Hadrian’s Wall, David J. Breeze, Brian Dobson
This is a fairly in-depth examination of the Wall and the archaeology done around it to try and understand what it was used for and at what times. As such, it’s a lot of information that most people wouldn’t expect to hold in their heads after, unless they’re deeply interested in the topic. Which is pretty much exactly why I read this, back during my exam period. I really love reading books like this that sift through the archaeology, present possible conclusions and discuss what is most likely. I don’t expect to remember this or that about the forts — no one expects me to remember it — but all the same I learned about the Romans and the British of the period, and got to connect some dots in what I know.
It’s perhaps not the most scintillating reading if you’re not pretty engaged and interested in the topic, but it’s interesting stuff and they make a good case for their ideas.
My copy’s pretty old now (20 years maybe?) and, doubtless, massively outdated now as research is going on all the time. Perhaps I’ll wait to replace it as and when I know I’m going to get back into all that.
My copy had a fair few updates from the original, it’s true!