05-30-2016, 10:11 PM
(05-29-2016, 09:23 PM)David Scothorn Wrote: why not abandon some elements the topography and look for a memorial around Towcester?
I still think it's unlikely that the Romans would have erected a memorial or tropaeum to this battle; such things were pretty rare, and usually commemorated either a big imperial victory or a big territorial gain. This was neither, and bearing in mind the supposed political climate in AD62 (Paulinus recalled - apparently under a cloud - and a more placatory governor installed), a monument might have been seen as needlessly antagonising the native population and glorifying what was essentially a counter-insurgency campaign led by a man out of imperial favour.
However, if any evidence of such a thing ever turned up in a suitable location, I'd reconsider!
(05-29-2016, 09:23 PM)David Scothorn Wrote: Have we always placed too much emphasis on the 'narrow defile? But where would that leave us?
Nowhere much, I think. T's description of the location may have been invented, but it's pretty much all we have to select an exact location. If we discount it, we're left with a battle that could have happened just about anywhere in south-east England...
Only by combining the topographical stuff about the site itself with a strategic survey (routes, travel times and distances, reinforcement and supply possibilities) and some idea of a plausible chronology can we narrow down the options.
Nathan Ross