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Canterbury: Saxon settlements among the Roman ruins © Victor Ambrus
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'...raids of the savage Scots and the Picts, who had broken the peace that had been agreed upon, were laying waste the regions of the frontiers, so that fear seized the provincials...' Ammianus Marcellinus.

Fade away
Just as the Iron Age didn't really just end on the morning the invasion fleet landed in AD43, but rather faded out and became generally Romanised, so the end of Roman Britain wasn't a sudden dawning of anarchy and ruin. It was a gradual process, influenced over many years by both internal events and happenings outside the province. Though Britannia held some fine examples of Roman work, such as the palace at Fishbourne, the fortress at Caerleon or the towns of Silchester and Cirencester, it should be remembered that it was very much on the fringes of the greater empire; a frontier which was never fully conquered and a place of low priority on any imperial list. From the fourth century the cracks started to show as wars threatened the empire and sweeping administrative changes altered the government of the provinces, but even this was followed by periods of great prosperity for many towns and villas.

Gradual decay
As early as AD293 the emperor Diocletian set about reorganising the empire. Britain became one of twelve dioceses and itself was further divided into four provinces. After the mid-fourth century the army was reorganised and commanded by a series of what were called Comes (counts) and Dux (dukes). At this time the Picts from central Scotland, and the Scots from Ireland, were becoming restless and in AD343 the emperor Constans came to Britain to stabilise the situation. The fortification of the southern and eastern coast was also underway by this time, with the establishment of the Saxon Shore Forts to deter Saxon raiders from the continent. Around AD350 the first big withdrawal of troops took place as the British usurper Magnentius took forces to the continent to back his successful, but short lived, campaign. This was a pattern which was to be repeated, each time draining Britain of resources and security, and leaving her gradually vulnerable to the final withdrawal of Rome which was to come.

AD367 witnessed a 'barbarian conspiracy' as Britain was attacked from all sides by the Picts, Scots, Franks and Saxons, and it's at this time that we see many of the fortified towns of the province gaining extra defences such as bastion towers added to their walls. By the late 380s fighting continued sporadically, nibbling away at the veneer of civilisation, and Britain produced another usurper, Magnus Maximus. Maximus withdrew even more troops to the continent for his battles against the emperor Gratian. By the turn of the 4th century Rome itself was under direct threat from the Visigoths and the decay in Britain had well and truly set in. The general Stilicho withdrew even more forces from Britain to assist Rome in its hour of need leaving the frontier province with little military capacity. By AD410(a date often quoted as the end of Roman Britain) the emperor Honorius decreed that 'Britannia must fend for herself'. This was effectively the end of the province in a political sense.

Dark Age or new beginning?
With the collapse of the administration and its economic system the use of coinage quickly declined. Britain appears to have once more broken down into a patchwork of independent kingdoms. Though some towns, such as Silchester, appear to have continued to be relatively successful for a limited time, others, such as Cirencester, appear to have fallen quickly into decay. Without the central government to bind them, and with continuing raiding and incoming settlers, the towns of Britain did indeed have to fend for themselves. They were no longer a part of a cohesive society. The Saxon Age was here.

Click here for recommended books and websites about how the Roman period in Britain ended.