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Isca
Isca: the fall of Roman Exeter | Derek Gore
1 post | 1 read
A lively fast-paced story of life in the West Country as Roman rule disintegrates in the early 400s. Victoricus, his family dead, is caught in a power struggle between rival chieftains and Irish raiders. His fight for survival brings him to Isca (Exeter) through the Isc and Taen valleys (the Exe and Teign) and to Uxella (Seaton). He finds adventure, and love...
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rockpools
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Pickpick

Bizarrely, I‘ve spent today morning borrowing and setting up a bat detector. Side note: Public transport is heading back to the 90s right now. Yay!

Almost as strange, I‘ve finished a book 🎉 for a challenge 🎉 #bookedintime #romanempire

I don‘t think there‘s a blurb for this on Litsy. It‘s subtitle is The Fall of Roman Exeter, and it‘s written by Derek Gore, who has run a lot of history/archaeology adult ed classes in this part of the world.

rockpools Is it great literature? Erm, no. Predictable romance. Yup. Character development? Nope. Death and destruction. Yup. A ripping yarn? Hmm. Maybe. Ish. Did you learn stuff? Absolutely!

So yes. A pick because I‘d never considered what happened when the Romans pulled out of Britain after 300+ years. A pick because it fun to identify familiar places. A pick because his research-cramming was reasonably subtly done, and it was an enjoyable read.
9mo
rockpools But I probably wouldn‘t recommend it if you don‘t know Exeter/Teignbridge and need to be shown not told (!) 9mo
squirrelbrain Ooh…more interested in the bat detector than the book….! 9mo
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rockpools @squirrelbrain Me too, tbh! It‘s part of Devon Bat Survey 🦇 run by the Wildlife Trust. They divide the county up into km squares, and if no-one else has claimed your square, you can put your name down to set up a detector in your garden for 3 nights. I suspect they really want people with big gardens (‘do you have a tree or an arbour you can tie it to?‘ Eh?!) but they aren‘t going to get that in this km2, so they‘re getting me and my fence! 9mo
squirrelbrain Oh yes, of course, we all have an arbour don‘t we?! We tried a portable bat detector once a couple of years ago, as we get bats too, but it didn‘t really work. 🤷‍♀️(But it was a cheap little thing, more of a toy) 9mo
Cuilin I do love a book set in a familiar location and a big plus if the writer is accessible for lectures/ talks etc Roman Civilization ✅ 9mo
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