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BRITAIN DURING THE THIRD CENTURY CRISIS Anthony R. Birley Attention is given in what follows principally to the British provinces during the period traditionally described as that of the ‘third century crisis’, the years 235 to 285.1 After the Severan expedition, which in icted heavy losses on Rome’s enemies in Scotland, even though Severus’ aim, to annexe Caledonia, was given up by his sons, nothing is heard of trouble from the north for almost a century.2 The frontier system established under Caracalla, once more based on Hadrian’s Wall with its outposts, was lavishly praised by Richmond as innovative.3 But his view was based on the doubtful premise that under Hadrian there had been no outposts along Dere Street, the road leading north from Corbridge, through the Wall, into Scotland. In the 1930s Rich- mond had excavated at the two Dere Street outpost forts, Habitancum (Risingham) and Bremenium (High Rochester) and stated simply, in each case, based on the absence of ‘Hadrianic sherds’, that there was no Hadrianic occupation. Yet no pottery report was published, and scepti- cism is justifable, given the very limited nature of his excavations.4 It may well be that under Caracalla the original Hadrianic system was 1 For a survey of the frontier zone in the third century see R.F.J. Jones, ‘Change on the frontier: northern Britain in the third century’, in A. King and M. Henig (eds.), The Roman West in the Third Century (Oxford 1981), 393–414, naturally requiring some revision in the light of more recent archaeological evidence. This cannot be attempted in the present contribution, which concentrates on inscriptions and the limited literary sources. 2 See at the end of this article for Constantius’ dealings with the Picts. It may be noted here that F. Hunter, ‘Rome and the creation of the Picts’, in Z. Visy (ed.), Limes XIX: Proceedings of the XIXth International Congress of Roman Frontier Studies (Pécs 2005), 235–244, takes a different view on the formation of the Picts from that offered e.g. by A.R. Birley, ‘The frontier zone in Britain: Hadrian to Caracalla’, in L. de Blois and E. Lo Cascio, The Impact of the Roman Army (200 B.C.–A.D. 476), Impact of Empire 6 (Leiden and New York forthcoming), at nn. 55–59, where the model proposed by J.C. Mann, ‘The northern frontier after A.D. 369’, Glasgow Archaeological Journal 3 (1974), 34–42, is cited with approval. The ‘Mann model’ is criticised by Hunter. 3 I.A. Richmond, ‘The Romans in Redesdale’, in A History of Northumberland, vol. 15 (Newcastle upon Tyne 1940), 63–159, especially 94–98. 4 I.A. Richmond, ‘Excavations at High Rochester and Risingham, 1935’, Archaeologia Aeliana 4th series, 13 (1936), 170–198, at 180, 194. Anthony R. Birley - 9789047420903 Downloaded from Brill.com09/26/2021 01:07:44AM via free access 46 anthony r. birley simply reintroduced. Of course, the garrisons now stationed in the outpost forts were no doubt better suited to long-distance patrolling than had been the case in the third century. A plausible restoration of an inscription from Corbridge allows the inference that the Dere Street line was called a praetensio.5 The division of Britain – surely by Caracalla, in 213 or soon after- wards6 – left the northern province, Britannia Inferior, with only one legion, of which the legate now became governor, but with the major- ity of the British auxiliary regiments under his command. York was presumably given the status of colonia at this time: it had still been a municipium at the time of Severus’ death in 211.7 For reasons which are unknown, from an early date after the division troops from outside Britannia Inferior were stationed in that province. Detachments from the other two British legions, II Augusta and XX Valeria Victrix, both now in Britannia Superior, were at Carlisle under Caracalla or Elaga- balus and at a western outpost beyond the Wall, Netherby, probably in A.D. 219.8 Further, bene ciarii from Britannia Superior are attested in the Lower province (dating unknown).9 Under Caracalla, legionaries from the Germanies were based at Piercebridge on the River Tees, in the hinterland of the Wall.10 5 M.P. Speidel, ‘The Risingham praetensio’, Britannia 29 (1998), 356–359, impro- ving RIB 1.1152, Corbridge: [. Ra]e(ti?) Ga[es. s(ub) Arru]ntio Paulin[o trib. cur. a]g. in praeten[sione] and RIB 1.1229, Risingham: [. .] pro salute Arr(unti) Paulini Theodotus lib. The date remains uncertain, either second or third century. 6 As argued by A.R. Birley, The Roman Government of Britain (Oxford 2005), 333 ff. 7 Aurelius Victor, De Caesaribus 20.27. See E. Birley, ‘The Roman inscriptions of York’, Yorkshire Archaeological Journal 41 (1966), 726–734, at 727 (citing the view of J.C. Mann). York is rst attested as a colonia by an inscription of A.D. 237, naming a man who was decurion in the coloniae of Eburacum and Lindum, both in Britannia Inferior, AE 1922, no. 116. 8 M.W.C. Hassall and R.S.O. Tomlin, ‘Inscriptions’, Britannia 20 (1989) 331 ff., no. 4, Carlisle: C[o]ncord[iae] leg. II Aug. et XX V.[V. .]; no. 5, ibid.: I. O. [M.] Iunon[i Reginae] Miner[vae Aug.] Marti P[atri Vic]toriae c[eteris diis daea[busque] omnibus [M. Aur.] M.f. Ulpia Syrio [Nico]poli ex [p]rov. Trh[ac.] trib. mil. leg. XX V.V. Antoninianae (A.D. 212/213–222); RIB 1.980 + addendum (RIB I, with addenda and corrigenda by R.S.O. Tomlin (Stroud 1995)), Netherby: Im[p. Caes. M. Aur.] AntoTi[no] p. f. Yug. b[i]s cos. v#exil. leg. II Aug. et XX V. V. item coh. I Ael. Hisp. eq. sub cura M[o]d[i] IuNii, Neg. Aug. [pr.] (#pr. instante( T. Ael. N[ . ., trib.? . .]temp[lum . .] (A.D. 219?). 9 RIB 1.745, Greta Bridge: . .. ellinus bf. cos. provincie superior V S L L M; RIB 1.1696, Chesterholm: [. .] Silvan. [M.] Aurelius Modestus bf. cos. provinciae super[i]or[i]s leg. II Aug. 10 RIB 1.1022, [I] O M Dolychen[o] Iul. Valentin[us] ord. Ger. Su[p.] ex iussu ipsius posuit pro se et suis l.l.m. [Pr]aesente et Extricato II co[s.] (A.D. 217); other, undated, inscriptions from Piercebridge probably belong to the same period: RIB 1.1026, [D] M [. G]racili [ord]inato [Ger]man. Super. [leg.] XXII Aurelia [. .]illa coniugi faciendum curavit; AE 1967, no. Anthony R. Birley - 9789047420903 Downloaded from Brill.com09/26/2021 01:07:44AM via free access britain during the third century crisis 47 During the third century there seem to be increasing numbers of cunei and numeri (and similar units, for example vexillationes) in the frontier zone of Britannia Inferior, some of them manifestly more ‘barbarian’ in origin than the auxiliaries in alae and cohorts. The following table summarises the evidence:11 Caracalla Raeti Gaesati and RIB 1.1235 Risingham (A.D. 213) Exploratores Habitancenses Severus Alexander numerus Hnaudifridi RIB 1.1576 Housesteads Severus Alexander Germ(ani) cives Tuihanti RIB 1.1593 Housesteads Severus Alexander cuneus Frisiorum RIB 1.1594 Housesteads Ver(covicianorum?) Severus Alexander numerus [G]#e#r[man]orum(?) or Vindolanda11 ##Fr[isi]orum(?), Severus Alexander vexillatio Ma[ ] RIB 1.919; cf. 926 Old Penrith (undated) Gordian III numerus eqq. Sarm(atarum) RIB 1.583; cf. RIB Ribchester Bremetenn(acensium) 1.594–595 numerus Explorator. RIB 1.1262 High Rochester Brem(eniensium) vexillatio Sueborum RIB 1.1074 Lanchester Lon(govicianorum) Philip cuneus Frisionum Aballavensium RIB 1.882–883 Papcastle Valerian and Numerus Maurorum RIB 1.2042 Burgh-by-Sands Gallienus Aur(elianorum) undated cuneus Fris(iorum) Vinovie(nsium) RIB 1.1036 Binchester cuneus . RIB 1.772 Brougham eqq. LL RIB 1.765 Brougham eq(uites) Sar(matae) (?) RIB 2.4.2479 Catterick numerus Barc(ariorum) RIB 1.601 Lancaster numerus Barcariorum Notitia Dignitatum Occ. Arbeia (South Tigrisensium XL 22 Shields) numerus Con(cangensium?) RIB 2.4.2480.1–2 Binchester numerus eq(uitum) RIB 1.780 Brougham [St]ratonicianorum numerus M. S. S. RIB 1.764 Kirkby Thore 259, I O M Dolicheno pro salute vexil. leg. VI V. et exer. G(ermaniae) utriusq. c(uram) a(gente) M. Loll. Venatore 7 leg. II Aug. V S L M; M.W.C. Hassall and R.S.O. Tomlin, ‘Inscrip- tions’, Britannia 17 (1986) 438 f., . ex n[. .] German. supe[r.]. Note also RIB 1.747, Greta Bridge, not far south of Piercebridge, a now lost inscription; after reference to building work under a centurion of the Lower British legion VI Victrix, there is mention of [. su]perioris. This is restored in RIB as [Britanniae su]perioris, but [Germaniae su]perioris is also possible. 11 A.R. Birley, ‘The inscription’, in R. Birley et al., The 1998 excavations at Vindolanda. The Praetorium Site. Interim Report (Vindolanda 1999), 29–35; R.S.O. Tomlin and M.W.C. Hassall, ‘Inscriptions’, Britannia 34 (2003) 366–367, no. 8, offered only a partial reading of this badly weathered altar. Anthony R. Birley - 9789047420903 Downloaded from Brill.com09/26/2021 01:07:44AM via free access 48 anthony r. birley (cont.) venatores Banniess(es) RIB 1.1905 Birdoswald vexillatio Germa[no]r. RIB 1.920 Old Penrith V[o]r[e]d(ensium numerus Exploratorum Netherby, Castra Exploratorum Raeti Gaesati RIB 1.1152 Corbridge12 RIB 1.1216; 1217 Risingham RIB 1.1724 Greatchesters RIB 1.2117 Jedburgh Further,12a stray reference in a literary source refers to barbarian troops being sent to the island by Probus: “Such of them [Burgundians and Vandals] as he [Probus] could capture alive, he sent to Britain.” This was at the end of Probus’ Raetian campaign of 278.13 As with the despatch of 5,500 Sarmatians to Britain by Marcus Aurelius in 175,14 the intention was probably, not least, to put these men a safe distance from their homeland.
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