It was the locals in Monty Python's Life Of Brian who famously asked "What have the Romans ever done for us"? The answer is, quite a lot.
Certainly, that's what Time Team found when we dug a Roman villa site at Turkdean in the Cotswolds last summer. Which, as i'm sure you'll agree if you ever saw last Sunday's programme turned out to be one of our most successful digs yet.
Well, more of what the Romans did later, with my guest, Guy De La Bédoyère, historian and archaeologist. But I suppose the story really starts with the arrival of the Roman legions.
Roman army invaded Britain in AD43, arriving on the south coast. Here and there particularly in Wales, they met with stiff resistance from the British tribes. In the south they conquered more easily, rapidly establishing dominance through a series of garison towns and roads. The pattern of their occupation was clearly seen from the air by Mick and Tony as they circled the Time Team site.
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