From the sixteenth century, classical texts enabled Scottish and English authors and artists to imagine the character and appearance of their forebears and to consider the relevance of these ideas to their contemporaries. Richard Hingley's study crosses traditional academic boundaries by exploring sources usually separately addressed by historians, classicists, archaeologists, and geographers, to provide a new perspective on the origin of English and Scottish identity. His book is the first full exploration of these issues to cover such a long period in the development of British society and to relate ideas derived from Roman sources to the development of empire, while also placing ideas of origin in a European context. It is illustrated throughout with artefact drawings, site plans, and photographs.

From the sixteenth century, classical texts enabled Scottish and English authors and artists to imagine the character and appearance of their forebears and to consider the relevance of these ideas to their contemporaries. Richard Hingley's study crosses traditional academic boundaries by exploring sources usually separately addressed by historians, classicists, archaeologists, and geographers, to provide a new perspective on the origin of English and Scottish identity. His book is the first full exploration of these issues to cover such a long period in the development of British society and to relate ideas derived from Roman sources to the development of empire, while also placing ideas of origin in a European context. It is illustrated throughout with artefact drawings, site plans, and photographs.