The interaction of Britain with Rome has long been a source of fascination, be it in terms of archaeological finds (especially since the introduction of the metal detector), inscriptions (cf. LACTOR 4) or literary sources (cf. S. Ireland, Roman Britain: a Sourcebook [third ed. 2008]). The current volume, the fifth edition of a work that first appeared in 1977, but identical with the fourth edition except for a change of publisher (from the London Association of Classical Teachers, 2012), continues the radical revision that marked that edition's distinction from the first three produced. Rather than arranging texts simply by date of composition, as had earlier been the case, requiring readers to produce a connected narrative of their own, it groups texts according to the historical events being described. So, for instance, the section on the description of Caesar's invasions draws not only on material from the mid first century bce but also from writers like Cassius Dio (early third century ce). Further facilitating its use is the structuring of historical periods into 26 separate sections, each represented by a letter of the alphabet (e.g. Caesar [A], Augustus [B], … Notitia Dignitatum [Z]); each section often allows further subdivisions depending on changes of source or narrative development. In the case of longer texts such as Caesar's narrative of his invasions these subdivisions are often prefaced by useful introductory indications of content. The result is a highly user-friendly work that its intended audience (A-Level students) has long been denied by the volume's limited availability, a work that allows readers to navigate painlessly through the often broad spread of historical events. Further improvement upon earlier editions comes in the editors’ fresh translations of lengthy commentaries, such as those of both Caesar and Strabo on the invasions, but a major weakness of the volume lies in the continued failure to include Tacitus’ account of Agricola's campaigns in Britain on the grounds that translations are readily available elsewhere. This is indeed the case, but it involves additional expense for readers, while the overall volume of text required by its inclusion might easily be reduced by omitting the outline of earlier events, the geography and peoples of Britain (transferred into other sections), extraneous details of Agricola's career and the clearly fictitious speeches inserted to enliven the narrative. That said, however, the volume, a compilation of many hands’ work, remains a highly valuable resource that marks a welcome return to availability, wide-ranging in its scope, facilitating an easy passage through events by its competent translations, and providing an initial listing of the sections to which each ancient author contributes and a useful glossary of technical terms.
No CrossRef data available.