ABSTRACT
The end of Roman Britain is little understood, as the archaeological evidence is still partial, especially in terms of chronology. Along Hadrian's Wall, however, despite the probable withdrawal of the field army in 406, a reduction in the size of barracks and lack of cash payment, the Roman army appears to have remained in some capacity, as levying of produce may have been possible, and as renewal of defences seems to have occurred in the fifth century.
The main threat in the early fifth century appears to have been from naval raids by Picts and Scots, evident in the violence with which at least some signal stations on the east coast, and south of the Wall, came to an end. The re-emergence of a native British political social structure north of the Wall may have protected its forts, which survived until a fusion with the Anglo-Saxon population (probably intervening against the raiders) occurred from the mid fifth to mid sixth centuries, as they no longer proved convenient as habitation sites. This is suggested by the environmental evidence, as a regression back to woodland did not occur until about a century after the end of Roman Britain.
