In Roman Times
Here, then, at the time the Romans first came to Britain, were
tribes of Britons who had been established in the country for
centuries, living their lives according to the customs of their
forefathers, and more or less cultivating the land. The Romans
invaded the country, and, in time, subdued the people. They
remained masters here for nearly four hundred years, but they did
not make such a permanent impression on this country as they did on
France and Spain.
We are to-day masters of India, but we have not made India English,
nor are we trying to do so. The natives there go on cultivating the
land according to their custom from time out of mind. They preserve
their own manners, customs, and religions. In places where they
come much in contact with our fellow-countrymen they are influenced
to a certain degree; but in India to-day the English and the
natives lead their own lives, each race quite apart from the others.
So it was with the Romans in Britain. They formed colonies in
various places and built towns all over the land; they had country
villas dotted here and there, some little distance from the chief
towns, and built strong military stations in suitable districts.
These posts were kept in communication by means of good roads.
To trace out the network of Roman roads is a study in itself, and
much has been learned therefrom. Some roads are still quite easy
to trace, as far as their course is concerned, for many of our
great main roads to-day run upon the top of them; and from time to
time, when excavations are being made for sewers, or for laying
water-pipes, or tubes for trunk lines of telephones, the actual
metal and foundations of the Roman tracks are found, many feet
below the present level of the road. It is sometimes stated that
the Roman roads were always straight, and that all obstacles were
cleared to make room for them. Whilst it is quite true that this
"straightness" and directness was one of the characteristics of
these roads, the makers of them were skilled engineers, and they
not infrequently found that some older trackway, not particularly
straight, was better suited for their purpose, as it avoided some
of the natural difficulties of the country. When they used these
older ways they took care to raise the surface and lay the metal on
firm foundations, so that the traffic along them could be as rapid
as along the new, straight roads--and the Romans were great people
for getting about rapidly from point to point. One of the most
frequent deposits of "rubbish" which the Romans have left behind
is "oyster shells", often met with in quantities. They are found
in places many miles away from the river-mouths where the oysters
were cultivated; so that the question arises: "How did these shells
get there?" Either they must have been brought very rapidly from
the coast far inland, or the eaters of them did not mind eating
them when they were very "high". At any rate, there the shells have
been found, showing that distance was no obstacle in the way of
getting, not only the things which they reckoned to be necessaries,
but expensive luxuries as well. Although the main Roman roads are
still in use, there are a great number of cross-roads, which for
centuries have been out of use, and their exact courses can only
be traced with difficulty, passing as they do through what are now
quiet, secluded places, long overgrown by grass and underwood and
cultivated fields.
Many Britons must in the course of time have adopted Roman ways
and Roman civilization; but the bulk of the Britons, living away
from the Roman centres, kept to their own customs, and cultivated
the ground in the way their ancestors had done. They prospered, on
the whole, as the Romans kept the various tribes from quarrelling
with one another.
No doubt, in districts such as that which we now call Hampshire,
and along the Thames valley, where wealthy Romans had their country
villas, Roman methods of farming were in use. The Britons would see
something of Roman ways of doing things, and perhaps tried to copy
them.
But the Romans have not left many marks upon our towns and
villages. It is quite true that a large number of our present
towns and cities are on the _sites_ of, or near, Roman towns;
but, in most cases, we have to dig down into the earth to find
Roman remains. The most important Roman city, Verulam, has quite
disappeared, and the most complete remains of a Roman town,
Silchester, are near to what is now a quiet country village. The
present cities of London, Winchester, Gloucester, Lincoln, Chester,
Carlisle, and the towns of Colchester and Leicester, and several
others, can hardly be said to have sprung from Roman towns, though
they stand on their sites.
Most of the Roman cities were built in districts where the Britons
had been strong, or where they were likely to give trouble.
Carlisle and Gloucester were, for instance, military towns because
they were on the borders of the Roman territory. London and
Winchester were trading cities, and they developed much in Roman
times.
But, when the Roman power was withdrawn, there was, in those
cities at any rate, a British population which had adopted very
extensively Roman customs and ideas. For a time things went on much
as they had done while the Romans were here; in fact, until the
struggles with the Saxons began.
As a matter of fact, the coming of the Saxons began a good while
before the Romans actually left. Various tribes of Saxons attacked
different parts of the coast, and with varying success. Colchester
had to keep a sharp look-out for them on the east coast; and the
Romans built Portchester Castle, in Hampshire, to guard the south
coast.
Christianity had found its way to Britain during Roman times, and
that helped in the work of civilizing the Britons. But we do not
know very much of the early British Church. Christianity probably
made more headway among the population in and near the Roman towns
than in the wilder districts. The foundations of an early Christian
church have been found at Silchester.
Silchester was a very important Roman town, although now, as we
have noted, but a small village stands on the spot. Much careful
excavation work has been carried on there, and more is known of
this Roman city than of any other in England. Other sites of Roman
cities are waiting a similar careful exploration, amongst them
Verulam, by the city of St. Alban.
[Illustration: _Roman Pottery Kiln found at Castor, Hunts_]