PAST CRIMESwere active in the Channel, raiding the coasts of Gallia Belgica and Brittany.
The commander of the Roman fleet was a man called Carausius, who soon
became a suspect in the eyes of the emperor, Maximian. It seems that
Carausius may have been stealing the pirates’loot, and even failing to pursue
the pirates until he knew they had loot he could steal! His execution was
ordered, but Carausius got wind of the order, and in an extraordinary move,
declared that he was now the emperor of Britain and Gaul. His ships defeated
a combined Roman, German and French fleet, and he moved his operations to
Britain. His breakaway empire did not last, and by 300 the Romans were back
in charge, but the fleet continued to combat piracy.
TheClassis Britannicawas based in a number of forts along what came to
be known as the Saxon Shore of Eastern and Southern Britain, and Northern
Gaul, the main fort possibly being at Dover or Boulogne. Several forts
survive, including Lympne, Portchester, Pevensey and Boulogne, and other
evidence for the fleets is found in a number of altars and inscriptions, and in
tiles marked‘CLBR’discovered at ironworking sites in the Kent and Sussex
Weald, dating from the late third and early fourth century. The Painted House
at Dover seems to have been amansioattached to the fort there. (Amansio
was an official hotel for the accommodation of travelling functionaries and
imperial messengers). It is not clear whether all the forts were built by
imperial order to keep Saxon pirates and invaders out, or whether some of the
earlier ones were built by Carausius to keep the Romans out! Either way, the
expenditure on building and manning these stone forts demonstrate the extent
of the pirate problem.
Cursing the thief
Theft of property might seem a very difficult crime to prove by archaeological
excavations or finds, but in fact there are cases where such evidence is at least
indirectly visible. For the Roman period, evidence of theft occurs in the form
of curse tablets (Figure 12). These were messages to the gods inscribed on
sheets of lead, which were then rolled or folded up and placed in a shrine or
sacred place, such as a spring. There may have been professional curse
writers, who would inscribe the lead sheets in suitable terms for their
customers. One curse which had not been rolled up was found in Leicester,
and was dated to the third or fourth centuryAD. The inscription read:‘To the
god Maglus, I give the wrongdoer who stole the cloak of Servandus Silvester
Riomandus...that he destroy him before the ninth day, the person who stole
the cloak of Servandus...’followed by a long list of possible suspects. It is
interesting to note that among these names, some are Roman, such as