Historian Bettany Hughes, a very popular presenter on television shows like those made for the History Channel, presents a new story from ancient history, that of The Roman Invasion of Britain, on DVD. The 138 minute, 3-part story, Onslaught, Revolt, and Dominion, starts in A.D. 43. It covers Claudius' insecurities (his attempt to gain popularity by conquering a foreign population and acclaim for outdoing Julius Caesar in Britain), the story of the revolt of Boudicca, the gradual loss of imperial power in Britain, and general Ambrosius Aurelianus, who may be connected with the legend of King Arthur.
Emphasis -- in this age of hostility to imperialism -- is placed on the idea that Roman Britain wasn't a harmonious mingling of peoples. Instead, the Romans were conquerors; the Britons, subject people, "the oppressed subject of a powerful empire," taxed to the hilt, and many of whom were at least virtually enslaved during 350 years of military occupation. Production of gold took humans using alternating bonfires and water, instead of dynamite. Romans introduced urban life, aqueducts, amphitheater, and public baths to people who may not even have had a word for "town." The conquerors brought the Britons seeds of lavender, apples, turnips, and peas, but also leprosy, gout, and the psychological stress of being occupied.
Pros
To watch this DVD present the story of Roman Britain has some very positive consequences. The Roman Invasion of Britain dramatizes horrors, for instance, in a way that the written word -- and that from a Roman perspective, doesn't. Music and other non-verbal techniques serve to highlight the important bits, that are further underlined by Hughes' comments. The DVD puts together archaeological and literary evidence in one place. Hughes visits remains of Roman-British sites. These are good reasons to watch the DVD for an introduction to the story of Roman Britain.Extras
There are separate textual (on screen) biographies of Emperor Claudius, Aulus Plautius (commander of the A.D. 43 invasion force and first governor of Roman Britain), Caratacus (Catuvelllauni chieftain defeated by Aulus Plautius in A.D. 47), Boudicca Queen of the Iceni, and Emperor Hadrian, who realized the Scots couldn't be conquered, and so ordered a massive wall built.Cons
One problem at the beginning of the DVD, is that the background noise made it hard to hear Bettany Hughes. The blaring stopped when the show got going, but you may wish to use the subtitles.I don't understand why the legacy of curse tablets shows that the subject people were unhappy with the Roman rule. Hughes says the tablets do so because they show that the Britons didn't count on the Roman presence to deal with the growing theft problem and because they invoke local gods, but I don't get it. This seems a forced connection. Still, the segment on the curse tablets, is worth viewing.
It's a bit of a tease about King Arthur, since all that is said is that Aurelianus may be connected with him and that Aurelianus' fight at Mt. Badon was a Roman-British last hurrah.
Publication
The Athena DVD "The Roman Invasion of Britain" comes out October 5, 2010, in the U.S. It is available from Acorn Media. The show aired on TV in the UK in July 2010.Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.
