John Creighton - Britannia, The Creation of a Roman Province (2006).jpg

In the Late Iron Age two kings held dominion over much of Lowland Britain: Cunobelin and Verica. Just before AD 43 the rule of both of them ended - one died and the other fled - and Rome, under the Emperor Claudius, took the opportunity to invade.
Within a few generations the ceremonial centers of these Iron Age kings had been transformed into the magnificence of Roman towns with their monumental public buildings. This book looks at the interface of these two worlds, Iron Age and Roman, to see how much each owed the other.
Britannia: the creation of a Roman province offers a complete re-evaluation of both the evidence for and the interpretation of the rule of the kings of Late Iron Age Britain on the eve of the Roman conquest, and their long-lasting legacy in the creation of the Roman province of Britannia. Among topics considered are:
DT The links between Iron Age kings of Britain and Rome before the Claudian conquest
DT The creation of the towns of Roman Britain
DT The many different natures of "Roman Identity"
DT The long lasting influence of the kings on the development of the province
DT The widely different ways that archaeologists have read the evidence

Review

'This volume confirms John Creighton's prominence in a group of scholars who are changing our perceptions of the era so much that the idea that Roman Britain starts with the Claudian invasion of AD 43 is collapsing. By any standards, this really is writing new history.' - The Times Literary Supplement

'A vibrant synthesis of theory and data ... This is a book to be much admired for presenting a wide range of fresh and ambitious interpretations and developing a sophisticated structurationist account of early Roman Britain in a clear and fluent fashion.' – Cambridge Archaeological Journal

'The issues [Britannia] addresses are crucial to our understanding of a turbulent period in the early history of Britain.' - Britannia