Archaeology of the Roman Conquest: Tracing the legions, reclaiming the conquered

REVIEW BY JOHN REID The attraction of ancient Rome is as potent today as it has ever been – just turn on your TV or look at any popular history bookstand – and how can we resist such an alluring mix of power, culture, and military might? Increasingly, however, the veil of Classical respectability that once cloaked the actions of the world’s greatest empire is being stripped away by modern authors like Fernández-Götz and Roymans, to reveal something altogether more sinister. At the heart of this troubling milieu lies the brutal power of the legions as the enforcers of imperial will. This new volume of the Cambridge Elements series shines something of a light on that dark heart –