Simon Esmonde Cleary is Professor of Roman Archaeology at the University of Birmingham. His particular area of interest in Roman archaeology has always been the later Roman period and the transition to the Middle Ages, and he has excavated on several sites of this period in Britain and southwest France. He is the author of The Ending of Roman Britain (1989) and, with Ray Laurence and Gareth Sears, The City in the Roman West, c.250 BC–c.AD 250 (2011).

• Introduction; 1. Prologue: the 'third-century crisis'; 2. The military response: soldiers and civilians; 3. Christianity and the traditional religions; 4. Reshaping the cities; 5. Emperors and aristocrats in the late Roman West; 6. Rural settlement and economy in the late Roman West; 7. The economy of the late Roman West; 8. Breakdown and barbarians; 9. The fifth century and the disintegration of the Roman West; 10. Epilogue: AD 200–500, a coherent period?

'Esmonde Cleary begins by declaring his intention to 'emancipate archaeology from the role of servant'. In this, he can consider himself successful … [his] achievement is to put the two types of evidence on a level-footing, showing that they should be interrogated according to their own merits, rather than expected to fit into pre-determined, often incompatible, frameworks … As such, while this book will be greatly appreciated by experienced archaeologists, it is also a good guide for non-archaeologists who want to use the discipline to strengthen their work, but who might be hampered by the changing schools of thought or misled by the generalisations of earlier works.' Steven Spiegl, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

Simon Esmonde Cleary is Professor of Roman Archaeology at the University of Birmingham. His particular area of interest in Roman archaeology has always been the later Roman period and the transition to the Middle Ages, and he has excavated on several sites of this period in Britain and southwest France. He is the author of The Ending of Roman Britain (1989) and, with Ray Laurence and Gareth Sears, The City in the Roman West, c.250 BC–c.AD 250 (2011).

• Introduction; 1. Prologue: the 'third-century crisis'; 2. The military response: soldiers and civilians; 3. Christianity and the traditional religions; 4. Reshaping the cities; 5. Emperors and aristocrats in the late Roman West; 6. Rural settlement and economy in the late Roman West; 7. The economy of the late Roman West; 8. Breakdown and barbarians; 9. The fifth century and the disintegration of the Roman West; 10. Epilogue: AD 200–500, a coherent period?

'Esmonde Cleary begins by declaring his intention to 'emancipate archaeology from the role of servant'. In this, he can consider himself successful … [his] achievement is to put the two types of evidence on a level-footing, showing that they should be interrogated according to their own merits, rather than expected to fit into pre-determined, often incompatible, frameworks … As such, while this book will be greatly appreciated by experienced archaeologists, it is also a good guide for non-archaeologists who want to use the discipline to strengthen their work, but who might be hampered by the changing schools of thought or misled by the generalisations of earlier works.' Steven Spiegl, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

Simon Esmonde Cleary is Professor of Roman Archaeology at the University of Birmingham. His particular area of interest in Roman archaeology has always been the later Roman period and the transition to the Middle Ages, and he has excavated on several sites of this period in Britain and southwest France. He is the author of The Ending of Roman Britain (1989) and, with Ray Laurence and Gareth Sears, The City in the Roman West, c.250 BC–c.AD 250 (2011).

• Introduction; 1. Prologue: the 'third-century crisis'; 2. The military response: soldiers and civilians; 3. Christianity and the traditional religions; 4. Reshaping the cities; 5. Emperors and aristocrats in the late Roman West; 6. Rural settlement and economy in the late Roman West; 7. The economy of the late Roman West; 8. Breakdown and barbarians; 9. The fifth century and the disintegration of the Roman West; 10. Epilogue: AD 200–500, a coherent period?

'Esmonde Cleary begins by declaring his intention to 'emancipate archaeology from the role of servant'. In this, he can consider himself successful … [his] achievement is to put the two types of evidence on a level-footing, showing that they should be interrogated according to their own merits, rather than expected to fit into pre-determined, often incompatible, frameworks … As such, while this book will be greatly appreciated by experienced archaeologists, it is also a good guide for non-archaeologists who want to use the discipline to strengthen their work, but who might be hampered by the changing schools of thought or misled by the generalisations of earlier works.' Steven Spiegl, Bryn Mawr Classical Review