nm0050: what i could do [0.3] first of all [0.6] while this is being set up is 
just er [1.2] show you something that i promised i would show you [0.7] last 
time [1.0] before we get going [0.9] and that is the way that er [1.1] Agricola 
[1.0] bottled up [1.5] the er [0.5] the entrances to the glens [2.5] which i 
would do if i had something that would s-, [1.4] there we are [1.2] er this is 
the entrance to the small glen [0.9] and there is an Agricolan fort as you can 
see [0.4] bottling it up [1.9] so that's what he did really all the way along 
[0.4] the highland er [0.8] massif 
nm0050: well as you can see we've got er [0.8] you've heard of Jaws two this is 
yawn two today [2.4] this is for the er [0.7] the Internet version [0.7] so 
we'll put the whole world to sleep not just the er [0.6] the video public [0.9] 
er [0.5] we saw last time [1.1] er [0.7] the history of Agricola within Britain 
[0.7] through [0.6] what i hope was the medium of the archaeological record [0.
4] in so far as he set out [0.6] er [0.6] the camps [1.0] er [1.2] in his 
progress northwards and then into the lowlands of Scotland and up the east 
coast of Scotland [0.9] and we saw [0.4] that [0.5] in some cases it's rather 
difficult to distinguish between an Agricolan [0.4] er foundation [0.5] and say 
somewhere that had been established by Cerialis or Frontinus [0.9] so there is 
a problem [0.4] in viewing Agricola's [0.3] campaigning [0.4] er [0.3] career 
[0.6] through the medium of archaeology [1.3] which is many ways is a pity 
because Agricola is probably the most significant [0.4] er [0.2] Roman governor 
[0.6] er who ever came to Britain [0.9] certainly we know more about him [0.8] 
than we do about any other [0.3] governor [0.3] of Roman Britain [2.0] and yet 
what we do know [0.8] remains 
extraordinarily patchy [1.0] and this itself [0.3] has [0.2] a lot to say [0.3] 
about the state of our information [0.3] concerning other significant governors 
[0.3] who came and went [1.4] before Agricola of course there was Petilius 
Cerialis [0.7] and we hear from Tacitus [0.3] in the Agricola [0.4] that it was 
Cerialis [0.3] who largely defeated [0.4] the Brigantes [1.2] yet apart from 
that [1.1] passing reference almost within [0.7] Tacitus [0.3] we know very 
little [0.6] about ker-, the details of Cerialis' [0.3] campaigns within [0.2] 
the province [3.0] so when we come [0.2] to somebody [0.2] like Agricola [0.3] 
about whom [0.4] there is a certain degree [0.4] of information [0.4] in terms 
of archeological remains [0.2] and in terms especially of [0.2] literary 
remains [0.7] we have to be careful [0.3] first of all [0.3] we have to be 
careful that we don't [0.6] focus in upon Agricola [1.0] and [0.7] use the very 
fact that we know more about him [1.8] to take his achievements beyond their 
natural [0.3] limits [1.3] and secondly we have to be careful [0.3] about [0.2] 
how we approach [0.3] those sources in the first place [1.1] the very fact that 
there are sources [1.4] 
tends to lull us in to a false sense of security and to accept them at face 
value [1.1] simply because they're there [0.5] and to view [0.7] Agricola [1.2] 
as [0.9] the great figure [0.3] that certainly his son-in-law [1.2] Tacitus [0.
4] paints him as [0.8] what i want to do is actually [0.6] to look [0.5] at the 
literary record today [1.0] and to see [0.3] whether in fact [0.8] er [0.3] 
there are dangers within it [0.2] that we need to [0.3] to bear in mind [0.3] 
when we look [0.2] at Agricola [0.9] as a historical figure [3.2] the first 
thing to bear in mind is that this particular work [0.2] was written in the 
period shortly after [0.6] ninety-eight [1.9] in the [0.6] opening [0.3] at the 
opening of the reign [0.2] of the emperor [0.4] Trajan [2.3] this means that 
the information that [0.5] Tacitus is [0.3] is giving us here [1.5] is a decade 
old [0.7] by the time he gets writing [0.5] it's over a decade old in in in [0.
2] many ways [2.1] it's also to be borne in mind [1.3] that [0.5] for a number 
of years [1.4] Tacitus and Agricola [0.4] did not meet [0.8] prior [0.4] to 
Agricola's death [1.2] and therefore we immediately need to be aware of the 
fact that the information that Tacitus is putting over here [0.6] is 
not fresh information [0.8] it's not hot off the press it's not [0.6] straight 
from the lips [0.6] of [0.6] Agricola himself [1.3] Agricola left Britain [1.1] 
round about eighty-three [0.6] this is being written [1.0] round about ninety-
eight [1.8] so there's immediate problem about the accuracy [0.4] of [0.8] the 
work [0.7] in terms of [0.3] access [0.3] to first-hand information undoubtedly 
there would have been records within Rome [0.5] of Agricola's period within 
Britain [2.5] but to some extent it's clear that [0.9] Tacitus may well be 
relying upon [0.3] his own memory [0.9] and that is notoriously [0.7] a weak 
point [0.2] with everybody [1.1] the next thing to bear in mind of course this 
is [0.6] this [0.7] er [0.2] biography [0.7] of Agricola [0.2] has its own 
agenda [1.4] it is not being written by somebody [0.3] who is [0.4] totally [0.
5] er [2.2] unaffected [0.6] by the topic that he's dealing with [1.0] it's his 
own father-in-law [3.7] at the same time [0.3] think about [0.5] the 
circumstances under which it was being written [0.6] it's written [0.2] after a 
period [0.6] of [3.4] tyranny [0.3] within Rome [0.4] not to put [0.3] er too 
fine a point on it [1.1] the end the the final years of the emperor Domitian [0.
2] 
the emperor [2.5] who under whom [1.5] Agricola's greatest [0.3] victory was 
won [0.7] the victory at Mons Graupius [2.2] was to turn into [0.6] a monster 
[1.1] in some ways a justified monster since he was [0.4] the subject of er [0.
6] a number of attempted assassinations [2.0] but [0.4] the work is being 
written against the background of [0.2] a monster [0.8] under whom [0.6] er [0.
2] er Agricola lived [0.2] his final years [0.6] and [0.8] whose memory [1.9] 
was [0.6] undergoing a process of damnation [1.2] in the minds [0.3] of the 
ruling elites that is the the senate in Rome [0.7] er in the period after his 
[0.6] his assassination [0.3] the [0.2] the successful attempt [0.6] er in 
ninety-six [0.5] Domitian had been followed by Nerva [0.8] er who's mentioned 
in this work and then [0.2] in ninety-eight [0.4] by Trajan [0.2] who again [0.
4] is mention it setting the composition of the work [0.5] into a [0.6] context 
[1.3] and it [0.2] ha-, has been suggested by a number of people that part of 
the [0.7] whole purpose of the Agricola [0.4] is actually to justify [0.4] the 
survival [0.2] of those members of the senate who did survive the reign [0.4] 
of Domitian [0.5] whereas [0.2] better men [1.0] more [0.5] er [0.9] er [0.5] 
patriotic [1.1] and more 
heroic figures [0.4] died [0.4] or were forced [0.3] into [0.2] suicide [4.3] 
so it's not just [0.5] a biography [0.2] it's not a dispassionate view [0.6] of 
Agricola's [0.4] life [0.2] and his career [0.4] it has [0.6] extra [0.2] 
dimensions to it [0.6] and you'll find these well set out in Ogilvie and 
Richmond's [0.5] er [0.2] edition [0.6] of the work in the introduction there 
[2.2] we needn't worry about [1.7] the initial chapters of the work they simply 
set the scene [1.8] Agricola himself doesn't begin to appear [0.4] until [0.2] 
chapter four [0.4] when we're told about his early years his [0.4] birth [0.4] 
at Fréjus [0.4] or Forum Julii [0.2] in southern Gaul [0.8] of how [0.2] his 
education was steered away [0.5] from [0.2] that un-Roman [0.5] topic of study 
[0.2] philosophy [1.1] and philosophy [0.3] in the reign of [0.4] the emperors 
from Nero on [0.6] er [0.7] was something to be avoided [1.0] since 
philosophers [0.8] regularly became the object of suspicion [0.3] in other 
words they thought [0.5] and thinking was a dangerous occupation [1.8] in 
chapter five he comes t-, er Tacitus comes to [0.4] er the early years of [0.2] 
Agricola's [0.5] er [1.2] military [0.2] political career [0.4] and this is all 
a build up [1.8] to the 
time when Agricola becomes governor [0.4] of Britain itself [1.0] it's from 
Tacitus that we learn about Agricola's [0.3] two earlier periods [0.4] of 
office within Britain [1.0] the first of them [0.7] the military apprenticeship 
would have been [0.4] as senior tribune [1.3] in one of the legions [2.1] under 
the governor [0.6] Suetonius Paulinus and he immediately [0.3] rings a bell 
with us because he was the man [0.5] who had to sort out the Boudiccan 
rebellion [0.6] so this indicates that [0.4] s-, [2.0] Agricola's first posting 
[0.2] in a military position [2.0] puts him right at the [0.3] centre [0.5] of 
the greatest crisis that the province of Britain [0.4] had actually [0.2] 
suffered [2.8] he came through it [1.6] well [0.9] at least [0.4] alive [0.2] 
and [0.2] with some military distinction [1.3] Tacitus [0.3] is eager to show 
that his father-in-law even then [1.4] ran counter [1.0] to what w-, might be 
regarded as the norm [0.3] though how far it was the norm [1.2] er [1.6] leaves 
certain questions in our minds [0.3] he says that er [1.1] Agricola was no 
loose young subbleton [0.4] to turn his military career into a life of gaiety 
he wouldn't make his self-captaincy [0.3] 
as-, and his inexperience an excuse for idly enjoying himself [0.3] and 
continually going on leave [0.3] giving us [0.3] the impression that the norm 
[0.4] for [0.2] senior tribunes [0.6] was basically to use [0.4] their period 
[0.3] of supposed military service [0.2] as a long [0.2] and extended holiday 
[0.6] where they could go [0.4] off [0.5] from their station [0.3] and engage 
[0.3] in extended [0.2] hunting trips [0.7] no [0.6] according to Tacitus [0.3] 
that was not the case [0.2] and this kind of [1.0] special pleading for 
Agricola [0.4] continues right through the work [0.4] one wo-, begins to wonder 
in fact [0.2] how [0.3] true it actually is [1.6] well it may have been true [2.
8] then [0.4] Agricola returns to Rome [0.6] gets married the next stage [0.3] 
is his election to the post of quaestor which gives him financial 
responsibility [0.2] for taxes [0.5] within one of the provinces and the 
province he's given [0.3] is Asia [1.0] another good thing about this 
particular work is it gives us a very good [0.4] idea [0.3] of the progression 
[0.8] for a [0.3] military political [0.4] young man destined for high office 
[0.6] and a senatorial career [0.9] er [0.4] as he moves through it [0.7] he 
goes [0.5] to be 
quaestor in Asia and Asia [0.2] a notorious province it had been notorious even 
in republican times [0.7] notorious [0.4] for the potential [0.8] for [0.8] 
making money on the side [2.2] for corruption [1.2] anybody with any 
responsibility for [0.5] financial dealings in [0.2] Asia [0.2] which is [0.3] 
a very rich province [0.7] was immediately [0.6] presented with [0.2] the [1.3] 
prospect [0.2] of making a killing [1.4] by [0.5] putting money into his own 
pocket that shouldn't be there [1.6] according to Tacitus [0.5] Agricola 
avoided this [4.1] there was the temptation of the governor [1.6] colluding 
with lower officials [0.2] to their mutual benefit [0.8] he avoided this [2.2] 
he then leaves the quaestorship [0.8] and becomes a tribune of the people [1.2] 
this [0.3] in the time of Nero [1.2] a time [0.8] which according to Tacitus [2.
0] was one for keeping your head below the parapet [0.3] and your mouth shut [3.
5] apparently [0.6] Agricola [0.4] did just that [1.3] he understood the age of 
Nero in which inactivity was tantamount to wisdom [2.4] is this special 
pleading for somebody [1.1] who [1.0] shifted with the wind [0.8] who knew 
where his best interests lay [0.6] is it [1.6] 
Agricola [0.3] doing essentially [0.8] what [3.5] the whole senate that 
survived Domitian [0.4] could be accused of doing [0.7] of [0.4] keeping quiet 
[0.6] and [0.2] staying alive [1.5] from the tribuneshit of the er ship of the 
people he goes into the praetorship [1.7] praetorship having a legalistic [1.3] 
aspect to it [1.0] but in [0.2] Agricola's case [0.3] that legal side never 
materialized [0.8] he was responsible though for the ordering of public games 
[1.2] a notoriously easy way of losing [0.2] money [2.8] in Rome one tended to 
buy favour [1.3] by putting on spectacular games [2.3] according to Tacitus [0.
9] Agricola compromised between economy [0.4] and excess [0.2] this is a man [0.
6] we are presented with who knew [0.2] the right proportions [0.3] and 
exercised the right proportions [0.4] right through his career [1.4] now that 
can be seen and Tacitus obviously wants it to be seen [0.4] as a virtue [1.0] 
but [0.2] is it a virtue [0.5] or is it the sign [0.3] of [0.2] weakness [2.7] 
then [0.7] following the death [0.5] of [0.6] Agricola's mother [0.5] in the 
civil wars that followed the [0.7] er [1.1] suicide [0.7] of Nero [0.9] he's 
returned to Britain [0.7] this time as a legionary commander [0.4] put in 
charge [0.3] of the 
twentieth legion [0.5] which Tacitus says had been wavering [0.4] in its 
allegiance [0.3] to the [0.3] new emperor Vespasian [1.0] according to [0.3] to 
to Tacitus [0.5] as soon as Vespasian [0.2] made a move for imperial power [1.
0] Agricola [0.3] took his side [0.5] well [2.9] is it true [0.4] or is it not 
[0.4] certainly [0.2] i think we can take it that there must have been some 
kind of connection [0.5] between Agricola and Vespasian if you remember 
Vespasian had himself [0.3] seen service [0.3] in Britain [0.3] though at an 
earlier period [0.4] from that of Agricola [2.1] in any case the [0.3] wavering 
nature [0.2] of [0.2] loyalty on the part of the twentieth legion [0.8] was [1.
2] sorted out [0.5] by Agricola [2.8] but in a way again [0.2] that shows or [0.
2] that Tacitus wants us to believe [0.2] shows a light hand [0.4] a sensible 
hand in dealing with things [0.5] that [0.2] Agricola was not [0.2] sent in [0.
4] or when he went in [0.4] did not [1.3] er [0.9] prove to be a strict [0.2] 
disciplinarian [0.9] items that could simply be [0.4] er [0.7] papered over [1.
1] minor faults [0.3] he tended [0.4] not to look at 
nm0050: in some respects [0.2] it's the same kind [0.2] of [0.4] treatment [0.
8] that [1.9] Tacitus himself [1.1] had criticized when it was 
engaged in [0.4] by Petronius Turpilianus and Trebellius Maximus immediately 
following [0.3] the Boudiccan rebellion [1.6] allowing things to settle down [0.
3] allowing people to see the sense [0.4] of their [0.2] the situation [1.3] 
here is [0.3] Agricola doing the same kind of thing but [0.2] here [0.6] it's 
taken as wisdom [0.5] and in their case [0.3] it's taken as sloth [0.7] then 
the governorships [0.3] of Bolanus and Cerialis [1.4] as i said before Cerialis 
is known to have been a significant figure [0.4] within Romano-British history 
[0.6] and yet [0.3] the actual [1.0] er [0.7] level of knowledge that we have 
of this man [1.1] is minuscule [0.4] and is largely [0.7] due [1.3] to [0.4] 
Tacitus [0.2] who gives us a couple of sentences [0.3] and that's it [0.6] it's 
Tacitus [0.2] who tells us [0.3] about the defeats [0.6] er inflicted upon the 
Brigantes [2.7] and this again [1.0] is [0.2] in part [0.9] to bolster [0.5] 
Agricola [0.4] rather than to bolster [0.4] Cerialis [0.8] in fact all of the 
[0.3] this [0.3] preliminary material [0.7] downplays [1.8] previous 
achievements [1.0] in order to emphasize Agricola's own achievements [0.5] in 
the eighties 
nm0050: returning to Rome [0.4] from [0.2] his second [0.2] round of duty in 
Britain [2.3] 
Agricola is made [0.6] a full governor [1.7] of the province of Aquitania [2.1] 
now this was e-, essentially a civilian [0.9] er [0.5] province [1.6] one that 
did not have [0.5] a military aspect to it [0.3] but it was an important stage 
[1.6] because it gave Agricola [0.2] experience of [0.8] the kind of 
administration [0.6] that he would have to [0.4] put into effect when he 
eventually did return to Britain [0.7] including [0.6] the exercising [0.4] of 
[0.4] legal power [0.6] as the final [0.8] er court of appeal for non-citizens 
[0.4] and the last but one [0.3] in the case of citizens [2.3] in this section 
[0.6] we come across another aspect [0.4] of the governor's [0.3] 
responsibility [2.5] something that has already been seen within a Romano-
British context [0.3] and that is [0.4] the [0.2] potential for trouble [0.5] 
between [0.5] a governor [0.4] and the procurator [0.6] remember in the time of 
Suetonius Paulinus [0.7] er Tacitus [0.6] er [1.4] refers to the enmity [1.1] 
between Paulinus and the new procurator [0.3] Classicianus [2.1] exactly [0.3] 
how [1.5] er [0.2] troublesome relations could [0.2] be between these two 
officials [0.4] we shall never really know [0.9] we only get snippets of 
information here 
and there [1.1] and [0.3] very often [0.3] those snippets of information [0.4] 
have an ulterior motive [0.5] if you look at the way [0.3] that the source 
deals with Suetonius Paulinus and s-, Classicianus it's perfectly clear [0.9] 
that Tacitus [0.2] takes the side [0.5] of the military figure [1.9] because 
Suetonius Paulinus is atta-, is attached [0.4] in terms of career [0.6] to 
Agricola [2.7] but is that the exception [0.8] certainly for the smooth running 
of any province [0.3] the cooperation the active cooperation [0.3] of these two 
[0.9] er figures [0.3] must have been the norm [0.2] rather than the exception 
[0.6] and in fact there's a [0.4] er a note in the [0.4] most recent edition er 
volume [0.4] of the journal [0.5] er [0.4] Britannia [0.3] which should just 
have gone into the library [0.6] which you might care to read [0.5] on the 
matter [4.9] following this came the consulship [0.4] and after the consulship 
[1.9] appointment to Britain [0.4] as its governor [0.9] and this brings us 
into the immediate context [0.5] of [0.3] the whole course [0.9] but before [0.
5] Tacitus gets [0.7] to [0.5] er [0.5] Agricola's [0.5] er career within 
Britain [0.2] as governor [0.5] he's sucked in to [0.4] what one 
might call [0.5] the genre expectations [0.4] of writing about Britain [1.8] 
those kind of topics [0.3] that virtually [0.2] every writer on Britain has to 
engage in [0.6] its geography its climate [0.2] its peoples and so on [1.2] and 
so [0.4] from chapter ten on [0.3] we're given details [0.3] about [0.2] the 
shape of Britain [0.3] its po-, its geographoc-, [0.3] geographical position 
vis-à-vis the rest of the [0.4] er empire we get this strange view [0.4] of 
Britain as being [0.6] somewhere to the east [0.6] of Spain [1.9] basically 
because Spain's supposed to [1.2] sweep up [1.1] er to lie west [0.2] of 
Britain [0.5] with Ireland [0.3] in between [0.8] the shape of Britain [0.8] a 
double headed axe an elongated diamond a rhombus [0.3] all these shapes have 
been interpreted [0.3] from what [0.3] Tacitus tells us [2.0] then [0.2] from 
[0.2] the north of Britain which i suppose if you were to draw [0.2] straight 
lines would be a rhombus [0.4] you get the [0.3] tract of [0.4] of Scotland 
itself [0.3] running northwards [0.5] well running northwards to a certain 
extent because [0.6] Tacitus like [0.2] many other writers [0.9] in antiquity 
[0.3] had a strange view of k-, of Scotland as well [0.7] Scotland 
seems to have gone through [0.4] a ninety degree [0.5] turn [1.4] so that [0.2] 
the north of Scotland actually [0.5] faced towards [0.2] Germany [1.0] whereas 
the west coast [0.5] was essentially [0.4] er [0.4] pointing northwards [3.7] 
he refers [1.0] to [0.2] islands in the far north [0.9] the Orkneys [0.6] which 
we know [1.6] Agricola [0.9] explored not in person but he s-, actually sent a 
fleet [0.3] round the north [0.2] of Scotland [0.3] simply to establish that 
Britain was an island [0.5] and not a continent that went on forever [0.7] 
Thule too was sighted [1.5] in Tacitus' day Thule is undoubtedly the Shetland 
islands [1.2] of course back in the days [0.3] of Pythias of Massilia in the 
fourth century B-C [0.3] Thule could have been anything [0.3] from Norway [0.2] 
to Iceland [0.4] to North America [3.2] the mention too of the seas in this 
area [1.8] is something that [0.5] again [0.5] fascinates the Roman mind [1.2] 
it fascinated Caesar [0.5] because he'd never a-, [1.1] experienced [0.2] 
anything like the tides [0.5] in [0.5] the the channel [3.9] the seas to the 
north of Britain [1.8] were something totally unknown [0.5] it was open sea 
open ocean in many ways [0.6] in the time of er [0.2] of Pythias of 
Massilia [0.8] we hear about the sea [0.3] being like a jelly [1.3] which some 
people have ins-, er have interpreted as the kind of [0.5] er ice flow mush [0.
8] that you can get [0.3] in the higher latitudes [1.3] Tacitus repeats this he 
must there must have been some evidence from that circumnavigation of the north 
of Scotland [0.6] er that is the basis [0.2] of what Tacitus says here [0.3] he 
says that the sea is sluggish and heavy to the oar [0.4] and even in a high 
wind doesn't rise as other seas do [0.3] what he's af-, [0.5] seeming to mean 
here is that with the vast openness [0.9] of the northern sea [0.8] you don't 
get the [1.4] er [0.3] the close packed [0.5] er peaks of waves that you do [0.
2] when you're close to land [0.8] that the waves are very much [0.2] wider 
apart [3.0] i think that's what he's dealing with there that in fact you do get 
[0.6] er [0.5] open sea [0.4] with [0.2] a peculiar type of wave pattern 
nm0050: he goes onto the [0.7] first inhabitants of Britain [0.5] deriving them 
[0.6] either from [0.4] Spain [1.1] and con-, [0.2] er when one considers the 
[0.3] geographic pos-, er [0.3] relative geographic position [0.3] of Britain 
and Spain one can see why he's doing 
this [0.3] or from Gaul itself [0.3] which is perfectly reasonable [0.7] he 
goes onto the fighting strength [0.3] of the tribes in Britain [1.9] again [0.
2] the fascination [0.4] with the chariot [1.0] though unlike [0.3] Caesar [1.
2] Tacitus says [0.9] it's the nobleman who does the driving [0.5] and [0.3] 
the [0.6] retainer who does the fighting [1.0] Caesar gives us the im-, 
impression that it's quite the other way around [0.3] well [0.3] it doesn't 
really matter i suppose [1.7] but [0.2] what we do get is the realization [0.3] 
as we've already seen [0.2] that [0.6] the [0.4] main [0.3] advantage that the 
Romans have [0.2] in dealing with the the British tribes [0.3] is the disunity 
[0.2] of those tr-, er of those [0.2] tribes [0.4] that they [0.2] rarely act 
in concert [0.3] and so [0.2] by the process of [0.3] divide and conquer [0.4] 
they are picked off [0.3] one at a time [1.4] he then goes on [0.6] to the 
perennial interesting topics of British weather [1.4] the climate is wretched 
[0.6] is i think as relevant today as it was then [1.0] but there is no extreme 
cold which [0.8] well [0.4] sometimes is true [2.4] [sniff] [0.5] then a 
strange [0.2] view of [1.6] the extreme [0.2] light summers in the north of 
Britain [0.9] i'll read out the 
translation [0.8] [2.1] their day is longer than in our part of the world the 
nights are light and in the extreme north [0.3] so short that evening and 
morning twilight are scarcely distinguishable [0.9] if no clouds block the view 
the sun's glow it is said can be seen all night long [0.6] it doesn't ri-, er 
set and rise but simply passes along the horizon [0.7] the reason must be that 
the flat extremities of the earth [0.2] cast low shadows and don't [0.2] raise 
the darkness to any height [0.7] night therefore fails to reach the sky and its 
stars [0.8] now [1.2] that actually [0.4] can be [0.4] demonstrated [0.3] in a 
strange kind of way [0.6] if one accepts that the world is flat [0.5] as 
Tacitus did [0.7] flat earth [1.3] Rome is there [1.0] Britain is there [0.3] 
and in the summertime [0.4] the sun [1.5] is [1.7] there [1.5] what causes 
night according to Tacitus is shadow [1.2] the shadow [3.7] stretching up [0.3] 
to the sky [1.8] in Britain [0.6] that shadow doesn't actually reach [0.5] as 
high [0.4] as the stars and 
therefore the stars are not seen at night because [0.2] the sky is light [0.6] 
in Rome [1.7] the stars fall within the shadow [0.3] and therefore you have [0.
4] night [1.0] it's a rationalization [0.8] based on a fallacy [1.9] but an 
interesting one [0.2] he then goes on to [0.4] the kinds of crops that Britain 
produces [1.9] will produce everything that's good except olives and vines [0.
4] and the other produce [0.3] of warmer lands [1.3] the produce though is slow 
to ripen [1.0] though it shoots up quickly because of the [1.3] wetness of the 
ground [1.4] Britain yields gold silver and other metals to make it worth 
conquering the economic factor [0.4] to the conquest of Claudius [0.3] he goes 
on to mention the production of pearls within Britain these are freshwater 
pearls of course [0.8] er [0.2] or perhaps some mussel pear-, pearls on the 
shores [0.5] they are bluish grey in colour [0.4] we hear of pearls also in the 
context of Julius Caesar some of our sources say that one of the reasons [0.4] 
that Caesar came to Britain [0.3] was for the sake of pearls [0.3] and that he 
actually dedicated a breastplate 
covered in [0.2] British pearls [0.5] er [0.2] to the gods of Rome [5.0] then 
he turns to [0.8] previous [0.2] governors for a very short [0.5] er [0.2] 
survey of their achi-, of their accomplishments [1.0] Caesar is put into 
context [0.8] remember [0.3] the [1.4] contemporary [0.5] er reaction to 
Caesar's ek-, er expedition in fifty-five [0.5] twenty days public thanksgiving 
an unprecedented [1.9] length of time [0.3] and five days longer than the 
thanksgiving he got for the [0.3] more tangible conquest [0.3] of the whole of 
Gaul [1.1] yet to Tacitus [0.6] it [0.8] boils down to [0.4] he may fairly be 
said to merely to have drawn attention to the island [0.3] it wasn't his [0.4] 
to bequeath [0.2] which i think is [0.7] very much [0.8] er more realistic [0.
6] but you have to take it of course in the context [0.7] of [0.3] post- [1.0] 
Claudian [1.1] conquest [3.2] then [0.2] the careers [0.3] of Aulus Plautius [0.
6] the mention of [0.3] Cogidubnus [0.4] the most famous [0.3] and the most 
loyal of the client kings [0.5] who according to [0.4] Tacitus survived down to 
our times [0.6] well since Tacitus was born [0.8] just after the mid-fifties [0.
3] it could be [0.4] simply [0.2] a reference to survival to that point [0.3] i 
don't think it's a 
reference [0.4] to the survival [0.5] down to [0.2] the nineties [0.3] that 
would have made Cogidubnus extremely old [0.5] when he died [2.8] reference 
then [0.5] to Suetonius Paulinus and the Boudiccan rebellion [0.7] it has to be 
brought in in a certain [0.5] er [0.7] with a certain magnitude because it of 
course figures [0.2] in the career [0.4] of er [1.0] Agricola himself [1.5] and 
here we get the first instance of [1.3] Tacitus the historian [0.4] but the 
historian in a Roman rhetorical mould [1.5] with the insertion into the 
narrative [0.3] of the inevitable [0.7] speech [2.4] the speech from [1.1] the 
Britons outlining [0.2] their complaints against the Romans [1.0] now [0.5] 
such speeches are of course are total fictions [1.1] there is no way that 
Tacitus could have known [3.0] what was said [0.4] or even [0.2] if [0.2] 
anything [0.3] was said [0.9] but [0.2] part of [1.1] the education of a person 
like Tacitus of h-, all high ranking [0.5] Roman males [0.4] was rhetoric [1.0] 
the ability to put into the mouth [0.3] of a [1.1] mythical [2.2] figure [2.2] 
arguments that would be appropriate [0.4] to the situation [0.8] and that is 
what [0.4] Tacitus is doing here [0.5] he's [0.3] giving his audience what they 
want [0.4] rhetoric [0.3] 
as well as history 
nm0050: he goes on [0.5] to deal with er Petronius Turpilianus [0.2] and 
Trebellius Maximus [0.2] whom he [0.5] belittles [0.3] simply because they were 
consolidatary emperors [0.3] er not emperors governors [0.2] rather than [0.5] 
great military figures [2.2] then to [0.3] Vettius Bolanus [2.3] who again [2.
2] is [0.2] played down [1.0] though there are other bits [0.3] of evidence 
literary evidence [0.4] which suggest that Bolanus was not totally inactive [0.
4] within Britain [0.5] and that he may have taken some preliminary [0.6] er 
steps [0.4] against the Brigantes because he of course [0.5] was governor at 
the time when [0.6] the [0.5] er [0.5] feud between Cartimandua Queen of the 
Brigantes [0.4] and her [0.3] divorced husband Venutius [0.2] flared up once 
again [0.9] then Petilius Cerialis [0.6] but [0.2] only a sentence or two [0.4] 
for the whole defeat [0.3] of the Brigantes themselves [0.3] after a series of 
battles some of them by no means bloodless [0.4] Petilius had overrun if not 
actually conquered [0.3] the major part of their territory [1.2] the very 
reference [0.3] to a number of battles and not bloodless [0.3] suggests that 
this was serious campaigning [0.5] 
and yet [0.3] the details of it [0.4] we know [0.2] nothing [2.7] and at that 
point [1.4] we're ready [0.2] to see [0.2] the career [0.2] of Agricola himself 
[0.4] within Britain [3.0] on the revised dating we begin in the year s-, er 
seventy-seven the arrival [0.2] of Agricola within Britain [0.8] and his 
immediate actions against the Ordovices [0.3] who had [0.4] according to 
Tacitus almost wiped out [0.3] a squadron of the cavalry stationed in their 
territory [0.5] and you remember last time i asked the question [0.9] why would 
[0.3] a [0.9] squadron of cavalry be stationed [0.6] in Ordovican territory [0.
4] if not [0.2] because Agricola's [0.3] predecessor [0.5] Julius Frontinus [0.
3] had begun [0.5] campaigning against them [1.0] Tacitus gives us the evidence 
[0.9] that this was not [0.4] a new move by Agricola [0.3] that his first 
actions in coming to Britain [0.4] though they may have been e-, [0.2] 
unexpected [0.7] in the context of seventy-seven [0.3] were not unprepared for 
[0.2] that he was continuing a process [2.5] and it's perfectly clear [0.9] why 
Agricola [0.3] was chosen [2.0] for the purposes [0.3] of [0.2] governing 
Britain [0.9] his experience [0.8] twice before within the 
province [0.2] made him the ideal person [0.4] for what [1.2] Vespasian was 
contemplating at this point [0.3] and that is [0.3] a radical [0.5] expansion 
[1.0] of the provincial boundaries it had begun [0.2] under [0.4] Cerialis it 
had been [0.4] er [1.9] continued by Frontinus and now Agricola had been sent 
[0.3] to continue it yet again [1.0] the difference comes in the scale of the 
continuation [0.4] that Agricola was able to achieve [2.5] and [1.0] the time 
[0.2] that he was actually given to do it [0.4] a double [0.3] period [0.6] six 
years [0.2] rather than the normal [0.5] three [3.0] Agricola's achievement [0.
4] is graphically set out [1.1] he cut to pieces almost the whole fighting 
force of the tribe [0.7] this is akin to genocide [0.5] he has removed the 
Ordovices [0.3] as a fighting [0.4] force altogether [0.5] so we can take it 
that [0.3] no-, that Wales [0.2] is now effectively pacified [0.4] meaning that 
the major push [0.6] into the annexation [0.3] of Brigantia is not likely [0.4] 
to [0.5] er [0.2] meet with any setback [0.4] er to the south 
nm0050: before that though [0.7] we're given [0.3] by Tacitus [0.5] some 
evidence and some information about the non-military aspects [0.4] of a 
governor's [0.4] er control of a 
province [2.5] you remember when i dealt when i dealt with administration [0.6] 
i mentioned that there were several different [0.3] aspects [0.6] to what a 
governor actually did [0.6] in the summer he would be out comp-, campaigning [0.
6] if [0.3] that was required by central [0.5] er [1.1] authorities by Rome 
itself [0.8] the winter months [0.7] were given over to civil administration [0.
5] to the administration [0.3] of law cases [0.7] to ensuring [0.2] that the 
romanization of a province [0.6] went ahead [0.4] that towns were established 
[0.3] that the trappings of Romin Roman life [0.4] were set up [0.3] and this 
is actually [0.2] well set out [0.4] by Tacitus [0.5] though whether in fact [1.
1] the picture that we get from Tacitus a-, [0.7] of his father-in-law as an 
exception in doing this [0.3] as somebody very energetic [0.6] in [0.3] his 
process of romanization [0.6] is [1.5] correct [0.2] or whether it's just an 
exaggeration [0.3] of what [0.4] any governor [0.4] was expected to do [0.4] is 
something [0.2] of a moot point [2.2] first of all [2.5] Tacitus continues the 
theme that he's already introduced [0.9] of his [1.5] father-in-law's sense of 
proportion [0.7] overlooking minor 
offences [0.3] but stamping down on major ones [0.4] quite ruthlessly [1.0] of 
preparing [0.3] of preferring to accept repentance [0.3] from somebody who 
regretted previous actions [0.3] rather than having [0.5] to [0.2] discipline 
[2.9] stamping out abuses [1.1] this is something [0.2] that [0.3] Tacitus 
suggests [0.2] was peculiar [0.6] to [0.7] Agricola [0.2] yet it can't have 
been [1.9] certainly [0.4] abuses there must have been we know that we know it 
w-, the [0.5] from [0.2] way back in the time of [0.5] of er Cicero [0.4] in 
the first century B-C [0.4] in his speeches against Verres [0.3] who had [0.3] 
er proven to be an extremely [0.5] er corrupt [0.6] governor [1.8] the 
potential for corruption was there [0.4] but each [0.2] governor [0.4] was no 
doubt supposed to [0.4] deal with it [0.3] what kinds of [1.7] of er [0.4] 
corruption might there be [0.9] Tacitus actually gives us [0.5] quite a good 
picture of two aspects two aspects [0.5] concerned with [0.2] the food supply 
[0.4] which of course was an exceptionally important [0.5] er [0.7] part [0.2] 
of [0.4] any [0.5] er civilian [0.5] administration [1.8] you remember [0.7] 
when i dealt with taxation i men-, i mentioned that there was a direct tax [0.
4] upon [0.5] the natives [5.1] 
the Annona tax [0.8] upon grain [0.6] it was essentially [0.2] a tax [0.2] to 
feed [0.4] the personnel of the administration [0.4] and to feed the army [0.4] 
to feed the garrison [2.6] any such tax [0.4] according to Tacitus [0.2] ena-, 
wh-, [0.2] enabled those er er enforcing it [0.7] to [0.2] extract [0.3] profit 
[0.2] for themselves [1.8] how did they do it [0.4] two ways according to 
Tacitus [1.6] provincials were made to wait outside locked granaries in order 
to go through the farce [0.2] of buying corn [0.2] to deliver to the governor 
[0.5] thus [0.3] in fact being compelled to discharge their obligations by 
monied payments [0.2] that's the first one [0.4] what does it mean [0.4] well 
[0.9] the natives [0.4] have to [0.2] hand over [0.7] a specific amount of 
grain [1.0] to [0.4] the Roman authorities they are paid a nominal amount for 
it [1.0] but that nominal amount for er falls far short [0.6] of the market 
value [0.6] so it is effectively a tax [1.7] in a bad year [1.5] when they 
don't have [0.2] enough grain to hand over [1.1] without perhaps [0.2] starving 
themselves to death during the winter [1.0] they nevertheless have to hand over 
to the Romans X 
number of tons where does it come from [1.9] this is not the time when one can 
simply go to Cannon Park [0.3] and buy it from Tesco's [1.5] the only [0.4] 
supplier [0.7] of [0.3] large scale amounts of grain [0.3] within Britain [2.5] 
is the Roman army itself [1.1] because [0.9] the governor [0.2] had to ensure 
[1.9] that [0.2] at each harvest [1.5] each military station had enough grain 
[0.6] to last it through to the next harvest [1.0] with [0.4] some in reserve 
[0.2] just in case [0.5] [0.2] just in case for instance [0.8] a particular 
fort [0.3] had to take in additional troops [2.3] so [0.2] the army [0.2] was a 
net [0.2] stockpiler [0.4] of grain [2.0] and any tribe that fell short [0.5] 
in its [0.8] amount of grain to be delivered [0.5] had only one source to buy 
it from [0.5] and that was from the Romans [0.9] so that's what's being 
referred to here [2.5] the natives have to buy it [0.8] from the Romans [0.4] 
at market price [1.0] in order to hand it back to the Romans [0.4] by way of 
the Annona tax [0.4] at nominal price [1.1] net result [0.6] a tax [0.3] in 
actual monetary terms 
nm0050: another method [0.2] of making [0.4] a little bit on the side [0.2] for 
any corrupt official [0.5] delivery would be ordered to the [0.3] 
to out of the way destinations at the other end of the country [0.8] so that 
states or tribes which had permanent camps close to them [0.7] were told to 
send supplies to remote and inaccessible spots [1.3] the local official [2.0] 
whose responsibility it was [0.5] to accept [0.8] the [0.2] tribe's [0.2] grain 
supply [1.2] would insead instead insist that that grain [0.3] be shipped to 
the other end of the country [0.9] so [0.9] a tribe from the deep south instead 
of being allowed to [0.2] ship the grain [0.3] cheaply [0.3] to the nearest 
Roman stations [0.3] would be se-, told to send it [0.5] er up [0.2] to 
Brigantia [0.2] and to supply York instead [2.8] what were the methods [0.2] of 
bulk [0.8] transportation [0.3] at this period [0.2] well [1.6] either by water 
[2.4] in other words using the navigable rivers [0.7] or over land [0.4] and 
eventually there is going to be an overland [0.4] element to it [0.8] from one 
river system to another [1.1] overland transport [0.2] by ox cart was A 
extremely slow since you could [0.5] the the ox would progress at probably one 
mile an hour [0.9] and secondly as a result extremely expensive [1.8] so a 
tribe told to ex-, 
to to shift grain [0.3] from A to B [0.9] when that was a large distance [0.3] 
would be fa-, would be faced by an extremely [0.7] er [0.2] heavy [0.7] er 
amount of expenditure [0.2] in achieving that [1.0] however one can imagine the 
scenario [0.3] if for a consideration [0.6] er the er official [0.3] might be 
prevailed upon [1.0] to take the [0.4] grain into a local [0.9] er military 
stations [0.3] then everybody would be happy [0.6] the tribe would be happy 
well it would be happy in so far as it hadn't had to bleed itself dry [0.5] er 
arranging for transportation costs [0.6] er the army would be happy because 
they would have the grain [0.3] and the official involved would be happy 
because he had had a backhander [0.3] of no inconsiderable amount [1.0] so [0.
5] [0.3] that's [0.2] the other [0.4] form [0.2] of corruption [0.5] in the 
Annona tax that Tacitus mentions [3.5] Agricola is presented as somebody who [1.
8] checks [0.3] these [0.5] forms of corruption [2.8] having given us this 
civilian aspect [0.2] he [0.2] then goes on [0.2] to deal with eighty-nine the 
push [0.3] northwards [0.4] the [0.6] er [0.6] annexation [0.4] of Brigantia [2.
4] we saw last 
time the number of [0.5] er camps [0.2] within north Britain that can be 
attributed [0.9] to [0.4] Agricola [1.0] we saw how [0.2] they [0.6] line 
themselves up [0.9] with a double [1.3] er [0.5] double route of of er [0.2] 
progress northwards an east route and a west route [0.3] they that's [0.2] 
basically referred to here [0.3] a ring of garrisoned force was placed around 
them [0.2] that's the Brigantes [2.3] then before [0.4] we get to seventy-nine 
[0.5] yet another [0.7] aspect [0.4] of er [0.5] the civilian activities that a 
governor might engage in [0.6] during the er [0.3] winter [1.0] the 
romanization [1.4] of the civilian population or at least the upper echelons of 
Romano-British society [1.0] what Tacitus [1.1] refers to as the demoralizing 
temptations of arcades baths [0.4] and sumptuous [0.2] banquets [0.4] the 
unsuspecting Britons spoke of such novelties as civilization [0.5] when in fact 
they were only a feature [0.4] of their enslavement [1.5] it's [0.6] putting it 
in a rather negative way but this is the inevitable [0.8] er [1.1] process [0.
4] by which [0.7] Rome [1.3] absorbed [0.3] the upper echelons of society [0.4] 
into [0.4] the Roman [0.2] way of life [0.6] and once these 
people had been romanized of course they were less likely as a result [0.4] to 
want to throw off Roman rule [0.7] and it's all part of course [0.3] of the 
process [0.6] by which [0.2] authority for self-government for local government 
[0.3] is shifted onto the natives [0.2] thereby avoiding the expense [0.4] to 
the central [0.2] authority [2.2] from there [1.8] Tacitus goes on to the 
campaigns [0.3] of seventy-nine [0.5] the campaigns that [0.4] take us [0.5] to 
the end of the third year of Agricola's [1.4] period in Britain [0.8] the end 
of what [0.3] would normally have been [0.4] his period as governor [1.6] it 
takes Agricola [0.2] as far north [0.4] as the River Tay [0.7] he [0.2] brings 
in southern Scotland [5.1] and achieves a radical new [0.8] expansion [0.5] of 
Roman control 
nm0050: we're told that Agricola established a number of forts [0.3] in the 
area [0.4] not least along the line [0.4] between the Forth and the Clyde [0.8] 
yet as we saw last week [1.6] the actual positioning of known Agricolan [0.4] 
stations there [0.5] is less numerous [0.7] than Tacitus would have us believe 
[2.1] the next year [0.6] eighty [1.0] is a consolidatory year [1.7] the same 
[0.4] with the year after [0.5] and one asks 
the question [0.4] why if Agricola [0.5] is sent to Britain by Vespasian [1.3] 
to engage in a major expansion of the province does he spend two years [0.8] 
halted [1.1] in southern Scotland [0.9] engaged in consolidation [2.7] 
certainly consolidation was a [0.2] process [0.3] that we might have expected 
[1.7] but was it also to be seen in the context of [0.4] Agricola [0.6] not 
thinking that his period in office [0.5] would last much longer and therefore 
not being willing [0.4] to engage in major expansion [0.3] fort-, er north of 
the Tay [1.4] is it also a signal [0.8] that there'd been a major shift [0.3] 
in central Roman policy towards Britain [0.8] after all [0.4] in the year 
seventy-nine [0.5] Vespasian had died and was succeeded [0.4] by [0.3] his 
elder son [0.2] Titus [1.2] that period of consolidation actually coincides 
with [0.6] Titus' whole reign [0.7] he died after all [0.5] in eighty-one [1.5] 
so is it this actually not Agricola's policy [0.5] of consolidation but Titus' 
[0.7] of not being [0.3] willing [0.5] to [0.6] go further beyond the Tay [1.9] 
but rather [0.8] consolidating what had already been gained [1.4] before [1.6] 
venturing any further [4.0] this perhaps [0.3] is 
what what lies behind [0.4] the opening statement [0.3] of chapter twenty-three 
[0.8] the fourth summer was spent in securing the district already overrun [0.
8] and if the valour of our army and the glory of r-, er of Rome had permitted 
such a thing a good place for halting the advance [0.3] was found in Britain 
itself that's the Forth Clyde line [0.6] where you get a narrowishness [0.3] of 
land in between those two [0.3] estuaries [0.9] is that what [0.2] the [0.5] 
glory of Rome [0.4] and the valour of the army is actually referring to [0.2] a 
sh-, a [0.4] policy shift [0.4] actually back with the emperor [1.1] the fifth 
campaign [0.2] according to Tacitus is spent [0.8] bringing in those areas of 
southern Scotland that had been bypassed the Galloway peninsula [0.4] as we saw 
last time [1.0] this is where it is that Agricola [0.7] is said to have er had 
the pipe dream [0.3] of invading [0.2] Ireland [4.4] one can understand why 
Agricola might want to [0.5] bring in [0.3] the Galloway peninsula [0.2] after 
all it had [0.2] not been touched by Rome [0.8] er in the push northwards [0.9] 
and if there was to be 
any further expansion north of the Tay [0.4] then certainly [1.1] er [0.5] 
Agricola [0.4] needed [0.4] to make sure that there wasn't going to be [0.4] 
any trouble [0.5] behind him [1.6] at that point i think we'll [0.2] end for 
today but before [0.8] before you all pack up and go away [0.9] i just want as 
it were to [0.2] set the scene a little bit [0.8] from the point of view of the 
scale of [0.5] our evidence for for Agricola altogether [0.5] last time i dealt 
with the [0.6] the various forms of camp [0.4] this week and [0.3] tomorrow [0.
9] i'm going to be dealing with Tacitus [0.5] once you move beyond that [0.7] 
once you move beyond as it were the [0.9] the camps [0.2] which [1.1] tell a 
partial story because they're not [0.2] they don't [0.2] generally have an-, 
well they don't [0.5] full stop [0.3] have [0.2] any [0.6] er inscriptional 
evidence attached to them [0.9] once one moves beyond the literary source of 
Tacitus [0.2] there is virtually no evidence [0.4] for Agricola at all in this 
country [1.1] all that there re-, are [0.6] er is in fact er are four [1.2] 
inscriptions [2.7] just clear the board [0.3] er [0.5] oh [0.4] it won't clear 
[1.1] oh dear [0.3] 
never mind [1.5] i think we need something wet [1.0] for it [0.6] no [0.5] what 
we have [1.1] are [0.2] three lead pipes [0.2] from Chester [1.1] now they're 
not insignificant in their own [0.6] in their own right because they [0.4] they 
are part [0.5] of [0.2] the [0.5] er process [0.2] of [1.2] romanization [0.4] 
the establishment of towns and amenities [0.3] within towns the very fact that 
they've got Agricola's name [0.3] on them [0.3] shows this is an official [0.6] 
er an officially designated an officially sanctioned process [1.3] so we've got 
[0.4] three lead pipes [0.4] from Chester [0.4] and we have a fragmentary 
inscription [0.4] from Saint Albans [1.1] from the forum there dedicating the 
forum [0.8] and if we put that [0.2] on [1.2] and er [1.2] switch the light off 
and if you can see [1.6] past [0.2] the scribble on the [0.6] board [4.8] i've 
said this in the [0.3] source book so you can see [0.6] that the shaded parts 
here [0.9] yes the shaded parts are actually the bits that exist [1.6] the rest 
[0.3] is restoration what have we got [0.7] got a bit of the name of Vespasian 
[0.8] a little bit of the name of Vespasian [0.2] part of the 
fact that he was consul designate [1.5] all [0.6] we have three letters from 
Agricola's name G-R-I [0.8] we have the name of the town well [0.8] one letter 
[0.5] and [0.5] a part of another [0.5] so we've got V-E [0.4] and we have [0.
8] that bit there which is propraetorian legate [0.3] and the fact that the 
Basilica [0.3] was order-, er was er ornamented [2.6] the only way we actually 
can establish that is the fact that [0.2] many of these inscriptions are purely 
[0.6] functional [0.6] and go by rote [0.6] there are so many formula [0.2] in 
it [0.7] that one can [0.5] have a pretty good stab [0.2] at [0.2] restoring it 
[0.7] but take it away and you can see [0.6] that [0.5] in terms of inscription 
[1.4] Agricola [0.2] is essentially a non-event [0.4] within Romano-British 
history [1.3] so one really has to set the [0.2] the sources [0.3] within a [0.
2] tight [0.4] parameter frame [1.4] we are very limited [0.3] even though we 
[0.2] seem to have [0.4] so much [0.4] to deal with the er [0.4] the career of 
Agricola [0.8] and at that [0.2] i'll leave you [0.6] to er [0.4] evaporate