HOFFMANN, Birgitta,
The Roman Invasion of Britain. Archaeology versus History.
Pen and Sword Books, Barnsley, 2013. VII,222,(16)p. ills.(B&W photographs and line drawings. Hard bound with dust wrps. Initials stamp, date and personal library mark on free endpaper. Nice copy. ‘’Few of us are of necessity true generalists and it can be argues that the level of information is now such, that it is pretty impossible for one person to keep up with everything that is written on all fields of Roman Britain. Perhaps this is one reason why there are now so few detailed general accounts of Roman Britain of similar depth to those written by Sheppard Frere … or Peter Salway… ‘(p.4). Whilst conscious of the pitfalls of the endeavour, Birgitta Hoffmann has not been deterred from accomplishing another, more up-to-date, account of Roman Britain, even if with more modest aims and not trying to rival the length and level of detail of the cited works. H.’s thematic scope is much wider than the title implies. Rather than being focused on the Roman invasion of the island, this is a military history of Britain, covering half a millennium, from Caesar’s expedition to the aftermath of the end of Roman administration in the fifth century. Indeed, as Roman Britain was just a small part of a vast empire, impossible to understand in isolation, one would wish for others to follow her example by expanding the focus to cover the Roman Empire as a whole, with archaeology playing a prominent part.’ (E.W. SAUER in Britannia, 2015, p.435).
€ 19.50
(Antiquarian)