UD: November 2019

“In numerous traditional accounts there has been a tendency to see the Romanisation of the Western provinces as ‘the light of civilisation’ reaching passive and previously barbarous indigenous societies. The emphasis was been on the supposedly positive aspects of the Roman conquest: the introduction of Latin, the spread of writing, the progressive expansion of stone architecture, the construction of villas with mosaics, and the erection of large-scale public works such as aqueducts or amphitheatres.

In fact, the subjugation of Gaul was an act of imperialist violence that brought about the death and enslavement of hundreds of thousands of people. Partial genocides like that of the Eburones, the tens of thousands who fell in battle, the massive sales of slaves through the southern markets, and the looting of numerous sanctuaries were acknowledged by the conquerors in their own accounts. Archaeological evidence now supports their testimony”.

Full Article, by Professor Nico Roymans of the Vrije University of Amsterdam, and Dr Manuel Fernández-Götz, University of Edinburgh.

https://www.academia.edu/12866878/Fire_and_Sword._The_archaeology_of_Caesar_s_Gallic_War

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