Acculturation and continuity : re-assessing the significance of Romanization in the hinterlands of Gloucester and Cirencester

In the past, the adoption of elements of Roman culture has often been equated rather uncritically with ‘progress’ and the emergence of a more ‘civilized’ society.Most notably the presence of large public towns and villas in the south and east of Britain has been presented as evidence for a degree of social change not experienced in the north and west. However, this view assumes first that the only social stratum of any consequence was the landed elite, and secondly that with Roman material culture came Roman social constructs. This paper will challenge these views by considering the character and distribution of settlement in the hinterlands of Gloucester (Glevum) and Cirencester (Corinium). Rather than accepting that the cultural icons of the post-Conquest elite were a ‘Good Thing’, an attempt will be made to understand the economic and cultural implications of such icons. [Taken from the introduction]