Romans in Britain: roads, baths and a wall
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What you will learn
By the end, you can name four things the Romans brought to Britain and explain why they left in about AD 410.
Near Hadrian's Wall, archaeologists dug up thin slices of wood covered in faint ink. They were letters, about 1,900 years old, written at a fort called Vindolanda. One is a birthday party invitation. Another says: "I have sent you socks, two pairs of sandals and two pairs of underpants." Even Roman soldiers got cold feet in Britain.
Read the explanation
Rome began as a small city in Italy and grew into an empire around the Mediterranean Sea. Its army landed in Britain in AD 43, and for almost 400 years Britain was a Roman province. The Romans built straight roads, planned towns, public baths and, in the north, Hadrian's Wall. Around AD 410 the soldiers left: the army was needed to defend the rest of the empire.
- Army: a legion was about 5,000 trained soldiers. They built the roads, forts and walls themselves.
- Roads and towns: straight roads joined new towns such as Londinium (London), with a forum, baths and stone buildings.
- Hadrian's Wall (begun AD 122): about 117 km of stone wall with forts, marking the northern edge of the empire.