Essays
Essay titles for :
Essay 1 (non-assessed - 1500 words):
To be handed in by week 6
Either: Can Caesar’s invasions of Britain be considered a success?
Or: Did the Romans need to invade and conquer Britain?
Essay 2 (assessed - 2500 words):
To be handed in by noon Monday 24th January
Either: "They create a desolation and call it peace" (Tacitus). How far does this represent Rome's treatment of Britain down to the end of the first century AD?
Or: How far can the literary sources for Roman Britain down to Agricola be consdered reliable?
Or: Examine the factors that made a speedy expansion of Rome's British province difficult to achieve.
Or: Assess the evidence for Rome's exploitation of Britain's resources.
Or: To what extent is Tacitus' account of Agricola's governorship credible?
Essay 3 (assessed - 2500 words):
To be handed in by noon on Wednesday 4th May
Either: Examine the structure and effectiveness of Hadrian's frontier system in Britain and account for the changes that took place over time.
Or: To what extent was the collapse of Roman control in Britain brought about more by internal problems than external threat?
Or: How far do the changes that took place in the military organisation of Britain reflect adaptation to match needs?
Or: Do the archaeological remains of Roman Britain present a fuller picture of life in the province than the literary evidence?
Or: Is it possible to gain any real understanding of religious belief in Roman Britain?
See Departmental Guidelines on Writing Essays.