Newsletter Issue 22 - Association for Roman Archaeology

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G0071,ARA Newsletter22 01/11/2009 18:43 Page 8Fig. 2. The fate of Caerwent. Photo: © Roger White.can be found in his book entitledBritannia Prima. Some towns mayhave bucked the trend, e.g. Chesterwhere a Bishop and a Synod arerecorded for AD 617. There weretowns in the fifth and sixth centuries– but small and unimpre s s i v e .Romans would not have consideredthem towns. There were few publicbuildings – a few churches but mainlyoutside the walls. Industry was smallscalemetal and bone working.Houses and other buildings were oftimber.A fuller discussion in a longer version ofthis report is available. This also includesuseful re f e rences. Please contactrebecca_isis@yahoo.co.uk if you wouldlike a copy.Late Roman and early post-Roman Leicester – RichardBuckley – University LeicesterArchaeological ServicesUntil recently, evidence for activity inthese periods remained elusive, butsome has been provided by recentlarge-scale redevelopment projects.The Highcross Development siteseems to show continuousoccupation since Roman times,leading to over 3.5 metres ofarchaeological deposits. A large postbuiltstru c t u re was discovere d ,p e rhaps a hall, cutting into asubstantial area of what may havebeen the Roman macellum. Resultshave not yet been fully evaluated, sothe issue of sub-Roman activity is stillopen.Verulamiumbetween theRomans and Saxons – RosNiblett – University CollegeLondonEvidence is accumulating forcontinuing, ifdiminished, fifthc e n t u ry occupationin thetown. There is thefifth centurywater-pipe foundby Frere in InsulaXXVII, and there f e rence to St.G e rmanus‘s visitto St. Albans.Early Saxon settlementis larg e l yabsent, and asmall British populationenclavemay have still been there when Offafounded a monastery on the site ofSt. Alban’s grave. It may besignificant that the Late Saxonabbots had ‘problems’ with theKingsbury area, which they claimedwas the residence of ‘strumpets’, andeventually persuaded Edgar to sell itto the Abbey. But was it ane m b a rrassing area where theoriginal, but heretical, British stilllived?Silchester – the end of anearly medieval town – MikeFulford – University ofReadingThe town continued to be vibrantbeyond the early fifth century, butd i ff e re n t l y. The former Foru mBasilica was used for iron-making inthe fourth century and continuedinto the fifth century. Wells remainedin use in the fifth century as didf o u rth century pottery styles –evidence of a resident populationbut with diminished economicactivity. A dwarf column with Celtic‘Ogham script’ (developed in Irelandlate fourth century) is found dumpedin a well along with coins ofTheodosius, and cattle bones arestuffed into a second well. This mayindicate a ritual ‘closure’ of the citysometime after 500.From Durovernum toDurobernia CanterburyAD 300 - 700 – AndrewRichardson – Finds ManagerCanterbury ArchaeologicalTrustThe Tannery and Marlow Car Parksites show signs of rebuilding late inthe fourth century, and perhaps earlyin the fifth century, but it is not clearhow long after AD 410 thesebuildings continued in use. In theAugustine House excavations someoccupation along the southernf rontage of Watling Street isbelieved to have continued into theAnglo-Saxon period. There is someevidence for occupation andindustrial activity – kilns – to then o rth-east of Augustine House.Anglo-Saxon structures are foundafter AD 450, but there may be a gapin the early fifth century.There are many examples of irregularburials in the late fourth century –bodies are thrown into a pit to getrid of them, rather than buried. Is thisevidence of a plague? Was this thereason for the evacuation of the city– not the Roman departure? It wouldexplain the odd hiatus in buildinglasting perhaps only 50 years. Afterc. AD 600 a new street pattern beginsto emerge. What happened c. AD 425to c. 590 is not clear.Under the Portable AntiquitiesScheme, coin finds suggest ascenario. Coin loss across East Kent inthe fifth century is significant. Thereis a considerable density of findsoutside Canterbury, especiallyaround Faversham. In the mid-sixthcentury this becomes an importantproduction centre, perhaps becauseof its access to the Wansum Channel,which provides access to Kent fromScandinavia. But there is a markedabsence of coins found inCanterbury. Canterbury seems to beinitially peripheral to the earliestpost-Roman activity in England. Butits strategic location and the politicalambition of Ethelbert power a‘comeback’. Perhaps Augustine’smission was pre - a rranged as adiplomatic coup, to supportEthelbert’s ambitions to rule all ofKent.Roman York – Fourth Centuryand Beyond – Mark Whyman –York Archaeological TrustMark re p o rted on his re c e n tunpublished PhD study of evidencefrom the Wellington Row excavationin the colonia. Coins with a terminuspost quem of AD 367, and evidenceof rebuilding in this period mayindicate continued occupation wellinto the fifth century. Coins ofTheodosius have been found, alsoevidence of alterations to existing8
G0071,ARA Newsletter22 01/11/2009 18:43 Page 9Fig. 3.Elite houses at Caerwent in their prime.Crown copyright © – image courtesy of CADW.buildings. It is difficult to date theduration of each phase precisely, sowe cannot be sure exactly how longthis occupation continued. However,the fabric of ceramics match somefrom York Minster, which is definitelypost-Roman.Towns of Britain – like orunlike those on thecontinent? Simon EsmondCleary – University ofBirminghamTowns in Britain in the fourth centuryperiod, e.g. at Caerwent, functionedto provide for the élite who sawthemselves as Roman aristocrats.South of the Loire, and in Britain,there was less emphasis on defenceand more on villa life, luxurious andintellectual – reading Vi rgil, orcommissioning late mosaics, e.g. atS a i n t - B e rtrand-de-Comminges (Fig. 5).In contrast towns in Gaul north of theLoire were highly militarised controlpoints, e.g. Amiens. Villas in northernGaul are rare in the fourth century.Instead, local aristocrats show off bycopying the military.Similarities gave way to differencesin fifth century Britain and Gaul. InGaul, Visigoths take over manycultural Roman features unchanged,e.g. Argonne Ware. Towns acquirewalls, a bishop and a church orepiscopal basilica. Britain goes itsown way. The market seems to breakdown, perhaps because military taxrequirements no longer drive theeconomy.London –Derek Keene –Institute ofHistoricalResearch(University ofLondon)London was stillimportant in thefourth century –and carried thetitle Augusta. AFig. 4.new defensivec i rcuit was builtsometime after the visit of Constans.The riverside wall was strengthened,and bastions were added, perhaps toc o n t rol approaches up the RiverThames. A new stone building nearTower Hill may have been a cathedralor a warehouse/granary. Silver ingotsof the late fourth and early fifthcentury suggest military importance– they were probably for payment ofsoldiers and administrators. Londonlost its original purpose when the‘Roman’ government machine ceasedto operate, but there are fifthc e n t u ry finds – an Anglo-Saxonbrooch in a bathhouse, pottery atClerkenwell and St. Brides. A pewteringot found in the river Thames nearBattersea stamped with the nameSyagrius may refer to a fifth centuryruler of Northern France who wasmurdered in AD 487. The post-Romanmint in London issued imperialisticstyle gold coins. There may havebeen a royal residence or enclave forthe East Saxon sub-kings where St.Paul’s Cathedral now stands. A goldsolidus of Eadbald dated 630 showsSt. Paul’s. However, there was noBishop of London until 660.The focus in London shiftedwestwards to Covent Garden – arecent sub-Roman burial found at St.Plan of Montmaurin Villa, near Toulouse.Image courtesy of Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication. Republique Française.Martin’s in the Fields church mayaccord with Roman practice againstburial within the limits of a town. Noevidence has yet been found ofbuilding between the period ofL o n d i n i u m and L u n d e n w i c, butmigration of towns to a new site wasnot uncommon in this period, asSimon Loseby showed for Tours.Towns in Britain – the viewfrom Gaul – Simon Loseby –University of SheffieldSimon considered towns in Britain inthis period did not exist. In contrastrecent work on Tours by the Frencharchaeologist H. Galinie shows therecognisable urban character natureof post-Roman towns in Gaul. Thea rchaeological evidence showschanges consistent with thecontinued existence of the city,although its size declines, and oldfeatures such as the amphitheatrewere abandoned. A new focal pointgrows to the west. This is surroundedby new walls – probably bothdefensive and symbols of urbanstatus. New Christian buildings springup alongside the open-planresidential area. In comparisonBritish towns were little more than9
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Newsletter Issue 22 - Association for Roman Archaeology

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