Recent publications of interest

Abstract

The Education Department at English Heritage encouraged the effective school curriculum use of the historic environment, from castles to post-medieval landscapes, from prehistoric burial monuments to twentieth-century townscapes. This paper charts the programme of funding education staff and resources to assist teachers to help their pupils to access, discover, and carry out cross-curricular projects at some archaeological sites under investigation. Case studies include excavations at Battle Abbey, East Sussex, Heslerton, North Yorkshire, Boxgrove, West Sussex, Whitby Abbey, North Yorkshire, and Cawthorn Camps, North Yorkshire.     

KIMMERIDGE JET—A POTENTIAL NEW SOURCE FOR BRITISH JET

Archaeological artefacts identified as jet are often assumed to have originated from the principal British source, which is at Whitby in Yorkshire. Geological samples of jet have also been found within the Kimmeridge Blackstone in Dorset—a seam of oil shale which has been worked since prehistoric times to produce artefacts similar to those made from jet. This paper discusses the geology and geochemistry of jet samples from both Whitby and Kimmeridge, and shows that the geological samples can be discriminated by differences in their organic components, as elucidated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.     

ROMAN AMPHORA TRADE ACROSS THE STRAITS OF GIBRALTAR: AN ANCIENT ‘ANTI‐ECONOMIC PRACTICE’?

Summary.   Olive oil and fish products from the south of Hispania and North Africa played an important role in the Roman economy. The authors call attention to the asymmetrical distribution of archaeological data available on this subject, in particular the location of amphora kilns, and try to give an explanation, based on the evolution of European archaeology in the twentieth century.     

Redressing the balance — an archaeological evaluation of North Yorkshire's coastal alum industry

Abstract

Recent acquisitions of coastline by the National Trust in North Yorkshire and Cleveland have included important archaeological evidence of North Yorkshire's former alum industry. Owing to its remote marginal location this evidence has been little studied and there has previously been a bias towards the study of documentary sources as a means of understanding the alum industry. The archaeology of the alum industry is seriously threatened by relentless coastal erosion and there is an urgent need to record this evidence and thus redress this imbalance. The Yorkshire Region of the National Trust owns the partial remains of three important alum sites and the results of the detailed archaeological evaluation of these sites are presented. The archaeological implications of the Trust's continuing acquisition of threatened coastline are also considered.     

An Engraved Chalk Plaque from Hanging Cliff, Kilham

An engraved chalk plaque found in the fill of a Roman ditch at Kilham, North Yorkshire bore decoration akin to that on some Grooved Ware pottery. A case is made for its inclusion within a small series of similar plaques of likely Late Neolithic date.     

Excavations on a Roman Salt-working Site at Jersey Way,Middlewich, Cheshire

In 2012, Oxford Archaeology North undertook large-scale archaeological excavations at Jersey Way, Middlewich, Cheshire, in advance of development by Stewart Milne Homes Ltd. Historically, Middlewich is well-known for its intimate connection with the salt-production industry. The excavation uncovered a sizable area of Roman remains, some of which were extremely well-preserved as a result of waterlogging, comprising timber used for processes connected with Roman salt production. One of these features, a brine well, contained evidence for ‘placed’ or ‘structured’ deposition. Other archaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence was also connected with salt production, in addition to the infrastructure of the Roman settlement and agricultural activity. Together, this allows greater insights into Middlewich’s Roman settlement, the salt-working sites of Cheshire and, more generally, the process and form of inland salt production.     

Cosmopolitan Catterick? Isotopic evidence for population mobility on Rome’s Northern frontier

In order to investigate how the population diversity at major Romano-British urban centres compared to small towns and military outposts, we conducted multi-isotope (carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and strontium) analyses of bones (42 individuals) and teeth (26 individuals) of human skeletons from Cataractonium/Roman Catterick in North Yorkshire (U.K.). The results suggest a markedly less diverse population at Catterick than at the larger towns. Significant differences are observed between burials from the town and fort area and the suburb of Bainesse to the south, and it is suggested that these reflect a shift to more localised recruitment for the Roman army in the Late Roman period. Isotope data for the ‘Bainesse Eunuch’, an unusual 4th century burial that has been interpreted as the remains of a ‘transvestite’ priest of Cybele, are not ultimately conclusive but consistent with origins in Southern Britain or areas with a similar climate abroad.     

The Chiming of Crack’d Bells: Recent Approaches to the Study of Artefacts in Archaeology

Abstract

CROSS PENDANTS, decorated with a ring-and-dot motif and made out of Whitby jet, have been found as far away as Norway and Greenland. This paper catalogues this unique group of artefacts and discusses their context. Their distribution is centred in Yorkshire, suggesting that they were made at Whitby Abbey in the late 12th century. Combining the power of the Christian cross with the magical properties of jet, they were likely worn as protective amulets.     

Placing Sanctuaries in Their Socio‐Political Landscapes: A Diachronic Approach to the Late Iron Age Communities in South‐East Iberia (Fourth–Second Centuries BC)

This paper explores the relationship between the historical dynamics and the transformations observed in pre‐Roman cult places in eastern Iberia between the fourth and second centuries BC. These are analysed through a case study: the sanctuary of La Luz (Murcia), located in the Segura Valley, in south‐east Iberia. Three main religious changes are discussed from this perspective: the development of the sanctuary in the fourth century BC, the changes observed in its archaeological record in the third century BC, and finally its destruction in the second century BC. These offer a diachronic view of the transformations, and illustrate the different levels at which they were expressed, from the archaeological record to the landscape. The work aims to provide a different perspective from previous studies in this area and a new view of the cult places in south‐east Iberia within their socio‐political landscape and the Mediterranean historical context.     

Catalogue of the Emblems of Saints

This report describes the excavations of a 4ha multi-period site situated in the parish of Heslerton, North Yorkshire, on the southern edge of the Vale of Pickering. The site came to light in 1977 and a rescue excavation project, sponsored by the Department of the Environment through North Yorkshire County Council, continued on a seasonal basis from 1978 until December 1982.

Occupation at the site began during the late Mesolithic with a flint knapping area, which was also used during the Neolithic and early Bronze Age. During the Late Neolithic a series of shallow gullies may represent the first attempts to establish a field system, and domestic activity may be indicated by two pairs of refuse pits. Other pits of this period demonstrate the presence of an ill-defined avenue of very large post pits running across part of the site. During the early Bronze Age two barrow cemeteries were present. The excavation of Barrow Cemetery 1, besides providing an important series of stratified carbon 14 dates, has produced an important series of Beakers and Food Vessels.

After the barrow cemeteries went out of use, woodland regenerated in the area prior to the late Bronze and early Iron age when the central part of the site became the setting for extensive occupation dispersed along the line of a major boundary which, once established, continued to function, though on a lessening scale through the Roman period when much of the site was turned over to agriculture. During the early Anglo-Saxon period a cemetery was established, focused upon Barrow Cemetery 2, which must have contained well over two hundred individuals, and is associated with a nearby settlement. During the later medieval and post-medieval periods the site continued in use as part of the agricultural landscape. A gradual accumulation of blown sands, associated with periods of denudation, prevented plough damage from disturbing the deposits over much of the area examined.     

THE COMPLEMENTARY USE OF NEUTRONS AND X‐RAYS FOR THE NON‐DESTRUCTIVE INVESTIGATION OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL OBJECTS FROM SWISS COLLECTIONS*

This paper shows the possibilities offered by the combined use of non‐destructive neutron and X‐ray beams in archaeological research on metallic finds. The following five artefacts from Swiss excavations were submitted to investigation, each with dedicated aims: a Roman sword, a Roman dagger, an Iron Age bucket, Iron Age spearheads and a Roman finger ring. The images obtained with both methods—neutrons and X‐rays—are discussed in length in this paper. The investigations took place at the Paul Scherrer Institute and the archaeologists who studied the objects come from the Universities of Lausanne and Zurich.     

Townships and early fields in north Nottinghamshire

Recent work by Riley has illustrated the existence of an extensive system of fields of probable Roman date in north Nottinghamshire and south Yorkshire. When these are compared with the alignments of township boundaries it is evident that the two patterns do not coincide. This suggests that the medieval township structure was not based on an earlier pre-Saxon system of territorial divisions. Such a suggestion would support arguments that have been put forward for a discontinuity of occupancy between the Roman and Saxon periods in this part of England.     

Original DocumentsDeeds Relating to Property in Various Parts of York-Shire: From the Muniment Room at Woolley Park Near Wakefield

Recent examination suggests that the ancient Bishop's Throne of Norwich Cathedral dates from before A.D. 871. The north arm is carved with a dove attacked by dragons. A corresponding dragon from another former arm was dug up in 1975 under the tower floor. The present south arm has the remains of a supporting lion, suitable for a semicircular bench of clergy flanking the Bishop. The carving is naturalistic, lacking interlace. This and the early Pictish punched and pecked technique are in favour of its source being the Cathedral of Dommoc, the Suffolk Roman town destroyed by the sea at Walton near Felixstowe. Most of the decoration may, however, be an addition after the 664 Synod of Whitby, which rejected the Irish church, and prompted bishops to bring craftsmen, relics, books and paintings of Bible-subjects from Rome.     

Precision GPS Surveying at Medieval Cottam,East Yorkshire,England

Abstract

To help promote the use of centimeter and sub-centimeter level GPS for surveying archaeological Sites, a series of tests was conducted at the deserted medieval village of Cottam in East Yorkshire,England. In order to understand the capabilities of the technology, the GPS system was tested for speed, accuracy, and reliability and the results were compared with those from a conventional total station. Using the capabilities of the total station as a benchmark, the GPS system's accuracy and reliability were found to be acceptable. The test system, however, was found to be considerably slower than the total station and much more difficult to use with equivalent levels of accuracy     

Northumbria's southern frontier: a review

Northumbria's southern frontier was arguably the most important political boundary inside pre‐Viking England. It has, however, attracted little scholarly attention since Peter Hunter Blair's seminal article in Archaeo‐logia Aeliana in 1948, which later commentators have generally followed rather uncritically. This essay reviews his arguments in the light of more recent research and casts doubt on several key aspects of his case: firstly, it contests his view that this boundary was fundamental to the naming of both southern and northern England and its kingdoms; secondly, it queries the supposition that the Roman Ridge dyke system is likely to have been a Northumbrian defensive work; thirdly, it critiques the view that the Grey Ditch, at Bradwell, formed part of the frontier; and, finally, it argues against the boundary in the west being along the River Ribble. Rather, pre‐Viking Northumbria more probably included those parts of the eleventh‐century West Riding of Yorkshire which lie south of the River Don, with a frontier perhaps often identical to that at Domesday, and it arguably met western Mercia not on the Ribble but on the Mersey. It was probably political developments in the tenth century, and particularly under Edward the Elder and his son Athelstan, that led to the Mercian acquisition of southern Lancashire and the development of a new ecclesiastical frontier between the sees of Lichfield and York on the Ribble, in a period that also saw the York archdiocese acquire northern Nottinghamshire.     

A long-distance copper alloy trade to the North Eastern Baltic during the late pre-Roman and Roman Iron Age (250 BCE–450 CE) explored with lead isotope MC-ICP-MS

The North Eastern Baltic has no copper resources of its own, meaning that Cu alloy was imported either as raw material or as finished objects. The north-eastern coastline of Estonia during the late pre-Roman and Roman Iron Age was connected to the south by sea to the long-distance ‘amber’ trade route and to the east by Russian river systems. This study quantitatively assesses the direction of the Cu alloy supply in the region before and after brass enters circulation at the beginning of the Roman Iron Age. After an initial portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) survey, 18 objects were chosen for Pb isotope analysis. This isotope analysis resolved a group of nine brass artefacts from the Roman Iron Age amongst a ‘melting pot’ of other Cu alloys. The similarity between the isotope ratios found in the Roman world suggests the presence of the same ‘melting pot’ in the North Eastern Baltic, possibly created by a large amount of Roman Cu alloy being traded north. No evidence for Cu alloy from Scandinavia or the Ural Mountains could be found. The hypothesis from this small study is that the Cu alloy entering Estonia was dominated by metal from Southern Europe from the late pre-Roman Iron Age and the Roman period.     

Combining photogrammetry and laser scanning for the recording and modelling of the Late Intermediate Period site of Pinchango Alto,Palpa, Peru

This paper describes the 3D modelling of Pinchango Alto, Peru, based on a combination of image and range data. Digital photogrammetry and laser scanning allow archaeological sites to be recorded efficiently and in detail even under unfavourable conditions. In 2004 we documented Pinchango Alto, a typical site of the hitherto poorly studied Late Intermediate Period on the south coast of Peru, with the aim of conducting spatial archaeological analyses at different scales. The combined use of a mini helicopter and a terrestrial laser scanner, both equipped with a camera, allowed a fast yet accurate recording of the site and its stone architecture. In this paper we describe the research background, the 3D modelling based on different image and range data sets, and the resulting products that will serve as a basis for archaeological analysis.     

Plant remains and amphorae from the Roman harbour under Flacius Street in Pula (Istria,Croatia)

The aim of this archaeobotanical and archaeological research is to expand knowledge about Roman diet and plant cultivation in Istria and to compare it with similar localities on the Eastern Adriatic coast. We have also tried to find some new information about maritime trade routes in the Mediterranean area in ancient times. Out of 27 samples collected from an excavated Roman port in Flacius Street in Pula, in total, 9809 plant macrofossils were recovered, identified and analysed. The results of the analysis show that most of the plant remains belong to the group of fruit trees and nuts. The most abundant are the remains of Ficus carica, Pinus pinea, Vitis vinifera subsp. vinifera, Rubus fruticosus agg. and Olea europaea subsp. europaea. These are all species that are widespread in the Mediterranean area and have likely always been consumed by the local population. The number of ruderal and weed species found is relatively high (31) in comparison with other plant categories (fruit trees and nuts; fruit collected from the wild; cereals; condiments; oil crops; vegetables and tubers; plants of fresh water environments; elements of maquis), but as they came to the site accidentally and not by targeted human activity, there are far fewer macrofossils of such plants than those of cultivated species. There were a few elements of evergreen forest vegetation and plants of aquatic habitats at the site (2 + 1), which suggests the existence of this type of vegetation in the area of the site in Roman times. Archaeobotanical comparisons of the site in Flacius Street with similar coastal Roman sites—Verige Bay on Veli Brijuni (first-fifth century ad), the port of Zaton near Nin (first-third century ad) and Caska Bay on the island of Pag (first and second century ad)—reveal considerable similarities, confirming the uniformity in nutrition and plant growth in the wider coastal area. Together with the two Roman ships, during the archaeological excavations of the Roman harbour and its layers, we collected over 2000 different archaeological artefacts out of which a large number was almost perfectly preserved. Some of the mentioned artefacts include ceramic amphorae, ceramic table- and kitchenware, ceramic lamps, different usable objects made of glass, wooden use objects, parts of ship’s equipment and other wooden tools, architecture elements from the nearby port as well as residential structures and remains of stone monuments. Because of the large amount of artefacts found at the site, the analysis of the artefacts and data processing are still in progress. As a contribution for recognizing organic remains, we isolated the amphorae whose purpose was the storage and maritime transportation of different food products and ingredients.     

A Fading Memory: The North Yorkshire Coastal Alum Industry in the Light of Recent Analytical Field Survey by English Heritage

Abstract

For over 250 years from 1604, the North York Moors were the centre of the English alum industry. The principal use of alum was as a mordant to fix and enhance the colour of dyed cloth. It was made by quarrying, burning and steeping vast quantities of shale to produce an impure solution of aluminium sulphate; then, at alum houses, the liquor was concentrated by boiling, and an alkali added to form alum. The North Yorkshire quarries exploited both inland and coastal shale exposures, but the most successful quarry/alum house complexes (alum works) were situated on or near the coast. Even when operational, the latter had to contend with periodic infrastructure losses from landslips and cliff falls; with closure, they now form a diminishing archaeological resource steadily sliding into the sea. This paper reviews the present understanding of the industrial process in the light of recent analytical field survey by English Heritage of four hitherto poorly recorded works, three of which are coastal. In so doing, it highlights the disproportionate loss of certain classes of features at the coastal sites, and advocates the need to do more to compare the latter to their inland counterparts, to place the industry in its wider British and European context, and to examine it from an economic as well as a technological perspective.     

The Archaeology of War: A North American Perspective

This article reviews recent archaeological research on warfare in prestate societies of native North America. This survey comprises six regions: Arctic/Subarctic, Northwest Coast, California, Southwest/Great Basin, Great Plains, and Eastern Woodlands. Two lines of evidence, defensive settlement behavior and injuries in human skeletal remains, figure prominently in archaeological reconstructions of violence and warfare in these regions. Burning of sites and settlements also has been important for identifying the consequences of war and investigating more subtle aspects of strategy and directionality. Weaponry and iconography have to date provided important but more limited insights. Although considerable disparities exist between regions in the archaeological evidence for intra- and intergroup violence, all regions show a marked increase after A.D. 1000. These findings suggest that larger forces may have been responsible for escalating violence throughout North America at this time.