A guide to Roman Britain
Roman Britain, and the lives behind it.
Explore Roman Britain through its people, places and surviving evidence. Meet an emperor or a rebel, discover a place to visit, and follow the history back to its sources.
Discover the landscapes, lives and objects of Roman Britain, with learning resources for home and the classroom.
Explore the collections
Northern England
The northern frontier
Explore Hadrian’s Wall through its remains, its emperor and the communities that lived along the frontier.
South East England
Roman Sussex
Start with Fishbourne’s mosaic floors and gardens, and look closely at the evidence for a wealthy Roman household.
Conquest and resistance
Boudica and the rebellion
Follow the Iceni leader through the revolt of AD 60 or 61 and the Roman accounts that preserve her story.
Choose your way into Roman Britain
Read and discover
Learning resources
Museum activities, object studies and classroom materials for exploring the Roman world.
Follow a life
People
Meet Hadrian, Boudica and the historical figures who connect places with events.
Explore the landscape
Places
Discover Roman sites, their surviving remains and the evidence for life there.
Begin exploring
Places, people and the worlds between them
Start with the palace at Fishbourne, the northern frontier and the emperor whose name it bears.
Place · West Sussex
Fishbourne Roman Palace
Surviving mosaics and recreated gardens near Chichester.
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Place · Northern England
Hadrian’s Wall
A frontier landscape of forts, milecastles and settlements.
Person · Roman emperor
Hadrian
An emperor whose frontier policy changed the landscape of Britain.
Print, colour, make
Roman adventures for little hands
Choose from 34 free printable activities: colouring, counting and patterns for younger children; paper models and hands-on projects for ages 7–11; and evidence challenges for ages 11+. Each comes with instructions and ideas for learning together.
New in the library
Find Roman Britain beneath your feet.
Explore 40 people, 57 places and 92 learning resources. Our newest guides bring more of London, the East Midlands and South West into view, with activities on trade, conservation and museum objects.
London · 6 place guides
Beneath the modern City
Find an amphitheatre, house and baths, surviving city walls and a villa beyond Londinium.
East Midlands · 6 place guides
From Lincoln to Irchester
Explore gateways, a buried small town and the evidence beneath modern streets and villages.
South West · 7 place guides
Mosaics, towns and an arena
Connect Cirencester, Dorchester and Exeter with museum collections and the people who made them.
Meet the ancient writers · Try the learning activities · Browse the whole site
Explore the place. Examine the evidence.
A mosaic floor, an inscription or an ancient account can open up a larger story. Our profiles connect people and places with named sources, and distinguish surviving remains from later reconstructions.
Boudica and the revolt against Rome
Meet the Iceni leader and follow the rebellion through the settlements it attacked and the accounts written after it.
Explore Boudica’s profile · Resistance and rebellion · Learning resources
Hadrian and the northern frontier
Connect an emperor’s visit with the wall, forts and communities of northern Britain.
Romans in Britain · People · Places · Learning resources