After the Roman Empire’s conquest of Britain in the first century A.D., the presence of administrators, merchants, and troops on British soil, along with the natural flow of ideas and goods from the rest of the empire, had an enormous influence on life in the British Isles. Cultural influences were of three types: the bringing of objects, the transfer of craft workers, and the introduction of massive civil architecture. Many objects were not art in even the broadest sense and comprised utilitarian items of clothing, utensils, and equipment. We should not underestimate the social status associated with such mundane possessions which had not previously been available. The flooding of Britain with red-gloss pottery form Gaul (modern-day France), decorated with scenes from Classical mythology, probably brought many into contact with the styles and artistic concepts of the Greco-Roman world for the first time, whether or not the symbolism was understood. Mass-produced goods were accompanied by fewer more aesthetically impressive objects such as statuettes. Such pieces perhaps first came with officials for their own religious worship; others were then acquired by native leaders as diplomatic gifts or by purchase. Once seen by the natives, such objects created a fashion which rapidly spread through the province.

In the most extreme instances, natives literally bought the whole package of Roman culture. The Fishbourne villa, built in the third quarter of the first century A.D., probably for the native client king Cogidubnus, amply illustrates his Roman pretensions. It was constructed in the latest Italian style with imported marbles and stylish mosaics. It was lavishly furnished with imported sculptures and other Classical objects. A visitor from Rome would have recognized its owner as a participant in the contemporary culture of the empire, not at all provincial in taste. Even if those from the traditional families looked down on him, they would have been unable to dismiss him as uncultured. Although exceptional, this demonstrates how new cultural symbols bound provincials to the identity of the Roman world.

Such examples established a standard to be copied. One result was an influx of craft worker, particularly those skilled in artistic media like stone-carving which had not existed before the conquest. Civilian workers came mostly from Gaul and Germany. The magnificent temple built beside the sacred spring at Bath was constructed only about twenty years after the conquest. Its detail shows that it was carved by artists from northeast Gaul. In the absence of a tradition of Classical stone-carving and building, the desire to develop Roman amenities would have been difficult to fulfill. Administrators thus used their personal contacts to put the Britons in touch with architects and masons. As many of the officials in Britain had strong links with Gaul, it is not surprising that early Roman Britain owes much to craft workers from that area. Local workshops did develop and stylistically similar groups of sculpture show how skills in this new medium became widerspread. Likewise skills in the use of mosaic, wall painting, ceramic decoration, and metal-working developed throughout the province with the eventual emergence of characteristically Romano-British styles.

This art had a major impact on the native peoples, and one of the most importance factors was a change in the scale of buildings. Pre-Roman Britain was highly localized, with people rarely traveling beyond their own region. On occasion large groups amassed for war or religious festivals, but society remained centered on small communities. Architecture of this era reflected this with even the largest of the fortified towns and hill forts containing no more than clusters of medium-sized structures. The spaces inside even the largest roundhouses were modest, and the use of rounded shapes and organic building materials gave buildings a human scale. ■But the effect of Roman civil architecture was significant. The sheer size of space enclosed within buildings like the basilica of London must have been astonishing. ■This was an architecture of dominance in which subject peoples were literally made to feel small by buildings that epitomized imperial power. ■Supremacy was accentuated by the unyielding straight lines of both individual buildings and planned settlements since these too provided a marked contrast with the natural curvilinear shapes dominant in the native realm. ■

公元1世纪罗马帝国征服英国之后，罗马的行政官吏、商人、军队入驻英国，也带来了帝国其他区域的思想和商品，这对英国人民的生活产生了巨大的影响。文化方面的影响可分三类：各种物品的流入、手工艺人的迁移以及民用建筑的大规模引进。大部分物品即使是从最广泛的意义上来说也算不上艺术品，这些物品包括实用性的衣物、餐具和设备。但我们不应该低估这些新进的普通物品所象征的社会地位。来自高卢（现今法国）的饰有古典神话中场景的亮红色陶器，可能让很多人首次接触到了古希腊-罗马世界的风尚与艺术观，不管人们是否理解了这些艺术的象征意义。伴随大规模生产的商品到来的是数量更少但更具有美学价值的物品，比如雕像。这类物品可能起初是官员带来进行宗教礼拜的，之后是当地领导人通过外交馈赠或自己购买所得。这类物品每每进入公众视野，都会掀起一股潮流，迅速传遍当地。 最极端的时候，当地人曾买下一整套罗马文化。菲什本别墅，建于公元50-75年，可能是为当地人科吉杜努斯王公所建的，充分展示了科吉杜努斯罗马式的虚荣。别墅使用进口的大理石和时髦的马赛克，建筑风格是当时最新的意大利风，装饰豪华，里面陈列着许多进口雕塑和其他古典风格的物品。罗马人若到此，会认为别墅的主人相当融入帝国的现代文化，品位毫无当地的俗气。那些来自传统家庭的人，即使看不起别墅主人，也不得不承认其文化修养。虽然这是个个案，但也证明了新的文化符号是如何将当地人与对罗马世界认同联系在一起的。 这类例子树立了一个可以复制的标杆。于是，大量手工艺人涌入英国，特别是那些在艺术媒介技艺娴熟的艺人，比如石头雕刻，在被占领前，无人在英国从事这项工艺。这些民间匠人大多来自高卢和德国。巴斯圣泉旁的宏伟神殿就是在罗马占领后20年建成的。从神殿的细节可见，石雕部分出自东北的高卢艺术家之手。在没有传统石材雕刻与建筑的情况下，很难建造出罗马当地的那种舒适感。因此，罗马行政官吏亲自牵线，让英国人接触到罗马的建筑师和石匠。许多当地的罗马官员与高卢人联系紧密，这也就不难理解为什么早期罗马统治下的英国人很感激高卢地区的工匠了。当地的作坊也制造出了与高卢风格很相近的雕塑，这表明这种新的艺术媒介在当时的英国是多么的流行。同样，马赛克、壁画、陶瓷装饰、、金属加工技术也在当地得到了发展，最终形成了一种罗马-英国风格。 这种艺术对英国当地人影响重大，其中在建筑规模方面的变化是一大要因。在被罗马占领前的英国，很少有人到去到自己的生活区域之外的地方，活动范围十分局限。偶尔，因为参加战争或者举行宗教仪式，人们可能会相聚到一地，但社会仍然是以小社区为中心。这反应在当时的建筑物中是，连最大的设防城镇和山间堡垒中，最多也就是一些中型建筑群。即便是最大的圆屋剧场，内部空间也不是很大，而圆形及整体的建筑材料的使用，让建有筑显得有一种人性化的尺度。罗马的建筑则雄伟庄严，单是内部空间，就堪比伦敦大教堂，令人惊异。这是一种建筑上的占领姿态，用浓缩了皇权的建筑让被占领的民族感到自身的渺小。另外，不管是个体建筑还是规划建筑群都使用了刚毅的直线，与英国本地的自然的曲线建筑形状形成鲜明对比，从而突出了罗马人至高无上的权力。