Exile and exploitation: 5 things you probably didn't know about Roman Britain

It’s only thanks to the Romans that we know the names of native gods

Religion did not mix with literacy in Iron Age Britain, so it is only thanks to the spread of Roman religious practices, in which the names of gods and goddesses were inscribed on altars, that we actually know the names of any native British deities.

It can be challenging to identify these gods with any certainty, but there are a number who only seem to have been recorded and worshipped in Britain. Perhaps the most famous is Sulis, worshipped and commemorated along with Minerva at the huge bathing complex in modern Bath, but there are others. Antenociticus, sometimes called ‘the Geordie god’, is known mostly from a few inscriptions at a temple outside the Hadrian’s Wall fort of Benwell, west of Newcastle.

• Read more | Religion in Roman Britain: spreading the word of the gods

Other native gods that were worshipped along the wall included Coventina, who was commemorated at her sacred well-shrine at Carrawburgh, and a warrior or hunter god named Cocidius, who was worshipped widely by soldiers along the wall and across north-west England, with his cult centred on Bewcastle. A possible local god of the Cambridgeshire area, Abandinus, is only known from a single votive object.

The Romans mined gold, silver and other metals in Britain

Britain was known to contain copious metallic ores that were prized for metalworking across the Roman empire. The value of these ores, and the Romans’ keen interest in them, is reflected in the speed at which mines were opened up relative to the conquest of Britain. Lead mining was under way in the Mendips by AD 50, soon complemented by further mines in Derbyshire, Shropshire, Yorkshire, Wales, Durham and Northumberland over the next 20 years.

• Read more | The Romans in Britain: exploitation or innovation?

Some of these mines also had argentiferous ores, meaning that silver could be extracted, as was the case in the Mendips. The gold mines at Dolaucothi, Wales, were also operating from circa AD 70. Meanwhile, iron extraction and smelting were widespread in the Forest of Dean and in the Weald, Kent, both of which provided substantial quantities of wood to be used as fuel for smelting the raw ore. And copper was mined from various locations in northern Wales. The extraction and smelting of all these metals – in Britain and across the Roman empire – produced so much waste in the atmosphere that today scientists are able to detect this historic pollution in ice cores.

For the Romans, Britain was a place of exile

Roman emperors would often exile rivals, troublemakers and criminals to islands, a process known as deportatio in insulum. The future emperor Tiberius lived in exile in Rhodes for eight years from 6 BC – though his residency there was self-imposed. Britain was also a notable choice of exile. Its position on the northern fringe of the Roman empire was perhaps intended to rub further salt in the wound.

According to the 4th-century writer Ammianus Marcellinus, a senior military officer named Valentinus was exiled to Britain and was later implicated in a period of turmoil known as the ‘Barbarian Conspiracy’. Palladius, an officer of the court at Chalcedon, was exiled by the emperor Valentinian, as was an official named Frontinus (after a torture session that led to his confession). It was not just individuals who were exiled to Britain. The archaeologist Simon James has called it a “dumping ground” for defeated barbarians, such as the more than 5,000 Sarmatian cavalry who were sent to Britain by Marcus Aurelius in 175, or the “large and strong force” of Alamanni sent in 372.

Superstition was part of daily life

Besides more formal religious practices, such as celebrating the feast of a particular god or visiting a shrine, most people in Roman Britain also participated in everyday rituals of belief – what some might call superstitions. Some of these practices are still familiar, like wearing a crucifix or amulet, using a rosary or carrying a rabbit’s foot. But some of the amulets the Romans wore might raise an eyebrow today.

One very popular design was a disembodied phallus, which was a symbol of good luck and protection. Amulets were carved from bone, cast in lead or bronze, and even delicately hand-crafted in gold. Rituals and beliefs were not always happy or positive. A common practice was to ask a deity to curse someone that had wronged you. More than 130 curse tablets have been found at Roman Bath, which were then folded and deposited in the sacred spring for Sulis-Minerva to consider and act upon. The curses could be quite specific and vindictive: one person asked for whoever stole their ring to be accursed in their blood, eyes and every limb, as well as having their intestines eaten away. So if you find yourself at a market in Roman Britain, be careful before you cross someone, and maybe invest in a perky good luck pendant!

This article was first published in the July 2024 issue of BBC History Magazine

Discover more learning from week three of our course on Roman Britain

Video lecture: war and peace in Roman Britain – watching time 20 mins

How Roman was Britain? – reading time 6 mins

Religion in Roman Britain: spreading the word of the gods – reading time 5 mins

Podcast episode: the end of Roman Britain: A militarised state? – listening time 43 mins

Extravagance in Roman Britain: a visit to Fishbourne Roman Palace – reading time 5 mins

Podcast episode: Digging up Roman London – listening time 51 mins