FORM AND FUNCTION: THE EXPERIMENTAL USE OF ROMAN SAMIAN WARE CUPS

Summary.   Wear-patterns inside Roman samian ware vessels provide a clue as to how the pots were used. The wear repeatedly seen in the cups, Dragendorff 27 and Dragendorff 33, is particularly distinctive. This paper reports the results of using reproduction cups to replicate the patterns in order to discover how these may have been formed. The results suggest that Dragendorff 27 was used in the kitchen as a mortar, while Dragendorff 33 was a wine-drinking vessel. Evidence from historical sources and graffiti supports this view, and suggests that the inhabitants of Roman Britain were conversant with Roman ways of cooking and dining.     

The Wirral Brooch: The Form,Distribution and Role of a Regional Romano-British Brooch Type

The Wirral brooch is a distinctive and easily recognizable type of Romano-British brooch with a distribution primarily focused on rural sites around the Wirral peninsula in the north-west of England. The article provides a brief catalogue of the type, investigates whether it is a truly regional form, and establishes its relationship with other contemporary brooches. The accepted dating of this brooch type to the second century AD is discussed as well as its function, typology and manufacture. The role of Wirral brooches in trade, fashion and identity within the northwest of Roman Britain is considered. In wider terms, this paper demonstrates an aspect of provincial material culture from an area often seen to be lacking in material evidence and highlights the importance of the data provided by the Portable Antiquities Scheme for new insights into the material culture of Roman Britain.     

THE BIRDS OF ROMAN BRITAIN

Summary. Wild birds were probably of little importance for food in Roman Britain, but there is some advantage, for ecology, conservation, archaeological reconstruction and education, in establishing a tolerably correct list of species present in Roman times. There are special problems for the recovery and identification of bird bones; on the other hand, historical and other sources are wanting for Roman Britain. There is no evidence for falconry in the Roman period; birds would be caught, for sport by lime-rods, and for food by a variety of methods. There is little definite evidence for religious use of wild birds in Roman Britain. The environment of Britain in the Roman period was, in many respects, quite similar to that of recent times, but the bird species recorded from Roman sites suggest that the landscape was rather varied, and favourable to wildlife. An up-to-date list of 94 wild species can be roughly quantified by the number of sites on which each has been found; both the more numerous species and the absentees offer some surprises, and the effect is to emphasize the Romanization of eating habits in the province.     

The development of animal husbandry from the Late Iron Age to the end of the Roman period: a case study from South-East Britain

In this paper zooarchaeological evidence from Iron Age and Roman sites in South-East Britain is presented and the results are applied to the continuing debate over culture contact and change following the Roman invasion. Evidence from Heybridge in Essex indicates that there were two stages of livestock development. These may reflect the import of new breeding stock into Britain. Differences between the rate of livestock development at this rural site and the nearby urban centre of Colchester indicate differing mechanisms of animal supply between the two sites. The appearance of very large cattle in Late Roman contexts at Boreham in Essex suggests that improvement of animals continued throughout the Roman occupation and was not merely an initial response to new economic and administrative demands. The biometrical evidence from these three sites is compared with evidence from elsewhere in Europe and the development of livestock during the Roman Period is shown to be complex and varied. The impetus and ideology behind the changes in animal husbandry following the Roman invasion in Britain are explored.     

On Some Remains of the Work of William of Wykham,at Windsor Castle

Scholarly opinion on the character and timing of the end of Roman Britain remains deeply divided. The evidence presented by those favouring a ‘long chronology’ is seriously flawed. ‘Continuity’ or ‘survival’ of Roman Britain is claimed because early medieval activity is attested on some former Roman sites and some early medieval artefacts are of Roman type. But Roman Britain was part of a ‘world system’ with a distinctive and rich archaeological assemblage, and once terms are properly defined and material analysed quantitatively, the argument for fifth-century continuity collapses. The archaeological evidence shows that after a long process of decline beginning in the third century, Roman Britain had ended by c. A.D. 400.     

Roman Urbanism: A View from the Countryside

The towns of Roman Britain have been subject to a long tradition of empirical research and discussion, but far less attention has been paid to the landscape context in which they developed. This paper considers the implications of this caveat for our understanding of Roman urbanism and suggests that most previous approaches have internalized the study of towns as social institutions and have failed to give due weight to the role of local rural agency in influencing the character of urban development. In so doing, it is suggested that the potential role of other important and competing nodes of economic, political and religious life, such as forts, fortresses, vici and small towns as well as rural sanctuaries and other settlements, is also not given due consideration in discussing the distinctive character of urbanism in Roman Britain.     

SEASONAL FEASTS IN ROMAN BRITAIN

Summary: Epigraphic sources for the celebration of festivals in Roman Britain mainly come from military sites. Archaeological evidence indicates that a calendar of festivals similar to that of Rome was also observed by civilians within the province. the temene of the larger temples, and theatres connected with such shrines, were obvious places for large-scale, popular gatherings but there was also an intimate family cult represented by the care of ancestral tombs and the midwinter Saturnalia festivities.
Finds of sacred objects such as a cernus for first-fruits (offered to Ceres) and a castration-clamp (used in the worship of Cybele) as well as works of art, including gems and terracottas, also throw light on Roman religion. There were close resemblances with Celtic practice, and fusion between imported cults and native ones must have occurred very frequently.
In late Roman times, the Christian calendar came into use in Britain; the celebrations of Easter and the veneration of the Saints are both attested in Dark-age written sources.     

Bring Me Three Large Beers: Wooden Tankards at Roman Vindolanda

This paper presents, and places in context, two tankard staves and part of a lathe‐turned tankard base, all made from yew wood (Taxus baccata), identified as part of a review of over 1500 wooden small finds from the Roman fort of Vindolanda. These were originally part of large, skilfully produced, communal drinking vessels of a type that has recently been the subject of a major review. Wooden tankards of this type are currently considered to be at their earliest a Late Iron Age phenomenon but one which extends well into the Roman period and which has, so far, been recognized predominantly within Britain. The three elements, found at Vindolanda, must have derived from three separate vessels and come from different periods within the site. This paper explores, adds to and amplifies current thinking on the construction, use and discard of these vessels and, in particular, considers how the tankards were perceived within the context of a Roman fort.     

The use of Animals at Roman Roadside Settlements in Britain: Contextualizing some new Results from Ware,Hertfordshire

Recent analysis of a large faunal assemblage from a Roman roadside settlement at Ware, Hertfordshire has indicated potentially strong links between the nature of animal exploitation on site and its location on Ermine Street. Animal husbandry was focused on the production of cattle and sheep, both of which had experienced stock ‘improvement’ by the late Roman period. Relatively high proportions of horse, and the presence of young horses, suggest the importance of this animal and the potential for its local breeding; the site could have acted as a station for changing or selling horses. The presence of marine fish and black rat also indicate clear links to the wider trade network. This was not an isolated settlement, outside the sphere of Roman influence, as rural Roman sites are often considered to be, but well‐connected to wider economic networks. This paper places these new results in context, by providing a review of faunal assemblages from Roman roadside settlements across Britain. The review indicates that most of the characteristics of animal exploitation at Ware are shared with other roadside settlement sites, though interesting differences also emerge.     

Two Roman Britains

Those who study the military remains of Roman Britain tend to interpret them on the basis of their perception of the power of the Roman army. These different perspectives colour all interpretations of the evidence. The implications of this polarized narrative on Roman Britain are explored, focusing on the interpretation of the northern frontiers and the military organization of the province. Consideration is also given to the language we use to describe specific types of archaeological remains. This paper was given as the Presidential Address to the Royal Archaeological Institute on 11 May 2011. The style of the lecture has largely been retained, though with the addition of references.     

Date,Rituals and Socio‐Cultural Identity in the North‐Western Roman Provinces

This article explores issues of socio‐cultural identity in the north‐western Roman provinces, using all the available archaeobotanical evidence of date (Phoenix dactylifera L.). This fruit does not conform to the general social distribution pattern of other Roman exotic food plant imports in this area, but instead indicates a strong ceremonial connection. Through an in‐depth contextual approach the role of date in both domestic and ceremonial sites is investigated to reach beyond the simple ‘date‐Roman‐ritual’ association. The results suggest strong temporal, spatial and contextual patterning and an overall rare occurrence and selective use of the fruit in certain rituals and mystic cults. Date may have been employed not necessarily as a food, and was probably an affordable luxury for some in their ritual pursuits. As such, date can now be regarded as part of specific ceremonial expressions rather than a standard ingredient of a normative ceremonial or ‘Roman’ identity.     

Fallow deer (Dama dama dama) management in Roman South-East Britain

This paper presents new carbon, nitrogen and sulphur isotope data for European fallow deer (Dama dama dama) in Roman Britain and discusses results in light of evidence from classical texts, landscape archaeology, zooarchaeology and the limited available samples of metric data. The new isotope data presented here are from Fishbourne Roman Palace (Sussex), two sites on the Isle of Thanet (Kent) and a further two sites in London. In spite of small sample sizes the data make an important contribution to the very limited corpus of scientific research on the species and provide new resolution to the nature of fallow deer movement and management in Roman Britain.     

NEOLITHIC AXES FROM ROMAN SITES IN BRITAIN

Finds of Neolithic axes are usually regarded primarily as evidence for Neolithic occupation in the area of the findspot. Neolithic axes from Roman contexts are also usually regarded in this way, often being classed as residual material. However, a study of axes from Roman sites in Britain has shown that they may well have been deliberately collected, in the Roman period, for religious or superstitious reasons. Many have been found on sites of a religious nature (an aspect well documented for temple sites on the Continent) and the beliefs associated with such axes may have been widespread.     

Site Finds in Roman Britain: A Comparison of Techniques

This paper compares Reece's (1995b) method for the comparison of coin lists, outlined in his paper Site Finds in Roman Britain , with two more formal statistical methods: Dmax-based Cluster Analysis and Correspondence Analysis. Reece's data from Roman Coins from 140 sites in Britain (1991b) are re-analysed, the various methods compared, and some preliminary patterns identified.     

Writing disciplinary history, or why Romano–British archaeology needs a biographical dictionary of its own

This paper reviews the current state of the writing of the history of Roman archaeology in Britain. It brings to Romanists' attention some recent theoretical approaches, attempts to identify the obstacles to future progress and explores one way of overcoming them.     

Discussion on the Paper

The Roman sites of the Cheshire Plain have, with the exception of Middlewich, received little excavation in recent years. Indeed there has been no previous excavation at Northwich. Despite a very large degree of disturbance and other archaeological difficulties, the excavations established the existence of a two-phase auxiliary fort of Flavian origin on the site. After abandonment in the mid-2nd century, part of the area examined was occupied by furnaces associated with probable metal working. Rescue work during redevelopment also led to the discovery of a pottery kiln with stamped mortaria of the potter concerned, and an iron helmet from the military period. The coarse pottery and samian are also of particular interest. The former included several groups of fairly localized material from the Cheshire Plain an area from which comparatively little stratified coarse-ware has been published; the latter includes a group forming, it is suggested, the repertoire of a South Gaulish potter or workshop of the Domitianic—Trajanic period.     

'ROMAN' OR 'NATIVE' BODIES IN BRITAIN: THE EVIDENCE OF LATE ROMAN NAIL-CLEANER STRAP-ENDS

Summary.   This paper reviews late Roman 'nail-cleaner strap-ends', a group of objects first discussed by Hawkes and Dunning (1961 ). The precise function of these objects is unclear as their shape suggests use as toilet instruments but the split socket suggests that they were part of belt-fittings. We suggest a detailed typology and discuss the dating evidence and the spatial distribution of the type. Regardless of their precise function, it is argued in this paper that nail-cleaner strap-ends of this type are unique to late Roman Britain and thus represent a distinct regional type. The use of nail-cleaner strap-ends can be viewed in the context of gender associations, military status and religious beliefs.     

ECONOMIC ‘LONG WAVES’IN the ROMAN PERIOD? A RECONNAISSANCE of the ROMANO-BRITISH CERAMIC EVIDENCE

Summary: This paper explores some problems of Romano British ceramic chronology and puts forward the suggestion that pottery production in Roman Britain rose and fell in a series of cyclical phases. the pattern matches that of Samian production and also the increases and decreases in the speed (velocity) with which silver coinage circulated in the 1st to early 3rd centuries AD and after. It is suggested that these data can be used to trace the progress of a multisecular cycle the effects of which may also be detectable across the Roman world-economy as a whole. the archaeological and historical implications of this pattern - which may be perceived in the Iron Age and the Post Roman periods, are discussed and a possible explanation is advanced for it. Some quantification methods which would help support or refute the hypothesis are considered and a way of reconciling pottery and context dates is presented.     

Roman lead mining in Germany: its origin and development through time deduced from lead isotope provenance studies

High precision lead isotope analysis by Multi Collector Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry was applied to the investigation of more than 240 Roman lead objects from several archaeological sites in Germany, in order to obtain information on the pattern of Roman mining activity and ore processing in the area. Measurements of ore samples from German deposits east (Siegerland, Lahn-Dill, Ems) and west of the Rhine (Eifel, Hunsrueck) were made and supplemented with data from literature to create a data bank of lead isotope ratios of European lead occurrences. Comparing the isotope ratios of lead objects with those from German ore deposits shows that the source of over 85% of the objects is Eifel ore deposits, but that, in the early years, the Romans also imported lead from the Southern Massif Central and later from Britain.