Romans

Controlling the Border.

Roman "Occupation".

The Romans occupied the northern part of Britain for nearly four centuries - roughly AD 79 to AD 420. They kept a strong border between England, which was fully under Roman rule, and Scotland, which was not officially controlled but was a fairly prosperous area and so "worth keeping an eye on". The border controlled movement of people and trade between the two areas. It was also the army's job to repel any raiding by northern Scottish tribesmen.

The major remains of this border are known as Hadrian's Wall. The garrisons on the Wall were manned by auxiliary troops who came from many areas of Europe. French, Dutch, German, Polish, Spanish or eastern European cavalrymen were posted to the Wall area and to other areas around Northern Britain. They had the job of maintaining law and order as the Roman army did in most of the British Isles.

At least some of these units would have ridden to their postings on war horses from their own home area. Foreign horses of several types are deduced from archaeology in Northern Britain.

A cross between such French, Dutch, German, Polish, Spanish or eastern European horses and the Celtic pony might have produced an animal closer to ‘horse size’, but anything over 13.2 hands high was not suited to the conditions on the northern fells. Big animals could not survive on the open fell without extra feeding, so by natural selection the breed stabilised as a pony (Richardson). There was no distinction made between "ponies" and "horses" at that time anyway. Animals were described by their suitability to various jobs, such as pack work, draught or riding; so they were types rather than breeds.

Border Control - Hadrian's Wall - Cavalry - Foreign influences? - Size - Colour - The Horse Goddess