This week we look at the places and characters of Roman Britain
Erected by the Romans in AD 122 to keep the ‘barbarians’ out under the orders of Emperor Hadrian, this mighty stone wall once stretched nearly 80 miles (128km) from coast-to-coast in the north of England. It took three legions of men at least six years to complete.
Caractacus (also known as Caratacus, or Caradoc) was a tribal leader of the Ancient British, known for his resistance to the Roman invasion of Britain in 43AD.
Chedworth Villa, in the Cotswolds, is one of the largest, most complete Roman villas in the UK. It was discovered in 1864 by Thomas Margetts, a gamekeeper who was digging for a ferret, and instead found fragments of mosaic.
The Romans built an extensive bathing complex fed by hot springs in what later became the city of Bath in Somerset. The Roman Baths are open to the public, and there is a lot to see here as this is one of the finest historic sites in Northern Europe.
Boudica was a queen of the British Celtic Iceni tribe, who led an uprising against the conquering forces of the Roman Empire in AD 60 or 61. According to Roman sources, shortly after the uprising failed, she poisoned herself or died of her wounds, although there is no actual evidence of her fate. She is considered a British folk hero.
Littlecote Roman Villa in Wiltshire is the only fully exposed Roman villa in Britain. It is a very large villa with an impressive mosaic floor which is open for public to see.
