I'm not usually too much into Roman history for whatever reason - that isn't to say it's boring or uninteresting, I'm just not as fond of memorizing the names of various rulers and dates, and that seems to be one of the main focuses on scholarship in that realm. At least that was how all of my college classes that dealt with that particular era handled things. There's a bit of that in this new book, Julia Velva, A Roman Lady from York - Her Life and Times Revealed by Patrick Ottaway, but I would say that the author has chosen a rather interesting way to make a book about Roman History - focusing in on one artifact and trying to establish the world around that person. The artifact in question is a gravestone dug up almost 100 years ago in York depicting the life of a Roman woman named "JULIAE VELVAE" or Julia Velva. The author tries to paint as full of a picture of the events and social structures found in ancient York as they can.

It's honestly amazing how much information can be gleaned from such a seemingly insignificant piece of stone. For example, by seeing what her presumed husband's name was as inscribed on the headstone, Aurelius Mecurialis, the author describes the Roman rules for military service wherein foreigners were not seen to have legitimate marriages or children until they retired from the mandatory service and were granted citizenship. With his non-given name being "Aurelius", it can be surmised that he was an outsider that joined the Roman military, gained citizenship through military service, then took a new honorific name in honor of the ruler at the time, either Marcus Aurelius or possibly his son. These names were a way to tell if somebody was higher up in the class rankings than a person without such a name. I was skeptical as to how an entire book could be written about a headstone, but stuff like this surprised me.

Overall this book was interesting despite my general disinterest in Roman history. The second half of the book, which particularly described what life would have been like in what is now known as York was interesting and paints a far better picture on what life was like in Roman-ruled Britain than most other sources I've come across. I'm not going to say that I plan to go hog-wild on Roman stuff anytime soon, but this was a solid book that may have helped changed my mind about reading books in this wheelhouse.

I have ancestors from the York area and found this book really interesting. I haven't found too many daily accounts of anyone in Roman ruled England (or any other area for that matter). Fascinating book and seems well researched.

this was a really interesting biography, I hadn't heard of Julia Velva before. It was well written and felt like it was well researched.

Julia Velva, A Roman Lady from York, is a vehicle for Patrick Ottaway to convey the Roman history of the city of York in the second and third centuries. Julia Velva and her husband were well off citizens of York in its Roman heyday as a Roman garrison city. Mr. Ottaway takes the reader through all aspects of life in the city through the archeological remains of pottery, grave sites, walls and housing goods. Very interesting.

A very interesting, well researched and detailed book about life in Britain during the Roman age.
It's not the usual informative book but a serious book for archaeologist (or so I think).
I found it interesting and recommend it.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A good look for those who have an interest in daily life of people who lived in Roman controlled Britain. Or British history in general

Thanks to Netgalley and Pen and Sword History for a copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Using the tomb of Julia Velva as a starting point, the author goes on to broach everything you will ever want to know about life in York during the time period surrounding Julia Velva’s life.
From its beginning as a legionary fortress, to the layout of the civilian settlement that followed, as well as how the geography of York impacted on that layout.
We also get a detailed description of York’s economy at the time, including the trades of its citizens, in addition to its exportations and importations.
Not only that, but he goes on to tell us just what their productions were and how it impacted the citizens diet and health.
His description of York’s society is also very on point, as we get to see the daily life of the people of Roman York and the impact ones sex and status had on it, as well as the role of their religious beliefs and practices and, what led to the base of this book, their burial customs and cemeteries.

I have to say that, for me, the best part of this book where the innumerous photos, maps and illustrations, which served to give us a glimpse into Julia Velva’s York.

This book was an incredibly detailed account on the roman history of York, one that I wouldn’t recommend to the casual history reader.
However, if you love roman history and/or York’s history, you should definitely give it a go!

Roman Britain has always been a mystery to me. I always felt a draw to the place and time and couldn't understand how Rome could have such a strong effect on the Celts of the time. Besides military power why did the people adopt Roman customs in many cases? After reading this very interesting and well written book by Mr Ottaway I have a firm understanding of the people and times of Old York. To think a headstone could lead to so many valuable ideas about the past seemed like a detective mystery to me. In many cases it is a good sleuth that puts together the past. Julia was not your average Roman citizen but probably one of more means and power. When she died York had been Roman for 100 years already! That amazed me to think that the York area was already very Romanized . York had been a military encampment to begin with and as the years passed a center for Government and peoples of the area to do business and also socialize.I loved this book because I often think about the peoples of the past and what they did and why they did it compared to todays world, Much is explained and the pictures and illustrations add greatly to an already well sequenced and interesting look at the person named Julia and the tribes that inhabited York long ago.

The first half of this book went slowly, and was definitely very heavy in the archaeology to give details of locations and history of York. I like that, but this was a bit of information overload that made it hard to follow. The second half, where Ottaway talks more about life in York, the society, services, foods, etc, was more readable and accessible overall,, I would still recommend this more for the serious archaeology scholar than the casual history reader.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Well written and engaging, the story and history written about by the writer were very entertaining. Loved it!!

This is a very detailed study of Roman York from mid 1st century to early/mid-2nd century through the gateway of the tombstone of Julia Velva, one of the elite of the city; it would do any academic scholar proud. It covered everything from the geographic and geological nature of the area to the founding of the city, to the administrative, military, economic, social and material culture of the above-mentioned time period. Ottaway discussed medicine, jewelry, imported fabric and hair styles in this academic work.

Ottaway’s book was a study, not just of any Roman provincial town, but specifically York. He prominently used archaeological finds with illustrations and photographs along with specific locations where items were discovered in his book. It was almost a guide book to Roman York.

This book would not be for the casual reader or an introduction to Roman history. This is for a person who is interested in the details of a Roman town life and for lovers of the city of York. Your will never see York quite the same again.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Julia Velva, a Roman Lady from York is an engaging look at the history of Roman York during the mid-second to mid-third century A.D. through the lens of two actual historical figures (Julia Velva herself and her heir Aurelius Mercurialis) and what their lives might have been like. Due out 31st March, 2021 from Pen & Sword Books, it's 336 pages and will be available in hardcover format.

The author, Dr. Patrick Ottaway, is an academic and this is what I would call a layman accessible academic treatise of Roman York, its culture, and history. As an academic work, it is *full* of tables and statistics and maps and minutiae (in a good way). The author definitely shows his work. I loved poring over the illustrations along with the exhaustive bibliography and full chapter notes and annotations. The notes and references are likely worth the price of admission for anyone interested in the subject and there's obviously been a swoon-worthy amount of time spent on research and resource gathering on the part of the author. He has taken care to explain new concepts and words in context (no Latin proficiency needed to access and enjoy the read).

I found the entire book quite fascinating. It is admittedly a niche book and will appeal to readers interested in cultural anthropology, but might not appeal to readers looking for an easy read. I found this one so engaging that I'm going back to try to acquire some of the author's other work; he is a gifted writer and brings ancient history to life.

Five stars. This is well and deeply researched and interesting.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

It's incredible that an entire book can be written based on the tombstone of one woman in York! I love that. But that one tombstone says so much and we know quite a lot about Roman life in general. Not only does the author describe the tombstone dating back to about the third century AD in detail but the meaning of Julia Velva's name.

The author explains the history of Roman York from about 71 AD including archaeological finds of graves with vessels, ancient walls and sewers. We learn about the impacts of physical environment, the Roman Army, rise and fall of York's population, York's grid system and infrastructure, road surfacing, diet, baths, deity shrines, reigns of Constantine and Septimius, the division of England by Caracalla, identifying information from seeds and minerals, a discovered coin hoard, gardens and plants, the importance of spelt wheat, mortality rate and food mills. Other things described in detail include religion, cattle, stone quarrying, kilns, crafting, cult rituals, health, education, status of women, textiles and where different minerals were found.

Julia's life is unknown to us but books like this make me wonder what she and those around her were like. As her family was able to afford a tombstone (and probably show off his status with it) she was wealthy. The author tells us what she could have done with her time based on history. Makes it very personal.

York is one of my favourite cities...next time I will be armed with so much more information. I did not realize that the fortress walls are built in trenches, not just on top of the earth as they are in some places. Decurions' duties are new to me as well. Another thing I hadn't thought of before was that the Romans were successful partly due to literacy and ability to track supplies and movements. It seems they were organized and great at administration. I like that new technology used on discoveries is described, too.

My sincere thank you to Pen & Sword and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this informative book. I highly recommend it to those who are intrigued about the lives of Romans in general but especially in York. Well worth reading.

My thanks to the publisher for an advanced review copy of this fascinating book, which provides enormous detail on what it might have been like to live in Roman York when Julia Velva was alive. I wish I had read a copy of it eighteen months ago before visiting York on holiday and I am sure many people will find it an informative read before they visit the city.

The author fastened on Julia’s tombstone, which was found face down on the Mount, to give the period between the mid second to mid third centuries an individual focus. And apart from Julia and her heir, Aurelius Mercurialis, we meet other real people like Marcus Munucius Mudenus, who was a river pilot on the Ouse, along which he guided ships from Italy, Africa and Gaul, and Flavius Bellator, whose gold ring identifies him as a member of the equestrian order.

When Julia was born around 160, York had been Roman for about a hundred years. River levels were maybe 3.5m lower on average and temperatures in the summer at least a degree higher than they are today. The period the Emperor Severus spent in York saw the pinnacle of its glory under Rome. After him - and Julia - there was bloodshed, confusion and a series of imperial assassinations.

York minster was later built in the centre of the Roman legionary fortress, whose huge administrative headquarters were almost as high as the minster in their day. The headquarters, gate houses, sewers and the extraordinary multangular tower are all now thought to be of a much earlier construction than before and the book makes use of recent archeological technology and techniques to analyse the remains which have been found in many places in the city, which are more extensive than I expected, even if no trace of an amphitheatre or race track has been found.

From them, we can know about Roman roads and buildings, but also the size and age of the beef they ate, along with sheep and pigs. We learn how much land is needed to grow enough spelt wheat to feed a family of eight. We find out about the industries in York, for example in glass, leather, jet and lead for export. We know there was a shortage of minted coinage. We can estimate how many people lived in York, what diseases they suffered from, how long they lived, what their teeth were like, whether they could read and write or count, what their clothes were like, how they treated their dead, what gods they worshipped and even what were their ethnic backgrounds.

The book is well illustrated with pictures and maps and I can recommend it unreservedly.

Julia Velva was a Roman,wealthy,elite who lived in York between 210 and 240AD.She was likely born between 160 and 190AD and was probably a descendant of someone who became a Roman citizen in Julius Caesar's time.The Velva aspect of her name is thought to be British or Celtic and suggests she was a local woman.Her husband or heir,Aurelius Mercurialis had acquired citizenship in 161 to 181 or 177 to 192AD under either Marcus Aurelius or his son,Commodus.All this information comes down to us from a tombstone found in 1922 on a prominent road leading to York.This discovery has prompted this book on Julia and York during her life time.A wide range of topics are discussed from the geography of the area,buildings and décor to deadly nightshade and portrait medallions worn by the women.Each topic is deeply detailed,informative and I'm sure the product of years of extensive research.My favorite sections were about the people of York,their dress,jewelry and funerary practices.I also very much appreciated the photos and drawings which definitely breathed life into this work.This is a scholarly book and may not be everyones cup of tea but if you are interested in Rome it is approachable.Thank you to Netgalley for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.