The Eagle and the Bear

For over three centuries, the inhabitants of North Britain faced the might of Rome, resulting in some of the most extraordinary archaeology of the ancient world.

This book explores the complex, often tumultuous, and frequently brutal interaction between the world’s first superpower and the peoples who would ultimately form the country we now call Scotland.

Drawing on his on his extensive archaeological experience, John H. Reid considers many of the controversies surrounding Roman Scotland, several of which remain points of lively debate. From a reassessment of the loss of the Ninth Legion and the reasons for building and maintaining Hadrian’s Wall, to considering what spurred at least four Roman Emperors to personally visit the edge of the Empire, he offers an informed view of what it was like to be at the dark heart of imperialism and slavery, and to be on the receiving end of Rome’s merciless killing machine.