Extra-Mural areas of Romano-British towns 9780860544517, 9781407317847
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English Pages [310] Year 1987
Polecaj historie
Table of contents :
Front Cover
Copyright
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
PART I: THE TOWNS
ALCESTER
ALCHESTER
ALDBOROUGH
ALFOLDEAN
ANCASTER
BANNAVENTA
BATH
BITTERNE
BRAMPTON
BROUGH-ON-HUMBER
CAERWENT
CAISTOR (Lincs.)
CAISTOR-BY-NORWICH
CAMBRIDGE
CANTERBURY
CARLISLE
CARMARTHEN
GATTERICK
CHELMSFORD
CHESTERTON-ON-FOSSE
CHICHESTER
CIRENCESTER
COLCHESTER
CORBRIDGE
CROCOCALANA
DORCHESTER (Dorset)
DORCHESTER-ON-THAMES
DORN
EXETER
GLOUCESTER
GODMANCHESTER
GREAT CASTERTON
GREAT CHESTERFORD
HARDHAM
HORNCASTLE
ILCHESTER
IPING
IRCHESTER
KENCHESTER
LEICESTER
LINCOLN
LONDON
MAGIOVINIUM
MANCETTER
MARGIDUNUM
MILDENHALL
NEATHAM
PENKRIDGE
ROCHESTER
THORPE-BY-NEWARK
TOWCESTER
TRIPONTIUM
VERULAMIUM
WALL
WATER NEWTON
WINCHESTER
WORCESTER
VROXETER
YORK
PART II: DISCUSSION
CHAPTER ONE: THE DEFENCES
CHAPTER TWO: THE SITING AND LAY-OUT OF EXTRA-MURAL OCCUPATION AND CEMETERIES
CHAPTER THREE: PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND WORKS
CHAPTER FOUR: PRIVATE BUILDINGS. MANUFACTURE AND COMMERCE.
CHAPTER FIVE: THE TOWN AND THE COUNTRY
CHAPTER SIX: THE CEMETERIES
CHAPTER SEVEN: LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE ASPECTS
CHAPTER EIGHT: THE LATER RONAN PERIOD
BIBLIOGRAPHY
FIGURES
Citation preview
Extra-Mural Areas of Romano-British Towns
Simon Esmonde Cleary
BAR British Series 169 1987
B.A.R. 5, Centremead, Osney Mead, Oxford OX2 ODQ, England.
GENERAL EDITORS A.R. Hands, B.Sc., M.A., D.Phil. D.R. Walker, M.A.
B.A.R. 169, 1987: 'Extra -Mura l Area s of Romano-British Towns'
©
Simon Esmonde Cleary,· 1987
The author’s moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher. ISBN 9780860544517 paperback ISBN 9781407317847 e-book DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9780860544517 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This book is available at www.barpublishing.com
P ARENTIBVS O PTIXIS
C ONTENTS
C ontents
I ntroduction a nd A cknowledgements
P ART
I ;
i ii
T HE T OWNS
A lcester
1 -2
A lchester A ldborough
2 -4 5 -6
A lfoldean
7
A ncaster
8 -9
B annaventa B ath
1 0 1 1-12
B itterne
1 3-14
B rampton
1 5-16
B rough-on-Humber
1 7
C aerwent
1 8-19
C aistor
2 0
C aistor-by-Norwich
2 1-23
C ambridge
2 4
C anterbury C arlisle
2 5-27 2 8-30
C armarthen
3 1
C atterick
3 2
C helmsford
3 3
C hesterton-on-Fosse
3 4
C hichestär
3 5-38
C irencester
3 9-45
C olchester
4 6-60
C orbridge
6 1-62
C rococalana D orchester
6 3 ( Dorset)
6 4-71
D orchester-on-Thames
7 2-74
D orn E xeter
7 5 7 6-77
G loucester G odmanchester
7 8-84 8 5-86
G reat C asterton
8 7-88
G reat C hesterford
8 9-90
H ardham
9 1
H orncastle I lchester
9 2-93 9 4-96
I ping
9 7
I rchester
9 8-99
K enchester L eicester
1 00-101 1 02-105
L incoln
1 06-113
L ondon
1 14-120
M agiovinium M ancetter
1 21 1 22-123
M argidinum
1 24
M ildenhall
1 25
N eatham P enkridge R ochester S ilchester
1 26 1 27 1 28 1 28-131
T horpe-by-Newark T owcester T ripontium V erulamium W all W ater N ewton W inchester W orcester W roxeter Y ork
1 32 1 33-134 1 35 1 36-140 1 41 1 42-149 1 50-156 1 57-158 1 59-160 1 61-164
P ART
I I:
C hapter
D ISCUSSION 1 :
1 65-172
C hapter 2 :
T he D efences T he S iting a nd L ay-out o f E xtra-Mural
C hapter C hapter C hapter C hapter C hapter
O ccupation a nd C emeteries 1 77-180 P ublic B uildings a nd W orks P rivate B uildings . M anufacture a nd C ommerce 1 81-186 1 87-190 T he T own a nd t he C ountry 1 91-193 T he C emeteries L egal a nd A dministrative A spects 1 94-196
3 : 4 : 5 : 6 ; 7 ; C hapter 8 ;
T he L ater R oman P eriod
B IBLIOGRAPHY
F IGURES
1 73-176
1 97-200
2 01-225
I NTRODUCTION A ND A CKNOWLEDGNENTS
T his
s tudy
i s
b ased
o n
a t hesis
s ubmitted
a nd
a ccepted
f or
t he
d egree o f D octor o f P hilosophy o f t he U niversity o f O xford i n 1 979 . T he t hesis w as e ntitled ' Towns a nd U rbanisation i n R oman B ritain : t he e vidence f rom o utside t he d efences '. T he p reparation o f t he t hesis w as m ade p ossible b y t he a ward o f a M ajor S tate S tudentship b y t he D epartment o f E ducation a nd S cience , t o w hom m y t hanks a re d ue . F urther f unding t owards t he c ompletion o f t he w ork c ame f rom m y p arents a nd f rom t he D epartment o f H ealth a nd S ocial S ecurity . T he t hesis w as s upervised b y P rofessor S .S .Frere , t o w hom g o m y t hanks f or h is h elp a nd a dvice o ver f our y ears , a nd h is a ttempts t o t urn m y s cript i nto r eadable E nglish . I o we a n i mmense d ebt o f g ratitude t o h is t hen R esearch A ssistant , R oger G oodburn , n ot o nly f or a cting a s m y s upervisor w hen P rofessor F rere w as o n s abbatical, b ut a lso f or b eing a n ever-failing s ource o f e ncouragement, g ood i deas a nd g ood s ense . M y e xaminers P rofessor B .W .Cunliffe a nd M r .M .W .C .Hassall m ade a n umber o f p ertinent s uggestions . A l arge n umber o f e xcavators a nd m useum s taffs g ave m e f ree a ccess t o t heir r ecords a nd t o t heir l ocal k nowledge . S ince i t i s n ow s ome t en y ears s ince t he i nformation w as g athered , m uch o f i t h as s ince b een p ublished e ither i n f inal o r i n i nterim f orm , a nd i s d uly a cknowledged i n t he t ext , B ut I w ould l ike t o t hank a ll t hose a t B ath , C ambridge , C anterbury , C arlisle , C armathen , C hichester , C irencester , C olchester , D evizes , D orchester , E xeter , G loucester , H ereford , L eicester , L incoln , L ondon , N ewcastle-upon-Tyne , N ewport , N orthampton , N orwich , O xford , P eterborough , R ochester , S t A lban 's , S hrewsbury , W arwick , W inchester , W orcester a nd Y ork w ho p ut u p w ith a nd h elped m e . A t O xford t he s taff o f t he A shma lean L ibrary w ere e ver h elpful. I m ust a lso S cholars , C haplains , C ollege C ollege ,
o ffer m y d eepest t hanks t o t he W arden , F ellows , C lerks , C horisters a nd a ll o ther m emebers o f t he
o f O ur L ady o f W inchester i n O xford , f or m aking m y t ime t here s o e njoyable .
c ommonly
c alled
N ew
I n B irmingham m y t hanks g o t o H arry B uglass , d raftsman o f t he D epartment o f A ncient H istory a nd A rchaeology , f or r endering m y s crappy p lans i nto s omething m ore i nformative . I am t hankful f or t he a bility o f A mstrad t o p roduce a w ord-processing p ackage t hat i s n ot o nly u serf riendly b ut a lso , m uch m ore i mportantly , u ser-tolerant . L ast
b ut
n ot
l east
I
m ust
t hank
t he
E ditors
A rchaeological R eports f or i n t he f irst p lace a greeing t o w ork , a nd t hen w aiting s o p atiently s o l ong w hilst I f ailed i t f rom t hesis-speak i nto s omething m ore n early r esembling g ap , t hough , h as e nabled m e t o t ake n ote o f a l arge a mount h as b een p ublished i n t he m eantime .
S imon E smonde C leary D epartment o f A ncient H istory a nd A rchaeology U niversity o f B irmingham
i ii
o f
B ritish
p ublish t his t o t ranslate E nglish . T he o f w ork t hat
M ay 1 987
P ART I T HE T OWNS
A LCESTER
R OMAN A lcester l ay o n t he w est b ank o f l atter 's
c onfluence
( Wilson ,1968 ,187) o f
w ith
t hat
t he
o riginally
i ts p resent c ourse ,
t he
A lne
T here
f lowed
s tream ,
i ndications
a l ittle
t o
t he
w est
S outh o f t he m ain a rea o f
t he S pittle B rook ,
b uilt-up a rea
o f
t he
o f
n orth-south
t he
t own l ay e ast
R yknield
S treet
o f
t he
f lowing e astwards
m ajor r oad j unction ,
( Margary
n o .56)
f rom D roitwich e ast t o T iddington a nd t he F osse W ay j unction
i s
n ot
f rom D roitwich b ut t he a ctual T he
o pposite t he
a re
A lne .
T he t hat
t he R iver A lne ,
A rrow .
m aking a t ighter c urve .
R oman o ccupation i s a s mall i nto t he
R iver
s traightforward :
a c ontinuation
o f
b eyond t he l ine o f R yknield S treet e vidence f or s uch a l ine i s s light
b est-attested
l ine
i s o ne
o f m odern B leachfield S treet e arly s econd c entury . B ut D .R .,1965 ,208),
s o
n o
s ome
2 00m .(660 ')
w ith
t he
r oad
( Margary n o .18). t he
l ine
T he
e astwards
w ould s eem l ogical, ( Hughes H .,1960 ,11).
t o t he s outh
i n t he
a rea
( Hughes H .,1960 ,11), d ating t o a t l east t he t his l ine w as l ater b uilt o n ( Wilson
o ne
a lignment
c an
b e
f ixed
f or
t his
r oad
t hroughout t he R oman p eriod . T races o f i n
a
n umber
s ide-streets w ithin t he
o f
p laces :
n orth-south
b uilt-up a rea h ave b een r ecorded s treets
D roitwich r oad a nd i n t he B irch A bbey a rea a t
l east
o ne
e ast-west
s treet
( Taylor
a re
k nown
s outh
( Mahany ,1964 ,3),
o f
t he
a nd t here
M .V .,1958 ,137 ;cf . now
i s
B ooth , 1 981,
1 0-12 ,fig .2). T he i mpression i s o f a n i rregular n etwork o f s treets , s ubject t o c hange t hrough t ime ; b ut a s y et t oo l ittle i s k nown o f i t t o y ield a s ecure s cheme . A t i n
t he s outhern e dge o f
t he
s econd
c entury
o ccupied a rea a b oundary d itch w as d ug
t he
o ccupied
a rea
L ate
w as
i n
e nclosed
t hat
c entury
w ithin
a n
t he
n orthernmost
p art
d efence.
l ine t aken b y t hese d efences r emains v ery u ncertain b ecause
T he
o f
t he
( Booth ,1981,fig .2).
e arthen
o f t he o verlying m ediaeval s tructures . S ections h ave b een c ut t hrough t he e astern a nd s outhern s ides o nly , b ut t he l ocal t opography s uggests t he g eneral a nd
i s
d efences
b y
( Taylor
c onsisted w ooden
l ine w hich m ust
s upported o f
r ampart .
p robably
B y
t he
t ime
a rea
S treet,
o n
a nd
t he
b een c arried o ut
t he
a long w est
L ater
d ating
b astions h as y et b een n oted
s ubstantial
b een t aken b y t he
l ocations
o f
M .V .,1958 ,137(i)).
a c lay
p iles ,
h ave
t he
T he t he
w hich
f irst
t his w as
t o
r est o f
b urials
p hase
b een
f ully
i mpression
o f
c entury .
w ere
l aid
o ut,
t he
d efences
D roitwich
r oad
a s
b ank
o f
b uildings y et c entury A D .
p ublished . o utline
I t
t he
N o
w all
o n
t race
A lne .
o ccupation f ar
A n umber
w est o f
r eas o f A lcester
i s
t herefore
d evelopment
e ncountered a re
T hey i nclude
t he
d efences o f
( Booth ,1981,14).
i n t he e xtra-mural
t he
o f
f ronted b y a s tone
f ourth
a ll
o f
o f
o nly
t he
h ave
b ut n one h as a s
p ossible d ate
a
R yknield
e xcavations
s ettlement .
t imber a nd
c overed
a s
( cf . Hughes H .,1960 ;
M ahany ,1964 ;Frere ,1977,397;Goodburn ,1978 ,439 ; Booth ,1981) y et
t he d efences , p ost-date
t o T he
t o t he
g ive
a n
e arliest
l ate
f irst
p arts o f w hat w ere p robably t wo r ound h ouses i n
t he i ndigenous t radition . F rom
t he
b eginning
a ppearance , p rincipally S tone-founded b uildings
o f
t he
s econd
c entury
s tone
m akes
i ts
a s s ill-walls f or t imber-framed b uildings . r eplace t imber s tructures t hrough t he s econd
1
c entury , a nd o n i nto t he t hird ( cf . Davis ,1932 ;Hughes H .,1960 ,10 ,15f .). T he p lan o f t hese b uildings s eems u sually t o h ave b een t he r ectangular ' strip-building ' s o c ommon a t R omano-British t owns . p roduced e vidence f or s mall-scale m etal-working , a nd
( any s ites h ave o ne h as y ielded
l eather o ff-cuts ( Hughes H .,1960 ,1( ) ; Wilson ,1965 ,208). S uch e vidence a s w e p ossess g ives a p icture o f u nexceptional m anufacture a nd t rade a t A lcester . B ut i mmediately w est o f t he p resumed l ine o f t he d efences l ay a n u nusual s tructure . O verlying m arsh d eposits , a s ubstantial s tone s tructure w as e rected a round t he b eginning o f t he f ourth c entury . T he p lan o f t he b uilding , r ectangular w ith c ross-walls , a nd i ts a ssociation w ith q uantities o f b urnt g rain h ave l ed t he e xcavator t o s uggest t hat i t w as a g ranary , p erhaps a d epot f or t he a nnona m ilitaris ( pers .comm .P . Booth). E lsewhere o ccupation c ontinued t hrough t he t hird c entury , w ith s tructures b eing m aintained a nd ( re-)built, a nd t he l ines o f b oundary d itches p ersisting ( Davis ,1932 ;Taylor ,1958 ,137 ;Hughes H ., 1 963 ,4 ; Xahany ,1964). I n t he f ourth c entury t here a ppears t o b e a r eversion t o p urely t imber s tructures ( Goodburn ,1978 ,439 ;Booth , 1 981,13), w ith o ccupation c ontinuing a t v irtually a ll t he s ites e xamined d own t o t he e nd o f t he c entury ,
a nd p ossibly b eyond .
L ittle i s y et k nown a bout t he t own 's c emeteries b efore t he f ourth c entury . O ne c remation c emetery w ith s econd-century b urials h as b een l ocated s outh o f t he d efences i n S wan S treet ( Hughes H .,1960). I n t he t hird a nd f ourth c enturies , w hen i nhumation w as t he p revalent r ite i n t he o ther t own c emeteries , t his a rea w as s till r eceiving c remations . T he m ain c emetery , h owever , p articularly i n t he l ater p eriod , l ay a long t he w estern s ide o f R yknield S treet , o n t he w estern m argins o f t he t own a nd o verlying a n a rea o f e arlier o ccupation . R ailway c onstruction i n t he n ineteenth , a nd h ouse-building i n t he t wentieth c entury h ave b een t he m ain o ccasion f or e xposure o f b urials , s o t he q uality o f o ur k nowledge i s c orrespondingly l ow . I t w ould a ppear t o h ave b een p rimarily a n i nhumation c emtery , a nd t here i s a r ecord o f a s tone c offin . F ourthc entury A lne ,
w e
i nhumations
a re
a lso
k nown
t o
t he
s outh
o f
t he
t own ,
n ear
t he
s ome o f w hich w ere b uried s omewhat c arelessly .
T he s iting o f t he d efended a rea o f A lcester a ppears a nomalous . A s s hall s ee t he g eneral p ractice w as f or t he d efended a reas o f ' small'
t owns t o J unction . t hat t he
b e s ited o n t he m ajor t hrough-route , o ften a round a r oad T his i s c learly n ot t he c ase a t A lcester . I t m ay b e a rgued r iver a fforded e xtra d efensive p otential, b ut t his d oes n ot
s eem t o h ave b een a c onditioning f actor a t o ther t owns .
T he d efences d o
s eem t o h ave e nclosed t he m ost s ubstantial s tructures o f t he t own : t he o nly t wo k nown m osaics a t A lcester c ome f rom w ithin t he d efences ( Clark S .,1671,167). T he
e xtra-mural T he
a rea a t
o ccupation
A lcester s pread
w as e xtensive
d efended
a rea .
o ver
t his
c entury ,
b efore t he c onstruction o f t he d efences ,
a rea
i n r elation t o d uring
t he
t he
s econd
a nd t he a cquisition o f
d efences d oes n ot s eem t o h ave h ad a ny e ffect o n t he i ntensity o f o ccupation o f t he n ewly-excluded a reas . N or d oes t here a ppear t o b e a ny d iscernible s lackening i n o ccupation b efore t he e nd o f t he f ourth c entury . A s a t a n umber o f t owns , t he m ain c emetery e vidence d ates t o t he f ourth c entury , t hough t his m ay b e a p roduct o f o ur p atchy k nowledge o f t he A lcester c emeteries , r ather t han a r eflection o f r eality . B ut u ntil t he e xcavations a t A lcester a re f ully p ublished w e a re u nable t o r ealise
t he
c onsiderable
p otential
R omano-British m arket-town .
2
o f
t he
s ite
a s
a n
e xample
o f
a
A LCRESTER
T HE d efended t own a t A lchester l ay o n t he n orthern e dge o f O tmoor , a n a rea o f l ow-lying a nd p oorly-drained l and t o t he n orth-east o f m odern O xford . A t p resent t he C hesterton B rook f lows p ast t he w estern d efences , t hen t urns e ast a long t he l ine o f t he d itches o f t he s outhern d efences . T he c omplex o f d itches i n t he i nterior a nd t he r aising o f t he l evel o f t he g round b y t he d umping o f e arth b ear w itness t o p erennial p roblems w ith d rainage d uring t he R oman p eriod ( Iliffe , 1 929 ;Young ,1975). I n a ddition e xam ination o f e nvironmental e vidence f rom t he t wo s uccessive s outhern d efensive d itches s hows t hat w hereas w ater w as o nly o ccasionally p resent i n t he e arlier o ne , i n t he l ater t here w as p ermanent s tanding w ater ( Robinson , I n Y oung ,1975 ,161f .). A lchester g rew u p a t ( or n ear) t he J unction o f t he r oad n orth f rom D orchester-on-Thames ( Margary n o .160b) a nd t hrough A lchester t o T owcester ( Margary n o .160a), w ith A keman S treet ( Margary n o .16) r unning b etween C irencester a nd V erulamium . T he a ctual J unction l ies s ome 4 00m .(4 m ile) n orth o f t he d efences . I t u sed t o b e t hought t hat a p ronounced a gger l eaving t he e ast g ate w as a p art o f A keman S treet, b ut a s ection a cross t he l ine s uch a r oad w ould h ave t o t ake t o J oin A keman S treet p roved n egative ( Atkinson ,1941,84). T he r oad m ay h ave s wung s outh-east t owards t he C hilterns . T he p resence o f a s ubstantial b uilding w est o f t he d efences ( see b elow ) m ay i mply a w est g ate .
T hey
T he d efences e nclosed a n a lmost s quare a rea o f 1 0 .5ha .(26 a cres). c onsisted o f a c lay a nd t urf r ampart f ronted b y a c ontemporaneous
s tone w ail, b uilt a t t he c lose o f t he s econd c entury ( Young ,1975). T he c ontemporaneity o f w all a nd r ampart , a nd t he p rovision o f a s tone w all a t t his e arly d ate i s r arely p aralleled o utside t he ' large ' t owns ( cf . Wacher ,1975 ,75), b ut t he s tratigraphic e vidence o f t he m ortar s preads i nterleaved w ith t he r ampart d umps i s u nequivocal. L ittle e xcavation h as t aken p lace i mmediately o utside t he d efences . A m ound t o t he w est , c alled ' The C astles ', h as l ong e xcited c omment ( cf . Stukeley ,1724), a nd e xploration i n 1 766 r evealed t wo r ooms , o ne w ith a t essellated f loor , t he o ther w ith a h ypocaust . O n t hese g rounds a nd b ecause o f i ts s ize , t he b uilding h as b een i dentified a s a s et o f b aths , p ossibly p ublic ( e .g . Harden ,1939 ,284). T he e vidence i nsufficient t o s ubstantiate t his h ypothesis ; b ut w e a re t o k now m ore ,
i s c learly u nlikely e ver
a s m ost o f t he b uilding w as r emoved w ithout r ecord i n 1 800
f or u se a s h ard-core f or t he O xford-Banbury t urnpike
( Brown R .,1857 ,157-
8 ). T he p rincipal a rea o f e xtra-mural s ettlement w as t o t he n orth o f t he t own , a long t he r oad t o t he A keman S treet J unction , a nd a round t hat j unction . I n 1 841 a nd 1 882 t he f ields b etween t he n orthern d efences a nd t he j unction w ere o bserved t o c ontain f oundations ( Hawkes ,1927 ;Harden , 1 939), a nd f ield-walking i n t he a rea s till y ields q uantities o f R oman a rtefacts a nd b uilding m aterial. L imited , u npublished , e xcavations a t t he A keman S treet J unction r evealed f irst- a nd s econd-century b uildings , s uperseded b y f urther b uildings a nd b y m etalled y ards i n t he t hird a nd f ourth c enturies ( Taylor M .V .,1938 ,185). A erial p hotography h as l ocated a b uilding t o t he s outh-east o f t he d efences , b eyond t he m odern r ailway l ine
( Harden , 1 939 ,285).
3
D uring
t he
c onstruction
o f
t hat
r ailway ,
t wenty-eight
u ndated
i nhumations w ere f ound o utside t he s outh-eastern c orner o f t he w alls ( Harden ,1939 ,284). A s ingle c remation i s k nown n orth o f t he d efences ( Rowley ,1975 ,122). A s w ith A lcester ,
A lchester
i s u nusual
i n
t hat
i ts d efended
a rea
s eems t o b e e ccentric w ithin t he o ccupied a rea . T he d efended a rea e xhibits o ther p eculiarities . F irst , i t h as w hat a ppears t o b e a r egular s treet-grid . S econdly , a t t he c entral c rossroads t here i s a l arge , p ossibly p ublic , b uilding c omplex ( Harden ,1939 ;Rowley ,1975 ,fig .4). T hirdly , t he s ystem o f d rainage d itches m ay b e c o-terminous w ith t he l ater d efended a rea ( cf .Young ,1975 ,139). A ll t hese p oint t o t he a rea o f t he t own s ubsequently a ccorded d efences a s h aving b een ' special'. T he c lear
e vidence
o f
r egular
p lanning ,
u sually
f ound
o nly
a t
c ivitas -
c apitals a nd a bove , m ay m ean t hat A lchester h ad e nhanced s tatus . I f t his w ere s o , a nd t here w as o fficial i nvolvement i n i ts e arly d evelopment ( though t here i s a s y et n o t race o f a f ort u nder t he t own), t his m ight h elp e xplain t he c hoice o f a s eemingly u nfavourable l ocation f or t he p lanned f ocus o f t he t own , B ut i t i s c lear t hat a nother f ocus d eveloped a longside t he ' official' o ne , t hat a t t he A keman S treet j unction a nd o n t he r oad f rom t here t o t he p lanned c entre . T his d emonstrates t he a ttraction o f t rade p assing a long t he m ain r oads , a nd i ts p otential a s a s timulus t o a nd s upport o f a rtisanal s ettlement . I n a ddition t his n orthern s uburb w as s ited o n h igher a nd d rier g round . I n i ts b ifocal p lan , d efended a rea a nd r oute-node , t he s ituation a t A lcester r esembles t hat a t B ath ,
4
A LDBOROUGH
I SVRIUM B rigantum , l ies
o n
t he
s outhern
c hief
b ank
o f
t own o f t he h uge t he
r iver
U re ,
c ivitas o f t he B rigantes , n ear
t he
p oint
w here
t he
r iver i s c rossed b y D ere S treet , t he R oman G reat N orth R oad . I t s eems t hat D ere S treet ( Margary n o .8) w as h ere l aid o ut o n a s traight a lignment t o t he r iver c rossing , w ith t he t own g rowing u p s lightly t o i ts s outh-west, a nd l inked t o t he S treet b y t wo s hort s pur-roads t o t he n orth a nd e ast g ates ( Jones N .U .,1966 ,315). A s w ell a s t hese t wo g ates ( cf . Charlesworth ,1971 ,159 f or t he n orth g ate ;Ecroyd S mith ,1853 , p l.XXII 1 f or t he e ast g ate), t he s outh g ate h as b een p artially e xcavated ( Wilson ,1965 ,204), a nd t he a ctivity i n H igh B riggates f ield t o t he w est o f t he d efences m ay i ndicate a g ate i n t hat p art o f t he c ircuit .
a nd
T he f irst d efences d ate t o t he l ater p art o f t he s econd c entury , c onsisted o f a r ampart o f s and , s andstone a nd d omestic r efuse ,
f ronted b y a d itch . I n t he s econd h alf o f t he t hird c entury a w all w as i nserted i nto t he o uter f ace o f t he r ampart, a nd a n ew d itch d ug . I n t he l ater f ourth c entury s emi-circular b astions w ere a dded t o t he o uter f ace o f t he w all, a nd a f urther d itch d ug ( Charlesworth ,1971), T he d efences e nclosed a r oughly r ectangular a rea o f 3 0ha .(74 a cres). L ittle t race h as s o f ar b een f ound o f o ccupation I mm ediately o uside t he d efences . T here i s a n ote o f a b uilding i n H igh B riggates f ield t o t he w est o f t he d efences ( Anon .1912 ,366). I n t he f ields e ast o f t he d efences , i ncluding t he o ne c alled ' Red G raves ', t here i s e vidence o f a p ottery i ndustry ( Ecroyd S mith ,1852 ,p1. X ;Jones N .U .,1966 ,315), b ut a s y et w e d o n ot k now e nough a bout t he k ilns o r t heir p roducts ( including m ortarla a nd c oarse w ares) t o b e a ble t o c omment o n o rganisation , d ate o r d istribution . I nterestingly , t he m ain a reas o f e xtra-mural o ccupation s eem t o h ave b een a t t he J unctions o f t he s pur-roads w ith D ere S treet . T his i s a s ituation r ecalling t hat j ust d iscussed f or A lchester , a nd p resumably c onditioned b y t he s ame f actor : t he d esire t o b e a ccessible t o t hrough t ravellers o n t he m ain r oad w ho w ould n ot o therwise h ave l eft t heir m oney i n t he t own . T he s tructures w ere s imple ' strip b uildings ' o f t imber , r anging i n d ate f rom t he s econd t o t he f ourth c entury i n d ate , a nd y ielding e vidence o f m etal-working ( Jones M .U .,1966 ,315). B urials a re k nown t o t he s outh , e ast a nd w est o f t he d efences . O ne c remation b urial i s k nown f rom w est o f t he d efences ( Lawson ,1864). T o t he e ast a s tone s arcophagus h as b een f ound ( Ecroyd S mith ,1852 ,p1. X). B ut t he m ain c emetery w as c learly t hat o utside t he s outh g ate , a long C hapel H ill ( Jessop ,1850 ,73 ;Leadman ,1893,413). B oth c remations a nd i nhumations w ere f ound , n one o f t hem d ated . B y t he s outh-west a ngle o f t he d efences E croyd . S mith ( 1852 ,p1.V11) f ound s ome s tone- a nd t ile-built p latforms w hich h e i nterpreted a s t he b ases f or c remation p yres . C omparison w ith o ther t owns s uggests t hat t he p rincipal c emetery o f a t own i s m ost o ften t o b e f ound o n a ( or t he) m ajor a pproach r oad . I f s o t here m ust s urely h ave b een a nother s pur-road t o D ere S treet , o ut o f t he s outh g ate . I t s hould b e n oted t hat t he m ound o utside t he s outh-eastern a ngle o f t he d efences , c alled S tudforth H ill a nd s ometimes c laimed a s a n a mphitheatre ,
i s i n f act n atural
( Taylor N .V .,1935 ,2°6).
5
T hough a t own o f r elatively s mall d efended a rea A ldborough d id n ot l ack f or w ell-to-do i nhabitants a s
f or t he
i ts s tatus , t own-houses
a nd m osaics l ocation o ff
w ithin t he w alls s how ( cf . Wacher 1 975 ,402ff .). B ut i ts t he m ain r oad i s u nusual; i t c ould e asily h ave b een s ited
a stride
S treet .
D ere
B ut
a gain
w e
c an s ee
t rade a s a s timulus t o a rtisan s ettlement .
6
t he
i mportance
o f
r oad-borne
A LFOLDEAH
T HE d efended e nclosure r iver
A run
w here
i t
w as
a t
A lfoldean
c rossed
b y
l ay
S tane
o n t he
S treet
s outh b ank
( Margary
o f
t he
n o .15).
I n
R oman t ines t he r iver f lowed a l ittle t o t he n orth-east o f i ts p resent c ourse , a s w as m ade c lear b y t he d iscovery o f t he b ridge f ootings i n 1 933
( Winbolt , 1 934).
T he d efences , e nclosing a r oughly s quare a rea o f 1 ha .(2% a cres), a re u ndated . E xcavation h as t aken p lace w ithin t hem , b ut t he d taes a nd f unctions o f t he s tructures r emain u nclear ( Winbolt 1 923 ; 1 924). T hey d o n ot , h owever , a ppear t o h ave b een o f m ilitary t ype . A s ection
a cross
S tane
S treet
4 00m , ( ¼
m ile)
n orth
o f
t he
r iver
c rossing c onfirmed t hat t he c hange i n r oad a lignment t here w as t o a void a n a rea o f m arshy g round . N o t race o f o ccupation o r b urials w as f ound ( Taylor 1 928 ,208). T his i s t he o nly e xcavation r ecorded i n t he v icinity o f t he d efences . W inbolt ( 1923 ,89) r ecords s catters o f b uilding m aterial a longside S tane S treet i n t he f ields t o t he s outh o f t he d efences , b ut t he e xtent ,
n ature a nd d ate o f t his o ccupation a wait d efinition .
A s a t t he s imilar s ites o f H ardham a nd I ping , l ittle c an p rofitably b e s aid a bout A lfoldean . I ts s hape , s ize , t he n ature o f t he e xcavated b uildings , a nd t he f act t hat S tane S treet p asses s traight t hrough t he m iddle o f t he e nclosure , w ould s eem t o p reclude i ts h aving b een a f ort o f t he n ormal p attern . W hy t here s hould b e t hree s uch s mall d efended c ivil s ettlements a ll i n t he s ame a rea m ust a wait f urther e xcavation .
7
A NCASTER
R OMAN A ncaster u nderlies t he m odern v illage o f t hat n ame , a t t he e astern e nd o f t he A ncaster G ap . T he G ap i s a d efile t hrough t he n orths outh
l imestone
r idge
o f
t he
L incolnshire
e dge .
T hough
f ormed
b y
a n
a ncestor o f t he T rent , t he G ap i s a t p resent d rained b y t he u pper r eaches o f t he r iver S lea . T he A ncaster G ap h as l ong b een a n i mportant r oute-node , h aving t he j unction o f t he n orth-south r idgeway a long t he L incolnshire E dge w ith t he e ast-west p assage t hrough t he G ap c onnecting t he V ale o f T rent w ith t he F ens . I n t he R oman p eriod t he r idge r oute i s r epresented b y E rmine S treet ( Kargary n o .2), j oined o n t he h igh g round t o t he s outh o f t he t own b y a s pur-road ( Margary n o .26) a cross f rom K ing S treet ( Margary n o .26/260) t o t he e ast. N o m ajor R oman r oad h as b een l ocated r unning t hrough t he G ap , b ut t here w as p resumably a m ore l ocal r oute , p erhaps r unning o n r oughly t he s ame l ine a s t he m odern r oad ( cf .Todd ,1981 ,108 n .3). T he d efences o f A ncaster e nclosed a n early r ectangular a rea o f 3 .6ha .(9 a cres), E rm ine S treet r unning v ery m uch c loser t o t he w estern t han t o t he e astern d efences . A n umber o f e xcavations h as m ade i t p ossible t o r econstruct t he g eneral s equence a nd t o s ay s omething a bout t he d ate ( Todd ,1981). T he d efences c onsisted o f a c ontemporaneous w all a nd r ampart w ith b astions s ubsequently a dded t o a t l east t he t wo w estern c orners . S eparated f rom t he w alls b y a w ide b erm w as a w ide m ain d itch , a nd a n arrow o uter d itch . A t erm inus a nte q ue l l f or t he c onstruction o f t he d efences i s a fforded b y t he c oins a ssociated w ith a b uilding c onstructed o ver t he t ail o f t he w estern r ampart ( Todd ,1981 ,14). T hese a re a ll r adiates o f t he p eriod 2 60-75 . T he a bsence o f a ny l ater c oins s uggests t hat t he s tructure m ust h ave b een t here b y c a .300 . T he t erminus post q uem i s l ess e asily f ixed ; b ut t he p ottery s ealed b y t he r ampart , a nd a ssociated w ith t he r ampart s uggests a d ate i n t he f irst t hird o f t he t hird c entury . I t i s s uggested t hat t he w ide d itch w as d ug a t t he c onstruction o f t he a ngle b astions . O ur k nowledge o f
t he
i nhabited a reas o f A ncaster ,
m ural, i s a t p resent v ery s ketchy . T o d efences o verlay a d eep ( up t o 4 m .[12 . ] )
i ntra- o r e xtra-
t he w est o f E rmine S treet t he s equence o f o ccupation d eposits
( Todd ,1981 ,17-18 ,43-44), a nd t he f ourth-century c emetery o utside t he w estern d efences o verlay t hree p hases o f s tone-founded b uildings ( Wilson D .R .,1963 ,131 ;1970 ,284). N orth-east o f t he d efences s ome b uildings h ad b een a bandoned b y t he e arly t hird c entury ( Wilson D .R .,1967 ,182), b ut t o t he e ast o f t he d efences i s a n a rea o f R oman b uilding d Abris a nd o ther m aterial.
s ome
4 ha .(10
a cres)
y ielding
T he m ost t horoughly e xplored c emtery a t A ncaster i s t hat t o t he w est o f t he d efences ( Wilson D .R .,1965 ,205 ;1966 ,203 ;1967 ,182 ;1968a ,184 ; 1 968b ;1969 ,214). T he c emetery l ay i n a n arrow s trip a long t he o uter l ip o f b y
t he w estern d efensive d itch , a nd w as d emarcated o n i ts w estern s ide a b oundary d itch . T he c emetery w as a n i nhumation c emetery w hich
o riginated i n t he e arly f ourth c entury . T he g raves w ere a ligned e ast w est , w ith t he h eads o f t he b odies a t t he w estern e nd o f t he g raves . F our w ere i n s tone c offins . V ery f ew , p rincipally j uveniles , h ad g raveg oods . C are h ad b een t aken t o a void s erious d isturbance t o e arlier g raves . I n t hese l ast t wo p articulars t he A ncaster c emetery r esembles t hat a t P oundbury ,
D orchester .
S ome u ndated R oman b urials h ave a lso b een
8
d iscovered 9 1m .(300 ') N orth o f
s outh o f t he t own
t he t own ,
( Trollope ,1870 ,4).
b y E rm ine S treet ,
w ere s ome k ilns ,
a lso u ndated
( Trollope ,1870 ,11). T he
f ertile
s andy
s oils
o f
t he
A ncaster
G ap
a ttracted
a
c onsiderable d ensity o f R omano-British a gricultural s ettlement ( cf .Todd , 1 973 ,72). T wo o f t hese s ites l ay v ery c lose t o t he t own . 1 83m .(600 f eet) s outh-east o f t he d efences , a t C astle P its , e xcavations h ave r evealed p art o f a r ural s ettlement , i ncluding a n a isled b arn , d ating f rom c a .270-340 , i tself t he l atest o f a s equence o f s tructures o n t he s ite . L ater i n t he f ourth c entury t he s ite o f t he f ormer b arn w as u sed f or t he d umping o f r efuse , i mplying t hat o ther p arts o f t he c omplex w ere s till f unctioning ( Whitwel1,1967;cf .Todd ,1975 ,fig .8). A t T urnbull's g ravel p it 7 50m .(%
m ile)
w est
o f
t he
w ith i ts o wn c emetery a lso
d efences
w as
a nother
( Petch ,1958 ,90).
9
r ural
s ettlement ,
h ere
BANHAVENTA
a rea
B ARRAVENTA l ay o n W atling S treet ( Margary n o .1) i n t he W atford G ap o f t he N orthamptonshire u plands , a nd t o t he w est o f t he h eadwaters
o f t he r iver N ene . S outh t he r oad ( Margary n o . 1 7) s outh-east .
l ocated
o f t he c oming
d efences W atling S treet f rom t he s ettlement a t
T he d efensive c ircuits a t ( St J oseph , 1 971) a nd
w as j oined b y D uston t o t he
B ännaventa h ave o nly r ecently b een e xcavations u ndertaken ( Taylor
S .,1972 ; W ilson D .R .,1973 ,294 & f ig .9), a nd o ur k nowledge o f t hem r emains v ery i mperfect . T hey e nclosed a r oughly r ectangular a rea a stride W atling S treet . T he e arliest d efences , f or w hich S . Taylor ( 1972) g ives a t erminus post q uem o f t he l ate f irst c entury , c onsisted o f a c lay a nd t urf r ampart f ronted b y a d itch . T he r ampart w as p ushed b ack i nto t he d itch a nd
u sed
f ourth c entury B ännaventa m ay
a s
t he
a nd w ell
b asis f ronted e xhibit
f or
a s tone
w all
c onstructed
b y t wo d itches . a s equence c ommon
I t t o
i n
t he
s ounds a s m any o ther
e arly t hough t owns :
s econd-century e arthen d efences w ith l ater o nes i n s tone . O utside t he d efences o ccupation i s k nown o nly t o t he n orth ( Taylor S ., 1 972), w here t here w ere t imber s tructures o f u ncertain p lan a nd f unction , w ith a ssociated r ubbish- a nd c ess-pits . O riginating i n t he s econd c entury , t his o ccupation w as a t i ts m ost i ntense i n t he f ourth . N o b urials h ave y et b een l ocated .
1 0
B ATH
T HE s pa A von
v alley .
t own o f
C oming
A quae S t ills l ay i n t he
i n
f rom t he
n orth-east
b ottom o f
t he
r iver
t he s teep-sided
t urns
s outh
p ast
t he e astern d efences o f t he t own , t hen r uns w est p ast t he s outhern . F orming t he n orthern s ide o f t he v alley a re t he h ills o f L ansdown a nd L ittle S olsbury , t he s outhern s ide b eing m arked b y t he s teeps o f t he B eechen C liff a nd B athwick H ill. p hysically c losely c onstrained . T he
m ain
r oad
j unction
a t
T he
B ath
a rea
l ay
f or
s ettlement
a l ittle
w ay
n orth
i s
o f
t hus
t he
d efended z one , i n t he W alcot a rea . R unning s outh-west - n orth-east w as F osse W ay ( Margary n o .5b/c). I ts l ine o f a pproach f rom t he s outh-west i s u nknown . L eaving t he t own t o t he n orth-east i t r an a long t he n orthw estern s ide o f t he A von f or s ome d istance , b efore s triking u phill b y i ts j unction w ith t he r oad f rom V erluclo ( Sandy L ane) ( Margary n o .53). U p f rom t he s outh-east c ane t he r oad f rom c entral W iltshire ( Margary n o .52), a iming t hrough t he B athwick a rea a t t he W alcot c rossing . F rom t his c rossing a lso l ed t he r oads w est-north-west t o S ea M ills ( Margary n o .54),
o nes , w all,
a nd n orth-west a long t he C otswolds
( Margary n o .542).
T he m ediaeval w alls o f B ath a re g enerally a ssumed t o o verlie R oman a nd l imited e xcavation s eems t o i ndicate a f ourth-century s tone p erhaps w ith a n e arlier e arthen r ampart ( Cunliffe ,1968 ,165ff .;
c f .Cunliffe & D avenport ,1985 ,10). T he d efences o nly e nclose 9 .2ha .(23 a cres), a nd i t h as b een s uggested ( Cunliffe & D avenport ,1985 ,10) t hat t hey m ay b e c oncerned s olely w ith t he m onumental c entre , o r e ven t o h ave b een a g lorified t emenos w all T he r esults o f t he t ension i nduced b y t he c ompeting c entres o f r oute-node a nd m onumental c omplex m ay c learly b e s een i n t he p lan o f t he t own . T he d efences e nclose a s uite o f s tructures u nparalleled i n B ritain ( cf . Cunliffe ,1968 ; C unliffe & D avenport ,1985), b ut l itle r oom f or , o r t race o f , m ore w orkaday b uildings ( cf . Cunliffe e d .,1980). T he m ain c entre o f p opulation a nd c ommercial a ctivity l ay w ithout t he w alls i n t he W alcot a rea , a nd a cross t he r iver i n B athwick . N orth o f t he d efences a nd s tretching u p t o t he W alcot c rossing a nd j unction t here i s e vidence f or a n umber o f s tructures . D uring s ewer-laying i n N orthgate S treet R oman f loors a nd p art o f a B ath-stone d rain w ere o bserved . F urther o ut , i n O ld O rchard L ane a c olonnaded b uilding w as f ound ( Haverfield ,1906 ,263), a nd a m osaic a nd o ther R oman m aterial c ome f rom W alcot i tself ( Haverfield ,1906 ,263). M ore r ecently a sm all-scale e xcavation i n W alcot S treet r evealed t hree s uccessive R oman s urfaces , a nd a n a djacent s econd-century p it c ontaining l eather s hoes a nd o ff-cuts ( Owen i n C unliffe e d .,1980 ,102-25). T he B athwick a rea h as y ielded w alling n ear S t J ohn 's c hurch , a nd a n a rea o f g rey a nd w hite t essellation n ear t he S tation ( Haverfield ,1906 ,263). A l ittle t o t he n orth o n B athwick S treet h ave b een f ound c oins a nd a n u nfinished a ltar ( Bush ,1913). M ore r ecently f inds o f R oman m aterial i n t he a rea h ave b een r egularly r eported t o t he B aths M useum . D ated s ites i n b oth t he W alcot a nd B athwick a reas a re a t a p remium ,
b ut s uch e vidence a s w e h ave w ould
s uggest t hat s ettlement a t W alcot s tarted a s e arly a s t hat a round t he s acred s prings , w hereas t hat i n B athwick m ay b e a s econd-century d evelopment , b ut m ore w ork i s n eeded f or a ny d egree o f c ertainty .
1 1
A c onsiderable n umber o f b urials h as b een f ound a round B ath ( Norton i n C unliffe ,1968 ,212-18). N o a rea o f a ny c emetery h as b een s ystematically e xcavated ; s uch k nowledge a s w e d o h ave u sually b eing t he r esult o f t he b urials h aving b een n oticed b ecause t hey w ere i n s tone c offins , T he m ain c emetery w as c learly a long t he F osse W ay t o t he n orthe ast o f t he W alcot n ucleus , w ith a nother s ubstantial a rea o f b urial a cross t he A von i n B athwick . F rom t he W alcot a rea o f F osse W ay c ome f ive t ombstones ( RIB 1 56 ,157 ,158 ,160 ,165), a nd t he f our k nown f rom t he t own w alls ( probably p laced t here i n t he M iddle A ges) m ay h ave c ome o riginally f rom W alcot ( RIB 1 61,162 ,163 ,164). O f t hese t ombstones t hree ( RIB 1 56 ,158 ,159) w ere o f m en o f l egio XX , f rom t he l ate f irst c entury s tationed a t C hester . O ne w as o f l egio I I A dlutrix w hich p receded t he t wentieth a t C hester . T he u se o f c urative t hermal e stablishments w as a r egular f eature o f R oman m ilitary m edical p ractice , b ut w hy m en f rom C hester s hould h ave b een s ent h ere r ather t han t o B uxton ( Aquae Arnemetlae ) i s u nclear . I t m ay b e t hat B ath w as u sed b efore B uxton w as d eveloped . T he c ivilian t ombstones i nclude t hat ( RIB 1 63) o f t he l ady R usonia A ventina o f t he c ivitas
o f
t he
M ediomatrici
i n
G allia
B elgica ,
a s
w ell
a s
o ne
f rom
n earer h ome , t hat o f a d ecurlo o f t he c olonla a t G loucester . F or a ll t hese t he p roperties o f t he w aters h ad s adly n ot p roved e fficacious : a s t he m an f rom G loucester w as a ged e ighty t his i s p erhaps n ot t o b e w ondered a t . A ll t he b urials a long F osse W ay a nd o n t he l ower s lopes o f L ansdown w ere i nhumations , s ave a c remation a t t he b ase o f R IB 1 56 . T he L ansdown c emetery a rea w as c haracterised b y t he e xtensive u se o f s tone c offins , b ut i n a t own s o w ell s upplied w ith e xcellent f reestone a s B ath a n o rdinary s tone c offin i s l ikely t o h ave b een n o m ore e xpensive o r p restigious t han a w ell-fashioned w ooden c offin a t a W inchester . T here i s a g roup o f c remations n ear t he d efended a rea , a t Q ueen 's S quare ( Scarth ,1864 ,110), b ut a s s econd-century c oins h ave b een f ound w ith s ome o f t he i nhumations , i t m ay b e t hat c remation w as n ever t he d om inant f unerary r ite ,
a rea ,
C remations a re a lso k nown j ust s outh o f t he r iver i n t he B athwick a s i s a s traggle o f i nhumations , a nd o ne t ombstone ( RIB 1 55) o f a
p riest o f S ulis . T here a re a lso i nhumations ( and a f ew c remations) a long t he v alley f loor t o t he w est o f t he d efences i n t he U pper B ristol R oad a rea . L astly a f ew i nhumations a re k nown o n t he s lopes s outh o f t he r iver . C learly B ath w as p ossessed o f b ecause o f t he i ntensively b uilt-up o pportunities f ew , i f a ny .
f or
e xpanding
o ur
e xtensive b urial n ature o f t he
u nderstanding
o f
t he
g rounds , b ut m odern c ity
c emteries
w ill
b e
O ne o f t he p eculiarities o f w hat w e k now o f A quae S ulls i s t he a pparent l ack o f a ny a ccommodation f or t he l arge n umber o f v isitors w ho m ust h ave f requented t he w aters . I t h as a lready b een n oted t hat t here i s p recious l ittle s pace w ithin t he d efences f or s uch a ccommodation , t hough t here c ould h ave b een a h ospitium attached t o t he t emple-complex . S o f ar t here s eems l ittle i n t he w ay o f b uildings o f q uality i n t he e xtra-mural a reas . B ut B ath h as l ong b een n oted a s l ying a t t he c entre o f o ne o f t he h ighest, q ualitatively a s w ell a s q uantitatively , c oncentrations o f v illas i n R oman B ritain ( cf . Rivet ,1969 ,figs ,5 .6 ,5 .7). S o m e i ndeed a re w ithin a m ile a nd a h alf o f t he d efences ( cf .Cunliffe & D avenport, 1 985 ,fig .3). C ould i t b e t hat a s w ell a s a p urely a gricultural a nd e conomic f unction , t hese v illas c ould h ave b een p laces o f r esort f or a t l east t he w ell-to-do p ilgrims
( e .g .
K eynsham [ Bulleid & H orne ,1926 ])?
1 2
B ITTERNE
B ITTERNE i s s ituated o n a p romontory p rojecting e astwards w ithin a b end o f t he r iver I tchen , j ust a bove S outhampton W ater . M odern l and r eclamation R oman s hore-line i s n ow a pproximately r econstructed .
o bscured ;
t he a nd
b ut
i t
r iver 's w harfage c an
T he s ite w as a pproached f rom t he e ast b y t he r oad f rom C hichester
v ia W ickham .
o utfall i nto m ean t hat t he
n evertheless
b e
( Margary n o .421)
F rom t he n orth c ane a r oad f rom W inchester
( Margary n o .42b), b ut a s t his r oad h as n ot b een t raced s outh o f t he n orthern b oundary o f m odern S outhampton , i t i s u nclear h ow i t c onnected w ith B itterne . T here w ere t wo s ets o f a pparently R oman d efences a t t he s ite . T he o uter , a nd l ess-well-understood , c ircuit r an a cross t he e astern e nd o f t he p romontory c utting o ff a n a rea o f 1 1 h a , ( 27½ a cres). I t s eems t o h ave c onsisted o f a n e arthen r ampart a nd a d itch . W hen p art o f t he r ampart w as c leared a way c oins , i ncluding t wo o f G ratian , w ere s aid t o h ave b een f ound o n t he o ld g round s urface s ealed b y t he r ampart ( Anon .,1920 ,391-92), b ut t heir p rovenance c annot b e t aken a s c ertain b ecause o f t he d ate a nd n ature o f t he o bservation . E xcavation i n 1 959 ( Taylor M .V ,,1960 ,233) s hows t he r ampart t o h ave b een o f t wo p eriods , t he s econd b eing a n e nlargement , d ated t o t he l ate f ourth c entury , o f a n u ndated p rimary b ank , w hich i tself s ealed a c offined i nhumation . T he i nner d efences , w hich e nclosed a n a rea o f 3 .2ha .(8 a cres) a t t he w estern t ip o f t he p romontory , w ere o f s tone . I n c ontrast t o w hat w e k now o f t he o uter d efences , t he i nner h ad n orthern a nd s outhern w alls a long t he s hore , a s w ell a s t he e astern w all a cross t he p eninsula . T his l atter h ad b een r obbed a way t o i ts s upporting p iles . T he n orth w all w as h ad a f lint a nd m ortar c ore w ith a l imestone f acing ( Cotton & G athercole ,1958 ,41ff .). T he c onstruction d eposits o f t he n orth w all s ealed a c oin o f V alens ( Waterman ,1947 ,157). E nglefield ( 1805) r ecords s olid b astions a t t he n orthern a nd s outhern e nds o f t he e ast w all, a nd a c ircular o ne w hich h e d escribed a s b eing 7 8 f eet ( 24m .) f rom t he n orthern c orner . B ut o n h is p lan i t i s m arked j ust t o t he s outh o f t he P ortsmouth r oad , s ome 3 00 f eet ( 91m .) f rom t he c orner ( pace W aterman , 1 947 ,153, n .3). I t i s p ossible t hat 7 8 f eet w as a m istake f or 7 8 y ards , t hough t his w ould s till
f all s hort o f t he p osition m arked o n t he p lan .
A part f rom t he b urial u nder t he o uter r ampart , t he o nly p ossible m aterial f rom o utside e ither s et o f d efences i s a w ooden q uay w hich m ay h ave b een R oman ( Roach S mdth ,1849 ,382). T he
d ouble
d efences
o f
B itterne
a re
c learly
u nusual
a nd
p ose
p roblems , p articularly o f n ature a nd o f a bsolute a nd r elative d ates . T hese p roblems a re n ot a t p resent r esolvable , b ecause o f l ack o f d ata . A t o ne t ime , b ecause t he c onstruction d ates a t B itterne a fforded b y t he c oins o f t he H ouse o f V alentinian c oincided w ith a d rop i n c oin-loss a t P ortchester , i t w as s uggested ( Cunliffe ,1968 ,268-71) t hat B itterne w as a r eplacement f or t he a bandoned P ortchester . B itterne i s s till o ften t reated o f a s p art o f t he S axon S hore s ystem . B ut i mproved u nderstanding o f t he p roblems o f c oin-loss ( Reece ,in C unliffe ,1975 ,188-97), a nd o f t he s tratigraphic a nd a rtefactual s uccession a t P ortchester ( Cunliffe ,1975 ,
1 3
4 30) m ake i t c lear t hat o ccupation a t P ortchester b een c ontinuous t hrough t he f ourth c entury .
i s l ikely
t o
h ave
I n t he f irst c entury B itterne w as b eing u sed a s a s hipping p oint f or p igs o f M endip l ead . E xcavations i n t he w estern p art o f t he p romontory ( Cotton & G athercole ,1958) h ave s hown c ivilian o ccupation t here f rom t he s econd t o t he f ourth c enturies . S uch e vidence a s t here i s , t herefore , p oints t owards a c ivil n ature f or t he s ettlement a t B itterne : a p ort, d efended l ate i n t he R oman p eriod .
1 4
B RAXPTON
B rampton
s tood
o n
t he
w estern
s ide
o f
t he
r iver
B ure ,
w here
t he
r oad u p f rom C aistor-by-Norwich t o t he s outh ( Myres & G reen 1 973 ,map 3 ), j oined t he e ast-west r oad a cross c entral N orfolk ( ) targary n o .38) a t i ts c rossing o f t he r iver .
T his r oute-node w as p resumably t he r eason f or t he
s iting n ot o nly o f t he s ettlement , b ut a lso o f t he e xtensive p ottery i ndustry . T hough t he l atter h as l ong b een k nown o f ( cf .Browne ,1658), t he e xistence o f d efences a t t he t own h as o nly r ecent ;y b een d emonstrated a nd e xcavation u ndertaken ( cf . Green C .J.S .,1977). T he d efences c onsisted o f a d itch a nd a p resumed e arthen r ampart ( levelled b y p loughing) e nclosing
a p olygonal
d itch i ndicated t hat c entury . A s y et t here
a rea
o f
c a .6ha .(15
a cres).
A s ection a cross
i t w as d ug i n t he l ate s econd i s n o t race o f a s tone w all, n or
t he
o r e arly t hird i s i t k nown h ow
l ong t he d efences w ere m aintained . T o
d ate
a rchaeological
a ctivity
h as
m ainly
b een
c oncentrated
o n
s urvey a nd l im ited e xcavation o f t he p ottery i ndustry a nd o n t he i ndustrial s uburb a long t he r oad t o t he w est o f t he d efences ( cf . Green C .J. S .,1977). T he p ottery i ndustry , w hich a t i ts p eak w as o f a c onsiderable e xtent , s eems t o h ave b een o n t he w ane b y t he t ime t he d efences w ere c onstructed . H aving b een e stablished i n t he l ater f irst c entury , i ts f lorult w as i n t he s econd c entury , w ith o nly a f ew k ilns k nown t o d ate t o t he t hird c entury ( Wilson D .R .,1974 ,438 ;Green C .J.S .,1977 , passin ). B ut i t m ust b e n oted t hat t his i s t o d epend o n t he e vidence f rom t he l imited a rea e xcavated ; i t m ay j ust b e t hat t he l ocation o f t he k ilns s hifted i n t he e arlier i n t he l ife o f t he i ndustry . B esides
k ilns a nd
t hird
r elated e vidence
c entury ,
c oncerning
a s
t he
h ad
h appened
s econd-century
p ottery i ndusty , t he 1 973-1974 e xcavations r evealed t wo s tructures s ome g ullies a nd p its ( Green C .J .S .,1977). T he s tructures w ere o f
a nd t he
s implest, r ectangular p ost-built s tructures r unning b ack f rom t he r oad . T hough s everely d enuded b y l ater p loughing , t hey d id c ontain e vidence f or m etal-working . D ating e vidence s uggested t hat s ome s ort o f a ctivity c ontinued o n t he s ite d own i nto t he s econd h alf o f t he f ourth c entury , w hen p ottery l ying o n t he m ain r oad s urface a nd t he s ilting-up o f t he d itches a nd f illing o f p its m ay a ttest t o t he r un-down o f t he a rea . T he c oins f rom t hese d eposits a re o f t he H ouse o f V alentinian , w hich a ccords w ith t he c eramic e vidence ( Green C .J. S .,1977 ,48). N o l ater m aterial w as r ecovered f rom t he p loughsoil. A w ooden r evetment t o t he r iver-bank , a nd a p latform , p ossibly a j etty , h ave b een f ound b y a s ide-channel o ff t he B ure ( Wilson D .R .,1974 ,438). I f t he B ure w as n avigable t his f ar u pstream , i t w ould p rovide a f irst-class m eans o f d istributing t he p roducts o f t he p ottery i ndustry o ver m uch o f E ast A nglia , t aking a dvantage o f t he r ivers d ebouching i nto t he g reat e stuary t o t he w est o f m odern G reat Y armouth . A f eature o f t he a rchaeological a ctivity a t B rampton w hich i s o f p articular i nterest i s t he c overage o f t he s ettlement b y a erial p hotography ( Edwards 1 977 ,230-33). T his s hows a n e xtensive p aettern o f d itched e nclosures a ligned a long t he r oad w est . T here a re a lso e nclosures t o t he s outh o f t he d efences , s ome o f t he b oundaries o f w hich s how i nflection n ear t he d efences , s uggesting s ome c hronological
1 5
r elationship . l andscape o f f ields , s ay
t rackways .
a nything
t hey a re p art t heir a erial
F urther o ut f rom t he t own t races h ave b een t he f amiliar I ron A ge/Romano-British t ype : F urther
a bout o f
r elations
e xcavation
f unction
i s
c learly
a nd d ates
o f
n eeded
t hese
t he h as
d efences
a nd
t he
d efended
e xcellent
w e
m ay
w hether
l andscape,
e nclosure .
a nd
B ut
t he
p otential
f or
s hown
t hat
B rampton
a p otential
t hat
i s r arely m atched e lsewhere .
1 6
h as
b efore
e nclosures ,
t he u rban o r r ural e conomic a nd p hysical t o
p hotography
s uch e xamination ,
t he
n oted o f a e nclosures ,
B ROUGHON-
B ROUGH-ON-HUMBER ,
P etuaria ,
MEER
w as a p ort o n t he n orthern s ide o f t he
H umber e stuary . T o t he w est o f t he d efences w as a n i nlet w hich w ould h ave f ormed a s uitable n atural h arbour . T he H umber i tself w as c rossed b y f erry f rom t he L incolnshire c oast i n t he v icinity o f D ragonby , t he H umber f oreshore a t B rough a nd t he i nlet b eing s erved b y t he w est g ate , a nd a p ossible s outh g ate . A r oad , d estination u nknown , w as s erved b y t he e ast g ate . T he n orth g ate c arried t he r oad ( Margary n o .2) n orth t o t he f ortress a nd c olonla a t Y ork . T he r egarded
p recise s tatus o f B rough i s a m atter o f s ome c ontroversy . L ong a s a t own ( eg . Corder a nd R ichmond ,1942), W acher i n h is
p ublication e vidence
o f
t he
a rgued t hat
e xcavations i t
t here
w as t hroughout
a nd
a
r eview
o f
t he
e arlier
i ts e xistence a m ilitary b ase o f
s ome k ind ( Wacher 1 969). H e b ased t his a rgument o n t wo m ain c riteria : f irst , t he d taes o f t he s uccessive d efensive c ircuits , w hich h e s aw a s r eflecting a m ilitary r ather t han a c ivil c hronology . S econdly , t here w ere t he i nternal b uildings , w hich h e c laimed w ere u nparalleled i n c ivil a rchitecture ( Wacher ,1969 ,24-5). W acher i dentified t hree p hases o f d efences p ost-dating t hose o f t he H adrianic f ort . T wo o f t hem , t he l ates econd-century r ampart ( Pase V ), a nd t he s tone w all a dded t o i ts f ront i n t he t hird c entury ( Phase V I), a re o f c ourse p aralleled a t m any o ther t owns . B ut a s W acher p oints o ut t here i s a c ircuit o f d efences , e arlier t han a nd l arger t han t he 5 . 5ha .(14 a cres) o f t he l ate s econd c entury . T his i s i ndeed a nomalous , a nd a s y et u nexplained , b ut d oes n ot n ecessitate t he e ntire d efensive s equence b eing m ilitary . A s f or t he b uildings , t hey w ere f or t he m ost p art s imple , r ectangular , s tonef ounded s tructures , o r p arts o f l arger b uildings o f s everal r ooms . T here i s n othing i n t heir p lan t hat w ould p revent t hem f rom b eing s een i n a p urely c ivilian u rban c ontext , w hereas t hey a re m ost u nlike a nything k nown f rom f orts o f t he p eriod . M oreover t hey h ave p roduced e vidence o f t he m etal-working c ommon o n t own s ites , b ut r are i n f orts o uside t he f abrica . W acher w ished t o r egard t his i rregularly-shaped a nd p lanned e nclosure a s a n i nstallation o f t he C lassis Britannica . B ut e xcavations a t D over a nd B oulogne i ndicate t hat t he f leet w as b ased i n f orts o f o rthodox m ilitary d esign . I n s um , f ewer p roblems a re r aised b y a c ivil r ather t han a m ilitary a scription , a nd i t i s a s a t own t hat B rough i s t reated h ere .
o f
C f .
n ow a lso R amm
( 1978 ,58-63)
f or s imilar v iews .
T he o nly i nscription f rom B rough ( RIB 7 07) r efers t o t he p rovision a s tage b uilding f or a t heatre b y N . Ulpius I anuarius , a ed ilis o f t he
v icus P etuarensis . A s n o t race o f a t heatre h as b een d efences , i t m ay w ell h ave b een a n e xtra-mural o ne .
f ound
w ithin
t he
S uch e xtra-mural o ccupation a s t here w as s eems t o h ave b een s trung o ut a long t he Y ork . road f or u p t o 2 00m .(660 '). T o t he w est i t s tretched a s f ar b ack a s t he m arshy g round a t t he h ead o f t he i nlet . T he n ature o f t he o ccupation i s u nclear ; i t p robably c onsisted o f t imber b uildings , a nd s econda nd t hird-century c oins a re r ecorded f rom i t ( Wacher , 1 969 ,73). B urials h ave
b een r ecorded
t o n orth a nd e ast
w hich t he m ost f amous i s t hat o f 8 00m .(% m ile) n orth o f t he d efences
o f
t he
d efences ,
a p riest , w ith b ucket a nd ( Corder & R ichmond , 1 938).
1 7
o f
s ceptre ,
C AER V ENT
Y ENTA S ilurum s tands i n g entle t errain w hich s lopes s outhward t owards t he N edern B rook . I t d eveloped a long t he m ain r oad w est a cross t he S outh W ales p lain t o t he l egionary f ortress a t C aerleon ( Margary n o .60). T he d estination o f r oads o ut o f t he n orth a nd s outh g ates i s u ncertain , s ave p ossibly M onmouth t o t he n orth-east . T he
d efences
a t
C aerwent
e nclosed
a r oughly
r ectangular
a rea
o f
1 8ha .(44 a cres). T heir s equence a nd d ating h as r ecently b een t he s ubject o f r e-evaluation ( Casey ,1983). A s s o o ften , t he e arliest d efences c onsisted o f a n e arthen r ampart d ated t o t he s econd h alf o f t he s econd c entury . T his w as a ugmented b y a s tone w all w hich i tself h ad e xternal b astions a dded ( apparently o nly t o t he n orth a nd s outh w alls). C onventionally t he w all h as b een d ated t o t he l ater t hird c entury , a nd t he b astions t o p ost-350 , p erhaps p ost-367 ( cf . Wacher ,1975 ,379ff .). B ut C asey a rgues t hat t he s tratification o f t he c oins i n t he s outhern d efensive s equence s hows t hat t he w all w as c onstructed a fter t he d eposition o f a c oin o f 3 30-5 , a nd o ne o f t he b astions p ost-dated a h oard w hichmust h ave c losed b y 3 50 . B uildings a re k nown o nly f rom o utside t he e astern d efences . T he m ost n oteworthy w as a n o ctagonal t emple w ithin a c ircular t emenos ( Hudd ,1913 ,447ff .). T his l ay t o t he n orth o f t he e ast-west r oad o utside t he e ast g ate . O nly p art o f t he o uter w all o f t he t emple w as o bserved , a nd t he o ctagon m easured c a .18m .(60 ') a cross , a nd t here m ust p resumably h ave b een a s maller i nner o ctagon f or t he c ella . T he c omplex p re-dated t he d efences , a s t he o uter d itch h ad t o b e l eft u ndug a t t his p oint s o a s n ot t o i mpinge o n t he t emenos . T his i s s upported b y t he b ehaviour o f t he r ampart a nd l ater w alls , w hich r an o n a d ifferent a lignment n orth o f t he e ast g ate t o t hat t o t he s outh s o a s t o a void c ompromising t he t emenos w all. T hese s tructures , p articularly t he t emple i tself , r epresent a m ilitary l iability . N ot o nly d o t hey r educe t he d itch s ystem , b ut , l ying c lose o utside t he d efensive c ircuit , t hey w ould a fford a v antage-point f or a ny a ttacker , e specially t he t emple w hich w ould p resumably h ave o ver-topped t he d efences . P erhaps t his g ives u s a n i nsight i nto h ow l ikely a n e ffective a ttack w as e nvisaged a s b eing . S outh o f t he r oad o ut o f t he e ast g ate l ay a s trip b uilding d ivided i nto
t wo
r ooms ,
w ith
a f urnace
o f
u nknown
f unction
i n
t he
f ront
r oom
( Ashby , H udd & K ing ,1911,444). T his w as s im ilar t o t hose l ining t he m ain s treet w ithin t he d efences . C utting i nto t he r emains o f t his b uilding w ere t hirty e ast-west a ligned i nhumations , o ne i n a s lab-lined g rave . S ome l ate-third-century c oins w ere f ound o n t he s ite , b ut n one w as a ssociated w ith a g rave , s o t hey m ay d erive f rom t he p eriod o f u se o f t he b uilding . L acking a ny s ecure e vidence i t i s n ot p ossible t o d ate t hese g raves . I t i s p ossible t hat t hey f orm p art o f a f ourth-century c emetery f or C aerwent : i t i s e qually p ossible t hat, a s h as b een c laimed , t hey a re p art o f a p ost-Roman C hristian c emetery . N o o ther s tructures h ave
y et
b een
f ound o utside
t he
d efences .
O ne
o ther b urial i s k nown , 4 00m .(% m ile) w est o f t he d efences . T his w as a n i nhumation i n a s tone c offin , t he s pace b etween t he c offin a nd t he s labs l ining t he g rave h aving b een f illed w ith s mall l umps o f c oal ( Morgan , 1 855 ,76).
1 8
R ecent
e xcavations
( R .J. Brewer ,pers .comm .)
a re
t ending
t o
t hat t he f amiliar p lan o f a r elatively d ensely b uilt-up i nterior d efences o f C aerwent i s a p henomenon o f t he l ate-Roman p eriod . t he l ater t hird c entury t he t own a ppears p rincipally t o h ave s traggle a long t he m ain t hrough-road , w ith t he p ublic b uildings
s uggest t o t he B efore b een a a t i ts
c entre . O nly f rom t he e nd o f t he t hird c entury w as t he l and w ithin t he d efences a way f rom t he r oad d eveloped . T he l ack o f e xtra-mural d evelopment , a nd w hat l ittle t here i s t hat w e k now a bout b eing o n t he m ain r oad , i s n ot p erhaps s o s urprising . T he l ocation o f t he c emeteries a waits i nvestigation a nd c larification .
1 9
C AISTOR ( Lincs .)
L ying o n a w estward-projecting s pur o f t he L incolnshire V oids , C aistor w as s erved b y t he r omanised p rehistoric r oute n orth-south a long t he V oids c alled t he H igh S treet ( Margary n o .270), a nd b y a r oad r unning w est t o t he r iver A ncholme a t N orth K elsey ( Margary n o , 2 71). T he
d efences ,
f ollowing t he c ontour
o f
t he
s pur ,
e nclosed a n a rea
o f 3 ha .(7 .5 a cres). T hey c onsisted o f a s tone w all w ith e xternal b astions o f o ne b uild w ith t he w all; t here w as n o e arthen r ampart ( Rahtz ,1960). A s t he b astions w ere i ntegral w ith t he w all a nd t here w as n o r ampart i t h as b een s uggested t hat t he d efences w ere l ate , p ossibly p ost-369 . I t s hould , h owever , b e n oted t hat s uch f eatures w ere a r egular f eature o f m ilitary a rchitecture f or a t l east a c entury b efore t hat d ate . I nformation o n o ccupation a t C aistor i s n ugatory . S catters o f m aterial h ave b een r ecorded t o t he w est a nd n orth o f t he d efences ( Lincs . City & C ounty M useum ), a nd t wo k ilns a re a lso k nown w est o f t he t own . T hese a re d ated t o t he t hird a nd f ourth c enturies , b ut n othing i s k nown o f t heir i ndustry . F our i nhumations h ave b een r ecovered f rom w est o f t he t own , a nd a nother f rom t he s outh-west . W hat v ery l ittle i nformation w e h ave m ay s uggest t hat a ( or t he) m ain f ocus o f o ccupation w as o n t he f latter l and t o t he w est o f t he d efensible h ill-spur . W hitwell ( 1970 ,70) d raws a ttention t o t he m ineral p roperties o f t he E ye a nd S yfer s prings , o f w hich t he l atter l ies o utside the d efences , b ut h e a lso e vidence f or R oman i nterest i n t hem .
n otes
t hat
t here
i s
C aistor w ould f it p erfectly w ell a s a d efended ' small'
n o
p ositive
t own .
I t h as
b een a rgued ( e .g .Todd ,1973 ,43) t hat C aistor a nd t he o ther W olds d efended s ettlement , H orncastle , h ad a m ilitary f unction c onnected w ith t he d efence o f t he e ast c oast . I t i s d ifficult t o s ee h ow i t c ould h ave c ontributed e ffectively , b eing s ituated s ome 2 4km .(15 m iles) f rom t he c oast , o n t he l andward r oad t o t he c oast .
s ide
o f
t he
W olds ,
2 0
a nd w ell
a way
f rom a ny k nown
C AISTOR-BY-NORVICH
V ENTA I cenorum l ies o n t he e astern b ank o f t he r iver T as 2 .4km .(1e m iles) s outh o f i ts c onfluence w ith t he r iver Y are . T he r oad f rom C olchester ( Margary n o .3) r unning u p f rom t he s outh i s u sually a ssumed t o a pproach a long t he w estern b ank o f t he T as , a nd t o r each t he t own b y c rossing t he r iver t o t he w est g ate . W acher ( 1975 ,238) p oints o ut t hat t here
w as
a r oad
l inking
w ith
t he
s outh-western
c orner
o f
t he
s treet-
g rid , a nd a rgues t hat t his m ay r epresent a n e arlier , p erhaps m ilitary , l ine o f t he C olchester r oad . T he w est g ate m ust a lso h ave b een t he d estination o f t he r oad f rom C amboricum l isted i n I ter V o f t he A ntonine I tinerary . I ts r oute a waits d iscovery . N orth-east f rom t he f orum r an a r oad w hich p resumably w as t he s tart o f t he r oute t o B rampton ( cf . Myres & G reen ,1973 ,map .3), a nd h eading f or t he c rossing o f t he Y are a t T rowse , J ust b elow t he j unction w ith t he W ensum . I t w as a pparently s evered b y t he b uilding o f t he d efences , t hough t he r oad a long t he o uter l ip o f t he n orth d itch w ould h ave l inked i t t o t he n orth g ate . T he r oad o ut o f t he e ast g ate o riginally w as a p art o f t he s treet g rid , b ut w hether i t l inked t he t own w ith a nywhere e lse h as n ot b een d etermined . I t h as o ften b een n oted t hat t he d efences e nclose a s maller a rea t han t hat o riginally l aid o ut w ith s treets , b ut o nly e ast-west s treets l ay o utside t he d efended a rea ; n orth-south s treets w ere o nly e ver l aid o ut i n t he a rea d efended . T he d efences w ere a pproximately r ectangular , e nclosing a n a rea o f 1 4ha .(35 a cres), c onsiderably l ess t han t he a rea o f t he o riginal s treet g rid . T hey w ere a pparently c onstructed s o m e t ime i n t he l ater t hird c entury , a nd c onsisted o f a f lint a nd m ortar w all b acked b y a n e arthen r ampart. B astions a re k nown o n t he w estern a nd s outhern w alls , b ut b ecause o f t he b uilding m aterials u sed i t i s d ifficult w ithout e xcavation t o b e s ure w hether t hey w ere o f o ne b uild w ith t he w all, o r a dditions . 1 20m .(400 ') s outh o f t he w alls w ere t wo p arallel d itches s o m e 8 m .(25 ') a part , n ow o nly v isible o n a erial p hotographs . T hese a re s ometimes e xplained a s d itches f or a n e arly f ortress , o r f or a n u nfinished c ircuit o f c ivil d efences d esigned t o e nclose t he e ntire s treet g rid ( cf . Wacher ,1975 ,234). B ut a t t heir e astern e nd t hey r un u p t o , b ut n ot b eyond , a c hange i n t he a lignment o f t he m odern h edge l ine , w hilst a t t heir w estern e nd t hey r un i nto a s mall i nlet i n t he e astern b ank o f t he T as . M oreover t heir c ourses a re n ot e ntirely s traight n or p arallel. T heir a typical m odern l andscape s uggest
f orm , a nd t hat t hey
t heir r elation t o f eatures a re n ot R oman a t a ll, b ut
i n t he m ay b e
a bandoned d rainage d itches o r a s uppressed h edge-line . T he
m ain
k nown
a rea
o f
e xtra-mural
o ccupation
w as
t o
t he
n orth-east, a long t he B rampton r oad ( Taylor M .V .,1957 ,132 ;1958 ,142). A longside t he r oad r an w ooden w ater-pipes w ith i ron c ollars a t t he j oints , t aking w ater i nto t he t own . T heir e xistence i mplies t he p resence o f a n a queduct o f s ome s ort t o s upply t hem , p erhaps t apping a s ource i n t he h igher g round t o r oad h ad o ccupation f ragments) p re-dating o f t he d efences t his
t he e ast o f t he t own . A s treet b ranching o ff t he ( including m etal-working d ebris a nd b rooch-mould t he c onstruction o f t he d efences , b ut b y t he t ime o ccupation h ad c eased . F urther o ut f rom t he t own
s tood a s quare R omano-Celtic t emple w ithin a t emenos . S everal f inds h ave b een m ade i n t he g eneral a rea o f t his ( Fitch ,1855 ,252 ;1859 ,199) i ncluding c oins a nd b ronze b usts .
2 1
c asual t emple I t i s
u ncertain w hether t his w as m aterial d erived f rom t he t emple p roper o r f rom a ncillary b uildings , f rom s ome s ort o f p ara-religious a ctivities s uch a s t rade , o r s imply f rom s ecular o ccupation . A s t here a re t wo t emples k nown f rom w ithin t he d efences t o s erve t he t ownspeople , t his t emple
m ust
h ave
b een s ited a ccording t o r eligious d ictates r ather t han
u rban c onvenience . T o t he e ast o f t he o ccupation a long t he B rampton r oad s tood a r ectangular f lint s tructure w ith a c ourse o f b ricks c apping t he w alls ( Boileau,1847 ,72). N o t race o f a s uperstructure w as o bserved . I n e ach o f t he t wo l ong s ides w ere t hree r egularly-spaced g aps i n t he b rick c apping . F rom w ithin t he s tructure c ane h uman b one . T his m ay w ell, t herefore , h ave b een a w alled f unerary e nclosure o f a t ype w ell-known i n t he w estern p rovinces a nd i nstanced i n B ritain a t p laces s uch a s C olchester . I f t his w ere s o , t hen t he g aps i n t he c apping m ight h ave b een f or m emorials t o t he d eparted . I n t renching i n t he a rea b etween t his s tructure a nd t he m odern r oad t o t he e ast , B oileau f ound h uman b one , p ottery a nd c oins , s o t his a rea w ould s eem t o b e t hat o f o ne o f t he c emeteries o f V enta I cenorum N o o ther c emetery l ocation i s y et k nown . D uring t he e xcavation o f t he e arly A nglo-Saxon c emetery 3 00m .(1000 ') e ast o f t he s outh-eastern c orner o f t he d efences a c ertain a mount o f e vidence a bout R oman o ccupation o f t he a rea w as f ound ( Xyres & G reen ,1973), l ying a s i t d oes n ear t he s outhernmost o f t he e ast-west s treets . T he o ccupation s eems t o h ave c onsisted m ainly o f t imber b uildings , b ut i t w as n ot p ossible t o r ecover c oherent p lans o r s equences b ecause o f t he n ature o f t he e xcavations a nd t he d ifficulty o f e xcavating b etween t he t rees . T he e vidence s uggested t hat o ccupation c eased a t t he e nd o f t he s econd c entury . S ome o f t he b uildings h ad b een d estroyed b y f ire , b ut w hether t his w as a c ause o r a p rocess o f t he a bandonment w e d o n ot k now . A s o nly s ome o f t he b uildings w ere i nvolved i t c annot b e t aken a s e vidence o f h ostile a ction . I t w as s uggested t hat o ne o f t he a reas o f r ubble ( M ), w hich d erived f rom a s tructure o f f linta nd-mortar
w ith
p lastered
w alls ,
i ndicated
a
t emple
( Myres
&
G reen ,1973 ,22), b ut t he (Wbris i s c learly n ot s ufficiently d iagnostic . I f o ccupation o f t he o uter p arts o f t he s treet g rid w as f ailing b y t he b eginning o f t he t hird c entury , t he r educed a rea o f t he d efences l ater i n t he c entury i s u nderstandable . T he A nglo-Saxon c remation c emetery l ay n orth o f t he l ine o f t he e ast-west s treet , b ut t he s treet i tself d id n ot l ie w ithin t he a rea e xamined , s o w e d o n ot k now i f i t p ersisted i n u se a s s treet o r b oundary . B ut s uch f eatures o f t he i nternal l ayout o f t he c emetery a s c an b e r ecovered ( such a s t he c lear s pace o r p ath i n t he n orthern p art o f t he s ite , o r t he T -shaped s pace i n t he s outh-western p art [ Myres & G reen ,1973 ,map .2 ]) I gnore t he R oman a lignment s uggesting t hat t here w as n o p hysical c onstraint e xercised o n t he A nglo-Saxon c emetery b y t he r elict R omano-British t own . T his c himes i n w ith t he e vidence o f t he m ode o f d isposal o f t he d ead a nd t he a rtefactual e quipment , n either o f w hich s eems t o o we a ny d ebt t o R ome . ) t yres ' e arly d ate f or t he c emetery h as b een c hallenged , a nd t he l ack o f a pparent c ontact b etween i ncomer a nd i ndigenous s uggests n ot a p roduct o f a p eriod o f c ontact a nd c ultural
a lso s ite ,
W est o f t he r iver a pparently h aving n o
c emetery
w as
w as a nother A nglo-Saxon c emetery , M arkshall, r elation t o e arlier , R oman , o cupation o n t he
w hich i ncluded a p ottery k iln E vidently
t hat t he m ingling .
C aistor-by-Norwich
( Amyot ,1829 ,412). d id n ot
2 2
g row t o o ccupy a ll t he l and
a llotted
t o
i t
a t
i ts
l aying-out ,
o nly
t he
e astern
p art
h aving
a f ull
s treet-grid a nd b eing b uilt-up . T his i s o f s ome i nterest i n i tself , a s i t i s o ne o f t he f ew o bservable c ases i n B ritain w here t he o riginal e stimate f or t he t own 's f inal s ize w as n ot f ulfilled - a t estament t o t he e xperience a nd p rescience o f t hose c harged w ith t own f oundation i n t he p rovince . N onetheless t he e vidence f rom t he C aistor S axon c emetery a nd f rom t he n orth-eastern a rea o f t he t own s uggests t hat i n t he l ater f irst a nd s econd c entury t here m ay h ave b een e phemeral d evelopment o ver m uch o f t he a rea p rovided w ith s treets . T his s ubsequently c ontracted , a nd w hen t he d efences w ere l aid o ut t he t hen i nhabited a rea w as t he o ne e nclosed , a p henomenon w hich m ay b e o bserved a t s everal o ther t owns .
2 3
C AMBRIDGE
R OMAN C ambridge ( Durolipons ) l ay o n t he n orthern o f t he t wo g ravel s purs w hich h ere c onstrict t he f lood-plain o f t he r iver C am a nd a fford a c rossing-point . T he m ediaeval t own f avoured t he s outhern . F rom t he s outh-east c ane t he r oad f rom C olchester ( Margary n o .24) c rossing t he C am t o e nter b y t he s outh-eastern g ate . i t l eft b y t he n orth-western o n i ts w ay t o G odmanchester . I nto t he s outh-western g ate c ane a r oad ( Margary n o .23) l inking t he t own t o E rmine S treet . A r oad r an o ut o f t he n orth-eastern g ate u p i nto t he F ens . T he E rmine S treet a nd G odmanchester r oads w ere l inked b y a m inor r oad ( Margary n o .241) f rom B arton t o R ed C ross v ia G rantchester . T he R oman d efences o f C ambridge a re s till t he s ubject o f d iscussion o n t heir l ine a nd p recise d ate . T hey s eem t o h ave e nclosed a r oughly r ectangular a rea o f c a .10ha .(ca .25 a cres). E xcavations h ave s uggested t hat t hey c onsisted o f a w all b acked b y a c ontemporaneous r ampart , a nd t hat t hey d ate t o t he l ater t hird c entury o r l ater ( cf .Alexander ,1975). N o t race o f b astions h as b een l ocated .
t he
E vidence f or e xtra-mural o ccupation a t C ambridge i s s canty . A long r oad t o t he s outh-west a s catter o f p its l ay i n t he a rea o f t he
U niversity O bservatory ( Griffith ,1880 ;Hughes ,1906b ;Hughes & M arr ,1876). S imilarly , a long t he r oad t o t he s outh-east p its a nd o ther f eatures h ave b een f ound i n t he g rounds o f T rinity H all a nd i n t he M ill R oad ( Hughes & J enkinson ,1880 ;Hughes ,1906a). I t i s i mpossible t o a scertain w hether t his i s o ccupation d ependent o n t he t own , o r a ssociated w ith f armsteads i n t he a rea; F urther a way f rom t he t own i s t he f ully r omanised v illa-site a t A rbury R oad ( Fe11,1956 ;Frend ,1954 ;1956 ;1959). O n t he e astern b ank o f t he C am a cross f rom t he d efended a rea w as a s mall p ottery i ndustry t he t hird a nd f ourth c enturies i n t he J esus L ane a rea ( Hughes ,1902). B urials a re r ecorded f rom G ravel H ill F arm 1 .6km .(1 m ile)
o f
a long t he
G odmanchester r oad ( Babbington ,1864), b ut a s t he c learance o f a s trip s everal h undred y ards l ong b eside t he r oad o nly y ielded t wo f ourthc entury i nhumations i n s tone c offins , o ne m ay d oubt w hether t his r epresents a n u rban c emetery . T he
p articular m odern l and-use
o f
m uch o f
c entral
C ambridge ,
w ith
i ts a ttendant l isted b uildings a nd c onservation a reas , h as i nhibited t he a rchaeological i nvestigation o f t he R oman t own . T herefore t he l ack o f e xtra-mural
s ettlement
a nd
c emeteries
i s
p robably
m ore
a pparent
t han
r eal. I ndeed o ur b etter k nowledge o f c omparable s mall t owns s uggests t hat C ambridge w ould h ave d eveloped s traggled a long t he r oads , w ith o nly t he n ucleus a t t he r oad J unction l ater b eing d efended .
2 4
C ANTERBURY
A T C anterbury ( Durovernun) t he r iver S tour f lows t hrough t he N orth D owns o n i ts w ay t o i ts e stuary a nd t he W antsum C hannel. B efore t he R oman c onquest t his i ntersection o f g ood l and a nd w ater r outes h ad a ssisted t he d evelopment o f a n e xtensive l ate-Iron-Age s ettlement , g enerally b elieved t o b e a n o ppidum , w hich w as s ucceeded a fter a b rief i nterval
o f m ilitary o ccupation b y t he R oman t own . O ne
o f
t he
a rterial
h ighways
o f
t he
p rovince ,
W atling
S treet
( Margary n o .1) r an i nto t he t own f rom D over t o t he s outh-east t hrough w hat i s n ow k nown a s t hc R iding G ate . I t l eft a gain f or L ondon b y t he g ate o f t hat n ame . O ther c onnections w ith p orts w ere t he r oad f rom R ichborough ( Margary n o . 1 0) i nto Q uenin G ate i n t he n orth-eastern p art o f t he c ircuit , t he r oad f rom L ympne ( Margary n o . 1 2) t o t he s outh r unning i nto t he W orth G ate , a nd t he r oad f rom S turry ( now i nland) ( Margary n o .111) s erving t he N orth g ate . l km .(0 .6 m ile) o ut o f t he W orth G ate t he L ympne r oad w as j oined b y t hat ( Margary n o .130) u p f rom t he W eald . I t i s n ow k nown t hat t he m ediaeval W est G ate a lso o verlies a R oman g ate , a nd B urgate o n t he e astern d efences a lso p robably h ad a R oman p redecessor . T he d efences o f C anterbury e nclosed a n o void p olygon o f 4 8ha .(120 a cres), t he s ixth l argest a rea o f t own d efences i n R oman B ritain . I hough a mongst t he l argest t hey a re a lso a mongst t he l atest . T hey c onsisted o f a f lint a nd s tone w all a t l east 6 m .(20 ') h igh b acked b y a c oeval r ampart a nd f ronted b y a d itch . T races o f t wo e xternal b astions h ave b een i nvestigated ; t hat a t t he O ld C attle M arket w as c learly a n a ddition t o t he w all, t hat a t D ane J ohn M ound w as m ore e quivocal i n i ts r elationship ( Frere ,Stow & B ennett ,1982 ,17-20). T he d efences a re d ated t o t he l ate t hird o r e arly f ourth c entury b y t he d iscovery o f a c oin o f T etricus I ( 270-3) s ealed i n t he r ampart b ank , a nd o f a h oard o f c oins o f t he H ouse o f C onstantine d ug i nto t he t op o f t he b ank . T here i s n o t race o f a n e arlier c ircuit . A t t his d ate s uch a n e xtensive e nceinte w ould h ave b een m ost r emarkable i n G aul. B ut i n B ritain i t w as a t ime w hen m any o ther c ivitas-capitals w ere e quipping t hemselves w ith s tone d efences , a nd t hese a re g enerally o f a l ength c omparable t o t hose a C anterbury , t hough u sually t his i s c onditioned b y p re-existing e arthwork d efences .
t hem .
T here a re f ew d eposits k nown f rom o utside t he w alls a nd p ost-dating U ndoubtedly t he b est-known a nd m ost s pectacular i s t he h oard o f
s ilver r ecovered b y w orkmen f rom W estgate G ardens , b etween t he w alls a nd t he r iver ( Painter ,1965 ;Johns & P otter ,1985). U nfortunately i t w as n ot f ully d eclared t o t he C oroner o n d iscovery , t hus i ts f ull e xtent a nd c omposition r emain u ncertain , w ith n ew p ieces s till b eing a ttributed t o i t . A t p resent i t i s r eckoned t o c onsist o f t wenty o b jects ( at l east); f our s ilver i ngots , t welve s ilver s poons , a s ilver o bject w ith a c ommas haped t erminal, a s ilver p in , a g old r ing a nd a g old n ecklace-clasp . I n a ddition t here w ere n ine c oins , f our o f s ilver a nd f ive o f b ronze . T he f inding t ogether o f b ronze a nd s ilver c oins i n a h oard i s o dd , t he m ore s o w hen t he n ature o f t he r est o f t he t reasure i s c onsidered , s o d oubts m ust b e e ntered o ver t he r eliability o f t he a ssociation o f t he b ronze c oins w ith t he r est o f t he m aterial. N onetheless t he s ilver c oins i nclude i ssues o f H onorius w hich h ave h ad t heir e dges c lipped , t hus
2 5
i ndicating a d ate o f d eposition i n t he e arly p art o f t he f ifth c entury , a d ate w hich i s n ot i n c onflict w ith t he s tylistic c riteria o f t he o bjects . O f t he o b jects , t he o ne b ore a C hi-Rho o n t he t erminal,
w ith t he a nd o ne
c omma-shaped t erminal ( C .17) o f t he s poons ( C .8) h ad a n
i nscription w hich c an b e p aralleled f rom C hristian c ontexts . O therwise t here w as a p robable h orticultural s oil i n C hurch S treet ( Frere p ers .comm .). I n t he f ourth c entury a q uarry b etween t he D over a nd L ympne r oads , w hich W acher ( 1975 ,192) s uggests m ay h ave b een f or l ime f or t he w alls , w ent o ut o f u se , a nd a h oard o f C onstantinian c oins w as b uried i n t he f illing ( Taylor M .V .,1967 ,25). U ndated , b ut a pparently R oman , w ere t he f our w alls e ach 5 0cms .(18") w ide a nd a t 1 2m .(40 ') i ntervals r unning p arallel a cros t he l ine o f t he D over r oad ( Pilbrow ,1871,150). L arge
a reas
k nown a round c onsideration
o f
f irst-
a nd s econd-century c remation c emeteries a re
C anterbury . S ince t hey p re-date t he d efences , d etailed o f t hem h ere i s i nappropriate , b ut o verall c omparison o f
t heir l ocations w ith i nterest . T hree l arge ,
t hose o f t he f ourth-century c emeteries a nd o ther s maller , b urial-grounds o f t he
i s o f s econd
c entury a re k nown . T o t he w est w as t he l arge c remation c emetery a t S t D unstan 's ( Brent ,1861,73 ;Taylor M .V .,1926 ,238), t o t he e ast t hat a t S t M artin 's o n t he R ichborough r oad ( Taylor M .V .,1926 ,238 ;Whiting & M ead .1928), a nd t o t he s outh a t S t S epulchre 's o n t he D over r oad ( Brent ,1861;Kelly & M yres ,1973). I n a ddition t here a re t he f our m ounds o n t he s outhern s ide o f t he c ity , o f w hich t he m ost f amous i s t he o ne n ow k nown a s t he D ane J ohn , D ane J ohn h as y ielded f unerary m aterial ( Whitehouse ,1972 ,66), a nd i t a nd i ts f ellows p resumably o riginated a s b urial m ounds , a f orm o f f unerary m onument a ttested f rom e lsewhere i n R oman B ritain . T hese b arrows w ere a ssociated w ith a c remation c emetery o f u nknown e xtent ( Webster G .,1940). T o t he w est w ere f urther c remations , i n t he v icinity o f t he C astle ( Brent ,1861). N ot o ne o f t hese c emeteries h as p roduced a ny e vidence f or b urial t aking p lace i n t hem i n t he t hird a nd f ourth c enturies . W e a re l ess w ell i nformed o ver t he l ocation o f t he l ate c emeteries . D uring t he c onstruction o f t he r ailway s tation t o t he s outh-west o f t he d efences s everal i nhumations , s ome c ontaining f ourth-century g rave-goods , w ere e xposed ( Pilbrow ,1861). T hese b urials p resumably f ormed p art o f a c emetery a long t he r oad o utside t he W orth G ate . I nhumations a re a lso r ecorded f rom B ridge S treet , L ady W ootton 's G reen a nd o ther p oints d efences ( Pilbrow ,1861;Taylor M .V .,1952 ,102). O ne b urials l ay i n a l ead c offin w ith l ime p acking , B ritain a ppears C hristianity .
t o
b e
f ourth-century ,
a nd
o utside t he e astern o f t he B ridge S treet a p ractice w hich i n
p erhaps
i ndicative
o f
C learly t here w as a m ajor s hift i n t he l ocations o f t he c emeteries o f R oman C anterbury s ometime a fter t he e nd o f t he s econd c entury . W hen p recisely t his o ccurred w e c annot , i n d efault o f t he t hird c entury c emeteries o f t he t own , t ell. S o w e d o n ot k now w hether i t i s a ssociated w ith t he r edefining o f t he u rban s pace b y t he c onstruction o f t he w alls . B ut i t i s a p henomenon w hich C hichester a nd W inchester . T he
c emeteries o f
w e
s hall
n ote
R oman C anterbury h ave
b ecause o f t heir p ossible t he C onversion o f E ngland .
a t
o ther
t owns
s uch
a s
a ttracted e xtra a ttention
c onnection w ith C anterbury 's p ivotal r ole i n B ede (E istorla E ccleslastica I x xvi) t ells u s
t hat ' On t he e ast s ide o f t he c ity s tood a n o ld c hurch , b uilt i n h onour o f S t M artin d uring t he R oman o ccupation o f B ritain , w here t he C hristian q ueen o f w hom I h ave s poken
( i.e .
B ertha)
2 6
w ent
t o p ray .'
T o t he e ast o f
C anterbury t here s till s tands t he S ince t he l ast c entury i t h as b een c hurch t o t he
a ncient p arish c hurch o f S t M artin . a ppreciated t hat t he c hancel o f t his
i ncorporates w alls w hich m ay b e R oman . T his h as l ed , n aturally , c laim t hat t his i s i ndeed t he S t M artin 's o f w hich B ede s peaks .
S ome o f t he m ore o ver-enthusiastic h ave e ven g one s o f ar a s t o s uggest t hat i t w as i n o rigin a l ate-Roman m emorla o r m artyrlum , a nd h ad t hus a cted a s a f ocus o f c ontinuing C hristian c ult f rom t he e nd o f t he R oman p eriod t o t he a rrival o f A ugustine . T his c onveniently i gnores t he f act t hat t he c hurch d oes n ot a ctually o verlie t he S t M artin 's H ill c emetery , w hich a nyway , a s w e h ave s een , w as n ot i n u se i n t he l ate-Roman p eriod . R ecent r e-examinations o f t he f abric o f t he c hurch , a nd s ome l imited e xcavation ( Jenkins ,1965 ;Tatton-Brown ,1980) s uggest t hat t he e astern p art o f t he c hancel d oes h ave h as b een s uggested t hat i t
i ts o rigins i n a l ate-Roman s tructure . I t w as p robably a s mall s quare m ausoleum ,
s imilar t o t hat i n a n i dentical p osition i n t he r uined c hurch o f S toneb y-Faversham ( Fletcher & M eates ,1969 ;1977). B ut r ecent e xcavations h ave s hown n o t race o f a l ate-Roman c emetery i n t he a rea , a nd i t i s n ow s uggested t hat i t m ay h ave o riginated a s p art o f a d omestic s uburban s tructure ( TattonBrown & M acpherson-Grant ,1985). O nto t he w estern s ide o f t his w as t acked a n ave , p ossibly i n t he e arly s eventh c entury . S o i t s eems t hat i n S t M artin 's w e m ay s till s ee t he s tructure i n w hich B ertha a nd h er c haplain u sed t o p ray , b ut t here i s n o w arrant f or p ositing a ny c ontinuity o f f unction f rom l ate-Roman t imes .
T he m utations i n t he u rban f abric b etween t he e arlier a nd t he l ater p eriods o f D urovernum w hich w e h ave n oted i n t he c emeteries , c an a lso b e d etected i n t he a reas f or t he l iving . I n t he l ate f irst a nd s econd c enturies t here w ere e xtensive a reas o f t imber b uildings t o t he w est o f t he r iver i n t he W hitehall G ardens a rea , s ome o f i t a ssociated w ith m ade r oads ( Taylor X .V .,1955 ,148). T here w ere a lso p ottery k ilns a nd a t ilec lamp . A nother p ottery k iln i s k nown f rom n ear t he D ane J ohn ( Webster G .,1940), a nd f urther t imber s tructures o f t he f irst a nd s econd c enturies o utside t he l ine o f t he l ater d efences a t 6 8 N orthgate S treet ( Wilson D .R .,1974 ,459), a nd a t C hurch S treet ( Frere p ers .comm .) a nd u nder t he d efences a t W orth G ate . C learly t he s econd-century t own o ccupied a l arger a rea t han i ts l ate-Roman s uccessor , w ith t he c emeteries b eyond t hat a rea a gain . S eemingly w ell b efore t he c onstruction o f t he d efences t hat o ccupied a rea c ontracted , a nd i t c ould h ave b een a s a r esult o f t his t hat t he c emeteries s tarted t o s hift . I ndeed i t s eems t hat w hen t he d efences w ere c onstructed t heir s outhern p ortion e nclosed empty g round . C learly t he t hrough
t he
u rban s tructure
R oman
p eriod .
o f
C anterbury w as b y n o
O ccupation
a nd
c emeteries
m eans s tatic
b oth
s hifted ,
f ollowing t he d ictates o f p ressures w hich w e c annot a t p resent h ope t o u nderstand . B ut i t i s a p henomenon o f w hich w e m ust b e a ware i n o ur e xam ination n ot o nly o f C anterbury , b ut o f a ll t he t owns o f R oman B ritain .
2 7
C ARL I SLE
C ARLISLE
( L euvallum )
s tood o n a s andstone
s pur a t
t he c onfluence
o f t he C aldew w ith t he E den . T o t he e ast t he s pur f alls a way g ently t owards t he E den , b ut a t i ts n orthern e nd ( now c rowned b y C arlisle C astle) a nd o n i ts w estern s ide , w hich o verlooks t he C aldew , t he f all i s m uch s teeper , f or m uch o f t he w estern p art t aking t he f orm o f c liffs s ome 1 0m .(30+ ') h igh . T he m ain r oad n orth ( Margary n o . 7 ) t o t he W all a nd t o t he L owlands b eyond t ook a dvantage o f t he r elatively f lat a pproach f rom t he s outh , a nd l eft d own t he n orth-eastern s lope t o c ross t he E den t o t he f ort a t S tanwix b y a b ridge w hich h as d isappeared , b ut i s n ot t o b e c onfused 3 50m .(1150 ')
w ith t he o ne b y d ownstream . F rom
w hich t he W all t he s outh-west
c rossed t he r iver s ome c ame t he r oad ( Margary
n o .75) f rom O ld C arlisle . T he p recise l ine o f a pproach o f t his r oad t o t he t own i s n ot y et c ertain . I f t he m ain a lignment u p f rom t he s outhw est i s s imply c ontinued ( as i s u sually i ndicated) t he r oad w ould c ross a r elatively b road a nd p robably m arshy s ection o f t he C aldew v alley , t o e nd u p a t t he f oot o f t he w estern c liff . I t m ust h ave d eflected e ither t o t he n orth-east , w hich w ould t ake i t t o t he a rea o f t he C astle w here t he e arly f ort w as s ituated b ut a cross t he C aldew m arsh , o r t he t he s outh-east a cross t he n arrower p art o f t he v alley i n t he M urrell H ill a nd C itadel S tation a reas . B oth t hese l atter h ave p roduced t ombstones a nd b urials , f eatures m ost l ikely t o o ccur i n p roximity t o a r oad . T he l ine o f t he R oman d efences o f C arlisle m ay b e h ypothesised , b ut a ctual e xposures o f t hem a re a t a p remium . I t i s g enerally a ssumed t hat t hey u nderlie t he l ine o f t he m ediaeval d efences , e xcept p erhaps f or t he c astle w hich i s s een ( e .g . Charlesworth ,1974)
a s a m ediaeval a ccretion . h ave b egun t o r eveal w hat
R ecent e xcavations a re p robably t heir
p hysical r emains . H ere , i n W est T ower S treet , a l ength o f t he m ediaeval w all w as f ound t o b e s itting o n a p linth w ith o ffset a nd t wo c ourses o f d iamond-broached s tone , w hereas t he m ediaeval t echnique w as d iagonal t ooling . T he e xcavator a rgued t hat t his w as m ediaeval r e-use o f R oman s tonework , b ut i f s o i t i s r emarkable t hat t he m ediaeval m asons s hould s o p recisely h ave r e-set t he R oman s tonework a s i t s hould h ave b een . M uch m ore l ikely i s t hat h ere w e h ave m ediaeval w ork s itting o n R oman f oundations . A t 5 4 L owther S treet a d itch c ontaining s econd-century s amian a nd o ther w ares i n t he p rimary f ill h as b een f ound , l ying p arallel t o t he m ediaeval d efences ( Hogg M SS . I n T ullie H ouse M useum ); I t w ould s eem n ot u nreasonable t o s ee t his a s p art o f t he R oman d efences . A long t he t op o f t he w estern c liff t he w all b ows i nwards t o f ollow t he l ine o f t he c liff-edge . M ediaeval r ecords m ake i t c lear t hat t here w as a s eries o f l and-slips a long t his s tretch , s o t he f inding o f R IB 9 60 b uit i nto t he w alls h ere c annot b e t aken a s e vidence t hat t hey a re l ate-Roman r e-using e arlier m aterial, b ut r ather a re m ore l ikely t o b e m ediaeval r e-using R oman m aterial. t herefore , h ave b een s lightly l arger a nd m aediaeval, a t c a .30ha .(75 a cres). A s n o e xpose t he f ace o f t he w all w e c annot s ay
T he R oman d efended a rea m ay , m ore r egularly-shaped t han t he e xcavation h as d one m ore t han w hether t here w ere b astions o r
a n e arth r ampart , a nd w hat t he r elative c hronology o f s uch e lements w as , l et a lone t heir a bsolute d ate . I t s hould p erhaps b e n oted t hat t he s tonework i n n o w ay r esembles t hat f orts o f t he 1 20s . T he
i mportant
s eries o f
o f
r ecent
2 8
H adrian 's W all
a nd i ts a ssociated
e xcavations i n C arlisle h as d one
m uch t o c larify t he n ature a nd s equence o f t he o ccupation o f
L uguvallun 4
a nd h as n ot c ontradicted t he i dea t hat f rom s ome t ime i n t he s econd c entury C arlisle w as a c ivilian t own , t hough i t h as b een d iscovered t hat t here w as m ilitary e nclave a t i ts c entre a s a t C orbridge . I n h is c elebrated d escription o f S t C uthbert 's v isit t o C arlisle B ede t ells u s t hat t he S aint w as s hown a R oman f ountain i n t he t own s till p roviding w ater . I f t his i s t rue , t hen t here m ust h ave b een a n a queduct t o s upply t he t o t he s outh .
f ountain ,
p resumably c oming f rom t he h igh g round
N o e xtra-mural o ccupation h as b een f ound a t C arlisle . I n v iew o f t he t own 's e xposed p osition b y t he f rontier t his w as p robably p rudent .
t hat
T he k nown d istribution o f R oman b urials s upports t he c ontention t he R oman a nd m ediaeval d efences w ere o n t he s ane l ine . T he o nly
i ntra-mural f ind o f h uman b one a pparently a ssociated w ith R oman p ottery i s f rom C astle S treet ( Tullie H ouse M useum ). B ut t he b urial i s p robably t o b e a ttributed t o t he c emetery o f t he C athedral P riory , t he p resence o f R oman p ottery b eing d ue t o d isturbance o f R oman l evels b y g raved igging . T he m ain c emetery o f R oman C arlisle s tretched f or 1 .6km .(1 m ile) a long t he m ain r oad t o t he s outh . T he w ealthiest b urials i n t his c emetery w ere a t i ts s outhern e nd , a t G allows H ill. T hese i ncluded c remations
i n
l ead
c ists
a nd
c remations
a nd
i nhumations
i n
s tone
c ontainers a nd c offins ( Anon .,1829 ;Ferguson ,1893 ;Paten ,1974), a s w ell a s t he t ombstones R IB 9 49 ,955 ,959 . T his i s a c oncentration o f c ostly b urial p ractices n ot o bservable e lsewhere i n t he c emteries o f C arlisle . O n t he s outhern s ide o f G allows H ill l ies t he r iver P etterill, a s n o b urials h ave b een f ound t o i ts s outh a long t he r oadside i t s eems t o h ave f ormed t he s outhern b oundary t o t he b urial-ground . T he c oncentration o f u nusual b urials o n G allows H ill c an p robably b e r elated t herefore t o a c ombination o f t wo c onsiderations . O ne i s t he p hysical e minence o f t he H ill I tself . T he o ther i s t hat i t w ould b e t he f irst p art o f t he c emetery t hat t ravellers u p t he m ain r oad f rom t he s outh w ould h appen a cross . T hese t wo f actors w ould m ake i t p referential l ocation f or d isplays o f e xpensive c ommemoration . A long t he r oad b etween G allows H ill a nd t he s outh g ate o f t he t own s tretched a n e xtensive c remation c emetery , l argely u ndated , b ut c ontaining v essels f rom t he s econd c entury o n ( Tullie H ouse M useum ). C remations a re a lso k nown f rom t he a rea o f C itadel S tation , b ut s outh o f t hem , a nd t o t he w est o f t he c remation c emetery a long t he m ain r oad s outh , w as a n i nhumation c emetery ( Paten ,1974 ;Tullie H ouse M useum ). T his l ay o n t he l ower s lopes o f t he C aldew v alley , a nd a s i t i s a l ittle w ay away f rom t he r oad(s) i t m ay b e a l ater d evelopment o nto t he b acklands o f t he r oadside c emetery .
f or
T he p resence o f t he c remations i n t he S tation a rea m ay b e s upport t he v iew t hat t his w as t he l ine o f t he O ld C arlisle r oad . F urther
a long t his p osited l ine, o n t he w estern s ide o f t he C aldew , l ies t he k noll o f M urrell H ill. F rom h ere c ome f urther b urials , a nd t he w ellk nown t ombstone o f a l ady w ith a f an . A f ragment o f a nother t ombstone , R IB 9 58 , c ame f rom t he R ailway G oods Y ard . T here m ay b e a s imilar , i f l esser , c oncentration G allows H ill.
o f
p restige
b urials
o n
M urrell
H ill
t o
t hat
o n
S ome f ew o ther b urials h ave b een f ound s cattered a round t he d efences , t hough n one o f t hem s eems t o h ave f ormed p art o f a c emetery t o
2 9
r ival t hose o n t he s outhern a nd w estern s ides o f t he t own . T o t he e ast w as a b urial a ssociated w ith R IB 9 61 ( Ferguson ,1868), a nd f rom n orth o f t he t own h ave c one b urials f rom C aldewgate ( Tullie H ouse M useum ) a nd f rom t he l ow l ands b odering t he E den ( Ferguson ,1893). W ell s outh o f t he t own w ere t wo b urials i n l ead c offins f rom B otcherby ( Ferguson ,1892), b ut a s t hey l ie b eyond t he P etterill t hey c annot w ith a ny c onfidence b e c laimed a s n ecessarily r elated t o t he t own . A cross t he E den f rom C arlisle s tructures a re k nown f rom R ickerby P ark ( Ferguson ,1892 ;Hope ,1905 :Collingwood ,1931), b ut t hese m ust h ave f ormed p art o f t he v icus o f t he n eighbouring f ort o f S tanwix , d istinct f rom C arlisle .
3 0
C ARMARTHEN
R ECENT
w ork
i n
a nd
a round
C armarthen
( Noridunum )
h as
r evolutionised o ur k nowledge o f t he t own f rom w hat i t w as o nly s ome f ifteen y ears a go . I t i s n ow e stablished t hat t he R oman d efences e nclosed a ll t he c a .13ha .(33 a cres) o f t he f lat-topped b luff w hich r ises o n t he n orthern s ide o f t he r iver T ywi ( Towy) t o t he e ast o f t he m ediaeval a nd m odern t own c entre . T he r oad w estwards f rom t he S outh W ales p lain ( Margary n o .60) a pproached t he t own n orthwards u p t he T ywi v alley t o a p oint o pposite i t o n t he s outhern b ank a t P ensarn ( angT ice r oad-head), w here t here i s a d iffuse s catter o f R oman m aterial. T he s ite o f a ny b ridge i s u nknown . F rom t he e ast g ate r an t he r oad u p t he T ywi v alley t owards L landovery ( Margary n o .623), w ith t he r oad t o L lanio ( Margary n o .69) b ranching o ff 0 .8km .(% m ile) f rom t he g ate . O utside t he d efences t he m ajor m onument w as t he a mphitheatre , l ying t o t he n orth o f t he r oad o ut o f t he e ast g ate ( Little ,1971). C onstructed i n t he f irst h alf o f t he s econd c entury , i ts a rena m easured 4 5m .(150 'e ast-west b y 2 7 .5m .(90 ') n orth-south , w ith i ts l ong a xis r oughly p arallel t o t he r oad . T here w as a n e astern e ntrance : t he w estern , i f i t e xisted , i s n ow m asked b y p ost-Roman b uild-up . D etails o f t he s eating a nd d rainage h ave b een r ecovered b y e xcavation . T he s eating c onsisted o f ( presumably) t imber s eats s upported o n s tone d warf-walls , a s a t C irencester . T he d rainage , p articularly n ecessary a s t he n orthern s eating-bank m ade u se o f a n atural h illside , m ay h ave h elped d ivide t he s eating i nto c unel , a s i t r an r adially t o t he a rena . A part f rom t he i ndeterminate s catter o f m aterial s outh o f t he r iver a t P ensarn , t here i s , a s y et , n o e vidence f or e xtra-mural s ettlement a t C armarthen . T he f ew s herds o f R oman p ottery r ecovered f rom t he m odern t own c entre a re b est e xplained a s b eing d erived f rom t he d umping o f s oil t o l evel u p t he c ars ( marsh) t hat p receded t he l aying-out o f t he m ediaeval
t own b elow t he c astle .
3 . 2km .(2 m iles) s outh o f t he t own , A bercyfor ( Collinson ,1779) i ndicate t he
a m osaic a nd p resence o f
o ther r emains a t o ne o f t he f ew
v illas i n S outh W ales . N o b urials h ave y et b een l ocated a round t he t own . T he o bvious a rea f or t he m ain c emetery i s t he l arge t ract o f r elatively f lat l and o utside t he e ast g ate a long t he L landovery r oad .
3 1
G ATTERICH
T HE d efended a rea o f t he t own o f
C ataractonium l ay o n t he s outhern
s ide o f t he r iver S wale , w here i t w as c rossed b y D ere S treet ( Nargary n o .8). N orth o f t he r iver a m inor r oad r an e ast f rom D ere S treet, b ut i ts d estination ( if i t h ad a ny b eyond t he e dge o f t he s ettlement) i s u nknown . T he d efences o f C atterick e nclosed a n i rregularly-shaped p olygon o f c a .5ha .(12 a cres). T he i rregularity i s d ue t o t he d efences i ncorporating o n t heir w estern s ide t he l ine o f t he f ormer f ort d efences . W ith t heir a bsence o f i nternal r ampart t hey w ould a ppear t o r esemble t ypologically t he d efences a t e arly-fourth-century t owns s uch a s C ambridge . N orth
o f
t he
r iver ,
i n
t he
s uburb w hich d id n ot d evelop u ntil t he T he
p arish t he
o f
B rompton-on-Swale ,
f ourth c entury ,
l ay
a
w hen t he t own o n
s outh b ank w as w ell-established w ith i ts d efences a nd s treet-grid . b uildings s o f ar e xcavated l ay o n t he e astern s ide o f D ere S treet
6 0m .(200 ') n orth o f t he n orthern a butment o f t he S wale b ridge , a nd t here w ere p resumably o thers b etween t hem a nd t he b ridge , a nd o n t he o ther s ide o f t he r oad . F our s tructures h ave b een i nvestigated ( Wilson D .R .,1973 ,278-80). T he t wo n orthernmost w ere r ectangular s trip-buildings o f t he f amiliar s hop/workshop t ype , a pparently e rected i n t he l ate f ourth c entury a nd c ontinuing i n u se i nto t he f ifth . S outh o f t hese l ay a t rapezoidal s tructure o n a l ow podium , w ith a c olonnade a long i ts s treet f rontage . T his i s d ifficult t o e xplain i n t erms o f d omestic a rchitecture , a nd m akes m ore s ense a s a t emple . I f s o i t w ould h ave b een d erived , a t h owever m any r emoves , f rom C lassical r ather t han f rom R omano-Celtic p rototypes . S uch s mall d ebased c lassicising t emples a re r are i n R oman B ritain ., t he b est p arallels c oming f rom f urther u p D ere S treet a t C orbridge . T here t here w as a g roup o f s even , a nd T emple 1 h as m arked s imilarities t o t hat a t C atterick , a nd a ll h ad podia ( Lewis ,1966 ,64-6 ,181). T o t he s outh o f t his ? temple w as a r aised p aved a rea h aving a s emi-circular e astern e nd w ith a d iameter o f 9 m .(30 '). T here w as n o t race o f a ny s uperstructure . F rom t he r obber-trenches o f t he ? temple c ame p art o f a c eramic t heatrical m ask , a nd t his a nd t he c lose p roximity o f t he ? temple a nd t he p aved a rea r aise t he p ossibility t hat t he l atter m ay h ave b een s ome s ort o f r udimentary t heatre , p ossibly w ith t emporary w ooden s eating a round i t f or p erformances . S outh o f t he t own a long D ere S treet a s catter o f R oman m aterial s uggests t hat t here m ay h ave b een e xtra-mural o ccupation o n t his s ide o f t he t own t oo . T he s ites o f t he c emeteries f or C atterick a re u nknown . A long D ere S treet w ould s eem t he o bvious p lace t o l ook , a nd i t i s p erhaps s urprising t hat t he e xcavations n orth o f t he S wale d o n ot s eem t o h ave r ecovered a ny p re-dating t he l ate o ccupation . T he l ate d ate o f e specially s ince a t o ther
t hat e xtra-mural o ccupation t owns t his w as a p eriod o f
i s r emarkable , c ontraction o f
s uburban o ccupation . T he d efences o f t he N orth w ere p erhaps e ffective f or m ore t ime t han t hey a re u sually g iven c redit .
3 2
m ore
C HELNSFORD
T HE R oman t own a t C helmsford
( Gaesaromagus )
d eveloped s outh o f t he
c onfluence o f t he r ivers C an a nd C helmer , u nlike m ediaeval C helmsford w hich l ay b etween t he r ivers . T he t own l ay a long t he r oad f rom L ondon t o C olchester ( Margary n o .3). I t a lso s erved a s t he s outhern t ermination o f P eddar 's W ay
( Margary n o .33).
T here w as a s treet r unning s outh-east f rom
t he m ain r oad a nd p assing t hrough t he d efences . i ts d estination w as a re u nknown .
H ow f ar i t w ent a nd w hat
T he d efences e nclosed a n a rea o f c a .7ha .(17e a cres). T hey c onsisted o f a r ampart a nd d itch c onstructed i n t he l ater s econd c entury : e arly i n t he t hird c entury t he r ampart m aterial w as t hrown b ack i nto t he d itch . T he s hort l ife o f t he d efences i s a lso i ndicated b y t he l ack o f s ilting i n t he d itch . T his s hort l ife i s e xtremely u nusual ( the p arallel i s N eatham ), a nd t he r eason(s) f or i t u nknown .
o nly
p ossible
S o f ar o nly o ne s ite i s k nown l ying o utside t he d efences d uring t he p eriod w hen t hey w ere i n c ommission . T his i s a r ligious p recinct l ying b etween t he r iver C an a nd t he s ide s treet o ff t he m ain r oad ( Drury ,1972). T hough l ater d ominated b y a n o ctagonal R omano-Celtic t emple , t he s ite a t t his t ime c onsisted o f a n a gglomeration o f t imber b uildings a t t he w estern e nd o f a m etalled p ath . T he b uildings s tood o n a l ow , a rtificial, p rehistoric m ound o f u nascertained p urpose . N one o f t hem i s r ecognisably a s hrine o r a c ult b uilding , t hough t heir p osition a ctually o n t he m ound m ay m ean t hat t hey h ad m ore t han a p urely a ncillary f unction . A t t he c onstruction i n t he e arly f ourth c entury o f t he m asonry t emple t wo t rees w ere c ut d own , b ut t heir s ites w ere i ncluded w ithin t he n ew b uilding , s o t hey m ay h ave b een o bjects o f v eneration o r p art o f a s acred g rove . T his r espect f or t heir s ite , c ombined w ith t he u se o f a p rehistoric m ound m ay m ean t hat t he R omanoB ritish p recinct p erpetuated e lements o f a n e arlier p hysical a nd r itual l ayout . T his m ay h elp e xplain w hy t he c omplex i s a pproached f rom t he s ide a way f rom t he c entre o f t he t own . N o b urials o f t he t urn o f t he s econd a nd t hird c enturies h ave y et b een e xcavated a t C helmsford , t hough i n e arlier y ears t here w as a c remation c emetery a long t he r oad t o L ondon . N ot e nough i s y et k nown a bout C helmsford i nside o r o utside i ts s hort-lived d efences t o e lucidate t he r easons f or t heir c onstruction o r t heir d emolition . A ll o ne c an s ay a t t he m oment i s t hat , a s a t o ther ' small' t owns , o ne o f t he c hief p urposes o f t he d efences a ppears t o h ave b een t o s afeguard t he n anslo .
3 3
CHESTERTON-OH-FOSSE
C HESTERTON
l ay
o n
F osse
W ay
( Margary
n o .5)
b etween
D orn a nd
t he
W atling S treet J unction a t H igh C ross . I n a ddition t o t he s outh-west a nd n orth-east g ates t hrough w hich t his r oad p assed , t here w as a s outh-east g ate f rom w hich i ssued t wo m inor r oads ( Wilson D .R .,1975 ,p1.XIIIa). W hether t hese r oads w ere a nything o ther t han i nternal t o t he s ettlement h as n ot b een e stablished . T he d efences e nclosed a r ectangular a rea o f 3 .2ha .(8 a cres), w ith i ts l ong a xis p arallel t o F osse W ay , t hough t hat r oad r uns r ather c loser t o t he n orth-western r ather t han t he s outh-eastern s ide . S ections c ut a cross t he d efences h ave n ot y et c larified t he d efensive s equence a nd d ates ( Wilson D .R .,1962 ,188 ;1968 ,171). T he e arliest d efences w ere a n u ndated e arthen r ampart a nd a d itch , a nd a w all w as l ater i nserted i nto t he f ront o f t he f ormer ; a c ommon e nough s equence a t R omano-British t owns . T here a re a lso a f urther t wo d itches . O ne w as a w ide d itch , o f a t ype u sually c onsidered t o b e l ate , a t w hose d igging t he o riginal d itch w as f illed i n . T he t hird d itch w as s aid b y W ebster ( in W ilson D .R .,1962 ,188) a lso t o b e e arlier t han t he w ide d itch , b ut T aylor ( in W ilson D .R .,1968 ,171) s ays t hat i t w as o f t he s ame d ate . T he b ottom f ill o f t he l arge d itch c ontained c oins o f t he H ouse o f C onstantine . N o e xcavation h as y et t aken p lace o utside t he d efences a t C hesterton . H averfield ( 1904 ,235) r efers t o r eports o f b uilding d ebris a nd o ther m aterial f rom o utside t he s outh-eastern d efences . A s t his i s t he a rea t hrough w hich t he t wo m inor r oads p ass , a n i t i s t owardes t he s outh-eastern s ide o f F osse W ay t hat t he d efended a rea i s b iased , i t m ay b e t hat t his w as t he p rincipal a rea o f s ettlement . H averfield a lso r ecorded t hat b urials , o f u nspecified n ature a nd d ate , h ad b een f ound a long F osse W ay t o t he s outh-west .
3 4
C HICHESTER
NOVIONAGUS l ay o n t he f lat ,
o pen l ands o f t he S ussex c oastal p lain ,
b etween t he S outh D owns a nd t he s ea . F rom t he e ast g ate S tane S treet ( Margary n o .15 ;cf .Down ,1974 ,59ff .) r an n orth-eastwards , e ventually t o L ondon . F rom t he s outh g ate a r oad ( Margary n o , 1 56) r an d ue s outh i nto t he S elsey p eninsula . T he m etalling o f t his r oad h as r ecently b een o bserved , c onfirming i ts l ine ( Down ,1974 ,35). T he w est g ate s erved t he r oad ( Margary n o .420) r unning a lon t he h ead o f C hichester H arbour t o t he j unction a t W ickham . T he l ine t aken b y t he r oad f rom S ilchester ( Margary n o .155) a s i t a pproached t he n orth p roposed a s imple c ontinuation o f t he
g ate i s l ess c ertain . M argary a lignment t aken u p a t L inchball
W ood , u ntil a p oint 1 .6km .(1 m ile) n orth o f t he g ate , w here h e s uggested i t t urned s outh-east o nto t he l ine n ow t aken b y t he r oad t o S toke D own . D own ( 1971,165ff .) f avours a l ine d eviating f urther t o t he e ast o f s outh a t B inderton H eath , t hen t urning s outh a gain j ust o ver a m ile n orth o f t he t own t o f ollow t he c ourse o f t he m odern B royle r oad . T his r oute , h e a rgues , w ould n ot o nly h ave t aken a dvantage o f a g ap i n t he C hichester E ntrenchments , b ut w ould a lso h ave r un a long a g ravel s pur , w hereas M argary 's p roposed r oute w ould c ross a n a rea o f l and l iable u ntil r ecently t o f looding . A n e xcavation o n D own 's p roposed r oute ( Down ,1971 ,165) r evealed a d itch a nd a g ravel l ayer . T hese c ould b e a ssociated w ith a r oad , t hough n o m ajor m etalled s urface w as f ound . I n c ommon w ith m any t owns o f t he s ame s tatus , C hichester w as f irst d efended i n t he l ate s econd c entury b y a n e arthen r ampart f ronted b y a d itch . I n t he t hird c entury a s tone-faced f lint-and-mortar w all w as i nserted-into t he f ront o f t he r ampart . B astions , i ncorporating r e-used s tonework , w ere a dded t o t he f ront o f t he w all i n t he f ourth c entury ( Holmes ,1962 ,94ff .). T he c ourse o f t he l ittle r iver L avant , w hich a t p resent f lows f rom n orth-east o f t he t own , i s c analised r ound t he s outhern d efences a nd d ebouches i nto C hichester H arbour , m ay w ell b e p ost-Roman . O n d ocumentary e vidence t he l ine p ast t he s outhern d efences w ould a ppear t o b e m ediaeval, a nd n one o f t he R onan d efensive d itches o n t he s outhern s ide h as y ielded e vidence o f a r unning w ater e nvironment ( Holmes ,1962 ,esp .91-2). T he R onan c ourse m ay h ave k ept t o t he e ast o f t he c ity , w ith t he r iver emptying i nto P agham H arbour o n t he e astern s ide o f t he S elsey p eninsula . E vidence f or ' wet m oats ' a t R omano-British t owns i s h ard t o c ome b y . E xcavations i n t he ( Holmes ,1965 ,5-7), s outh o f t imber
b uilding ,
l ater
g rounds o f C hichester T heological C ollege t he r oad o ut o f t he w est g ate , r evealed a
r eplaced
o n
a d ifferent
a lignment
b y
o ne
w ith
f lint-and-mortar f oundations . T hese l ay o n t he n orthern s ide o f a n e astw est s treet , w hich m ay h ave f ormed p art o f t he t own 's o riginal s treetg rid . T his s ection o f t he s treet w as c entury , a nd r e-metalled a t l east o nce . b uildings s uggested t hat t he t imber p hase d ate , a nd t hat t he l ater b uilding c arried o f t he s econd c entury . I t m ay b e t hat t he
l aid o ut i n t he l ater f irst T he d ating e vidence f rom t he w as a lso o f l ate-first-century o n i n u se i nto t he s econd h alf b uilding w as d emolished a t t he
t ime o f t he c onstruction o f t he d efences , b ut t he s amian f rom t he d estruction d eposits w as d ated t o c a .160 , s o t he a bandonment o f t he b uilding m ay b e e arlier a nd u nconnected w ith t he d efences . I f t his w ere s o i t w ould s uggest t hat t he s econd c entury s aw s ome f luidity o n t he p eriphery o f t he i nhabited a rea , a nd t hat w hen t he d efences c ame t o b e
3 5
l aid
o ut
t hey e xcluded a reas u ninhabited a t t hat
t ime .
T his w ould m atch
p ractice e lsewhere . T he o nly e xtra-mural m onument s till ( White , 1 936). T he a rena , a t 5 6m .(185 ') b y
v isible i s t he a mphitheatre 4 6m .(150 '), w as r ather m ore
n early c ircular t han i s u sual. I t w as b ounded b y a f lint-and-mortar w all r endered w ith p laster , a d evice a lso r ecorded a t C irencester . T he d escription o f t he c olour s cheme ( White ,1936 ,182) s ounds a s t hough i t w as m eant t o p roduce t he e ffect o f m arble f acing . A t s ome d ate t his w all w as d emolished , a nd m uch o f i ts m aterials r emoved . T his p resumably m arked t he e nd o f t he u se o f t he a mphitheatre a s s uch , s ince t here w as n ow n o b arrier b etween a rena a nd s pectators . T he d ate o f t his a bandonment i s u ncertain . T he d eposits a nte- a nd p ost-dating t he r emoval o nly y ielded a s mall q uantity o f m id- t o l ate-second-century p ottery , a ffording o nly a w eak t erm inus post q uem . T he e xcavator ( White ,1936 ,157) s uggested t he r obbing w as c onnected w ith t he c onstruction o f t he t own w alls . B ut t he a mount o f s tone t his w ould h ave y ielded , s et a gainst t he a mount r equired f or t he w alls , s eems n ugatory a nd h ardly w orth t he b other . E vidence
f or
o ccupation
o uside
t he
d efences
u ntil
r ecently
w as
s canty , b ut i s n ow i ncreasing . N orth-east o f t he t own , a t S t R ichard 's H ospital, b uilding w ork i n 1 965 u ncovered a l arge p it c ontaining f ragments o f e ngaged c olumns . D own ( 1971,9) a nd W acher ( 1975 ,248) c onsider t hem t o h ave b een t ransported f rom t he c entre o f t he t own i n p ost-mediaeval t imes a s r ubbish . B ut t here i s t he r eport ( Taylor M .V .,1940 ,181) o f t he d iscovery o f a b uilding ' of s ome e xtent' w ith a h ypocaust , d uring t he b uilding o f t he n earby n urses ' q uarters . M ore r ecent c ontractors ' w orks a t t he h ospital h ave r evealed R oman p its ( Down ,1974 ,33). I t m ay w ell b e t hat t his w as t he s ite o f a s ubstantial e xtra-mural b uilding , a l ittle d istanced f rom t he t own , s imilar t o t hose a t V ictoria I nn , C olchester , o r C lementhorpe o utdies Y ork . F urther i n t owards t he t own , p its w ith f ourth-century p ottery i n t heir f ill h ave b een f ound o utside t he n orth g ate . T hese m ay i ndicate o ccupation n earby , b ut t hey m ay j ust h ave b een p its f or r ubbish f rom w ithin t he t own . T races
o f
o ccupation h ave
b een
t he e ast o f t he r oad t rial-trenching
f ound s outh
o f
t he
( Down ,1981,59-75)
s outh
g ate .
T o
l ocated p art o f a
t imber b uilding a ssociated w ith A ntonine s amian , b ut n othing l ater . A s w ith t he T heological C ollege t his m ay i ndicate a n a rea o f d evelopment a bandoned b y t he t ime o f t he b uilding o f t he w alls . S omewhat t o t he s outh
w as
a p it
c ontaining
m etal-working
d ebris .
W est
o f
t he
a nother a rea o f o ccupation ( Frere ,1977 ,421) l asting t hrough f ourth c entury , a nd i ncluding c ircular t imber b uildings .
t o
r oad
w as
t he
m id
R ecent w ork o utside t he s outh-eastern q uadrant o f t he d efences , t o t he n orth o f t he amphitheatre , h ave r evealed t races o f a ctivity t hroughout t he R oman p eriod ( Grew ,1980 ,398 ;1981,363). O n t his , t he C attlemarket s ite, t he e arliest R oman a ctivity i s a l arge d itch , p robably m ilitary . I n t he s econd c entury t here w as a t imber-fenced e nclosure c ontaining a t imber t he e nclosure n ow c ontained
b uiding . T his w as g ravel s urfaces ,
l ater d emolished , a nd f linto r t ile-built
s tands , p its a nd o ther m iscellanea , i ncluding t wo i nfant b urials . I n t he f ourth c entury a d omestic s tructure , a ssociated w ith i ron-working h earths , w as b uilt i n t he s outhern p art o f t he e nclosure . T his l asted t o t he e nd o f t he f ourth c entury o r l ater .
3 6
N orth o f S tane S treet h as b een f ound a s ubstantial t imber b uilding , p robably a ssociated w ith a w ell w hose c onstruction p it c ontained a r ed c olour-coated b owl o f t hird- o r f ourth-century d ate ( Goodburn ,1979 ,333). C hichester i s o ne o f t he f ew R omano-British t owns w here e xtensive c emetery e xcavation h as t aken p lace ; i t i s a lso v irtually t he o nly o ne w here t he l argest o f t hese e xcavations h as b een o n a n e arly c remation c emetery . T he S t P ancras ( or t he L itten) c emetery h as b een k nown o f s ince t he l ast c entury ( Arnold ,1898), w ith w ork b eing u ndertaken i n t he e arlier p art o f t his c entury ( Clark G .,1939), a nd c ulminating i n D own 's e xcavations ( Down ,1971,53ff .). T he c emetery l ay t o t he n orth o f S tane S treet , s ome 5 00m ,(1/3 m ile) f rom t he g ate . T wo t renches t o t he s outh o f S tane S treet f ailed t o l ocate a ny b urials , s o t he c emetery w as p robably c onfined t o t he n orthern s ide o f t he r oad . I n t he e astern p art o f t he m ain e xcavated a rea w as a s ilted-up m ilitary d itch , w hich w as p robably s till
a v isible
h ollow d uring
t he
l ife-time
o f
t he
c emetery .
A t rial-
t rench t o t he e ast o f t his f eature ( Area 6 ) w as d evoid o f b urials . S o t he d itch m ay w ell h ave a cted a s t he e astern b oundary o f t he c emetery . A rea 5 ( Trial T renches C & D ) w as s imilarly u nproductive , s o m ay h ave l ain w est o f t he w estern b oundary . I n t his c ase t he c emetery w ill h ave l ain b etween t he m odern N ew P ark R oad a nd a l ine e ast o f A lexandra R oad . I mmediately a longside S tane S treet w as a z one 1 0m .(30 ') a cross w hich w as k ept f ree o f b urials . I n a n e xcavation o n t he n orthern s ide o f S tane S treet j ust o utside t he e ast g ate , D own ( 1974 ,59) s howed t hat t here w as n o
R oman
a ctivity
o n
t he
r oadside
h ere
e ither .
I t
m ay
b e
t hat
a n
a rea
a longside t he r oad w as k ept f ree f or t he u se o f p edestrians . T he c emetery c ame i nto u se d uring t he F lavian p eriod , a nd b y t he t ime t he d efences w ere c ommissioned w as i n d ecline , w ith b urial c easing c a .200 . T hus i t i s u nfortunately n ot a ppropriate t o u ndertake a d etailed a nalysis o f t he e vidence h ere . S uffice i t t o s ay t hat i t w as a c remation c emetery , t he a shes u sually b eing d eposited i n a p it w ith o ne o r t wo p ottery v essels , t hough s ometimes t here w ere m ore v essels a nd o ther a ccompanying g rave-goods . I n t he p eriod w hen t he d efences w ere i n e xistence o nly a f ew i nhumations w ere m ade i n t he a rea . T hese w ere h aphazard i n o rientation , p laced i n i rregularly-shaped g raves , w ith t he b odies c arelessly l aid-out , a nd l acking g rave-goods . D own ( 1971,70) s uggests t hat t hese b urials r epresent t he c ontinuing u se o f f amily p lots a fter t he m ain p hase o f b urial i n t he g raveyard w as o ver . B ut t here i s n o e vidence f or d iscrete g roups c ontaining b oth s exes a nd a v ariety o f a ges a t d eath , w hich w ould b e s usceptible t o i nterpretation a s f amily p lots i n t he m ain u se o f t he s ite . F urthermore , o ne o f t he i nhumations i s i solated f rom t he c remations , w hereas o thers d isturb t hem . T aking i nto a ccount t he s lap-dash n ature o f t he b urials a nd t he l ack o f g raveg oods , i t m ay b e t hat t his w as a n a rea o f b urial o f t he p oor , u sing a n a rea o f g round n ow a bandoned , b ut w hose o riginal d esignation w as s till r emembered , A lternatively , b urials o f t his t ype a re a lso k nown f rom t he c emeteries a t P oundbury , D orchester a nd L ankhills , W inchester , w here t hey c haracterise t he l atest p hase o f u se o f t hese l ate c emeteries , a nd d ate t o t he c losing y ears o f t he f ourth c entury a nd t he e arly y ears o f t he f ifth . T he C hichester i nhumations m ay b e b est p aralleled b y t hese . I n t he l ate-Roman p eriod a lso a g ravel-pit w as d ug i n t he c lear s trip b eside S tane S treet , p robably f or g ravel t o r esurface t he r oad . S o r oad c ommunications b eing i mpeded .
o f
w ere
b eing
m aintained ,
e ven
i f
p edestrian
m ovement
w as
A s mall c emetery h as r ecently b een e xcavated s omewhat t o t he s outh S tane S treet i n t he N eedlemakers a rea ( Down ,1981,91-5). F ourteen
3 7
b urials w ere
e xcavated ,
p art
o f a l arger ,
b ut n ot e xtensive ,
g roup .
T he
g raves w ere o riented b oth j uvenile a s w ell a s a dults .
n orth-south a nd e ast-west , a nd c ontained a T wo h ad a pparently b een b uried i n q uicklime .
S everal
s ubstantial
h ad
s herds
o r
m ore
p arts
o f
f ourth-century v essels
( principally N ew F orest w are) i n t he g rave . B urial 1 3 h ad a c oin o f C onstantine i n t he s kull, a nd a "C d eterm ination o n t he b one g ave a d ate r ange o f A .D .320+65 . A f ew m etres t o t he n orth o f t he b urials w ere t race o f d omestic o ccupation , w hich i ncluded a w ell w hich c ontained a c oin o f V alens ( 364-75). D own t ries t o a rgue t hat t he c emetery s hould b e r egarded a s s uccessive t o t he o ccupation , a nd s hould t herefore d ate b etween 3 95 a nd 4 25 . T he s tratigraphic r elationship o f o ccupation a nd c emetery c ould n ot b e r ecovered . T here i s n o n eed f or t hem t o b e s uccessive ,
t hey c ould b e c ontemporaneous .
E vidence f or t he l ocation o f t he o ther c emeteries C hichester i s s lim . I n 1 819 t he c onstruction o f t he c anal
o f R oman b asin i n
P alace F ields b rought t o l ight c remations , o ne i n a g lass j ar , i nhumations , a nd a h oard o f s even h undred s ilver c oins ( Anon .,1830). T he p resence o f b oth c remations a nd i nhumations m ay m ean t hat i t w as a l ongl ived c emetery .
R ecent t renching i n t he a rea i n t he h ope o f g aining m ore
i nformation o n t his c emetery p roved n egative ( Down ,1981,67). 1 37m .(450 ') s outh o f t he s outh g ate a l ength o f d itch h as b een p roposed a s p art o f t he e nclosure d itch o f a c emetery ( Down ,1974 ,17ff .). T here i s n o p articular e vidence t hat i t w as f unerary r ather t han d omestic . T here i s s ome e vidence t hat a t C hichester , a s a t C anterbury , t here w as m ovement i n t he r elationship o f m ajor c omponents o f t he u rban a rea . I n t he s econd c entury i t s eems a s t hough t he i nhabited a rea m ay h ave b een s omewhat m ore e xtensive t han t hat e nclosed b y t he d efences a t t he e nd o f t he c entury . T he S t P ancras c emetery , a nd t hat a pparently i n t he a rea o f t he c anal b asin , l ay s ome w ay f urther o ut . I t m ay b e t hat b y t he t ime o f t he c onstruction o f t he d efences t he i nhabited a rea h ad c ontracted s omewhat. T he f ormal r e-definition o f t he i nhabited a rea b y t he p rovision o f d efences m ay h ave b een l inked w ith a s hift i n c emetery l ocation , b ut ( as a lways !) w e n eed t o k now m ore a bout t he t hird-century c emeteries . O therwise C hichester r esembles o ther t owns o f i ts s tatus i n t he r elatively r estricted amount o f e xtra-mural o ccupation , p rincipally r ibbon d evelopment a long t he m ain r oads , w ith a f ew m ore s ubstantial p roperties d otted a round t he d efences . B ut l ooking f urther a field o ne m ay n ote t hat N ovionagvs s ucceeded a n o ppidun 4 a nd t hat, l ike i ts f ellows , t his m ay h ave b een p olyfocal. I f s o , s hould o ne c ount t he F ishbourne P alace a nd t he e arly a nd d istinctive t emple o n H ayling I sland a s i n s ome s ense p art o f t he n exus o f t he R oman t own?
3 8
C IRENCESTER
R OMAN C orinium D obunnorum l ay i n t he v alley o f t he r iver C hurn , o ne o f t he r ivers d issecting t he d ip-slope o f t he C otswolds . H ere t he v alley r uns a lmost n orth-south , a nd t he t own s tood o n t he w estern s ide o f t he r iver w ith t he g round r ising g ently t o w est a nd e ast . C oning
u p
f rom
t he
s outh-east
i s
E rmin
S treet
( Margary
n o .41),
e ntering b y t he s outh-eastern ( Silchester) g ate , a nd l eaving f rom t he n orth-eastern ( Gloucester) g ate . T he e ast ( Verulam ium ) g ate s erved A keman S treet ( Margary n o . 1 6) r unning a cross t he s outhern m idlands . T he m ain p roblem w ith t he r oad s ystem a round C irencester i s t he p recise b ehaviour o f F osse W ay ( Margary n o .5) o n i ts a pproaches t o t he t own f rom s outh-west a nd n orth-east . F or a l ong t ime i t w as b elieved t hat i ts s outh-western l imb , r unning u nder t he m odern t his l ong s traight a lignment t o i ntersect
T etbury R oad , c ontinued w ith t he n orth-western
q uadrant o f t he d efences . I ncreasing k nowledge o f t he i nternal l ayout o f t he t own p roduced d oubts , a s t here w as n o i nternal s treet i ntersecting w ith t he d efences a t t he s ame p oint . R ecent w ork h as n ow d emonstrated t he r eal c ourse o f t he r oad ( at l east i n t he l ater p eriod) a nd t he t rue s iting o f t he w est ( Bath) g ate ( McWhirr ,Viner , Wells ,1982 ,46-9). T he r oad i n f act d eviates t o t he s outh-east i n i ts f inal a pproach t o t he t own t o r un i n p ast t he amphitheatre t o t he B ath g ate ,
n ow k nown t o b e s ited i n
t he m iddle o f t he w estern d efences a t t he o ther e nd o f t he s treet w hich a lso s erves t he V erulamium g ate . A p roblem , t hough , i s w hether t his i s t rue a t a ll p eriods . T he d ating e vidence f rom t he l ong e xcavated s tretch c an o nly t ell u s t hat t his w as t he l ine i n u se i n t he f ourth c entury , a nd t hat i t o riginated s ometime b efore 2 80 . T his i s n ot v ery h elpful. B ut g iven t hat t he e arly f orts a t C irencester l ie u nder t he l ater t own c entre , a r oad o n t his a lignment w ould m ake s ense t hen t oo . O nce t he s treet-grid h ad b een l aid o ut t he i nternal s treet p ast t he s outhern s ide o f t he f orum s erved A keman S treet/Fosse W ay a t i ts e astern e nd , a nd i t w ould m ake g ood s ense f or i t t o s erve F osse W ay a t i ts w estern e nd . T his o f c ourse i s w hat i t l ater d id a fter t he c onstruction o f t he V erulamium a nd
B ath g ates .
T o t he
n orth-east
o f
t he
t own t here
i s
s traight a lignment o f F osse W ay h eading f or t he t own , D own , 7 km .(4 1 2 / m iles) o utside t he t own . A fter a s light
l ikewise
a l ong
e nding o n Ampney d eviation o nto a
m ore n orth-westerly a lignment t o s kirt a d ry v alley , i t r esumes a s outhe asterly a lignment w hich c ould b ring i t s traight i nto t he t own . B ut i n f act i t d eviates a gain , t o a s outherly a lignment w hich l inks i t u p w ith A keman S treet b efore t he u nited r oads r un i nto t he t own t hrough t he V erulamium g ate . T his a rrangement s eems u nnecessarily c omplex , t hough i t i s c learly i nfluenced b y t he p resence o f A keman S treet . B ut i f w e l ook a t t he b ehaviour o f F osse W ay a t o ther t owns s uch a s L eicester a nd , p articularly , B ath , w e c an s ee t hat d espite , o r b ecause o f , t he g enerally l ong s traight a lignments o f t he r oad , t he a pproaches t o t he t own w ere s omewhat a d h oc . I n a ddition t o t hese l ong-distance r outes , t here w as a m ore l ocal r oad , t he W hite W ay ( Margary n o .55), w hich s erved t he C otswolds n orth o f t he t own . I t i s u sually c onsidered t o h ave e ntered C irencester b y t he n orth g ate ( cf .Margary .,1967 ,fig .6 ;R .C .H .X ., 1 978 ,opp . xxxvi). B ut t he r oad l ay a long t he e astern b ank o f t he C hurn , a nd i t w ould s eem s impler t o h ave i t u se t he V erulam ium g ate a nd b ridge , r ather t han p osit a s econd b ridge o ver t he C hurn ( not t hat t his w ould i n i tself r equire a ny g reat f eat o f e ngineering). I t i s s uggested t hat K ingshill L ane i s t he c ontinuation o f F osse W ay s outh o f A keman S treet .
3 9
T he f irst d efences o f C irencester , e nclosing a n a rea o f 9 6ha .(240 a cres), c onsisted o f a n e arthen r ampart w ith s tone g ates e rected i n t he l ater s econd c entury . I n t he m id t hird c entury a n arrow s tone w all w as s et
i nto
r eplaced
t he b y
f ront b roader
o f
t he
w alls
r ampart , o f
v arious
a nd
s ections
g auges .
o f
t his
P rojecing
w ere
b astions
a dded t o t he o uter f ace o f t he w alls i n t he f ourth c entury 2 35 ; Wacher ,1975 ,13).
l ater w ere
( Cullen , 1 970 ,
T he m ajor e xtra-mural m onument w as t he a mphitheatre . T his s tood i mmediately t o t he w est o f t he s treet-grid a nd t he d efences , o utside t he B ath g ate , a nd f orming t he b ackdrop t o t he m ain e ast-west s treet o f t he t own . I t l ay i n a n a rea e arlier a nd l ater u sed f or q uarrying . T he p recise o uter l imits o f t he e arthen c avea h ave n ot b een a scertained , b ut t he a rena m easured 4 9m .(160 ') n orth-east - s outh-west b y 4 1m .(134 ') n orth-west s outh-east ( Brown & M cWhirr ,1967 ,188). O riginally c onstructed i n t imber i n t he l ate f irst c entury , t he a rena w alls a nd t he s upports f or t he s eating b anks w ere r eplaced i n s tone i n t he m id s econd c entury ( Wacher ,1964 ,18). T he l ine o f t he a rena w all w hich , a s a t C hichester , w as r endered w ith p ainted p laster , w as l ater a ltered a nd t he s tone r evetments r eplaced i n t imber
( Wacher ,1963 ,25-6).
A s a t C armarthen
t he s eating c onsisted o f s hallow t iers o f ( presumably) t imber s eating o n s tone d warf-walls ( Brown & M cWhirr ,1967 ,188). A t i ntervals a long t he s ides o f t he n orth-eastern e ntrance-way w ere s tone b locks , p erhaps t o s upport a s tructure c arrying t he s eating o ver t he e ntrance-way . T his e ntrance w as e ventually p artially b locked ( Wacher ,1964 ,18); t he f ate o f t he u nexcavated s outh-western e ntrance-way i s u nknown . A t s o m e d ate t he a mphitheatre c eased t o f ulfill t he p urpose f or w hich i t w as b uilt, a s c an b e s een f rom t he c onstruction o f a t imber b uilding o n t he f loor o f t he a rena ( Wacher ,1964 ,18). N either t his n or t he p artial b locking o f t he e ntrance c an b e d ated , b ut W acher ( 1976 ,17) s uggests t hat t hey o ccur l ate i n t he R oman p eriod a nd m ark t he c onversion o f t he a mphitheatre i nto a d efended e nclosure r ather i n t he m anner o f A rles o r N imes . T his i s p ossible t hough b y n o m eans c ertain . H is f urther s uggestion t hat i t w as t he amphitheatre r ather t han t he t own t hat w as t he ' chester ' t hat f ell t o t he A nglo-Saxons i n 5 77 a fter t he b attle o f D yrham s hould b e t reated w ith c ircumspection . T he r elative s tatus o f t own a nd a mphitheatre a t t his t ime a re u nknown ( even i f o ne b elieves t he A ngloS axon C hronicle). W ooden w ater-pipes w ith
i ron c ollars h ave
b een f ound
i n t he
t own .
T hese a re g enerally c onsidered t o b e f or t he d istribution o f f resh w ater . T his w ould i mply s ome f orm o f a queduct , p robably a c ut-and-cover l eat o f w hich n o t race h as y et b een f ound , p resumably t apping t he C hurn h igher u p t he v alley . O ne m ajor s ettlement s ite i s k nown c lose o utside t he d efences . T his i s t he c omplex a t B arton F arm o n t he n orth-western s ide o f t he t own . A part f rom t he w ell-known O rpheus m osaic v irtually n othing i s k nown o f t he f orm a nd d ating o f t he b uilding(s). E xcavation a t t he t ime o f t he l ifting o f t he m osaic ( Sewell & P owel1,1910) c learly i ndicated t hat t he l aying o f t he m osaic i nvolved a ltering t he p lan o f a n e xisting s tructure . T he m osaic i tself s hould d ate t o t he f irst h alf o f t he f ourth c entury ( Smith D .J.,1969 ,101-2). W ith s o l ittle k nown a bout B arton F arm i t i s s till a m atter o f d ebate w hether i t s hould b e , s een a s a v illa a nd t herefore e ssentially d ivorced
a s i t o ften i s , f rom t he u rban
l andscape , o r w hether i t i s a nother e xample o f t hat c lass e stablishment o n t he e dge o f , b ut s till p art o f , t he t own .
4 0
o f
l arge
s ite
I n t his c onnection i t i s p erhaps a ppropriate t o c omment h ere o n t he a t B eeches R oad , e ven t hough i t l ies J ust w ithin t he e astern
d efences . T he e xcavations ( McWhirr ,1986) r evealed t wo s ubstantial r esidential b uildings e ach w ith o utbuildings . T he n orthern r esidential b uilding ( XII,1) w as b asically r ectangular , l ying e ast-west w ith a b aths uite a t m osaics . ( XII,1-A)
i ts w estern e nd . T o t he n orth o f o f
u ndetermined
M ost o f t he r ooms h ad t essellated f loors o r t he b uilding w as a r ectangular o utbuilding f unction .
B uilding
X II,1
w as
l inked
t o
t he
o ther r esidential b uilding ( XII,2), l ying p arallel w ith i t t o t he s outh , b y a s hort l ength o f w all. B uilding X I1,2 w as o f w inged-corridor p lan w ith a ccretions . I t t oo w as g enerously p rovided w ith m osaics . T o t he s outh o f ( 'behind ') i t w ere t hree o utbuildings ( XII,2-A ;XII,21 3 ;XII,3). B uilding A w as a s imple r ectangular s tructure o f u nknown f unction . X X ,2B w as a r ectangular b uilding l ying n orth-south w ith t hree r ooms d own i ts e astern s ide . I t y ielded f ragments o f h earth-lining , a nd f rom t he u nstratified d eposits o ver t he b uilding c ame a n i ron p lough-coulter a nd b one w eaving-tablets . B uilding X I1,3 w as a gain r ectangular a nd n orths outh . I n p lan i t a ppears t o b e a n a isled b arn , t hough i ts e xcavators ( in ) t cWhirr ,1986 ,71-7) f eel t hat i t i s b etter e xplained a s a n o pen c entral y ard w ith t he ' aisles ' b eing l ean-to s heds . A s M cWhirr ( 1986 ,77) n otes t his w ould p resent c onsiderable d ifficulties i n c oping w ith r ain w ater ; a lso t he h earths i n t he c entral v essel w ould b e u nprotected . T he f unction o f t he b uilding w as u nclear . T he h earths i mply s o m e s ort o f m anufacture ,
a nd
w ithin
t he
b uilding
h ad
a ccumulated
a l ayer
o f
d ark
e arth w hich h ad a h igh o rganic c ontent . W hen t he p lan o f t his c omplex w as o riginally p ublished i t e xcited c onsiderable c omment , f or i t w as n oted t hat i ndividually a nd c ollectively t he b uildings o f t he c omplex b ore a c onsiderable r esemblance t o a v illa . T his v iew w as b ased o n t he s imilarity o f B uilding X I1,2 t o w inged-con dor v illas a nd o f B uilding X I1,3 t o a isled b arns om . villa s ites , R ural p arallels f or s imple r ectangular b uildings c ould a lso b e a dduced . I n a ddition t here w as t he p lough-coulter a nd s o m e b urnt g rain , a nd l atterly t he b one w eaving-tablets w ere i dentified . T hus t he b uildings r esembled t hose o f t he c ountry , a nd t here w as e vidence f or r ural a ctivities f rom t hem . T he c omplex w as e ven d ubbed a v illa i n u rbe ( Wacher ,1974), a nd i t h as s ince b een w idely a ccepted a s s uch a nd u sed a s p roof p ositive t hat R omano-British t owns c ontained f arms w ithin t heir w alls ,
a nd t hat l and a round t he t owns w as f armed f rom i nside t he t owns .
B ut t he e vidence i s s usceptible t o o ther l ess r adical i nterpretations . T he r esemblance o f t he r esidential b uildings t o r esidential b uildings a t v illas n eed b e n o m ore t han c oincidence o f f unction . W althew ( 1975) h as d emonstrated t hat t here i s a c onsiderable m easure o f c onsonance b etween t he p lans o f v illa a nd t own r esidences . A isled b uildings a re a r egular f eature o f t owns , a nd h ave n ot b een r egarded a s o ther t han u rban i n t heir f unctions t here . R ectangular b uildings a re r ectangular b uildings . O f t he f unctions t hat w e c an s how t o h ave b een c arried o ut a t B eeches R oad , t he m etal-working f rom B uilding X I1,2-B i s o ne o f t he c ommonest o f u rban i ndustries f or w hich w e h ave s urviving e vidence . T he w eaving-tablets a re e quivocal. C ertainly t he w ool u sed w ith t hem w ould c one f rom t he c ountry , b ut a gain t here i s e vidence f or w eaving a nd s pinning f rom a n umber o f t owns . O nly t he p lough-coulter w ould s eem t o b etoken d irect i nvolvement i n a griculture . I n s um , t he e vidence , s tructural a nd f unctional, f or B eeches R oad b eing a f arm i s f ar f rom c onclusive . A n a lternative i s t hat i ts o wner(s) h ad e states i n t he c ountry w hose p roduce w as b rought t o B eeches R oad t o s upport t he f amily w hen i n r esidence .
4 1
T he e xcavations o utside t he B ath g ate h ave y ielded a n i nteresting s equence o f l and-uses o n t he w estern f ringe o f t he t own ( McWhirr ,Viner , W ells ,1982). T he e arliest s urviving r elates t o q uarrying i n t he a rea . T hough g ood q uality f reestone o utcrops i n t he v alley s ide h ere , i t i s o f v arying t hickness a nd h as b een s ubject t o f aulting . T hus t he q uarry-pits a re c ommonly s hallow a nd i rregular . T he t echnique e mployed f or w inning t he s tone s eems t o h ave b een t he c ommon o ne o f w orking t o a s traight f ace a nd t hen s plitting b locks a way b y m eans o f w edges . T here i s n o d ating e vidence a ssociated w ith t he u se p hase o f t he q uarry , s o a ny a ttempt a t a d ate c an o nly b e b y e xtrapolation b ack f rom t he s ubsequent u se o f t he s ite . T his l atter s eems t o d ate t o t he m id t o l ater t hird c entury , s o t he q uarries c an p robably b e a ssigned t o t he l ater s econd a nd e arlier t hird c enturies . A t t his t ime t here w as m uch r ebuilding i n s tone g oing o n i n t he i nterior o f t he t own , a nd t he q uarries m ay e ven h ave b een o pen l ate e nough t o f urnish s tone f or t he c onstruction o f t he t own w alls . A fter s tone-extraction h ad c eased t he d isused q uarry p its w ere u sed f or t he d umping o f r ubbish . W hen e xcavated t hey w ere f illed w ith a d ark m ixed s oil c ontaining l arge q uantities o f p ottery a nd a nimal b one . T he s oil w as p resumably p artly t he r esult o f t he d ecay o f o rganic d Abris . T his d eposit i s o f i nterest a s i t i s o ne o f t he f ew i dentifiable u rban r ubbish d umps f rom R oman B ritain , a nd a s s uch a ffords v aluable i nformation o n m unicipal h ygiene p ractices . A nalysis o f t he p ottery r evealed t hat i t w as a typical o f t he p ottery s uite f rom w ithin t he t own , c ontaining a d isproportionate amount o f t ypes w ith a l imited c hronological o r s patial d istribution w ithin t he d efences . I t i s t o b e h oped t hat w hen t he r elevant p ortions o f t he i ntra-mural s ites a re p ublished t hese c onnections a re m ade e xplicit a nd t he d erivation o f t he r efuse i n t he q uarry p its a nalysed . A lso e xam ined w ere a l ength o f F osse W ay a nd a b uilding t o i ts n orth . S everal p hases o f t he r oadway w ere e xamined , a nd t he d ifficulties i n d ating h ave a lready b een c ommented o n a bove . T he b uilding n orth o f t he r oad w as c onstructed c a .280 . I t w as a s imple r ectangular s tructure , w ith o ne i nternal p artition w all a bout t wo t hirds o f t he w ay b ack . T he m ain r oom c ontained a s tone-built sm ithing-hearth , a nd o n t he r ough s tone f loor w as a q uantity o f c harcoal a nd s ome s lag . D espite l ying i n t he q uarry a rea o f a t own f amous f or t he q uality o f i ts b uilding s tone , t here i s c lear e vidence , p articularly f rom t he w estern w all, t hat t he s tructure i ncorporated m ajor t imber e lements . T imber u prights h ave s ince b een f ound t o h ave f ormed p art o f t he c ollapsed i nternal w all o n t he A dmiral's W alk s ite i n t he c entre o f t he t own , a nd m any o f t he m ediaeval a nd
p ost-mediaeval
b uildings
o f
C irencester
i ncorporate
t imber
f raming .
T he u pper s urface o f t he s outhern w all, f acing o nto F osse W ay , i s w orn , a nd i t i s s uggested t hat t he b uilding w as o pen-fronted . E xamination o f t he e astern w all s uggests t hat t here m ay h ave b een m ore t han o ne p hase o f c onstruction o r a bout 3 30 . A fter
t his
a lteration
U ate
t he
b efore
a reas
t o
t he
b uilding p assed
t he
n orth
a nd
s outh
o ut
o f
o f
u se
F osse
b y
W ay ,
i ncluding t hose o f t he q uarries a nd t he b uilding , w ere t aken o ver f or u se a s a b urial g round . T hus C irencester i s o ne o f a n umber o f t owns w here t he e arlier p art o f t he f ourth c entury s ees t he l aying-out o f a n e xtensive n ew i nhumation c emetery . T here w as o ne p re-existing f eature w hich a ppears t o h ave h ad a n e ffect o n t he l ayout o f t he c emetery . T his w as a V -profile d itch r unning s outh f rom F osse W ay t hen t urning e ast . I t s eems t o h ave o riginated i n t he q uarry p eriod a nd t o h ave b een s ilting
4 2
u p
i n
t he
l ater
t hird
c entury .
N evertheless
i t
w as
s till
a n oticeable
f eature a t t he b eginning o f t he f ourth , a nd e arly i n t he l ife o f t he c emetery t here w as a s trip o f g round t o e ither s ide o f i t l eft f ree o f b urials . I t d id n ot , t hough , a ct a s a b oundary d itch i n t he m anner o f t hose o bserved a t L ankhills , W inchester , o r P oundbury , D orchester . T he d istribution o f b urials i s p atchy , s ome a reas o nly s eeing a f ew , b ut o thers h aving c oncentrations . I mmediately t o t he s outh o f F osse W ay b urials a re s parse b ut b ecome m arkedly m ore f requent f urther a way f rom t he r oad . T his i s t he o pposite o f w hat o ne w ould e xpect, a nd i ndeed o f w hat o ne f inds a t o ther t owns . T here t he r oadside s ees t he e arliest a nd t hickest a rea o f b urials e specially w hen t hey w ere t o b e f urnished w ith t ombstones o r o ther m emorials . B ut a s t he g raves h ere a ppear t o b e l ows tatus ( vide i nfra ) a nd t here i s n o e vidence f or t ombstones i t m ay b e t hat a r oadside l ocation w as n ot n ecessarily s o p referable . T he m ajority o f t he b urials l ay n orth-south w ith t he h ead t o t he n orth , o nly 2 5% o f t hose w hose a xis c ould b e d etermined l ying e ast-west . T he d ifficulty i n d etermining a xis i s i n l arge m easure c aused b y t he f act t hat l ater b urials s howed l ittle r espect f or e arlier , c utting t hrough t hem w illy-nilly . T he b odies w ere g enerally l aid s upine i n t he g rave w ith t he l egs e xtended , A m inority o f b urials w ere p rone o r p laced o n o ne s ide o r t he o ther . S ix o f t he i nhumations h ad b een d ecapitated b ut , u nlike a t o ther c emeteries w here t his p ractice h as b een o bserved , t he s kull w as p laced a t t he t op o f t he n eck r ather t han a t t he f eet o r b etween t he l egs . T here w ere f ive r oughly-finished s tone c offins , o ne ( of a c hild) w ith a l ead l ining . T wenty-seven o f t he g raves h ad s tone p acking r ound t he i nterior o f t he g rave p it . M any o f t he g raves y ielded i ron c offin n ails , o ne h ad i ron c offin-fittings . B ut n umerous g raves h ad n o e vidence f or a ny s ort o f c offin . T here w ere t wo c remations ; o ne i n a p ot , t he o ther i n a g rave-like p it , a f eature a lso n oted a t L ankhills . -A m ajor p roblem e stablishing r elative a nd
w ith t his c emetery i s t he d ifficulty a bsolute c hronology . A c ertain a mount
o f o f
r elative c hronology c ould b e e stablished w here a l ater b urial c ut t hrough a n e arlier , o r w here a s hallower l ater b urial o verlay a d eeper e arlier o ne . B ut b ecause o f t he g raves b eing c ut t hrough , a nd t hen b ackfilled w ith , t he m ixed d ark e arth o f t he r ubbish d umps , i t w as g enerally i mpossible t o e stablish t he l imits o f t he g rave p its , l et a lone t heir i ntersections , S uch r elative c hronology d id n ot m ake i t p ossible t o e stablish a s equence o f c hanging b urial p ractices a s h as b een d one f or L ankhills . T he a bsolute c hronology i s s imilarly v ague . E vidently t he c emetery m ust b e l ater t han t he f illing o f t he q uarries a nd t he d isuse o f t he b uilding t o t he n orth o f F osse W ay , s o a d ate i n t he m id f ourth c entury f or i ts i nception i s i ndicated . V ery f ew o f t he b urials w ere f urnished w ith g rave-goods , a nd t hese t ended t o b e o f g eneric f ourth-century t ypes . T here w as a n umber o f c oins , m ainly o f t he H ouses o f C onstantine a nd V alentinian w hich a grees w ith t he t erm inus p ost q uem p rovided b y t he d isuse o f t he b uilding . A mongst t he l umbar v ertebrae o f o ne o f t he b urials ( F> w as a s lliqua o f H onorius o f 3 954 00 , s o b urial m ust c ontinue i nto t he e arly f ifth c entury . T here w as n o e vidence t hat b urial t ook p lace i n d ifferent a reas a t d ifferent t imes , n or t hat l ocation i n t he c emetery w as a ffected b y a ge , s ex o r T he l ayout o f t he c emetery a ppears t o h ave b een c lose t o r andom .
s tatus .
E xamination o f t he s keletal m aterial s howed t hat t he p opulation r epresented h ere w as o ne e ngaged i n h ard p hysical l abour w ith i ts c onsequent e ffects o n t he b one i n t he w ay o f h eavy m uscle a ttachments a nd e vidence o f t rauma . C ombined w ith t he l ack o f e vidence f or a ny
4 3
t ombstones , t he s carcity a nd r oughness o f t he s tone c offins i n a t own w here t hey m ust h ave b een r eadily a nd c heaply a vailable , a nd t he l ack o f g rave g oods , i t w ould s eem t o p oint t o t his b eing t he b urial g round o f a p oor o r l ow-status s ection o f t he c ommunity . T he n orth-south o rientation o f t he l arge m ajority o f t he b urials m akes i t h ighly u nlikely t hat t he l ack o f g rave-goods c an b e e xplained away b y r eference t o C hristianity . S ome o f t he s keletons e xhibit c ut m arks a nd d epressed f ractures o f t he s kull, s uggestive o f p hysical v iolence . I t i s p ossible t o s ee t his i n r elation t o t he n earby a mphitheatre . S everal o f t he s keletons w ere f ound t o h ave h igh l evels o f l ead i n t he l ong b ones . W aldron ( in M cWhirr ,Viner , Wells ,1982 ,203-4) p oints o ut t hat i n v ery f ew o f t he i ndividuals w as t here a h igh e nough c oncentration o f l ead t o h ave b een f atal. M oreover , a s t he l ong b ones a re t he t issue i n w hich t he b ody s tores e xcess l ead , t hese c oncentrations c ould h ave a ccumulated o ver y ears o r d ecades w ithout p roducing e ven s ub-clinical s ymptoms o f l eadp oisoning . F urther w ork ( Waldron , 1 983) s uggests t hat a s t he l ead i s c oncentrated i n t he s urface a reas o f t he b ones w hereas i n m odern e xamples o f l ead a ccumulation i ts d istribution i s m ore t o t he i nterior o f t he b one , i t m ay b e t hat t his l ead a ccumulated post m ortem . W hence i t i s d erived i n t he c alcareous s oil
o f C irencester
i s a p roblem y et t o b e
r esolved . T o t he n orth o f t his b urial a rea , a long t he s tretch o f F osse W ay r unning u p t o c onnect w ith t he T etbury R oad a lignment , w ere f urther b urials . T his s eems t o h ave b een a n e xtensive c emetery o riginating i n t he l ater f irst c entury . S o f ar i t i s k nown m ainly f rom c asual d iscoveries , p rincipally o f c remations ( Lysons ,1792 ,131;Church ,1867 ,273 ; R eece ,1962 ; McWhirr ,1973 ,191),
t hough
i nhumations
i n
s tone
c offins
h ave
a lso b een t urned u p ( Brown ,1948 ,69 ; Willmore ,1939). A s t he a rea o f t he l ater amphitheatre s eems t o h ave b een u sed f or q uarrying f rom a n e arly d ate , i t m ay b e t hat t he w estern c emetery h ad t o b e d isplaced f urther o ut a long F osse W ay e ven a t t he l aying-out o f t he t own . T he l ocation o f t hese b urials w ould f it a s w ell w ith F osse W ay a long t he k nown l ater l ine a s w ith t he p roposed T etbury R oad a lignment . L ittle
i s
k nown
a bout
w hat
w ould
a ppear
t o
b e
t he
o ther
m ajor
c emetery a rea o f C rencester , t hat o utside t he S ilchester g ate . O riginating d uring t he m ilitary o ccupation , i t c ontinued i n u se w ell i nto t he c ivil p eriod . M ost o f t he b urials d iscovered s o f ar h ave b een c remations ( Lysons ,1792 ; Wheatley ,1895), b ut i nhumations a re a lso p resent ( Anon .,1950 ,72). T he m ajority o f t he c ivilian t ombstones C irencester c one f rom t his c emetery ( RIB ,110 ,111; McWhirr ,1973 ,195)
f rom s o i t
m ay h ave b een f avoured b y t he w ealthier c itizens . C learly a c hance t o e xamine a s ubstantial a rea o f t his c emetery s hould b e h oped f or , a s i t s eems
t o
d iffer
f rom t hat
a t
t he
B ath
g ate
i n
c hronology ,
b urial
r ite
a nd s ocial s tatus , I solated
i nhumations
a re
a lso
k nown
f rom
b oth
s ides
o f
A keman
S treet e ast o f t he C hurn ( McWhirr ,1973 ,95 ;R .C .H .M .,1978 ,map o pp .xxxvi); a lso o ne f rom G loucester S treet o utside t he n orth g ate ( Anon .,1840 ,192). T here m ay h ave b een a c emetery e ast o f t he r iver , a nd t his m erits f urther i nvestigation , b ut i t w ill b e d ifficult e ver t o a scertain w hether t here w as o ne t o t he n orth b ecause o f t he p resence o f t he m ediaeval a nd m odern t own c entre . T he
d efences
o f
C irencester
e nclosed
t he
s econd
l argest
a rea
i n
R oman B ritain , a fter t hose o f L ondon . T hough o nly a s mall p art o f t he i nternal a rea h as b een s ampled , t here a re h ints f rom s ites s uch a s a t
4 4
B eeches R oad t hat t he p eripheral a reas o f t he t own w ere n ot u ntil a fter t he d efences w ere l aid o ut . I f t his w ere s o i t u nusual
i n
B ritain ,
f or
a lmost a ll
o ther t owns
b uilt w ould
u p b e
o f s imilar s tatus a nd
d efensive h istory o nly e nclosed t he a rea i nhabited a t t he t ime t heir d efences w ere l aid o ut . S o C irencester m ay r esemble s ome c ontinental t owns w here t he d efences e nclose a n u nnecessarily l arge a rea a s a s tatus s ymbol. T his c an c learly b e s een a t A ugustan c olonlae s uch a s A venches o r N imes , t hough p erhaps a c loser p arallel i s T rier w here t he w alls w ere b eing b uilt a t a bout t he s ane t ime a s C irencester w as r eceiving i ts f irst d efences . T here i s a m easure o f s upport f or t his i dea i n t he v irtually t otal l ack o f e xtra-mural o ccupation , d evelopment c ommon a t c omparable t owns .
p articularly t he r ibbon
I f t he p rincipal l and-use I mmediately o utside t he d efences w as t herefore f unerary , w e c an n onetheless a lso g limpse s ome f eatures o f h ow t he t own a nd i ts c emeteries f itted i nto t he l ocal l andscape . A part f rom B arton F arm , t here i s a r ing o f v illas a round t he t own a t a d istance o f a pproximately 5 km .(3 m iles): B arnsley P ark , C hedworth , D aglingworth , D untisbourne A bbots a nd R odmarton . O nce t his w ould h ave b een t aken t o m ean t hat t he a rea b etween t he v illas a nd t he t own w as ' town l ands ', t hat i s l and f armed b y t he u rban p opulation . B ut a erial p hotography h as m ade u s a ppreciate t hat i n f act t his z one i s n ot a b lank , b ut r ather i s t hickly p eopled w ith s mall f armsteads i n t he n ative a rchitectural a nd p lan t radition ( cf .R .C .H .M .,1978 ,map o pp .xxxvi), a nd f ield s urvey h as s hown t hat t hey y ield m aterial o f R oman d ate . S o t he s ettlement h ierarchy i n t he v icinity o f t he t own i s m ore c omplex . M oreover t he l and p resumably t o b e a ttributed t o e ach o f t hese s ettlements w ould s eriously d iminish t hat a vailable t o b e c ultivated b y t he t ownsfolk .
4 5
C OLCHESTER
R EPLACING t he p re-Roman c apital o f t he C atuvellauni a nd T rinovantes , C olonia C laudia V ictricensis l ay o n a l ow s and a nd g ravel p romontory o verlooking t he s outhern b ank o f t he r iver C aine . T o t he n orth a nd t he e ast o f t he d efences t he g round f ell away s teeply , l ess s o t o t he s outh , a fter a n i nitial s harp d rop , w est, a part C aine .
f rom t he
s ides
o f
T he m ain r oad f rom L ondon
t he
S heepen s tream r unning
( Margary n o .3)
r elatively a nd t o t he
n orth
t o
t he
a pproached o n a n e asterly
a lignment f rom i ts j unction w ith t he r oad f rom B raughing ( Margary n o .32). A t G rim 's D yke , t he w esternmost o f t he e arthwork d efences o f t he I ron A ge o ppidug i t w as j oined b y t he r oad f rom C ambridge ( Margary n o .24). R unning d ue e ast t hrough t he T riple D yke , i t t hen t urned s outhe ast a t t he L exden D yke t o s kirt t he w estern s ide o f t he S heepen v alley . 8 00m .( m ile) f rom t he w est ( Balkerne) g ate i t t urned n orth-east a long t he e astern s ide o f t he v alley a nd u p t o t he g ate . C lose t o t he a ngle i n t his r oad a t t he h ead o f t he S heepen v alley w ere t wo m inor r oads . T he f irst ( Margary n o .321) l ed s outhwards t o t he t emple c omplex a t G osbecks . W est o f t he j unction a m inor r oad r an o ff t o t he n orth-east . S o f ar i t h as o nly b een t raced f or c a .60m .(200 '), b ut i t s eems t o b e h eaded i n t he g eneral d irection o f t he S heepen t emples . E ast o f t he a ngle i n t he L ondon r oad a p atch o f m etalling h as b een n oted . T his w as p robably p art o f a r oad t o l ink i t w ith t hat r unning s outh-west o ut o f t he s outh-west ( Head) g ate . W hen i n t he f ourth c entury a ccess t o t he B alkerne g ate w as b arred , t his w ould h ave b ecome t he p rincipal a pproach r oute f rom L ondon . A fter p assing t hrough t he d efended a rea t he m ain r oad i ssued o ut o f t he e ast g ate t o c ross t he r iver n ear t he m ediaeval E ast B ridge b efore t urning n orth-eastwards t owards S tratford S t N ary ( Ad A nsa .e. F rom t he w estern o f t he t wo g ates i n t he n orthern d efences a r oad ( Margary n o .322) r an d ue n orth t o c ross t he C aine a t N orth B ridge b efore t urning n orth-westwards t owards L ong M elford . T he c ourse a nd d estination o f a ny r oad o ut o f t he s maller e astern ( Duncan 's) g ate r emain u nknown , i t m ay w ell j ust h ave s erved h arbour i nstallations o n t he C aine , F rom t he e astern ( St B otolph 's) g ate i n t he s outhern d efences a r oad r an s outh i n t he g eneral d irection o f M ersea . R ecent e xcavation ( Crummy ,1984 , passin ) h as r evealed m uch a bout t he s equence o f d evelopment o f t he c olonia 's d efences . T he d efences o f t he l egionary f ortress h ad b een s lighted a t t he f oundation o f t he c olonia c a .49 . T hough i t w as s tandard p ractice a t t his d ate f or t owns i n t he w estern p rovinces t o b e u ndefended , t he u nwisdom o f t his i n t he c ase o f C olchester w as m ade a bundantly c lear b y t he e vents o f 6 1 . A fter t his t rauma t he r ebuilt c olonla w as p rovided w ith d efences , t he d itch o f w hich h as b een i nvestigated a t B alkerne L ane a nd s hown t o b e a s ubstantial a ffair . W hat f orm t he r est o f t he d efences t ook awaits c larification . T here i s n o t race o f a s tone w all a t t his d ate , a n e arthen r ampart w ould s eem l ikely , i f u nusual i n t he c ontext o f G allic d efences . T heir l ine o n t he s ides o ther t han t he w est a lso awaits e lucidation . C rummy ( 1984,11-12) s uggests t hat t o t he s outh t hey t ook t he s ame l ine a s t hat o f t he l ater s tone d efences , b ut t hat t o t he n orth t hey m ay h ave l ain s outh o f t he l ater l ine , r unning j ust n orth o f t he p recinct d itch a t
o f
t he
T emple
o f
C laudius .
T he
e astern
B alkerne L ane w as f illed i n c a .80 .
4 6
s ide
i s
T he m ost r ecent
u nknown .
T he
s uggestion
( Crummy ,1984 ,11,fig .8) i s t hat t he d efences w ere p ushed o ut f urther t o t he w est , t he e vidence f or t his b eing a s hort l ength o f e ast-west d itch f ound i n C rouch S treet a nd a pparently c ontinuing t he l ine o f t he p ostulated s outhern d itch w estwards , T he d itch w as o nly 1 .50m .(4 '6") d eep , a nd i ts r elationship t o a s outhern d itch w hose p osition i s o nly h ypothetical i s u nknown . O n p resent e vidence t his p roposed w estward e xtension d oes n ot c onvince . I t m ay b e t hat t he d efences w ere n o l onger f elt n ecessary . T his w ould b e a s uitable o ccasion f or t he c onstruction o f t he m onumental t win-arched g ateway w hich w as t o b ecome t he c ore o f t he l ater B alkerne G ate . A s a t T ingad t he a rch w ould n ot o nly m ask t he c hange i n a lignment o f t he m ain r oad , b ut w ould a lso m ark t he o riginal w estern l imit p rimigenius .
o f
t he
c olonla ,
p erhaps
e ven
t he
p osition
o f
t he
s ulcus
T he t own w all w as c onstructed c a .100-125 . O riginally i t c onsisted o f a f ree-standing w all o f m ortared r ubble w ith a shlar f acing a nd b rick b onding c ourses . T he w all i s n otably e arlier t han t hose f rom t he o ther t owns o f R oman B ritain ( excepting t he t hin s tone f acings t o t he e rstwhile
l egionary d efences a t t he
c olonlae a t G loucester a nd L incoln),
a nd d iffers f rom t hem i n b eing f ree-standing . B ut t he p rovision o f f rees tanding s tone w alls w as a f eature o f s everal o f t he c olonlae o f G aul a nd G ermany , s o C olchester c an b e s een a gainst t his b ackground , a nd i ts w alls a ppreciated a s a s m uch a s tatus s ymbol a s a f unctional d efence . S ome t ime a fter 1 50 a n e arthen r ampart w as a dded t o t he b ack o f t he t own w all. T here i s n o e vidence f or t he s ubsequent p rovision o f p rojecting b astions . T he
n ineteenth-century
e xpansion
o f
C olchester
b eyond
i ts
w alls
e ntailed t he d iscovery o f m any e xtra-mural s ites a nd o b jects o f t he R omano-British p eriod . U nfortunately , i n t he g reat m ajority o f c ases t he c ircumstances o f d iscovery w ere n ot p ropitious t o a c lear u nderstanding o f t he s ite o r o bject a nd i ts a ssociations . D espite t he e fforts o f a s uccession o f l ocal a ntiquaries s uch a s P ollexfen a nd W ire m uch o f t he m aterial i s n ow d ificult t o e valuate . S ome m aterial h as b een d ispersed , a nd o f w hat r emains m uch i s u nprovenanced , a nd t here a re f ew p lans o r r ecords o f t he s ites n or o f t he d atable m aterial . F ortunately m ore r ecent w ork i s b eginning t o f urnish u s w ith a f ramework i nto w hich w e c an a ttempt t o f it t he e arlier d iscoveries , E xtra-mural o ccupation h as b een f ound p rincipally t o t he w est a nd t he n orth o f t he t own . I mmediately w est o f t he l ine o f t he l egionary d efences t here h ad b een t imber s tructures o n e ither s ide o f t he L ondon r oad i n b oth t he l egionary a nd p re-Boudiccan p eriods ( Crummy , 1 984 ,931 10). I n t he a ftermath o f t he B oudiccan d estruction w hen n ew d efences w ere p rovided f or t he c olonla t he a rea s eems t o h ave l ain e mpty . A fter t he d isuse o f t hese n ew d efences c a .80 , a s eries o f s tructures w as e rected , a nd a s t hese w ere t o b ecome e xtra-mural w hen t he t own w alls w ere r aised , t hey w ill b e d escribed h ere . O ne w as t he B alkerne G ate m onumental a rch r eferred t o a bove . T o i ts w est w ere t wo o ther b uildings . O ne , t o t he n orth o f t he L ondon r oad w as a R omano-Celtic t emple o f u nexceptional s quare-within-a-square p lan . D ue t o p ost-Roman l and-use a nd r obbing l ittle e xcept t he g eneral p lan o f t he t emple c ould b e r ecovered ( Crummy ,1984,123-5), w hich s howed t hat i ts o uter d imensions w ere c a .14 .50m .(48 "), S outh o f t he r oad s tood a n u nusual s tructure . T his w as s quare i n p lan , t he r emaining e vidence b eing a s eries o f d eep r ectangular p its w ith p iling a t t he b ottom a nd a l ength o f t rench a lso w ith p iling . A ll t race o f t he s eptaria a nd m ortar s tructure w hich h ad s tood o n t hese f oundations h ad b een r obbed o ut , T he f rontage c onsisted
4 7
o f
f our
e ach
p its ,
e nd .
f rontage
t he
b ack
A p it
w as
t he
r obber-trench
b etween e ach
f ormed t he s ides .
r eturn
w ith
a nd t hose
r eturns a t
s hrine
o f
f orward
a t
e nds o f t he
I nitially i nterpreted a s s omething t o d o w ith
t he w ater-supply o f w hich t here a re e lements n earby , s mall
t he
e ssentially
c lassical
i t
a rchitectural
i s n ow s een a s a
d erivation ,
w hich
s eems m uch p referable . I n a ddition t o t hese o f
w ater-supply .
T his
t wo r eligious b uildings ,
h ad
o riginated
h ad h ad t o b e m odified a t a long t he s outhern s ide o f
t he t he
i n
t he
t here a re t he t races
p ost-Boudiccan
p eriod ,
b ut
s ubsequent r emoval o f t he d itch . I t r an L ondon r oad a nd c onsisted o f a t rench i n
t he b ottom o f w hich w ere l aid f our p arallel w ooden w ater-pipes w ith i ron c ollars . A t t he p eriod n ow u nder c onsideration s ome o f t hem w ere r elaid s o
t hat
t he
m onumental
m ain
a rch .
c ould
T o
t he
p ass s outh
u nder o f
t he
t he
s outhern
L ondon
r oad
p ortal w as
o f
t he
a s trip
n ew
o f
l and
d elimited b y g ullies a nd f ences a long w hich r an two l ines o f p ost-holes . T hese a re s uggested b y t he e xcavator ( Crummy ,1984,121) a s h aving b een t he s upport
f or a w ooden a bove-ground w ater-leat .
s hort t ime .
W hence t he
A long p robable T he
t he
s outhern
s hrine
e vidence
w ere
f or
I t s urvived f or o nly a
c olonia d rew i ts w ater i s s till s ide
f our
t hese
o f
t imber
t he
L ondon
r oad
s tructures
o f
w as b adly c ompromised b y
a m ystery .
t o
t he
w est
o f
' strip-building ' s ubsequent
t he
t ype .
a gricultural
a ctivity , b ut t hey a ppear t o h ave b een s hort-side-on t o t he r oad , a nd m ay h ave b en r elatively s hallow - c a .8m .(26 '). O ne o f t he c entral p air o f
b uildings
s ubsequently
h ad
a
c ellar
c onstruction t rench c ontaining p ottery o f c entral b uilding ( 55) y ielded a f ragment
i nserted ,
w hich
h ad
a
t he p eriod 2 50-325 . T he o ther o f a m osaic , t he b ulk o f t he
m osaic h aving b een o bserved b y L aver i n t he l ast c entury .
B ehind e ach o f
t he
s o m uch
b uildings w as a n o ven .
e vidence
i t
i s e asy t o
B ecause
f orm t he
o f
t he
d estruction o f
o pinion t hat
i nsubstantial s tructures . T his i s a lmost e vidence s uggests t hat t hey m ay h ave c ome c entury ,
a nd
t hey
w ere
c ertainly
i n
u se
t hese w ere
o f
t he
s hort-lived a nd
c ertainly n ot t he c ase . T he i nto e xistence i n t he s econd i n
t he
t hird
a nd
f ourth .
T he
p resence o f a c ellar a nd a m osaic s uggest s omething n ot i nsubstantial. T his p art a t l east o f t he r oad o ut f rom t he c olonla w as l ined w ith b uildings ,
p robably c ommercial.
S outh l arger O nly
a nd
p art
s urviving
o f
( to
t he
r ear
b etter-appointed o f
t his
s urfaces
o f)
t hese
r oadside
s tructure
b uildings
w as
a r ather
( Crummy ,1984,130-2,Building
w as
a vailable
f or
e xamination ,
w ere
c leared
b efore
t he
s ite
m achine . T he b uilding w as t imber-framed w ith w alls . O riginally i t c onsisted o f a r ange o f
and w as
o nly
5 9).
t he
l owered
t op
w ith
a
s eptaria a nd m ortar s ill r ooms w ith a c orridor o n
t heir n orthern s ide .
A c orridor w as t hen a dded o n t he s outhern s ide,
a nd
t o
a dded
t he
t his
i n
e astern e nd s ubdivided s ealed m id
t urn o f
s econd
d emolished f urther
t he
i nto
p ottery
w as
t he
c entury . i n o f
a
A t
T he
T he
a gainst
m id
u sing
s econd-century
w ing
o f
two
a t
d eposits
c ontained
a nd
t he c oins w ere p rincipally o f t he
w ould
i ndicate
t hat
t he
t hird
c entury ,
a nd
t his
s econd-century d ate ;
r ooms
t he c orridors w ere t hemselves
d estruction
1 50-250 .
p ottery t o
p rojecting
s ome d ate
r ooms .
p eriod
t he, e arly
w arning
i ndicative
b uilding .
f urther o f
a s mall
t hey
c oins
c irculated
b uilding s erves
a s
w as a s
a
n ecessarily
w ell
i nto
t he
t hird . S outh r ectangular o vens ,
a gain
o f
s tructure .
B uilding I n
i ts
5 9
w as
f irst
B uilding p hase
i t
6 0 ,
a s mall
c ontained
t hree-sided
t wo
c onjoined
s ubsequently s uppressed a nd r eplaced b y a s maller h earth o r o ven .
4 8
W hat t his l ittle w as i ts d ate .
w orkshop w as u sed f or c ould n ot b e d etermined ;
n either
B etween t he b uildings a lready d iscussed a nd t he c olonla d itch w ere f urther s tructures ( Crummy ,1984 ,135ff .,Buildings 6 1-5). T hese w ere o nly p artially e xcavated , a nd d ue t o t his a nd t heir p oor s tate o f p reservation w ere i mperfectly u nderstood . T hey a ppear t o h ave b een t imber b uildings , a nd t he p resence o f h earths a n o vens s uggests a n i ndustrial o r a rtisan u se f or t hem . A t t he s outhern e nd o f t he s outhernmost s ite ( V) t he d umping o f s and c a .275 h ad p reserved t he l and-surface a s t hen i n u se . T here w as a s eries o f c losely-spaced - c a .2m .(6 ') - r idges , a nd t he e xcavator s uggests t hat t hese w ere f or h orticulture . O n a ll t he s ites e xamined i n t hs a rea t he d ating e vidence , s uch a s i t i s , a ppears t o p oint t o a g radual a bandonment o f t he b uildings h ere d uring t he c ourse o f t he t hird c entury , w ith t he r esult t hat b y t he e nd o f t he c entury t he a rea w as m ore-or-less v acant . T hus w hen t he t own d itch w as e xtended t hrough t he L ondon r oad i t w ould n ot h ave a ffected t he o ccupation i n t he a rea , t o a ll i ntents a nd p urposes t hat h ad a lready c eased . I t w as t his e xtension t hat p rovided t he s and t hat c overed t he h orticultural s oil, a nd t he c oins p resent i n a nd a bsent f rom t hat s oil p rovide a d ate f or t he e xtension o f c a .275 ( cf .Crummy ,1984 ,140-1). B ut t hough d omestic o ccupation i n t he a rea w as o ver , t he t emple a nd s hrine w ere e vidently i nclude t hem .
s till
N orth-west
o f
i n
t he
u se ,
a s
t he
e xtended
R omano-Celtic
t emple
d itch
c urves
d escribed
a bove
o utward
t here
t o
m ay
h ave b een a nother . T he n ineteenth-century a ntiquary L aver r ecorded a b uilding i n t his r egion a nd d escribed i ts p lan a s a s quare w ithin a s quare . A s H ull ( 1958 ,240) r emarks , t his i s m ost e asily i nterpreted a s a R omano-Celtic t emple . B ecause o f t he i mprecision o f L ayer 's o riginal l ocation , t hough , w e c annot b e s ure t hat t his w as n ot t he B alkerne L ane t emple r eferred t o a bove . N orth a gain o f t his , o utside t he n orth-western c orner o f t he d efences , t he c onstruction o f t he w ater-works n ineteenth c entury b rought t o l ight t he r emains o f R onan b aths l arge c eramic p ipes o f a p eculiar d esign ' for t he l etting i n a nd t he w aters ' ( horning C hronicle ,6 .9 .1808). F rom t he d escription i t
i n t he a nd o f o ut o f s ounds
a s t hough w e h ere h ave a s uite o f b aths , q uite p ossibly p ublic . I f t he l atter b e t he c ase t hen t hey a re u nlikely t o h ave b een t he o nly p ublic b aths , l ying a s t hey d o o utside t he d efences . S outh o f t he b uildings a long t he h ouse w ith h ypocausts , b uilt o ver t he ( Taylor ,1921,221; Wilson D .R .,1974 ,442).
L ondon r oad w as a s tone-founded d isused d itch i n C rouch S treet
T he o ther p rincipal a rea o f e xtra-mural o ccupation l ay o utside t he n orth-western g ate , i n t he a reas o f M iddleborough a nd t he V ictoria I nn . L ying o n t he w estern s ide o f t he r oad , j ust t o t he n orth o f t he C olne c rossing a t N orth b ridge , t he V ictoria I nn b uilding(s) h ave b een k nown o f f or s ome t ime , s ince t essellated f loors a nd p art o f a m osaic w ere f ound ( Anon .,1884 ,189). M ore r ecent e xcavations ( Dunnett,1971,92-4) h ave r evealed p art o f a r ange o f a b uilding f acing a c ourtyard . T he b uilding w as
c onstructed
i n
t he
l ater
s econd c entury
o n a p reviously u noccupied
s ite . I n t he l imited a rea e xcavated t here w as n o e vidence f or a ny m odification o r r epair t o t he s tructure , w hich m ay t herefore n ot h ave b een
l ong-lived .
U ntil r ecently
i t s tood i n
4 9
i solation t o t he n orth o f
t he
c olonia ,
t hus
i ts
s tatus
a s
a n
u rban
o r
a r ural
e stablishment
w as
u ncertain . B ut t he e xcavation f rom 1 978 o f t he s ite a t M iddleborough , t o t he s outh o f t he C olne , s uggests t hat i t m ay h ave b een p art o f a s uburb o f w ell-appointed h ouses . T he M iddleborough e xcavations ( Crummy ,1984,155 f f .) u ncovered o ccupation f rom t he l ate f irst c entury t o t he t hird . T o t he e ast o f a r oad r unning n orth-westwards f rom t he n orth-west g ate w ere c onstructed
t wo
s imple
t imber
' strip-buildings '
i n
t he
l ate
f irst
c entury . T o t he n orth o f t he r oad t here w as a T raJanic c oarse-ware k iln . T he t wo e arly t imber b uildings w ere r eplaced i n t he e arly s econd c entury b y a m ore s ubstantial r ectangular b uilding , t imber-framed , b ut w ith i ts o uter w alls o n s eptaria a nd m ortar s ill-walls . O riginally i t h ad n o i nternal p artitions , a nd c ontained o ne h earth . I n i s s econd p eriod i t w as s ub-divided i nto a n umber o f r ooms . I n t his p hase t here w as e vidence f or m ortar f loors , f or q uarter-round o pus s igninum m ouldings a nd f or p ainted
w all
p laster ,
s uggesting
t hat
t he
b uilding
w as
n ow
p urely
r esidential. I n c a . 1 50 t his b uilding w as s uppressed a nd s ucceeded b y a m uch l arger a nd m ore e laborate r esidence . T here w ould s eem t o b e s ome c ontinuity b etween t he t wo , t hough , b ecause t he b uilding a nd t he v erandah w all o n t he n orth s ide o n t he n orthern a nd b uilding . O nly p art o f
n orth w all o f t he n ew o f i ts c ourtyard s tood
s outhern w alls r espectively o f t he p revious t his n ew b uilding l ay w ithin t he a rea a vailable
f or e xcavation , b ut i t m ust b e t he m ajor p art , a s t o t he s outh t he p resumed p osition o f t he c olonla d itch w ould p reclude t he b uilding f rom e xtending m uch t o t he s outh o f w hat w as e xcavated . T hree r anges a round a c entral c ourtyard w ere u ncovered ;
i t
i s u nlikely t hat t here w as r oom f or
a f ourth . T he r ange a long t he r oad f rontage w as u tilitarian , p resumably l et o ut a s s hops/workshops . I t w as f ronted b y a v erandah o r c overed w alkway a long t he r oadside . T he o ther t wo w ings , s creened f rom t he r oad b y t he s hops , w ere o f a m arkedly h igher s tandard o f c omfort . O f t he e ight r ooms e xcavated o nly o ne d id n ot h ave a t essellated o r m osaic f loor , t hough i n s ome c ases t hese s ucceeded p rimary m ortar f loors . O ne o f t he m osaics , t hat o f ' The W restling C upids ' i n R oom 7 i s a mongst t he m ost a ccomplished p ieces o f t his d ate i n B ritain . T he r oom i n w hich i t w as s et h ade b en e xpanded a t t he t ime t he m osic w as l aid b y t he a ddition o f a s emi-circular a pse t o i ts n orthern s ide , f orming a r oom o f c onsiderable s tyle . C learly t his h ouse , t hough l ying J ust o utside t he d efences , s hould b e r egarded a s t he t own r esidence o f a p erson o f s ubstance . T he h ouse w as d emolished c a .300 a nd t he s ite t hereafter r emained v acant . O n t he o ther ( north-eastern) s ide o f t he r oad t he e xcavated a rea c ontained p arts o f a t l east t wo o ther b uildings ( 71,73). O f t hese t he f ormer o riginated a s a r ow o f r ooms r unning n orth-south w ith a c orridor a long t he w estern s ide . T hey w ere a dded t o a nd a dapted t o f orm a t wo-period b ath-house o f c onventional a spect w ith e vidence f or a p iped w ater s upply , t hough n o p lunge-bath w as l ocated i n t he e xcavation . T he b uilding w as c onstructed i n t he s econd c entury a nd d estroyed l ater i n t he R oman p eriod . O nly t he l atest p lan o f t he o ther b uilding w as r ecovered , c onsisting o f t wo r ooms a nd a n e ast-west c orridor . T here w as n o i ndication o f d ate . E vidently t he a rea o utside t he n orth-western g ate w as a s uburb o f s ome s ize a nd t he l ocation f or a n umber o f l arge a nd w ell-appointed t own h ouses . S outh o f t he d efences t here i s l ittle e vidence f or o ccupation . I n t he v icinity o f t he m ediaeval S t B otolph 's P riory h ave b een f ound t he r emains o f a h ouse w ith m osaics n ear t he X ersea R oad ( Hu11,1958 ,244). T he s uggestion ( Rodwell & R odwel1,1977 ,35) t hat t he r emains a re t hose o f a R omano-British c emetery c hurch t o w hich S t B otolph 's w as t he s uccessor i s ,
l ike s o m any o f t hese p utative i dentifications o f a s imilar s equence
i n B ritain ,
t he r esult o f e nthusiasm r ather t han e vidence .
5 0
B uildings h ave b een l ocated a t t wo p oints b etween t he e astern d efences a nd t he C olne b y t he f inding o f s tone f oundations a nd b uilding d ebris ( Hu11,1958 ,297). F urther
o ut
f rom
t he
c olonla
l ay
o ther
b uildings ,
p rincipally
t emples , w hich m ust b e a djudged d ependencies o f t he t own . T he m ain g roup o f t hese l ay n orth-west o f t he c olonia i n t he n orthward c urve o f t he C olne a t S heepen . H ere t here w ere f our t emples . T he t wo n orthenmost l ay s ide b y s ide w ithin a s ingle t emenos . T hey w ere f oundations o f T emple 5 c ut i nto t he r emains
s tone-founded , a nd t he o f a t imber b uilding
d estroyed i n t he B oudiccan r evolt . I n a ddition t he t emenos w all c ut t hrough t wo k ilns w hich h ad p roduced G allo-Belgic w ares . S o t hough t he t emples a re o therwise u ndated , t hey c annot b e e arlier t han t he l ate f irst c entury , a nd t hey d o n ot s ucceed a ny i dentifiable p re-Roman r eligious s ite . W hether t he t emples w ere c ontemporaneous o r s uccessive h as n ot b en d etermined ( Taylor M .V .,1961,185). S outh o f t his p air l ay T emple 2 ( Hu11,1958 ,230) w ithin a n i rregular p entagonal t emenos . T his d ated f rom t he l ate f irst c entury . J ust o utside t he s outh-western c orner o f t he t emenos l ay a s tone-founded t wo-roomed s tructure 1 6m .(53 ') l ong o f s econd-century d ate . A s i t l ay o utside t he p recinct i t n eed n ot b e a r eligious s tructure . I t c ould h ave s erved a s a ccommodation f or t he p riest , b ut i n t hat c ase w hy i s t here n ot s imilar p rovision a t t he o ther t emples? I n t he t hird c entury t he s mall T emple 3 w as b uilt t o t he n orthw est o f t he t emenos o f T emple 2 . L ike T emple 2 i t s tood o n a s light a rtificial m ound o r p odium c omposed o f m aterial s craped u p f rom e arlier b uildings o n t he s ite . S uch p odia a re a c ommon f eature o f R omano-Celtic t emples . A ll t he f our S heepen t emples a lignment f or R omano-Celtic t emples .
f aced s outh-east ,
a gain a c ommon
A bout l km .(0 .6 m ile) s outh-east o f t he d efences a nd 2 00m .(660 ') w est o f t he r oad t o G osbecks w as a nother t emple ( Temple 4 ) u nder t he p laying f ields o f t he f ormer R oyal G rammar S chool ( Hu11,1958 ,236ff .). T wo b ronze d edicatory p laques f rom w ithin t he t emenos d emonstrate t he d edication o f t he t emple t o h ave b een t o S ilvanus . T he t emple i tself c onsisted o nly o f a r ectangular c ella 9 m .(30 ') b y 6m .(20 ') f acing e ast , w ith t he e astern e nd d ivided o ff b y a p artition w all t o f orm a n arthex . T he t emple w as s urrounded b y a p olygonal d itched e nclosure , t he d itch m ay h ave h ad a p allisade a long i ts b ottom . T his w as l ater r eplaced b y a p entagonal t emenos w all i n s tone . T he t emple s tood i n t he e xact c entre o f t his w alled p recinct , w hich i t d id n ot i n r elation t o t he e arlier d itched e nclosure . T his m ay m ean t hat t he t emple a nd t he w all w ere c ontemporary , o r i t m ay m ean t hat i f t he t emple o riginally s tood i n t he d itched
e nclosure
t hat
o bject i n t he c entre t he t emenos i nvolved
i t
w as
a t
t hat
s tage
a ncillary
t o
s ome
c ult
o f t he e nclosure . I f s o t hen t he r e-definition o f t he t emple a ssuming t he c entral r öle . T he w estern
c ircuit o f t he t emenos w all h ad t o d eviate u p t o 1 .5m .(5 ') w est o f i ts n orth-south a lignment t o a void r unning o n t he l ine o f t he d itch . H ull ( 1958 ,238) s uggested t hat t his w as i n r esponse t o r eligious d ictates , r especting t he l ine o f t he e arlier e nclosure . L ewis ( 1966 ,133) s ugggested t hat i t w as i n r esponse t o s tructural c onsiderations , t he b uilders d id n ot w ant t o p ut t heir w all i n t he s oft d itch f ill. W ithin t he s outhern p art o f t he p recinct t here w as a r ectangular b uilding 1 8m .(60 ') e ast-west b y 8 . 5m .(28 ') n orth-south , w ith a l arge e ntrance i n i ts s outhern s ide .
I ts
f unction i s u nknown .
o f t he s outhern c ircuit o f a nd s tructural p recepts .
t he d itch ,
5 1
I ts n orth w all
o verlay p art
t hereby d isobeying b oth r eligious
T here c olonla .
a re
R IB
d efences , o utside
a lso
a nd t he
n on-funerary
t o
t he
d efences ,
M atres
N umina A ugustorum
a nd
a re
S uleviae,
R IB
a nd
i t ,
T he
1 92,
R IB
M ention c omplex
o f
s quare
s hould
3 . 5km .(2
c onsisted
t he
o ther two c one f rom w ith
a d edication
N one o f t hese
t o
a
t he
n ecessarily
t hough t he d edications w ould m ake m ore
a s ize o f
p lan
a
b e
m ade
m iles) a nd
i n
t o
i n
c onnection
s outh-east
e laboration
R omano-Celtic
s tanding
t his
t he
o f
p re-Roman t riple
I ron
A ge
e nclosure
a n
o n
e nclosure
t hese
t he
w all o f
s imilar
e nclosures
i n
r ather
o f
a
S uch t he
a
s eems
a m ajor
t o
h ave
d eviated
f rom
c omplex
o f
e lement
b een
t he
t heir
s uite
p olyfocal
i n t he
o f
r ural
t he
a nd ,
a s
I ron A ge .
n oted
R oman
p eriod ,
e conomic ,
s ocial
s o
a I t
s quare-within-a-
o f
a
i tself o f
l arge
s quare
s urrounded
a l arger
t o
i ts
b y
a
e ncclosure,
e ast .
a nd
c omplexes o ppidum
a
o f
a rea ,
t o
a nd
e nclose
a bove ,
o f
S outh
o f
t he
t heatre
G osbecks w as
s ubsequent I t
r eligious
i s
n orthern G aul
C amulodunum .
i t.
I t
d efences
h as
a
s ite
m ajor
m ay
h ave
T he C amulodunum o ppldum s eems t o h ave b een
i n a w ay a lien t o t he R oman t own-planner .
c learly c ontinued t o b e o f
B ritain .
E vreux t han o f B ritain .
d efended
a t
i s
v iereckschänze o f t he
e nclosures
t emple
a lignments
s ite I t
( Hu11,1958,259ff .;Dunnett,
p re-Roman
e arliest
m ain
c rop-marks
i ts o rigins
o f
w as
i mmediately
s uch a s R ibemont-sur-Ancre o r V ieil c learly
T his
t heatre
m ajor
R oman
c orner
s outhern p art
s ize
w as
1 971b ; Crummy ,1975 ,13). r eminiscent
c ontinent .
t emple
c olonla .
c onventional
s outh-eastern
f orming t he
t he
t he
u nparalleled
t emple
t he
o f
o f
d itched e nclosure w hich h as b een c ompared w ith t he
t he
o utside
i n a ssociation w ith s ome s ort o f s hrine .
G osbecks ,
w ith
f rom
a s tatue-base
1 93 ,
a nd M ars A ndescocivoucus .
p resupposes a t emple t o h ouse s ense
i nscriptions
i s a d edication t o M ars N edocius . w estern
d edication
t hree
1 91 c omes f rom t he S t J ohn 's A bbey a rea t o t he s outh o f t he
i mportance ,
G osbecks
m ay
a nd p olitical
N onetheless t he a rea
p articularly a s a c ult c entre ,
h ave
c entre
r etained s ome
a t
t he
l ink w ith
c olonia .
i n
t he
n ew
i t
w as
P hysically
l inked w ith i t b y a r oad . G iven t he
p olyfocal
n ature
o f
t he
p re-Roman s ettlement
i t
m ight b e
a sked w hether t he e xtra-mural s ituation o f t he S heepen a nd o ther t emples i s b ecause t hey p erpetuate t he s ite o f p re-Roman p laces o f w orship . C learly
t he
t wo
f oundations R oyal t hey
- o ne
G rammar
w ithin w orship . g roup
l ie
l ater B ut
o verlie N or
e vidence , t hin .
I t
i s
o r
i n
a n on-native
i t
i t
c ut
o ne
t here
a t
r ather
b e
o f
c ase
e ventually
b ecame
t he
b e
t hat
t hey
f ocus .
O f
t he
S heepen t hat
t hat o f
e ven I ron
s ome
n o c ut
A ge
o f
t hat
f ocus
t he
o bvious t hrough
a nd
t hose
s uggesting
( unidentified)
n oted
a ny
G ate a re R oman
( 1958,230)
t emene ,
s ome
s tructures
t hem
f or
R oman p eriod , p reserving t he t emples s ubordinate . A t t he
s tyle .
t hose
t o
a t emenos w all
a ny
t he
w ithin
s hould
t hrough
c ase
B alkerne
w as n oted b y H ull
s ubsidiary
t his
t herefore , m ay
e ven
e ccentrically
a nd i n
i mmediately o utside t he
t emples
t han
c ontra
s ignificance, k ilns ,
i s
S chool
t emene
a re
t emples
o f
S heepen
r eligious
t wo
p ottery
O n
p resent
m aterial.
t hem h aving p re-Roman o rigins r emains o riginate
o lder R oyal
W ithin
r elatively
t raditions o f G rammar S chool t he
d efences
o f
e arly
w ithin
t he
w orship w ith t he s ite t he t emple t he
c olonia
w e
s o
f ar o nly k now o f t he g reat T emple o f C laudius . I t
i s n oted a bove t hat o ne o f t he
c ut
t hrough t wo k ilns
t o
h ave
C olchester w hose
b een w as
p roducing G allo-Belgic
t erminally t o
r emains h ave
t emenos w alls o n t he S heepen s ite
b ecome b een
d isrupted t he
c entre
b y o f
w ares .
t he
T his
B oudiccan
a f lourising
i ndustry s eems r evolt .
p ottery
f ound o ver e xtensive a reas a round t he
m ain c oncentration l ay t o t he w est o f t he
5 2
B ut
i ndustry t own .
T he
c olonia p articularly t o e ither
s ide o f t he S heepen D yke . T he n earest k ilns t o t he t own w ere a s mall g roup n orth o f t he L ondon r oad a nd t o t he e ast o f t he j unction w ith t he r oad t o G osbecks ( Hu11.1963 ,T ,III,V). N orth o f t hese a nother t hree k ilns h ave b een d iscovered a t O aks D rive ( Crummy ,1974 ,19). N o d ate f or t hese h as y et b een p ublished ,
b ut t hey r esemble o thers o f t he t hird c entury .
B y f ar t he l argest g roup s o f ar e xcavated , t en k ilns , l ay j ust w ithin t he S heepen D yke , i n a r e-entrant f ormed b y t he m ain n orth-south d yke a nd a s pur d yke r unning o ff t o t he s outh-east , K ilns X VI-XVIII w ere f ree-standing ( though K iln X VII w as i n f act t wo k ilns s haring a s tokeh ole). T his c ontrasted w ith K ilns X IX-XXII w hich w ere a ssociated w ith a s tone-built e nclosure . T his w as r oughly s quare , w ith s ides 6 m .(19 ') l ong . I t w as s unk i nto t he g round , u p t o 2 . 5m .(7 '6") o n t he n orthern s ide . t he p resence i n i ts r ubble o f n umerous p ieces o f r oofing-tile i ndicate t hat i t w as a c overed b uilding . T he s tructure i s s im ilar i n a ppearance a nd d imensions t o e xamples f ound o n t he c ontinent a t p ottery ( especially s amian) m anufactories , p articularly i n h aving a k iln p rojecting f rom o ne s ide ( cf ,Forrer ,1911). T his l atter k iln i s s o f ar t he o nly o ne k nown i n R oman B ritain f or t he f iring o f s amian . T he k iln ( XXI) w as l arge , c ircular a nd s olidly c onstructed , a nd n umerous f ittings f or t he c hannelling o f t he h ot g ases w ere f ound ( Hu11,1963 ,20 ,fig .12 t hough t he r econstruction i s o pen t o q uestion). T he t hree o ther k ilns i n t he g roup , p roducing c olour-coated a nd g rey w ares , a ctually l ay w ithin t he b uilding . I t i s u nlikely t hat t hey w ere a ll i n o peration t ogether , i t w ould h ave m ade t he i nterior o f t he b uilding i ntolerably h ot a nd c rowded . I n f act i t l ooks a s t hough t he s toke-hole o f K iln X XII c ut i nto t he s tructure o f K iln X IX , a nd t hat t he s uperstructure o f K iln X IX h ad b een r emoved b efore t he a bandonment o f t he b uilding , w hereas t hat o f K iln X XII h ad n ot . I t s eems t hat K iln X IX w as s ucceeded b y K ilns X X a nd X XII, t he f ormer l oaded , t he l atter i n w orking o rder , a t t he t ime o f t he a bandonment . T hese k ilns w ere i n p roduction i n t he l ater s econd a nd e arly t hird c enturies . N earby
a nd
t o
t he
s outh-east
o f
t he
g roup
d iscussed
a bove
w as
a nother g roup . T his w as l ess f ormally l aid-out , a nd c onsisted o f t wo k ilns a nd a p artially e nclosed a rea . T he k ilns ( XXX ,XXXI) w ere o riginally b oth c ircular s ingle-flue k ilns , b ut K iln X XXI w as m odified s o t hat i t c onsisted o f a r ectangular f lue w ith u pdraught c hannels o pening o ff b oth s ides , a n u nusual b ut n ot u nique f orm . I t h ad b een u sed f or f iring m ortaria a nd c olour-coated w ares , a nd t he e xtremely h igh t emperatures a t w hich i t w as o perated h ad r esulted i n m assive v itrification o f t he k iln s tructure . K iln X XX w as a pparently a ssociated w ith i t a nd p roducing c olour-coated w ares . E ast o f t he k ilns l ay a s tructure 4 m .(13 ') b y 3 m .(10 ') b uilt o f K entish R ag , t he i nterior r endered w ith w hite-painted p laster w ith r ed d ecoration . T here w as a d oor a t t he s outh-western c orner . P resumably t his w as s ome s ort o f p otter 's w orkshop . T o t he w est o f t he k ilns l ay a p artially w alled a rea , p erhaps f or t he d rying o r s toring o f p ots . N orth o f t he k ilns , a nd r unning w est f rom t he n orth-western c orner o f t he ? workshop w as a c layf ounded w all o r f ence . T he ? workshop o verlay a p it c ontaining l ates econd-century m aterial, a nd a fter t he b uilding h ad b een d emolished , a p it c ontaining f ourth-century p ottery w as d ug i nto t he r ubble . T he o ther m ajor g roup o f k ilns l ay t o t he w est o f t he S heepen D yke ( Hu11,1963 ,2ff ,Kilns V II,VIII,IX ,X ,XI,XXV , XXVII,XXVIII,XXXII), T he f irst f ive o f t hese k ilns w ere s et c lose
t ogether ,
5 3
b ut
t here w as n o t race o f
a ncillary s tructures .
K iln V II
c losely r esembled K iln X XXI
i n p lan ,
b ut
n ot i n t he e xtent o f v itrification . O therwise a ll t he k ilns w ere c ircular a nd s ingle-flued , a part f rom K ilns X a nd X I w hich w ere d oublef lued . N one o f t he k ilns w as f ound l oaded o r c ould b e o therwise d irectly d ated , b ut t he f orms o f t he a ssociated w asters w ould i ndicate p roduction i n t he t hird c entury a nd p erhaps o n i nto t he f ourth . A t l east t hree k ilns a re k nown f rom t he B utt R oad a rea , t he s outh-western p art o f t he d efences ( Hu11,1963 ,V , VI,XII).
s outh o f O ne w as
o perating a t t he t urn o f t he s econd a nd t hird c enturies . W asters a re a lso k nown f rom t he g arden o f 1 05 C rouch S treet . F urther t o t he s outhe ast a k iln , p robably o f t he f ourth c entury , i s k nown f rom A bbey F ields ( Hu11,1963 ,XXIV). T hree k ilns a re k nown f rom n orth o f t he T raJanic o ne o n t he M iddleborough s ite , t here e ast
o f
t he
r ailway
s tation
f ourth c entury , f rom e ast r iver ( Hu11,1963 ,XXXIII).
( Hu11,1963 ,1I),
c olonia . A part f rom t he i s a n u ndated o ne f rom o f
t he
o f t he L ong M elford r oad t o t he n orth o f N o k ilns a re y et k nown f rom e ast o f
a nd
a nother
o ne ,
t he t he
c olonia , A p ossible
b rick-field
w as
d isturbed
d uring
c onstruction
o f
t he
C olchester b y-pass i n 0 .S .Parcel 4 95 . P art o f a n e xtensive R oman c layw orking w as e xposed a long w ith c onsiderable q uantities o f b rick a nd t iles . T he a bsence o f a ny o ther b uilding d Abris m ay s uggest t hat t he c lay b eing d ug o ut h ere w as b eing m anufactured i nto b rick a nd t ile , t hough t his i s u nconfirmed , T his i s n ot t he p lace f or a d etailed c onsideration o f t he d evelopment a nd m arket o f t he C olchester p ottery i ndustry , b ut i t w ould b e a ppropriate t o o ffer s ome r emarks o n t he p hysical l ocation o f t he I ndustry , and i ts r elationship t o t he t own b eside w hich i t l ay . T he p rime r equirements o f a ny g roup o f p otters w ould b e c lay , t emper , w ater a nd f uel. A t C olchester t he S heepen k ilns l ay w ithin e asy r each o f t he S heepen s tream ; n ot o nly w as t his a c onvenient s ource o f w ater , b ut t he s tream h ad c ut d own t hrough t he s uperficial d eposits o f s and a nd g ravel t o t he L ondon C lay b eneath , T hus t he f irst t hree r equirements w ere a t h and t ogether . A t t he k ilns w est o f t he D yke , a nd t hus a l ittle f urther f rom t he c lay e xposures , t here w ere f ound d umps o f c lay . N ot o nly w as t his a s upply o f r aw m aterial, b ut w eathered c lay i s m ore m angeable f or p otting . T he k ilns t o t he s outh o f t he c olonia a re a t a r emove f rom a ny w ater-course , b ut w ells w ould h ave s erved , t he s ource(s) o f f uel a re u nknown . T he e vidence f rom a erial p hotogaphy s uggests t hat m ost o f t he l andscape i n t he i mmediate v icinity o f C olchester w as o pen . N onetheless ' open ' c ountry u sually i ncludes s tands o f t rees , w hich c ould w ell b e m anaged a s a r esource . I t i s t hought t hat t he h igher c laylands o f E ssex m ay s till h ave s upported l arge a reas o f w oodland i n t he R oman p eriod , s o f uel c ould h ave b een t ransported t hence , n ot o nly f or t he p otters b ut a lso f or t he b ath-houses a nd t he o ther h eat-using p rocesses i n t he c olonia , t o s ay n othing o f t he l arge q uantities r equireed f or b uildings . I n g eneral t he k ilns l ay a t a s light r emove f rom a reas o f c oeval o ccupation o r b urial. D oubtless t his w as p artly t o d o w ith a vailability o f r esources , b ut i t m ay a lso b e t hat t he a uthorities i n t he c olonia o rdered t he i ndustry r elegated t o p eripheral a reas b ecuase i t w as n oisome a nd r epresented a f ire r isk . I t i s n oticeable t hat t he k ilns c losest t o t he d efences t end t o b e o f t hird o r f ourth c entury d ate w hen e xtra-mural o ccupation h ad c ontracted a lmost t o v anishing p oint. A nother f actor c ontributing t o t he i solation o f t he p otters m ay l ie i n t heir
5 4
o rigins , n o
T he C olchester p ottery
k nown
l ocal
p roducts
s trongly
R hineland .
s amian
f actory
l ikelihood S upporting k ilns
t o
w are
a t
i s
t hat
e ast
h ad
f or
a nd
n ow
a t
i s
t hat
b een o f
t he
c olour-coated
t he
t ime
p otters
w orking
t he
a fforded
S heepen
t he
a t i n
t he
B .R .,1977 ,256ff .),
l east
t his
t he
p roduced
c lear
p reviously
l ater s econd c entury h as
d ecoration
b eing
( cf. Hartley
s ome
o f
f orm
t hose i s
S inzig
e vidence
t he
i t
i ndustry o f t he
I n
r esemble
M oreover ,
C olchester s amian
a ntecedents .
D yke
p otters
b y
t he
t he
e ast
G aulish
T herefore
w ere
s mall
i n
p roducing
c emetery
( Hu11,1963,139ff .).
t he
i mmigrants . T he
b y
t he
p hysical
p roximity o f t he c emetery t o t he k ilns a nd i ts d istance f rom o ther k nown b urial-grounds p ottery k ilns ,
i n
i tself
f rom t he g raves a nd
i ncludes s ome
1 963 ,144,fig .79 , no .30). n o .2)
o f
a t ype
c ontinent t he
t hat
c ommunal o f
t he
o f
t he
e xtremely r are
o f
t he
t hey
p otters
w ere
t ownspeople?
r esidents
o f
t he
b est
a nd
a re
e xamples o f
I t
c ould
t he
b e
I t
t o
b e
l inked .
p otters
i s
t hat
t hey
w ere
t ransfer
B ritain .
T hey
m ay
i t
t heir
o utput
m ore
l ooks
f amilies .
I n
s ince
T he
p eriod o f u se o f t he ( cf . Hull,
a t
a s
t hough
t his
c ase
t hey
d id
( fig .79
h ome
o n
t he
t his i t
n ot
i s
w ould
u se
t he
W as t his i solation o f t heir m aking o r s imple
c ould
p ossibility
s um
i solated
c olonla .
c olonla .
I n
t heir
s ocially
t rade
x enophobia
b e
k ept
t hat
a s
t hemselves
k ept h ave
a part b een
o n
t he
i ncomers t o
b y
p art
t hemselves .
w hoever
i ndentured
o f
t he
p ractising
a
A nother
a rranged
l abourers
t heir
o r
e ven
a nd t heir m asters m ay h ave h ad t hem k ept s eparate t o e nsure t hey
c ould b e t he
t wo
i n t his c ountry b ut
d istinctive t o
t he
s ame d ate a s t he
I n a ddition o ne g rave c ontained a b rooch
c emteries o f t he
s laves ,
t hat
t he
( pers .comm .D ,F . Mackreth).
c emetery
s eem
s uggests
i s o f
p roperly s upervised a nd d id n ot
p ottery
i ndustry
i s
a bscond .
i mperfectly u nderstood ,
T he r 8le
b ut
o f
s laves
i n
i t d oes s eem l ikely
t hat t hey w ere a f eature o f t he s amian i ndustry . O ne t he
m ay a lso n ote
t ransfer
t he
o f
i ndustry .
p ottery N ene
t hese I n
t his
i ndustries o f
V alley .
T he
a ccess
t o
m arket
f rom t he m iddlemen
t rade
t he
w hoever t he e ntrepreneur(s)
i t
w ere ,
r esembles
m arket
o f
i n
s uch
t he
c hose
t he
o ther
b ut
s erving
u rban
t he
p roducts
r esponsible
u rban
g reat
w as
p opulation
a lso
t he
w ho
a field ,
o nly
a nd t hose o f
f or
a nd t he
t he
d irect
c oming
i nto
n egotlatores a nd
c ould
a s
f or
l ocation
s econd-century
n ot
p resence
m arkets ,
f urther
a n
a s H artshill/Mancetter
a l ocation
u rban
c ountryside ,
p otters '
t hey
R oman B ritain s uch
a dvantage
a r eady
o ther
t hat
c raftsmen
b e
p ersuaded
c learly
h appened
t o
w ith
C olchester p roducts . T he t own t hat
w as
f inal o f
s uffered
C olchester , n ote
o f n ow
t he
a nd b e
f or
a ll
p resence
l ay-out
c emteries
d uring
o ften
s carcely t he
e xtensive
l and-use
c emeteries .
m ost
a nd
t he
i nternal c an
a nd m ost
c ourse
t hat
o f t he
t he
c hronology
c olonla ,
o ne
t he
a s
d efences
w as
a r ecord
T hus
a nd
T here t o
t he
i t
t he
n ineteenth-century
s urvives
g rave-goods .
r ecovered .
a round
U nfortunately
t he
t o
w est
o f
h ave
a nd
b een
o ne
t o
t he
e xpansion a b urial
o verall
d evelopment
s eem
o f
o f
c emeteries o f i s
e xtent,
t he
a
t he
c emeteries
t wo t he
p rincipal s outh .
I n
a ddition t here w as a n umber o f s maller b urial-grounds . T he
e arlier
o f t he
t wo m ajor c emeteries w as t hat t o t he w est ,
o riginated d uring t he m ilitary o ccupation , a nd l ay t he L ondon r oad a t t he h ead o f t he S heepen v alley , w ell-known 2 01).
m ilitary
t ombstones
o f
F acilis
( RIB
T his
a bout t he a ngle i n F rom h ere c one t he
2 00)
a nd
L onginus
T his c emetery c ontinued t o d evelop d uring t he c ivilian p hase ,
( RIB a nd
e ventually c ame t o e xtend f or u p t o q uarter o f a m ile e ither s ide o f t he b end
i n
t he
r oad ,
T o
t he
e ast
i t
p resumably
h ad
o ccupation i mmediately o utside t he B alkerne G ate ,
5 5
a b oundary
w ith
t he
b ut t his h as y et t o b e
l ocated .
T o
t he
t he
w est
b ulk
o f
s ome
i nhunations .
u sually
t he
b urials
o f
t he
g enerally o f
b oundary
r ecorded
h as
h ave
l ikewise
b een
n ot
b een
c remations ,
b ut
c onfirmed . t here
T he
w ere
a lso
W hereas t he p ottery a ssociated w ith t he c remations w as
f irst
t o
t hird
c enturies ,
t he t hird a nd f ourth .
N ot
t hat
w ith
t he
i nhumations
o nly w as t he c emetery v ery
w as
l arge ,
b ut amongst t he g eneral r un o f b urials t here s ome w ith m onuments i ndicating w ealth a nd/or t aste . F our c ivilian t ombstones ( RIB 2 02,204 , 2 06 ,208) m ust
h ave
o nce
e ques
k nown
m akes
u se
t here
s eems
t ype
c ome
h ave
f rom
o f
i nstance
a t
p robably
a lso
p .112). t he
t he
w oman
R oman n ot s tood
P arts
o f
o ther
s phinx
h oc
n ot
t hese
f ar
c ontext
t he
f rom
o utside
i n
R oman
w hich
m ust
i n
f raction
c ommemorates
t umulo
t o)
p eriod
o nce
- a p athetic o f
c ivilian i n
r eason
M ersea
C olchester
a rea
f irst
f ormula
g ood
i n
t he
T he
a p urely
t he n o
k nown
f rom
b een .
i f
t here R oman
B ritain ,
o f
a t
( Hu11,1958 ,254).
N orth o f
a nd
t he
v eiled
a nd
o f
( as o f
t his
t ype
( vide
f ound ,
a
f or i nfra
s uch a s
d iademed b ust
t he L ondon r oad a nd j ust
2 04
T hames ,
L incoln
f unerary m onuments h ave a lso b een ( RIB 2 11),
m ound
t he
B arrows
c olonia
R IB
l iterally
a b urial
n orth
C olchester . t he
w hat o nly
t aken
i ndicate a rea
o f t he
o f
t o t he w est
a o f
t he b end w as a w alled b urial-plot w ith a n emplacement f or a t ombstone o r o ther
m emorial
( Hal1,1944).
i n
f or a f amily o r a nd
t his
d uring
m ay
t he
c entury .
s upported
l ifetime
a ccept t he
m iddle
i s ,
o f
t he
t hough ,
m ay
b e
t he
l ong
s ide
f acing
t he
t he
r elatively
p lot,
f rom
t he
r oad
w hether t he p lot w as
C omparative e vidence f avours t he
b y
s mall
l ater
n umber
f irst
o f
t o
f ormer , b urials
t he
f ourth
a w orrying l ack o f c hild b urials i f o ne
f amily e xplanation .
a rea
o f
i nscription w e c annot t ell
f or a s odality .
b e
T here
c emetery
t he
L acking t he
i s t o
P atches o f c harcoal s cattered t hrough t he
d erived
f rom
f uneral
p yres .
I n
a ddition
t o
t hese
i ndications t here i s a m ore p ermanent s tructure w hich m ay h ave b een f or c renation . I n t he g rounds o f G urney B enham H ouse ( Hall i n H u11,1958,259) t here
w ere
4 m ,(13 ')
t hree
l ong ,
r eddening o f k nown
t he
s urrounding
i ron-smelting
w as i ronstone o f
a ssociated
c alcium
s ugggests
t ile-built
f urnaces ,
W ith
f lues
s ubsoil.
f urnaces ,
t here
i n t heir v icinity . a nd
t hat
p hosphate t hey
m ay
t heir
n o
t he
i n o verall
n o s lag f rom t hem ,
f lues .
b een
A ccordingly
p ermanent
w orse t han o ur c rematoria .
p lans
m ust
l eave
o pen
p lan t o
t hough t here
t he
c remating
e xcavator
s tructures .
t he
T he
i ronstone
p ossibility
i n t he
t hat
t hey
b it
o f
a
p oser .
T hey
d o
n ot
r esemble
t he
v icinity a nd
w ere
b uilt
T o
t hough i n f urnaces ,
t hough w hat t hey w ere d oing i n a n a rea o therwise o nly u sed f or b urial a
t o
T here w as a lso a n a bnormally h igh l evel
i n
h ave
T hough s imilar
w as
m odern e yes i t s eems a n u nduly i ndustrialised w ay o f d isposal, e ssence
u p
i ntense h eat h ad b een g enerated a ttested b y t he e xtensive
p yre-base
i s
f rom
V erulam ium ( Davey ,1935,245). N orth s maller a rea
o f
t he
s eems
a t
c hronological
o ne
i s
a re
l ater .
a s
C olchester
a t
b locking
o f
t o
r elationship
i nhumations
i nhumations ,
w hich
t ime
b urials
s till
b uildings
c emetery a bout
u nknown ,
t he t he
A s
o f
a t
u sed t o
B alkerne
a s
t he
s uspects
w ere
l east
B alkerne
b en
t his
O ne
t he
k now f ew d etails
h ave
t here
c e m etery
o utside
w e
m ore
d ate
G ate
a r ubbish
d eposition
t hat ,
a s
a t
i nhumations
c remations
m ay
t o
t owards
g ate
t end
t he t he
d ump , o f
another
t o
t he
c remations
a nd
e arlier
c entury
o f
t he
c remations ,
b e t hat
o r
c entury
T he w ould
h ave l eft t he c emetery a ccessible b y t he n orth-western g ate.
t hat
a ssociated
o ther w as 2 km .(1.2 R oman
a nd t han
s o .
T here w ere t wo i solated c emeteries t o t he w est o f t he d efences . w as
T he
t hough
C irencester ,
t han
t hird e nd
w as
( Hu11,1958 ,254-5).
b arrow
w ith
m iles)
c emetery
t he
S heepen
t o t he
w est
a t L exden
k ilns
a nd
o n t he s ite
d iscussed o f
t he
O ne
a bove .
T he
i mportant
p re-
( Hawkes & H u11,1947,13 ;Hu11,1958 ,253)
5 6
B urial i n f oundation
t he o f
c emetery s eems t o h ave c eased t he c olonia i n t he m iddle o f
a bout t he t he f irst
t ime o f c entury ,
t he o r
p ossibly s lightly e arlier a t t he c onquest . I t r esumed a t t he e nd o f t he f irst c entury , and c ontinued i nto t he t hird . W ho w as b uried h ere i s n ot e vident f rom t he g rave g oods . u rban o r a r ural c emetery .
t hat
I t
i s
u ncertain
w hether t his w as e ven a n
T he a rea o f b urial t o t he s outh o f t he d efences w as a s g reat a s t o t he w est . C remations i n t his a rea s eem t o h ave l ain p rincipally
a long e ither s ide o f t he r oads r unning o ut o f t he t wo s outhern g ates a nd i n t he s trip o f l and b etween t hem . M ost o f t hese , t hough , w ere f ound d uring t he b uilding o f t he g reat c omplex o f b arracks o n t he s outhern s ide o f C olchester o r d uring g ravel-digging . T herefore w e k now l ittle a bout t he g raves s ave t heir g eneral l ocation , t heir p recise l ocation a nd t he m ake-up o f t he g rave g roups a re f or t he m ost p art l ost t o u s . S uch v essels a s a re k nown t o c ome f rom t his a rea d ate f rom t he f irst t o t he t hird c enturies , b ut w e c annot a lways b e c ertain t hat t hey c one f rom c remations r ather t han i nhumations ( Hu11,1958 ,25ff .;Castle M useum M SS). I nhumations a lso a re r elatively c ommon h ereabouts , b ut a gain o ur i nformation o n t hem i s s everely l imited b y t he c ircumstances o f d iscovery . N ineteenth-century d iscoveries w ere c oncentrated a long t he r oad o ut o f t he H ead ( south-western) G ate , w here W ire r ecords t hat t hey w ere o ften f ound w ith c oins ' all o f t he L ower E mpire , c hiefly o f t he f amily o f C onstantine '. R ecently , e xcavations h ave t aken p lace o n a s ection o f t he c emetery i n t he B utt R oad a rea ( Crummy ,1980 ,264-6). T he c emetery i s a ssociated w ith a b uilding w hich h as b een t he f ocus o f e xcavations o n a n umber o f o ccasions ( Hu11,1958 ,245 ;Dunnett ,1971,78 ;Crummy ,1980 ,264 - 6 ), a s a r esult o f w hich o ur k nowledge o f i ts d evelopment a nd f unction r emain c onfused . T he b uilding w as a n e longated r ectangle l ying e ast-west w ith a s emic ircular apse a t i ts e astern e nd . T he o verall d imensions w ere 2 3m .(75 ') l ong b y 8m .(26 ') w ide . T he w alls w ere o f s eptaria a nd m ortar . A t t he e astern e nd w as a c omplex o f f eatures , s ome e xcavated b y H ull i n 1 935 , o thers i n t he l ate ' seventies b y C rossan . H ull f ound a d eep t imber-lined p it i n t he s outh-eastern c orner o f t he b uilding . I t c ontained s ome t wo h undred c oins a nd a v ariety o f o ther m aterial i ncluding m uch b ird b one , t wo s ilver o bjects a nd a t hird-century p ot . T he m outh o f t he p it c ontained a l arge s lab o f r e-used s tone w hich m ay h ave b een u sed t o s eal I t . O n t he n orthern s ide o f t his p it w as a n orth-south f eature w hose s urviving r emains h ad g rave-like p roportions .
t imber-lined H ull r ecords
t hat a t t he b ottom o f h is p it h e f ound p arts o f a h uman s kull a nd f emur , a nd C rossan s uggests t hat t hese m ay i n f act h ave b een a ssociated w ith t he g rave-like f eature . A t t he n orthern e nd o f t his f eature w as a nother g rave-like p it r unning e ast-west . T his l ay w ithin a l arger r ectilinear d epression w ith p ost-holes a t i ts w estern e nd . B etween t he n orthern e dge o f t his d epression a nd t he n orth w all
o f
t he b uilding w as a l ine o f s ix
p ost-holes . I n v iew o f t he g rave-like f eatures i n t he b uilding a nd t he b uilding 's a ssociation w ith a c emetery , i t i s p roposed t hat i t i s a c emetery c hurch , p erhaps a m artyrii m T he c emetery i tself w as o f t wo p eriods , t he e arlier , u nderlying t he w estern p art o f t he l ater , c onsisted o f g raves a ligned n orth-south w ith h eads t o t he n orth ; a bout h alf t he b urials w ere a ccompanied b y g rave-goods . T he l ater c emetery w as m uch l arger , a nd o nly a p art o f i t l ay w ithin t he a rea a vailable f or e xcavation . S ix h undred a nd t wenty g raves o f t his p eriod h ave b een e xcavated . T hey a ll l ay e ast-west w ith h eads t o t he w est . A part f rom c hild g raves o nly a s mall m inority c ontained g rave-goods . T he o rientation a nd t he l ack o f g rave-goods l ead t o t he s uggestion t hat t his
5 7
m ay
b e
a C hristian
c emetery ,
a nd
i n
r esemble t he c emetery a t P oundbury , c ase
f or
t here f rom
t he
a re
b uilding
c lear
t he
b uilding
c entury .
T he
b eing
d angers
o f
n umber o f
t wo
c riteria
t hat
c oins
b e
a rgument .
i t
c ame
u sed
i t
d oes
I f t his w ere s o t hen t he
a m artyrium w ould c ircular
s uggest
t he
D orchester .
s trengthened ,
T he
i nto
s even
u se
i n
t hough
h undred
t he
c oins
e arly
f ourth
i s m uch g reater t han o ne w ould e xpect
f rom
t he p rocesses o f c asual c oin-loss , s o m any m ay b e o fferings . C learly a g reat d eal o f u ncertainty s till a ttaches t o t his b uilding , b ut i t w ould s eem e asiest t o
f ull
c an
b e
t o
a ccept
p ublication s ustained .
c olourable
i t
t o
I t
i s
e xtra-mural
a s
r eligious
d etermine
i nteresting
c emetery
T he
B utt
b locking
R oad
T his
o f
t he
a rea
w as
w ould
t he
n ote
m ajor
b een
g ate
O ne
a scription t hat
k nown
o ne
i n
l ooks a s
o f
t he
R oman
f orward
a m artyrium h andful
B ritain
i s
o f n ot
a nd l ater c hurch .
h ave
B alkerne
t o
f unerary .
t he
c hurches
s ucceeded b y a n e arly-mediaeval
C olchester .
a nd
w hether
c emetery
m ade
a rea
v irtually
a pproach a t
t he
o f
f ourth-century
i nevitable
e nd o f
b y
t he
t he t hird c entury ,
a nd t he d iversion o f t he L ondon r oad i n t hrough t he H ead g ate . N orth
o f
t he
r iver
p resent r ailway s tation . t he p resence a nd
g old
o f u nburnt
o f
t he
S o f ar o nly c remations h ave b een e xcavated ,
t here
b ut
T he
a b urial-ground
t o
t he
o fferings s uch a s a s ilver s poon ,
e arrings s uggests
H u11,1929).
w as
t he
p resence
o f
p ottery d ates f rom t he
i nhumations
l ate
f irst
e ast
a j et n ecklace
a lso
( Wire
c entury t o
t he
M SS .; t hird .
S ilver s poons a re o ften f ound i n f unerary c ontexts o f t he f ourth c entury ( cf . Böhme,1971). m ediaeval
T o
t he
s outh
o f
t he
C olne
a n
e xcavation
a cross
t he
n orthern t own d itch n ear t he n orth-east g ate s howed i t t o h ave
b een c ut t hrough s oil c ontaining a l arge amount o f d isturbed h uman b one . N o a bsolute d ate c ould b e a ssigned t o t hese r emains , b ut t hey c ome f rom a n
a rea
w hich
h as
c entury o nwards , S mall
p roduced
c remations
a nd a lso a l ead c offin
g roups o f
d ating
f rom
b urials a re k nown t o t he e ast
t he r oad t o S tratford S t M ary a nd e ast o f t he C olne A ttempts
h ave
b een
m ade
a t
v arious
t erritorium a ttributed t o t he
c olonia ,
a
( lim itatio )
s ystem
o f
C olchester . t he
b it
t he
c onvincing .
M oreover
R omano-British
o f
t he t own s outh o f
( Hu11,1958 ,258).
t imes
t o
i dentify
i n
t he
c ountryside
l and-allotment .
t he-wisp .
H uge a t
t herefore ,
a reas
b eginning
n ever
p rovided i n
p hotography
t he
t he
a round
m aked
C olchester
o f
a re
l imitatio o ur
w ith
t he
i t
a rea
c lear
w as
t he
f ields a nd
T here i s n o t race o f a r egular g rid
a ttempts
f ormal
t he
s ettled
v illa .
S uch
o f
i n
i rregularly l aid-out f armsteads ,
t rackways w ith t he o ccasional s ystem o f
v eterans
s econd
a nd m ore p articualrly t o i dentify
a erial
l andscape
e ntirely s tandard p attern o f
f ashion
e arly
N one o f t hese p roposed s ystems o f c enturiation h as p roved i n
l east
t hat
c enturiation
t he
( Wire M SS .;Hu11,1958,257).
e ra ,
o ne .
a nd
T he
c olonia
p robably
s eem
w ere
t o
c hasing
h ave
C olchester
a llocations p robably
o f
a w ill-o -
p assed w as l and
o ut
o f
p robably , f or
t he
a ccomplished
b y
e xpropriation o f g oing c oncerns f rom t he T rinovantian l and-owning c lass . T his
i s c ertainly t he
g rievances i n
t he
o f
t he
B oudiccan
pellebant
p icture
o ne
T rinovantian r evolt
d om ibus ,
g ets f rom T acitus '
n obility
'Quippe
exturbant
i n
l eading
d escription o f
u p t o t heir
t aking
t he p art
c oloniam C amulodunum r ecens d educti
a gris ,
c aptivos ,
s ervos
a ppellando . „'
( Annals X IV ,31). D espite d evelopment
a t
c ommented u pon .
t he
d eficiencies
C olchester ,
o f
t he
g eneral
T he m ain f eature
r ecord o utlines
i n
d etail
m ay
b e
o f
e xtra-mural
d iscerned
a nd
i s t he c ontrast b etween t he e xtra-mural
5 8
areas in the later second century with those areas in the fourth. In the later second century there were extensive areas of extra-mural occupation. Ta the north there was the large and prosperous suburb incorporating the Middleborough and Victoria Inn sites, and originating in the later first century. To the west the London road was lined for same distance out of the Balkerne Gate by strip buildings, with larger buildings to the rear, and the two shrines by the gate. There may. also have been occupation of this period to the south and the east of the town. The main London road was also the linear focus of an extensive cemetery which contained sophisticated monuments, at least one barrow and a walled cemetery, a combination of structures worthy of a Raman colonia. There was also burial to the north of the river Calne, and aver extensive areas ta the south of the town. Further out there was a complex of temples ta the west of the colon1a. There was also the newly established pottery industry, one of the larger and certainly amongst the mast sophisticated in contemporary Roman Britain. The picture is one of extensive and bustling extra-mural activity. By the fourth century this has all changed. The suburbs have been abandoned, it is almost impassible to find any certain fourth-century extra-mural occupation. The fate of the Sheepen temples is uncertain, same may not have survived to the faurth century, one had its ambulatory suppressed by this date