Historians, economists and archaeologists have found that with the penetration of Ancient Rome into Britain there was a rapid increase in economic productivity in this region of Europe, which was associated with the introduction of new technologies and lower transport costs as a result of the standardization of the appearance of settlements and the appearance of new draft animals. The scientists' conclusions were published in an article in the scientific journal Science Advances.
"We analyzed how three key socio-economic parameters changed after the establishment of Roman rule in Britain, including the number of coins buried in the soil, the number of clay sherds and the size of buildings. All three values increased faster than the population and the size of settlements, suggesting that Britain was experiencing intense economic growth at the time," the study said.
That's the conclusion reached by a team of American and British historians, economists and archaeologists led by Scott Ortman, associate professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder, while studying artifacts found at several hundred ancient settlements that existed in southern and eastern Britain before and after the establishment of Roman rule. dominion.
In particular, the strengthening of economic ties and the increased production of goods lead to increased commercial exchange, in which coins and ceramics were actively used.
Based on this consideration, the history of economic growth of a region can be determined by how the typical number of these items varies across cultural strata.
The measurements made by the scientists show that these economic indicators were almost unchanged in the era before the Roman conquest of Britain (200 BC - 50 AD). During the era of Roman rule (AD 50-400), both the number of coins and the number of ceramic sherds increased rapidly, given how rapidly the population of the island grew during these eras. Typical agricultural areas in British settlements increased in the same way, which also testifies to rapid economic growth.
As scholars note, this growth was due both to the new technologies and breeds of animals that the Romans brought with them, as well as to the standardization of the layout of British cities and the reduced overhead costs of transporting goods between them, which itself stimulated trade. All this led to the fact that the productivity of British settlements constantly increased by 0.28-0.48% per year for three centuries, thanks to which their well-being by the end of the ancient era increased by about 2.5 times, the researchers summarize . | BGNES
