History of Cumbria - Romans

Romans

After the Romans' initial conquest of Britain in AD 43 the territory of the Brigantes remained independent of Roman rule for some time. At that time the leader of the Brigantes was the queen Cartimandua, whose husband Venutius is believed to have been a Carvetian and may therefore be responsible for the incorporation of Cumbria into the Brigantian federation.

Despite retaining nominal independence, Cartimandua and Venutius were loyal to the Romans and in return were offered protection by their Imperial neighbours. But the royal couple divorced, and Venutius led two rebellions against his ex-wife. The first, in the 50s AD, was quashed by the Romans, but the second, in AD 69, came at a time of political instability in the Empire and resulted in the Romans evacuating Cartimandua and leaving Venutius to reign over the Brigantes.

The Roman conquest of the Brigantes began two years later, but appears to have lasted for several decades. In AD 78 Agricola pushed north from Deva (Chester) to Carlisle and placed garrisons between the Solway Firth and the River Tyne, consolidating his gains over the following two years. Although the Romans occupied the region and subdued the Brigantes, rebellious acts seem to have continued until at least the 140s, when the Brigantes are said to have been defeated by Emperor Antonius Pius in an unprovoked war.

Although not attested by any literary source, evidence from inscriptions suggests that under Roman rule most of the area of Cumbria formed a civitas of the Carvetii, separate from that of the Brigantes. Its administrative capital is presumed to have been Luguvalium (Carlisle), the only walled town known in the region.

The impression left upon Cumbria by the Roman occupation can hardly be understated. From around the 120s, roads were built across the county, including the aptly named High Street which runs across the eastern fells from the Roman fort Brocavum at Brougham to Galava near Ambleside. The roads were a vital means of communication across the mountains and moors of the county, connecting the many forts, such as the one at Hardknott, with the seaports at Ravenglass and Maryport, the important settlement of Luguvalium at Carlisle and, of course, Hadrian's Wall.

Building of Hadrian's Wall along the line of Agricola's earlier garrisons began in 122 and was completed in less than ten years, such was the efficiency of the Roman military. It ran from Bowness on the Solway Firth across the north of the county and through Northumberland to Wallsend on the Tyne estuary. It was built on the orders of emperor Hadrian to try to create a solid northern frontier for the Roman Empire and keep the Brigantes and neighbouring Scoti under control. It was mostly of stone, but at the western end of the wall, originally "turf and timber were preferred on the Solway plain, where stone is scarce".

Only twenty years after Hadrian's Wall was started, Antonius Pius almost abandoned it, turning his attentions to his own frontier fortification, the Antonine Wall across central Scotland. But Antonius failed to secure control of southern Scotland and he returned to Hadrian's Wall in AD 164, after which garrisons were retained there until the early 5th century.

There are several forts and milecastles along the Cumbrian half of the wall, the largest or which is Birdoswald.

It is difficult to assess the long-term effects of the Roman occupation on the native inhabitants of Cumbria. Everyone would certainly have been aware of their arrival in the area, and their final departure, but the locals were left much more to their own devices than those in the south of England. No doubt there was some Romanisation of the local culture, specifically among the governing élites who worked closely with the Roman military. The local dialect word eglus, meaning a church, has survived from Roman times, having been incorporated into the Brythonic language from the Latin ecclesia, showing not only an acceptance of Roman culture among the locals, but also the introduction of Christianity to the region.