spots in the record and they grow larger as the end of the Roman period on the island approaches. Barring the invention of a time machine, a certain amount of this book is dedicated to describing the present state of the art of identification of Roman individuals. But the book has value as a snapshot of the state of archaeological effort in this area. ( )

Review to come. ( )