Brian Dobson Books

J. Collingwood Bruce's Handbook to the Roman Wall

The collection of Roman inscribed stones and sculpture, together with other Roman objects found at Maryport in Cumbria, is the oldest archaeological collection in Britain still in private hands. David Breeze places the collection in context and describes the history of research at the site.

In the tradition of his earlier books on Dutch, Huguenot, and Polish connections to Scotland, Dr. David Dobson has now collected several thousand references that establish specific immigration connections between Scotland and the future country of Germany for the period 1550 to 1850. While the contents of these transcriptions vary considerably, each one of the roughly 1,200 entries nonetheless identifies a Scottish-German by name, date, city of residence, and the source of information. In many cases, we learn something about an individual's parentage, spouse, vocation, or more.

The Roman military remains in North Africa are remarkable in their variety and preservation. They include towers and forts, stretches of defensive lines of stone and earth with ditches broken by gates, and roads, sitting amidst amazing scenery. Readers of this book will enjoy learning more about North Africa's remarkable Roman inheritance.

This accessible account of the discoveries at the Roman fort at Bearsden examines the process of archaeological excavation, the life of the soldiers at the fort based on the results of the excavation as well as material from elsewhere in the Roman Empire.

This authoritative short volume introduces readers to the Roman army, its structure, tactics, duties and development. One of the most successful fighting forces that the world has seen, the Roman army was inherited by the emperor Augustus who re-organized it and established its legions in military bases, many of which survived to the end of the empire. He and subsequent emperors used it as a formidable tool for expansion. Soon, however, the army became fossilized on its frontiers and changed from a mobile fighting force to a primarily defensive body.Written by a leading authority on the Roman army and the frontiers it defended and expanded, this is an invaluable book for students at school and university level, as well as a handy guide for general readers with an interest in military history, the rise and development and fall of the Roman legions, and the ancient world.

The Roman military remains of Egypt are remarkable in their variety and state of preservation: forts, quarries whose materials were used in the monumental buildings of Rome, roads which brought the Mediterranean into contact with the Indian Ocean; each reader of this book will enjoy learning more about the remarkable Roman inheritance of Egypt.

As the most advanced frontier construction of its time, and as definitive evidence of the Romans' time in Scotland, the Antonine Wall is an invaluable part of this country's history. In this meticulously researched book, David Breeze examines this enigmatic life and the reasons for the construction and abandonment of his Wall.

In this important and beautifully illustrated book, David Breeze elucidates the context of the most famous frontier, Hadrian’s Wall. The zone to north and south of the Wall was a heavily militarised landscape of roads, bridges, forts, fortlets and towers, but also the towns, settlements and supply infrastructure on which the army depended.

This highly illustrated book offers an accessible summary of Hadrian’s Wall, and an overview of the wider context of the Roman frontiers.