ROME AND THE BARBARIANS

In sifting through the excavated remains of provincial and frontier towns and old battlefields, Cunliffe tells us quite a bit about who the barbarians were (Dacians, Gauls, Britons. . .) and how they lived under various stages of Romanization. But his chronicle of archaeological finds will be most engrossing to those who, like the searchers themselves, are rooted in the classics. Beginning with Napoleon III's passion for retracing Caesar's Gallic expeditions and on to lan Richmond's pursuit of Agricola in Scotland, the excavations at Bath, and the campaign to confirm the pictured evidence on Trajan's column concerning his wars with the Dacians, this is a dense and scholarly overview. The vocabulary can be challenging (conflation, ex votos. . .), but Cunliffe's enthusiasm and authority, as well as the striking array of maps and full-color illustrations, invite the attention of students and browsers alike.