War and diplomacy on the edge of the Roman world

When investigating life beyond the frontier, it is easy to be swept up in the Roman narrative of conquests and battles against savages and barbarians. But when looking at Roman propaganda monuments, with scenes of combat, slaughter and submission, we have to consider the other players in this game – the locals. Scotland was no empty landscape waiting to be conquered, but a land full of people with their own cultures, aspirations and traditions. Roman diplomacy in action? The lefthand panel on the Bridgeness slab commemorates completion of the east end of the Antonine Wall. It is a typical propaganda view, with Roman cavalry riding down dejected locals. In the surviving histories, ‘