The Ancient Romans by Michael Vickers

The Ancient Romans by Michael Vickers offers an engaging, visually rich journey into the heart of Rome’s classical world. Drawing on artifacts held by Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum, Vickers traces four centuries of Roman life—from the turbulent end of the Republic to the rise of Christianity—through vivid narrative and more than a hundred full-colour illustrations. Readers will stroll marble-paved forums, visit rustic farmsteads, and discover what legionaries ate, how engineers tamed rivers, and why household gods shared space with mysterious Eastern cults.

Written by a leading classical archaeologist, the book blends scholarly authority with an accessible style that will captivate enthusiasts, students, and teachers alike. Each chapter places everyday objects—coins, mosaics, armour, surgical tools—back into their original contexts, revealing how ordinary Romans built an empire that still shapes our world. Whether you are preparing a lesson, planning a trip to ancient sites, or simply curious about the people who laid the foundations of Western civilisation, The Ancient Romans delivers a concise yet comprehensive portrait of Rome at its most dynamic, all without requiring a single line of Latin.