The Roman Army in Britain: life on the northern frontier

Module overview

In this module, you will examine one of the greatest armies in European history. The Roman army has long excited interest, whether out of an interest in the past, or as a model for more recent military powers. The far-flung province of Britain hosted the largest contingent of Roman military units of any province, with 3-4 citizen legions and up to 50 non-citizen auxiliary units. From the end of the first century AD, conquest ceased, and a frontier was established in the north of England, at first an informal frontier and then the fixed frontier of Hadrian’s Wall. This area has been one of the most important sources of evidence for the Roman army, both textual and material, in particular, the fort of Vindolanda and the Vindolanda Tablets, a unique repository of written evidence from letters to daily manpower reports. What do we know about life on this frontier? Where were the soldiers from? What were their daily routines? How was such a large force supplied? Who else formed part of the military community? Addressing these and other questions, you will study the Vindolanda Tablets and other evidence to reconstruct the lives of this fascinating community.

Aims and Objectives

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

Key primary sources from the northern frontier and Vindolanda in particular: writing tablets, inscriptions.
The nature of the community inside and outside the fort walls.
Life on the Roman frontier in Britain from the late first century to the third century AD.

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

Analyse and critically a variety of textual, visual and material culture sources.
Engage with and evaluate the secondary literature on the Roman army and Roman frontiers.
Structure your ideas and research findings into well-ordered commentaries and essays.

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

Develop your time-management skills.
Locate and use appropriate textual, visual and material sources in the library and online.
Research historical questions and communicate your findings in written form.

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching methods include: - lectures - seminars Learning activities include: - preparatory reading, individual research and study prior to each class - studying primary sources, including textual, visual and material evidence

Study time
Type	Hours
Seminar	12
Lecture	12
Follow-up work	25
Revision	26
Completion of assessment task	30
Preparation for scheduled sessions	45
Total study time	150

Resources & Reading list

Internet Resources

Vindolanda Tablets Online 2.

Vindolanda Tablets Online.

Journal Articles

Goldsworthy, A. and Haynes, I. (eds.) (1999). The Roman army as a community. Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplementary Series 34.

Bowman, A.K., Thomas, J.D. and Tomlin, R.S.O (2010). The Vindolanda writing tablets. Tabulae Vindolandenses IV, Part 1, pp. 187-224.

Bowman, A.K., Thomas, J.D. and Tomlin, R.S.O (2011). The Vindolanda writing tablets. Tabulae Vindolandenses IV, Part 2, Britannia 42, pp. 113-144.

Textbooks

Bowman, A.K. and Thomas, J.D (2003). The Vindolanda writing tablets (Tabulae Vindolandenses). Volume 3. London: British Museum Press.

Bowman, A.K. and Thomas, J.D (1994). The Vindolanda writing tablets (Tabulae Vindolandenses II).. London: British Museum Press.

Birley, A.R (2002). Garrison life at Vindolanda: a band of brothers. Stroud: Tempus.

I Haynes (2013). Blood of the provinces: the Roman auxilia and the making of provincial society from Augustus to the Severans.. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Birley, R. (2012). Vindolanda: a Roman fort on Hadrian’s Wall.. Stroud: Tempus.

Keppie, L (2013). The making of the Roman army: from Republic to Empire. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

D Whittaker (1994). Frontiers of the Roman empire: a social and economic study.. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.

(1998). Life and letters on the Roman frontier: Vindolanda and its people. New York: Routledge.

Grønlund Evers, K. The Vindolanda tablets and the ancient economy. British Archaeological Reports British Series 544.

Assessment

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Written assignment	40%
Written assignment	60%

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Resubmit assessments	100%

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Written assignment	40%
Written assignment	60%

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External