Burlington Public Library

"What does Roman Britain mean to us now? How were its physical remains rediscovered and made sense of? How has it been reimagined, in story and song and verse? Sometimes on foot, sometimes in a magnificent, if not entirely reliable, VW camper van, Charlotte Higgins sets out to explore the ancient monuments of Roman Britain. She explores the land that was once Rome's northernmost territory and how it has changed since the years after the empire fell....

Describes the evacuation of Pompeii and Herculaneum--destroyed by a volcano in A.D. 79--in the 1700s by the Italian government, including in-fighting among leaders, dangers workers faced, and the threat of treasure hunting over preservation.

Describes how a British plowman unearthed a collection of Roman silver in the 1940s and the events that followed this tremendous discovery.