Roman and native in Scotland: new approaches

Roman-native relationships have been an active topic of debate for many years, and interest shows no signs of abating. However, in the three decades since the last major survey of the Scottish data (Robertson 1970) there has been a substantial increase in the data-set, and it should now be possible to develop more complex and robust interpretations. The aim here is not to present a detailed new corpus of Roman material from non-Roman sites, although a list of finds since Robertson's work is given in the Appendix: instead, it is to look at the quantity and distribution of the material; to explore new approaches that allow us to develop models of its use; and to look at its nature. The study concerns itself with finds from Iron Age sites, burials or hoards; stray finds are not considered in detail since their cultural context is much harder to assess. The focus is on the uses made of Roman material in Iron Age societies. From this perspective, the mechanisms by which the material was acquired and the motives of the Romans in dealing with the ‘barbarians’ are less crucial, and they will not be considered in detail here. Different parts of Scotland sustained very different societies during the Iron Age and had quite different histories of Roman contact (Armit 1997a; Breeze 1982). To allow for this, an attempt will be made to identify regional patterns in the use of Roman material.