Roman and Anglo-Saxon jobs
Websites
Channel 4 Television is not responsible for the content of third-party sites.
Botanical.com – Nettles
www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/n/nettle03.html
Comprehensive history of the stinging nettle and its many uses.
Charcoal burning in Anglo-Saxon and Viking ages
www.regia.org/charcoal.htm
An account of the process of charcoal burning, with some excellent diagrams.
The Dark Ages and the Anglo-Saxons
www.channel4.com/history/timeteam/
snapshot_whosaxons.html
Article from Time Team website that asks 'who were the Anglo-Saxons?'
The Dolaucothi gold mine
www.britainexpress.com/wales/
carmarthenshire/dolaucothi.htm
Outside the Welsh village of Pumsaint lie the remains of pits where Romans
removed over half a million tons of rock while they mined veins of gold,
using slaves rather than explosives to do the work. It is now possible
to take a 'Roman Tour' of these mines. Ring 01558 650 359 or check the
website for details.
Hadrian's Wall
www.hadrians-wall.org
This World Heritage site has information on how to visit the remains of the
famous Roman wall.
Hadrian's Wall
www.northeastengland.talktalk.net/HadriansWall.htm
Article on why the wall was built.
Lochcarron
www.lochcarron.com/
Award-winning kilt makers who made the nettle fabric kilt featured in the programme. The Scottish mill where the kilts are made is open to the public for tours. Check the website for times.
The Romans in Britain – mining
www.romans-in-britain.org.uk/raw_mining.htm
Looks at the hazardous work of mining during the Roman occupation of Britain.
Miners, often slaves, worked in near total darkness and choked on rock dust
amid the dangers of the shafts collapsing on top of them.
The Roman Occupation
www.channel4.com/history/timeteam/roman.html
Time Team takes a look at life for Britain under the Romans, with links to many other areas of interest such as Roman roads, bathhouses, beliefs and religion, jewellery and more.
St Kilda – Outer Hebrides
www.ntseducation.org.uk/students/case-stkilda.html
Offers an interesting account of the inhabitants of St Kilda, who were present
from the Iron Age and Viking times through the Middle Ages until 1930. The
islanders took birds and eggs from the cliffs, including those of the guillemot.
Although accomplished rock climbers, a number slipped to their deaths off the
wet ledges.
Time traveller's guide to the Roman empire
www.channel4.com/history/microsites/
H/history/guide03/
Make your way through the vast Roman empire and avoid its pirates, plagues,
fires, conspiracies and, above all, wars.
Books
Britain AD: A quest for Arthur, England and the Anglo-Saxons by Francis Pryor (Harper Collins, 2004)
Written to accompany the Channel 4 series, Pryor retells the story of King Arthur, tracing it back to its Bronze Age origins and arguing that the legend's survival mirrors a flourishing, indigenous culture that endured through the Roman occupation of Britain and the subsequent invasions of the so-called Dark Ages.
Get this book
Everyday Life in Ancient Rome by Neil Grant (British Museum Press, 2003)
An evocative study of ordinary Romans; when they got up, when they ate, how they earned a living, where they shopped, and what they did for leisure and entertainment.
Get this book
The Roman Invasion of Britain by Graham Webster (Routledge, 1999)
Presents the background to Britain before the invasion, including the impact
of Julius Caesar's campaigns on Kent. Also describes the Roman forces, the
personalities involved, the actual invasion and Claudius's triumphal entrance
into Camulodunum (Colchester), the British capital.
Get this book
A History of Roman Britain by Peter Salway (Oxford Paperbacks,
2001)
From the invasions of Julius Caesar to the unexpected end of Roman rule
in the early 5th century AD and the subsequent collapse of society in Britain,
this is an authoritative and comprehensive account of Roman Britain for
the general reader.
Get
this book
Roman Britain by Martin Millett (B T Batsford, July 2005)
Examines the latest archaeological and historical sources to help us to understand the cultural, social and economic effects of 400 years of Roman rule.
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The Anglo-Saxons by James Campbell, Eric John and Patrick Wormald
(Penguin, 1991)
Three distinguished historians open a window on the dimly
lit centuries spanning the gap between the decline of the Roman empire
and the Norman Conquest. Looks at political and religious history, with
cultural, social, legal and economic themes woven in.
Get
this book
Sutton Hoo: The Anglo-Saxon way of life and death by Paul Dowswell
(National Trust, September 2004)
Using the Sutton Hoo burial site as the starting point for an exploration of
the Anglo-Saxons and covering subjects such as religion, entertainment, warfare
and society, this book helps children take an imaginative journey into the
early Middle Ages.
Get
this book
The Saxons and Vikings by Brenda Williams et al (Heinemann,
1994)
Aimed at younger readers, this account of Britain in the time of the Saxons
and Vikings includes sections on: the invasion and colonisation of Britain
by the two peoples; the re-establishment of Christianity; law reform; art and
learning; and the Norman invasion that ended the era.
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this book
Women in Roman Britain by Lindsay Allason-Jones (Council for British Archaeology, May 2005)
Tombstones, writing tablets and curse tablets have revealed a great deal about the lives of Romano-British women, their social status, health, pastimes, dress, jewellery, hairstyles, homes and religion.
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