The first Roman military campaigns in Britian were in 55 BC and then again in 54 BC, when Caesar made exploratory raids into south east England. However it was not until AD 43 that the emperor Claudius mounted a sustained invasion leading, over the following decades, to the conquest of most of Britain.

The 'official' end of Roman control in Britain is usually taken as AD 410, although troops derived from Roman-British units evolved into the military forces that sustained a number of sub Roman kingdoms well into the Anglo-Saxon period, particularly in the west.

As yet, no Roman battle in Britain has been securely located although various competing sites have been suggested for a number of actions, such as that the decisive Medway battle, immediately following the Roman invasion in AD 43, and that in which Boudicca was defeated in AD 61. Others include Cefn Carnedd (AD 51) and Mons Graupius (AD 84).

There is just one major battle of the Roman period in northern Europe that has been securely located by archaeological research, the Varus battlefield at Kalkriese, Germany. Investigations continue on the site and an interpretation centre has been constructed, making a visit extremely worthwhile. The success of the work on this German site is due in large part to exceptional preservation conditions. Despite this it does hold out hope that it may in future be possible to locate other battlefields of this period, but as yet no serious research has been conducted in the UK to resolve the many problems posed by the archaeological search for such early battlefields.

To visit the excellent web pages of the Kalkresie Park and Museum  CLICK HERE
The information is almost all in German, but if you choose the Deutsch option and follow the link from their home page to ARCHAOLOGIE, you will then find listed on the left hand navigation a link to a page which gives a summary in English.

CURRENTLY THERE IS NO DETAILED INFORMATION ON BATTLES OF THE ROMAN PERIOD IN THESE WEB PAGES BUT IT IS HOPED THAT IT WILL BE POSSIBLE TO ADD SUCH INFORMATION IN THE FUTURE.