One of Rosemary Sutcliff's acclaimed books set in Roman Britain. The Eagle of the Ninth tells the story of a young Roman officer who sets out to discover the truth behind the mysterious disappearance of the Ninth Legion, who marched into the mists of northern Britain and never came back. Rosemary Sutcliff spent most of her life in a wheelchair, suffering from the wasting Still's disease. She wrote her first book for children, The Queen's Story, in 1950 and went on to become a highly respected name in the field of children's literature. She received an OBE in 1975 and died at theage of 72 in 1992.
The story of an ancient ambush that devastated Rome—and the modern-day hunt that finally revealed its location and its archaeological treasures. In 9 A.D., the seventeenth, eighteenth, & nineteenth Roman legions and their auxiliary troops under the command of Publius Quinctilius Varus vanished in the boggy wilds of Germania. They died singly and by the hundreds over several days in a carefully planned ambush led by Arminius—a Roman-trained German warrior adopted and subsequently knighted by the Romans, but determined to stop Rome’s advance east beyond the Rhine River. By the time it was over, some 25,000 men, women, and children were dead and the course of European history had been forever altered. “Quinctilius Varus, give me back my legions!” Emperor Augustus agonized aloud when he learned of the devastating loss. As decades passed, the location of the Varus defeat, one of the Western world’s most important battlefields, was lost to history. It remained so for two millennia. Fueled by an unshakable curiosity and burning interest in the story, a British Major named J. A. S. (Tony) Clunn delved into the nooks and crannies of times past. By sheer persistence and good luck, he turned the foundation of German national history on its ear. Convinced the running battle took place north of Osnabruck, Germany, Clunn set out to prove his point. His discovery of large numbers of Roman coins in the late 1980s, followed by a flood of thousands of other artifacts (including weapons and human remains), ended the mystery once and for all. Archaeologists and historians across the world agreed. Today, a state-of-the-art museum houses and interprets these priceless historical treasures on the very site Varus’s legions were lost. The Quest for the Lost Roman Legions is a masterful retelling of Clunn’s search to discover the Varus battlefield. His well-paced and vivid writing style makes for a compelling read as he alternates between his incredible modern quest and the ancient tale of the Roman occupation of Germany—based upon actual finds from the battlefield—that ultimately ended so tragically in the peat bogs of Kalkriese.
One of Rome's legions is missing! The disappearance of the Ninth Legion is a mystery that has piqued the interest of historians and archaeologists since the eighteenth century. They knew that it had formed part of the Roman garrison of Britain from the time of the emperor Claudius, but there was no record of its involvement in the great frontier works of the second century. It seemed simply to have disappeared. What had happened to it? Now, archaeologist Duncan B. Campbell follows the trail of research down through the decades in a meticulously documented account. Registering each new item of evidence as it came to light and explaining its significance, he pieces together the unfolding solution to the age-old mystery.
In AD383, according to Bishop Eucherius of Lyon, flooding caused part of the bank of the River Rhone to collapse, revealing a massed grave of thousands of bodies. Eucherius identified these as a legion recruited for the Roman army from the Christians of the Theban district in Egypt, whom he claimed had been massacred nearly a century previously (near the modern village of St Maurice-en-Valais in southwestern Switzerland) for refusing to obey orders they considered immoral. This incident, asserted by Eucherius as matter of fact, is unrecorded elsewhere. Even the existence of this Theban legion is unclear.
An awe-inspiring account of the final days of Rome’s forgotten legion. The Ninth Hispana was once the pride of the Roman Army, wreathed in honour for numerous successful campaigns. But by the time it was joined by Centurion Justinius Corvus, it had clearly fallen on hard times. Smarting from the sting of his recent demotion, and a transfer to Britain, a land he despises, Justinius nevertheless works hard to bring to his men some of the same pride he feels as a Roman soldier. As their bond grows strong, with each other and with the occupied land, their skill in combat is tested to its limits against the forces of Vortrix, High King of the Britons. As the battle lines muster, the fate of an Army, and of a nation, will be decided... The Legions of the Mist is an earth-shattering tale of loyalty, love and war, perfect for fans of Simon Scarrow, Conn Iggulden and Ben Kane.
The Disappearing Ninth Legion puts this mysterious Roman legion firmly back on the historic map. A great deal of fiction and conjecture has appeared in books, films, and on the internet, but this book draws on actual historical and up-to-date archaeological information to paint a picture of the real legion as it was, its development, expansion, structure, assignments under the Caesars and the Roman Empire, its supposed disappearance from York, then further evidence for its survival in Europe, the East, and possibly even China, as the mighty world of the Romans gradually fell apart. Was the legion simply broken up and re-assigned or do they still march the moorlands and streets of Eastern Britain, a lost ghostly army cursed and vanquished by the Druids and Celts? It's all here written and presented in an easy and non-technical way by one of Britain's best up-and-coming story tellers and presenters.
Scotland contains a wealth of Roman camps and this book is a companion volume to earlier publications of camps in England and Wales. As the northern frontier zone of Britain subject to repeated campaigns by the Roman army the area possesses a wide and fascinating range of camp sites recorded both as earthwork remains and through cropmarkings from the air. The field evidence is discussed against the background of Roman army campaigns with each of the camps described and illustrated in a detailed gazetteer. The book is illustrated throughout with plans maps and photographs and will be of interest to all those who wish to know more about the archaeology of the Roman army its campaigns in northern Britain and the ancient military mind.
Part of the Penguin History of Britain series, An Imperial Possession is the first major narrative history of Roman Britain for a generation. David Mattingly draws on a wealth of new findings and knowledge to cut through the myths and misunderstandings that so commonly surround our beliefs about this period. From the rebellious chiefs and druids who led native British resistance, to the experiences of the Roman military leaders in this remote, dangerous outpost of Europe, this book explores the reality of life in occupied Britain within the context of the shifting fortunes of the Roman Empire.
Rosemary Sutcliff’s Carnegie Medal-winning Roman Britain Trilogy continues more than a century after the events of The Eagle of the Ninth (The Eagle) in The Silver Branch as two cousins join the Roman side in the fight against a tyrannical British emperor. Violence and unrest are sweeping through Roman Britain. Justin and Flavius find themselves caught up in the middle of it all when they discover a plot to overthrow the Emperor. In fear for their lives, they gather together a tattered band of men and lead them into the thick of battle, to defend the honor of Rome. But will they be in time to save the Emperor...
