How Did Julius Caesar Influence Britain

Julius Caesar (Plate 5) first arrived in Britain in 55 BC. He decided to invade the island because Britons supported the Gaul’s that Romans had been fighting with. The Roman army fought off British soldiers but left to Gaul. However Julius Caesar came back in 54 BC with a bigger army but after the success Romans had to go back to Gaul to end the rebellion (Webster, p.84-85). Despite the fact that Julius Caesar left Britain again, some Romans were still going to island to trade with Britons. They noticed that Britain was a rich place and knew that taking control over the island could be very advantageous for them. That was the reason that Claudius (Plate 6) and his army conquered Britain in AD 43. They planned to get the control over the island

After arriving in Britain Romans found few chaotic roads already existing but it was not enough for them (Bishop, p.1). In the first hundred years after the invasion they constructed around 10000 miles of roads (Fig.2). They were straight but not steady, changing directions if needed. They were built up in layers of big rocks, smaller stones, gravel and sand (Fig.3). For more frequently used roads they layered cobbles. The road surface was bend for the drainage purposes (Wacher, p.73). The width of the roads ranged from around three to ten or more metres. The Roman roads improved the communication between new towns, postal system, they facilitated goods trading and supplying the army. The first road built by Romans in Britain is Fosse Way (Plate 7) connecting four Roman towns such as Lincoln, Leicester, Cirencester and Exeter (Wacher, p.32).This road has been modified by current highways. Another example is Dere Street ( Plate 8) that connected York with Corbridge running beside Hadrian`s Wall with Scotland as a final destination (Bishop, p.73). Today, for most of the distance from York to Hadrian`s Wall is followed by the