The Romano-British Countryside, Parts i and ii: Studies in Rural Settlement and Economy 9781407390895, 9781407390901, 9780860541837, 9781407317113

Table of contents :
Front Cover
Copyright
Table of Contents
LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
FOREWORD
THE NATURE OF ROMANO-BRITISH SETTLEMENT STUDIES - WHAT ARE THE BOUNDARIES?
ROMAN BRITAIN: THE STRUCTURE OF ROMAN IMPERIALISM AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF IMPERIALISM ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PERIPHERAL PROVINCE
CONFUSION IN THE COUNTRYSIDE: SOME COMMENTS FROM THE UPPER THAMES REGION
CELTIC FARM TO ROMAN VILLA
CROP PRODUCTION IN ROMAN BRITAIN
WOOL PRODUCTION IN ROMAN BRITAIN
INDUSTRY IN THE ROMANO-BRITISH COUNTRYSIDE
ROMAN BRICK PRODUCTION AND THE ENVIRONMENT
DEFENDED SETTLEMENT IN CORNWALL - AN ILLUSTRATED DISCUSSION
THE ROMAN INTERLUDE IN THE SOUTH-WEST: THE DYNAMICS OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN ROMANO-BRITISH SOUTH SOMERSET AND NORTH DORSET
Cover Page
Copyright
Table of Contents
RURAL SETTLEMENT IN LATE IRON AGE AND ROMAN SUSSEX
RURAL SETTLEMENT IN ROMAN DYFED
RURAL SETTLEMENT OF THE ROMAN PERIOD IN NORTH AND EAST WALES
THE COUNTRYSIDE OF THE SOUTH-EAST MIDLANDS AND CAMBRIDGESHIRE
ROMANO-BRITISH SETTLEMENT IN WEST NORFOLK AND ON THE NORFOLK FEN EDGE
THE NORTHERN FRONTIER: FARMERS IN THE MILITARY ZONE
TOWN AND COUNTRY IN ROMAN BRITAIN - A PARASITICAL RELATIONSHIP?
TOWN AND COUNTRY: A REVIEW OF SOME MATERIAL EVIDENCE
LAND TENURE AND POLITICS IN FIFTH-CENTURY BRITAIN
THE END OF ROMAN BRITAIN: SOME DISCUSSION
SUBJECT INDEX

Citation preview

The Romano-British Countryside Studies in Rural Settlement and Economy edited by

David Miles Part i

BAR British Series I o3 (i) 1982

B.A.R.,

B.A.

122

•

Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 7BP, England

GENERAL EDITORS A. R. Hands, B.Sc., M.A., D.Phil. D. R. Walker, M.A.

B.A.R. 103 (I), 1982: 'The Romano-British Countryside' Part I © The Individual Authors, 1982. The authors’ 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 9781407390895 (Volume I) paperback ISBN 9781407390901 (Volume II) paperback ISBN 9780860541837 (Volume set) paperback ISBN 9781407317113 (Volume set) e-format DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9780860541837 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

CONTENTS VOLUME i

Page_

Figures

iii

List of contributors

viii

Foreword

ix

PART 1: GENERAL PAPERS 1. The Nature of Romano-British Settlement Studies CC Taylor - What are the Boundaries?

1

2. Roman Britain: The Structure of Roman R Ringley Imperialism and theConsequences of Imperialism on the Development of a Peripheral Province

17

3- Confusion in theCountryside: SomeComments from. the Upper Thames Region 4. Celtic Farm to Roman Villa

David Miles

53

Keith Branigan

81

Martin Jones

97

PART 2: RURAL INDUSTRY 5. Crop Production in Roman Britain

6. Wool Production in Roman Britain

7. Industry in the Romano-BritishCountryside 8.

Roman Brick Production and the Environment

PART 3:

John Peter Wild

109

HenryCleere

123

Tim Darvi11 and Alan McWhirr

137

Nicholas Johnson and Peter Rose

151

REGIONAL STUDIES

9. Defended Settlement inCornwall - an Illustrated Discussion

10. The Roman Interlude in the South-West: The Roger Leech Dynamics of Economic and SocialChange in Romano-British South Somerset and North Dorset

209

VOLUME ii 11. Rural Settlement in Late Iron Age and Roman Sussex

D R Rudling

12. Rural Settlement in Roman Dyfed

Heather James and 289 George Williams

269

HC Mytum

313

14. The Countryside of the South-East Midlands andCambridgeshire

David Hall

337

15. Romano-British Settlement in West Norfolk and on the Norfolk Fen Edge

Tony Gregory

351

16. The Northern Frontier: Farmers in the Military Zone

P A GClack

377

13. Rural Settlement of the Roman Period in North and East Wales

i

PART 4:

TOWN AND COUNTRY

17. Town and Country in Roman Britain A Parasitical Relationship?

·18. Town and Country: A Review of some Material Evidence PART 5:

LATE ROMAN BRITAIN

19. Land Tenure and Politics in Fifth-Century Britain

20. The End of Roman Britain: Some Discussion

ii

Michael Fulford

403

Martin Millett

421

Shimon Applebaum

433

CJ Arnold

451

L IST O F F IGURES P age P ART

1

P aper 2 F igure 1 .

T he Empire S ystem

2 0

2 .

T ransport

2 8

3 .

The T ribal L evel o f O rganisation

2 9

T he

3 1

4 .

a nd A dministered C entral P lace S ystems

I dealised C hiefly S ystem c onsisting o f F ive

A dministrative U nits 5 .

T ribal-Systems t he T ribal

i nto

a nd Empire-System :

T he

I ntegration o f

3 1

t he Empire-System

6 .

T owns

o f R oman B ritain

4 5

7 .

S ize/Rank o f V arious C lasses o f T rinovantian T own

4 6

P aper 3 F igure 1 .

R omano-British V illas

a nd T owns

2 .

The R omano-British S ettlement,

i n t he U pper T hames R egion R oads

a nd F ields

a t

5 7 5 9

C laydon P ike 3 .

R omano-British V illas

4 .

R omano-British F eatures a nd C onstraints

i n O xfordshire:

H ouse P lans

i n t he F rogmore B rook V alley

e f l 6 4

o n F ield S urvey

5 .

The D evelopment o f

6 .

F rilford V illa a nd a ssociated C ropmarks

7 2

7 .

G arford V illa a nd a ssociated C ropmarks

7 3

8 .

I slip V illa a nd W oodstock V illa a nd a ssociated C ropmarks

74

D itchley V illa a nd A ppleford P en C opse a nd a ssociated

i n )

9 .

t he

S hakenoak V illa,

O xfordshire

6 7

C ropmarks 1 0.

L ittle M ilton V illa a nd B arton C ourt

F arm V illa a nd

a ssociated C ropmarks P aper 4 F igure 1 .

The P re-Conquest, a t

2 .

C laudio-Neronian,

The E arly

i st C entury F armstead a nd L ater H uts

c entury V illa a t O dell, 3 .

The M id l ate

4 .

a nd F lavian B uildings

3 '

P ark S treet

1 st

a nd 4 th

3 7

B eds

1 st C entury B elgic H ut C entury V illa a t

a nd D itches o verlain b y t he

8 8

B rixworth

The F armstead a nd S mall V illa a t

I i

S ettrington

( f l

P ART 2 P age

P aper 6 F igure 1 .

P itt-Rivers'

S oay S heep i n R ushmore P ark

1 11

2 .

R oman I mproved S heep o n a n E arly C hristian S arcophagus

1 15

3 .

W oolcomb f rom C aistor-by-Norwich

1 18

4 .

D istribution o f W oolcombs

1 18

i n R oman B ritain

P aper 7 F igure 1 .

F lowcharts o f a B asic a nd b I ntermediate

2 .

M odels o f a L arge-scale

I ndustries

1 27

I ndustrial E stablishments a nd

b I nterdependent S mall-scale

I ndustrial « Workshops

1 29

P aper 8 F igure 1 .

A S ystems M odel o f R omano-British B rick P roduction

1 40

P ART 3 P aper 9 1 .

D istribution o f P robable

I ron A ge/Romano-British E nclosed

S ettlements

i ncluding h illforts,

i n C ornwall:

m ultiple e nclosures,

1 89

c liff c astles,

r ounds e tc.

2 .

U nivallate E nclosures

( part

1 )

1 90

3 .

U nivallate E nclosures

( part 2 )

1 91

4 .

C oncentric E nclosures

1 92

5 .

E nclosures w ith A nnexes

1 93

6 .

E nclosures w ith O utworks

1 94

7 .

E nclosures w ith O utworks N os

( miscellaneous)

1 -6 a nd T or E nclosures N os

1 95

7 -12

8 .

D istribution o f D ependent E nclosures

1 96

9 .

M ultivallate E nclosure w ith C lose S paced R amparts

1 97

1 0.

M ultivallate C liff C astles w ith C lose S paced R amparts

1 98

1 1.

A djacent E nclosures

1 99

1 2.

F ields

2 00

1 3.

E xcavated E nclosures

- C hronology

2 01

1 4.

E xcavated E nclosures

- A reas E xcavated

2 02

1 5.

M ultiphase E nclosures

1 6.

E nclosures

a nd E nclosures

i n t he S t.

2 03 E noder A rea

i v

2 04

Page

Paper ]0 Figure 1.

2.

Romano-British Rural Settlement in South Somerset and North Dorset

210

Settlements of the Middle and Late Pre-Roman Iron Age and Settlements First Established in the 1st or Early 2nd Centuries AD

211

The Claudian Bridgehead at Ilchester

215

6.

The Small Town at Westland

221

8.

Catsgore, Late 2nd Century

3. 4.

5. 7.

9.

Middle and Late Pre-Roman Iron Age Settlement and Hypothetical Territories North of Somerton

213

Coins from Ham Hill

220 224

The Port at Crandon Bridge

227

The Somerset Levels South of the Mendips and North of the Poldens

230

Romano-British and Medieval Settlement East and West of the River Parrett

240

13a. Romano-British and Medieval Settlement South of Ilchester

244

14.

247

10. 11. 12.

The Fosse Way and Parish Boundaries East and West of the'River Parrett

238

Romano-British and Medieval Settlement North of Ilchester

242

13b. Histogram for figure 13a

The Medieval Road Pattern and Romano-British Settlement in Parishes included in VCH Somerset III

246

Paper 11 Figure 1.

2.

3.

4. 5.

Distribution Map of Sussex Iron Age and Roman Sites discussed in the text Copse Farm, 0ving.

Iron Age and Romano-British settlement

271 273

Plans of Roman Villas at Goring, Littlehampton and Plumpton 279 283

Bullock Down, Site 16

285

Bullock Down, Site 44

Paper 12 Figure 2.

Dyfed - Site Locations

Dyfed - Roman Settlement including Defended Enclosure

292

3.

Defended Enclosure with Roman Settlement

301

1.

V

293

P age P aper

1 3

F igure 1 .

C lassification o f N ative F armsteads

( after S mith

1 974)

3 16

2 .

C lassification o f N ative F armsteads

( after R CAHM 1 964)

3 17

3 .

T yddyn-Mawr a nd a ssociated f ields

3 20

4 .

S ites

3 21

5 .

D istribution o f R CAHM C lass

6 a.

M odel

1

3 26

6 b.

M odel 2

3 26

7 .

S ettlement P lans

8 .

W hitton L odge

P aper

a nd S oils a round R hostrytan I V S ites

3 23

i n t he M arches

3 29

( after R CAHM 1 979)

3 31

1 4

F igure 1 .

I ron-smelting S ites

i n t he S outh-east M idlands

2 .

U pwell,

3 .

R oman S ettlement

i n N orth-west N orthamptonshire

3 46

4 .

R oman S ettlement

i n t he C entral N ene V alley,

3 47

C ambridgeshire,

R oman S ettlement

a nd L andscape

3 41 3 43

N orthamptonshire P aper

1 5

F igure 1 .

W est N orfolk :

I ron A ge S ettlement

3 53

2 .

W est N orfolk:

R omano-British S ettlement

3 56

3 .

S nettisham a rea

4 .

P ark F arm V illa,

5 .

D en B eck V illa,

6 .

S ite P lans, W est

3 58 S nettisham

3 59

A ppleton

3 61

W ell H all G ayton, W est N ewton,

F ring a nd

3 63

D ereham

7 .

V illa P lans,

8 .

G ayton T horpe:

9 .

B ath H ouse P lans,

1 0.

W eeting,

1 1.

W est N orfolk:

G rimston a nd G ayton T horpe p lot o f C rop-marks a round V illa F eltwell

3 64 3 65 3 68

i nterim p lan o f R omano-British B uilding G eology a nd S oils a round S ettlements

v i

3 70 3 74

P age P aper

1 6

F igure 1 .

S ettlement a nd E nvironment

i n N orth E ast E ngland

i n

3 79

t he R oman P eriod 2 .

V illas

i n N orth E ast E ngland

3 82

3 .

P iercebridge c omplex a nd H old H ouse V illa

3 83

4 .

F ields

3 87

5 .

T he E nvironment o f

t he R oman N orth E ast

a s

s hown b y

3 89

P ollen D iagrams 6 .

S ettlement D ispositions b erland; 3 .

2 .

i n:

1 .

U pper R edesdale,

B reamish V alley,

N orthum-

3 95

N orthumberland;

W ear V alley E ast o f D urham C ity

P ART 4 P aper

1 7

F igure 1 .

S ilchester a nd

i ts S oils

4 05

2 .

C amerton ( Somerset) a nd K ingscote ( Gloucestershire) s howing a reas w here m etalworking i s a ttested

4 09

3 .

D istribution M ap o f S avernake a nd S ilchester W are

4 10

4 .

D istribution M ap o f S tamped M ortaria o f D oinus m anufact ured a t B rockley H ill a nd o f C olchester

4 12

5 .

D istribution M ap o f S ites w ith P ewter M oulds

4 15

v ii

L IST O F C ONTRIBUTORS C J A rnold D epartment o f A rchaeology, U niversity o f L eeds S Applebaum U niversity o f T el A viv,

I srael

K B ranigan D epartment o f P rehistory a nd A rchaeology,

U niversity o f S heffield

P A G C lack D epartment o f A rchaeology,

U niversity o f D urham

H F C leere C ouncil

f or B ritish A rchaeology

T D arvill D epartment

o f A rchaeology,

U niversity o f S outhampton

M F ulford D epartment o f A rchaeology

%

U niversity o f R eading

T G regory N orfolk A rchaeological T rust,

G ressenhall

D H all F enland S urvey,

S hire H all,

C ambridge

R H ingley D epartment o f A rchaeology,

U niversity o f S outhampton

H J ames D yfed A rchaeological T rust N D J ohnson C ornwall C ommittee

f or R escue A rchaeology,

T ruro

M J ones D epartment o f A rchaeology,

U niversity o f D urham

R L eech C umbria a nd L ancashire A rchaeological U nit,

U niversity o f L ancaster

A M cWhirr S chool o f H umanities,

L eicester P olytechnic

D M iles O xford A rchaeological U nit M M illett D epartment o f A rchaeology,

U niversity o f D urham

H C M ytum D epartment

o f A rchaeology,

U niversity o f Y ork

P R ose C ornwall C ommittee

f or R escue A rchaeology,

T ruro

D R R udling I nstitute o f A rchaeology,

U niversity o f L ondon

C C T aylor R CAHM

( England),

T rumpington,

C ambridge

J • P _ Wild D epartment

o f A rchaeology,

U niversity o f M anchester

G W illiams D yfed A rchaeological T rust

v iii

F OREWORD I n J anuary 1 965

t he C ouncil f or B ritish A rchaeology h eld a

c onference a t S t H ugh's C ollege, e ntial R ural S ettlement S ince

t he m id-sixties

O xford,

f rom w hich e merged t he

t he s hock w aves o f

c reated r ipples e ven i n C lassical p ools;

s alvaged

( 1966).

t he d ata e xplosion f irst

m onitored i n R ural S ettlement h ave s pread m ore w idely. h as

i nflu-

i n R oman B ritain e dited b y C harles T homas

N ew A rchaeology

r escue a rchaeology h as

s ites b y t he s core w hile h undreds c ontinue t o b e d estroyed.

S ixteen y ears a fter t he

1 965 e vent

i t w as

f elt

t hat

t he t ime

w as a ppropriate f or a nother e xamination o f r ecent w ork i n r ural R oman B ritain. F rom 9 -11 J anuary 1 981 a c onference w as h eld a t N ew C ollege, O xford,

o rganised b y T revor R owley a nd

t ion o f p apers h as g rown o ut o f

t he p resent e ditor.

t hat c onference.

S ome o f

t ions d elivered a t O xford h ave n ot b een i ncluded h ere a s r ecently p ublished m aterial. v olume

i n o rder t o f ill

T his c ollect he c ontribu-

t hey r epeated

O ther p apers h ave b een s olicited f or t his

i n s ome o f t he g aps

i n t he c onference.

I t h as b een s aid b efore t hat R oman B ritain i s o ften t reated a s s eries o f i t h as

s eparate p ackages.

r esulted

a

W hile t his m ay n ot b e e ntirely d esirable

i n a n umber o f p ublications w hich f orm s ome o f

f oundation s tones o f R omano-British s tudies.

t he

N otable a mong t hem a re

S t h me all B AR T ow v o ns lum T o w n so f es:R om T em anpl B e rs i, tai C h n, urc E h ae rs ly a n L d and R el A l il gi otm onen i t n, R om T he an E n B r dita o fin R , oman B ritain,

I nvasion a nd R esponse,

L ife a nd A rt

R oman A gricultural B uildings,

i n B ritain a nd v arious

c ollection o f p apers m ay b e s aid

s tudies o f p ottery.

t o f all

R oman

T he p resent

i nto t he s ame c ategory.

A n

a ttempt h as b een m ade h owever t o a void i solating t he R omano-British c ountryside. F or t his r eason p apers a re i ncluded w hich d eal w ith u rban/rural r elationships,

i ndustry,

T he a pproaches h ere a re e clectic a nd v ariety i n R omano-British s tudies.

a nd B ritain a s i t

p art o f t he e mpire.

i s h oped r eflect

t he p resent

R egional s tudies h ave p roduced s ome

o f t he m ost i nteresting d evelopments i n o ur s ubject - n o l onger c an B ritain b e s een s imply i n t erms o f H ighland/Lowland z one o r N ative a nd R oman. S everal r egions a re e xamined h ere. U nfortunately t here a re a n umber o f n otable o missions. T he e ditor i s v ery m uch a ware h owever, t hat o ne d ifference b etween t his c ollection o f p apers a nd p redecessor w hich c annot b e r egarded a s a n i mprovement i s

i ts i ts

1 966 l ength.

A cknowledgements. F or t he o rganisation o f t he c onference a t N ew C ollege I w ould l ike t o t hank T revor R owley a nd S hirley H ermon o f

t he D epartment

A lso

f or E xternal S tudies a nd D r H enry C leere o f

t he W arden a nd s taff o f N ew C ollege w ho h elped t o m ake

p leasant o ccasion. v arious

s essions,

Iw ould a lso

t he C BA.

i t a

l ike t o t hank t hose w ho c haired

p articularly D r P eter F owler f or h is

t he

t renchant

s umming u p. T he e ditor h as b een m uch h elped i n c ollating t hese p apers b y L inda R owley w ho n ot o nly t yped t he m anuscript b ut o rganised

t he s now-

s torm o f p aper. A dditional d rawings w ere d one b y W endy L ee P age a nd t he i ndex w as p repared b y G wyn M iles. F inally I m ust e xpress m y t hanks t o t he G eneral E ditors o f B AR w ho c ame p ublication a rrangements f oundered a nd

t o o ur h elp w hen o ur o riginal t o t he c ontributors w ho w aited

p atiently. D avid M iles O xford

1 982

THE NATURE OF ROMANO-BRITISH WHAT ARE

THE

SETTLEMENT

STUDIES

-

BOUNDARIES?

C C Taylor

The l ast f ifteen y ears have s een a n explosion i n o ur knowledge o f most a spects o f Romano-British r ural s ettlement, partly r eflected i n t he papers published h ere. I n this c ontribution t he writer will l imit d iscussion t o r ural s ettlement i n r elation t o t he problems o f c ontinuity and h ierarchy which s eem to have a risen f rom t his quantit ative explosion. One o f t he major i nterests i n Romano-British r ural s ettlement i n r ecent y ears has b een i ts l inks with t he p eriods immediately b efore and a fter Roman t imes a nd, t o a l esser e xtent, i ts d evelopment a nd c hange within t he f irst f our c enturies AD. That i s, to what extent d id Roman r ural s ettlements evolve f rom t hose i n t he l ate prehistoric p eriod, how d id t hey a ffect t he s ucceeding Saxon s ettlement pattern and what happened to t he s ettlements t hemselves during Roman t imes? The d iscussion t hus h inges o n t he problem o f c ontinuity. But what i s c ontinuity and how s hould i t b e d efined? I s i t t he c ontinuity o f habitation o r g eneral u sage, o r i s i t c ontinuity o f f unct ion? I s i t c ontinuity o f o ccupation o f a f ew s quare metres o r t he u tilization o f s quare k ilometres? Archaeology i s, by i ts n ature, i nvolved i n t he r ecovery and i nterpretation o f t he material c ulture. Thus f or most a rchaeologists c ontinuity i s u sually proved o nly by t he evidence o f an unbroken s uccession o f o ccupation d ebris t hrough t ime o n a s pecific s ite. Archaeologists h ave o ften g one t o e xtreme l engths to prove s tratigraphical c ontinuity o r i ndeed d iscontinuity a nd nowhere i s t his more s o than a t t he b eginning and end o f t he Roman p eriod. On numerous s ites s tratigraphical c ontinuity has b een proved w ithout doubt. At o ther s ites d iscontinuity has c learly b een r evealed. E lsewhere c areful r e-examination o f o lder excavation r eports h as s hown that e arlier evidence f or continuity i s s uspect, while t he c ontinuing i mprovement o f t echniques o f excavation h as r evealed s tratigraphical c ontinuity which would have b een, a nd c ertainly was, missed even t en o r f ifteen y ears ago. This i s e specially t rue o f t he l ate/post Roman p eriod. The r esults o f a ll t his work a re c learly i mportant f or t he a rgument c oncerning c ontinuity. However, t his r apidly a ccumulating evidence i s n ot producing a ny c lear s ynthesis. A ll we s eem t o b e producing i s, i n c rude t erms, two l ists, o ne o f s ites where c ontinuity i s proven and t he o ther where no continuity exists. Thus we s hall a chieve

1

only ever growing extensions to both t hese l ists and w ill n ever understand t he pattern and r elationships o f Roman r ural s ettlements. I n order t o f urther t he s tudy o f Romano-British r ural s ettlement, w e must b egin b y l ooking a t s ome l ong a nd d eeply h eld c oncepts c oncerning r ural s ettlements a s a whole. The f irst o f these c oncerns g eographical d eterminism. S ince t he l ate 1 9th c entury g eography h as h ad a p ernicious i nfluence on a rchaeology and t his i s n owhere more o bvious t han i n t he s tudy o f r ural s ettlements. We have l ong b een told t hat t he s iting o f r ural s ettlement i s d irectly r elated t o t he ' good' environmental f eatures which a re o bvious t o t he i nhabitants o f t hese s ettlements Sheltered s pots, g ravel t erraces a nd s pring l ines a re u sually mentioned, a nd l ooked f or, a nd even when n o c lear a dvantages c an b e s een, t hey c an u sually b e s queezed o ut i f we s earch h ard enough. B ut i t i s worth s uggesting t hat t he environmental d eterminants t hat w e s ee were n ot quite s o o bvious t o the o riginal i nhabitants and t hat they p erhaps c hose s ites f or other r easons t han on a s trict g eographical basis. This c an b e s een even on t he ' best' o f s ites, f or though they may b e s o d efined, c lose examination o f t he ground u sually i ndicates t hat while i t i s a ' good' s ite, s o a re a dozen or s o more i n t he i mmediate v icinity. Thus t he a ctual position i s t he r esult o f more t han a n appreciation o f t opography, even i f, t o o ur eyes, i t i s the most o bvious, o r i ndeed t he o nly one t hat we c an u se a s an explanation. More s ignificant i s t hat many s ettlements a re positioned on ' bad' s ites which may b e p ermantly water-logged, totally d evoid o f a s ource o f water, i n exposed positions, etc, etc. Our v iew o f what c onstitutes a s uitable s ite t o o ccupy i s p lainly not a lways t he s ame a s t hat o f p eople a t c ertain t imes i n t he past. Another l ong h eld c onviction i s t hat o f t he l ongevity o f s ettlements. I t has a lways b een a ssumed that t he majority o f r ural s ettlements t end t o r emain on t he s ame s ite f or c enturies. H ere we have b een c onditioned by the a ccepted v iew o f l owland medieval r ural s ettlement, t hat t he e stablishment o f n ucleated v illages i s a 5 thc entury phenomenon and t hese have r emained s tatic ever s ince. R ecent work which has l ed t o t he i dentification o f s hortlived mid-Saxon s ettlements, t he post-Domesday p lanned villages, t he ubiquitous n ature a nd complexities o f d eserted v illages, the mobility o f n ucleated v illages, and i ndeed t he non-existence o f v illages d escribed i n the Domesday Book, h as produced a r eappraisal o f medieval r ural s ettlements. I t i s n ow c lear t hat medieval villages a re by no means a s o ld a s we have b een l ed to b elieve and t hat post-Roman s ettlement i n g eneral a ppeared, d isapp eared, moved a bout and c hanged s hape f ar more o ften t han we have h itherto s upposed ( Taylor 1 980). This i s a lso

2

t rue o f prehistoric s ettlement, p erhaps to a n even g reater d egree, but i t i s o ften o bscured e ither by t he methods o f excavation o r by t he s ubsequent i nterpretation. There are numerous e xcavation r eports which s tate t hat t here i s evidence f or c ontinuous o ccupation f rom s ay t he early B ronze Age t o t he l ate I ron Age. However, i f t he r esults are examined c arefully, i t i s c lear t hat what a ctually occurred was a s eries o f o ccupations o f various t ypes, o ften s eparated by c enturies when t he s ite, o r r ather that part o f t he s ite which was excavated, was a bandoned. This brings u s t o t he t hird a nd p erhaps most i mport ant f eature o f r ural s ettlement, t hat o f ' drift'. There i s accumulating evidence t hat, even when a r elatively s mall a rea i s o ccupied f or a l ong p eriod, t he a ctual a rea o f habitation moves a bout t hrough t ime o ften o ver s hort d istances and probably f or a variety o f r easons. T his occurs i n both prehistoric and medieval t imes ( Jackson 1 975; Everson 1 976; Taylor 1 978). Thus i f we t ake t he broad o verall view o f r ural s ettlet hrough t ime we may s ummarize i ts main c haracterist ics as follows: a l ack o f t rue g eographical d eterminism in i ts s iting, g enerally s hort-lived o ccupation and a h igh d egree o f mobility. I f t hese f eatures a re c ommon to a ll p eriods t hen we s hould n ot b e s urprised i f t hey occur i n Roman t imes which t hey c ertainly do. However, i t i s n ot a lways easy t o s ee t hese f eatures, partly b ecause o f the l imitations o f t he a rchaeological method and partly b ecause o f o ur b linkered viewpoints.

ment

P erhaps t he b est example which encapsulates t he prob lem o f c ontinuity s o well i s t he g roup o f s ites excavated over t he l ast f ew y ears by t he Oxford Archaeological Unit, arguably one o f t he most i mportant groups o f e xcavations that h ave ever b een c arried o ut on I ron Age a nd Roman r ural s ettlement. The s ites a ll l ie r elatively c lose together in t he valley o f t he Thames and i ts t ributaries. Briefly s ummarised, t here i s t he s ite a t Ashville, Abingdon, a middle I ron Age village with evidence o f c ontinuously moving house s ites, o ccupied f or a r elatively s hort period and t hen a bandoned to l ate I ron Age and Roman f ields. At Barton Court F arm, a lso n ear Abingdon, another s ingle f armstead s tarted l ife l ate i n t he I ron Age and c ontinued unchanged i nto t he i st c entury and was t hen u pgraded to ' Roman' s tandards and c ontinued t o b e o ccupied until t he mid 2 nd c entury. T he s ite was t hen a bandoned f or j ust over a 1 00 y ears when a v illage-farm a ppeared which l asted until a t l east t he 5 th c entury. This was t hen s ystematic ally d emolished and a S axon ' village' t ype s ettlement r eplaced i t a l ittle d istance away. This v illage l asted perhaps 1 50 y ears b efore i t was a bandoned i n t urn. An excavation a t Mount F arm, n ear Dorchester, s howed o ccupat ion r ight t hrough t he I ron Age and Roman p eriods a nd into early S axon t imes, by f ar t he l ongest c ontinuously

3

occupied s ite o f the group. But even h ere the actual occupation area changed through t ime. Another s ite, a t Farmoor, was different again. The early I ron Age s ettlement l ay on the l ow gravel t errace. The Middle I ron A ge people moved down onto the f lood-plain and a ppear t o h ave had only a t emporary s easonal s ettlement there. No l ate I ron Age occupation was noted but t he s ucceeding Roman farmstead in the area was back on t he gravel t errace. The l ast o f the Oxford s ites, at Hardwick, in the Windrush valley, had no Roman occupation and i ndeed was o nly a Middle I ron Age s ettlement ( Selkirk 1 978). In this group o f s ites, we s ee t o perfection what i s o ften only hinted at e lsewhere; t he variety o f s ituations, r elated not to the comfort o f the o ccupants but to t he economic n ecessities o f the t imes, and the o ften r elatively s hort-lived occupation, with both s hort-distance and l onger distance ' drift' o f s ettlement a s well a s considerable gaps in the s equence o f habitation when, presumably, p eople l ived elsewhere. This concentration on the Oxford r egion i s not b ecause i t i s unique. The s ame picture, i f n ot a lways s o c learly s een or understood, can be paralleled in many other p laces. At the s ame t ime we a lso have good evidence o f s ites, once established, r emaining a lmost s tatic f or at l east most o f the Roman period and s ometimes even longer, e ven though the actual s tructures may b e i mproved or a ltered. Many villas come into this category, but s o do a l arge number o f farmsteads and villages. This brings u s back to the problem we began with. How • do we interpret this? The facts now s eem to be w ell established, but a ll we have are e laborate l ists o f s ettlements, some r elatively l ong-lived and unmoving, others s hort-lived and h ighly mobile. We have ' good' s ites a nd ' poor' s ites a s well a s unexplained gaps i n the s equences when s ettlement was elsewhere but n o c lear understanding o f what it means. One way out, beloved o f prehistorians, but not y et, thankfully, widespread in c lassical s tudies, i s to d rift o ff into a n ightmare o f nonsense, based on l ittle but n eat s tatistical or mathematical models o f doubtful v alidity. Another way i s to s truggle with a mass o f incompatible evidence and r elate i t, very unsatisfactorily, to possible economic, social, political, c limatic, demographic a nd physical constraints and a dvantages. L ittle s eems t o emerge from this method either. B efore trying to s uggest a t l east a partial solution to this problem we may turn to the o ther problem o f R omanoBritish s ettlement, that o f i ts a pparent h eirarchical nature. Here again we s eem to be moving into another dead end. As more and more excavations are carried o ut we have an ever increasing variety o f s ettlement s ize,

form a nd f unction. Within this, c ertain broad c ategories o f s ettlement t ype s tand o ut, but even h ere a ll s eem to be d ifferent i n d etail, and c hanges t hrough t ime o nly s eem t o c omplicate matters. I ndeed we s eem t o b e c oming very c lose t o what i s u sually c alled the l aw o f B ronze Age barrows which s tates that a ll barrows a re s imilar, but each i s s lightly d ifferent. We c ertainly have g reater variety i n Roman r ural s ettlements, b ut we do n ot s eem a ble t o understand t hem any more t han we understand b arrows. I t i s t he variety o f Romano-British r ural s ettlements which i s t ruly s taggering. There a re s ingle f armstead, hamlets, v illages and villas. There a re o bviously prosperous s ettlements and very poor s ettlements. We h ave permanent s ettlements, t emporary o nes, main e state c entres, d ependent s ettlements. There i s evidence f or s quare s truct ures, r ectangular ones, c ircular h uts, s tone buildings and t imber s tructures. Even s uch a d istinctive c lass o f s ettlement a s v illas h as a wide r ange o f f orm and f unction. On top o f t his, a ll c hange through t ime e ither r elatively s lowly or quite s uddenly. We t hus s tand amazed or c onfused a t t he variety o f r ural s ettlement i n Roman t imes and o ur a ttempts t o explain this variety by g eneral political, e conomic or s ocial trends c annot b e s aid t o b e very s uccessful. Y et t aking the broader v iew o f r ural s ettlement t his variety i s n ot unique. I t i s a pparent t hroughout a ll prehistoric, medieval and post-medieval p eriods a s r ecent r esearch h as s hown well. Even i n t he mesolithic p eriod evidence f or a c omplex h ierarchy o f s ettlement, f orm and f unction h as emerged ( Simmons 1 979), while i n medieval t imes t he pattern o f n eatly n ucleated villages, dotted evenly o ver midland England, i s n ow s een to b e f alse ( RCHM 1 975-81 and f orthcoming). Again, a ttempts to explain t his variety, expecially in the prehistoric p eriod, have l ed to f urther c onfusion. On t he o ne hand s imple g eographical d eterminants have b een postulated, on t he o ther, c omplex s ociological r easons have b een put f orward; n either with a g reat d eal o f s uccess. The basic d ifficulty with r egard t o both problems o f the h ierarchical n ature o f s ettlement a nd i ts c ontinuity i s that, i n t he prehistoric and Roman p eriods a t l east, the s ettlements t hemselves are b eing v iewed i n a s pacial vacuum. The o nly f ixed points t o which t hey c an b e r elated are i n t he physical environment and when t his s implistic a ssociation i s s een n ot t o b e a cceptable, o ther a nd more vague c onnections, s uch a s economic a nd s ocial f orces, a re postulated. There c an b e n o doubt t hat i t i s t hese l atter f orces which a re i mportant i n t he understanding o f s ettlements. The r eal problem i s how to r elate t hem s uccessfully a nd meaningfully t o t he s ettlements t hemselves. P erhaps t here i s no r eal a nswer t o t he problem, t hough even t o a cknowledge that t his i s s o, a nd t hat we a re f ast a pproaching t he

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c onceptual boundaries o f d irection, i s i mportant.

o ur

c hosen d iscipline

i n t his

There may b e, however, a t l east a partial way o ut o f t his c ul-de-sac. I n t he medieval p eriod t he problem does n ot e xist i n t he s ame f orm a s f or prehistoric a nd Roman t imes. Obviously i n g eneral t erms t he a vailibity o f documentary evidence, which i ncreases t he c loser w e c ome t o t he present day, i s t he major f actor, and o ne which, by t he n ature o f o ur d iscipline, we c an n ever overc ome f or earlier t imes. B ut p erhaps t he r eally i mportant f eature o f medieval s ettlement i s t hat i t i s not i n t he s ame s patial vacuum that we have i n prehistoric and Roman t imes. I t c an, i n most p laces, b e r elated to a t enurial and t erritorial pattern which a t i ts s implest l evel i nvolves t he knowledge o f ownership a nd t enants and more p art icularly a n understanding o f t he e conomic and/or t enurial basis o f e states. Thus f or most o f England a t l east, i n t he l ater medieval p eriod, t he known s ettlements c an b e s een i n t heir t rue s pacial s ituation o f t erritorial units, based on a c ombination o f a gricultural s ystems and t enure. While n ot s uggesting t hat everything c oncerning t hese e states i s f ully understood, i t i s r easonably c lear t hat a t l east t he pattern o f r ural s ettlement i n l ater m edieval t imes c an b e explained only by i ts a rrangement within basic units o f a griculture, which i n t urn have s uperimposed on t hem a n o verlapping s ystem o f t enurial or j udicial units. Thus i n h istorical t imes t he variety o f s ettlement and c hanges i n s ize, f unction and s ite which t ake p lace c an b e r elated t o a gricultural units a s much a s, o r i n s ome c ases more than, t he more g eneral political, s ocial and economic c hanges which a re a lso more r eadily u nders tood a t t his t ime. Given t hese a gricultural l and u nits and t heir boundaries, a s well a s t he more complex a nd s uperimposed t enurial units, o ne c an t hen s ee why t here are l arge villages and s maller hamlets a nd why t here i s s hrinkage or d esertion. That i s, w ith t he boundaries and t he documents i t i s possible t o g o s ome way t owards explaining the purely physical c hanges visible i n a rchaeol ogical t erms a nd t o s ee t he c onnection i n s pacial, s ocial a nd economic t erms b etween the s ettlements. Just a s import ant one c an s ee which groups o f s ettlements r elate t o which t hrough t hese a gricultural a nd t enurial units. The i mportance o f r elating s ettlements to units o f a griculture, whether pastoral o r a rable, and even t o units o f t enure, h as o f c ourse b een widely a ppreciated b y s cholars working on prehistoric and Roman s ettlements. There are n ow a n umber o f important and u seful works on t he s ubject ( Fleming 1 971; Drewett 1 975 a nd 1 977; Jacobi 1 978; Woodward 1 978). However, t hese a ttempts, valuable a s t hey a re, a re a ll based on t heoretical c onsiderations u sing t he known and u sually i ncomplete d istribution o f s ettlements

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i n a ssociation with s imple c ircles, more c omplex polygons or worse. O bviously i n t he s trict a rchaeological s ense, i n most c ases, t his i s a ll t hat c an b e done, f or a t t he moment i t i s s till d ifficult o r i mpossible t o f ind a nd date, on t he g round, a ctual boundaries o f a gricultural or t enurial units. T he potential, a t l east i n t he l ater prehistoric p eriod, e xists with t he e ast Yorkshire d ykes, the Dartmoor r eeves a nd t he Wessex r anch boundaries a nd c ross-dykes, a nd s ome i mportant r esults h ave emerged f rom s tudies on s uch r emains ( Fowler 1 964; F leming 1 978). On t he whole though i t r emains a d ifficult t ask. Y et s ome h istorians, a rchaeologists and g eographers, working mainly i n t he medieval p eriod, have i ndicated ways o f e stablishing a t l east l ate Roman a gricultural units i n s ome p arts o f B ritain. This has b een a chieved by working backwards i n t ime f rom known medieval a gricult ural units a nd, u sing both h istorical and a rchaeological evidence, e stablishing t hat t hey e xisted i n t he early 5 th c entury AD o r even earlier. I n Dorset, f or e xample, t he present writer .has pointed out that the medieval patterns o f a gricultural l and units i n that county were a ll i n e xistence by the 8 th c entury, a s i s proved by t he n umerous S axon l and c harters. G iven the very l ate a rrival o f S axon s ettlers i n t hat part o f England, p erhaps n ot until t he 7 th c entury, i t i s i nherent ly unlikely t hat t he whole l andscape could h ave b een l aid o ut d e n ovo i n t he s pace o f p erhaps 1 50 y ears by r elatively f ew people. The medieval units t hus r epresent at l east i n part, o lder a nd p erhaps Roman units ( Taylor 1 970). I n Wiltshire B onney ( 1979) u sing t he d istribution o f early S axon burials, has s hown t hat t he parish a nd estate boundaries o f medieval t imes a re l ikely t o h ave been f ixed by t he early 5 th c entury. More i mportant, perhaps, i s t he work o f Jones with h is i dentification o f early medieval multiple e states. These h ave b een s hown to b e t enurial units, o ften c omprising a n umber o f s eparate agricultural units. Many o f t hese e states c an b e t raced back to l ate Roman t imes and, more s peculatively, p erhaps i nto t he l ate prehistoric p eriod ( Jones 1 979). The work o f Rodwell i n E ssex, a nd e specially a t R ivenhall, i s a lso o f great s ignificance. Rodwell has n ot only g iven u s a p icture o f t he entire Roman and even l ate prehistoric l andscape, but h is r esults s trongly s uggest that s ome o f what i n medieval t imes were parishes, o r a t l east units o f a griculture, were a lready i n e xistence i n the early Roman p eriod ( Rodwell 1 978). E lsewhere various s cholars h ave u sed o ther f orms o f a rchaeological and h istorical evidence which s uggests t he c ontinuity o f the a gricultural l and unit o f t he Roman p eriod i nto medieval t imes. Amongst t he most n otable a re t hose f rom north S omerset ( Fowler 1 970 a nd 1 975) and f rom Wiltshire ( Haslam 1 980).

7

Other work, d irectly r elevant t o t he i dea t hat t he a gricultural units o f medieval t imes may b e much o lder t han has h itherto b een s upposed, i s t hat c arried o ut on Saxon s ettlement s ites. The d iscovery and e xcavation o f S axon ' villages' s uch a s Chalton, West S tow, Catholme and B ishopstone h ave b een vitally i mportant for t he u nders tanding o f t he d evelopment o f S axon s ettlement. M ore r elevant to this p aper i s t hat t hey h ave a lmost a ll b een dated, n ot t o t he e arly 5 th c entury, t he t raditional p eriod f or major Saxon s ettlement, b ut t o t he l ater 5 th c entury, 6 th c entury o r even l ater ( Bell 1 977; L osco-Bradley 1 977; Champion 1 977 and S elkirk 1 973). r e-examination o f materi al f rom Saxon c emeteries, n otably b y Eagles i n L incolns hire ( Eagles 1 979), has a lso i ndicated t hat the main p eriod o f their u se i s s omewhat l ater t han t he u sually a ccepted one. This s uggests t hat we may n ow h ave t o extend t he chronology o f what i s t he t rue s ub-Roman p eriod, perhaps to t he l ate 5 th c entury even i n e astern England. The 5 th c entury t hus a ppears, n ot a s a t ime o f massive S axon s ettlement, but a s a p eriod o f c ontinuing s ub-Roman occupation with a very l arge population o f Romano-British p eople b eing i ncreasingly d isturbed by a r elatively s mall n umber o f Saxon r aiders, l ed by p etty c hieftains. T he a lways s mall, and n ow d iminished, quantity o f 5 th c entury Saxon a rchaeological material t hus a grees more n early with t he i nterpretation o f t he p eriod f rom n arrative s ources ( Morris 1 973). I f the main i nflux o f S axon s ettlers does n ot t ake p lace until p erhaps t he l ate 5 th c entury, o ccurring a t a t ime when t he n ative population was d ecreasing r apidly, possibly a s a r esult o f p lague, two i mportant points then f ollow. The f irst i s t hat t he c onditions o f t he t ime were hardly c onducive t o t he t otal r emodelling o f t he l andscape on n ew l ines. The s econd i s that we a re t hen within 1 50 y ears o f t he earliest l and c harters which a s we have s een, i n s ome a reas, d epict a l andscape a lmost i dentical to the l ater medieval one i n t erms o f a gricult ural units. All t his r ecent r esearch points i nextricably t owards the i dea that t hese a gricultural units were i ndeed R oman i n origin a nd c ertainly n ot S axon. T he S axon merely t ook o ver an existing f ramework o f a gricultural units, j ust a s they p erhaps t ook o ver t he e xisting f ield s ystems ( Taylor and Fowler 1 978). From a ll t his, t hree i mportant principles s eem t o emerge. The f irst i s t hat on t he whole t he a gricultural units t end t o b e f ixed entities over l ong p eriods o f t ime r egardless o f where t he p eople who u sed t hem l ived. This a t once g ives u s a f ixed f ramework w ithin which we c an put o ur varied s ettlements o f whatever date. Thus s ettlements, whether mobile o r s table and whether l ate p rehist oric, Roman, S axon o r medieval, a re n ot f ixed or m oving

8

in an empty s pacial vacuum but a re t ied within f ixed boundaries. T herefore i t s hould b e possible partly t o understand t his mobility and c ontinuity a s w ell a s t o s ee t he possible r elationships b etween a dministrative and t enurial c entres a nd s ubsidiary o r d ependant s ettlements t hat much b etter. I t s hould a lso b e possible t o a ppreciate t he l imitations i mposed by t he physical environdment o nce i t i s a ccepted t hat t here a re i dentifiable wider t enurial o r e conomic c onstraints on t he s iting o f individual s ettlements. The s econd a nd equally i mportant principle i s t hat because these f ixed boundaries h ave t o s ome d egree c ome down i nto t he h istoric p eriod, t hey c an b e i dentified on the g round a nd t hus t he a ctual variety o f s ize, s hape and f orm o f t he units may b e a ppreciated i n practical and not t heoretical t erms. This a gain means t hat t he t rue r elationships o f s ettlements with each o ther a nd with t he physical environment a s well a s with t he possible s ocial a nd t enurial a rrangements o f earlier t imes c an b e understood. The l ast principle i s t hat, a t the l owest l evel t he basic unit o f agriculture o f medieval t imes, the ' vill', t hat i s t he l and f rom which t he i nhabitants o f a s ettlement o r group o f s ettlements o btained t heir basic n ecessities o f l ife, i s i n many c ases s imilar t o or even i dentical with the l and which provided t he s ame n ecessities i n Roman o r even earlier t imes. And j ust a s i n medieval t imes t he grouping o f t hese v ills f or t enur ial o r a dministrative purposes, produced parishes, e states, hundreds and e ven c ounties, t he s imilar grouping o f Roman ' vills' could produce e states, t erritories o r c ivitas, which a lso o ften have a r elationship t hrough t ime t o t he l arger medieval units. Obviously i t i s n ot s uggested t hat every medieval vill, parish, t ownship or e state i s i dentical t o Roman ones. C learly and probably t here were c onsiderable c hanges and a lterations. I n c ertain p laces i n England i t h as been s hown t hat medieval townships do n ot f inally f ix their boundaries u ntil t he 1 3th c entury. Dodgshon h as r ecently s uggested t hat t he s plitting o f e xisting a gricult ural units was a c ommon f eature o f l ate S axon t imes and though i t may b e t hat h e o ver-estimates t he f requency o f this o ccurrence, i t c annot b e doubted t hat i t d id t ake place ( Dodgshon 1 980). Nor i s i t n ecessary t o envisage t hat i t was o nly what a re l ater parishes o r major a gricultural units which were t he primary f orm o f o rganization t ransferred f rom s ubRoman t o S axon u sage. I n parts o f t he c ountry t he basic unit may have b een t he i ndividual f arm. This i s particul arly t rue o f l arge a reas o f s outh-west England where 1 9th c entury f arms h ave b een s hown t o e xist by t he l ate 1 1th c entury a t t he l atest and which, i t h as b een s uggested, originated i n s ub-Roman, Roman o r e ven earlier t imes

9

( Hoskins 1 963). G iven the wide variety o f s ettlement h istory f rom early prehistoric t imes onwards, t ogether with equally wide d ifferences i n t he physical, c limatic, economic and s ocial c onditions, • one would n ot expect t hat every part o f t he c ountry would h ave i dentical agricultural units. The medieval ones c ertainly d iffered greatly a nd t hese d ifferences p erhaps r eflect f orms o f a gricultural o rganization which d eveloped a s early a s t he s econd m illeni um B C. What i s s uggested h ere i s t hat, i n s ome p laces, i t may b e possible t o r ecover t he o utlines o f t he R oman a gricultural l andscape and i ts basic d ivision by analysing the medieval one. One note o f warning s hould b e i ntroduced a t t his point. The writer h as b een c areful t o d escribe the units o f l and under d iscussion a s ' agricultural' a nd t o s tress t hat these a re not n ecessarily t he s ame a s t he c ontemporary t enurial units which were o ften s uperimposed on t he a gricult ural ones. I t i s l ikely t hat t he Roman t enurial u nits were a lso c arried f orward l argely i ntact, a t l east t o l ate S axon t imes, b ut i t i s n ot t hese units o f tenure t hat a re the s ubject under d iscussion h ere. A n umber o f h istorians have, i n t he past f ew y ears, s uggested that the existence o f l ate Roman units o f a dministration a nd t enure c an s till b e r ecognized i n l ate S axon t imes ( Phythian-Adams 1 978). These have b een s hown t o b e r elat ively l arge areas o f l and, u sually much more e xtensive than the units o f a griculture which a re t he s ubject o f this paper. Some o f t hese h istorians have s een these agricultural units a s d eveloping o nly i n t he 8 th c entury, a s a r esult o f t he break-up o f t he l arger t enurial u nits by r oyal grant. However, d espite a ppearances, there i s no r eal d isagreement b etween t hese h istorians and t he writer. The l atter are d escribing t he break-up o f l arge l ate Roman/Sub-Roman and mid-Saxon t enurial o r a dministrat ive units i nto s maller units o f s imilar f unctions. This break-up, o r f ission, c ertainly o ccurs but the ' lines o f f racture', i f s o t hey may b e d escribed, a re o ccurring a long t he boundaries o f t he o lder a gricultural units, groups o f which made u p t he earlier t enurial units. I t i s not n ecessary t o a ssume that t he Roman t enurial e states a lways o r i ndeed u sually c oincided with t he more b asic a gricultural unit. I ndeed t here i s e vidence t o i ndicate that t hey d id n ot. Just a s i n l ater medieval t imes t here were l arge r oyal, ecclesiastical a nd l ay e states, which i ncluded n umerous parishes, t ownships or a gricultural units, o r i ndeed were s mall i ndependent t enurial e states within a s ingle a gricultural unit ( ie a multi-manorial parish), a s imilar s ituation i s d imly visible i n l ate Roman t imes. The multiple e states i dentified by J ones a re examples. The f ission o f e states i n t he 8 th c entury and l ater i s a f ission o f t enure, n ot t he c reation o f n ew a gricultural units. The l atter were t here a lready and had b een f or c enturies.

1 0

The problem o f Romano-British r ural s ettlement and the use o f agricultural units in beginning to achieve some understanding o f them i s nowhere better s een t han in Northamptonshire. There the r eal complexity o f Roman rural s ettlement can now be a ppreciated following t he work o f the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments. Although the total picture i s by no means a vailable for a variety o f r easons ( RCHM 1 980) the s heer bulk o f material now known defies explanation in conventional archaeological t erms. No l ess than 7 00 rural s ettlements are known, o ften with a density o f four or f ive per s quare kilometre, a s well a s three towns, eight s emi-urban complexes, n umerous industrial s ites and hundreds o f chance f inds. O f the rural s ettlements very f ew have been excavated and most n ever will be. There i s c learly a wide range o f date for them. Some appear to have been occupied throughout the Roman period, other only i n the earlier parts and more only in l ate Roman t imes. A l arge number have I ron Age antecedents and an a lmost equal number s eem to run on into the 6 th or possibly the 7th c enturies. Thus the whole problem o f continuity or discontinuity i s p erfectly exhibited. In addition every type o f Roman s ettlement, form and s ize i s r epresented. There are l arge villas, small villas, s ingle farmsteads, hamlets, well-defined villages a s well a s r ectangular s tructures and c ircular buildings o f s tone or o f t imber. There i s evidence o f s tability o f s ite over l ong periods a s well a s s ettlement ' drift'. There are purely agricultural s ettlements, s emiindustrial s ettlements, ' obvious' estate c entres and equally ' clear' dependent s ettlements. In essence a ll the Royal Commission on H istorical Monuments has a chieved by i ts work i n Northamptonshire has been the collection o f a huge data-bank o f evidence which cannot b e made meaningful by any current archaeo logical method. The great majority o f Roman s ites now known in the county cannot and will not be excavated and even i f they were i t i s doubtful whether the overall r elationships b etween them could be established. Yet i t may be that, by using the h istorical evidence for estates, a t l east s ome picture o f how these s ites functioned and r elated to each other through t ime c an be established. The r esults, i nevitably, will not be entirely s atisfactory, but they will at l east provide us with a n ew f ramework i n which to c arry out future archaeological r esearch in Northamptonshire. The basis for the d iscovery o f Roman estates o f various types i n Northamptonshire has a lready been brilliantly carried out by Brown with h is work on Saxon c harters o f Western Northamptonshire ( Brown et a l 1 977). Mr. Brown has s hown that the present parish o f Newnham, s outh o f Daventry, was a lready a c learly d efined unit o f agriculture and t enure in 1 021-3. At a s lightly earlier, unknown

1 1

date, Newnham was part o f a l arger unit o f l and which comprised the adjacent parishes o f B adby and Dodford a s well a s Newnham. Earlier s till, i n 9 44 this unit o f l and was even l arger, and included the parishes o f E verdon, i tself made up o f two s eparate units, one b elonging t o Everdon and the other belonging to the now deserted v illage o f Snorescomb. B efore 9 44 this l arge block o f l and was Royal property comprising at l east f ive basic agricultural units; that i s, i t was a s mall multiple estate. However, evidence in Domesday Book and l ater r ecords s howing the r elationship between t he various parish churches, and the fact that the Crown r etained c ertain j udicial r ights over estates a lready granted away, i ndicates the unit granted by the Crown in 9 44 was only a small part o f what had been once a very l arge Royal estate c entred on Fawsley then in the process o f b eing broken up. This estate a ppears to have covered most o f northwest Northamptonshire and comprised no l ess than twenty or twenty-one medieval parishes. Some o f these in t urn can be shown to have been s ubdivided into ' vills! o r agricultural units ( RCHM, 1 981). Thus, for example, K ilsby parish had two, Barby two, Norton t hree, Preston Capes two and Braunston perhaps four. I t i s therefore l ikely that this Royal estate, a pparently in existence l ong b efore 9 44 was made up o f at l east thirty s even agricultural units and possibly more. This work indicates the exist ence o f a mid-Saxon Royal t enurial estate but i t does not prove that i t was there in Roman t imes. However, the work by Bonney ( 1979) has s hown that pagan Saxon burials are frequently s ited on or very c lose to parish or estate boundaries, thus s uggesting that the boundaries themselves were i n existence by the 5 th c entury and a re at l east late Roman in origin. The s ame may be true o f s imilar burials in this part o f Northamptonshire where f ive burials and one c emetery a ll l ie on or c lose to parishes involved h ere. In addition the ' heathen burials' mentioned in two o f the charters, and which may be e arly Saxon a lso, o f course, l ie on parish boundaries. A ll these burials indicate that at l east parts o f the boundaries o f n ine o f the twenty or s o parishes in the area were a lready in existence by the 5 th and early 6 th c enturies and s o it i s l ikely that the r est were a s well. On t his basis i t i s possible to s uggest that most o f the t hirtys even medieval agricultural units were a lready in b eing at that time. Unless one envisages a wholesale r edistribution o f the l andscape on a massive s cale in the l ate 5th c entury, an inherently unlikely s upposition i n view o f r ecent r esearch, the only obvious explanation i s that many o f the thirty-seven agricultural units were probably a lso Roman. This means that the agricultural basis o f t he numerous Roman s ettlements in this a rea c an now be established.

1 2

In f act t his h as a lready b een a ttempted i n Northamptons hire where a t K ing's S utton, i n t he s outh-west o f t he county, n o l ess t han twelve agricultural units, probably i n existence i n Roman t imes and p erhaps even i n t he l ater I ron Age have b een i dentified ( Brown and Taylor 1 978). When t hat paper was written s even o f t hese units h ad evid ence o f Roman s ettlements within t hem a nd s ince t hen two more s ettlements have b een d iscovered i n o ther units. Clearly much work r emains t o b e c arried o ut i n Northamptonshire a nd e lsewhere, not l east on t he i dentification o f the a gricultural units themselves. C ertainly t he medieval parishes a s s uch were n ot by a ny means a lways t he basic unit, even i n medieval t imes. At K ing's S utton, f or example, t he twelve units were eventually i ncorporat ed into only t hree parishes. L ikewise t hough t here were s ome 2 70 medieval parishes i n Northamptonshire, o ver 3 70 medieval a gricultural units h ave b een i dentified and i t i s l ikely t hat a t l east another 1 00 could probably b e l ocated with more d etailed documentary r esearch. One o bvious question r emains. I f s uch basic a gric ultural units were i ndeed in existence i n Roman t imes and possibly e ven i n the l ater I ron Age, a t what p eriod do they c ome i nto existence? This i s unknown a nd p erhaps unknowable. T he archaeological evidence, s uch a s i t i s, s uggests that t hese units d id not exist i n t he s econd millenium B C, a nd p erhaps not even i n t he early f irst millenium B C. I ndeed i n s ome a reas t hey do not a ppear to have been t here even t owards t he end o f the prehistoric p eriod. P erhaps the question i tself i s wrong a nd we s hould s ee these units evolving s lowly a s a r esult o f t he populat ion explosion o f t he mid-first millenium B C and t he c onsequent d emographic and economic pressures on l and. Thus these basic a gricultural units would have d eveloped i n d ifferent forms, a t d ifferent s pceds a nd a t d ifferent t imes a s t he p ressures built u p. In t his paper we have wandered a long t he s peculative byways o f h istory and f ound o urselves i n p laces r emote f rom t he c lean a ir o f t he u pland p lateau o f r eal a rchaeology. Not a ll a rchaeologists nor even h istorians will a pprove ' of the methods and i deas and e specially o f the c avalier treatment o f h istorical and archaeological evidence. Y et i f we are t o a dvance t he s tudy o f Romano-British r ural s ettlement i n a ny r eal s ense we must a ttempt t o f ind n ew ways o f l ooking a t t he evidence. I n t he end t he question proposed in t he t itle o f t his paper ' What a re t he boundaries? has a n umber o f answers. I f we c ontinue t o merely excavate more a nd more Romano-British s ettlements t hen we s hall come very c lose to t he i ntellectual and c onceptual boundar ies o f our s tudies. I f we widen o ur horizons a nd l ook a t other methods and t echniques s uch a s h ave b een s uggest ed h ere, then t hese boundaries a re a lmost l imitless.

1 3

And, a t a much more mundane l evel, the a ctual b oundaries o f agricultural units o f l ate prehistoric, Roman, S axon and medieval t imes, which we n eed t o e stablish are p robably a ll around u s. Once we have s een what i s l argely s till t here, t hen we c an understand t he c hanging pattern o f r ural s ettlement. Continuity then b ecomes the c ontinuity o f u se o f d efined units o f a griculture whithin which i s a n ebb and f low o f s ettlement. H ierarchy o f s ettlement b ecomes the r eflection o f t he c hanging economic a nd s ocial priorities within s uch units. R EFERENCES B ell,

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7 2-82

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i n S outh-West N orthamptonshire,

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1 5

ROMAN BRITAIN: THE STRUCTURE OF ROMAN IMPERIALISM AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF IMPERIALISM ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PERIPHERAL PROVINCE R Hingley

1 .

I NTRODUCTION

a )

Imperialism a s Exploitation: o f Roman I mperialism

the

General

S tructure

The intention o f this paper i s to examine the Roman province o f Britain from the perspective o f a viewpoint that characterises a ll colonial s ituations a s initially motivated by the d esire o f the colonizing power to exploit. In other words i t i s considered that the Romans . c ame to Britain in order to establish a s ystem or organization which would enable a s urplus o f goods to be drained o ff to Rome and t he ' core' o f the Empire. I s hall examine this exploitative Empire-system by investigating i ts various l evels o f s cale. To analyse the Empire-system I s hall proceed on three l evels. Discussion commences at the broadest s cale, the inter-Provincial l evel within the Empire-system; a ttention i s then t urned to the Provincial l evel and l astly the Tribal l evel o f s cale within the Empire-system i s analysed. The discussion demonstrates, at the i nterProvincial and Tribal s cales, r elations o f dominance and dependency. At the inter-Provincial s cale these dominance/ dependency r elations are between Provinces, a t the Tribal scale s uch r elations are between town and country ( in the later c ase the country i s institutionally dependent on the town). The dominance/dependency r elations are administrative and economic. Administrative r elations i nstituted through dominance comprise taxation. Economic r elations o f dominance/dependency r efer to the practice o f ' unequal exchange' in commodities. The initial d iscussion in this paper c oncerns the organization o f Tribal-systems in Roman Britain and the position o f B ritain within the Empire-system. This d iscussion i s c oncerned only with the f irst two c enturies AD. Changes a ppear to have occurred in the organization o f the Empire-system o f the third and fourth c entury and these transformations are discussed in the f inal s ection o f this paper.

1 7

My excuse for discussing the c oncept o f the Empires ystem and i ts transformation through t ime in a volume concerned with the Roman l andscape i s that this frame-work provides a partial explanation for s ocial and economic ' development' ( ' development' equals a s equential i ncrease in complexity and s cale over t ime) within the Province o f Britain. The model provides explanations for t he origin and nature o f the urban s ettlement s ystem, for the d evelopment o f s urplus-based agriculture ( thus for the amassing o f wealth and for villa construction), for the development o f industry, and a lso for the nature o f trade and e xchange within the Roman Province. b )

The

Sources

o f

Empire-System:

Theory

in this

analysis

' World-Systems'

o f

the Roman

Theory and Roman Britain

Theory in this analysis i s derived from a number o f s ources, r eferences to which are g iven in the t ext. In addition d etailed discussion o f various points i s r eserved for appendices ( see Appendix 1 ). The framework for the form and organization o f the Empire- and Tribal-systems i s d erived, with adaptations, from the work o f Wallerstein and a ssociates on s o-called ' World Systems' Theory ( see Wallerstein, 1 974; 1 978; 1 979; Schneider, 1 977; Stokpol, 1 976). Wallerstein utilizes the concept o f ' World Empire'-system ( a s pecific f orm o f World s ystem) in order to discuss c ertain pre-Capitalist s ocio-economic formations ( see Hockey-Kaplan 1 978; s ee a lso the r eview by Schneider 1 977); this analytical f ramework would appear to be valuable f or examining the Roman Empire. As s ection Two o f this paper d emonstrates, however, c ertain elements that Wallerstein c onsidered r elevant ( or important) only in the case o f ' World Economy'-systems ( in contrast to World-Empire Systems) do s eem to h ave s ome r elevance to the discussion o f the Roman Empire-System. Wallerstein appears to have considered most exploitation within World Empire-systems to have b een based on a dminis trative domination, while h e considers World EconomySystems to have dominance/dependency r elations based primarily upon economic not administrative factors. I n fact the World Economy-System concept t hat ' core' and ' peripheral' areas existed within the Empire, and the concept that economic r elations between core and periphery were based on ( economic ) ' unequal exchange' have been found u seful in this analysis. The Empire-System i s s een to b e ' paras itical' with unequal exchange forming a core ( Rome and the Mediterranean Provinces) and p eriphery ( Britain and s ome other northern Provinces) within the Empire. We s hall discover that the r elations o f town t o country within the Tribal-system were based on ' parasiticism'. Once again within the Tribal s ystem r elations o f d ominance/ dependency are

economic

a s well

1 8

a s

a dministrative.

This i s t he g eneral framework on which this work i s based. More s pecific ethnographic analogies are utilised a t various points in the t ext in order to explore e lements of administrative organization and economic r elations within the Empire-system. These s pecific analogies concern the nature o f the f low o f goods in trade/exchange b etween Provinces and within tribes, the nature o f the urban s ettlement-system on the tribal l evel and the position and funct ion o f money within the Empire-system. 2 .

A GENERAL MODEL FOR THE EMPIRE-SYSTEM AND D ISCUSSION OF THE I NTER-PROVINCIAL S CALE OR ORGANIZATION I N THE ROMAN EMPIRE OF THE F IRST AND SECOND CENTURIES AD

a )

A Model for the Organization o f at Three L evels

the

Empire-System

The model outlined in this s ection explains t he organi zation o f each l evel ( Tribal, Prcvincial, inter-Provincial) within the Empire-System. The model ( Figure 1 ) incorporat es economic and administrative factors o f integration within and between the l evels that make up the EmpireSystem. In t erms o f the hierarchy o f l evels within the Empire-System at the base o f the pyramid i s the tribal t erritory, above this i s the tribal c entre ( ' Major Town', s ee Appendix 2 ), then the Provincial c entre ( London) and f inally at the peak o f the pyramid i s the I mperial c entre ( Rome and the core o f the Empire). Tax, a s the major mode o f administrative exploitation, passes from the base to the peak o f the pyramid. Originat ing at the base l evel o f the tribal t erritory tax passes to the tribal c entre where s ome i s probably r etained then to the Provincial c entre. Some o f this tax i s u sed for administration within the Province but s ome l eaves the Province and passes to the Imperial c entre. Exchange, a s the mode o f economic exploitation, i s based on the two-way f low o f commodities. Basic/raw products ( constituting agricultural goods, raw materials and s laves) originate at the base o f the pyramid, in r ural locations, and pass up to the pinnacle ( although s ome goods are r etained a t each intermediate l evel). These goods are drawn up and out o f the Province through trade. The

s econd

commodity

c lass within

the

s ystem

i s

that

o f l uxury/manufactured i tems. These goods are produced in the more Romanised and/or industrialised Provinces ( the core) o f the Empire and therefore pass from the p eak to the base o f t he Imperial pyramid. According to the model these goods enter the Province through the Provincial c entre from where most are transported to t he tribal c entres; s ome then are traded with people i n the t erritory o f the tribe. ( See Appendix 3 for s ome s light i naccuracies in this g eneralized model.)

1 9

E xchange/T r ibu te R e la t ions S oc io e conom ic S ys tems

S oc io e conom ic L eve l I MPER IAL CORE

I NTER P ROV INC IAL

P ROV INC IAL C ENTRE T R IBAL C ENTRE

P ROV INC IAL

T R IBAL

T R IBAL T ERR ITORY

L

A

F igure The

1 .

Empire

System

A = The

D istribution o f

r aw/basic goods

B = The

Distribution o f

Manufactured

2 0

and

and

o f

Taxation

Luxury Goods

The

basic/raw goods which pass

up

the

pyramid

are

exchanged at each l evel within the system for the l uxury/ manufactured goods that pass downwards. This process i s one of ' unequal exchange' ( see Wallerstein 1 978, 2 21) as the upper l evel within the system a lways gains the greater profit. The concept o f unequal exchange i s derived from the core-periphery r elationship. More labour-effort goes into producing the exchange commodity from the peripheral area than the exchange commodity from the core area ( Emmanuel 1 972). To comprehend fully the concepts o f core-periphery and unequal exchange in the context in which they are being used we must consider two factors in great detail. We must explain the nature o f commodity f low between core and periphery that was outlined above and we must j ustify the use o f the concept of unequal exchange in the analysis o f World Empire-Systems ( it was noted above that Wallers tein avoids the use o f this concept in these contexts). Commodity f low from periphery to core i s mainly in basic and raw goods. Such a f low of goods i s evident in many s ituations in which a relatively industrialised society comes into contact with a l ess industrialised one ( Brewer 1 980, 8 ). Richards has r ecorded... ' An i deal trading r elationship in which West Africa s upplied Europe with raw-materials in return for European manufactured imports' ( 1977,283) in the n ineteenth c entury ( see Frankenstein and Rowlands 1 978 for a comparable case in the Ancient world, ' Eckholm and Friedman 1 979; Kohl 1 975). The demand for agricultural produce and raw materials in the core Provinces l ies in the nature o f the economy o f these more f ully Romanised societies. Agricultural products are r equired by urban-dwellers and industrial s pecialists in the core Provinces. S laves are r equired as a cheap source o f labour in the production o f food for these s pecialists and also to r elease more ( elite) members o f society from labour a ltogether. Precious metals are r equired by the core Provinces of the Empire in order to maintain contacts for luxury trade with the F ar East ( see Schneider 1 977, 2 4). Raw materials are a lso n eeded for industrial purposes within the core Provinces. Why the demand for l uxury and manufactured goods in the peripheral Provinces? One r eason i s the fact that core goods, a s s ymbols o f Romanisation, become s tatus symbols within indigenous peripheral societies. Thus in many cases the prime function of imports may have been a s indicators o f s tatus. In some Colonial African cases however, imported goods have become mere convenience i tems ( see Appendix 4 for an African example) and one wonders whether high quality, mass-produced goods, s uch a s Samian pottery, might not have had a convenience rather than a prestige function within peripheral societies o f the Roman Empire.

2 1

The t heory o f t rade d ependency o n l uxury i tems f rom c ore-peripheral t rade has b een s uccinctly s ummed-up b y S teward i n h is work on t he ' modernization' o f ' traditional' s ocieties... Whereas d iffusion b etween t ribal s ocieties o rdinarily i mplies t hat t he borrowing s ociety i ncorporates t he t rait a s part o f i ts l argely s elf-sufficient s ystem, borrowing by a s imple s ociety f rom a c omplex s tate o ften i nvolves a doption o f t raits upon which i t c omes to d epend but which i t c annot r eproduce i tself. The s imple s ociety t herefore b ecomes i nstitutionally d ependent on t he s tate, f or e xample, t hrough t rade ( 1970, 5 ). H ence o ur u se o f the c oncept on unequal exchange c ore a nd p eriphery within t he Roman Empire.

b etween

Wallerstein, i n d iscussing h is Empire-systems m odel, does n ot a ppear t o have c onsidered t he concept o f u nequal exchange a s i mportant. H e s eems t o s uggest that e xploit ation i n pre-Capitalist world-systems d id n ot i nvolve a h igh d egree o f economic exploitation but t hat mbst exploitation was t hrough the a dministrative s ystem. Wallerstein j ustifies this by s uggesting t hat b efore h is phase o f a gricultural i ndustrialization i n t he s ixteenth c entury a ll l ong d istance trade was i n l uxury ( high v alue, easily t ransportable) goods. Wallerstein s uggests t hat l uxury goods a re o f l ittle i mportance i n t he t ransference o f energy b etween t he exporting and i mporting s ystems. As s uch, l ong d istance trade i n World Empire economies i s c onsidered to h ave b een only a l imited means o f e xploit ation i n c ontrast to a dministered e xploitation ( see a r eview o f Wallerstein's work by S chneider 1 977, 2 2). Wallerstein's arguments s uggest that t he economic f actors o f unequal exchange and t rade d ependency a re o f l ittle i mportance i n analysing t he d evelopment o f R oman Provinces. I n f act, r easons exist f or d iscounting W allers tein's v iews o ver t he transport a nd t rade o f goods w ithin t he Roman Empire; f or example h e h as ignored evidence f or l arge s cale s pecialization a nd l ong d istance t ransport ation o f a gricultural produce s uch a s t he S icilian a nd African production o f corn f or t he c ity o f Rome. M ore i mportant i s t he c onsideration t hat t rade i n s laves, and under c ertain c ircumstances t rade i n precious metals, c an enable energy t ransfer over great d istances, even i n World Empire-systems ( for a f ull d iscussion s ee S chnieder 1 977). S chnieder ( 1977, 2 7) has t hus s uggested t hat pre-Capitalist World-systems based on c ore-periphery r elations d id e xist. S uch s ystems are o rganized with a p eriphery which i mports l uxury/manufactured goods, and a c ore which imports m etals and s laves.

2 2

b)

The Peripheral Province of Britain and its Place in the Empire-System of Rome Thus the concepts of core-periphery and the idea of unequal exchange seem valid analytical devices in Roman studies. Let us examine the position of Britain within the Empire-system. The nature of indigenous econo­ mies condemned Britain to a peripheral positon within the Empire of the first two centuries AD. British society was organized on a basis which would require alteration before a wealthy society based upon Roman ideals could emerge. In particular British society probably lacked a developed tradition of private landownership and a fully monetary economy. Commercialization of industry and agriculture and large scale wealth accumulation was thus untenable within traditional society. We shall see that transformation of indigenous society occured under the influence of Romanization. However the initial under­ developed state of the Romano-British economy meant that the Britain of the first and second century AD Empire had a peripheral status.

We can examine this peripheral status in terms of imports and exports. Exportation of precious metals from the Province was prevented as.mining and transportation of such goods was (significantly) monopolised by the Roman state (Frere 1967, 283). There is much literary evidence for the exportation of slaves from the Provinces. Archaeo­ logical finds (including imported pottery, amphorae and metalwork) point to a flourishing import trade in luxury/ manufactured items. The fullest literary record of exports/ imports is Strabo's and concerns the pre-conquest period. Exports include precious metals (gold and silver), slaves, agricultural products (corn and cattle) as well as other items which do not fit the raw material/basic goods frame­ work (hunting-dogs). Strabo's list of imports, as we should expect from the core-periphery model, are luxury/manufactu­ red goods (ivory ornaments, amber, glass, metalwork, wine). 2. a)

A MODEL FOR PROVINCIAL AND TRIBAL-SYSTEMS IN FIRST AND SECOND CENTURY AD ROMAN BRITAIN The Provincial-System of Organization

The Provincial scale of organization had a largely administrative function. Administration of the Province was controlled from the financial base at London. In addition London perhaps acted as an enclave for traders from the economic core provinces of the Empire. If Lon­ don was the main base for exporting and importing to the Province it may also have monopolised trade between itself and the tribes of the Province; as such the Provincial­ scale or organization may have been based on economic, as well as administrative, domination.

23

b )

The i )

Tribal-Systems

o f

Organization

I ntroduction

On the t ribal-scale t he s ame r elations a re evident. I n t erms o f t he a dministrative s ystem t axation passed from t he c ountryside t o t he t ribal c entre ( in t his paper t he t erm t ribal c entre i s s ynonymous with major town). T axat ion was l evied a t a s ufficient s cale t o enable the r unni ng o f ( and d evelopment o f wealth within) t he major t own a s well a s t he payment o f r equired l evels o f t axation to h igher l evels o f t he a dministrative p yramid. The major t owns a ppear a lso t o h ave b een economically dominant within t he t ribal s phere; i n f act t he major t own f ormed ' primate' c entres i n an ' administered market' l ands cape. A s econd l evel i n t he market h ierarchy existed i n t he c lass o f ' minor t owns' ( see Appendix 2 ). M inor t owns had s ome economic a nd a dministrative s ignificance but t hey were s ubservient t o t he major t own o f the t ribes i n which t hey l ay. Major t owns c ontrolled t rade b etween t ribes; l ocalised exchange within t he t erritory o f i ndiv idual tribes occurred, but this was r estricted to t he a rea o f the t ribe. All e xchange b etween t ribes o ccurred b etween t ribal c entres. L et u s n ow examine t ion i n greater d etail. i i)

The t he

t hese

f actors

Economic Position o f Tribe

o f

t ribal

organiza-

t he Major Town within

The o rganization o f t he tribal-system within Roman B ritain was based on t he dominance o f t he major town i n s ocial, economic a nd a dministrative matters. To b e s pec ific the major town was t he c entre o f a dministration and t axation within t he t ribe; i n a ddition t he major t own dominated t rade and exchange. Commodity f low b etween town and c ountry mirrored t hat b etween c ore and p eripheral provinces, and t rade b etween c ountry a nd t own mirrored that b etween p eripheral and c ore provinces. The major t own i mported r aw goods and a gricultural produce f rom i ts t erritory and exported l uxury/manufactured goods ( obtained f rom exchange within t he P rovincial-system) to i ts t errit ory ( see F igure 1 ). The o rganization o f t his tribals ystem meant f irstly t hat t rade was based on unequal e xchange and s econdly t hat t rade was monopolistic i n n ature. Major t owns were c ollection points f or r ural p roducts. These r ural products were u sed within t he t own t o s upply s pecialists ( administrative, t rading a nd i ndustrial) a nd i n t rade with o ther t ribal c entres. Many o f t hese b asic g oods and r aw materials ( eg bread a nd b eer) do not l eave t races i n t he a rchaeological r ecord. R ecent work o n f aunal d eposits f rom major t owns i ndicates s omething o f t he d irect ional n ature o f t he ' trade' o f f ood w ithin t he early Roman t ribal-system. Maltby has r emarked t hat l ate f irst c entury

2 4

d epc s its f rom t he Roman major t own o f E xeter d emonstrate t hat the marketing o f c attle c arcasses was o rganized s yst ematically on a l arge s cale ( 1979, 8 9). Cattle were prob ably brought t o t he major town en-masse f rom t he c ountrys ide. Possible e vidence f or a s imilar pattern o f t rade h as been f ound i n a f aunal a ssemblage f rom Aldgate, L ondon ( Watson 1 973), a nd possible f rom two o ther major t owns t he material f rom which Maltby i s s till working u pon ( pers onal information). This evidence f or d irectional t rade i n agricultural products i s i n s ome ways r eminiscent o f t he l iterary evidence f or l arge s cale b ulking o f c orn f rom A frica/Sicily t o Rome ( eg L evy 1 964, 7 7); however, while t he African/Sicilian bulking o ccurs a t t he l evel o f t he Empire-system a nd i s a dministrative e xploitation i n b eing a form o f t axation, t he B ritish evidence indicates possible economic a ctivity a t t he t ribal s cale. S trabo's r eference t o the e xporting o f c attle f rom t he P rovince c ould i ndicate t hat c attle produced i n B ritain f inally. f ound t heir way i nto t he Empire economic-system. Major t owns, a ccording t o t he model o utlined a bove, s hould a lso b e d istribution points f or goods i mported i nto t he tribal-system. M illet ( forthcoming) has s uggested t hat the d istribution o f S amian pottery i n early Roman S ussex does n ot i ndicate urban c ontrol o f t he t rade i n that product. At t he s ame t ime, however, e xcavation h as produced evidence o f s hops s elling S amian a t Wroxeter a nd Colchester ( along with i mported g lass a nd o ther pottery i n the l atter c ase; L iversidge, 1 968, 1 86) a nd t his does a rgue that t he major t owns had s ome part t o p lay i n t his trade. The material wealth o f major t owns i n t erms o f i mported l uxuries ( of which an o utstanding e xample i s t he Provincial c entre a t L ondon) i s a lso o f r elevance t o t his d iscussion. i ii)

Taxation,

Trade

and Monopoly

i n Tribal-Systems

I now wish t o e xamine d ependency r elations within the tribal-system based on t he d istribution a nd f unction o f money within t he economy. I t i s s uggested t hat t he t ribal t erritory i s d irectly d ependent on t he t ribal c entre f or i ts cash s upply. The d emand f or t he payment o f t axation i n c ash a nd t he n eed f or c ash t o purchase l uxury ( and p erhaps convenience) goods l eads t o a d ependency r elationship o f country on t own. This s ection a lso briefly o utlines the r elevance o f t hese f actors f or e conomic d evelopment within t he Province. I wish t o e xamine t he f unction o f money within t he Early Roman Empire; I a lso wish to e xamine f actors c onc erning t he d istribution a nd f low o f c ash within t he P rovince. T hree i mportant f actors c oncern the d istribution and f unction o f money within early Roman B ritain. a ) Crawford has s uggested t hat money, i n t he l ate Republic a nd e arly Empire, a cted primarily a s a medium f or s tate payment a nd f or t axation. H e s uggests t hat

2 : 5

mone\ , was too valuable for everyday t ransactions l ocal l evel ( 1970, 4 6).

at

t he

b ) Taxation in the Province e ffected a l arge proport ion o f provincials, and this taxation was in cash. Thus a l arge percentage o f the population o f the Province r equir ed a s ource o f cash. c ) The c ash based economy may have been r estricted to the c ities o f the l ate Republic and early Empire a nd d id not s pread to the countryside ( Crawford 1 970, 4 3). As s uch , towns probably controlled the c ash s upply t hrough the domination o f taxation and l ong d istance trade. This might l ead to a distribution o f coins a pproximating t o Collis' admministrative' /' monopolistic market models ( Collis 1 981, F igs 2 a, b , c ). Thus i t has b een s uggested that money i s r equired by n early every family in order to pay s tate i mposed taxation. Money i s o f l ittle u se f or localised exchange o f basic goods because i t i s t oo valuable. B ecause o f these factors t he r ural economy, in contrast to the urban economy, r emains primarily s ubsist ence based. All three o f these factors concerning t he f unction and distribution o f money a re a lso true in s ome African Colonial s ocieties ( see Appendix 5 ). In s ome African cases however, c ash i s r equired by the common man f or other purposes. Following on f rom comments made i n t he s ection o f this paper which proposed a general model for the Empire-system i t a ppears that money i s o ften r equired to purchase i mported l uxuries and convenience goods. Thus the r ural dweller becomes dependent on c ash f or acquiring mass-produced convenience goods, l uxury goods, and a s we have s een, for paying taxes. In many African cases the t ax function o f money came before and encouraged i ts trade f unction ( Jucker F leetwood 1 964, 2 00; Winter and B eidelman 1 970, 1 13; B W Hodder and U kwa 1 969, 4 2). In i ts c apacity for encouraging trade i n Africa money has been considered... the... ' spearhead o f modern c ivilization.' ( Jucker F leetwood 1 964, 2 00). And there are r easons f or s uspecting that money may have had a s imilar influence in Roman Britain. What effect do these f actors h ave on the development o f s ociety within the Roman Province? One method f or extending the cash economy to the c ountryside i s via t emporary ( or s ometimes permanent) migration to the town in s earch o f paid work ( see Winter a nd B eidelman 1 970, 1 13 and Appendix 6 for detailed discussion o f the A frican evidence). Migration may have been one important f actor in the development o f tribal-systems within Roman B ritain. While we have l ittle direct evidence f or migration f rom countryside to towns the growth o f l argish towns within Britain must indicate s ome migration. I n consideration o f the s tartling f igures o f migration i nto medieval towns ( see Wrigley 1 969, 9 7) we may conclude that rural-urban migration i n Roman Britain must have b een o f s ome i mportance.

2 6

A s econd method f or e xtending t he c ash economy t o the c ountryside i s via t rade. I n many A frican c ases t he r equirement f or c ash i n c ountry d istricts l ed t o t he e stabl ishment o f c ontacts b etween t he producer and t he t rader, which l ed t o the i ntegration o f t he f armer, o r i ndustrial ist i nto the n ational economy ( see Appendix 7 ). Thus i t i s proposed t hat r equirements f or c ash i n r ural areas o f Roman B ritain l ed t o t he i ntegration o f the c ountryside i nto trading n etworks with t he t owns; t he agriculturalist b ecomes part o f t he Empire-system. T he n eed for c ash c an a lso explain t he d evelopment o f profit based agriculture a nd t he d evelopment o f i ndustries w ithin the Province ( see the s ection o n ' consequential d evelopment o f a griculture and i ndustry i n t he P rovince', b elow). I n f act much o f t he d evelopment o f Roman B ritain i n t erms o f s ettlement patterns, t he growth o f i ndustry, t rade a nd profit based agriculture c an b e partially explained by the f unction and t he d istribution o f money within e arly Roman Britain. i v)

An ' Administered' L evel

Market System a t t he T ribal

I t has b een s uggested that a dministration a nd t axat ion within the t ribe was c entred on t he major t own, a nd t hat each major t own had a t ributary t erritory. S uch a s ystem a pproximates c losely t o t he ' Administered' Market s ystem ( which i s f ound i n E uropean Colonial s ituations i n Africa and L atin America; Smith 1 976b). I n t hese a dministered o r ' solar c entral-place' market s ystems u rban c entres a re f ew a nd f ar b etween a nd a re d ispersed i n a r ural l andscape t hat l acks i ntermediate s ized t owns. These major towns a re many t imes l arger t han a ny o ther p laces within t he s ystem. S uch s ystems t end t o b e dominated by an a dministratively based e lite who u sually l ive i n t he t owns and have s ome c ontrol o f t rade a nd exchange. T he major c entres a re u sually l ocated a t t he c entres o f t ribut ary h interlands, and a ll r ural p laces a re c onnected t o only one major c entre f or t rading. L arge c entres h ave n o competition f rom i ntermediate s ized c entres on t he borders o f their t erritory ( see F igure 2 ). The s ystem e xists b ecause a dministration does n ot a llow o verlapping boundaries or c ompeting c entres. The s ystem i s c learly o pen to monopolistic market c ontrol ( Smith 1 976a, 3 18-9 and 3 38-9). According t o t his model t he Romans d eliberately e stab lished an a dministrative l andscape i n s outhern B ritain and the e conomic l andscape d eveloped f rom t he a dministrative s ystem. Archaeological r esearch has d emonstrated t hat minor towns existed i n early Roman B ritain but a ccording to the a dministered market t heory p ut f orward h ere e ach minor town i s economically a nd s ocially s ubservient to a major town ( See F igure 3 ), i n o ther words minor t owns exist a s parts o f t ribal units. M inor t owns may h ave h ad s ome o f t he economic a nd a dministrative f unctions

2 7

0—*

• •/• •

o

o

o

0 0

• •

•-0/ • / 0 o

o

o 0 0

•

•

•

o n 0

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o

° 0

0

0 0

o

K4

•

K =7

F igure

2 .

Transport

( K

- 4 )

and Administered

2 8

( K

= 7 )

Central

Plase

Systems

•

•

• 1•

•

1•

!

1 1 •

•

I 11 1I 1B IM

F igure The

• II in

•

M a jo r T own

>T rade L i nk

•

M ino r T own

•

T r iba l T e r r i to ry

T rade B a r r ie r

3 .

Tribal

L evel

o f Organization

2 9

( showing

trade

r elations)

o f major towns but in both f unctions they were s ubservient to the major town, a s the major town was to the Provincial c entre. This conflicts with Ian Hodder' s theory for a transport based economic c entral place s ystem in lowland Britain ( eg s ee Hodder 1 972). S ee Appendix 8 for a d iscussion o f the r easons for a bandoning Hodder's economic c entral place theory a s an analytical tool f or s tudying the Roman s ettlement h ierarchy. The a lternative administrative market s ystem s uggests that a ll trade between tribes was c arried o ut by major towns. All trade within the tribe, which d id not involve the market o f the major town was r estricted to the extent o f the tribe and d id not cross tribal borders ( see F igure 3 ). Appendix 9 contains a d iscussion o f artefact d istributions which adds s upport to this t heory. Thus i t i s s uggested that the early Roman urban l ands cape was h ighly integrated ( eg Johnson 1 980). Most t rade within the Empire and tribal s ystems was vertical rather than horizontal in nature and the r ank s ize d istribution o f towns formed a concave or ' primate' distribution ( for parallels s ee Johnson 1 980). v )

The

Origins

o f

the

Tribal-System

The tribal-system a s imposed on Britain by the Romans i s an adoption but at the s ame t ime an adaption. I t s eems probably that Britain's political g eography in the preconquest period was based around a s eries o f chiefdoms; tribes in the s outh east o f the province may even have become s tates in the later pre-conquest period. There i s s ome evidence that the pre-Roman s ettlement s ystem was based on a two l evel hierarchy; Cunliffe ( 1976, Fig 1 1) purports to show s econdary c entres d istributed around possible tribal c entres. I f this t heory i s correct each pre-conquest tribal unit may have had a s ingle major a nd multiple minor c entres. Such a s ystem approximates c losely to Steponaitis's ( 1978) model for t he s patial organization o f a chiefdom s ystem ( Fig 4 ). The integration o f the tribal-system o f pre-conquest Britain into the Roman Empire-system may s imply have i nvolved the addition o f two further h ierarchical l evels onto a pre-existing s ystem ( Figure 5 ). I n producing the exploitative Provincial s ystem the Roman a dministrators utlised the extractive institutions that were a lready in existence, a lthough the u ltimate d estination o f the taxation changed. In addition the l evel o f taxation was presumably rather greater a s the tribe was now r equired to h elp s upport t he additional Provincial and Empire s ystems o f organization. vi)

the

Consequential Developments o f Industry within the Province

The above Empire and

Agriculture

and

d iscussion has been an attempt to model tribal-systems. Consideration has been

3 0

M a jo r T own • M ino r T own + S e t t lemen t F igure

4 .

An I dealised Chiefly System consisting Units ( after Steponaitis, 1 978)

Administrative

•

P rov inc ia l

•

•

T r iba l

F iqur

Five

•

Emp i re

L oca l

of

+

t

•

11

+

5 .

Tr ' - 1 -Systems int ,J t ie

and Empire-

Empire-Syster .

tem :

The

Integration

o f

the

Tribal

g iven t o t he u pper l evels o f t he s ettlement h ierarchy w ithin t he Province. I n ow wish t o a ssess t he i nfluence o f t he a bove f actors u pon i ndustrial and a gricultural o rganizat ion within t he . Province. I t h as b een s uggested t hat t he i ntroduction o f a c ash based t axation s ystem s hould h ave encouraged t he i nteg ration o f a s ubsistence based a griculturalist one i nto t he t ribal, and t hus i nto t he Empire, e conomy. The d esire f or c ash l eads t o t he n eed t o a ccumulate money. As we h ave s een t he ' pressure o f n eeds' model means that o nce l uxuries have b een i ntroduced i nto t he s ystem these goods b ecome one o f t he n ecessities o f l ife; t hus a griculture will b ecome o rientated t owards the p roduction o f a s urplus. We might e xpect a griculture a nd i ndustry to f ollow a t rend o f d evelopment expansion. B y t his I mean t hat i ndividuals i nitially i nvolved i n s ubsistence a griculture s hould a ttempt t o expand production v ia a process a kin t o c ash-cropping. I n o ther words s ubsistence based a gric ulture s hould b e r eplaced by profit o rientated a gricult ure, a d evelopment that has o ccurred under t he i nfluence o f ' modernization' within A frican s ociety. The profit a ccumulated by this process i s converted i nto prestige goods ( eg l uxury i mports) which s ymbolise t he s tatus o f t he i ndividual within s ociety. Villa construction i s presumably based on profit a ccumulation amassed t hrough t he marketing o f agricultural s urplus. I t s eems l ikely t hat t he v illa o wners were a c lass o f a gricultural i nnovators a nd t hat t heir wealth was amassed t hrough t he process o f a gricultural expansion. The construction o f Romanised buildings i s probably a d eliberate a ttempt by t his e lite t o i nvest t heir n ew f ound wealth i n s ymbols o f t heir s tatus within s ociety ( this a rgument i s based on analogy with t he d evelopment o f e lites a nd t he c onstruction o f Westernized b uildings within Colonial A frica, I do n ot wish to e xpand on t he a rgument i n t his paper). I ndustry s hould f ollow s imilar t rends t o a griculture i n i ts d evelopment. C learly i ndustrial manufacture o pens t he door t o c apital a ccumulation, a s c raftsman made i tems may, under c ertain c ircumstances, enter t he i nter-tribal e xchange i n l uxury i tems. The possibility o f c apital a ccumulation t hrough i ndustrialization may e xplain t he phenomenal d evelopment o f t he pottery i ndustry i n early Roman B ritain. Within t he a dministered market s ystem o f t ribal o rg anization a gricultural and i ndustrial c apitalization s hould b e most a dvanced i n t he a rea o f t he major t own. This i s b ecause t he major t own i s t he major market within t he t ribe f or a gricultural s urplus a nd i ndustrial g oods. B W Hodder, amongst o thers, has n oted t hat A frican a gricult ure i n early c olonial c ases d eveloped t o t he greatest

3 2

intelsity 1 969, 2 9;

i n proximity s ee Appendix

to markets 1 0).

( B W Hodder

and U kwu

I f profit based agriculture i s encouraged to the greatest d egree i n areas c lose to the major market we would expect villa d evelopment to b e most a dvanced i n t he area o f the major c entre. Griegson and Ray ( unpublished paper presented t o the Oxford Romano-British Countryside Conference 1 981) h ave examined the dynamics o f r ural d evelopment and have c oncluded that villa construction does begin in proximity to the major town. They i nterpret t his a s i ndicating that the development o f private l andownership commences c lose t o the major town. An a lternative, o r complimentary, i nterpretation i s t hat the accumulation o f wealth via agricultural expansion was most viable i n proximity to the market o f the major town, and that villa development was due to ease o f access to t he monopolistic urban market. Concerning i ndustry we might expect d ifferential development over t he Province, with the most i ntense d evelopments in proximity to the major towns. Major towns s hould act a s magnets f or industrial producers, pottery and t ile kilns should be l ocated c lose to the major t own in o rder to e xploit the urban market ( as K elley has o bserved i n Africa; 1 976). The distribution o f pottery kilns within early Roman Britain has an urban bias, kilns a re o ften located in proximity to towns, both major and minor ( fulford 1 976). ( For a f uller d iscussion s ee H C leere, this volume). That s ome industries locate in proximity to s econdary economic c entres s hows t hat s ome i ntra-tribal trade bypassed t he market o f the major town. 4 .

CONCLUSION TO SECTIONS 2 /3: F IRST TO SECOND CENTURIES AD

THE

EMPIRE-SYSTEM I N

To s ynthesise a ll the a bove arguments we have a model for a dministrative and economic s ystems i n early Roman Britain. The model i ncorporates a ll l evels o f the s ettlement hierarchy, e xplains s ome o f t he f unctions o f l evels within the h ierarchy a nd explains c ertain trends i n t he development o f a griculture and i ndustry within the Province. Part o f t he explanatory framework o f the model i s derived from a consideration o f the place o f the Province within the Empire-system. Major towns a re considered to monopolise l ong d istance and much l ocal t rade within the tribe. Goods d istributed by the major market c entre i nclude l uxuries and c raftsman made items from o utside the tribe and a gricultural products from inside the t ribe. Money, which l ubricates t he market s ystem at the t ribal, Provincial and Empire-scales, i s a lso monopolised by t he major town. For a ll a dministration, a ll economic matters t he countryside

3 3

s ocial matters and most i s d ependent on t he major

town; rural producers s end primary produce to the town i n exchange for l uxury ( and convenience?) goods and f or money. The r elationship o f unequal exchange b etween town and country i s s ymbolised by the wealth o f major towns i n t erms o f public buildings and material goods, and a lso i n the dominance o f major towns in t erms o f population. Minor towns have a s ubservient position within the tribal s ystem. Each minor town l ooks to only one major town and i s economically and s ocially d ependent on i t. Some exchange occurred within the tribe and bypassed the major town, but this was l imited to t he extent o f the t ribe by the rules o f the administered market s ystem. I f the towns exploited the countryside the c ore o f the Empire exploited the peripheral province o f B ritain. The tribal c entres were attached to an extra-Provincial n etwork via which foreign l uxuries c ame into the Province in exchange for basic/agricultural goods. Money a lso f lowed out f rom the tribal c entre and provincial c entre in the form o f taxation. The economics o f the interProvincial-system, a s those o f the t ribal-system, were based on unequal exchange. Goods passing i nto the Province r epresented a l ower l evel o f l abour-input t han their equivalents passing out o f Britain i n exchange. The wealth o f Rome and I taly i n the f irst and s econd c enturies AD was based on the economic and administrative exploitation o f peripheral Provinces with major t owns acting a s nodes in an extractive s ystem. British s ociety in the f irst two c enturies AD was therefore h ighly integrated with the urban s ettlement h ierarchy forming a concave rank-size d istribution. This integrated s ystem was the r esult o f t he ' dendritic' economic and administrative r elations between c ore and p eriphery within the Empire ( Johnson 1 980). 5 .

ROMAN BRITAIN I N THE THIRD AND F OURTH CENTURIES AD: TRANSFORMATIONS WITHIN THE EMPIRE-SYSTEM

I wish to make a f ew s uggestions concerning t he organiz ation o f Empire and Tribal-systems i n the third a nd fourth c entury AD; chiefly that while administrative exploitation within the Empire-system became more extreme the economics o f unequal exchange s ystems collapse a t both the i nter and intra-tribal l evels. In addition considerations r elat ing to the c lass s tructure o f l ater Roman Britain enable the construction o f an explanation f or the a pparent wealth o f the Province in contrast both to early Roman B ritain and to the third and fourth c enturies in the core Provinces o f the Empire. a )

Transformations in the Organization o f the Provincial System and Tribal-Systems in Third to Fourth C entury Roman

Britain

My major

s uggestion

in t his

3 4

s ection

i s

that the

a dministered market s ystem o f t he t ribal-level o f o rganiz ation broke down i n t he t hird a nd f ourth c enturies. This t rend i s marked b y the f ragmentation o f a dministrative units i nto a reas s maller t han t he f irst a nd s econd c entury t ribal groupings a nd by t he d ecentralization o f t rade, i n f act t he s ystem b ecomes l ess h ighly i ntegrated a nd exchange i s more h orizontal and l ess v ertical i n n ature ( see Johnson 1 980). I t has r ecently b een s uggested t hat t he p rimary c entres o f t he Roman E mpire d eclined i n t he l ater Roman p eriod ( Reece 1 980). R eece postulates t hat t he early Roman pattern o f u rban c entres was r eplaced by a l andscape o f ' villages and e states' ( Reece 1 980, 8 8). This a rgument h as b een h eavily c riticised; however, while t he a bsolute d ecline o f t he f irst and s econd c entury P rovincial-system may b e i n doubt i ts r elative d ecline would n ot s eem t o b e o pen to question. The position o f monopolistic dominance t hat the major t owns h eld i n t he early p eriod was u ndermined. Administration b egan t o f ragment w ith c entres o f a dministration a nd t axation b ecoming more l ocally b ased ( Frere 1 967, 2 36). Economic f ragmentation a lso s eems t o h ave occurred within t he t ribal-system; economic c entres s prung up a ll o ver t he l andscape and t he economic dominance o f t he major town was bypassed. The l ater Roman economy may have b een o rganized a round t he f ree f low o f g oods a nd c ash in a s ystem i n which r esources a nd t echnology were r elatively evenly s pread. Money, i n t he l ater p eriod, was n o l onger a monopoly o f t he major towns. Money s pread t o t he c ountryside a s the r ural economy b ecame more c ash o rientated. R eece c ons iders t he nature o f l ate Roman c oin l oss t o i ndicate t hat a f ull market economy d eveloped i n t his p eriod ( 1974, 8 7). The c oin d istribution n ow a pproximates t o Collis' ' competitive' market model ( 1981, F ig 2 d). T he g rowth o f i mportance o f money i n t he r ural economy was l argely due to the d evaluation t hat i t s uffered i n t he l ater Roman Empire. Galloping i nflation l ed to t he proliferation o f coins o f l ow value ( Levy 1 964, 8 7). R eece h as r ecently c ontradicted h is e arlier t heories ( 1980); n oting t hat D ioc letian's t ax r eforms l ed t o a bypassing o f t he market h e has s uggested t hat exchange was o f l ittle i mportance i n h is l ater Roman e state l andscape. However, a d ivision h as t o b e made b etween t he economic a nd a dministrative f unctions o f money ( see T able 1 ); while i t s eems t o b e t rue that money, d ue t o i ts s wift d ecline i n value, c eased to b e o f u se f or l arge s cale, l ong d istance t ransa ctions ( taxation, l ong d istance t rade), on t he l ocal l evel f or l ocalised e xchange d evaluation made money i ncreas ingly vital. Transition i n t he o rganization o f t he l ater RomanoB ritish economy i s d emonstrated, n ot o nly by c hanges i n the f unction o f money, but a lso i n t he d evelopment o f a

3 5

TABLE X

1 :

THE F UNCTIONS O F M ONEY I N E ARLY A ND L ATER R OMAN B RITAIN

I ndicates

t he

I ndicates

t hat

p resence o f t his t his

f unction

f unction o f m oney

i s o f m inor

E arly A dministration L ong d istance L ocal

i mportance

L ate

X t rade

X

t rade

X

( value)

( high)

( low)

s eries o f h ierarchically arranged l evels forming a l ess primate, more c onvex rank-size distribution ( see Johnson 1 980 for parallels) within the s ettlement-system. Following on from the d iscussion in Appendix 8 no a ttempt will b e made h ere to outline a h ierarchy within t he l ater Roman s ettlement s ystem; but two points n eed to b e s tressed. F irst, the d evelopment o f minor t owns i nto c entres o f s ome s ize may b e, on the whole, a l ate phenomenon. I n too f ew cases c an the area o f a l ate Roman town b e a ssessed and compared to the extent o f the s ite in t he early Roman period ( for s ome cases where this can b e done s ee Appendix 1 1), but i t i s possible t hat many s ites that b ecame minor towns did not a spire to t his s tatus in the f irst and s econd c enturies. The s econd point i s therefore, that minor towns a ppear to have become more prolific in the l ater period. In the absence o f more d etailed i nformation on the extent and range o f functions r epresented a t a l arge number o f minor towns only one trend c an be documented; this i s the development o f minor towns at intervals which probably indicate a function for these s ites a s lowest order market c entres. The l owest order market c entre theory includes the proposal that agriculturalists will not travel more than about 5 km for basic n eeds, and t hus predicts t hat l owest order market c entres s hould b e d istributed a t 7 to 1 0 km i ntervals across the l andscape ( the evidence i s r eviewed by I Hodder 1 975, 9 05). There i s much to s uggest that this theory f inds s upport in data from l ater Roman Britain. In Essex ( Rodwell 1 975) and Oxfordshire ( Hingley, forthcoming) c entres o f the minor town type a ppear to be d istributed every 5 to 1 0 km; ( although in s ome areas ( eg Gregory, paper in this volume) t he theory does n ot s eem to work). Such a d istribution would s eem to i ndicate a z ation than indicated by bution o f towns. L ittle

o f many medium s ized c entres l ess monopolistic market organithe early Roman primate distrid etailed work has b een carried

3 6

o ut on Roman minor t owns but l imited work i n O xfordshire s uggests t hat l ate Roman coinage i s c ommon on t hese s ites ( Hingley, f orthcoming). I n a ddition t o t he evidence o f t he s pread o f coinage to the c ountryside t he d evelopment o f the l ater Roman market l andscape probably i ndicate a more ' evolved' ( taking ' evolved' t o mean a l ess a dministrat ively, more economically based economy) e conomy i n l ater Roman Britain. L owest order market c entres d eal mainly i n basic goods, a nd e xchange i s balanced i n t hat prices a re haggled o ver n ot i nstituted v ia monopolistic c ontrol ( as i n the early R oman s ystem). With t he r ise o f c ash based r ural t rade we have t he d ecline o f the major c entres. The r elative d ecline o f major towns i s v isible over t he whole Empire ( and i s r eviewed f or Britain i n Millar 1 967 a nd R eece 1 980). Administration a nd t axation w ere n o l onger monopolies o f t he former primate c entres. Major t owns n o l onger monopol ised l ong d istance t rade a s s uch t rade was o n t he d ecline i n t he Empire o f t he t hird and f ourth c enturies. I n a ddit ion money, one major means f or exploitation, was n o l onger a monopoly o f t he major town. We h ave s een t hat i n t erms o f a dministration t he major towns were i n d ecline. I n a ddition we might e xpect s ome evidence f or t he d ecline o f t heir economic f unctions. I n t erms o f the d ecline o f major t owns a s c ollection points f or rural produce i t i s i nteresting t o n ote t hat f aunal r emains f rom E xeter i ndicate t hat i n t his p eriod t here was a more d ecentralised s ystem o f c attle marketing c ontr olled by a n umber o f i ndependent ( possibly t own b ased) s tock owners ( Maltby 1 979, 8 9). Droveways a nd enclosures w ithin the t own i ndicate that c attle breeding may h ave b een one o f t he f unctions o f t his major Roman t own i n t he l ater Roman p eriod. At t he s ame t ime probable f arms s pring u p inside t he walls o f s ome major Roman t owns ( for i nstance a winged c orridor v illa a t C irencester; McWhirr 1 976, 9 3). T hese f actors probably i ndicate t hat t he l ate Roman u rban e conomy was more b roadly based, l ess parasitical, a nd l ess i ntegrated. The o rganization o f i ndustry may a lso i ndicate t he d ecline o f t he monopolistic urban market. I n t he s econd a nd third c enturies pottery producers c eased t o r equire t he s ervices o f t he primary a nd s econdary market c entres a nd production s hifted to r ural l ocations where r esources w ere more easily a t h and ( Fulford 1 976). The ' evolved' economy s eems t o b e based o n a g reater d egree o f l ocal s elf s ufficiency. B ritain h ad b een d epend ent on f oreign i mports o f l uxury i tems; i n t he l ater p eriod l uxuries c eased t o b e i mported. I n t he l ater Roman P rovinc ial-system l uxury a nd c raftsman-made i tems w ere produced l ocally, h ence t he d evelopment o f f ine ware pottery i ndust ries i n l ater Roman B ritain. I t may even b e t rue t hat t he f low o f t rade w ithin t he Empire-system r eversed i n

3 7

the E econd and third c enturies. I t has been shown that in t he f irst and s econd c enturies l uxury and craftsmanmade i tems passed from the core to the periphery o f the Empire. In the l ater period it i s possible that such goods passed from the former periphery to t he core, the export o f which l ater Roman Britain i s supposed to have been famed. The woollen c loak ( Wild 1 978, 7 9 and this volume), was a f inished not a raw product. One trend in the development o f the l ater Roman economy in Britain appears therefore, to have been the growing economic s elf-sufficiency of the Province. The Provincial economic s ystem may also have become o f greater importance a s the tribal administered market s ystem collapsed. I an Hodder has s uggested that in the l ater period trade and exchange may have come to be controlled more by economic and l ess by social forces ( 1979). While I would accept that economic forces became more important in the l ater period I have argued above that the forces l imiting f ree trade in the early period are not s ocial but inherent in the administered market s ystem o f tribal organization. At the time when Britain' s economy was becoming l ess dependent economic transformations were a lso occurring a t Rome. The third c entury was a period o f economic dec line in Italy a s Rome c eased to be the pivot of the Empire. The decline o f the ultimate core o f the f irst and s econd c entury Empire-system i s probably in some way connected with the r ise o f the peripheral provinces. The economic development o f peripheral provinces could b e either a cause or a r esult o f the decline o f the Empire core. The r eason for the third and fourth c entury prosperity o f the peripheral Provinces i s examined below. Firstly, to follow on from the d iscussion in an earl ier s ection o f this paper I wish to d escribe the changes i n rural organization which accompany the transformation o f the Provincial-system. I have a lready outlined the evolution o f evenly distributed lowest order market c entres. Another development i s the evening out o f the distribution o f wealth within the Province. Access to the market o f the tribal c entre i s no longer important for wealth amassment a s numerous local markets have s prung up and the urban cash-based/rural s ubsistence/based economic dichotomy has vanished. At the s ame time it might b e predicted that opportunities for large s cale wealth amassment would d ecline with the decline of the primate based urban s ystem. The transformation that we have described in the urban l andscape, a small number of l arge c entres and many s mall c entres s upplanted by a large number o f medium s ized c entres, might a lso hold true for villa d evelopment. This i s the trend that Griegson and Ray have observed in their data for villa development in Britain ( unpublished paper present ed to the Oxford Romano-British Countryside conference; for this point s ee a lso Reece 1 980, 8 7).

3

Was this transformation within the Province o f B ritain caused by f actors inherent within the f irst and s econd c entury Provincial-system? Or d id the s timulus f or change come f rom the i nter-Provincial l evel o f the o rganization o f the Empire? I t might b e s uggested t hat t he transition f rom an imposed a dministrative economic s ystem to a s ystem involving f reer forms o f exchange i n a l ess exploitative Empire f ramework was a purely i ndigen ous trend and r esulted f rom the gradual evolution o f t he P rovincial-system t owards a more s table s tate. As we have s een the Roman administration imposed n ew f actors, a s well a s adopting o ld i nstitutions, i n the formation o f the a dmin istrative system o f the Province. The transition to the l ater Roman evolved economy may t hus have b een a natural one occurring over a period o f two or more c enturies. However t he nature o f exploitative r elations b etween t he c ore o f the Empire and Britain i s a lso o f vital importance t o a consideration o f the transition. One vital s timulus t o change was cash. The d evaluation o f money, which was o f great importance to the d evelopment o f the B ritish provincial-system, occurred due to problems i n t he , c ore o f the Empire. In t he l ater period, a s i n the f irst and s econd c enturies t he Provincial-system c annot b e s tudied i n i solation from the Empire-system. b )

The Reasons f or the Economic Prosperity o f Roman Province o f Britain

t he

L ater

As will be c lear from the a bove d iscussion the major c hanges in the l ater Roman Empire-system were i n t he economics o f exploitation. The third and fourth c enturies s aw t he decline o f the core and the r ise o f the p eripheral P rovinces o f the Empire. The d emise o f unequal exchange r elationships between Provinces was partly due to t he d evelopment o f the economy and industry o f the peripheral Provinces. The d ecline o f dominance-dependency r elations within the Empire-system i s a lso a c ause o f the d ecentral ization o f administration. The conversion o f taxation f rom money to agricultural goods i s at the s ame t ime a c onsequence and a r epresentation o f the f inal c ollapse o f the administered market s ystem a t the tribal l evel. Agricultural goods were collected and ( due to t he price o f transport) had to be consumed at a l ocal s cale; t hus a dministration, which was formerly s ubsidised by money which could be transported over great d istances, had t o b ecome more l ocalized and l ess c entralized. Thus with t he decline o f t he economics o f exploitation within t he Empire goes the d ecentralization o f the a dministrative mechanisms o f exploitation. The decline o f economic and a dministrative exploitative s ystems within t he Empire meant the d estruction o f core-periphery r elations and the d estruction o f t he administrative tribal-system. The a dministrative organization o f the Province c omes to b e based on more l ocalized entities than the former a dminis trative

unit,

the

tribe.

3 9

As I have a ttempted t o s how the t ribal-systems a nd t he Empire-systems i n g eneral were v iable entities d ue t o economic, a s well a s a dministrative, r elations o f e xploitation. Thus a ny d iscussion o f t he a dministrative f ragmentation o f t he Empire must c onclude t hat t he d ecline o f l ong d istance t rade was a major f actor i n the processes l eading t o a dministrative d ecentralization. Thus how do we e xplain t he a pparent wealth o f l ater Roman B ritain? The evidence r eviewed a bove i ndicates a f lourishing market economy ( as i ndicated by t he s pread o f t he u se o f money t o l ocal exchange, t he proliferation o f l owest o rder market c entres a nd t he c ollapse o f a dminis trative t rade boundaries) a nd a more even d istribution o f wealth ( as i ndicated by t he more even d istribution o f medium s ized villas) i n l ater Roman B ritain. S uch a s tate o f r elative wealth a nd e quality within t he P rovince i s i n great c ontrast to t rends i n t he l ater Roman p eriod in t he f ormer c ore P rovinces. The t hird a nd f ourth c enturies i n t he c ore P rovinces s eem t o mark a p eriod o f g rowing s ocial d ifferentiation, and.of economic hardship. One explanation f or t he d ecline o f t he c ore P rovinces i s that t he t rend was t he r esult o f a d eveloping c onflict b etween c lasses ( Anderson 1 974); economic a nd s ocial d ecline i s v iewed a s due to c ontradictions within t he l ater R oman mode o f production. The dominant mode o f production i n t he c ore P rovinces o f t he e arly Western Empire was t he s lave mode, t he d ecline o f which i n t he t hird a nd f ourth c enturies, r esulted i n t he f ormation o f t he c olonate s ystem ( Anderson 1 974, 9 4). The c olonate s ystem was a mode o f production i n which a n ever widening g ulf e xisted b etween o verlord and producers, l eading t o s ocial c onflict a nd t hus t o e conomic underproduction and d ecline. I n t he d iscussion o f s uch economic and s ocial d ecline t he c ore-periphery d ichotomy s eems o nce more o f r elevance a s an e xplanatory f ramework. The a rgument a dvanced i n t his paper i s t hat a t t heir c onquest s ocieties which were t o b e i ncorporated i nto the c ore Provinces i n t he Empires ystem h ad modes o f production o f a t ype s imilar t o R ome's. T he c ondition o f t he s ocial s tructure o f t hese s ocieties was s uch t hat t he i nstitution o f a Roman s tyle s lave mode o f production, i f t his mode d id n ot a lready exist within t he s ociety i n question, was a s traightforward t ask. S ocieties which were t o b ecome p eripheral, by c ontrast w ere n ot organized on a basis t hat c ould e asily b e modified t o t he Roman f orm. Thus t he a daptation o f t he i ndigenous s ocieties o f Roman-Britain c ould n ot r esult i n t he i nstitut ion o f r elations o f production s imilar t o t hose o f R ome. I n f act t his i n part a ccounts f or B ritain's p eripheral s tatus within t he Empire. T he l ack o f a d eveloped a nd entrenched s ocial e lite meant s uch i nstitutions a s R oman c itizenship a nd s enatorial s tatus w ere only granted t o a f ew w ithin t he P rovince. A s t he B ritons were n ot t he

4 0

s ocial equals o f t he Roman c lasses o f t he c ore P rovinces economic a nd a dministrative exploitation o f t he P rovince was a cceptable. All t his means t hat B ritain, a s a p eripheral P rovince was r elatively f ree o f t he s lave mode o f production. The g eneral Empire-wide d ecline i n t his mode d id n ot l ead t o the n ecessity o f a s earch f or a r eplacement f or t he s lave mode. The economy o f t he B ritish P rovince was n ever h eavily s lave based, t hus t he c olonate s ystem was n ever o f major s ignificance i n B ritain ( Todd 1 978, 2 08). That t he c olonate s ystem was n ever widespread e xplains t he r elative economic wealth, a nd s ocial e quality o f t he c lass s tructure, within l ater Roman B ritain. APPENDIX

1 :

F URTHER D ETAILS O N T HE C OMPARATIVE N ATURE O F T HE D ISCUSSION

I n t erms o f m ethod t his v arious

p roblems

p aper u tilised a nalogies

f or w hich n o a dequate e xplanatory

M uch t heory i n R oman r esearch i s d erived i s c lear h owever,

t o e xamine

f ramework e xists.

f orm w ritten h istory;

i t

t hat m uch o f w hat w e n eed t o u nderstand a bout

t he

p eriod i s n ot e ven d iscussed, l et a lone e xplained, b y R oman l iterary s ources. A s a rchaeological d ata a re d umb m uch t heory w ithin t he d iscipline h as

t o b e d erived v ia a p rocess e ither o f g uesswork o r

t hrough t he u se o f a nalogy ( see I ons 1 977, 1 0 f or e xample). T his p aper u tilises s ociological a nd a nthropological t heory, d erived f rom r esearch o n h istorical E uropean c olonialism ( for a t horough r eview o f t his w ork s ee B rewer

1 980),

i n a n a ttempt

t o a nalyse

o rganization w ithin t he E mpire-system o f R ome. p rime

i nterest

i s

f actors o f

T hroughout

t he p aper

i n t he p osition o f t he P rovince o f B ritain w ithin

t he Empire-system. While

t he g eneral v alue o f t he e thnographic p arallel h as o ften

b een s tressed w ithin p rehistoric r esearch f ication

( eg O rme

1 973),

s ome

j usti-

f or t he u se o f p arallels d rawn f rom h istoric E uropean c olo-

n ialism i n A frica

f or e xamining t he R oman E mpire-system i s n ecessary.

O ne j ustification i s t he p otential c ross-cultural v alue o f t he c oncept o f m ode o f e xploitation i n e xplaining r elationships b etween s ocieties ( see R uyle 1 975). F urthermore i t m ay b e s uggested t hat s imilarities s hould o ccur i n t he e ffects o f t he i nfluence o f a d ominant p ower w ith a m ore c omplex e conomy o ver a s ociety o rganized a long m ore s implistic l ines

( eg B urnham a nd J ohnson

1 979,

3 ).

O ne m ajor p oint e mphasised

b y t his p aper i s t hat s ome o f t he p rocesses t hat o ccurred w ithin t he R oman Empire-system d iffer p erhaps i n a q uantitative b ut n ot i n a q ualitative m anner f rom p rocesses t hat o ccurred w ithin t he s ixteenth t o t wentieth c entury ' World E conomic-System ' ( for t he s ixteenth t o t wentieth w orld e conomic-system s ee W allerstein

1 974 a nd

1 978;

E ckholm a nd F riedman 1 979). A PPENDIX 2 :

MAJOR T OWN/MINOR T OWN

Major t own i n t his c olonia.

M inor t owns

p aper i ncludes

a re s ites o f m ore

d ence o f i ntensive s ettlement. a nd

' small'

t ribal c entres t han 8 h a

( civitas)

T he u se o f t he u sual

t erms

' large'

i n c onsideration o f R oman t owns h ave b een a voided a s

41

a nd

i n s ize w ith e vit he

r ange o f

f unctions

t han t he a ctual A PPENDIX 3 :

I NACCURACIES

T his m odel P rovincial

p resent

i s

l evel.

t he p yramid.

t he

t own i s c onsidered more

I N THE EMPIRE-SYSTEM M ODEL

f act

l evel

t he m odel

p assing u pwards

i f e xport

i s

( Figure

i s

t owards

1 )

p articularly a t

e xchange m ay b ypass c ertain

t he

l evels w ithin

t he p innacle m ay a void

f rom a p ort o ther t han L ondon.

I mports t o t he P rovince m ay a lso b ypass L ondon. a c ertain a mount o f d islocation i n t he m odel a t a lthough

i mportant

t own.

a s implification o f r eality, I n

P roducts

t he P rovincial

a t

s ize o f t he

T here i s, i n f act, t he P rovincial l evel

c onsidered a n a dequate d escription o f e xchange/

t ribute r elations w ithin a nd b etween t ribes a nd b etween P rovinces. A PPENDIX 4 :

AN A FRICAN C ASE O F T HE F UNCTION O F I MPORTED

I TEMS

A S C ONVENIENCE G OODS I n a U shi v illage o f N orthern R hodesia v illagers c lothing,

b lankets

i s b eyond

t he

l onger m erit ( Kay

1 964,

a nd o ther h ousehold g oods

a bility o f t he v illager; p roduction i n t he

p urchase

t he p roduction o f w hich

t raditional

f ace o f c ompetition

s ubstitutes n o f rom t raded g oods

8 8).

A PPENDIX 5 :

THE F UNCTION AND D ISTRIBUTION O F M ONEY W ITHIN S OME C OLONIAL A FRICAN S OCIETIES

a )

B W H odder h as n oted

i nstituted a s w as o ften b )

t oo v aluable

I n m ay c ases,

T iv a nd K aguru 1 32;

T seayo

1 973;

p ayment a nd o f t axation;

f or e veryday t ransactions o n t he

1 962;

i nclude G ambia,

B ohannan a nd D alton 1 962;

W inter a nd B iedelman

1 970,

money l evel.

t he A rusha,

B ohannan

1 88-9)],

f or

c ash was

1 967, r equired

i nstance a mong t he U shi o f N orthern R hodesia,

t he c ash s upply;

t his

l ead

t o a n u rban c ash b ased/

s ubsistence b ased e conomic d ichotomy ( Kay

A PPENDIX 6 :

l ocal

i n o rder t o p ay t axes.

I n s ome c ases,

t owns m onopolised r ural

i n m ost E uropean c olonies m oney was

[ documented e xamples

( Ames

b y t he c ommon m an c )

t hat

a m eans o f g overnment

1 964,

8 8-9).

M IGRATION T O THE T OWN I N S EARCH O F P AID WORK,

AN

AFRICAN E XAMPLE A n e xtreme c ase o f s uch a p ractice o ccurred o f c hief K alaba

( Northern R hodesia).

t o p urchase c lothing, b icycles,

g uns

b lankets,

a nd m aterials

i t w ithin

t he

o ther h ousehold g oods,

i s

t raded

r equired f oodstuffs,

f or c onstructing w esternized b uildings.

' The d efinite n eed o f c ash a nd o btaining

i n t he U shi v illage

I n t his v illage c ash

t he e xtraordinary d ifficulties o f

f ramework o f t raditional v illage

l ife

f ocuses

m uch o f t he v illagers a ttention o n t o p aid e mployment a nd u rban l ife.' ( Kay 1 964, 8 8). I n 1 960 7 07 . o f t he a ble-bodied y oung m en o f t he a rea a round c hief K alaba's v illage w ere a bsent ( Kay

1 964,

8 9).

4 2

i n s earch o f p aid w ork

A PPENDIX 7 :

I NTEGRATION O F T HE F ARMER I NTO T HE N ATIONAL E CONOMY, S OME A FRICAN E XAMPLES

B ohannan n otes i ntroduced,

i n a d iscussion o f t he T iv t hat...

t axation w as d emanded

i n t hat m edium .

' Coinage w as

I t b ecame n ecessary

f or t he T iv t o g o i nto t rade o r t o m ake t heir o wn c ontacts w ith f oreign t raders i n o rder t o g et c ash.' ( 1967, 1 32). I n G ambia a nd a mongst t he A rusha f orced a nd

( Ames

t o e nter

1 962;

B ohannan a nd D alton 1 962)

i nto t rade

p eople w ere a lso

i n o rder t o o btain c ash t o p ay

f or i mports

t o p ay t ax.

A PPENDIX 8 :

S PATIAL C ONSIDERATIONS

I N T HE ANALYSIS O F T HE R OMAN

URBAN H IERARCHY T he

t heory t hat

t he e arly R oman t ribal-system w as b ased u pon

a n a dministered m arket b y

I an H odder

R oman u rban A mongst

l andscape

H odder's t owns

( 1971,

t ransport

s hould g row u p a t

c ontrast m inor

o utlined b y H odder

d ependent o n t wo m ajor t owns l andscape

s uggestions m ade

t o a pply c entral p lace t heory t o t he

( Hodder a nd H assall

s everal m odels

t own i s m arket

s ystem c onflicts w ith s ome

i n h is a ttempt

1 971;

H odder 1 972 a nd

i s o ne

1 975).

i n w hich e ach m inor

f orming a t ransport-based

( K=4)

4 05). p rinciple

( see F ig 2 )

p redicts

t hat m inor

t he h alf w ay p oint b etween m ajor t owns.

t he a dministered m arket

t owns d istributed a t

s ystem ( see F ig 2 )

t he p eriphery o f t he

s hould

B y

i nclude

t ribal t erritory;

a s a ll m inor t owns a re u nder t he c ontrol o f a s ingle m ajor t own t hese m inor t owns w ill n ot l ie o n t he t ribal b order ( as i n t he t ransport b ased m odel). t owns,

d ue

t o

A rguments

b ased e n t he s patial d istribution o f R oman

t he n ature o f t he e vidence,

f or e ither m odel

i n p reference

t o

p rovide n o c lear s upport

t he o ther;

h owever,

l iterary e vid-

e nce ( reviewed b elow) a nd a rtefactual d ata a ppear t o s upport n istered m arket p rinciple o ver t he t ransport p rinciple. L iterary e vidence

i ndicates

a h ierarchy o f s patial u nits

t hat e ach t ribe w as o rganized

i n

f rom t he c ivitas d own t o t he p agus.

S uch o rganization w as p rimarily v icus ( ? m inor t own) a dministered s ystem,

t he a dmi-

f or a dministrative c onvenience;

t he

a lso a ppears t o h ave f ormed a u nit w ithin t he t hus e ach m inor t own p resumably b elonged t o a

s ingle t ribe. I n s ome c ases m ansios l ed t o t he d evelopment o f m inor t owns ( eg G odmanchester, W anborough, B ourton-on-the-Water). S uch m ansios w ere r un b y t he

t ribes o f t he p rovince

f or t he c onvenience

o f t he a dministration a nd a s s uch m inor t owns g rowing u p o n s uch s ites w ere p resumably t he r esponsibility o f o ne s ingle t ribe ( unless t ribes s hared t he d uty o f u pkeep o f a m ansio o n a c ommon b oundary). B ritain f ormed m ore o f a n a dministered l andscape t han H odder i ng t o a dmit

( see F rere

H odder c onsidered

C learly i s w ill-

1 975). t he s patial d istribution o f t owns

t o s upport

t he t ransport p rinciple c entral p lace t heory; b ut i s t his j ustifiable? H odder s elected m inor t owns t o b e u sed i n h is a nalysis b y c onsidering o nly m inor t owns w ith w alls. H e c onsiders t he s patial d ata t o i ndicate t hat m inor t owns l ie c lose t o t he h alfway p oints b etween m ajor t owns, s upporting t he a pplication o f t ransport b ased c entral p lace t heory t o t he R oman u rban

l andscape.

43

H odder's a rguments t owns

f orm a s econd

w alled s mall 3 92).

I n

t owns

i s b ased o n t he p remise

t hat m inor w alled

l evel w ithin t he s ettlement h ierarchy w ith u nf orming a t hird

f act a n a lternative

l evel

( eg H odder a nd H assa111971,

t heory w ould s uggest

o f m inor t owns h ad a m ilitary/political,

t hat

t he w alling

n ot a s ocial/economic

s ig-

n ificance. A ccording t o t his t heory w alls s hould b e a dded t o m inor t owns i n a reas w here t he m ilitary t hreat t o p eople a nd/or g overnment s upplies w as g reatest.

T hus

t he c oncentration o f w alled m inor t owns

i n t he n orth o f t he c ivilian z one t here w as a m ore h ierarchy

i n t his a rea,

w as g reater.

( see F ig 6 )

d oes n ot

s trongly r epresented s econd l evel b ut

T he m arked

t hat

i ndicate

t o t he

t hat

s ettlement

t he m ilitary t hreat

t o t his

a rea

l ack o f w alled m inor t owns,

d espite

t he c on-

c entration o f u nwalled m inor t owns, i n p roximity t o s ome m ajor t owns ( especially C irencester, L eicester a nd V erulamium/London) i s a lso i ndicative o f a m ilitary/political

f unction

( see F ig 6 ;

f rom W acher

t his

a ll m ajor t owns,

f igure

i s d erived

i s

F ig

1 ,

a nd s hows

t owns.

T hiessen p olygons

a re d rawn b etween

t o s how t he h alfway p oints b etween t ribal c entres)

e xplained b y t he c onsideration t hat

t he c entre o f d efence T o e xamine

1 974,

a ll w alled m inor t owns a nd a s ubjectively d efined

r ange o f u nwalled m inor c antonal c apitals

f or w alled m inor t owns

t he

t ribal c entre a cted a s

f or t he c ore a rea o f t he t ribe.

t he s uggestion t hat

t he walling o f s mall

t owns h ad

a m ilitary/political n ot a s ocial/economic s ignificance w e m ay e xamine t he a erial e xtent o f m inor t owns i n r elation t o t he p resence o r a bsence o f w alls a t

t he s ite.

F igure 7 s hows

s hip f or T rinovantian s mall

t owns

t he s ize/rank ( by s ize)

i llustrated b y R odwell

T he a rea o f e ach m inor t own w as c alculated a nd a dditional

m ajor t own o f C olchester a nd H arlow

f rom R odwell's

i nformation h as b een u sed t o a ssess

( Drury 1 976;

( Crummy

1 975)

F itzpatrick,

a nd

f or s ocial/economic r easons w e w ould e xpect

r anking t owns

( je

t he

l argest)

i mportant

t o b e w alled.

o f B raintree

i nformation).

w ere e mbanked

f actor s w ere m ore

d iagrams

t he e xtent o f t he

t he m inor t owns

p ersonal

r elation-

( 1975).

I f t owns

t he h ighest

I f m ilitary/political

i n d etermining w hether a m inor t own w as

w alled o r n ot w e n eed e xpect n o c orrelation b etween

l arge a reas o f

o ccupation i n t he m inor t own a nd w alling. A s w ell a s s howing t he s ize/rank r elationship o f T rinovantian m inor t owns F igure 7 d isting uishes m ajor t owns, w alled m inor t owns ( including R odwell's c lass o f ' embanked' m inor t owns, s ee R odwell 1 975) a nd u nwalled m inor t owns. I t

i s c lear t hat w alled m inor

t owards

t he

t op o f t he

s ize

t owns

s how n o m arked t endency t o c luster

s pectrum .

I n o ther w ords

H odder h as u sed a m easure o f p olitical m ilitary

i t

f unction

s eems

t hat

( walling)

t o e xamine a s upposedly e conomic h ierarchy. T he a bove a nalysis t hat m uch w ork i s a nd r ange o f

i s b ased o n i nadequate d ata a nd

i t

i s c lear

r equired a imed a t a ssessing t he a rea c overed b y

f unctions

p resent a t

a l arge n umber o f m inor t owns b efore

e ven s peculative c onclusions c an b e o ffered.

T he g eneral c onclusion

t o t his a ppendix i s t hat w e a re n ot i n a p osition t o o ffer d efinitive s tatements c oncerning t he h ierarchy o f R oman s ettlement s ystems f rom t he s een

s patial d ata a vailable a t

p resent.

N o c lear p atterning c an b e

i n t he d ata c onsidered o n F igure 6 ( and

m inor t owns h ave b een e xcluded T he

i n

f act m any u nwalled

f rom t his F igure).

s patial d ata c an n ot b e

t aken t o

o r a n a dministratively b ased m arket

s ystem .

44

i ndicate e ither a t ransport, W ithouta c learer

i dea

( 1 )

g I 4

4 5

1 00-

• C o lches te r 0 Wa l led M ino rT own

•

o U nwa l led M ino r T own • 00 0

00. 0

1

5

0

1 0

0

• 0

1 5

R ank F igure

7 .

S ize/Rank ( by s ize) o f ( after Rodwell, 1 976)

Various

C lasses

o f

Trinovantian T own

o f c hronology, s tatements. m arket

d istribution a nd h ierarchy w e c annot m ake c ategorical

G iven t his

i mpasse

I s uggest

s ystem s hould b e a ccepted a s

i t

i s

t hat

t he a dministered

s upported b y

l iterary

e vidence. I n a ddition A ppendix 9 c ontains s ome a rtefactual d ata t hat s upports t he a dministered m arket t heory. T he

f inal c onsideration i n t his a ppendix c oncerns

b etween m ajor a nd m inor t owns T he a dministered m arket

t he c ontrast

i n t erms o f p opulation a nd w ealth.

s ystem s uggests a p rimate u rban o rganisation

i n w hich t he m ajor c entre i s m any t imes l arger a nd r icher t han o ther c entres w ithin t he h ierarchy ( see J ohnson 1 980). I n o nly o ne a rea o f t he P rovince c an w e o btain a g ood

i dea o f t he

o f t owns,

t he T rinovantian a rea c onsidered a bove

i s n ot

i deal c ase s tudy a s

a n

C olchester,

s ize d istribution ( see F ig 7 ).

T his

t he m ajor t own, w as a c olonia,

a nd m ay h ave h ad r ather s pecialised f unctions. I n t erms o f s ize C olc hester i s d ominant, h owever, i ts d ominance i s n ot a s g reat a s w ould b e

p redicted w ithin a p rimate u rban o rganisation

3 27).

O ur

f actor a s

t here a re

e xtent

t he e arly R oman p eriod,

i n

( see G arner

1 967,

l ack o f c hronological c ontrol o n t he d ata m ay b e a b iasing

s ettlements,

i ndications

t hat C olchester r eached w hile m inor t owns,

m ay b e a l ate R oman p henomenon

i ts g reatest

a s e xtensive

( see S ection 5 a nd A ppendix

1 1). I n a ny c ase w e h ave l ittle i ndication o f t he c omparative d ens ities o f p opulation p er h a. b etween m inor a nd m ajor t owns. M inor t owns,

i n

( Rodwell

f act 1 975,

s how l ittle o f t he w ealth i n t erms o f p ublic b uildings 8 7)

R oman m ajor t own. b ably w as

p rimate

A PPENDIX 9 :

t hat

f orms a c onspicuous

T hus

t he u rban s ystem o f

e arly R oman B ritain p ro-

i n n ature.

ARTEFACT D ISTRIBUTIONS A ND T HE R OMAN U RBAN H IERARCHY

I s hall d iscuss m ay a dd

f eature o f t he e arly

s upport

i n t his a ppendix s ome m arketing p atterns

t o t he a pplication o f t he a dministered m arket

t hat s ystem

t o R oman B ritain. H odder h as m apped t he d istribution o f S avernake w are i n t he f irst a nd s econd c enturies A D ( 1972). R ecently H odder h as c ommented o n t he n orth-westwards b ias i t

i s

a ccepted

t hat

t his

i n t his d istribution

p ottery w as m arketed

( 1979,

1 93).

I f

f rom t he m inor t own

a t M ildenhall,

a nd w e a ccept T hiessen p olygon b oundaries b etween c an-

t onal c apitals

a s t he r ough l ocation o f t ribal b oundaries, t he n orthi n t he p ottery d istribution c an b e e xplained b y t he

w estwards

b ias

he t rade o f S avernake w are t o t he t ribal t erritory l imitations i n t other a rtefactual d ata p erhaps i ndicating s ome f orm o f t he D obunni ( o f s ocial b oundary s outh e ast o f M ildenhall h as b een r eviewed b y H odder 1 977, 3 27). A trebates a nd t his t he d istribution

M ildenhall l imited t he

t o t he

A n e astwards b ias

l ay c lose t o t he b oundary w ith t he t rade o f l ocal p ottery a nd t runcated

s outh a nd e ast o f t he i n

t own.

t he d istribution o f R owlands C astle p ottery

c an b e e xplained b y t he p roposition t hat t he k ilns l ay c lose t o w estern b oundary o f t he R egni. T hese s uggestions c onflict w ith

t he

H odder's ( 1974, 3 43) e conomic m arketing e xplanation f or t he d ispersal o f R owlands C astle p ottery, b ut f it h is m ore r ecent c onsiderations o f t rade

a s

T hese

i nstituted

i n s ocial

t wo c ases a ppear t o

f ormations s how

4 7

( 1979).

l imitations

t o m arketing c aused

b y

t he r ules o f t he a dministered m arket

t rade was

o ccurring o n a l ocal

c ontrolled b y t he m ajor w e m ight

e xpect

p roducers f act t iles

I n

o f C irencester

t he

a t

t he m ajor t own.

t he D obunni.

S ome o f t he

1 979,

( Darvill

1 979,

c ester,

a nd n ot M inety,

o f s ome

s tamped

a nd V iner,

t ile

1 978,

3 32)

t ypes

a nd

i t

s eems

p ossible

t hat

o f s tamped

( for e xample

b y m arketing t ile c lasses

a ppear

t own

T he

t o

t he c ase

t iles m ay b e

t he

i ndicated b y

t he A trebates

s tudies

f act

t hat C iren-

s hown b y M cWhirr i s

p ersonal

t ribe.

f urther

a dd

t hat

s upport

t he

i n t he d istribution

( Darvill,

t o h ave p assed n o

T hese a rtefact

I n

f ormed

f or a t

r equired

i nformation) l east

s ome

i nvolved b ulking t o t he m ajor m arket

b oundary o f t he D obunni w ith

s ystem m odel.

t o h ave

t he d istribution p rocess

f rom t he m ajor

o f m arketing o f t hese

s outh

t his v ol).

W hile a dditional i nformation

t iles

o f s tamped 1 0 k m .

i t w ould a lso a ppear

t he c entre p oint

o n p roduction a nd m arketing p atterns c lasses

t hird a rte-

t he c ase o f

a bout

D arvill a nd M cWhirr,

f orms

F ig 6 ).

i s

c lasses

t o h ave b een p roduced a t M inety, ( Darvill

I n my

T his

o f q uantities o f-tile C irencester a ppears

m ajor m arket

s how t hat

a nd w as n ot

l ight o f s uggestions m ade a bove

b ulking m ay h ave o ccurred.

a mongst

a re k nown

t erms

t own.

a nd t he p rime m arket

t iles

B oth c ases t ribe,

s ome e vidence o f b ulking o f p roducts b etween r ural

s tudy d irect

s tamped

s ystem .

l evel w ithin t he

f ollowed

T he

t ribal n ature

t he

f act

t han t he

s outh e ast

t hat

s everal

p roposed o f M ildenhall.

t o t he a dministered m arket

i n o ne c ase,

( Savernake P ottery)

t rade

a ppears t o h ave b een b ased o n t he m arket a rea o f a m inor t own s uggests t hat e xchange d id o ccur o n a m ore l ocalised l evel t han t hat o f t he m arket o f

t he m ajor

r estricted s ion o f

t o

t he

t own;

t ribe

h owever,

t he

t he a dministered m arket

A PPENDIX

1 0:

F or

a s

t rade a ppears

s tudy o f S avernake w are s ystem p roposed

i nstance B W H odder q uotes L ander ' a g reat

t horoughfare

s ee

B orgoo a nd o ther c ountries

A PPENDIX

a lso G ood 1 1:

THE

1 970,

( 1829)

f or c ompanies t o G onja:

a v ast q uantity o f l and i s c ultivated i n y ams, t o s upply t hem w ith p rovisions.' 2 9;

i n t his

t he v er-

p aper.

THE MARKET A S A F ACTOR I N T HE P ROCESS O F A GRICULTURAL I NTENSIFICATION, AN A FRICAN E XAMPLE

B umbum was... f rom H ausa,

t o h ave b een s upports

t o

t he e ffect

o f m erchants

t hat

t rading

a nd c onsequently

t he v icinity w ith c orn a nd ( quoted b y B W H odder 1 969,

4 3).

S PATIAL E XTENT O F R OMAN M INOR T OWNS O F THE E ARLY

AND L ATER P ERIOD A t

B raughing

2 h a.

a s

c ontrasted

f irst c entury A D o ccupation m ay h ave c overed o nly

s ured

f rom P artridge

t o o ver 1 975,

1 0 h a.

o ccupation p robably c overed 2 /3ha. o ver a bout

2 5 h a.

( Thomas,

f or t he

F ig 5 ).

w hile

f orthcoming).

R oman o ccupation m ay h ave c overed 2 /3 h a. i s

2 0/25 h a.

( Hingley,

m inor t own w as ( Drury o ut

t he

1 976,

1 24-5).

s econd

f orthcoming).

e vidently t o

l arger

I n E ssex

l ater R oman p eriod

A t A bingdon,

t han

A t i ts

A t F rilford, w hile

t he

B raintree

Oxon,

e arly

l ater R oman s ite t he

l ater R oman

e arly R oman p redecessor

( Rodwell

48

( mea-

e arly R oman

l ater R oman o ccupation s pread

i n g eneral m inor

f ourth c enturies

O xon,

t owns

1 975,

8 7).

e xpanded t hrough-

A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS I s hould

l ike

a nd c ommenting o n T im D arvill, T homas i n

f or

t his

t o

t hank M artin O ak a nd M ark M altby

t he t ext.

I n a ddition t hanks

A ndrew F itzpatrick,

s upplying

M ark M altby,

f or r eading

t o D r T im C hampion,

D avid M iles

i nformation o n s ome o f t he

t opics

a nd R oger

c onsidered

p aper.

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s on),

a nd J ohnson,

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f rom t he C otswolds R egion,

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t o F eudalism

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C ompetition,

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i n A frica

I mpact o f M oney o n a n A frican S ubsistence

T he c ase o f R oman B ritain

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C hase-Dunn,

C ollis,

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M arxist T heories

B AR 7 3,

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i n M arkets

2 9-60

i n T ribal a nd P easant E conomies

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T he R ural W olof o f G ambia,

P B ohannan a nd G D alton),

C apital, I mperialism a nd E xploitai n P ower a nd P ropaganda: a s ymposium

( ed M T L arsen)

U nequal E xchange:

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T rade F rankenstein,

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R egional

C ontext

G ermany,

i n B ulletin o f t he

1 978

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T he

I nstitute

7 3-112

4 9

I nternal S tructure a nd

S ociety

i n S outh-Western

o f A rchaeology o f L ondon

1 5,

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S S ,

1 967

F rere,

S S ,

1 975

B ritannia T he O rigins

R oman B ritain F ulford,

M ,

1 976

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i n B ritain a nd B eyond

o f

4 -7

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M ,

1 978

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T he

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i n M odels G emery,

I nterpretation o f B ritain's L ate R oman T rade:

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B ritain a nd

N ,

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G reen,

H J M ,

B ritain H arris,

W R ,

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H odder,

S ome M arketing M odels

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1 977

1 979

8 87-909

f or R omano-British C oarse

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i n t he S patial A nalysis ( Macro),

o f

i n S patial

2 23-342

a nd U kwu,

M ,

1 971

M an 6 , U I ,

T he N on-Random S pacing o f R omano-

1 969

1 978

C onquerors a nd

H opkins,

K ,

1 980

T axes

a nd T rade

R oman S tuds

E ,

1 977

A gainst

J ohnson,

G A ,

1 980

7 0,

M arkets

i n W est A frica

S laves i n

t he R oman Empire

( 200 B C-AD

1 01-125

B ehaviouralism

R ank-Size C onvexity a nd S ystems

A V iew f rom A rchaeology,

i n

B C B urnham

3 91-407

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i n J .

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B AR 7 3,

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P re-Roman a nd R omano-British T ribal E conomies,

B ritish S mall T owns, H odder,

i n

9 -23

t he S tudy o f R omano-British

t he R egional S cale

( ed D C larke),

a nd H B J ohnson), I ,

o f R oman

1 83-210

3 40-359

S ome N ew D irections

I nvasion a nd R esponse:

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B AR 1 5,

6 7-74

A rchaeological D ata a t

H odder,

i n S mall T owns

T he S patial D istribution o f R omano-British S mall

B AR 1 5,

A rchaeology

i n M odernization:

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i n S mall T owns o f R oman B ritain

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A

1 22-137

i n S ocial C hange

i n A rchaeology

i n B rittania 5 ,

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3 03-360

2 23-246

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L ocational M odels a nd

1 975

5 9-69

I mperialism i n R epublican R ome

I ntroduction,

i n M odels

1 974

P ottery,

T owns,

( ed M W einer),

R oman G odmanchester,

1 979

S ettlement,

H odder,

1 5,

R ural M arkets a nd T rade

1 975

i n

( eds

T he A tlantic S lave T rade:

T he C ity a nd M odernization,

t alist W orld E conomy

H odder,

1 974

( eds W R odwell a nd R T R owley),

H ockey-Kaplan,

H odder,

J S ,

i n J A frican H istory

o f G rowth

1 970

C BA R es R ep 2 4,

( eds R C horley a nd P H aggett),

H A a nd H ogendorn,

T he D ynamics

t he R hine P rovinces

o f U rban G eography a nd S ettlement L ocation,

i n G eography

T entative M odel, G insburg,

i n

( eds J D ore a nd K G reene),

S cope o f M edieval H istorical a nd A rchaeological A nalogy,

J d u P lat T aylor a nd H C leere),

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B AR 1 5,

3 01-316

R oman S hipping a nd T rade:

G ood,

i n S mall T owns

T he L ocation o f R omano-British P ottery K ilns,

P ottery S tudies B AR 3 0,

o f S mall T owns,

( eds W R odwell a nd R T R owley),

E conomic G eography

5 0

5 6,

I ntegration : 2 34-47

J ucker-Fleetwood,

E E ,

1 964

M oney a nd F inance

i n A frica:

T he

E xperience o f G hana, M orocco, N igeria, t he R hodesias a nd N yasaland, t he S udan a nd T unisia f rom t he E stablishment o f t heir C entral B anks u ntil

1 962

K ay, G , 1 964 C hief K alaba's V illage; A P reliminary S urvey o f E conomic L ife i n a n U shi V illage, N orthern R hodesia K elley,

K B ,

1 976

D endritic C entral-Place S ystems a nd T he R egional

O rganization o f N avajo T rading P osts,

i n R egional A nalysis

1

( ed C S mith), 2 19-254 K ohl, I ,

P L , 1 975 4 3-50

T he A rchaeology o f T rade

L evy,

J P ,

T he E conomic L ife o f t he A ncient W orld

1 964

L iversidge, M altby,

M ,

M cWhirr,

J ,

1 968

1 979

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B ritain

i n t he R oman E mpire

T he A nimal B ones

1 976

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W est C ountry,

i n D ialectical A nthropology

f rom E xeter

( Corinium):

1 971-1975

A C ivitas C apital

i n T he R oman W est C ountry:

C eltic S ociety ( eds K B ranigan a nd P F owler), M cWhirr,

A a nd V iner,

T iles

O rme,

1 978

B ritannia 9 ,

F ,

B ,

1 967

T he P roduction a nd D istribution o f

1 973

P artridge,

( ed C R enfrew),

1 975

B raughing,

W R odwell a nd R T R owley), P ercival,

J ,

R eece,

1 972

R ,

1 976

i n T he E xplanation o f

4 81-92 i n S mall T owns o f R oman B ritain

B AR 1 5,

T he R oman V illa:

( eds

1 39-58

A H istorical

I ntroduction

A S hort S urvey o f R oman C oins F ound o n F ourteen S ites

i n B ritain, R ,

i ts N eighbours

A rchaeology a nd E thnography,

C R ,

t o t he C irencester

3 59-377

T he R oman E mpire a nd

C ulture C hange

R eece,

8 1-98

i n R oman-Britain w ith P articular R eference

R egion, M illar,

D ,

i n t he

C lassical C ulture a nd

B ritannia 3 ,

1 973

2 69-76

R oman C oinage

i n t he W estern E mpire,

B ritannia 4 ,

2 27-52 R eece,

R ,

1 980

T own a nd C ountry:

A rchaeology R ichards,

P ,

1 2,

1 977

r ica - N otes

S ocial O rganization a nd S ocial C hallenge

f or H istorians a nd A rchaeologists,

O rganisation o f C ulture R uyle,

E E ,

T he E nd o f R oman B ritain,

1 975

W orld

7 7-92

( ed

I H odder),

i n W est A f-

i n T he S patial

2 71-289

M ode o f P roduction a nd M ode o f E xploitation:

M echanical a nd t he D ialectical,

i n D ialectical A nthropology

T he 1 ,

7 -23 S chneider, P easant S mith,

C ,

E lites:

J ,

1 977

W as T here a P re-Capitalist W orld-System?

S tudies 6 , 1 976a

i n

2 0-9

E xchange S ystems

a nd

t he S patial D istribution o f

T he O rganization o f S tratification

i n R egional A nalysis

2 ( ed C S mith),

51

3 09-374

i n A grarian S ocieties,

S mith,

C ,

1 976b

M odels

C S mith), S mith,

R egional a nd E conomic

a nd S ocioeconomic P roblems,

C ,

S ystems:

L inking G eographical

i n R egional A nalysis

1

( ed

3 -63

1 976c

C ause a nd C onsequence o f C entral-Place T ype

W estern G uatemala, S teponaitis,

V P ,

i n R egional A nalysis

1 978

i n

2 19-254

L ocational T heory a nd C omplex C hiefdoms:

M ississippian E xample, B S mith),

1 ( ed C S mith),

i n M ississippian S ettlement

P atterns

A

( ed

4 17-53

S teward, J H , 1 970 P erspectives o n M odernization: I ntroduction t o t he S tudies, i n C ontemporary C hange i n T raditional S ocieties 1 , I ntroduction a nd A frican T ribes S tokpol,

T ,

1 976

W allerstein's W orld C apitalist

a nd H istorical C ritique, T odd,

M ,

1 978

V illas

J L ,

1 973

E conomy: 1 5,

T he

( ed M T odd),

S ystem :

A T heoretical 1 075-1090

i n S tudies

i n t he

1 97-208

I ntegration o f t he L ocal

T he T iv C ase,

1 -55

i n American J o f S ociology 8 2,

a nd R omano-British S ociety,

R omano-British V illa T seayo,

( Ed J H S teward),

i nto t he N ational

i n N igerian J o f E conomic a nd S ocial S tudies

4 23-436

W acher,

J ,

1 974

W allerstein, a nd

T he T owns

I ,

1 974

o f R oman B ritain

T he M odern W orld S ystem :

C apitalist A uiculture

t he O rigin o f t he E uropean W orld-Economy

i n t he

S ixteenth

C entury W allerstein,

I ,

p retative

1 978

I ssues,

W orld-Systems A nalysis: i n S ocial C hange

( Ed B H ockey-Kaplan), W allerstein, W atson,

I ,

J P W ,

1 979 1 973

W ebster,

G ,

1 975

R oman B ritain W ild,

J P ,

1 978

T he B ones

f rom P it

1 5,

i n E xcavations

i n t he C ity o f L ondon

1 972,

S mall T owns W ithout D efences, ( eds W R odwell a nd R T R owley), C ross-Channel T rade

a nd

a nd Beidelman,

T 0 ,

1 970

i n T raditional

( ed J H S teward), W olf,

E R ,

S ocieties

1 ,

5 1-53

5 3-66

I ndustry,

i n

t he R hine P rovinces

T anganyika:

7 9-81

A S tudy o f a n

i n C ontemporary

I ntroduction a nd A frican T ribes

5 7-203

a nd H ansen E C ,

1 972

T he H uman C ondition

E A ,

1 969

P opulation a nd H istory

W rigley,

E A ,

1 978

P arasite o r S timulus:

i n T owns

S oc 2 4,

B AR 1 5,

C BA R es R ep 2 4,

W rigley,

E conomy,

a t A ldgate

H C hapman

i n S mall T owns o f

t he T extile

B ritain a nd

African S ociety a t N ational a nd L ocal L evels, C hange

( eds

T rans L ondon a nd M iddlesex A rchaeol

( eds J d u P lat T aylor a nd H C leere), E H ,

I nter-

2 19-235

R oman S hipping a nd T rade:

W inter,

T heoretical a nd

t he C apitalist W orld E conomy

T he C apitalist W orld E conomy

a nd B usk L ane H ouse a nd T J ohnson),

i n

i n S ocieties

( eds

2 95-309

5 2

i n L atin A merica

T he T own i n a P re-Industrial

P A brams

a nd E A W rigley),

CONFUSION IN THE COUNTRYSIDE: SOME COMMENTS FROM THE UPPER THAMES REGION David Miles

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1 1

No p eriod i n British archaeology i s s o r ich in material r emains a s the four c enturies a fter Christ. From no period has more material b een accumulated i n r ecent y ears. I n s pite o f this the s pate o f r ecent t ext books and works o f s ynthesis devoted to Roman Britain s hows l ittle d evelopment f rom those o f the l ast g eneration. Much o f the i nformation has b een gathered in a f ragmentary and haphazard f ashion. Nineteen hundred y ears a fter they were written S eneca's words a re no l ess true ' Anything that i s divided i nto minute grains b ecomes confused.' ( Letters, LXXXIX). The s tate o f Romano-British rural archaeology b ears more than a passing r esemblance to Kuhn's description o f a pre-scientific s ubject I n the a bsence o f a paradigm or s ome c andidate f or paradigm, a ll o f the facts that could possibly apertain t o the d evelopment o f a g iven s cience are l ikely to s eem equally r elevant. As a r esult, early f act gathering i s a f ar more n early random a ctivity than the o ne that s ubsequent s cientific d evelopment makes f amiliar. Furthermore, in the a bsence o f a r eas on for s eeking s ome particular form o f more r econdite information, early f act gathering i s u sually r estrict ed to t he wealth o f data that l ie r eady to hand... S ince any description must be partial the typical natural h istory o ften omits f rom i ts immensely c ircums tantial a ccount j ust t hose details that l ater s cient ists will f ind s ources o f important i llumination... s ince the casual f act gatherer s eldom possesses the t ime or t he tools to b e critical, the n atural h istories o ften j uxtapose descriptions.., that we are now quite unable t o confirm. Only occasionally a s in the c ases o f ancient s tatics, dynamics and g eometric optics, do f acts c ollected with s o l ittle guidance f rom preestablished theory s peak with s ufficient c larity to permit t he emergence o f a f irst paradigm. ( Kuhn 1 97, 1 5-16.

5 3

Roman Britain has had i ts f irst paradigms: those g enerated by c lassical r eferences. The mosaic pavements which were thought to have graced Caesar's t ent, Boudicca's burnt l ayers, the works o f the conquering Roman a rmy and the gentlemen's villa have a ll provided past s tereotypes. The 1 960s s aw an upsurge o f information typified by the s urveys o f North-Western England, the F enland, Wales, Wessex and the South-West i n Rural S ettlement in Roman Britain ( Thomas 1 966). The i mpression i s o f a t ime o f optimism. The l andscape was proving to have d eeper and more complex roots than had been s uspected by previous g enerations. The s taff o f the Royal Commission, in particular, were adding s ignif icantly to t he monochrome picture o f rural Roman B ritain painted by the r elatively meagre written s ources. The British peasantry, the b ackbone o f t he province, was f or the f irst t ime emerging f rom o bscurity. A s mall n umber o f meticulously d etailed s tudies ( eg F ii4eld and Overton Downs, Fowler 1 967; the F enland, Phillips 1 970) r evealed the great potential o f the l andscape. The late 1 960s and 1 970s s aw the data base o f r ural archaeology s prouting l ike a f ield o f mushrooms. Aerial photography, f ield s urvey and motorway archaeology r evealed that traces o f ancient human a ctivity were everywhere. The r are, unique, i solated or even d iscrete s ite was a thing o f the past ( Fowler 1 972, 1 08-9). British a rchaeology was not conceptually or institut ionally equipped to cope. While the ' quantitative e xplos ion' r everberated, the qualitative evidence continued to d ecline: earthworks were and are ploughed away, waterlogged areas drained or quarried, urban h interlands buried by s urburbia. Conservation policies took s econd place to t he more h eroic and n ewsworthy a ctivity o f r escue digging. The r esults have been disappointing: the p iecemeal g rabbing o f facts has not l ed to a s tate o f enlightenment ( Miles 1 981). The l andscape has r eplaced the s ite a s the unit which we c laim to s tudy but much l andscape archaeology has r esult ed in a morass o f c ircumstantial d etail. While the urban archaeological units within their s patially and c hronolog ically narrower confines have been a ble to a pproach s ome s ort o f r esearch consensus their rural counterparts h ave f loundered. Cherry and

Shennan have

emphasised

the

problem

The most commonly d eclared a im i s an i nterest i n the d escription and understanding o f the e volution o f the l andscape. We would r eject this a nd maintain that our focus o f interest must be t he human population that exploited t hese l andscapes. The l andscape i s merely the parchment on which t he s tory o f s uch exploitation over t ime i s written. The l andscape archaeolog ist preoccupied with the kinks in h is parish boundaries

5 4

can be a s o bscurantist a s the most unrepentant pottery t ypologist ( Cherry and Shennan 1 978a, 102). The s tudy o f Romano-British Countryside has b een h indered by two c ontrasting a pproaches - the broad s implif ication and t he l ocalised and parochial. Rural S ettlement in Roman Britain ( Thomas 1 966) emphasised the r egional complexity o f Roman Britain but l ittle a dvance has s ince been made in explicitly r egional s tudies. Theoretical r egional s trategies have been outlined by a n umber o f a polog ists over the past eighteen years ( Binford 1 964; Mueller 1 975; Cherry and Shennan 1 978b). That they have not been generally implemented i s partly due to the f ragmented nature o f B ritish a rchaeological institutions and in the case o f Romanists t o a l ack o f agreement on what constitute the most important f ields o f r esearch. ( The military and mosaics are difficult to dislodge f rom the top o f the r esearch charts; Jones and Miles 1 979, 3 15.) I do not i ntend to produce a culture h istory o f RomanoBritish r ural s ettlement in the Upper Thames Valley but to outline s ome o f the a pproaches and possibilities o f an explicit r egional r esearch s trategy. Such a s trategy d epends on d iscussion between the various f ield archaeologists, a erial photographers, biologists and others. We may a ll view the problems f rom different angles but s till n eed a greater measure o f consensus a bout what the problems are and the methods o f tackling them. THE REGION The d efinition o f r egions i s one o f the more d ifficult problems; there i s no one s olution. The g eological/ topographical unit i s the most s traightforward in those countries with r elatively s imple and l arge s cale l and forms In Britain obvious c andidates are small-scale g eographical areas eg the Cotswolds, Dartmoor or a s h ere the Upper Thames Valley. Alternatively we might work on the l arger s cale East Anglia, t he South West etc. No ' region' i s i deal for a ll purposes. Cultural s ystems s hift and change through t ime and s ubsystems occupy overlapping but varying areas ( Shennan 1 978). In Romano-British s tudies the tribal area or urban h interland would provide a convenient unit but s till we have problems o f definition eg Corinium's f unction a s an i mperial a dministrative c entre, and agricultural market or a s upplier o f mosaics would involve considerable different areas o f potential r esearch. Cultural s ystems are rarely i f e ver c losed ( Hill 1 977). Even when l egal boundaries are known economic, r eligious and s ocial a ctivit ies may not r espect them. Many archaeological organisations in Britain a re l imit ed by D istrict, County or multi-County boundaries. Many o f these are n ot i deal f rom the point o f view o f r esearch, principally b ecause they are too s mall. The r eal d ifficulty arises h owever i f these divisions encourage a n arrow

5 5

and parochial attitude. The growth o f interest in r esearch designs i n British archaeology i s a welcome a nd n ecessary d evelopment ( Hassall 1 978, 1 32). Unfortunately their introduction into D epartment o f Environment grant a pplication forms i s viewed by many a rchaeologists a s one more bureaucratic chore. To s erve a useful purpose, the r esearch design must be part o f t he communication a t r egional l evel and d esigned to attack s pecific problems. A woolly essay a bout ' why my s ite i s i mportant' s erves l ittle purpose. R egional s tudies n ecessitate integrated t eams with a wide r ange o f s kills. Q uestions and methods n eed to b e defined and correlated with other r egions. At present f ew pieces o f r esearch in Romano-British archaeo logy a re i mplemented in ways which a llow c omparison a nd t esting with others. THE UPPER THAMES

REGION

This g eographical area s tretches f rom t he s ource o f the r iver in the G loucestershire Cotswolds in the n orth west, 1 00 km downstream to the Goring Gap. The Upper T hames basin includes the valleys of a n umber o f t ributary s treams, s teep s ided and narrow in the Cotswolds ( Rivers Coln, L each, Windrush and Evenlode) and broader downstream ( Rivers Cherwell, Ock and Thame). The s carp and vale landscape consists o f a lternating bands o f dry l imestone, chalk h ills and wet c lay vales with gravel t erraces. This l andscape provides a wide r ange o f r esources and conditions f or a gric ulturalists over a s mall area. For the a rchaeologist i t provides a convenient unit in which to s tudy past economic s trategies and contrasting s ettlement types. ROMANO-BRITISH SETTLEMENT The Upper Thames r egion i s one o f contrasts which themselves g enerate a n umber o f l ines o f enquiry. While i t forms a g eographical unit the valley has traditionally been a f rontier z one. The distribution o f prehistoric culture fossils ( eg haematite ware; Harding 1 974, f ig 5 1), l ate I ron Age tribal groupings, and S axon kingdoms have a ll ebbed and f lowed in the Thames valley. At the extreme western edge o f t he r egion l ies C irenc ester ( Corinium) the Civitas capital o f the Dobunni, a nd the s econd l argest town in the province o f B ritain and probably the f ourth c entury c apital o f B ritannia Prima ( McWhirr 1 976). I n r egional t erms h owever the main i nterest l ies i n i ts role a s a market c entre and s timulator o f R omani sation in the s urrounding countryside. On the north-eastern edge o f t he Upper Thames basin i s the s mall walled town o f Alchester and t o the s outh Dorchester ( Rowley 1 975). Non-walled s ettlements with a possible market and/or craft s pecialist f unction a re l ess well known. There are a n umber o f c andidates at nodal points, notably where roads s uch a s Akeman S treet c ross

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Romano-British villas and towns i n the Upper Thames Region ( solid l ines i ndicate known Roman roads; the dotted l ine i ndicates the Oxfordshire C ounty b oundary. F or s ite numbers s ee Appendix 1 ).

tributary r ivers ( Jones and Miles 1 979, f ig 1 ; Rodwell 1 975, F ig 2 ): Coln St Aldwyns on the Coln, Asthall o n the Windrush, Wilcote on the Evenlode, S ansom's P latt on t he Glyme. I n the Thames Valley Abingdon at the Ock/Thames confluence, Wallingford, Grove n ear Wantage, Stanford i n the Vale on the Ock ( Fig 1 ) and Frilford a lso on a c rossing o f the Ock have l arge but i ll-defined Romano-British s ettlements. H ingley's r ecent work at Frilford ( Hingley 1 982) has r evealed a l arge s ettlement around the well known t emple and a lso a theatre or amphitheatre. This distribution pattern o f walled towns and l esser c entres, 7 -15 km a part, begins to r esemble more c losely the pattern o f markets in the Upper Thames Valley in the medieval period ( Hoskins 1 954, f igs 3 6, 3 7). There i s a contrast in the rural s ettlement pattern between those areas dominated by villa estates, notably t he Cotswold tributary valleys and the Thames valley i tself where native s ettlements are the dominant s ettlement t ype. The r eason for this contrast i s one o f the o utstanding questions i n the r egional archaeology o f the Roman p eriod. The answer may l ie a s much i n the underlying I ron Age s ocial and economic s tructure a s in s pecifically RomanoB ritish h istory o f the area. A third important a spect o f local rural s tudies i s the part played by industry. The Upper Thames i s poor in mineral r esources but had an i mportant pottery industry c entred on the Cowley district o f Oxford ( Young 1 977). The i ndustry has implications for the use o f a wider l ands cape. Primary white c lays were transported f rom Shotover H ill n ear Wheatley; and Greensand grit ( for mortaria) and possibly f uel camefrom Boar's H ill s outh o f the Thames. The transportation o f the pottery downstream may a lso have d epended on the Thames ( Fulford and Hodder 1 979). METHODS 1 .

OF EXPLORING THE

Aerial

LANDSCAPE

Photography

The n ear-profligacy with which s ites were s trewn a long the gravels was a lmost taken a s what could be expected in an a rea s o importantly s ituated between the c entres o f prehistoric Britain ( Wessex) and Britain's b est University ( Fowler 1 972, 1 09). S ince the pioneering f lights o f Major Allen in t he 1 930s the Thames Valley has been well s erved by a s mall n umber o f a erial photographers. The analyses and mapping o f photographs have proceeded more s lowly. Not until 1 974 was an attempt made to plot s ystematically the cropmark evidence for the gravel t erraces and f lood p lain ( Benson and Miles 1 974). The rapid s ketch p lots i n The Upper Thames Valley provided a gazetteer and coarse guide to a palimpset o f s ettlements, paddocks and l anes. More o f the cropmarks undoubtedly belong to the Roman period than any other.

5 8

F A IRFORD /LECHLADE

F igure

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The Romano-British s ettlement, roads Claydon P ike, L echlade and Fairford,

5 9

and f ields at Gloucestershire

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Romano-British Villas in Oxfordshire: ( Asterisks indicate known f rom a erial

house plans. photographs)

a . Northleigh; b . I slip; c . Ditchley; d . Garford; e (i). Shakenoak Building B ( early mid 2 C .); e (ii). Shakenoak B uilding B ( mid 2 -3 C .); c (iii). Shakenoak Building A ( mid 3 -early 5 C.); f . Woodstock; g . Frilford; h . Little Milton; i . Barton Court Farm, Radley; j . Asthall, Worsham; k . Harpsden

I t i s o ccasionally s uggested that areas l ike the Thames Valley have been f lown s o o ften that attention should be turned e lsewhere. S ince 1 974 the Thames Valley has not been f lown intensively. Nevertheless analysis o f r ecent r esults ( 1973-1977) r evealed an a pproximate 3 0% i ncrease in the a reas o f cropmarks ( Hingley 1 979). This r epresents a considerable contribution to our knowledge o f the RomanoBritish l andscape and included ( 1) completely n ew s ites s uch a s the amphitheatre at Frilford; n ew villas eg Garford; native s ettlements eg on the Parks and City Football ground in Oxford. ( 2) Infilling o f important detail eg s outh east and north east o f Long Wittenham in one o f t he l argest Romano-British c ropmark complexes in the Thames Valley ( Benson and Miles 1 974, Map 3 5). Aerial photography continues to produce information which i s essential f or detailed s tudies o f Romano-British l and use. Until r ecently no Romano-British f ield s ystems could be positively i dentified in the Thames Valley ( Miles 1 978). S ince 1 976 one has been r ecognised and excavated at Claydon P ike, L echlade ( Fig 2 ) ( Miles and Palmer 1 981, f ig 4 3) and another possible f ield s ystem l ocated a t Port Meadow, Oxford ( Lambrick 1 982, f ig 3 4). Aerial s urvey has o ften been carried out in the past in an arbitrary f ashion. There i s s till a great n eed f or s ystematic and problemorientated s urvey. Many areas have s carcely been f lown at a ll ( eg parts o f the Cotswolds and the Corallian Ridge) and even in the Thames Valley r eturns on a erial s urvey have s carcely begun to diminish l et a lone r each s aturation point. Analysis o f a erial photographs by s tudents o f Roman Britain continues to be n eglected. Villas for e xample are u sually r epresented by a rchitectural plans ( Fig 3 ). In many cases photographs are a lready a vailable which s how the pattern o f paddocks and t racks a round the main buildings ( Fig 6 -9). The L ittle Milton building, for example, makes f requent a ppearances in t extbooks to i llustrate the so-called cottage villa, but not with i ts pattern o f s urrounding c ropmarks ( Fig 9 ). Aerial photographs can r eveal underlying prehistoric and early Romano-British phases o f s ettlement and more rarely post-Roman s ettlement ( Benson and M iles 1 974, F ig 1 5), information which c an be vital i n the s election or r ejection o f areas f or e xcavation. Aerial photographs a lso provide information a bout the nature o f the l andscape i tself. I n particular r elict water courses and marsh, s carcely detectable on t he ground in r ecently drained a rable f ields, are exactly the a reas l ikely to be r ich i n well preserved biological evidence, p eat deposits and a rtefacts. 2 .

Field

Survey

Any r egional s trategy in archaeology s hould be built on the foundations o f a programme o f s ystematic f ield s urvey ( Schadla-Hall and Shennan 1 978). This i s the one a spect

6 1

o f archaeology which i s persistently n eglected in B ritain partly because o f t he r esistance o f s ome o f the most a ble f ieldworkers to any quantitative a pproach. Sites a nd Monuments R ecords have n ow been established in a ll but o ne English county but the majority o f them contain data which more c losely r esembles the d iscoveries o f Walpole's T hree Princes o f S erendip than those o f a s cientific enquiry. The r esults a re much a bused distribution maps f rom which f ew valid and t estable hypotheses c an be drawn. I n t he Upper Thames r egion the prolific r esults o f a erial p hotography have perhaps inhibited s urface f ieldwalking. I n f act both are complementary ( Hingley 1 981). On the o ne hand artefact d istribution can h elp to i nterpret cropmarks and on the other f ieldwalking c an l ocate s ites where a erial a rchaeology i s l ess e ffective or has s imply not been c arried o ut. The a ims o f i ntensive f ieldwork a re s traightforward: How many s ites? How do they vary t hrough t ime? What i s their f unction? How do t hey r elate to environmental varia bles and to one another? ( Cherry and Shennan 1978, 1 045 ). The main problems o f f ieldwalking are well known: the constraints o f modern l and use ( Fig 4 ) and the i nvisibility o f s ome a spects o f the archaeological r ecord. The Romano-British archaeologist has l ess excuse than most however a s Romano-British a rtefacts and s ite debris a re r elatively easy to l ocate. There i s an a lmost complete l ack o f what has b een c alled ' middle range theory' in f ield archaeology. F ield walking in particular n eeds to be s ystematised so t hat we c an compare t he s ize and density o f artefact s catters. I f we are to i nvestigate the f unction and r elationship o f s ites in the l andscape then s ample unit s ize must b e d esi gned a ccordingly: a l arge s ettlement may be visible f rom 5 0 m away but a s mall i solated building will only b e f ound by c lose inspection. L ike a erial photography f ieldwalking has l imitations but these can be s pecified. I n the U pper Thames r egion three blocks o f l and have r ecently b een s elected f or ' total' f ieldwalking. Lacking a r egionally based programme t hese three a reas were chosen to counteract the t raditional l ocal bias o f a erial photography. The a im was to achieve c omparisons between Roman-British s ettlements on the g ravel t erraces and l ess well known parts o f the Ock Valley and Corallian r idge. K ingston Bagpuize i s a c lassic s trip parish, defined by t enth c entury charters, and running f rom damp Thames-side meadows in t he north o ver the s carp and d ip s lope o f t he Corallian r idge to the meadows o f t he Ock i n the s outh. The parish i s a pproximately 5 km l ong and s lightly l ess t han 1 km wide. The parish i s unpromising f rom the point o f view o f the Romano-British archaeologist. There i s only a s mall amount o f a erial cover, much o f the parish i s under pasture and parkland and the c entral a rea

6 2

i s occupied by a l arge village. Nevertheless f ive a reas o f Romano-British a ctivity were i dentified - four on f reshly ploughed f ields ( about 3 0% o f the total area) and one under a farmyard when a barn and s ilo were being constructed. Even i n this d ifficult a rea, i t was possible to s ee s ome patterns emerging - two villas and s ubsidiary s ites on belts o f well drained s oils, with good arable l and behind them and pasture in f ront. The s ite o f the modern village r emains the principal unknown, but n ot n ecessarily unknowa ble ( see Standford in the Vale Fig 4 ). The s econd s urvey o f the Frilford and Garford area a lso on the Corallian Ridge and Ock Valley has been prolif ic in r esults: an extensive area o f s ettlement a round the known Romano-Celtic t emple has been defined, an amphitheatre or theatre l ocated in a f ield known a s the Trendles, a possible n ew Roman road has been i dentified, a s well a s two villas ( Figs 6 and 7 ), native s ettlements and trackways. The valley o f the Frogmore Brook west o f Stanford in the Vale ( Fig 4 ) was chosen a s the third area partly because i t was completely unknown archaeologicälly and partly because o f the presence o f an enthusiastic amateur archaeologist. Much o f the l ittle Frogmore valley had been common l and and s ome o f i t was ploughed for the f irst t ime in the weeks before i t was f irst f ieldwalked. I t i s a lmost empty o f modern o ccupation, though parts are wooded or quarried for s and. The valley proved to be an a lmost intact Romano-British l andscape. A l arge and c learly visible villa occupied a bench o f gravel on the s outh s ide o f the s tream. On the s lope a bove l ay an extensive native s ettlement. Two small buildings were found by the s tream, one with paddocks behind ( found by s ubsequent a erial s urvey). A l arge Roman wall f oundation, possibly an estate boundary wall, r an at r ight angles to Frogmore Brook. At the conf luence o f Frogmore Brook and the Ock a l arge RomanoBritish s ettlement has been l ocated under the modern village o f S tanford in the Vale, thanks to the presence o f a l ocal archaeologist in the village. The f ord a cross the Ock may a lso be ancient: the road i s described a s the Ridgeway on Saxon charters and i t has been s uggested that Stanford i s an early Saxon s ettlement name ( Gelling 1 978, 1 18-9); early Saxon pottery has been found on the villa s ite. These l imited f ieldwalking exercises have s hown that the Romano-British s ettlement pattern can be r econstructed to a considerable degree in the Upper Thames r egion by a erial photography and f ield s urvey. On the Thames Valley gravel t erraces a pproximately one Romano-British s ite can be r ecognised t o every 1 -1.5 s q km; in our s ample f ieldwalking a reas t he ratio i s a bout 1 :1 km. In Oxfordshire a s a whole 1 223 Romano-British f ind s pots are r ecorded in 2 650 s q km, i e 1 :2 s q km. In themselves these f igures mean l ittle. The entire r esources o f the l andscape a ppear

6 3

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to have b een used but l ittle i s known o f actual s ettlement and population d ensity l et a lone the f luctuating pattern o f activities a nd s ocial groupings. Certainly we a re in no position to e stimate population on the basis o f a s catter o f meaningless dots on a distribution map ( for d iscussion s ee Fowler 1 981, 8 4-88). 3 .

Excavation

Most excavations have been s mall-scale and l imited i n their a ims a nd methods. This i s not in i tself a critic ism. More s eriously, f ew have posed and s ought to answer any but the most basic chronological questions. The s tandard o f Romano-British e xcavation i s o ften t echnically h igh - robber trenches and t imber buildings are r ecovered, but a s Kuhn notes i n the quote at the beginning o f this paper ' early f act gathering i s u sually r estricted to the wealth o f data that l ie r eadily to hand...' S killed and r easonably l arge-scale excavations have s timulated interest in i nter-settlement r elationships and the wider use o f the l andscape. The Shakenoak . and B arton Court Farm Villas ( Brodribb, Hands and Walker 1 968-78; Miles 1 978, F ig 1 0.3; Miles forthcoming) f or example, a ct a s a warning to o versimplistic model builders -. or those who would r ely too much on s urface f ieldwork ( see F ig 5 for Shakenoak' s complex evolution). Questions o f vill/village/ estate r elationships, Celtic/Roman and Saxon continuity are raised by both o f these excavations, and o pportunities e xist t o investigate t hem f urther both around these villas and in comparable areas. I f we are t o tackle the obvious problems o f s ite h ierarchy and f unction, l and-use, t enure and s ocial s truct ure then we must formulate our questions and a pproaches. I f a s B arker ( 1977) has s aid, excavation i s o ften a chronicle o f unexpected discoveries, this does not j ustify blind data gathering. Romano-British excavations have too o ften r esulted in the r epetitious collection o f r edundant information. To s tudy s ocial and economic s yst ems we s hould work f rom the whole downward; on the l arge s cale both conceptually and sometimes in t erms o f excavation. The most i mportant and at prese .nt most n eglect ed a spect o f e xcavation i s the r etrieval o f comparable data. I f the l ogic o f this i s a ccepted then i t l eads to an acceptance o f probabilistic s ampling s trategies o f t he kind r ecently employed on s ome Thames Valley I ron Age and Romano-British s ites ( Jones 1 978a; Wilson 1 978; Jones and Miles 1 979). These i nvolve s tating explicitly i n r esearch designs how the excavation will proceed, what areas will be i nvestigated and in what way. Trench s izes, f or example, will d epend on what activities are being investigated and s ieve-mesh and s ample s ize a ffect the r etrieval o f artefacts a nd biological information. At C laydon P ike, L echlade and F airford ( Jones and Miles 1 979) the s ampling s trategies o ver a 1 00 ha complex o f s ettlements a nd t heir

6 5

l and are designed to i nvestigate s uch diverse activity u nits a s f ields and trackways ( by phosphate analysis a nd artefact s catter in buildings, i t.

the topsoil), the u se o f watercourses, i solated a n ucleated village and building platforms w ithin

An i mportant e lement in decision making i s the quality o f preservation. Projects s uch a s S tar Carr ( Clark 1 954) have i llustrated t he value o f choosing the most favourable p lace for problem orientated investigations. In t he T hames Valley there are l arge n umbers o f n ucleated village-type Romano-British s ettlements ( Miles 1 978, Figs 1 0.1; 1 0.2). F ew have been e xcavated on any s cale, and those ( eg Applef ord, H inchcliffe and Thomas 1 980) h ave s uffered s o badly f rom medieval and modern p loughing t hat interpretations o f f unction, s ocial s tructure and population are not possi ble. The C laydon P ike village has the advantage that throughout the medieval period i t l ay in the extreme eastern corner o f Fairford Manor and was not p loughed until 2 0 years a go. Tragically this i s now t he best preserved R omanoBritish s ettlement that we know o f i n the Upper Thames Valley. This s tate o f preservation on the s ite, a lso p artly due to a protective mantle o f post-Roman a lluvium, has m eant that f limsy agricultural and domestic buildings and metalled l anes can be r ecovered. An important a spect o f r ecent work has been the c ollect ion o f environmental evidence. Too many environmental r eports consist o f l ittle more than s pecies l ists. In t he Upper Thames r egion environmental s cientists have been integrated into the archaeological d ecision making and i n s ome cases their questions a re r egarded a s paramount. I n this way ' more r econdite information' i s s ought explicitly. This type o f data h as thrown n ew l ight on s uch wide ranging s ubjects a s c ereal economics ( Jones 1 978b), Romano-British woodland management ( moss s amples f rom Barton Court Farm by Robinson in Miles forthcoming); t he extension o f t he B arton Court Farm villa estate and i ts arable onto r ivers ide f ields in the f ourth c entury ( Jones in M iles f orthcoming); t he contrasting use o f l arge meadows on the Thames f loodplain in the I ron Age and Roman period ( Lambrick and Robinson 1 981) and the i mpact o f Romanisation on B ritish a griculture ( Jones 1 981). At Claydon P ike considerable e ffort has been put i nto l ocating waterlogged deposits a djacent to I ron Age s ettlements and Romano-British f ields. The l andscape h istory o f the area can thus be partly r econstructed and the Roman f ields s hown to have been mainly u sed f or grazing. Waterl ogged s amples c an be r etrieved f rom a round drier s ites a lso At Barton Court Farm n ear Abingdon, t he e xtension o f t he excavation onto the damp s lopes below the gravel t errace r esulted in the l ocation o f l ate Roman and early Saxon waterlogged deposits. These s upplemented and contrasted with the carbonised p lant r emains f rom the drier n ucleus

6 6

L a te f i rs t t o e a r ly s econd c en tu ry

E a r ly t o m id s econd c en tu ry

A

M id s econd t o m id t h i rd c en tu ry

M id t h i rd t o e a r ly f i th c en tu ry ‚ 1 1

4

4

M r 4

1

1

1

‚e r r 1

1

4

,

gr 1

1

4

* * * 1

4

1

4

1

* 4

* 4

* 4

* 4

*

*

4

4

• 4

4

? 4

4

9 4

, 4

T 1

r 4 . r

E ar ly 4 th c .E nc losu re D i tch

—T -T

—1 —4

t ", -/T mr - ?,

7 r r- r- r . * . %

F i shpond K

4

Ä . 7 , _

R E AM

R N S TREAM

F i shpond

0

F igure

5 .

The development of ( based on Brodribb,

1 0

1 00m

the Shakenoak villa Oxfordshire Hands and Walker's r eports)

o f the s ettlement. The carbonised p lants mainly consisted o f c ereals and weeds o f arable f ields; the waterlogged deposits were dominated by f lax, h erbs and s pices, and beetles which r eflected the nature o f the wider landscape. Carbonised c ereal r emains have been f ound to be ubiquitous. A s pecies l ist s erves l ittle purpose. S ystematic s ampling, however, has enabled s tudies o f s eed, weed and chaff density and d istribution t o c larify the nature o f the processing and s torage a ctivities ( unpublished r eport by Anne Jam s and Martin Jones). CONCLUSION I n the Upper Thames Region the O xford Archaeological Unit i s attempting to investigate the development o f h uman communities in l ate prehistoric and early h istoric t imes. This i s being done in the context o f pr sent day British government f unding, with i ts l imitations on i deal r egional r esearch s trategies. At the s ame t ime probabilistic s ampling t echniques are implemented at a ll l evels o f the i nvest igations except a s yet at the f ield s urvey s tage . . T he choice o f s ites ( from those which qualify f or Department o f Environment Grants) i s governed by the n eed to examine a ll l evels o f the s ettlement h ierarchy, the activity a reas with which they are involved and the r elationships b etween s ettlements. Areas are s elected f or f urther investigation on the basis on good quality preservation o f s tructures and/or biological data. Wherever possible a djoining s ites are investigated. The outstanding questions which the work in the R omanoBritish countryside a ims to investigate are: the number and density o f s ites, the f unction o f s ites and their e xploitation o f local r esources, the r elationships between r ural s ettlements and the changing economic and political f oci at tribal, r egional and higher l evels. In the Upper T hames r egion the main areas o f archaeological i gnorance are 1 .

The nature o f l ate on the countryside

Iron Age

o ppida

and

their

impact

2 .

S ettlement and continuity on the l imestone s lopes o f the Cotswolds ( an area which rarely qualifies o f government r escue f unding).

In r elation to r ural archaeology i n g eneral there i s a l ack o f middle r ange theory which would h elp us to d efine s ite types and f unctions. Most important o f a ll we n eed to define o ur questions and to pursue and t est them s ingle mindedly, r emembering Francis Bacon's words ' Truth emerges more r eadily f rom error than f rom confusion.'

6 8

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to my colleagues in the Oxford Archaeological Unit, Martin Jones ( Durham University), Richard H ingley ( Southampton University) John Rose ( Oxford University) whose work has contributed to this paper, and to s tudents o f the Oxford University Archaeological I n-Service Training S cheme, particularly Duncan Brown, who have h elped produce t he cropmark p lans in Appendix 2 . APPENDIX

1

Catalogue o f probable Romano-British villas and build ings in the Upper Thames r egion ( for location s ee F ig 1 ). P RN = Primary Record Number, Oxfordshire S ites and Monuments R ecord. NAME

PRN

NGR

1 .

Abingdon

2 988

S U485963

2 .

Adderbury

3 380

S P475343

3 .

Ascott-Under-Wychwood

5 559

SP29511927

4 .

Asthall

( Worsham)

1 562

S P30301112

5 .

B eckley

and

1 355

S P56951135

6 .

B eckley/Elsfield

( Wick)

3 636

SP54900895

7 .

Clifton Hampden

( Burcot)

1 916

S U55669631

8 .

Charlbury lees Rest)

1 288

S P37801931

9 .

Chilson

5 655

SP317193

9 a.

Chilson

5 654

SP314195

1 0.

Cuddesdon

1 853

S P59980325

1 1.

D eddington

4 607

S P47353055

1 2.

East Hanney

7 600

5 U436934

1 3.

Enstone

1 574

S P39922002

1 4.

Fawler

( Oaklands

1 5.

Fawler

( Fawler)

1 6.

Frilford

1 7.

Fringford

1 8.

Garford

1 9.

Great T ew

2 0.

Stowood

( Ditchley) Farm)

1 294

SP379166 ( SP38111655?)

1 295

S P372169

7 115

SU42289726

1 623

S P59602587

1 2136

S U433954

2 336

S P40452745

Hanwell

1 768

S P42864373

2 1.

Harpsden

2 190

S U75658046

2 2.

H ensington Without/Tackley

1 263

S P45181891

( Fringford

Lodge)

( Beaconsfield)

6 9

.

NAME

PRN

NGR

1 330

SP533135

9 413

SP456161

2 773

SP51552185

2 762

SP62440027 SU56589268 ( 2km S /W of Dorchester)

2 3.

I slip

2 4.

Kidlington ( Woodstock, roundabout)

2 5.

Kirtlington

2 6.

L ittle

2 7.

L ittle Wittenham

3 161

2 8.

Long Wittenham

3 172

SU556950

2 9.

Kidmore

1 991

SU70017591

3 0.

Middleton Stoney

3 309

SP53212329

3 1.

North

L eigh

1 500

SP374138

3 2.

North

L eigh

1 314

SP397154

3 3.

North

L eigh/Ramsden

1 297

SP365154

3 4.

Radley

8 376

SU50959775

3 5.

Radley

3 6.

Rousham

3 7.

South

3 8.

Stanford

3 9.

Stanton St. John ( Woodperry) 1 357 ( site o f church on 21 2 " s / heet 0 .S.)

SP57821054

4 0.

Stonesfield

( Chesthill

1 232

SP40041698

4 1.

Stonesfield

( Callow Hill)

1 226

SP40981845

4 2.

Sutton Courtenay

( Dropshort)

1 857

SU49429389

4 3.

Sutton Courtenay

( Penn Copse)

2 852

SU52009421

4 4.

Swalcliffe

2 444

SP387385

4 5.

Swinbrook

and Widford Church

1 480

SP27351208

4 6.

Swinbrook

and Widford

5 301

SP27731185

4 7.

Wendlebury

1 585

SP56952030

4 8.

West Challow

7 219

SU37488793

4 9.

Wheatley

2 760

SP60580441

5 0.

Whitchurch

3 230

SU648781

5 1.

Wigginton

1 617

SP39363356

5 1a.

Wigginton

4 086

SP392336

5 2.

Woolstone

7 316

SU29048777

5 3.

Wootton

2 440/1

SP43102135

5 4.

Basildon

2 965

SU60747933

B ladon

( Blacklands

Milton

Field)

( Ditchend)

End/Mapledurham

( Shakenoak

Farm)

( Wilcote)

( Barton Court

Farm)

4 272/8411 ( Steeple

Barton)

Stoke in the Vale

( Swalcliffe

( Bath House

1 749

SP46532485

9 770

SU607853

9 237 ( card missing)

Acres)

L ea)

plan)

( Berks)

7 0

SU524984

SU313952

NAME

PRN

5 5.

B ledlow

( Bucks)

( Wainhill

5 6.

B ledlow-cum-Saunderton

5 7.

Great

Barrington

5 8.

Great

B arrington

5 9.

Hambledon

6 0.

Spring)2820

SP768016

2 206

SU799990

( Glos)

2 584

S P21681320

( Glos)

2 588

S P20421380

( Bucks)

3 046

SU78658487

Hambledon

( Bucks)

3 054

SU775893

6 1.

Hambledon

( Bucks)

3 062

S U78498552

6 2.

King's

6 3.

Lambourn

( Berks)

7 899

S U351818

6 4.

L echlade

( Glos)

2 605

S P213002

6 5.

L echland

( Glos)

2 608

S P216008

6 6.

Saunderton

2 823

S P79650205

6 7.

Highworth

6 8.

Stanford-in-the-Vale

S U325952

6 9.

Kingston B agpuize

S U397998

7 0.

L ewknor

S U717981

7 1.

Drayton

7 2.

Churchill

7 3.

Cumnor

APPENDIX

Sutton

( Bucks)

NGR

( Northants)

( Bucks)

SMR2335

( Oxon)

( Park

S U182958

Farm)

( Chilswell

S P43N/E ( SP4937)

2 348

SP42904145

Farm)

2

Romano British villas in Oxfordshire with evidence a ssociated enclosures and trackways plotted f rom a erial photographs. Numbers in brackets r efer to Appendix 1 c atalogue and F ig 1

7 1

o f

0

1 S U —1— 4 20970

R i ve r O ck 1 000 n-i 4

F igure

6 .

F rilford v illa

( 16)

7 2

a nd a ssociated c ropmarks

F R ILFORD T HEATRE 3 00 m

+ S U 4 330 9 5

3 00 metres

F igure

7 .

Garford villa

( 18)

7 3

and

a ssociated cropmarks

7 4

I s l i p v i l a W o d s t o c k

S P3 9N N N

1 2-

( 1

9 O. 0 Q 999 9 99 ' 9 )9

9,9

9 9 gQ v9 9 99 9 Q 9 9 ,99 99 , 0 9 V Q 9 n 9 g 99 YOQ 9 0 0 , . „9 9

2 00 me tres

R o Pele-f eP i r -=

F igure

9 .

9 9

D itchley v illa ( 13) ( top) and Appleford P en C opse ( bottom) a nd a ssociated c ropmarks

7 5

( 43)

F igure

1 0.

L ittle Milton villa ( 26) Farm villa ( 34) ( bottom)

7 6

( top) and B arton Court and a ssociated cropmarks

R EFERENCES B arker,

P ,

1 977

B enson,

D & M iles,

s urvey o f B inford,

T echniques o f A rchaeological E xcavation

t he

L R ,

D ,

1 974

r iver g ravels,

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A C C ,

J F ,

2 9,

H ands,

S hakenoak F arm, C herry,

A R ,

& S hennan,

J .F.

S ,

& S hennan,

i n B ritain,

o n

C lark,

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t o O ur P ast:

a nd R egional a n A rchaeological

1 01-123

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S amplin g :

C ultural S ystems:

S ome

P robabilistic R egional S urvey

i n C ontemporary B ritish A rchaeology

B AR 5 0,

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R & M iles,

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M ag 6 2, F owler,

D ,

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i nterim r eport,

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t o

t he H istoric E nvironment

t o o ur P ast:

i n

a n A rchaeological F orum

1 27-38

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i n L owland B ritain

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E xplanation o f

J & T homas,

A ppleford,

t o

a l),

t he

i n T he A grarian H istory

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I ron A ge

C urrent

i n A rchaeology a nd

( ed S P iggott),

a C ase S tudy,

i n N ew A pproaches

( eds T C D arvill e t

B ritain,

1 P rehistory

S ignposts

1 974

O xfordshire

i n F uture,

9 6-126

L ater P rehistoric

a nd W ales:

R omano-British P ottery:

H ingley,

W iltshire A rchaeol N ature H ist

F ield A rchaeology

( ed P J F owler),

o f England F ulford,

T he A rchaeology o f F ifield a nd O verton D owns,

t hird

1 6-32

L andscape

P rehistoric C hange

A rchaeological

I nvestigations

a t

9 -111

T he U pper T hames V alley S urvey,

C BA G roup 9 N ewsletter

1 41-3

H ingley,

R ,

1 981

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R ,

H oskins,

W G ,

M ,

T he N oah's A rk S urvey: 1 1,

1 982

S cientific J ones,

1 968-78 E xcavations

S ampling T echniques

t he A pplication o f

1 954

W iltshire:

1 0,

a l),

D R ,

1 -5

1 45-8

F owler,

H ill,

O xon,

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i n S ampling

J F C herry e t

a nd W alker,

i n N ew A pproaches

F orum ( ed T C D arvill e t

P erspectives

S urvey 2

4 25-41

n ear W ilcote,

S urvey S trategies,

C herry,

O xford A rchaeol U nit

a n a rchaeological

A C onsideration o f A rchaeological R esearch D esign,

American A ntiquity, B rodribb,

T he U pper T hames V alley:

F rilford:

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N oah's A rk,

T he M edieval P eriod,

a nd H istorical S urvey

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F rilford/Garford,

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S ampling

i n T he O xford R egion:

A C ase

S tudy

1 91-205

77

1 50-3

A 1 03-20

i n

i n C ontemporary B ritish ARchaeology

B AR 5 0,

1 2,

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C BA G roup 9 N ewsletter

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M an:

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T he D evelopment

I ron A ge

G D imbleby),

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C rop H usbandry,

t he A nglo-Saxon P eriod

B AR 8 7,

i n T he E nvironment

o f

( eds M J ones &

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T S ,

L ambrick, 1 2,

1 970 G ,

( eds

T he

1 982

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T he T hames

B AR 7 3,

S cientific R evolutions,

F loodplain S urvey,

2 nd

3 15-27 e d

C BA G roup 9 N ewsletter

1 29-34

L ambrick, m ents M cWhirr, W est

G , a t

A D ,

1 976

C ountry,

C eltic M iles,

& R obinson, F armoor,

1 978

1 979

C irencester

D ,

m ent

C ountry:

T he U pper T hames V alley,

1 981

D ( ed),

A C ivitas

T he

I ron A ge

B AR 8 7,

t o

C apital

C lassical C ulture

i n t he a nd

8 1-98

i n E arly L and A llotMent

B AR 4 8,

S ocial L andscapes:

o f M an:

& G D imbleby), M iles,

( Corinium):

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( eds H C B owen & P J F owler), M iles,

I ron A ge a nd R oman R iverside S ettleC BA R es R ep 3 2

i n T he R oman W est

S ociety

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P attern o r P urpose?

i n T he E nviron-

t he A nglo-Saxon P eriod

( eds M J ones

9 -18

f orthcoming

A rchaeology a t

B arton C ourt

F arm,

A bingdon,

F airford/Lechlade,

C BA G roup

C BA R es R ep M iles,

D ,

& P almer,

9 N ewsletter M ueller,

J W ,

P hillips, R es

S ,

1 981

1 975

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C W ( ed)

1 970

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i n A rchaeology F enland

i n R oman T imes,

R oyal G eographical

S er 5

R obinson,

M ,

1 981

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U pper T hames T erraces, t o

C laydon P ike,

1 1

I ron A ge

t o E arly S axon E nvironment

i n T he E nvironment o f M an:

t he A nglo-Saxon P eriod

( eds M J ones

T he

o f

t he

I ron A ge

a nd G D imbleby),

B AR 8 7,

2 51-77 R odwell,

K ( ed)

1 975

t he n ew c ounty, R owley,

R T ,

1 975

R oman B ritain S chadla-Hall,

H istoric T owns

T he R oman T owns

R T ,

& S hennan,

1 978

y

i n S mall T owns o f

B AR 1 5,

1 15-24

S ome S uggestions

t o A rchaeological S urvey

C ontemporary B ritish A rchaeol

S hennan, t ion,

o f O xfordshire,

S J ,

a s urvey o f

S urvey 3

( eds W R odwell & R T R owley),

S ampling A pproach B AR 5 0,

i n O xfordshire:

O xford ARchaeol U nit

i n W essex,

( eds J F C herry e t

f or a i n S ampling

a l),

8 7-104

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7 8

i n

T homas,

A C ,

W ilson,

R ,

1 966

1 978

R ural S ettlement i n R oman B ritain,

S ampling B one D ensities a t M ingies D itch,

i n S ampling i n C ontemporary B ritish A rchaeology e t a l) B AR 5 0, 3 55-61 Y oung,

C J ,

1 977

C BA R es R ep 7

O xfordshire R oman P ottery,

7 9

B AR 4 3

O xfordshire,

( eds J F C herry

CELTIC FARM TO ROMAN VILLA Keith Branigan

This paper i s c oncerned o nly w ith s ites where a f arms tead o f n ative type was s uperseded a t s ome point d uring t he Roman occupation by a b uilding o r b uildings o f Romani sed t ype, s uch a s we would c all a ' villa'. F or t he p urposes o f this paper, t he t erm ' Celtic f arm' i s a pplied t o a f armstead which i s morphologically and a rchitecturally i n the n ative t radition, a nd o ccupied by n ative o wners o r t enants, and h ousing a population o f f amily o r e xtended f amily s ize. I t does n ot n ecessarily i mply t hat a f arms tead was a pre-conquest f oundation, a nd i ndeed , s ome a ttent ion i s g iven t o C eltic f arms which w ere c learly postc onquest f oundations. The t erm ' Roman v illa' i s h ere a pplied to a f arm which may b e o ccupied by a w ide r ange o f p ersons ( owner a nd f amily, b ailiff a nd f amily, t enant f armer and f amily, domestic s ervants, l abourers, s laves) a nd t hese may vary c onsiderably i n n umber. I ts most d istinct ive f eature a rchaeologically i s i ts a rchitecture, which r eflects a r easonable d egree o f Romanisation. T he main house o ffered a ccommodation i n s everal o r many s eparate rooms, t o which s ome f orm o f i ndependent a ccess ( usually a c orridor) was provided. F loors w ere mostly o r entirely o f s ubstantial man-made materials ( mortar, o pus, t ile, t esserae), t he walls were u sually p lastered i nternally, and the r oof c overed with t iles o r s lates. O ften t here were o ther more s ophisticated f eatures, s uch a s b aths, hypocausts, and mosaics, b ut t hese a re c ertainly n ot e ssential f eatures o f a v illa. I n a pproaching t his t opic w e a re o bviously posing questions a bout c ontinuity a nd c hange. At t he v ery l east, t he building o f a v illa must r epresent c ultural c hange i n the countryside - t he man who b uilds a v illa i s a dopting to s ome d egree a Roman l ife-style. T he e stablishment o f a v illa e state, however, may r epresent more f ar-reaching c hanges t han t his with t he a doption o f n ew e conomic o bject ives, n ew f arming t echniques f or a chieving t hose o bject ives, n ew o rganisation o f t he l abour f orce o n t he f arm, and, o f c ourse, t he possibility t hat a ll o f t hese c hanges s tem f rom a more basic c hange, n amely a c hange o f l and ownership ( Branigan 1 980, 1 8). Such c hanges ( or i ndeed t he a bsence o f s uch c hanges) a re obviously o f g reat i mportance t o o ur u nderstanding o f t he native r esponse t o t he Roman o ccupation, a nd t o much e lse b esides, b ut t hey a re v ery d ifficult t o r ecognise

8 1

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1 1 1 11 1 1 1 1 1 1 1.1 1 1 1 1 1. 1• 11 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

3 m

1 .

3 m

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The pre-conquest ( top l eft) C laudio-Neronian ( top r ight) and F lavian ( bottom) buildings at Park Street ( after O ' Neill)

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archaeologically. While t here may b e s everal i ndicators o f continuity o r c hange o f l and u se ( eg t he morphology and a lignment o f f ield s ystems, t he evidence o f p lant r emains, and o f pollen and mollusca a nalysis) c ontinuity or c hange o f o wnership c an n ever b e proved i n t he a bsence o f written documentation. Even c ontinuity o f o ccupation i s o ften much more d ifficult t o prove t han w e c ommonly a ssume; c ertainly s uperimposition o f a v illa o ver a n ative f armstead does n ot c onstitute proof o f c ontinuity o f occupation, l et a lone o f ownership, a s w e s hall s ee. Equally, i t i s worth pointing o ut t hat t he a ppearance o f a villa a pparently b uilt o n a p iece o f v irgin g round i s not in i tself proof t hat we a re l ooking e ither a t a n ew owner o r even a t a n ewly o ccupied s ite. So many v illa excavations i n t he past h ave c oncentrated o n t he v illa house, and u sually only i ts u pper l evels, a nd o n i ts immediate s urroundings, t hat a n ative f armstead which s uch a villa h ad r eplaced might s tand undetected e ither w ithin a hundred yards o f i t, o r s ealed b eneath i t. At Wendons Ambo, f or example, t he house excavated i n 1 853 was o nly r ecently s hown t o s tand s carcely a h undred metres f rom a s econd group o f b uildings which overlay a c omplex s equence o f h itherto unsuspected I ron Age o ccupation ( Wilson 1 972, 3 35; 1 974, 4 44). At L atimer, t he V ictorian excavations r evealed n othing o f t he t imber b uilding which was discovered by t he e xcavations o f t he 1 960s b eneath t he villa rooms d ug i n 1 864 ( Branigan 1 971). Many s ites which have not b een c onsidered i n preparing t his paper, t hen, may yet prove o n f urther e xamination t o b e e xamples o f t he s uperimposition o f a Roman villa o ver a n ative f arm, i f not o f t he transformation o f t he one t o t he o ther. I t i s d ifficult t o f ormulate any g eneral r ules o r i dentify any c ommon patterns g overning t he c hange f rom C eltic f arm t o Roman v illa, f or a lmost every s ite h as peculiarities o f i ts own h istory. We must a lways b ear i n mind that every f arm was s ubject to t he c hanging whims a nd fortunes o f i ts owners, o f t heir n eighbours, a nd o f t he l ocal and imperial governments. The w idespread e ffects o f government or t ribal policy a nd actions may h ave c reated broad patterns, but p ersonal c ircumstances will o ften h ave d isturbed s uch patterns i n i ndividual c ases. Nevertheless, i t i s possible t o propose f our models o f d evelopment f rom n ative f arm t o Roman v illa, a nd t o i llustrate each with e xamples f rom excavated s ites. MODEL

1

To b egin w ith we h ave what we might r egard a s t he i deal model o f d evelopment. An existing, pre-conquest f armstead, with a moderately wealthy o ccupation s uch a s might s uggest i ts owner b elongs t o t he t ribal n obility, s hows increasing s igns o f Romanisation a fter t he c onquest a nd within no more t han two g enerations s ees t he c onstruct ion o f a villa house. T he e xcavations a t Gorhambury h ave

8 3

c learly demonstrated s uch a s equence ( Grew 1 980, 3 73-4). There were s everal phases o f B elgic o ccupation, with both c ircular and r ectangular huts, ante-dating the Roman i nvas ion. About the t ime o f the i nvasion a large timber house with a projecting wing, perhaps a r ear corridor, and probably four s eparate r ooms, was c onstructed. Burnt down by Boudicca i n 6 0, it may have b een s ome years before t he f arm-house was r eplaced by a f urther t imber building, which was eventually s ucceeded i n t he early 2nd c entury by a s tone-founded villa with a c ellar, c orridor and small wing r oom. The g eneral p icture o f a pre-conquest Belgic f arm d eveloping over the c ourse o f two g enerations towards a villa s eems very c lear indeed. There i s, o f course, o ne problem which i s r epeated i n t he s horter but s imilar s equence at P ark Street ( Fig 1 ) ( O'Nei111945; Saunders 1 961) and that i s the h iatus a fter B oudicca's r evolt. A p eriod o f t en to f ifteen y ears without * apparent r ebuilding a nd o ccupation might b e r easonably u sed to argue that a c hange o f ownership took place a fter, and perhaps a s a r esult o f, Boudicca's r evolt. There are, o f course, s imilar s igns o f r etarded r edevelopment in Verulamium i tself ( and i ndeed e lsewhere i n s outhern England), which together s uggest that the middle t erm e ffects o f Boudicca's r evolt may h ave b een more widespread and p ervading than the a rchaeological evidence for the r evolt i tself s uggests ( Branigan 1 977). This i s a problem we cannot yet r esolve, s ince even i f we accept Tacitus' estimate o f 7 0,000 British and Roman victims o f Boudicca ( and many o f u s do not), we cannot accept that the whole o f s outhern England was virtually uninhabited f or t en t o f ifteen years - part icularly in view o f the s peed with which towns and villas a like d eveloped at the end o f this p eriod, that i s, f rom the mid 7 0s. Apart from Park Street and Gorhambury, other v illas may b e s uggested a s f itting this particular model o f rapid and s teady development f rom pre-conquest farm o f the tribal nobility to l ate ist or early-2nd c entury villa ( Wilson 1 972, 3 35; 1 974, 4 44). I n E ssex, Wendons Ambo and Rivenhall ( Rodwell 1 973) appear to b e examples o f t his process. The s tatus o f the I ron Age occupation at R ivenhall i s s uggested by a f ine mirror-handle, and the extensive villa was constructed at a particularly early date, i n the early F lavian period. That s uch d evelopments are n ot conf ined to s outh-eastern England i s s uggested by s ites a s d istant as Holcombe i n D evon and Welton Wold in Humbers ide. At l east two phases o f I ron Age occupation, a t Holc ombe, with the s econd o f which the s uperb mirror i s probably to b e a ssociated, were f ollowed apparently without a break, by an oblong s tone-founded a isled building, in t he early 2 nd c entury, to which was a dded a l ittle l ater a typical b lock o f four s mall rooms. F urther developments over the c ourse o f one hundred and f ifty y ears l ed t o a f ully f ledged villa with a particularly elaborate o ctagonal bath-suite

( Pollard

1 974).

At Welton Wold

8 4

a s equence

o f

F igure

2 .

The early i st c entury f armstead ( above) and l ater h uts a nd fourth c entury v illa ( below) a t O dell, B eds ( after D ix)

8 5

I ron Age enclosures and droveways was incorporated i nto an extended and r evised system in the early 2 nd c entury, at which t ime a f ive-roomed villa house with corridor was erected, a long with an a isled barn. Continuity i s h ere s uggested not only by the continuing use o f the existing f ield system a longside the n ew, villa-associated enclos ures, but a lso by a t imber round-house built a longside the s tone-founded villa ( Frere 1 977, 3 83). I n both o f these s ites then there i s an apparent d evelopment o f t he s ort we have s een in the s outh-east, and bearing i n mind the s omewhat l ater c onquest o f these a reas, i n the 6 0s and 7 0s, a s imilar t ime-scale i nvolved i n t he process. MODEL

2

A s econd model may be i dentified where, in the wake o f the conquest, a pre-conquest farm adopts n ew farming s trategies or methods ( and probably t herefore n ew agricultural objectives) but only progresses s lowly towards t he r eplacement o f existing farm architecture by villa-style buildings. As exemplifying this model we may take Barton Court n ear Abingdon, and Odell in B edfordshire. At B arton Court, a trapezoidal I ron Age enclosure was r eplaced i n the l ater-lst c entury by a s imilar enclosure on a different a lignment, but containing an oblong t imber f ramed building which may have had white-painted plaster on i ts walls. A f ully Romanised house only appeared i n the l ate-3rd c ent ury however, and even then i t was only a s mall building s imilar to those erected two c enturies earlier at Park Street, Lockleys, Brixworth and other Catuvellaunian s ites ( Miles 1 978). The p icture i s r epeated a t Odell ( Fig 2 ). Occupation b egan h ere in the early 1 st c entury, with two c ircular huts erected i nside a roughly oval enclosure. Major changes took place in the l ate-lst c entury, with a trapezoidal enclosure erected further s outh a s t he n ew f ocus o f o ccupat ion. S even s uccessive c ircular t imber huts, s panning the p eriod from the l ate ist to the 4 th c entury, were built h ere, r evealing the l ong continuity o f architectural tradition. There were s ome s ignificant changes in t he f ield and enclosure s ystems a t the s ame t ime that the l iving area was moved, and in particular the existing f ields to the north-east were r eplaced by l onger, n arrower f ields; s hortly a fter, two s tone-lined wells were dug. The a ppearance o f a villa building was delayed until the 4 th c entury, however, and even t hen i t was small and a pparently unsophisticated. T imber-framed on gravel and s tone s ills, i t c ontained j ust four or f ive rooms in an i rregular plan ( Dix 1 979). Just why f arms s uch a s Barton Court and Odell d id not d evelop into the c entres o f s mall villa estates until t he 4 th c entury i s a question t hat must b e a sked but c an s carcely b e answered. Both a ppear t o b e r easonably w ell

8 6

organised and prosperous native f armsteads a t t he t ime o f the conquest, a nd both are within 1 6 km o f a Roman t own ( Dorchester and I rchester r espectively) and a re c lose to good communication r outes with those towns. One might conjecture that they were initially s ubsidiary c entres on a l arger estate, or that they were owned by a bsentee l andowners who l ived in t he n earby towns and had n either t he n eed nor the d esire for a Romanised house on t heir f arms. But s uch i s s peculation and we c an s carcely expect to f ind proof o f such s ituations; a ll we c an s ay i s t hat a t present, in each c ase, the evidence i s l acking. The two l ines o f development we h ave l ooked a t s o f ar are both r epeated on native f arms which were f ounded a fter the conquest. Such s ites must be considered s eparately from the pre-conquest f arms, s ince by d efinition t hey cannot d emonstrate continuity f rom pre-conquest occupation and ownership t o the -post-conquest p eriod and thence to villas. I f widespread changes in t he ownership o f l and were to take place, then the y ears immediately a fter the conquest are a rguably one o f the periods when t his would be most l ikely. Any or a ll o f the villas i n t he f ollowing two categories therefore might r epresent a c hange o f ownership during the conquest period, whether brought about by death, economic ruin, political pressure, or enforced r esettlement. MODEL

3

Our third model then i s that o f a native farm founded s hortly a fter t he conquest, po sibly a s a r esult o f c hange o f ownership or s imply the expansion o f rural s ettlement and colonisation o f unoccupied l and with the encouragement o f the government: Some o f these n ew f arms s how s igns o f Romanisation f rom the f irst, o thers are no more than peasant farms, but a ll move r apidly to the a ppearance o f a villa house by the l ate-lst or early/mid-2nd c entury. As r epresentative o f this group we may t ake Brixworth in Northamptonshire ( Fig 3 ). A c ircular t imber h ut and r ectilinear d itch s ystem h ere belong t o the early y ears o f the Roman occupation. They are f ollowed and s uperseded within a g eneration by a small f ive-roomed, s tone-founded villa with t imber verandah ( Woods 1 972). A l ittle f urther south, n ear Towcester, two f urther examples o f this s equence have been found l ittle more t han a k ilometre a part a t Wood Burcote and M ileoak Farm villas. At Wood B urcote ( Wilson 1 975, 2 55) a s ubstantial t imber building o f t he F lavian period was r eplaced, a fter d estruction by f ire, by the f irst o f a group o f four s tone-founded buildings, one of which was a mill and another a s mall but comfortable four-roomed house with f ront c orridor, l ike those s een s ucceeding pre-conquest f arms i n the l ate ist c entury at Park Street and Lockleys. An unsophisticated winged corridor building a t Mileoak Farm was found to overlie

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t he r ubble f loors o f a n earlier f armstead a ssociated w ith l ate B elgic pottery, a nd a lthough d etails a re l acking, the construction o f r ubble f loors s uggests t he presence o f more s ubstantial r emains t han n ormally s urvive f rom a purely n ative building ( J Roman S tuds 1 956, 1 34). T he possibility t hat we a re f acing a c ommon pattern o f postc onquest c olonisation o r i ntensification o f r ural s ettlement i n t his a rea, l eading t o t he e stablishment o f v illa e states i n t he l ate-lst t o mid-2nd c entury, i s enhanced by t he evidence f rom B radwell a nd D eanshanger v illas, 1 5 km t o t he s outh-east. H ere, t he post-conquest f arms a re c learly n ative i n s tyle, w ith t he t ypical 1 0m-12m d iameter c ircular t imber dwelling h ouses. At B radwell t hese a re r eplaced by t he v illa i n t he mid-2nd c entury ( Barnbrook 1 979) and a t D eanshanger possibly a t t he s ame p eriod, t hough i nterim r eports a re n ot entirely c lear on t his point ( Wilson 1 973, 2 93-4). A s imilar s equence i s s een a t Shakenoak i n Oxfordshire ( Brodribb e t a l 1 971, 1 9) while the s ame s equence o ver a l onger t ime s cale, l eading to villas erected over l ate-lst a nd 2 nd c entury native r ound b uildings, i s s een a t Winterton ( Stead 1 976) and Mansfield Woodhouse ( Oswald 1 949) i n Coritanian t errit ory. A s till l ater s equence o f t his s ort i s f ound i n t he h eart o f t he P ennines a t Gargrave ( Kirk S ink) ( Goodburn 1 976, 3 17). H ere, a r ectilinear enclosure c ont aining s everal c ircular h uts a bout 1 0 m i n d iameter, was constructed a round AD 1 40. Within a g eneration a v illa o f s ome pretensions, with baths and projecting porch and wing rooms was erected. When t his h appened, s ome o f the e xisting h uts r emained i n u se, s o t hat h ere we a ppear t o have e xcellent evidence f or c ontinuity o f o ccupation a nd a r easonable c ase f or c ontinuity o f ownership. B ut we l ack a ny o bvious explanation f or t he t otally n ative n ature o f t he f irst f arm, and t he a brupt a ppearance o f a very Romanised b uilding t hirty y ears l ater. I f we a ssume t hat c ontinuity o f o ccupation f rom n ative f arm to Roman v illa o n t hese s ites i s i ndicative o f c ontin uity o f ownership, t hen i t s eems l ikely t hat w e a re l ooking a t n ew f arms e stablished by members o f t he t ribal n obility, or possibly ( since s ome o f t hese f arms a re f irst e stablished u p to 8 0 y ears a fter t he c onquest) by s uccessful n ative c raftsmen or b usinessmen. C ertainly, t he r elatively r apid t ranslation f rom post-conquest n ative f arm t o v illa i n s everal c ases s uggests o wners who, f rom t he f irst, w ere r easonably wealthy a nd who a spired t o Romanised l iving, but who were a lso c ommitted c ountry-dwellers. A particularly i nteresting s ituation a rises i n t he Chilterns. H ere, we f ind t hat a t t he s ame t ime t hat t he n ative f armstead a t L atimer was f ounded ( and o n t he pottery evidence f rom o ther u nexcavated v illa s ites, c ontemporary a lso with t he f oundation o f n ative f arms a t S arrat, M issend en, S hardloes a nd o ther s ites i n t he western Chilterns) ( Branigan

1 971,

1 77-8),

we

h ave

8 9

t he e stablishment o f

o ther

n ew farmsteads one valley n earer t o Verulamium at Gadebridge and Boxmoor ( Neal 1 974, 1 976). B ut h ere, t he f irst f arms teads are s mall villas. Why this marked d ifference in development j ust one valley eastwards we do not know the existence o f Akeman Street i n t he valley o f the B ulbourne and the absence o f a road in the w estern Chilterns might b e one answer, or preferential a llocation o f n ew estates within the tribal h ierarchy might b e another. I t would c ertainly be wrong, I think, to s uggest t hat architectural d ifferences h ere r eflect differences o f c ultural origin for the owners o f t hese buildings. Certainly when v illas r eplace the n ative farm buildings i n the western Chilterns in t he mid-2nd c entury, they are s imilar i n s ize, p lan and quality o f accommodation to Gadebridge and Boxmoor. MODEL

4

The fourth model o f d evelopment i s that where a native f armstead i s founded a fter the conquest, and may a dopt n ew agricultural t echniques and methods a t or s hortly a fter the t ime o f i ts foundation, but only s ees the c ons truction o f a villa house at a much l ater s tage i n i ts h istory. The c lassic example o f t his s equence s eems to be the villa a t Langton in the t erritory o f the Parisi. The f irst farmstead h ere was probably founded in t he Trajanic periods, possibly a l ittle earlier, and s aw the construction o f a b i -partite r ectangular enclosure. Mr. Ramm has s uggested that the s tyle o f enclosure might be indicative o f a r etired veteran rather than a native owner ( Ramm 1 978, 7 1-4), but the earliest pottery i n use on the s ite i s c ertainly i n the native I ron-Age tradition. About AD 1 50 o utbuildings and a s imple two-roomed s tonefounded building are erected - hardly a villa, but p erhaps a move in that direction. More s ignificantly, a t t his t ime a major n ew s ystem o f earthworks unites this f arm with two others at Middle Farm and Whin F ields, and a ssociated with the n ew s ystem are extensive n ew f ields o f l ong, narrow s hape, and a complex arrangement o f s tock enclosures at Dale Bottom. H ere, t hen, t here i s a s uggest ion that three farmsteads are united into a s ingle c omplex at this t ime. Further f arm buildings including a byre, are added during the 3 rd c entury, a nd then f inally i n the early 4 th c entury, a f ive-roomed villa i s added, together with major changes i n the f armyard - s everal n ew outbuildings and a bath-house a re arranged i nside a walled enclosure. A corridor, t wo more h eated rooms, and mosaic f loors are a dded s hortly a fter ( Ramm 1 978, 8 0-7). This l ong drawn-out development might be r epeated a t o ther f arms in t he vicinity o f Malton where s imilar l ate i st c entury r ectangular enclosures a re a ssociated with a pparently ( but un-excavated) l ater villas. Tuft H ill i s one s uch s ite, and another i s at S ettrington ( Ramm 1 978, 7 6), where a very s imple l ittle f ourroomed villa i s inserted i nto the earlier enclosure a nd

9 0

Figure

4 .

The

f armstead

and

s mall villa

9 1

at

S ettrington

( after Ramm)

s ettlement ( Fig 4 ). The s equence a t L angton might b e i nterpreted a s that r esulting f rom t he foundation o f a native farmstead which prospered and gradually absorbed n eighbouring f arms to establish an e state o f considerable s ize. The construction o f a s mall but well-appointed villa in the early 4 th c entury and t he provision o f a bath house might be t aken to indicate that the owner o f t his estate transferred h is home to t he country at t his t ime. Presumably, i n that c ase, t he f arm had previously b een overseen by the bailiff, for whom the f irst s imple house-cum-byre had b een built, and whose s uccessor was now perhaps housed i n t he n ew out-building, with a mosaic and hypocaust. There are s uggestive h ints o f s imilar events in t he early 4 th c entury a t many villas in Britain, whether or not they f ollow the earlier development s een at Langton. D ISCONTINUITY There are, o f course, many o ther s ites where villas have been found s uperimposed on, or a longside, earlier n ative s ettlements, but they are beyond the s cope o f this paper because they produce evidence o f a c lear h iatus b etween the end o f the native s ettlement and the foundat ion o f a villa. An excellent example o f t his s ituation i s e ollingham ( Dalton Parlours) in West Yorkshire. A l arge complex o f d itched enclosures, possibly laid o ut in the i st c entury B C, forms the nucleus o f what may have b een a hamlet rather than a farmstead, for three o f t he enclosures each contain the r emains o f a l arge c ircular t imber hut, s uggestive o f f amily compounds. This s ettlement was abandoned s omewhere between AD 5 0 and AD 1 50, and the s ite then l ay unoccupied until s ome t ime during the 3 rd c entury, when a s eries o f s tone-buildings were l aid out, including a bath house, and a villa r esidence with excellent c eiling plaster and a h igh quality mosaic. S imilar s equences c an be observed i n many widely-spread p arts o f the country - a t Radwell ( Beds), Stanton Low ( Bucks), Thenford ( Northants), Frocester Court ( Glos) and a t Rudston ( East Yorks). A t one t ime we might h ave g libly r egarded Collingham and t hese other s ites a s examples o f continuity o f occupation, and probably o f ownership too, l argely on the evidence o f s uperimposition. I ncreasingly careful s tudy and analysis o f pottery dating a s well a s more careful s tudy o f s tratification has d emons trated how misleading the evidence o f s uperimposition c an be. I t i s, o f course, on s ites s uch a s Collingham, Rudston, and T henford, where we h ave an a pparently complete break between native farmstead and Romanised villa, t hat we may most plausibly postulate possible c hanges in t he ownership o f l and. The r eplacement o f a totally unRomanised native hamlet by a l arge well-appointed villa a t Collingham, within 2 5 km o f the l egionary fortress and colonia a t York might i n particular b e s elected a s a possible example o f a c hange o f o wnership.

9 2

The evidence o f s uperimposed r emains t hen, must b e s upported by t hat o f s tratification a nd dating evidence i f continuity i s t o b e postulated, a nd we might i ndeed b ear t his point i n mind even when we a re c onsidering v illas which have a l ong a nd a pparently c ontinuous s equence o f d evelopment f rom a n ative f arm. Two o f t he b est e xamples, Gorhambury a nd P ark S treet, w e h ave a lready n oted t o h ave possible breaks i n o ccupation f ollowing t he B oudiccan r evolt. What o f t he o ther v illas i n o ur f our models o f development? Was i t l ogical, i n a n a ge when t here s eems to have b een n o a cute s hortage o f a gricultural l and, t o pull down an i nhabited building i n o rder t o r eplace i t by a b etter o ne? Could n ot t he n ew b uilding b e erected c lose by - t hereby ensuring c ontinuing a ccommodation while t he n ew h ouse was b uilt, a nd a u seful o utbuilding when t he o ld h ouse was a bandoned a s a h ome? I n o ther words, where we f ind t he s uperimposition o f a v illa h ouse over a n ative f armhouse s hould we n ot only a void t he a ssumption t hat we h ave c ontinuity o f o ccupation, but s hould we n ot a lso l ook v ery c arefully f or s igns t hat t he n ative house was p erhaps f alling i nto d ecay o r was even a bandoned s ometime b efore the villa was erected? At L atimer, by l uck, we were a ble to d emonstrate t his, but t he c ase f or continuity was, a t l east s uperficially, v ery s trong ( Branigan 1 971, 5 6-60, 1 69-70). The n ative t imber f armhouse was a lready a s ophisticated building with s everal rooms and a porch, and i t was o verlain by a v illa built On precisely t he s ame a lignment. F urthermore, t he posts o f t he t imber building had n ot r otted i n s itu b ut h ad b een pulled f rom t heir s ockets, a nd t he g round t hen l evelled, f or t he c onstruction o f t he v illa. Chance, however, preserved b eneath a mortar f loor o f t he f irst villa a s awn-off t ree s tump s howed t hat t he t imber b uild ing had b een a bandoned f or a t l east 2 5 y ears b efore t he villa was built. Fortunately, t he pottery f rom t he t imber building and f rom t he villa c onfirmed t he h iatus - t he coarse, gritty h andmade s herds f rom t he t imber house were totally d istinct f rom t he t ypical mid-2nd c entury wheelmade wares o f the f irst v illa. Without t he c hance a nd t elltale evidence o f t he t ree s tump, h owever, i t would h ave b een very t empting t o have postulated a proto-villa o f t imber, d emolished t o b e i mmediately r eplaced by t he f irst s tone-built v illa. I t may b e t hat f ar more r eliable i ndic ators o f continuity o f o ccupation t han s uperimposition o f villa o ver n ative house, will b e t he c onstruction o f a villa a longside n ative-style buildings which c ontinue t o b e o ccupied a s happened a t Welton Wald and Gargrave, or when s mall v illas were a dded t o t hriving n ative s tyle f armsteads s uch a s we s ee a t O dell. We must a lso b eware o f c onfusing c ontinuity o f o ccupation a nd c ontinuity o f ownership. The t wo may o ften b e s ynonymous but w e must not a ssume that t hey a re; n or must we a ssume t hat a break o f occupation a utomatically means a c hange o f o wnership. I n t he c ase o f P ark S treet, Gorhambury, L ockleys a nd o ther

9 3

villas around Verulamium, the r egular distribution o f villas and o f underlying native f arm i s s uch that d espite a possible widespread abandonment o f these s ites around AD 6 0-75, I t hink i t l ikely that t hey r emained for t he most part in the ownership o f the s ame families. On t he other hand, one c an easily envisage s ituations whereby native farms l ike those a t B radwell o r Shakenoak changed hands and s aw the immediate construction o f a villa b y a n ew owner to r eplace the native f arm-house and buildings Certainly the change in l ife-style a t both s ite i s v ery abrupt, with no s igns o f marked Romanisation in either architecture or a rtef actual evidence, b efore the s udden appearance o f the f irst villa house. We must concede then, that a lthough we can s et u p our various models o f development, each s ite has to b e individually considered on the evidence which i t produces. There may, o f course, b e r egional f actors which may h elp to s uggest what the l ocal ' norm' o f d evelopment might be. For example, the evidence o f r egular e states around V erul amium occupied by a partly-Romanised c lass at or s hortly a fter the conquest argues for the l ikelihood o f continuity to the early villas; the apparent a bsence o f s uch a c lass west and north o f York, and the r eady availability h ere o f r etired l egionaries able to buy estates, s uggests a possible r egion o f n ew owners. But the evidence from each individual s ite, though interpreted against a r egional background, has to b e g iven the greatest weighting. F inally, we may conclude by r eminding ourselves that while s ome native f arms n ever d eveloped i nto villas, even h ere appearances may b e deceptive. Some n ative f armsteads, l ike Butcombe in Somerset ( Fowler 1 968; Fowler and N eale 1 970), were a lmost c ertainly absorbed into villa estates in this case that o f Lye Hole - and i t may b e possible to postulate s uch events where marked changes i n the o rgan i sation o f a native f armstead coincide with the foundation o f a n earby villa. Other native farmsteads may have b een owned by villa-occupying l andlords whose villa was n ot c lose-by but perhaps f ifteen or twenty kilometres away. Many l and-owners may have owned s everal discrete e states, at only one o f which did they build a villa for their own use. Such s ituations may b e one o f the many explanat ions a s to why s ome native farm-houses, even i n the more h ighly Romanised s outh and s outh-east, were n ever r eplaced by Romanised dwelling houses. ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES This paper, and indeed a ll o f o ur thinking to date about the transformation f rom C eltic f arm to Roman v illa, has o f n ecessity b een b edevilled by t he dominance o f architectural evidence. Villa estates, by definition, can only b e i dentified with c ertainty by t he presence o f a villa. Y et we have s een that i t i s possible f or a native s ettlement to be part o f a villa e state, and

9 4

equally s ome v illa-owners may h ave h eld s everal a gricult ural e states, o n only one o f which d id t hey b uild a v illa r esidence. Other e states g eared t o market production o f f ood s urpluses and employing n ew t echniques o f f arming and l and management, a nd s uch n ew t echnology a s t he Romans may have i ntroduced t o t he i sland, may n ever h ave s een t he construction o f v illas; t heir day-to-day r unning may have b een i n t he h ands o f bailiffs who l ived i n c otta ges, a nd t heir owners may h ave r esided p ermanently i n t he towns. Convenient a s i t i s a rchaeologically, t heref ore, t he a rchitectural evidence f or Romanisation o f t he c ountryside c an b e misleading. I t i s a bundantly c lear that l arge parts o f t he province o f B ritain s aw s ubstant ial, s ometimes s weeping, c hanges i n f arming r ggimes a nd i n the pattern a nd o rganisation o f l and-use, which h ad n o r ecognisable c onnection with v illas. T he t housands o f a cres o f r egular f ield s ystems r evealed b y D errick R iley i n s outh Yorkshire a re t he most r ecent e xamples o f a n extensive Romanised l andscape t o b e d iscovered ( Riley 1 980), y et h ere v illas p lay n o part a nd s ettlements within t he s ystems a re d istinctly n ative i n f orm. T he t ransformation o f existing n ative f armsteads i n s uch a reas i nto c omponents i n a c learly Romanised l andscape, o r t he c reat ion o f s uch a l andscape f rom previously unoccupied a nd unfarmed l and, i s j ust a s i ndicative o f t he Romanisation o f the n ative B riton, a s i s t he a ppearance o f h eated h omes or domestic baths. I n f uture i t i s t o evidence s uch a s t his that we s hould pay more a ttention, i n a ssessing t he Roman impact o n t he c ountryside. C ertainly t he l aying o ut o f t housands o f a cres o f n ew f ields, droveways, a nd enclosures r epresents a f ar more profound c hange i n t he B ritish l andscape t han d id t he t hinly-spread b uilding o f a thousand o r t wo f ashionable, Romanised, b ungalows. R EFERENCES B arnbrook,

J ,

1 979

B ancroft R oman V illa,

C BA 9 N ewsletter 9 ,

B ranigan,

K ,

1 971

L atimer

B ranigan,

K ,

1 977

B ritain a fter B oudicca,

6 7-76

A rchaeol C ambrensis

1 26,

5 3-9 B ranigan,

K ( ed),

B rodribb,

A C ,

1 980

H ands,

R ome a nd

t he B rigantes

A R a nd W alker,

A R ,

1 971

E xcavations

a t

S hakenoak 2 D ix,

B ,

1 979

F owler,

P J ,

o f A shes S oc F owler,

1 1,

O dell: 1 968 F arm,

i ii,

E xcavations B utcombe,

N .

a t

f arm,

C urrent A rchaeol 6 6,

a R omano-British S ettlement

S omerset,

2 15-18

a t

R ow

P roc U niv B ristol S pelaeol

2 09-36

P J a nd N eale,

c ombe A rea,

a r iver v alley

N .

F ,

S omerset

1 970

F ieldwork a nd E xcavation

P roc U niv B ristol S pelaeol S oc

1 69-74

9 5

i n

t he B ut-

1 2,

i i,

F rere,

S S ,

1 977

B ritannia 8 , G oodburn,

R ,

R oman B ritain

1 976

B ritannia 7 , G oodburn, R , B ritannia

R oman B ritain i n

R oman B ritain

R oman S tuds, J , 1 956 J . R oman S tuds 4 6, M iles,

D ,

1 978

i n

D S ,

1 974

R oman V illa

N eal,

D S ,

1 976

N orthchurch,

H erts A rchaeol 4 , 1 945

A rchaeol J 1 02, O swald,

A ,

1 949

W oodhouse,

1 975.

I :S ites E xplored,

i n

1 978.

I :S ites E xplored,

1 979.

I :S ites E xplored,

B ritannia

1 1,

I :S ites E xplored,

B arton C ourt F arm,

1 972-6,

1 06-8

N eal,

H E ,

I :S ites E xplored,

R oman B ritain i n 1 955. 1 17-146

A bingdon/Radley,

C BA 9 N ewsleter 8 ,

O 'Neill,

1 976.

2 90-377

1 979 R oman B ritain 1 0, 2 67-338

G rew, F , 1 980 3 46-402

i n

3 55-425

i n G adebridge P ark,

H emel H empstead

B oxmoor a nd H emel H empstead S tation,

1 -135 T he R oman V illa a t P ark S treet,

n ear S t A lbans,

2 1-110

A r e-excavation o f t he R oman v illa a t M ansfield

T rans T horoton S oc N ottingham 5 3,

1 -14

P ollard, S , 1 974 A L ate I ron A ge s ettlement a nd a R omano-British v illa a t H olcombe, n ear U plyme, D evon, P roc D evon A rchaeol S oc 3 2, 5 9-161 R amm,

H ,

R iley,

1 978

D ,

R odwell,

T he P arisi

1 980 W ,

E arly L andscape

a nd R odwell,

a n i nterim r eport, S aunders, 1 18, S tead, W ilson,

A D ,

I ,

1 976

D R ,

D R ,

D R ,

E xcavations a t P ark S treet

D R ,

P ,

1 954-57,

A rchaeol

i n

1 971.

I :S ites E xplored,

R oman B ritain i n 1 972.

I ;S ites E xplored,

R oman B ritain

i n

1 973.

I :S ites

E xplored,

3 96-460

1 975

1 972

R oman B ritain

R oman B ritain

E ssex:

1 15-27

2 71-323

1 974

B ritannia 6 , W oods,

B ritannia 4 ,

2 98-351

1 973

B ritannia 5 , W ilson,

T he R oman V illa a t R ivenhall,

E xcavations a t W interton R oman V illa

1 972

B ritannia 4 , W ilson,

1 973

1 00-135

B ritannia 3 , W ilson,

1 961

K ,

f rom t he A ir

i n 1 974.

2 20-285 B rixworth E xcavations

9 6

I

I :S ites E xplored,

J

CROP PRODUCTION

IN ROMAN BRITAIN

Martin Jones

Romano-British agriculture has g enerally b een examined by r eference to r econstructed villa estates. Thus, while d iscussing the native e lements o f t he l ands cape i n general t erms, Applebaum's detailed d iscussion o f agrarian h istory focusses on s ome o f the more o pulent villas, viewed in the l ight o f c ontemporary Roman written s ources ( Applebaum 1 972). B arker and Webley ( 1977) have applied the method o f catchment analysis, d eveloped by the H iggs s chool for earlier periods, to the estate a t Gatcombe. At Barton Court Farm, the Oxford Unit have attempted to s upplement these s ources with environmental evidence in t he r econstruction o f the villa estate and i ts farming s ystem ( Jones i n Miles forthcoming). While this d iversification o f a pproaches i s encouraging, we r etain an essentially Romanised view o f an essent ially indigenous activity, agriculture, by virtue o f our emphasis on the Romanised e lements o f t he l andscape. This i s l argely r elated to the quality o f the evidence. H is ambitious a ttempt at interpreting F igheldean Down notwithstanding, ( Applebaum 1 954), Professor Applebaum would have had great d ifficulty in a pplying h is methods to the fragmentary evidence from the majority o f ' native' s ettlements. The enigmatic nature o f these s ettlements has h indered any analysis o f agriculture across a broad s ocial s pectrum, and we have instead b een forced t o view Roman Britain a s a collective unit, which may b e unders tood i n t erms o f those f ew e lements in the r ural l andscape which y ield unambiguous evidence. This s tate o f a ffairs has been modified a s a r esult o f the growth o f environmental s tudies in the period. While the agrarian base may l eave a f ar hazier artefactual r ecord than i ts counterparts c loser to the a dministration, i t may be expected to l eave a f ar c learer ecological r ecord by virtue o f i ts constant articulation with the environment. A coordinated s tudy u sing methods o f traditional and environmental archaeology together, may t hus l ead to a c oordinated understanding o f Romanised and i ndigenous e lements in t he agrarian l andscape and their r espective roles i n crop production. A number o f a dvances have been made i n our unders tanding o f environmental c hange in the period ( Jones and D imbleby 1 981) and comprehensive environmental evidence o f agrarian economy i s now available f or a number o f ' native'

9 7

s ettlements, especially in the U pper Thames Valley and Hampshire ( Parrington 1 978, Lambrick and Robinson 1 979, Murphy 1 977, Monk and Fasham 1 980, Green 1 981, Maltby 1 981). This approach i s c urrently b eing extended to examine the r elationship between n ative and Romanised s ettlements a t L echlade, G loucestershire ( Jones and M iles 1 979). B efore s uch evidence was available, t he s ubject o f crop-production was a pproached by examining Roman methods in the context o f Britain. In t his paper, an attempt will be made to examine i ndigenous methods in t he context o f the Roman presence. THE ENVIRONMENTAL BACKGROUND In a s ubdivision o f the post-glacial period in t erms o f ecological rather than c ultural c riteria, i t may b e argued that the Roman period and preceding I ron Age make up a coherent s ubunit, characterised by a n umber o f proc esses that gather momentum at an unprecedented s cale at the outset, and maintain that momentum throughout the period r epresented by this s ubunit. Turner ( 1981a & b ) has argued f rom pollen s pectra that the early I ron Age s aw forest c learance proceed on an unprecedented s cale, and maintain that s cale until the early Dark Ages. She s uggests that t his wave o f c learance s pread from the South-East, to the West and North, encompassing the South-West peninsular and Wales, and r eaching a s far north a s Yorkshire by 3 00 B C, and to parts o f Northumberland by 0 AD. Further c learance appeared i n the Lake District and Central Scotland b etween 0 and 5 00 AD. Wilson ( 1981) examining pollen s pectra f rom a s pecific r egion, the North West o f England, a rgues t hat this s pate o f c learance i s qualitatively a s well a s quantitatively distinct from earlier c learances. H e contrasts the more permanent c learance horizons o f the I ron Age with the r elatively s hort-lived c learances o f the Bronze Age. This may s uggest that the pollen catchment areas, which a re typically dominated by l and marginal to a rable agriculture, were s ubjected to the impact o f a more continuous human activity, in a manner very r eminiscent o f the molluscan evidence from Rams H ill, B erkshire ( Evans in Bradley and E llison 1 975). Such an intensified u se o f h itherto marginal l and i s f urther r eflected in the crop r epertoire that charact erises the I ron Age and Roman periods. Jones ( 1981) has emphasised that the f actor borne i n common by the crops that b ecome more prevalent i n this p eriod i s a tolerance for unfavourable conditions i n one f orm o r another; s pelt and bread wheat are tolerant o f frost and damp h eavy s oils, rye and oats may b e grown on acid a nd infertile s oils, and l egumes can r eplenish n itrogen to s our s oils. The cons iderable diversification in the c ontemporary weed f lora,

9 R

incidentally paralleled i n many parts o f North-West Europe ( Groenman-van Waateringe 1 979) may be another r eflection o f the d iversification o f s oil types i n use. B ell ( 1981) has drawn a ttention to the changing n ature o f valley s edimentation i n this period. While colluvial movement o f s ediments may b e i dentified l ocally a t a wide range o f dates, a lluvial movement into the major r iver valleys does not gather momentum until the f irst millennium bc, when i n the I ron Age and through to the early Dark Ages, a lluviatic in occurs on a considerable s cale. The l ink with the agricultural d iversification d escribed above i s t estified in t he Thames r iver s ystem, by the d istinctive nature o f the a lluvium d eposited a t this date, i n contrast to the underlying s ediments ( Hazelden and Jarvis 1 979). In this c ase Robinson ( 1981) has argued a connection with agricultural expansion on t he Cotswold s lopes. In t erms o f crop-production, the a bove evidence c learly demonstrates t hat the Roman period falls into a longer period c haracterised by expansion and d iversification onto n ew types o f s oil. Among the various categories o f soil brought i nto cultivation in the I ron Age, there i s one category o f especial importance to the development o f agriculture. When f irst c ultivated, the h eavy c lay b ar ns would probably have been r egarded a s marginal l and, on account o f their damp i ntractable nature. However, unlike other types o f marginal l and c ultivated at this period, they had the potential o f becoming o ptimal. Once problems o f drainage and t illage had b een overcome by i ntensive investment o f l abour, the potential d epth o f t hese s oils r endered them more f ertile than the s hallower, more easily tractable s oils h itherto cultivated. This potential l ies behind the gradual expansion o f s ettlement on the c lays in the s ucceeding p eriods ( cf Cunliffe 1 976) and many o f t he concurrent changes in agrarian t echnology ( Rees 1 979). Against this background o f expansion and intensificat ion which covers a period considerably l arger than the Roman period a lone, the r esponse o f British c rop-producers to the Roman presence may now b e considered. THE

EFFECTS

OF THE ROMAN

PRESENCE

These effects have normally b een considered i n t erms o f the a ppearance o f n ew t echniques and i deas brought from the continent, and in t erms o f the economics o f s upply and demand drawn f rom modern capitalist s ocieties. Applebaum places emphasis on the former point, c iting n ew economic plants and agricultural implements that a ppear in the Roman p eriod, and the s pread o f villa-style archit ecture, which h e a ssumes i s a ccompanied by agricultural improvement. H e a lso argues f rom traditional economic t enets t hat: ' Roman capitalists during the f irst y ears o f the conquest were investing i n British development, and a s the main

colonization was

s till

9 9

to

come,

this must have

meant

chiefly

agriculture.'

( Applebaum

1 972,

2 23).

Frere a lso draws f rom s upply-and-demand economics arguing that: ' it was a s a consumer, however that i t [ The Roman army] made i ts greatest mark on the economy o f Britain. I ts food r equirements s timulated c ereal product ion in the s outh and introduced i t f or t he f irst t ime to some northern r egions.' ( Frere 1 978, 2 60). Hopkins' discussion o f t axes a nd trade i s concerned chiefly with the empire a s a whole, but h is proposition that taxation in money, s timulated t rade may be o f r elevance to crop-production i n Britain ( Hopkins 1 980). B efore examining these arguments in r elation t o the archaeological and environmental evidence, s ome u seful points may b e drawn f rom the more i mmediate evidence f or the e ffects o f imperial expansion on indigenous agriculture i n Africa. Recent s tudies i n Africa s how t hat the effects a re varied, and are very much d ependant on the particular i deology and social r elations o f t he s ociety exposed to this expansion. Some g eneral points n evertheless emerge. Meillasoux ( 1981, 9 2) for example, writing o f African s ubs istence communities in g eneral, a dvises c aution in the a pplication to these s ocieties o f economic models d erived from the modern western world. H e t akes t he view that: ' applied to underdeveloped countries, the l aw o f s upply and d emand becomes a lmost completely irrelevant.' As an example h e points out that: ' capitalism has, until now virtually ignored the s ubsistence a griculture s ector in underdeveloped countries.' ( Meillasoux 1 981, 9 5), even though this s hould b e a ' good' investment on the basis o f s upply-and-demand economics. I t i s c learly n ecessary to look critically at the archaeological and environmental evidence before excepting the arguments forwarded by Applebaum and Frere. Parallels for Hopkins' proposition a s a pplied to crop production are easier to f ind i n the African evidence. Bohannan ( 1967) describes how taxation in money encouraged trade among the T iv o f Nigeria, and s timulated the c ultivation o f the cash crop, b eniseed ( Cannabis indicum). The African evidence in fact g ives r eason to s uspect that the Roman monetary economy may have had f ar more wide-reaching effects on s ubsistence communities t han s imply t hose o utl ined by Hopkins ( cf Dalton 1 967). A point that i s evident f rom B eidelman's s tudy o f Tanganyikan communities ( Beidelman 1 961), i s that d ifferent types o f s ubsistence economy may r espond i n very d ifferent ways. From s tudies o f an arable-farming group, the Kaguru, and a pastoral group, the Baraguyu, h e demonstrates how the a ppearance o f taxation i n money c an change the r elative prosperity o f each group, t heir s ocial and economic r elations hips with each other and with the a uthorities. K ey f actors

1 00

in this d ifferential r esponse are the groups' contrasting i deologies, and t he different a daptability o f crop a nd animal husbandry to market forces. Archaeologists s hould take note that i n this c ase the group t hat f eels i tself to be l ess prosperous i s the group that a dopts more a spects o f the imperial c ulture. A f urther point that may be drawn f rom this example i s t hat a key f actor i n t he l ower prosperity o f the arable f arming Kaguru, i s the vulnerability o f cropproduction to a d isembedded market economy. Unlike animals, that are easily moved on the hoof and may be bought and sold all y ear round, the majority o f c rops a ppear f or s ale in a s ingle s eason, and a t the s ame t ime a s everyone e lse's harvest. Without the protection o f a s ocially embedded economy, the a rable farmer will a lways b e i n danger o f falling prices a nd s easonal c ash f low problems. The development o f cash c rops a s a r esponse to the s hortage o f money has a lready been mentioned in the context o f t he T iv o f Nigeria. An important adaptation among the Kaguru i s to withhold a c ertain part o f the c ereal harvest for t he brewing o f beer a ll year round, which i s s old for c ash in the markets to t he Baraguyu. A f urther problem facing c rop producers i s the r elative ease with which t hey can be taxed. Unlike the h erdsman and h is herd, both t hey and their l and are r elatively easy to locate and evaluate. In the l ight o f these observations, i t i s c lear that i f Roman expansion and t he consequent f iscal action i n any way stimulated c rop production, that s timulation would have to take an extremely active form, which s hould b e d etectable in the archaeological r ecord. A l aissez-faire a pproach would i f anything be expected to encourage f armers to abandon c rop-production in favour o f a s ubsistence s trategy l ess vulnerable to the tax collector and the market. There i s c learly s ome discrepancy between s ome o f the i deas that have b een proposed for Romano-British c ropproduction, and what the African evidence might l ead us to suspect. These i deas consequently r equire critical examinat ion of the archaeological and environmental evidence, which i s h ere considered in t he contexts o f innovation, demand, money and investment. AGRICULTURAL I t

has

I NNOVATIONS been argued e lsewhere

( Jones

1 981)

that

the

I ron

Age and Roman p eriod in Britain may, f rom the point o f view o f methods o f c rop-production, be s ubdivided i nto p eriods o f innovation and s tagnation. I n the Roman p eriod a phase o f s tagnation, when innovations are confined t o the s phere o f crop r edistribution may be d etected f rom the conquest to the l ate third c entury. In contrast, the p eriods on either s ide, t he l ate I ron Age and l ate Roman periods, s tand out as phases o f innovation when c ultivation o f the h eavier soils was i ntensified. Such a phasing woul d s uggest that

1 01

the movement o f n ew i deas in agriculture was not encouraged by the conquest. This i s perhaps n ot s urprising in the l ight o f the considerable evidence f or the long distance movement o f l uxury goods i nto Britain prior to the conquest, s uggesting that l ittle room was l eft f or the improvement o f information f low. I t would however, be a mistake to treat luxury goods a s a measure o f the movement o f a gricultural i deas, a s t hey may i nvolve completely different s pheres o f communication and exchange. The movement o f the l atter i s better examined i n r elation to s pecific agricultural i mplements. The i mplement that l ends i tself best to this enquiry, having c lear continental antecedents i s the balanced s ickle ( Steensberg 1 943). Rees ( 1979) has observed t hat this implement makes i ts f irst a ppearance in Britain, not a s commonly thought in the Roman period, but in the l ate I ron Age. Five examples o f this date are c ited. Two are f rom h illforts, at Croft Ambrey and Credenhill, both in H ereford-and-Worcester. One occurs in a hoard f rom L lyn Cerrig Bach on Anglesy in a ssociation with a range o f i tems i ncluding warrior " equipment and s lave chains. A f urther two are deposited outside the ' lake village' a t Glastonbury, one a djacent t o the hut group which David C larke ( 1972) has s uggested on artefactual evidence i s the r ichest i n the village. This group has an interesting distribution which does not a ppear to correlate with the area o f incipient Romanisation. There may be a correlate with wealth, but t he most s ignificant point to arise i s that n ew i tems o f a gricultural t echnology were r eaching village communities f rom the continent prior to the conquest. Innovations r elated to crop production become more common in the l ate Roman period ( Rees 1 979, Jones 1 981). Two i tems that are directly r elated t o intensified cultivation o f the h eavier s oils are coulters and asymetrical p loughshares. Of the twenty s ix coulters and four a symetrical ploughshares l isted by Rees, one o f the s hares a nd f ifteen o f the coulters are from hoards in towns, and a re therefore difficult to r elate to t he contexts o f their agricultural u se. This a lso applies to a f urther s ix c oulters whose archaeological contexts are unclear. Of the r emaining two o f the s hares and two o f the c oulters a re a ssociated with very o pulent villas: two are f rom f ield ditches r elated to villa estates on the f en edge i n East Anglia, one coulter i s from a f ield d itch r elated to an unknown s ettlement, and one s hare i s from t he r eused hillfort a t Dinorben, North Wales. From these e xamples, an a ssociation with r ich villa estates i s c lear. The D inorben s hare a gain emphasises the s econdary p lace o f c ultural boundaries i n agricultural innovation. I n s ummary, t he s pread o f innovations in agriculture does not a ppear i n this period to h ave been r estricted by c ultural or political boundaries, t hough there may be a

1 02

correlation with the material wealth o f the r eceiver. There would a ppear to b e a d earth o f innovation i n t he two hundred y ears following the conquest. THE

EFFECT OF

I NCREASED

DEMANDS

The above evidence mitigates against t he s timulation o f crop production in the South envisaged by Frere. The i dea that agriculture was i ntroduced i nto parts o f the North may f ind s ome s upport i n t he n umber o f c learance horizons in pollen d iagrams broadly c ontemporary with the conquest. However, the African evidence would s uggest that the d istinction b etween c learances f or pasture and c learances for a rable i s an important one i n the present d iscussion, and s hould b e borne in mind i n a consideration o f the pollen evidence. Traces o f c ereal pollen are present i n a c learance horizon a t Featherbed Moss, D erby, f rom 3 01+50bc onwards, and show no s ubstantial increase until t he l ate Roman period ( Tallis a nd Switzur 1 973). C ereal pollen i s present from 2 50bc at N iddledale Moors i n Yorkshire ( Tinsley 1 975). In both the North York Moors ( Atherden 1 976) and t he East Lowlands o f County Durham ( Bartley et a l 1 976) an expans ion o f a rable f arming was d etected i n the l ate I ron Age. Dates o f 6bc+70 and 4 0ad+140 have b een derived for increases in arable at Hallowell Moss, Durham ( Donaldson and Turner 1 977) and North D erbyshire ( Hicks 1 971) r espectively. While this pollen evidence r eflects the l ong t erm expansion o f arable d iscussed earlier, i t i s not c lear whether the Roman presence accelerated t hat expansion i n the north. I n many areas, the conquest followed t he expansion o f a rable rather t han preceding i t. THE

IMPACT OF MONEY

The most easily detected r esponse to t axation in money i n the s phere o f crop production would b e the r emains o f cash c rops. Environmental a rchaeology has i ndeed produced s ubstantial evidence for the existence o f l uxury foodstuffs in B ritain t hroughout the p eriod o f the conquest. The presence o f grape, f ig, date, mulberry, o live, c abbage, c elery, f ennel, l entil, millet, coriander, d ill and anise i n towns s uch a s L ondon, Colchester, Winchester, S ilchester and York ( Reid 1 901-9, Willcox 1 977, Greig 1 976, K enward and Williams 1 979, Murphy 1 977) would c ertainly s uggest that a market could b e f ound for a rable f armers who d iverted s ome o f their efforts to horticultural crops f or c ash s ale. Y et the environmental r ecord from contemporary r ural s ettlements a lmost i nvariably r eveals a very conservative s eries o f t he s ame crops that were grown in t he I ron Age ( Jones 1 981). What l ittle evidence there i s f or the use o f c ash c rops on rural s ites, s uch a s occasional r ecords - o f c oriander and dill ( Lambrick a nd Robinson 1 979, Murphy 1 977), the emphasis on f lax

a t

Barton Court

Farm

( Miles

1 03

f orthcoming),

t he

p lanting pits a t D itchley ( Applebaum 1 972) and p lanting d itches a t North Thoaresby ( Webster et a l 1 967) s urprisingly b elongs to the l ater Roman p eriod when t here i s a ssumed to h ave b een a r eturn to taxation i n k ind ( Hopkins 1 980), and when the pressure on the c rop producer to f ind money s hould h ave l essened. The expected r esponse to taxation i n money i s t hus not i n evidence i n the s phere o f c rop production. I t h as b een s uggested e lsewhere t hat the r einterpretation o f corn-drying o vens a s malting o ve ns ( Reynolds a nd Langley 1 980) may f ind a parallel in t he Kaguru economy ( Jones 1 981) and i ndeed t he s triking a bundance o f these ovens in l ower s tatus s ites ( Morris 1 979) would l end c redence t o this s uggestion. However, apart from t his one s peculative hypothesis, t here i s no evidence for modification o f a gricultural s trategy i n r esponse to demands for t axes i n money. I NVESTMENT

I N CROP-PRODUCTION

The previous three s ections have d emonstrated the l ack o f evidence for a s timulatory a spect o f an imperial presence i n Roman Britain f or the t wo hundred y ears followi ng the conquest. This l ack o f evidence may be r elated to the s tifling a spect o f s uch a presence, t he r emoval by f iscal dues o f the potential to r einvest. Each i nnovation towards an i ntensified u se o f h eavy s oils r equires an i nvestment o f s ome l imiting r esource s uch a s manpower, animal power, manure o r metal ( Jones 1 981). A r emoval o f t he potential to i nvest would s tifle t he d evelopment o f a gricultural method without immediately s tifling the potent ial to r emove more s urplus. Such a process o f exploitation by preserving the s tatus quo rather t han s timulating a gric ultural d evelopment i s r egarded by M eillasoux a s having b een an integral part o f imperialism: ' it i s by preserving t he domestic s ector which i s producing s ubsistence goods, t hat imperialism r ealises and, f urther, p erpetuates primit ive accumulation.'(Meillasoux 1 981, 9 7) The f act t hat the growing population o f villa owners d erived their c apital f rom agricultural estates does not n ecessarily mean they i nvested i n a gricultural improvement on their l and. I ndeed, there i s no evidence that they d id s o until t he l ate third and fourth c enturies. The c onsiderable d evelopments t hat t hen o ccurred in methods o f crop production d id not in f act a ppear until a t ime when Reece ( 1980) has argued that t he focal points o f the i mperial s tructure, t he implanted t owns, were undergoing great c hanges and t aking on a f ar l ess imperial a spect. CONCLUSION I t i s hoped t hat this paper has d emonstrated how an i ntegrated analysis o f the environmental and archaeolog ical evidence may a llow a more c ritical understanding o f Romano-British agriculture

than has previously b een possible.

3 04

I t has b een s uggested that this approach may indicate that the Roman presence had a s tifling r ather t han a s timulatory e ffect on methods o f c rop-production i n B ritain. The cons iderable developments i n method t hat occurred i n t he l ate 3 rd and 4 th c enturies are b etter s een i n the context o f t he changing economic patterns o f that period ( see Millet below) and more a ssociated with d ecline r ather than t he r ise o f the Roman imperial s tructure i n the British l andscape. g EFERENCES

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WOOL PRODUCTION

IN ROMAN BRITAIN

John Peter Wild

To F lavius Abinnaeus, praefectus a lae... a t the fort o f D ionysias...from Aurelius Aboul, s on o f D ionysius, f rom the village o f H ermoupolis... my sheep were s horn in t he n ight, e leven o f them, by c ertain wicked men, and when I made enquiries about the s hearing o f the s heep I h eard t hat i t was Paul t he s oldier, one o f those under your command, and h e implicated P eter, s on o f Sarapion, and h is brother Melas, a s oldier, and Apion, the son o f Horion, the village policeman... This n efarious d eed took place a f ew days b efore the end of June in AD 3 46 in Roman Egypt ( Bell 1 962, no 4 8). We talk confidently a bout the s timulus provided by the Roman army to t he native economies. But what does t his r eally mean? The garrison on Hadrian's Wall could have been a mixed b lessing to the hard pressed s heep f armers o f northern Brigantia. In the following note I want to concentrate on t he Romano-British s heep farmer and on the processing o f h is principal product, wool. First, what types o f s heep were to be found Britain and what s ort o f wool did they grow?

i n Roman

The art r epertoire o f the province i s unhelpful: the ram among t he s acrificial animals on the Bridgeness s lab for instance g ives l ittle away ( Toynbee 1 963, pl 1 02; Esperandieu 1 922, nos 5 069, 5 824, 6 541). The s tudy o f s heep bones however i s potentially more useful and for t he medieval period s ome progress i s now being made on d istinguishing types o f s heep ( Armitage and Goodall 1 977; Maltby 1 979, 5 1). I t r emains n evertheless extremely difficult and with s mall faunal collections impossible to d istinguish d ifferences due to breed from variations due t o s ex, nutrition, or g enetic make-up ( Ryder 1 968a; Noddle 1 978). The long s tanding problem o f s eparating s heep from goat s till l ingers in the background. There was for example initial d isagreement about the s kull o f a 4 -horned caprovid which was probably eaten by members o f the garris on in the C laudio-Neronian fortress at Longthorpe n ear Peterborough ( Wilson i n prep; Noddle 1 980). The view prevailed

that

i t was

a s heep.

1 09

Multihorned

s heep

are

s till a f eature o f s ome breeds originating i n western Britain: but they are mutant varieties rather than dist inct breeds ( Ryder 1 968a). L ieutenant-General P itt-Rivers, a s u sual, pointed the way forward ( 1887, 1 72; 1 888, 2 26ff; 1 892, 2 33) ( Fig 1 ). H e r ecognised that the s heep bones which he found on I ron Age and early Roman s ites o n Cranborne Chase c orres ponded in s ize to those o f the s urviving f eral s heep o f the i slands o f S t K ilda in t he Outer H ebrides: ' I have o btained s everal and bred f rom them'. The Soay a s we now c all t hem a nd the r elated primitive breeds o f the northern s hort-tailed group, the Orkney and Shetland, are the key to understanding Roman s heep and f leece d evelopment. Most o f what I have to s ay h ere I owe to the r esearch o f Dr M ichael Ryder o f the Animal Breeding Research Organisation i n E dinburgh, the l eading European a uthority on f leece c hanges i n s heep. By examining the f ibres in s urviving ancient wool t extiles in t he l ight o f what we know o f existing primitive breeds o f s heep h e has been able to r econstruct with increasing precision and confidence the d evelopment o f early f leece types. The Soay s heep today roam the i slands o f the St K ilda group ( Campbell 1 974). The main i sland, H irta, carries a population o f b etween 5 00 and 1 500 s heep. The Norse n ame o f one o f the i slands, Soay, ' sheep i sland', s uggests that they had escaped from man by Viking t imes at the l atest. The Soay i s a s mall s lender-framed animal s tanding a bout 5 50mm h igh at the s houlder. The rams have s trong r ecurved horns while half o f the ewes are horned, half polled. All have a s hort t ail, thirteen vertebrae against the twenty o f modern breeds. There are two main f leece types, hairy and woolly ( Doney et a l 1 974, 8 8). The hairy Soay, t echnically a hairy medium f leece with f ine kemps, r epresents the f irst evolutionary change a fter domestication. The mean f ibre d iameter i s about 3 5 microns ( 1 micron equals 0 .001mm) and the s taple l ength 5 0-60mm. I n t he woolly type the kemps have narrowed to g ive a f leece o f g eneralised medium wool with a mean f ibre d iameter o f about 2 4 microns. F leeces weigh up to 11 /1 2 b ( 0.75kg). More s triking i s the c olour; f or 7 5% o f the St K ilda f lock have a dark brown coat, the r est a l ight brown one. The colour-pattern i s i nteresting, t oo; f or most animals have a white belly and white patch on the r ump, precisely l ike their wild ancestor, the European Mouflon. Rams have a hairy comparatively l ong coat; the shortest c oat i s f ound among l ight coloured woolly ewes ( Ryder 1 968b; Doney et a l 1 974, 1 10).

1 10

Z i i r • -> _ -, i , 1

.

•. .

4 7 :4411

7

^ ,

•

L

4,

•

. . 9 » • . .

-f .

•

•

. , Y

ei f . . 4 1 !

I /

'

•

. -•

1 . •

. . ; .7 z e g re .

•

*f at

Figure

1 .

Pitt-Rivers'

Soay

1 11

Sheep

in Rushmore

Park

The Soay r epresents the typical s heep o f the British Bronze Age. By the I ron Age however a f leece type was evolving which was much c loser to what we s ee today i n the Orkney s heep o f North Ronaldsay. Until the 1 9th c entury the Orkney and the more f amiliar Shetland f ormed a s ingle s tock, but s ince the Shetland has been bred f or white, the types have d iverged. The Orkney s heep l ive on North Ronaldsay - to b e more precise, on the s ea s hore around the i sland ( Ryder 1 974; 1 968a, 1 53ff.). ' I l h ey graze there t he whole y ear round and are excluded from the cultivated l and by a wall n inet een km l ong encircling the i sland. They a re only b rought i nside for l ambing and c lipping. Their basic diet i s s eaweed ( kelp) and consequently they a re b etter f ed i n winter than s ummer. Each t enant has t he r ight to g raze tento s ixty s heep on the foreshore. While most r ams are c astrated, the entire r ams r un with t he f lock and t here i s no s elective breeding. I n body conformation the Orkney r esembles the S oay. Rams are horned, ewes polled and they have a short t ail. Their f leeces weigh 2 -3 l b ( 1-1.5kg). The Wool Marketi ng Board r ecognises i-ive native f leece colours: white or n ear-white, moorit and fawn, l ight grey, dark grey, b lack and dark brown ( Ryder 1 968b, 1 56). Grey predominates. There are f ew black or dark brown animals. Grey f leeces in f act are a mixture o f dark pigmented f ibres, normally hair, and white unpigmented underwool. Their coats s how a very wide range o f f leece types f rom hairy medium t hrough g eneralised medium to a f ew true f ine wools. The Orkney type we would now c laim to b e the s tandard s heep o f Roman Britain. Confirmation o f this was o ffered r ecently by a l arge group o f wool t extiles from the preHadrianic fort at Vindolanda ( Chesterholm) s outh o f Hadrian's Wall ( Ryder 1 977). The r ange o f f ibre diameters and f leece types which Michael Ryder i dentified bears an uncanny r esemblance to the range on North Ronaldsay. At Vindolanda moreover 5 0% o f the wools were grey, 4 0% white, and 1 0% b lack or brown ( Ryder personal comment). While the evolution o f f leece type or s tructure a nd changes in colour do not n ecessarily run i n parallel, it i s i nteresting to note that white i s the dominant g ene, except in piebald f leeces where i t i s r ecessive to b rown ( Ryder et a l 1 974, 2 85). Ryder r econstructs the following d evelopment o f varicolor Orkney f rom brown Soay: f irst, the wild Mouflon pattern; s econd, o ccasional white a nimals mutating from the white-bellied Soay or possibly emerging by s elective breeding from the l arge white patches o n p iebald s heep; t hirdly, the overall ( self-coloured) b lack or brown f leeces; fourthly, grey o r roan f leeces w ith mixed t hese

coloured and white f ibres. One might n atural colours were u sed i n t extiles

e ffects,

without dying,

until

1 12

the

add that a ll for pattern

post-medieval

period.

Roman writers mention grey s heep ( pulli), j et b lack and tawny f leeces in S pain and s heep in Asia Minor with dark r ed ( perhaps moorit) wool ( Columella, d e r e r ustica V II, 2 , 4 ; P liny, h istoria naturalis, VIII, 1 91). I t urn now to the improved breed o f s heep which, I argued in 1 970, the Romans introduced i nto Britain. The coat was normally white and the animals had a l ong t ail. Early Christian s arcophagi from I taly s how t he Good S heph erd, conceived in l ate Roman t erms, c arrying a l ong-tailed

a ristocratic -l ooking ram

( Fig

2 )

( Grabar

1 967,

F ig

1 21).

I have used the word ' breed' in this paper, but c autiously. Certainly, the Romans did not d efine s heep breeds in the precise and s ometimes a rbitrary way b eloved o f the present-day breed s ocieties. Sheep t ended to be l abelled according to their origin, Milesian, T arentine, Arabian etc. Varro ( de r e r ustica, I I, 2 , 1 8) writing a bout 3 7 B C and Columella ( de r e r ustica, V II, 2 , 5 ) about AD 6 0 c lassify sheep a s either hairy ( oyes h irtae) or j acketed ( oyes pellitae). P liny ( historia n aturalis, V III, 1 89) r efers to h ill s heep ( colonicum g enus) and j acketed s heep ( tectum g enus). I t was a r egular practice i n the C lassical World to protect the f leece o f a f ine-woolled s heep by tying a s heepskin over i t to keep out dirt and burrs ( Kraemer 1 928; Carter 1 969, 1 5). They were o ften c alled Tarentine or Attic s heep a s a tribute to the Greek coloni sts who introduced them into I taly. I n Victorian B ritain hill sheep s ometimes wore a j acket ( ' bratt') o f tarred s acking ( Jewell 1 975, 2 3 F ig 5 3); but i ts purpose was to protect the s heep ( not j ust the wool) in s evere weather. Can we be s ure that there was a Roman improved breed in Britain? The l ate medieval English s heep h ad a l ong tail ( Armitage and Goodall 1 977). Study o f t he c haracter o f English s heep breeds before 1 800 s uggests that t he long tail could well have been inherited from a Roman improved breed ( Ryder 1 964). Strabo ( IV, 4 , 4 , 3 ( 196)) comments that the B elgae o f northern Gaul k ept hairy s heep, but that the Romans, even i n the f ar north, r eared j acketed s heep with ' pretty good quality wool'. H e i s s peaking o f the early days o f the Roman c onquest. Caesar, too, f requently r emarks on the f locks o f s heep i n northern Gaul ( de b ello Gallico, I II, 2 9, 2 ; VI, 6 , 1 ; VI, 3 5, 6 ; VIII, 2 4, 4 ). I f t he Roman f lockmasters moved into e stablished s heep-country so s peedily, there i s every chance that j acketed s heep were quickly i ntroduced into Britain. Yet i f a ll Columella's instructions on pens, s upplementary f eed and c lose i ndividual attention w ere followed, one wonders how j acketed sheep could have b een profitable at a ll in B ritain. Northern h ill l ess f inicky.

f armers

and villa

1 13

farmers may have

b een

D espite the j ackets and the white f leeces, the c oats o f the Roman improved breed may s till have b een o f R yder's g eneralised medium wool. Nevertheless, i t was probably, but not n ecessarily, f rom the j acketed s heep that t he true f ine wool d eveloped ( Ryder 1 969; Broo )? and Ryder 1 978, 1 6). The yarns o f Vindolanda r eflect a s urprisingly w ide range o f f leece types, but they are c ombined in t he s ame t extiles and come presumably f rom t he s ame f lock(s) o f s heep. As I have a lready noted, the s ame r ange c an b e s een today in the Orkney. Michael Ryder ( 1977) has a rgued t hat the true f ine wool o f Vindolanda ( 9%) i s the f orer unner o f the f ine-wool merino and t hat the medieval a nd modern s hortwools and l ongwools are a lso foreshadowed i n t he Vindolanda yarns. I t i s d ifficult to a void the c onclus ion t hat this evolution i s the r esult o f s elective b reed ing. True f ine wool however occurs i n Danish t extile f inds o f the early Roman I ron Age, s o one must b e c areful not to g ive Roman f armers too much c redit f or what t he I ron Age had achieved ( Ryder and H edges 1 973). . Roman farmers were c ertainly f amiliar with s ome p rinc iples o f s elective breeding. Varro ( de r e rustica, I I, 2 , 3 ) and Columella ( de r e r ustica, V II, 3 , 1 ) quote a s eries o f points to l ook for i n buying n ew s tock for breeding, s ome s ensible, s ome j ust o ld s hepherd's lore. Columella had an enterprising uncle i n Cadiz who bought s ome African wild r ams from a c ircus and crossed them with h is j acketed ewes. The f irst-generation rams i nherit ed the wild c olouring presumably brown or r eddish-brown ( Columella does not s ay). When put to T erentine ewes in turn, their progeny s till exhibited the wild colouring, but with the s ofter wool o f their mothers ( Columella, d e r e r ustica, VII, 2 , 4 -5). One would have expected a f iner wool to be the object o f s elective breeding, b ut the writers s eem more concerned with colour ( White 1 970, 3 02). How was

the wool

r ecovered

f rom t he

s heep?

P liny ( historia naturalis, VIII, 1 91) comments t hat in h is own day, the F lavian period, t he o ld f ashioned practice o f plucking s heep, not s hearing, s till continued in s ome places. Varro makes the s ame observation ( de rust ica, I I, 1 1, 9 ). Primitive s heep undergo an annual s pring moult and that t endency i s present i n the Orkney breed which were s till plucked or ' roo' d' 1 00 y ears ago. I n the l ate 1 8th c entury Shetland s heep were plucked i n June and plucking was common in I celand, Greenland and t he Faeroes ( Ryder 1 967-8). The a dvantage o f plucking i s t hat, when the wool i s r emoved, the hairs r emain behind and do not f all until S eptember. I n Z eno's farming a ccounts f rom P tolemaic Egypt the j acketed s heep are plucked while the coarser Arabian s heep are s horn ( Preisigke 1 931, n o 6 990).

1 14

F igure Roman

2 . improved

s heep

on an early Christian

1 15

s arcophagus

Inevitably when moulting l asted s everal weeks, s ome o f the f leece would b e l ost i n t he pasture. The i nvent ion o f s heep s hears marks a s tep f orward; for once the coat had s tarted to grow again in t he s pring, the o ld wool could b e c lipped away in one p iece. I t was t hen easy to roll and s tore. Modern i ron s heep s hears a re s imilar i n s tructure and s ize to ancient ones. The b lades are l inked by a f lat s pring. B ut s ince s hears had s o many possible u ses in Roman Britain, i t i s d ifficult t o b e s ure which w ere for c lipping wool. The most l ikely c andidates I know are three pairs f rom Barton Court F arm, Abingdon ( D. M iles pers comm) which are l oosely a ssociated with a s heep burial. Sheep would be s horn in the s pring, but the precise t iming depended on c limate, weather and the farming r egion ( White 1 970, 5 07 note 1 25). I deally, the f armer would choose a s unny warm day s o that the l anolin in the f leece would r un freely ( Varro, de r e r ustica, I I, 1 1, 9 ). There would I think have been no c all for professional s heepshearers in Roman Britain. But we f ind them in Egypt where f leeces were c lipped every s ix months in the b elief that i t promoted wool growth ( Hunt 1 910, no 1 062; B rook and Ryder 1 978, 2 0; Wipszycka 1 965, 2 8; Wild 1 969). In Spain, too, sheep were s horn twice a y ear ( Varro, d e r e r ustica, I I, 1 1, 8 ). The distribution o f f locks in Roman Britain and their management are matters o f particular i nterest to u s. The ancient s ources only g ive u s a g eneralised impression. Caesar ( de bello Gallico, V , 1 2, 3 ), S trabo ( IV, 5 , 2 ( 199)), and Pomponius Mela ( III, 6 , 5 0-1) r epeat the c liche that I ron Age Britain was r ich i n f locks - o f s heep I imagine r ather than c attle.1 I n the early 4 th c entury British sheep were s aid to be ' distended with milk and l oaded down with f leeces' ( Panegyricus Constant ino Auguste ), VII, 9 ; Constantio Caesari, X I). Bone collections s how that s heep were kept virtually everywhere in Roman Britain ( King 1 978); but there was obviously a considerable difference i n s cale between the upland peasant with a handful o f a nimals and the b ig sheep farmers l ike Columella who r egarded s heep a s a s ound f inanc ial investment - a lways s upposing s uch men existed in Britain. Anthony K ing ( 1978, 2 11 t able 3 ) has drawn attention to a s teady decline in r elative numbers o f s heep k ept in Roman Britain which the bone a ssemblages r eveal. On early military and contemporary native s ites s heep bones comprise over 3 0% o f the total, whereas i n the l ater Roman period in towns and villas they are i n a d istinct m inority. This n eed not o f course r eflect a d ecline i n wool p roduct ion - r ather an e scape f rom a d iet o f mutton.

1 16

To the I talian and perhaps British s ubsistence f armer s heep's milk and c heese may have been more important than wool ( Frayn 1 979, 3 9). When t here was milk to s pare a fter l ambing, a hard dried c heese could be made which would keep well. B rian Hartley ( 1970, 1 68) has commented on how o ften cheese presses a re found in the Roman F enland. Sheep indeed must have p layed a vital role i n t he v illage economies o f t hat r egion and o f the F en margins ( Salway 1 970) ( But s ee this volume). In 1 966 W H ' Manning s uggested that the d istribution o f Roman woolcombs may b e a g uide to the d istribution o f f locks. This i s an attractive i dea. The woolcombs are f lat r ectangles o f i ron, with one or two rows o f l ong t eeth. The woolcomb from Caistor-by-Norwich f or example has a s ingle r ow o f t eeth and a t the other end two f lat prongs which enable i t to b e mounted f irmly i n a combingpost ( Fig 3 ). This f orm o f woolcomb s eems to b e p eculiar to East Anglia where I know o f 6 examples. ( A c omb from Vertault i n France ends i n a s ingle prong and that may have been mounted in a s imilar way ( Soubrier ( 1968, 1 99, 7 ). Combs with two rows o f t eeth are not s o popular in Britain, but t hey are t he s tandard f orm in the c ontinental provinces, where an increasing number o f them h ave been r ecognised in r ecent y ears ( Soubrier 1 969); Mutz 1 968; De Laet 1 973). Some s cholars s till mistakenly i dent ify them a s f lax hackles ( Epprecht 1 980); but woolcombs were used to s eparate l ong from s hort wool f ibres ( Wild 1 970, 2 5). There could have been an ancient equivalent to the modern l ong s tapled worsted, but I know o f n o direct evidence for i t. Short s tapled wool could have b een made into f elt. Turning now to the distribution o f combs: the s ingleended combs are grouped on the s outhern borders o f t he Breckland which was an important sheepwalk in the Middle Ages ( Fig 4 ). On the other hand they are not far f rom the chalklands o f s outh Cambridgeshire which s pread west to the Chilterns and t he Wessex downs. The distribution o f two-ended c ombs, one could argue, r elates to downland 2 . So far a s one c an date the combs, the are 3 rd or 4 th c entury. Many o f them come from towns or smaller market c entres, so p erhaps the woolcombers, l ike the f ullers, were urban craftsmen. The comb from Andover however i s from a villa ( VCH Hants 1 900, 3 02) and there are s everal other villa-finds on the c ontinent, s o one c annot b e dogmatic. Woolcombing implies s pecialised c loth-production and it would be natural to connect i t with the r earing o f f ine-wool j acketed s heep. I do not s ee a l ink b etween the woolcombs and the 4 th c entury gyhaeceum, the governments wool-weaving c entre, which the Notitia t ells u s was at yenta ( Wild 1 967; 1 976). Manning opted f or t he

1 17

-

-CZ

W o l c o m b

f r o m C a i s t o r b y N o r w i c h

D i s t r i b u t i o n

4 4

o

a ) N 4

P a, , 1

1 4

W o l c o m b s

Venta at Caistor-by-Norwich, but I s till prefer Winchester on balance. Military uniform was c heap and nasty, and quantity r ather t han quality was the a im o f t he gynaeceum. No s uch n iceties a s combed wool c an b e expected. Most wool was s imply not prepared ( Wild 1 970, 2 4). The gynaceum i tself may n ever b e f ound; for most o f the s pinning and weaving was done by outworkers, p erhaps i n r equisitioned housing. There i s a h int i n Gildas t hat the Mediterranean pract ice of transhumance was known i n B ritain. H e s peaks o f ' hills i deal _ for the s easonal pasturing o f s tock' ( de excidio Britanniae, 3 , 3 ). I 'd l ike t o take that a s more than j ust a l iterary echo. There i s a wealth o f evidence f rom I taly to d emonstrate that transhumance was an e ssential part o f t he s heep f arming cycle, a t l east for t he l arger estates ( Skydsgaard 1 974; Frayn 1 979, 3 4). I n our own day we may s ee t he end o f s uch s easonal migrations; for there i s a s erious s hortage o f s hepherds willing to accompany the f locks in the traditional way. Varro's own f locks wintered i n Apulia and s pent the s ummer n ear Reate i n the Sabine H ills ( de r e rustica, I I, 2 , 9 ,). They travelled a long r ecognised s heep paths ( calles) and the r ight to graze the upland pastures was r ented from the s tate. What the s ituation was in Britain we do not know. One c an s uggest that the peat f ens at l east, when they h ad dried out i n the s ummer, would have b een grazed by f locks on a s easonal basis. The f inal problem i s how we visualise the economic s tructure o f Romano-British wool production. The evidence i s meagre. One might turn to the o ther western provinces for guidance; but even i f one c ould b e s ure o f the r elevance for continental s ources, they too are s light and ambiguous. I t would b e t empting to t ake the medieval woollen industry a s a model, a s John Drinkwater ( 1977-8) has done for t he Mosel Valley i n Roman t imes. I 'm s ure the Roman s ources could be made to f it. But i t would b e a pure house o f c ards. The ' e,s t a dventurous hypothesis may a t the moment be the best: to r egard wool production a s one f acet o f a farmer's l ife, varying in c haracter f rom r egion to r egion. Upland farms may have had a wool s urplus to s ell on l ocal markets, the basis o f a cottage i ndustry. The army a t any rate would h ave b een interested i n t heir products, a s we know from Roman Egypt ( Wild 1 979, 1 26). Some villa f armers may have p laced s pecial emphasis on s heep and s old both f leeces and home-produced wool t extiles. I mprovements in wool quality however s hould probably not b e credited solely to t he owners o f the l arge estates. At l east we can be s ure t hat Romano-British wool producers were making a s ignificant contribution to the economy o f the d iocese a t the end o f t he 3 rd c entury. Only

1 19

t wo British products a ppear i n t he pricelists o f D ioclet ian's E dict i n AD 3 01 and both a re t extiles: t he b£rrus, a hooded wool c ape, a nd t he t apete, a h eavy wool r ug ( Edictum D iocletiani, X IX, 4 8; X IX, 2 8, 2 9; Wild 1 963; 1 968, 2 28). The B ritish byrrus was o f a bove-average quality t o j udge b y i ts price, b ut t he t apete was a t t he top o f i ts s ection, t he b est i n t he Roman Empire. I t was a vailable i n t wo g rades. Both t extiles were work-aday i tems a nd must h ave b een woven f rom h ard-wearing, p erhaps even h airy >wool - t he wool o f t he Orkney s heep i n f act. NOTES

1 .

The t ext o f Tacitus, Agricola, X II, 5 , which was o nce r egarded a s r elevant, h as n ow b een emended a nd n o l onger h elps ( Maia, 2 7, 1 975, 1 13).

2 .

I owe t o M iss H Major a r eference t o a n ew f ind o f a double-ended woolcomb f rom K elvedon, E ssex.

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P L ,

& G oodall,

J A ,

t he a rchaeological a nd B ell,

H I ,

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C H ,

1 977

M edieval h orned a nd p olled s heep:

i conographic e vidence,

A ntiq J 5 7,

7 3-89

T he A binnaeus A rchive

& R yder, M L ,

1 978

D eclining

b reeds o f M editerranean

s heep, F ood a nd A griculture O rganisation A nimal P roduction a nd H ealth P aper C ampbell,

R N ,

1 974

S t K ilda a nd

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s heep,

t he e cology o f t he S oay S heep o f S t K ilda J M orton B oyd),

i n I sland S urvivors: ( eds P A J ewell,

CM ilner,

8 -35

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J M ,

R yder,

a ffinities, i n

M L ,

G unn,

I sland S urvivors:

( eds P A J ewell, D rinkwater,

J F ,

1 977-8

1 980

1 974

C olour,

c onformation,

8 8-125

D ie S ecundinier v on I gel u nd d ie W oll 4 0-1,

F ragen u nd H ypothesen,

1 07-125

Z ur M etallurgie u nd H erstellungstechnik v on

r ömischen F lachshecheln, 1 ,

J M orton B oyd),

i n G allia B elgica:

T rierer Z eitschrift, W ,

P ,

t he E cology o f t he S oay S heep o f S t K ilda

C M ilner,

u nd T extilindustrie

E pprecht,

R G & G rubb,

f leece a nd p atterns o f i nheritance o f t he S oay s heep,

J ahresberichte a us A ugst u nd K aiseraugst,

1 33-146

E spgrandieu, b ustes d e F rayn,

J ,

G rabar, H artley,

E ,

R eceuil g gngral d es b as-reliefs,

s tatues e t

l a G aule R omaine

1 979

A ,

1 922

S ubsistence F arming

1 967

T he B eginnings o f C hristian A rt

B R& K F ,

i n T he F enland

i n R oman I taly

1 970

P ottery

i n R oman T imes,

( cd C W P hillips),

2 00-239

i n t he R omano-British F enland, R oyal G eographical R esearch S eries

1 65-169

1 20

H unt,

A S ,

J ewell, K ing,

1 910

C A ,

A ,

1 975

1 978

s ites

T he O xyrhynchus

V ictorian F arming:

A c omparative

i n B ritain,

S J ,

1 973

M altby,

M ,

s urvey o f b one a ssemblages

1 979

f rom R oman 1 5,

s kin-clad s heep o f a ntiquity,

2 07-232

C lassical

i n A rchaeologie e n h istorie o pgedragen a nn

( eds W A v an E S,

& S L W ynial),

a s ourcebook

E en G allo-Romeinse k aarde u it H ofstadebih-Aalst

( Oost-Vlaanderen), H B runsting

7

I nstitute o f A rchaeology B ulletin,

K raemer, C J , 1 928 O n t he W eekly, 2 1, 3 3-5 D e L aet,

p apyri,

A V M H ubrecht,

P S tuart,

W C M ank,

3 57-366 T he A nimal B ones

f rom E xeter

1 971-1975,

E xeter

A rchaeological R eport M anning, W H , 1 966 C aistor-by-Norwich a nd N otitia D ignitatum, A ntiquity 4 0, 6 0-62 M utz, A , 1 968 R ömische E isenwerkzeuge a us A ugst, i n P rovincialia: F estschrift f ur R L aur-Belart ( eds E S chmid, L B erger & P B urgin), 1 51-169 N oddle,

B A ,

w ell,

1 978

R esearch p roblems

i n z ooarchaeology,

K D T homas & J C lutton-Brock),

( eds D R B roth-

I nstitute o f A rchaeology

O ccasional P aper N oddle,

B A ,

b lems,

1 980

A rk,

P olycerate s heep:

7 ,

5 ,

p ast h istory a nd p resent p ro-

1 56-164

P itt-Rivers,

A ,

P itt-Rivers,

1 988

E xcavations

i n C ranborne C hase,

I I

P itt-Rivers,

1 892

E xcavations

i n C ranborne C hase,

I II

P reisigke, R yder,

M L ,

R ev 1 2, R yder,

F ,

1 887

1 931

1 964 1 -12,

M L ,

M L ,

M L ,

T he h istory o f s heep b reeds

1 967-8

1 968a

R yder,

M L ,

1 969

I II

A g H ist

B radford T extile

3 3-48 T he e volution o f S cottish b reeds o f s heep,

1 968b 8 5,

i n B ritain,

T he h istory o f s heep i n S cotland,

1 2,

1 27-167

F leece

b reeds o f s heep, b iologie,

I

6 5-82

S cottish S tudies R yder,

i n C ranborne C hase,

S ammelbuch g riechischer U rkunden a us Ä gypten,

S ociety J ournal, R yder,

E xcavations

s tructure

Z eitschrift

i n s ome n ative a nd u nimproved

f ür T ierzüchtung u nd Z üchtungs-

1 43-70 C hanges

i n t he

f leece o f s heep f ollowing d omesti-

c ation ( with a n ote o n t he c oat o f c attle), i n T he d omestication a nd e xploitation o f p lants a nd a nimals ( eds P J U cko & G W D imbleby), 4 95-521 R yder,

M L ,

1 974

T he

R yder,

M L ,

1 977

T he V indolanda w ools,

R yder,

M L ,

& H edges,

l and u nd D änemark,

s aga o f t he O rkney s heep,

J W ,

1 973

A rk,

V indolanda

1 ,

I II,

5 ,

1 2-17

3 4-5

R ömerzeitliche W ollreste a us D eutsch-

A rchgologisches K orrespondenzblatt,

1 21

3 ,

3 59-62

R yder,

M L ,

i n S oay,

L and,

R B & D itchburn,

S ociety o f L ondon, S alway,

P ,

1 970

J E ,

1 73,

1 974

i n T he F enland

T ranshumance 7 ,

W hite,

J M C ,

K D ,

1 963

1 970

i n R oman T imes,

i n A ncient

I taly,

1 -21

A nalecta R omana

7 -36

S oubrier, J -L, 1 968 D gcouverte d 'un p eigne e n R evue A rchaeologique d u C entre, 7 , 1 95-200 T oynbee,

i nheritance

R oyal G eographical S ociety R esearch S eries,

1 974

I nstituti D anici,

C oat c olour

J ournal o f t he Z oological

4 77-485

T he R oman F enland,

( ed C W P hillips), S kydsgaard,

R ,

O rkney a nd S hetland s heep,

A rt

i n R oman B ritain,

f er

M artizay ( Indre),

2 nd e dn

R oman F arming

W ild,

J P ,

1 963

T he b yrrus B ritannicus,

A ntiquity 3 7,

W ild,

J P ,

1 967

T he g ynaeceum a t V enta a nd

1 968

C lothing i n t he n orth-west p rovinces o f t he R oman

i ts

1 93-202

c ontext,

L atomus

2 6,

6 48-76 W ild,

J P ,

E mpire,

B onner J ahrbucher,

1 68,

1 66-240

W ild, J P , 1 969 T he t arsikarios, a R oman l inen-weaver H ommages ä M arcel R enard ( ed C P r6aux), 8 10-819 W ild,

J P ,

1 970

T extile m anufacture

W ild,

J P ,

1 976

T he g ynaecea,

i n E gypt,

i n

i n t he n orthern R oman p rovinces

i n A spects o f t he N otitia D ignitatum

( eds R G oodburn a nd P B artholomew),

B AR S 15,

5 1-58

W ild, J P , 1 979 R oman a nd n ative i n t extile t echnology, i n I nvasion a nd r esponse: t he c ase o f R oman B ritain ( eds B C B urnham, & H B J ohnson), W ipszycka,

E ,

1 965

B AR 7 3,

1 23-131

L 'Industrie

t extile d ans

1 22

l 'Egypte R omaine

INDUSTRY IN THE ROMANO-BRITISH COUNTRYSIDE Henry Cleere

I NTRODUCTION I t i s a melancholy fact that i ndustry, the c entre o f modern economy and sdciety, has h itherto b een g iven s cant a ttention by archaeologists s tudying the Roman period. This i s s omewhat s urprising, s ince t he economic basis o f much o f Roman c ivilization, and that o f s everal important provinces s uch a s Spain, Noricum, and Britain i n particular, r ests to a very l arge extent on the existence o f l arges cale industrial enterprises. For example, a major r ecent economic h istory o f Roman Spain ( Blazquez 1 978), while perceptive in i ts analysis o f trade during the Roman period, devotes only a handful o f pages to the organization, l ocat ion, and extent o f the i ndustrial undertakings upon which that trade was based. S imilarly, the s tandard work on Roman Britain ( Frere 1 978) s urveys the whole o f trade and industry i n no more than twenty pages. S ixteen y ears ago, in a collection o f papers on a s imilar theme to these ( Thomas 1 966), no account a t a ll was paid to i ndustry a s a f actor in r ural s ettlement in Roman Britain. Work in the intervening period, especially in the f ields o f pottery manufacture and the metals i ndustries, has l ed to a r ealization that the town-country antithesis, enshrined in the t itle o f one o f the s eminal works o f Romano-British s tudies ( Rivet 1 964), i s an overs implification and that the t endency to equate i ndustry with towns and a griculture with the countryside i s fallac ious and misleading, based a s i t i s on a s tructure that i s hardly two c enturies o ld i n western Europe. I ndeed, the current picture o f Roman industry s uggests that major primary industries were a lmost exclusively l ocated outside urban

c entres.

DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION At this s tage i t would s eem appropriate to a ttempt a definition. Chambers Twentieth Century D ictionary ( 1977) o ffers ' systematic economic activity; any branch o f trade or manufacture,' a s ignificant j uxtaposition, for i t i s the s ystematic nature o f a c raft that qualifies i t for the a ppellation o f industry. Thus, i n t he context o f Roman Britain, the work o f an i solated r ural or urban s mith or potter producing goods on d emand for u se i n the immediate vicinity o f h is workplace s hould not b e considered a s i ndustry. On the other hand, a major production

1 23

c entre employing a n umber o f c raftsmen o r a g roup o f i ndividual c raftsman working i n a r estricted a rea b ut s upplying products f or c oordinated marketing o ver a w ide a rea may j ustifiably b e c onsidered t o c onstitute a n i ndust ry i n economic t erms. F or t he purposes o f t he present paper, t his d efinition will b e employed t o i dentify i ndust rial a ctivity: s ome borderline e xamples may b e quoted, but f or the most part a ll e conomic a ctivities i n Roman B ritain f all c learly i nto o ne o r o ther c ategory - h andic raft o r i ndustry. . D espite t he brevity o f h is c hapter on t rade a nd i ndustry, ( 1978, 3 20-41) provides a v ery u seful : s ummary o f i ndustries i n Roman B ritain. H e l ists metal production ( gold, s ilver/lead, c opper, i ron), t imber, pottery a nd t iles, c oal, s tone, s alt, l eather, o ysters, and woollen c loth, a c omprehensive l ist. C learly t he l ocations o f most o f t hese were d etermined by t he a vailability o f r aw materials - metal o res, f orests, f ine c lays, s eashores o r brine wells, f or e xample. Modern i ndustrial c onfigurat ions a re misleading i n t his c onnexion: i t i s c ommonplace a t t he present t ime f or l arge t onnages o f i ron o re, t imber, and minerals t o b e t ransported i mmense d istances f or primary working. However, t his was n ot t he c ase b efore t he a dvent o f c heap l arge-scale t ransportation media - t he c anals and r ailways o f t he 1 9th c entury a nd t he bulk s ea c arriers o f t he 2 0th c entury. Even t oday, m inerals with a h igh p ercentage o f r efuse o r t ailings, s uch a s gold, t in, o r c opper o res o r China c lays, a re g iven t heir primary t reatment a t t he minehead, only t he r efined o r s emi-refined product b eing t ransported. Long-distance transportation o f r aw materials was e ffectively n on-existent i n t he Ancient World: primary t reatment was c arried o ut a t t he mine, a t t he quarry, o r i n t he f orest, and o nly h ighervalue s emi-finished o r f inished products were t ransported o ver l ong d istances.

Frere

The most v ivid i llustration o f t his i s o ffered by t he Wealdon i ron-making s ettlement a t B ardown ( Cleere 1 970). H ere o re was mined o pencast f or s melting n earby with c harc oal made f rom t he s urrounding f orest t rees. A fter s ome h alf-century o f o perations, t he o re bodies a nd t rees i n t he i mmediate v icinity o f t he i ndustrial s ite had b een exhausted, and r aw materials h ad t o b e brought a bout 2 km t o t he c entral l ocation f or working. At t his point, o perat ions i n t he main s ettlement c eased, a lthough i t c ontinued t o s erve a s a r esidential s ite, a nd a s eries o f p eripheral s atellite workplaces were e stablished, exploiting o re a nd c harcoal f rom t heir i mmediate s urroundings ( Cleere 1 976). A d istinction n eeds t o b e made h ere b etween basic i ndustries a nd f inishing i ndustries. T he f ormer a re d epend ent u pon r aw materials - minerals, f uels, b uilding s tone d eposits, f orest r esources, brine o r s eawater, l ivestock,

1 24

etc - and their o utput i s o f s emi-finished products i ron blooms, l ead and s ilver i ngots, r oughly dressed s labs, s awn and s easoned t imber, wool bales or s pun yarn, etc which can be transported in batch form to the s econdary industry c entres for f urther working up into f inished products - consumer goods s uch a s tools, j ewellery, s culpture, constructional e lements, c lothing, etc ( Fig l a). The basic industries must b e l ocated on or c lose to their r aw materials, b ut t here i s no s uch c onstraint on s econdary i ndustries, which benefit from c lose c onnexions with t heir c onsumers, by l ocation either i n urban c entres o r on major trading n etworks ( roads, r ivers, etc). The c eramic ( pottery and t ile) and g lass i ndustries o ccupy an intermediate position: while production f acilit ies are better l ocated c lose to major c lay or s and d epos its, with good f uel r esources n earby, for economic r easons, there i s no intermediate s emi-finished product that r equires f urther working-up, and s o the r equirement o f r easonable a ccess to markets and communications, postulated a bove f or the s econdary industries, c learly a pplies ( Fig l b). The cost o f t ransportation i s an important f actor i n the l ocation o f industries. Duncan-Jones ( 1974, 3 66) has calculated, on the basis o f Diocletian's Price E dict, t hat i f the unit cost for s ea transport i s 1 , inland waterways cost 4 .9 and l and transport 2 8-56. P eacock ( 1978, 4 9) has questioned t he order o f magnitude o f these d ifferences, but acknowledges that l and transportation was considerably more expensive t han that by water. I n Roman Britain, where it would s eem that a good deal o f the production o f the basic industries would have been moved by road, r elatively low-cost materials s uch a s coarse pottery or t iles are unlikely to have been traded considerable d ist ances, s ince the e ffect on prices o f h igh transportation costs would have made these products uncompetitive with l ocally manufactured products. I ron would have been a t a s imilar disadvantage i f traded over long distances by l and, in view o f t he r elative a bundance o f i ron-ore deposits i n Britain, and t he distribution o f commercial i ron product ion c entres in Roman Britain r eflects this: much o f the province would have been covered by s hort-haul d istribution f rom the t hree major production c entres in t he western Weald, the Forest o f D ean, and Northamptonshire ( Cleere, unpublished thesis). This i s r einforced by t he existence in North Wales and the north-west o f smaller e stablishments each s erving a very r estricted l ocal market. B uilding s tone, another r elatively low-cost material that i s r easonably widely distributed, t ends either to b e very l ocalized in i ts u se or to have been moved by water: the movement o f Kentish ragstone to London and t he wider market ing o f Purbeck marble c an be considered economic only in t erms o f water-borne transportation. On t he o ther h and, h igh-value materials s uch a s gold and s ilver c ould, and

did,

s upport

t he

h igh

transportation

1 25

costs

r esulting

f rom their being moved by production c entres.

road

f rom t heir

l andlocked basic

Another f actor that must be borne i n mind considering Roman industry i s the s ocio-political organization o f the Roman Empire. Mineral r esources in I mperial provinces were vested in the patrimonium: D avies ( 1935, 3 ) s ummarizes the position a s follows: ' In the provinces.. . the Roman s tate u sually took over those mines which had been c rownproperty at the t ime o f the conquest, and perhaps a ll o thers known to exist, s o that d e f acto i t was normally the precarious a s well a s the absolute owner o f minerals.' A s tudy o f the development o f mining administration i n the more important provinces from t he point o f view o f mineral r esources s uggests that imperial a ssertion o f mineral r ights was more o f a convention t hat evolved piecemeal rather than an established and l egitimate prerogative ( Cleere, forthcoming). However, the importance to the f iscus o f f irm control over mineral r esources was obvious, a lthough i t was not until t he r eign o f Vespasian that this policy was confirmed by t he establishment o f an extensive n etwork o f Imperial estates, which included the major metals-producing r egions, and o f powerful bureaucratic machinery ( Rostovtzeff 1 957, 1 10). The degree o f direct exploitation o f these r esources by the Imperial s ervices was variable. There c an b e no doubt that the gold mines o f Dolaucothi ( Lewis & Jones 1 969) were o perated under direct c ontrol t hroughout t he Roman period, and the l ead mines o f Mendip ( Elkington 1 976), North Wales ( Webster 1 952-3), and D erbyshire ( Frere 1 978, 3 22) were s imilarly exploited directly for t he f irst c entury following the conquest. I t would a ppear that the i ron industry o f the eastern Weald was a lso d irectly controlled until o perations c eased i n the mid 3 rd c entury ( Cleere 1 975). However, there i s c lear evidence t hat the l ead mines were l eased to entrepreneurs - either individual conductores or s ocietates ( the c ase i n t he Mendip and Derbyshire l ead mines) - when t he s ilver y ield proved disappointingly low, and the i ronworks in t he western part o f the possible Weald imperial e state appear t o have been l eased f rom the s tart. There was a lso considerable military i nvolvement i n industry. The Holt l egionary workshops ( Grimes 1 930), covering some 8 ha, provided t iles and pottery for t he XX L egion at Chester, and i t i s possible that the i ndustrial complex at Wilderspool had military connexions ( Thompson 1 965). Other military workshops producing the s ame materials are known f rom, i nter a lia, Scalesceugh and Brampton, n ear Carlisle, Gloucester, Caerleon, Tomeny-Mur, Muncaster, Gelligaer, and S outh Shields. However, these were producing s olely f or t he military and p layed no part in the trade o f the province a s a whole.

1 26

F l o w c h a r t s o f a b a s i c a n d b i n t e r m e d i a t e i n d u s t r i e s

t e c h n o l o g i c a l i n p u t

u r b a n c e n t r e

I n d u s t r i a l c e n t r e

r a w m a t e r i a l s s o u r c e

•

E i i n

1 27

The I mperial industrial enterprises and the military establishments r epresent the public s ector, but there was a lso a very considerable and h ighly organized private s ector, both individual entrepreneurs ( conductores) a nd j oint s tock companies ( societates). C Nipius Ascanius and Ti Claudius Triferna are known t o have had extensive interests in t he l ead/silver industries o f t he Mendips, F lintshire, and D erbyshire while the s ocietas Novaec a nd the Metallum Lutudarense are a ttested f rom t he Mendips and Derbyshire ( Frere 1 978, 3 21-3). Were i ron a more corrosion-resistant material and had more i ron b looms s urvived from the Roman period, we might a lso know t he names o f i ronmaking companies and entrepreneurs analogous to the s ocii f errariarum o f Gallia L ugdunensis ( eg C IL. xiii.1811) or the Aquileian conductores f errariarum N oricarum s uch a s T i Claudius Macro ( CIL.v.810) or M Trebius Alfius ( CIL.iii.4788). Another grouping that may well b e o f s ignificance in this context i s that o f t he collegia or guilds: eg the collegium fabrorum o f t he Cogidubnus i nscription f rom Chichester ( RIB.1.91). While evidence o f t hese organizat ions comes s olely f rom u rban s ources, i t i s not i nconc eivable that a s imilar type o f corporate i nstitutions may have existed outside the towns, and particularly i n areas where there i s a concentration o f s mall workplaces. This type o f organization i s l ikely to be o f particular r elevance to the pottery i ndustries, a lthough the j oint s tock company c annot be ruled out a s an a lternative. SOME MODELS Having l ooked at the constraints determining the l ocation o f industry in Roman Britain and the public and private organizational framework, i t would s eem a ppropriate a t this s tage to put forward s ome possible models for i ndustrial enterprises in the Romano-British countryside. E ssentially there are three: 1 .

The l arge-scale c entralized ( single industry)

2 .

The military

3 .

The agglomeration o f small workshops, e ither c losely l inked with or n ucleated around a mercantile s emiurban c entre ( single- or multi-industry)

i ndustrial

i ndustrial

complex

e stablishment

( multi-industry)

The l arge-scale e stablishment ( Fig 2a) i s devoted to a s ingle industry which d epends u pon a s ingle r aw material ( eg s tone) or the j uxtaposition o f more than one r aw material ( eg ore and f uel). I t may b e o perated either direct by the s tate ( through the procuratorial s ystem - eg procuratores f errariarum or metallorum r esponsible to the procurator provinciae) or by l easing, being o perated by individual or corporate entrepreneurs. I t i s b ased on a raw material whose

proportional

y ield

o f

f inished product

1 2R

i s

r elatively

F :3 1 5 c o 0

c o_

C O

1 3

C O

m i n o r u r b a n c e n t r e

-

I

i n d u s t r i a l c e n t r e

u r b a n c e n t r e

a c t ' 22

• oo ee l EE

. er ; 11

1 29

l ow ( or v ery l ow, i n the c ase o f n on-ferrous metals) a nd which g ives r ise t o considerable a mounts o f waste products - i e s lag. I t t herefore r equires a bsolute r ights over r esources over a r elatively l arge a rea to s atisfy the r erquirements o f i ts actial and potential production. Ease o f access to markets for s emi-finished products b ec omes l ess important a s t he value o f those products i ncreas es. S uch an establishment would b e i ncompatible with a h ighly fragmented t enurial s ystem, r equiring s tate o r l arge entrepreneurial i nvestment a nd c ontrol. The military i ndustrial complex i s l ikely t o have a d iversified production, d irected t owards a s ingle c ons umer - the army. The production would b e based on mater ials o f r elatively l ow value, whose cost would b e n eedl essly inflated by h igh t ransport c osts i f they h ad t o b e i mported over l arge d istances - eg t iles, coarse pottery. S ince these e stablishments a re therefore l ikely to be s ited c lose to military c amps and f orts, they w ill b e l ocated in t he m ilitary z one, where a ny t enurial p robl ems could easily b e solved, where they arose, by expropriation. Interdependent s mall workshops ( Fig 2 b) are l ikely to be based on a l arge c ontinuous d eposit o f one o r more r aw materials, but i ndividual holdings o f t hese materials are small and discrete. The s cale o f productive c apacity in each unit i s s mall, a lthough t he total production o f the r egion a s a whole may b e l arge. I ndividual s ettlements may b e d evoted s olely to a s ingle i ndustrial process, o r they may c over more than one economic a ctivity ( including agriculture), on a s easonal basis. The o utput i s marketed over a l arge area, probably through middlemen i n a s eparate mercantile c entre, and there i s a considerable d egree o f s tandardization o f products. I nvestment i n i ndividual workshops i s l ow, a s i s the market value o f products, and consequently easy access to trade routes, e ither d irect ly or t hrough a s emi-urban mercantile c entre, i s a dvantag eous. As with t he major e stablishments, marketing i s c entralized, r esulting in economies in d istribution c osts. The t enurial s tructure c an be based on r elatively modest units, a lthough a n h ierarchical ' estate' o rganization would b e compatible with s uch a s ystem. The best modern analogy i s probably that o f tweed production i n the W estern I sles o f Scotland, where products o f a ' cottage industry' are manufactured i n small units and s old to middlemen in the r egion, who then market these products in b ulk for f urther processing elsewhere i n t he British I sles and abroad. One f urther model might be a dded - that o f t he i ndustrial v illa. However, i n v iew o f t he c ontinuing d ebate on the precise r ole and n ature o f t he Roman villa, which s eems a s far f rom b eing r esolved a s ever, I am proposing t o

omit

consideration

o f

t his model,

1 30

owing

to

t he

impossibility o f precise d efinition, and a lso b ecause o f the a pparent absence f rom Britain o f unambiguously industrial villas s uch a s Anth6e and Chastres-le 's-Walcourt i n Gallia B elgica. Furthermore, i t i s h ighly l ikely that most industrial ' villas' c an b e r elated to one o f t he two models proposed above. I NDUSTRY

I N THE ROMAN COUNTRYSIDE

Of the three models proposed, i t i s only the f irst and third that merit i llustration i n the present c ontext: the military establishments are r estricted i n d istribut ion and r elatively s imple to i dentify, and moreover, a fter the i st c entury AD they t end to b e l ocated i n a s ingle ' military' z one ( with the exception o f the i ronmaking on the eastern Weald - s ee b elow). I t i s t herefore proposed to l ook only a t the major e stablishments and t he interdependent s mall workshops, c hoosing examples o f the former from the metals industries and the l atter from metals and pottery. Other papers deal with t he t ile and wool industries, while evidence for the t imber,. g lass, s tone, s alt and l eather industries i s s till s omewhat fragmentary. The best examples o f both public and private s ector ironmaking establishments come from the Weald. An analysis o f the major and minor i ronmaking s ettlements, s ome o f which cover s everal h ectares, i ndicates that those i n the eastern part o f the Weald, which b egan operations b efore t he Roman Conquest, s uch a s B eauport Park, Crowhurst Park, and Footlands, were in a ll probability ' nationalized' immediately a fter the invasion o f AD 4 3 and were o perated by the procurator's department either directly or t hrough the Classis Britannica ( Cleere 1 975). These establishments were connected by a s eries o f contour roads to s mall estuarine ports on the r ivers Brede and Rother, from which products could b e despatched to the main C lassis base at Dover, for f urther d istribution to the a rmy on both s ides o f the Channel ( and perhaps a lso on t he c ivilian market). In the western part o f the Weald, a number o f l arge establishments ( Broadlands, Oldlands, Great Cansiron, Ridge H ill) l ay on o r c lose to the major r oads r unning north-south, l inking London with the s ettlements on the South Downs. There i s no evidence h ere o f d irect procuratorial i nvolvement, and these establishments c ontinued operations throughout most o f the Roman occupation, not c easing production abruptly i n the mid 3rd c entury l ike the eastern Weald establishments. A s trong c ase c an b e made f or t he Weald a s a n I mperial estate - notably t he a bsence o f towns, villas, or a ny o ther form o f s ettlement apart from i ronmaking enterprises. The eastern s ettlements were i n existence b efore t he conquest and a ppear to have b een expropriated. The s light

1 31

pre-Roman penetration i nto the northern part o f the W eald s eems to have b een on a much smaller s cale and to h ave b een disregarded in t his r espect; however, the opening up o f t he western part by the major a rterial roads l ed to a massive enlargement o f this private-enterprise o perat ion, presumably under l easing arrangements with t he proc urator's department. This iron i ndustry i n the Weald would a ppear to c onform with the model proposed above - s ingle industry, l ocated on raw materials deposits, based on l arge e stablishments, and ( in t he c ase o f t he eastern s ites) direct, t hough r elatively long, l inks with putative markets. A c ase c an be made for the existence o f a c omparable organization o f the i ron industry i n the Forest o f D ean, a lthough t he r egion has not been s ubjected to s o d etailed a s urvey a s the Weald ( Cleere, unpublished t hesis), and t he l ead i ndustries o f Mendip, Derbyshire, a nd North Wales d isplay many points o f s imilarity. So f ar a s the i nterdependent s mall workshops model i s concerned, a good example i s provided once again by the iron industry, this t ime o n the Jurassic Ridge in Northamptonshire and n eighbouring c ounties, to the north and west o f D urobrivae. There are no s ites in this area on the s cale o f B eauport P ark i n the Weald or Whitchurch i n the Forest o f Dean, b ut i nstead a number o f s maller establishments, o f which Wakeil ey ( Jackson & Ambrose 1 978) i s the b est explored e xample. This small s ettlement, which dates back to the pre-Roman I ron Age and continues throughout most o f the Roman p eriod, produced evidence o f contemporaneous i ronmaking, pottery manufacture, and agriculture. I ron production was o n a r elatively modest s cale, and c learly r epresented o nly a part-time activity for the inhabitants o f the s ettlement. This mixed economy was doubtless common to other s ites i n the area, s uch a s Bulwick, Gretton ( Jackson 1 979), Harringworth, Southorpe, etc. All l ie within 2 0 km o f t he Roman s ettlement at Durobrivae, t he c entre for t he major N ene Valley pottery i ndustry ( Hartley 1 960), w hich i tself s eems to have been based, l ike i ron production i n the r egion, on r elatively small pottery-producing c omp lexes. This pattern i s r epeated in other pottery-producing areas, s uch a s the New Forest ( Fulford 1 975, 7 -13), O xfords hire ( Young 1 977, 3 -13), and the A lice Holt/Farnham r egion ( Lyne & Jefferies 1 979, 3 -17). In each case, s mall p otteryproducing establishments are grouped on deposits o f g ood c lay, with abundant f uel s upplies i n the form o f extensive f orests in the vicinity. There i s, however, one s ignificant variation: Young ( 1977, 7 ) draws a ttention to t he excellent communications b etween the Oxfordshire potteries and the r est o f Britain, and Lyne a nd Jefferies ( 1979, 1 7) comment on the road l inks t o the Alice Holt/Farnham p otter ies, but Fulford ( 1975, 7 ) makes a point o f the poor a ccess

to

the

New Forest potteries,

1 32

a lthough h e

does

s omewhat paradoxically s uggest t hat t he l ocation o f t hese e stablishments may have b een i nfluenced by t he proximity o f the c ivitas c apitals a t Winchester a nd Dorchester and t he port o f C lausentum. Young ( 1977, 7 ) emphasizes t he r oles o f Alchester and Dorchester ( Oxon) i n t he d istribut ion o f the Oxfordshire potters' products, and i t might b e that one o r o ther o f t hese towns f illed t he r ole post ulated f or Durobrivae i n r elation t o the pottery a nd i ron production o f t he N ene Valley potters. The r ole o f Neatham ( Vindämi) i n t he Alice Holt/Farnham i ndustry i s h inted a t by Lyne a nd J efferies ( 1979, 1 4-17), a view t o s ome extent s trengthened by a r ecent analysis o f t he material f rom t his s ettlement ( Millett 1 979). The examples c ited o f i ndustrial e stablishments prod ucing i ron and pottery would s eem t o s ubstantiate t he s econd model t hat has b een proposed -. s mall i ndependent workshops based i ndividually on r elatively r estricted s ources o f r aw materials, with easy a ccess t o c ommunicat ions n etworks, e ither d irectly o r t hrough c onveniently p laced marketing c entres. A c omparable o rganizational s tructure may b e postulated f or the s alt i ndustry o f E ssex ( de Brisay 1 975).

THE

IMPACT OF

I NDUSTRY ON THE COUNTRYSIDE

The present a uthor has a ttempted t o evaluate t he physical i mpact o f one i ndustry i n one r egion on t he c ountryside o f t he Roman p eriod ( Cleere 1 976): t his h as i ndicated that i ronmaking a t only s ix o f t he major s ites i nthe ( e astern W eald would have r esulted i n t he c learance i n one c entury o f 3 00-500 s quare k ilometres o f mature f orest. This was c learly a by n o means n egligible environmental and s ocial f actor i n t he major i ndustrial a reas, s uch a s the Forest o f D ean, t he Jurassic R idge, t he M endips, t he P ennines, t he c lay l owlands, a nd e lsewhere. To date n o comparable c alculations have b een made f or o ther f ueli ntensive i ndustries, s uch a s non-ferrous metals o r pott ery production: quantitative s tudies o f t his k ind might a ssist considerably i n i nterpreting t he progress o f a nd r ationale f or f orest c learance i n t hese a nd s imilar r egions. The s cale and t ype o f o perations i n i ndustrial r egions a re doubtless c losely i nterrelated with t enurial problems. T he major ' heavy' i ndustries, notably metals production, h ave o bvious l inks with I mperial a dministration, a nd t here i s a n eed f or a r eassessment o f the r ole o f I mperial e states i n Britain. T he r egions where ' light' i ndustries s uch a s pottery dominated are a lso worthy o f c loser s tudy: f or e xample, the ' polytechnology' o f t he Northamptonshire s ites s uch a s Wakerley may well prove t o b e r eproduced e lsewhere. The s ize o f s uch h oldings a nd t heir i nterr elationships may b e s usceptible t o d efinition by a rchaeol ogical means, and f rom s uch data i t s hould b e possible

1 33

to establish c orrelations b etween a gricultural a nd i ndustrial or mixed economy holdings. T he r elationship b etween s uch enterprises a nd n earby Roman t owns i s a lso o f consid erable i mportance, e specially i n s o f ar a s t he i ndustrial production o f t he t erritorium o f a t own i s a s ignificant f actor in t he growth o f t hat t own, a f actor not t aken into a ccount i n t he models a dvanced f or s mall t owns d evelopment by Hodder ( 1975). Where i ndustrial potential e xisted a nd was r ealized i n Roman Britain, a t hird e lement was i ntroduced i nto t he s imple t own-country antithesis. The i nfluence o f t his e lement on both t own and c ountry a nd i ts i mpact o n both was variable but a lways s ignificant, a nd n o s urvey o f the Roman c ountryside c an c laim t o b e c omplete a nd a ccurate until this i mpact h as b een i dentified a nd quantif ied. R EFERENCES B lazquez, C leere,

J M ,

H F ,

1 970

W adhurst, C leere,

1 978

H istoria e conömica d e

T he R omano-British i ndustrial s ite a t B ärdown,

S ussex A rchaeol S oc O cc P aper

H F ,

l a H ispania R omana

1 975

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i ron

1

i ndustry o f t he W eald a nd i ts c onnex-

i ons w ith t he C lassis B ritannica,

A rchaeol J ,

1 31,

( for 1 974),

1 71-99 C leere,

H F ,

B ull

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I nst A rchaeol,

1 3,

f or R oman

i ronworks,

2 33-46

C leere, H F , ( forthcoming) T he o rganization o f t he i ron i ndustry i n t he w estern R oman p rovinces i n t he e arly E mpire, w ith s pecial r eference

t o B ritain,

S ankelmark, D avies,

0 ,

N ovember

1 935

P roc

I nt S ymp P rehist P rotohist

I ronmaking,

1 980

R oman m ines

i n E urope

d e B risay, K W , 1 975 T he r ed h ills o f E ssex, i n S alt: t he s tudy o f a n a ncient i ndustry ( eds K W d e B risay & K A E vans), 5 -10 D uncan-Jones, E lkington,

R ,

1 974

H D H ,

W est C ountry, F rere,

S S ,

F ulford,

G rimes,

1 976

T he M endip

B ritannia,

1 975

N ew F orest R oman p ottery:

1 930

H olt,

B R ,

1 960

t ypes,

D enbighshire:

t ieth L egion a t C astle L yons, H artley,

i ndustry,

i n T he R oman

1 83-97

r ev e d

w ith a c orpus o f p ottery W F ,

l ead

( eds K B ranigan & P J F owler),

1 978

M G ,

t ion,

T he e conomy o f t he R oman E mpire

T he w orks d epot o f t he T wen-

Y C ymmrodor,

N otes o n t he R oman

m anufacture a nd d istribu-

B AR 1 7

4 1

p ottery

i ndustry i n t he N ene

V alley H odder,

I ,

t owns,

1 975

T he s patial d istribution o f R omano-British s mall

i n T he S mall T owns o f R oman B ritain,

R T R owley),

B AR

1 5,

6 7-74

1 34

( eds W R odwell &

J ackson,

D A ,

1 979

R oman

i ron w orking a t

N orthamptonshire A rchaeol J ackson,

D A & Ambrose,

1 972-75, L ewis,

L yne,

P R ,

M B ,

& J ones,

M ,

C BA R es 1 979

B ritannia P eacock,

D P S ,

E xcavations

a t W akerley,

N orthants,

1 969

A ntiq J , R S ,

R ep

4 9,

T he D olaucothi g old m ines:

1T he

2 44-72

1 979

T he A lice H olt/Farnham R oman p ottery

3 0 ( Alice H olt)

p ottery,

1 21-37 1 978

i n R oman B ritain, R hine

1 978

T he d ating o f F arnham

1 0,

B ulwick a nd G retton,

3 1-7

1 15-242

G D B ,

& J efferies,

i ndustry, M illett,

T M ,

B ritannia 9 ,

s urface e vidence,

1 4,

p rovinces

T he R hine a nd

t he

p roblem o f G aulish w ine

i n R oman s hipping a nd

t rade:

B ritain a nd

( eds J d u P lat T aylor & H C leere)

t he

C BA R es R ep 2 4,

4 9-51 R ivet,

A L F ,

R ostovtzeff, Empire, T homas,

M ,

T own a nd c ountry

1 957

T he

i n R oman B ritain,

2 nd e d

s ocial a nd e conomic h istory o f t he R oman

2 nd e d

C ( ed),

R ep

1 966

R ural

s ettlement

i n R oman B ritain,

C BA R es

7

T hompson, W ebster, t imes, Y oung,

1 964

F H , G ,

1 965

1 952-3

R oman C heshire T he

l ead m ining

F lintshire H ist

C J ,

1 977

S oc P ubl,

T he R oman p ottery

i ndustry 1 3,

i n N orth W ales

i ndustry o f

B AR 4 3

13 5

i n R oman

5 -33 t he O xford r egion,

ROMAN BRICK PRODUCTION AND THE ENVIRONMENT T im Darvill

and Alan McWhirr

Brick-making, a long with o ther i ndustries s uch a s i ron making, quarrying and pottery production must have been among the l east desirable a ctivities that took place j r the Romano-British countryside. They r equired a cons iderable area o f l and, produced noxious s mells and the movement o f t heir products or even r aw materials would h ave c aused congestion on roads a t t imes o f peak product ion. O f the e xamples c ited only brick-making was n ew to t he h eavy i ndustrial s ector o f the economy. The o thers were a lready e stablished before the Roman o ccupation o f Britain, t he main difference being t he s cale o f o peration and the i ncreased c entralisation o f s ome a spects o f t hese i ndustries. The presence o f t he Roman army n ecessitated the cons truction o f f orts and f ortresses r equiring s ubstantial quantities o f building materials, mainly t imber to begin with, but even i n wooden forts s ome s tone, brick and t ile were r equired f or s pecific buildings and f or roofing. T echniques o f brick-making were well known to t he Roman Army before t hey arrived i n Britain, and i n t he a bsence o f any evidence for brick-making before their arrival they must have r elied upon their own c raftsmen t o o rganise the army's brickworks. Clay had l ong b een exploited for the production o f pottery before AD 4 3 and there were l ocal c raftsmen who knew the properties o f c lay and how to d ig and process i t. The trained brick-makers o f the Roman army probably utilised this l ocal expertise to begin with, but were able quickly to u se their own s kills i n s eeking o ut s uitable c lay sources. They carried out the moulding o f t ile and brick and f ired them i n k ilns or c lamps. The fact t hat the army was involved a t an early date i n the production o f brick i s c onfirmed by t he d iscovery o f t ile wasters in the constructional l evels o f t he l egionary fortress a t Exeter dated t o AD 5 5/60 ( Bidwell, 1 979, 1 3). At Cirencester t iles have a lso b een f ound i n a n umb er o f c ontexts a ssociated with military occupation. Gradually, a s t he army r elinquished i ts hold over s outhern Britain, d emand f or t ile and brick i ncreased f rom b uilders i n the t owns and c ities t hat were evolving i n t he l ast quarter o f the f irst c entury, a d emand which had to b e f illed by c ivilian c raftsmen, with p erhaps, s ome h elp f rom the military brick-casters. The c ivilian d emand

1 37

varied f rom one part o f the c ountry t o another d epending upon the availability and quality o f l ocal building s tone. Where f lint was the only l ocally a vailable material, brick and t ile were u sed extensively i n masonry building, a s i n the c ities o f Verulamium and Colchester, whereas i n the Cotswolds, which had good quality l imestone r eadily a t hand, brick was s eldom u sed except for roofs and h ypocausts. The impact made by the i ntroduction o f brickworks on the r ural l andscape a lso varied f rom one r egion t o another. At Colchester, f or example, where c onsiderable quantities o f brick were r equired, t he effect on t he s urr ounding countryside must h ave been dramatic. O fficial control o f brick-making f or u se in public buildings i n l ate f irst-century towns and c ities s eems t o b e i ndicated by the s tamps f ound on bricks f rom L ondon a nd S ilchester. From London, bricks s tamped PPBRLON i ndicate o fficial i nvolvement ( Marsden 1 980, 9 5) and f rom S ilchester s tamps bearing an inscription to t he Emperor Nero ( Boon 1 974, 2 78) s urely i ndicate that the brickworks were i n l ocal a uthority hands. The foundation o f G loucester was s omewhat l ater, around t he t urn o f the c entury, a nd t here too s tamped t iles have b een f ound which i ndicate municipal i nvolvement. P erhaps a ll c ities organised t heir own brickworks during the i nitial p eriod o f t heir c onstruction. The demand for bricks varied f rom one s ettlement t o another. A l arge town created a f airly c ontinuous d emand f or bricks and s pecialised products s uch a s r oof f inials, antefixes and pipes. L esser s ettlements r equired a s pora dic and s maller amount, while i solated buildings, o r groups o f buildings s uch a s villas o r rural t emples a nd s hrines, n eeded a l arge quantity o ver a s hort period o f t ime followed by a period when no bricks were r equired until f urther additions were made t o the buildings o r r epairs were n ecessary. These d ifferences in d emand were undoubtedly r esponsible for the considerable variety i n the modes o f production which have b een noted during a n i nvestigation into t ile production i n the Cotswolds u ndertaken by the present authors i n a ssociation with t he C irenc ester Excavation Committee ( McWhirr & Viner 1 978; D arvill 1 979; Darvill, 1 980). One o f the principle a ims o f t his project was to s ee which modes o f production c ould b e i dentified. A major f actor which a ffects t he mode o f production, and which i s i tself i nfluenced by t he nature o f t he d emand i s the s easonal nature o f brick production. The c onstraints o f the British t emperate c limate mean that, without c ons iderable c apital expense on the provision o f s helter for t he workers and drying f acilities, bricks could only be made between June and S eptember. For p lanned building projects a t v illas and even a t s mall a ls could b e o btained i n a dvance a nd

1 38

towns, where materis tock-piled o r t he

work delayed until the appropriate t ime, this would not have had much e ffect. In l arge towns the d emand may have precluded s tock-piling and n ecessitated t he extension o f the production s eason through capital investment. However a ll the graffiti on t iles that r ecord dates f it i nto the months April t o S eptember. Another consideration i s the nature o f the bricks r equired. Although c lay i s one o f the most widespread r esources in B ritain i t i s not a ll o f equal quality for brick-making, a nd much o f it i s o f l ittle u e on i ts own. Clearly, h igh-grade ' engineering type' bricks, n eeded for j obs where c onsiderable s tresses are i nvolved, would have to be made a t l ocations where good c lays and a h igher l evel o f t echnology in c lay preparation, h igher f iring t emperatures and prolonged drying are available. These r equire h igh c apital investment and s ome pelmanency o f production c entre, but the products could s ustain h igh transport costs. I t c an be s uggested that t he LHS s tamped t iles are an example o f this type o f product ( Darvill 1 979, 3 31). P eacock ( 1979, 6 ) has i dentified a s eries o f typical modes o f production in the c eramic industry and these are o f course brought about by a number o f factors, s ome o f which have a lready been d iscussed a bove. The f irst mode h e i dentifies can be t ermed ' household' production. As yet no examples o f s uch a production s ystem can b e s een with r eference t o Roman bricks, and i t i s unlikely that i t ever Will be s ince the extent o f s uch practices i s very l imited among the enthnographical s tudies f rom which P eacock built up h is model and l eaves very l ittle archaeological t race. A s pecialised version o f t he household production unit, namely the estate production s ystem, c an possibly be s een in the products s tamped VLA which come from rural s ites in a small d iscrete a rea o f the Cotswolds j ust n orth o f Cirencester. They are made i n an homogenous f abric o f locally available c lay, have a s ingle unique s tamp and l imited distribution ( Darvill 1 980). Patterns observable in the ethnoarchaeological examples o f estate production s how that output i s g eared s olely to the d emands o f the estate and that s ales outside the estate are only made to keep things t icking o ver a t t imes o f l ow i nternal d emand ( Leslie 1 971, Gordon 1 969). •T he s econd mode postulated i s the s mall r ural brickyard which produced material f or l imited d istribution, and i s probably r epresented by the many i solated kilns which are known f rom t he Roman period. In s ome c ases pottery may have b een produced a s well a s bricks i n order to diversify the economic base o f the i ndustry.

Thirdly, the nucleated brick-yard complex can b e i dentified. These were s ituated in areas with p lentiful s upplies o f raw materials and are thus l ikely to s how c ontinuity o f production over a considerable period o f

1 39

C O N S T R A I N T S O N P R O D U C T I O N

P R O D U C T I O N S Y S T E M

< c c

I B R I C K / T I L E

E N V I R O N M E N T D E G N E R A T I O N

4 )

0

r i Z 5 0

• 4 ) S 1

0

z 0 R . c . )

o f g

I -

E z 0

w ( 4 1 0

z 1 c i )

1 40

( . 7

0

Z , e

U . I

3 0

D I S T R I B U T I O N

t ime. Products f rom these yards travelled greater t han the products f rom smaller-scale industries. This mode s eems to be present a t Minety in Wiltshire ( Darvill 1 979; McWhirr 1 979, F ig 6 .1). Other modes o f production i nclude the military brickmakers to which r eference has a lready b een made, and the existence o f i tinerant brick-casters must a lso b e c onsid ered. I t s eems that workers moved around t aking their s kills to where tiles were r equired, so c utting down the transport costs o f the t iles themselves, a s i n t he c ase o f some o f the M inety brick-casters ( Darvill 1 979). There may a lso have b een a totally i tinerant element i n t ilemaking ( Darvill 1 980). In r eality i t i s not a lways possible to a sign particular archaeological cases to any one particular mode o f organisation s pecified i n the model, and, without f ull treatment o f f abric and distributional s tudies o f t he products involved, i t would b e unwise even to t ry. What i s o f particular importance h ere, i s that different modes have differing e ffects on the l andscape; inde 6d, j ust a s the s cale o f output varies, s o does the d egree o f impact. The i tinerant brick-casters have l ittle e ffect; they exploit a l ocal environment for r esources f or a s hort t ime, extract only what i s r equired for the j ob i n hand and have a minimum o f equipment. The environment quickly r eturns to ' normal' with r egeneration o f the woodland u sed for fuel, r e-colonisation by plant s pecies o f a reas u sed for manufacture, and any hollows created by c laydigging will b lend into the l ocal topography. In t he case o f the major industries s uch a s the nucleated complex, very s ignificant changes may t ake place due to the s cale o f operations and permanency o f occupation. I n a ll modes the processes o f production r emain essentially the s ame; only the s cale and s ignificance change. F igure 1 s hows the production o f bricks within a ' systems' f ramework with particular emphasis on the i nputs, outputs and cons traints. The r elative influences o f these f actors d etermine the nature or mode o f the production s pecified within the c entral portion o f the d iagram. 1 .

CLAY EXTRACTION

Clay pits a re a universal f eature o f a ll brickyards. The weight and i nconvenience o f transporting c lay i nvariably means t hat the y ards are l ocated n ear to c lay. Exact t exture varies f rom place to p lace, and o ften within a s ingle c lay p it. Frequently c lays are mixed t ogether to provide workable plastic material. The c lay must have b een dug with s pades i n Roman t imes, a lthough none o f these have y et come to l ight. Carts or barrows were then probably u sed to take the c lay i nto the brick-making area. Ethnoarchaeological evidence f rom r ecent brickworks in Britain s uggests that i n many c ases

1 41

the winning o f c lay i s carried out i n the s ame fashion a s i n a s tone quarry, with a worked f ace which progressively moves back. At Ashburnham in S ussex t he face was r emoved in s trips about f ive f eet wide and s even f eet d eep, working f rom east t o west across the bank o f l oam/ c lay ( Leslie 1 971, 1 0). Evidence for the n ature o f the Roman c lay pits i s s ingularly s hort. At Ninety in north Wiltshire the k ilns are l ocated on the Oxford c lays which are v ery s tiff a nd homogenous. At present f ive c lay p its c an b e i dentified from parch marks that appear on the f ield when under c rop. The r eason for this i s not c lear, b ut i t i s l ikely t hat the l oose nature o f f ills a llows t he water to drain away very quickly, in contrast to t he water-retaining s oil around about. None o f the p its have b een e xcavated, b ut i n area they vary f rom about 6 0 metres to 2 0 metres a cross and are probably quite deep. The fact that t here i s no evidence for the excavation o f c lay pits makes i t difficult to v isualise their a ppearance during the l ife o f the brickyard. Unless they were f illed in quickly with waste material, t hey would s oon collect a pool o f water which would quickly be colonised by a ll the plant and fungoid l ife a ssociated with s tagnant pools. The presence o f s ome ponds o f water on t he s ite was an advantage during brick-casting when water was s o important and n ecessary. D igging c lay i s a lmost a lways a s easonal activity. I t i s confined to the winter months i n most brickyards and a lthough this might b e s een a s a d ifficulty i t i s in fact easier to d ig c lay in the wet than to wait f or the dry weather. Furthermore, much o f the work o f l oosening the c lay i s done by the frost during t he winter, especially i f the open-face method i s u sed. As indicated above, the s cale o f c lay d igging very much depends on the mode o f production in u se. Short t erm production s ites do not have d eep pits, and l andscape e ffect i s minimal; the l arger c entres are more d etrimental, and in the case o f Ninety the effects are s till f elt b y the f armer who obtains no crops f rom the top o f the p its. As a measure o f the quantities o f c lay n eeded for brickmaking the Michelmersh Brick Company i n Hampshire u se one acre o f c lay one foot thick to make 5 00,000 modern house bricks. 2 .

CLAY

PREPARATION

B efore the dug c lay c an b e u sed to make bricks i t must be prepared. Any l arge s tone c omponents s hould b e r emoved to avoid f racture i n f iring or weakness during u se, and the c lay i tself must b e b roken down and mixed to r emove the a ir pockets and to b lend i n h ard l umps a nd admixed c lay types. The g eneral process i s called

1 42

' tempering' by Dobson ( 1850, 2 4), but does n ot n ecessarily involve the a ddition o f f iller a s i n t he more t raditional u se o f t he t erm by s tudents o f c eramic materials. T he object o f t he t empering process i s t o t ransform b rick earth i nto a h omogeneous p lastic paste f or u se by t he moulder. There a re a lmost a s many ways o f t empering c lay a s there a re brickyards, but i n g eneral t he quality r equired o f the end product d etermines t he amount o f preparation undertaken. O ften, the c lay dug i n t he winter was p iled up in t he yard t o a llow t he f rost a nd weather t o break i t down and i n s ome c ases o xidise i t. Sometimes t he p iles o f c lay would b e t urned o ver by h and p eriodically t o promote even weathering. Where s tones h ad t o b e r emoved or c lays mixed together t he c lay was mixed with water until i t b ecame a s lurry. The s tones were r emoved with perhaps a s ieve, and t he r emaining wet c lay s lop poured into t anks o r p its to s ettle a nd dry o ut. Then i t was dug out o f t he pits f or u se. I n o ther yards t he c lay might b e mixed by h and on l arge t empering f loors, possibly c ontinuously t urned o ver by hand o r s ometimes by h uman or animal f eet t reading t he c lay ( Dobson 1 850, 2 4). I f material h ad to b e a dded t hen a s eparate s ource probably existed f or t his purpose, and might i nvolve bringi ng materials i n by r oad. S and i s one possible a dditive to make t he b ricks s tronger, but d ung, s traw, a sh a nd grog a re a lso known f rom ethnographic c ases. Dobson ( 1850, 2 5) t ells u s t hat during the n ineteenth c entury r ailway boom t he quality o f t he bricks u sed i n making t unnels a nd bridges was n ot too i mportant, a nd a s a r esult l ong weathering was n ot practised. I nstead the c lay was t urned by h and or with a r oller a nd t here was only a matter o f a f ew weeks b etween t he d igging o f the c lay and t he l aying o f t he f inished bricks. I t i s a lso i nteresting t o n ote t hat t he brick-makers o n t he r ailway projects were i tinerant workers, a nd had undoubtedly s treamlined t heir manufacturing process f or ease o f movement and c heapness o f product. A s imilar process might have t aken p lace with t he i tinerant Roman brick-makers, but the possibility o f workers d igging t he c lay i n t he winter, piling i t u p f or weathering a nd t hen r eturning l ater i n the y ear t o make t he bricks s hould n ot b e r uled o ut, a s t his s eems t he most u sual practice i n r ecent s mall s easonal brickyards. I n t he l arger brickyards a c onsiderable a rea o f g round would h ave b een g iven o ver t o s torage s pace f or d ug c lay, and s pecial e quipment s uch a s s ouring p its a nd mixing p latforms would a lso b e n eeded d epending on t he e xact process u sed. At M inety, t hin s ections o f t iles f ound on waste h eaps r eveal t hat l ittle was a dded t o t he c lay. Even when examined macroscopically i t c an b e s een t hat t he c lay was probably mixed by h and r ather t han by

1 43

c onversion t o s lurry, a s banding c an b e s een within the c ore o f t he bricks which s hows t he l ines o f b ending a s t he c lay was t urned ( Darvill 1 979, 3 19). C learly i n a l arge brickyard a g reat d eal o f c lay would b e c onsumed during t he making s eason. 3 .

BRICK

CASTING

I n environmental t erms t he c asting o f bricks p robably c reated t he l east i mpact, i ndeed may h ave had n o r eal e ffects a t a ll. No great s pace was r equired f or t he work which was u sually done on a c asters t able o r ' stool'. I f t he l ength o f production s eason was e xtended b eyond the s ummer p eriod t hen i t may h ave b een n ecessary t o build a s tructure t o h ouse t he brick-caster. I n many c ases i n r ecent t imes, h owever, t he s helter i n which t he c aster worked was l ight s o t hat i t c ould b e moved a bout w ith ease, i n o rder t o minimize t he movement f rom t he c asting t able t o t he drying a rea. The brick-caster's j ob was t he most s killed i n t he manufacturing process. Considerable quantities p f bricks c an b e produced each week by s killed brick-casters, but t he c omplexity o f making t he t ype o f bricks f requently f ound on Roman s ites precludes an a ccurate e stimate o f l ikely Roman o utput. T en t housand t iles p er week w ere t he upper l imit i n Dobson's day ( Dobson 1 850, 3 6). An i nteresting s ide l ight i s t hrown b y Dobson on t he p ract ice o f moulding who s tates t hat i n many c ases t he j ob o f moulding was s ubcontracted ( 1850, 9 0). S uch a p ractice i n Roman t imes might e xplain h ow i t was t hat c asters using t he s ame s tamp t o mark t heir products worked a t more than one p lace, and why one s ite a ppears t o h ave had more than one p erson who s tamped t heir t iles. That both b rick-casters and bricks a ctually moved however i s a ttested by t he evid ence ( Darvill 1 979; 1 980). 4 .

DRYING

B efore bricks were f ired t hey h ad t o b e f ully d ried, f or i f t his i s not done they c rack i n t he k iln. D uring t his drying process t hey s hrank s lightly. Recently, drying was u sually done i n ' Hacks' which u se l ong r ows o f p iled-up bricks c overed with a t emporary wooden or t in r oof to k eep o ut t he r ain. C learly when t he b rick c aster was working f lat o ut a considerable area w as n eeded f pr drying, and t he brickcaster u sually moved a round on t he drying a rea i n o rder t o minimise t he d istance t he wet bricks were c arried b etween t he mounding b ench and t he drying hack. I nternal evidence on Roman b ricks t hemselves s hows t hat more t han one method o f drying was u sed. I n s ome c ases t he undersides o f t he bricks h ave i mpressions on t hem c aused by the wet brick b eing l aid o n s traw, on o thers wooden

s lats

s eem to b e

d etectable.

1 44

The presence o f

f ootprints o f a nimals on s ome bricks points t o t hem h aving b een l aid out i n t he o pen f or a t l east s ome o f t he t ime t hat they were d rying. T his may i ndicate t hat t he Roman brick-maker was i n s ome c ases a lso a part-time f armer, and this would b e v ery much i n k eeping with t he ethnoarchaeo logical evidence f rom l ower o rder production modes, where n either f arming n or brick-making were t hemselves enough to provide a l iving. The c ase o f William Smith, f armer and potter a t F arnham ( Sturt, 1 919) c omes t o mind a s a n excellent e xample o f t his t ype o f o rganisation. The f requent a ppearance o f c hildren 's f ootprints s uggests t hat bricklaying was a f amily c oncern a s was t he c ase i n t he r ecent e xample. The method o f f iring t he bricks d etermined h ow l ong they would have t o b e d ried. With a c lamp k iln bricks had to b e very d ry a s t he t emperature i nside r ose v ery quickly, but w ith well b uilt u pdraught k ilns d rying was not s o i mportant s ince t he t emperature c an b e i ncreased v ery s lowly by c arefully c ontrolling t he d raught, s o driving o ff the water v ery s lowly. Ward ( 1886, 3 ) t hought that three weeks was a bout t he r ight drying t ime i n s ummer f or bricks to b e built i nto a c lamp k iln. T he t ime i n each c ase, however, varies with t he weather c onditions. The existence o f f inger marks on t he t op o f s ome bricks may have b een c aused by t he brick-caster c hecking t o s ee how dry t he bricks were. I n l arge y ards c apital was i nvested i n drying s heds . which h ad h eating a rrangements s imilar t o t he w ell-known hypocaust s ystems. Bricks c ould b e dried much more quickly with s uch a rrangements, b ut, whichever way was u sed, t he a rea n eeded for drying was c onsiderable. 5 .

F IRING/BURNING

Bricks c an e ither b e f ired u sing a c onventional u pdraught k iln ( McWhirr 1 979) o r a c lamp k iln. T he main d ifference i s i n c apital o utlay a nd c ontrollability. The built kiln r equired considerable i nvestment, b ut was a p ermanent s tructure which undoubtedly had a l onger l ife. I t could b e u sed f irst t o dry t he bricks and t hen f ire them, s o s aving drying t ime ( see a bove). The c lamp k iln on the o ther h and was made f rom t he unfired b rick a nd the fuel, with a c overing o f waste material f rom t he k iln yard. The archaeological evidence f or well-made k ilns i s quite extensive ( McWhirr 1 979), a nd a t t he s ite o f the l egionary t ilery a t H olt s omething o f t he i nvestment in a complex k iln s tructure c an b e s een. No r eally c onvincing evidence f or Roman c lamp k ilns h as y et b een c laimed ( but s ee T .K. Green 1 970 & 1 979), b ut i n v iew o f t he very l ight t races t hat would b e l eft a fter o ne was f ired t his i s h ardly s urprising ( Hollestelle 1 974). One

o f

pollution.

t he major e ffects

o f

t he

f iring would b e

Any s ettlement u p-wind o f

1 45

a ir

t he k ilns would

undoubtedly s uffer, e specially a s wood r ather than c oal was u sed i n Roman t imes ( see b elow). Although M inety i s l ocated in t he path o f t he prevailing wind to C irenc ester ( ie f rom t he s outh and s outh-west) i ts d istance f rom the town ( about e ight miles) would preclude a ny r eal e ffect. The k ilns when a light would b e a ble to b e s een a c onsiderable d istance a way, a nd a t B roadmayne i n D orset a s a t many o ther brickworks, f iring was f orbidden d uring t he s econd world war b ecause o f b lackout r egulations ( Young 1 968). The f iring o f t he k ilns had a f urther e ffect o n t he l andscape b ecause o f t he l arge quantities o f f uel u sed. I n r ecent t imes c oal was u sed f or f iring a s t he main f uel, a nd a bout half a ton p er t housand b ricks was r equired. A k iln i n S ussex which was 2 0 f eet l ong and 1 5 f eet b road c ontained a bout 4 0,000 bricks. I n a ddition t o t he wood u sed t o warm t his kiln u p f or t he f irst t hree o r f our days o f f iring, s ome 1 2-14 t ons o f c oal were n eeded t o c omplete the j ob ( Dobson 1 850, 4 1). I n c lamp kilns t he f uel i s e ither i n t he bricks i n t he f orm o f c inder o r organic materials, o r f uel i s p laced b etween t he r ows and p iles o f brick i n t he k iln. As a r ule t he c lamp k iln does n ot f ire bricks a s well a s a c onventional k iln, a nd t here a re a lso more wasted bricks which have not b een f ired properly. The h eat o utput o f wood c ompared with l ow g rade c oal i s 11 2 : / 1, which means t hat t he s ame h eat c an b e o btained f rom one and half tons o f wood a s c an b e o btained b y burning only one ton o f l ow-grade c oal. Assuming t hat t he r equirements f or f iring the k iln i n S ussex d escribed a bove a re a ppropriate t o t he f iring o f a s imilar s ized Roman kiln, s omething i n t he o rder o f 1 8-21 t ons o f w ood a re r equired f or each f iring. T he c omposition and d ens ity o f woodland r ound t he k ilns, varies f rom one part o f t he c ountry t o another, but a g eneral f igure o f a bout 0 .8 t ons o f wood ( dry weight) p er f oot o f g rowth p er a cre c an b e s uggested f rom t he work o f Y oung ( 1978) o n e ast c oast woodland i n New England, U SA. Thus i n a wood w ith a mean h eight o f 2 0 f eet ( and a ' natural' d ensity o f g rowth) s ome 1 6 t ons o f wood p er a cre would b e a vailable. According to t hese f igures a bout 1 -1.5 a cres o f woodland would b e r equired f or e ach f iring o f t he k iln. The u se o f c oppiced o r pollarded wood i s quite possible, but a b igger a rea would b e r equired even t hough r egeneration i s quicker. At present i t i s d ifficult t o i magine h ow many t imes a y ear t he k ilns were f ired, but, f or i t t o b e worth building an e laborate s tructure with s ub-surface c ombustion c hambers and walls, i t must have b een u sed with a c ertain d egree o f r egularity. E ven with only t hree f irings p er y ear s ome 1 50-225 a cres o f woodland would d isappear e ach half c entury; however, one s uspects more t han t hree

1 46

f irings per y ear. In the s mall s cale industries this would not be very much for the l ocal l andscape to bear, b ut with l arger i ndustries there would b e considerable d eforestation in t he area round t he kilns. As a lways with c eramic production there are s ome wast ers from the f iring process. I f carefully made, with l ow impurity l evels, and good kiln control, there n eed n ot be a very h igh percentage o f waste. At Ashburnham i n the 1 960s some 7 5% o f the output were f irst c lass bricks ( Leslie 1 971, 1 9) and many o f the others were u sable i n other ways. I n c lamp k ilns t he number o f wasters i s h igher due to the f act that many o f the bricks round t he p eriphery o f the k iln are not f ully baked a lthough t hese a re o ften r eused i n the n ext f iring. P iles o f wasters do exist a t kiln s ites s uch a s Minety, and must have posed s omething o f a problem on occasions for t he workers i n t he brickyard. They may have u sed s ome for hardcore both i n building projects in the yard and for s ale to builders o utside; perhaps f or making opus s igninum. 6 .

D ISTRIBUTION

T he f inal s tage o f t ile production i s t he d istribution o f the t iles away f rom the kilns to where they were to b e used. As indicated above, i n s ome c ases i t s eems t hat t he brick-casters themselves moved round to a production s ite n ear to the d emand s ite. Hodder ( 1974) s uggested t hat the t iles i n the Cirencester area conformed to a l ocal marketing pattern. H e c alculated t he r egression l ine gradient a s 0.10, but h e f ell into the t rap that s nares many who a ttempt t o produce i nteresting patterns i nductively f rom s patial data, t hat o f knowing n either t he f ull d istribution nor how homogeneous the data s et i s. In f act l ater work has s hown that the groups Hodder l umped together s hould be s een a s s eparete d istributions, and a lso that the d istribution i s considerably wider t han once thought. I n particular, t he distribution o f L HS s tamped t iles made at Minety in Wiltshire c an n ow b e s hown t o extend u p to K enchester, s ome 9 0 km to the n orth west, and to Old S arum the s ame d istance to t he s outh. The a xis o f this distribution i s Ermine Street, and the example i s a c lassic c ase o f t he ease o f t ransport a long arterial r outeways a s modelled by Alonso ( 1964). The s patial d istribution o f products i s a f actor d etermined by t he mode o f production, and, a s s uch, c an b e u sed to s pecify the mode o f any i ndustry under s tudy. Home or estate i ndustries have s teep r egression l ines, while l arge s cale n ucleated industries will h ave l ess s teep curves. I t i s c lear t hat both l ocal and l ong d istance traffic i n t iles must have taken place, and t hat on present evid ence, at l east s ome i ndustries s eem t o d epend u pon t he r oad

s ystem.

L ittle

i s

known a bout Roman

1 47

transport methods,

but s turdy c arts must h ave been involved a s i s very h eavy, a s a ll archaeologists o f t he

f ired c eramic period k now.

Rivers do s eem to have been u sed, and the k ilns a t Holt are a good example. T iles were made a t the depot and taken down r iver to the fort a t Chester where t hey were used ( Grimes 1 930). Other kilns a lso undoubtedly used r iver transport to distribute their products. T he kilns at Gloucester ( Heighway 1 978, 1 06) might have u sed the r iver, but their products a lso s eem to have gone by road t o rural s ites -in the middle S evern valley on t he eastern s ide o f the r iver. The s cale o f d emand a t particular t imes a lso s eems to have a ffected the distribution. At s ites where r easonably l arge a ssemblages o f t iles have been analysed i t s eems that s everal producers contribute to any g iven a ssemblage. At Hucclecote n ear Gloucester ( Clifford 1 933) a l arge a ssemblage o f t iles was found s ealed b eneath t he s tone built villa, presumably a ssociated with the t imber phase buildings. The assemblage i s dated to the end o f the f irst c entury or early s econd c entury according t o the evidence o ffered by Mrs. Clifford, but a s lightly later date s eems more l ikely. I n a ll at l east 5 0 t iles which bear s tamps have been noted, and they include T PF, TPFA, TPFP, TCM and RPG products. I t s eems unlikely t hat they r epresent a collection o f r eused t iles from various derelict buildings, but rather derive from one phase o f building. In a ll there are a t l east four or f ive s ources involved, i ncluding s ome from Minety in Wiltshire. A s imilar s ituation was found i n an analysis o f t he t iles from the B eeches Road s ite j ust within the town walls o f Corinium. At l east four f abrics are r epresented among the 6 1 s tamped t iles from the s ite which include TPF, TPFA, TPFP, TPLF, LHS and ARVERI. ( Darvill and T imby forthcoming). Ethnoarchaeological c ases s how this p attern o f distribution at many s ites. At Sandgate Castle f or example s ome 1 47,000 bricks were u sed in the building work i n 1 539-40 and these came from no l ess than e leven brickyards, s ome up to thirteen miles away ( Rutton, 1 893). The n eed for s pecial bricks for particular purposes i s one explanation for diversity, and has a lready been d iscuss ed above. The l aws o f s upply and d emand might be a nother factor, but e ither way a p icture emerges where t ile t ransporters o f one s ort or another were converging on a b uilding s ite from a number o f different d irections. D ISCUSSION/SUMMARY Through

the

above

discussion on brick

production

s ome-

thing o f the s cale o f the industry, i ts environmental and l andscape effects, and i ts i nherent d iversity b ecome apparent. There i s no j ustification in d ismissing t he t ile i ndustry a s a s imple or insignificant element i n the economic t ity o f l and

organisation o f the Roman period. u sed must have been c onsiderable.

1 48

The q uanThe l arger

b rick-works themselves were a lmost c ertainly l aid o ut i n s uch a way a s t o f acilitate production by a l inear a rrangement o f each a spect o f production i n a n a ssembly l ine formation. The f actors a ffecting t he l ocation o f brick-works were c learly d etermined by t ransport a vailability, r aw materials, market outlets, a nd possibly pools o f l abour. O ther f act ors might i nclude pressure o f l and u se f or f oodstuff production n ear t he . t owns a nd t he d esire to k eep unpleasant i ndustries a s f ar f rom s ettlements a s possible. R EFERENCES A lonso,

1 964

W ,

a r eader B idwell,

1 979

P ,

a t Exeter, B oon,

G C ,

C lifford,

L ocation t heory,

1 974 E M ,

T C ,

R oman S ilchester, 1 933

A p etrological

B AR S 68,

1 980

B ristol

s tudy o f L HS & T PF s tamped

i n R oman B rick a nd T ile:

S ome

& T imby,

i n t he W estern E mpire

s mall g roups o f s tamped R oman

J R ,

r eview o f p otentials

t iles

S tudies

i n

( ed

3 09-49

f rom t he C otswolds, Glevensis, T C ,

T rans

3 23-76

D istribution a nd u se

A D M cWhirr), T C ,

2 nd E d

T he R oman v illa a t H ucclecote,

1 979

M anufacture,

D arvill,

p lanning:

T he L egionary B ath-House a nd B asilica a nd F orum

f rom t he C otswold r egion,

D arvill,

a nd

7 8-106

Exeter A rch R ep 1

& G los A rch S oc 5 5, D arvill,

i n R egional d evelopment

( eds J F riedman & W A lonso),

a nd

1 4,

( forthcoming) l imitations,

M useum s ymposium o n c eramic

C eramic

t iles

4 9-57 T extural a nalysis i n P roceedings

p etrology,

- a

o f t he B ritish

B ritish M useum o ccasional

p apers D obson, a nd

E ,

1 850

T iles,

G ordon,

H A ,

A R udimentary

t reatise o n

t he m anufacture o f B ricks

2 v ols 1 969

T he b rick k ilns

a t A shburnham,

C ountry L ife

1 46,

2 40-44 G reen,

T K ,

t ions, G reen,

1 970

1 08,

T K ,

R oman t ileworks

1 979

A T ilemaker's w orkshop a t i n R oman B rick a nd T ile:

D istribution a nd U se

G rimes,

W F ,

i n

S t

C ,

I ,

p ottery,

C ollec-

i n M anufacture

; ed A D M cWhirr),

1 91-200 1 930

1 978

O swald's

H odder,

S ussex A rch

I tchingfield - a

S tudies

t he W estern Empire

H olt,

D enbighshire;

Twentieth L egion a t C astle L yons, H eighway,

I tchingfield,

2 3-38

r e-appraisal, B AR S 6 8,

a t

1 974

E xcavations

a t G loucester:

P riory G loucester

1 975-6,

S ome m arketing m odels

B ritannia

5 ,

t he w orks

Y C ymmrodor

3 40-59

1 49

d epartment

F ourth

A ntiq J ,

o f t he

1 930

6 8,

I nterim r eport 1 03-32

f or R omano-British c oarse

:

H ollestelle,

J ,

1 974

S oil m arks o f l ate m edieval B rick C lamps a t

W ijk-bij D uurstede,

B erichten v an d e R ijksdienst v oor h et

O udheidkundig B odemonderzok, L eslie,

K C ,

1 971

( ROB)

2 4,

1 85-89

T he A shburnham e state B rickworks

1 840-1968,

S ussex I ndustrial H istory 1 ,2-22 M arsden,

P ,

M cWhirr,

A D 1 979

t ile:

1 980

R oman L ondon

S tudies

E mpire M cWhirr,

T ile-kilns

( ed A D M cWhirr), A D & V iner,

t iles

D J ,

P eacock,

B ritannia 9 ,

D P S ,

1 979

m anufacture,

S turt, W ard,

W L ,

1 893

t o

A n e thnoarchaeological a pproach i n R oman B rick

B AR S 6 8,

a nd T ile

t he C irencester

t o t he s tudy

: S tudies i n

i n t he W estern Empire

5 -10

S andgate c astle A D 1 539-40,

G , H ,

1 919 1 886

W illiam S mith P otter a nd F armer B rick-making,

D ,

1 968

p t 4 ,

A rchaeologia C antiana

H E ,

M inutes o f P roc

1 978

( ed H E Y oung),

1 790-1858

I nstitution C ivil

1 -38

B rick-making a t B roadmayne,

A rchaeol S oc 8 9, Y oung,

T he p roduction a nd d istribution o f

2 28-257

E ngineers 8 6, Y oung,

1 978

d istribution a nd u se

( ed A D M cWhirr)

i n t he W estern

B ARS 6 8, 9 7-190

3 57-377

o f R oman B ricks & t iles

2 0,

i n R oman B rick a nd

D istribution a nd U se

i n R oman B ritain w ith p articular r eference

r egion,

R utton,

i n R oman B ritain,

i n M anufacture,

P roc D orset N at H ist

a nd

3 18-24

T he e normous p otential o f t he

f orests,

( Proc G overnor W illiam G M illiker's

A nn A rbor S cience

1 50

i n W ood E nergy

C onference)

DEFENDED SETTLEMENT IN CORNWALL AN ILLUSTRATED D ISCUSSION Nicholas Johnson and P eter Rose

I NTRODUCTION Although f ieldwork and a ir photography i n B ritain have g enerated a great expansion i n t he amount o f a rchaeol ogical data, t horough examination, analysis and e xplanat ion o f t his data r emain a s r are a s t hey a re d ifficult t o a chieve. While t here i s n o pretence h ere o f i mproving t his s ituation i t i s hoped t hat an examination o f one a spect o f t he d ata . in t he f ar South-West will i ndicate j ust how l ittle i s known a t present a nd what s ort o f questions may b e a sked i n t he f uture. In Cornwall, s ettlement i n t he Roman and pre-Roman I ron Age may b e broadly d ivided i nto o pen s ettlements and defensibly enclosed s ettlements. For various r easons very l ittle i s known a bout t he f ormer, but r ather more a bout the l atter, and i t i s t his c ategory, t he d efensibly enclosed s ites, t hat will b e d iscussed h ere. I t i s a lways d ifficult to v isualize the f orm a nd variety o f a ny t ype o f s ettlement d espite t he wealth o f published d etail availa ble. This paper s pecifically a ims t o t ackle t his problem by presenting a ll t he r eadily a vailable evidence f or enclos ed s ites in a f orm which i s c onsistent and c lear. The production o f t he i llustrations has proved o f enormous h elp in grasping an o verall view o f t he s ubject; i t i s s o much easier t o r eshuffle and mull o ver i llustrations than to r e-sort s everal h undred s hort d escriptions. Our a im i s t o present the evidence, and g ive s ome i ndication o f the problems; we do not a ttempt t o provide many a nswers. From f ield evidence a lone, i t i s n ot possible t o t ell whether t he typical enclosed f arming s ettlement, known i n Cornwall a s a ' round', b elongs t o t he Roman or t he pre-Roman I ron Age. I n D umnonia i ndeed, s uch a d istinction i s in many ways meaningless and i t would b e artificial to attempt to s eparate the Roman f rom t he pre-Roman I ron Age. H ence i t i s important t o i llustrate n ot only a ll r ounds but the h illforts, c liff c astles, and multiple enclosures o f t he pre-Roman I ron Age a s well a s t he r ounds which continue t hroughout, s ince i t i s o f only l imited value to c onsider the r ounds without s etting t hem i n t he c ontext o f t he more s trongly d efended s ites. I t i s e speci ally i mportant t o r epresent a ll t he c lasses o f enclosed s ite because o f t he great variety i nvolved and t he o verl ap in c ategories t hat s ometimes o ccurs. Only by

1 51

i llustrating a ll t he f ully this variety.

examples

i s

i t possible

to a ppreciate

S ixteen y ears a go, Charles Thomas c oncluded t hat r ural s ettlement i n South West England i n t he Roman p eriod was to a l arge e xtent a product o f t he l ocal l ate I ron Age r ather than o f Roman i nfluence, a nd t o s uch a d egree t hat the t erm ' Romano B ritish' s eems s carcely a pplicable West o f the E xe' ( Thomas 1 966, 9 8). I t i s d ifficult t o challenge t his viewpoint. Evidence f or Romanisation a nd the agents f or i ts propagation a re s carce a nd s cattered i n Dumnonia. Only one s mall f ort, Nanstallon, h as b een i dentified i n Cornwall ( Figs 3 .33; 1 3; 1 4), occupied briefly f rom a pproximately AD 6 0 t o AD 8 0 ( Fox a nd R avenh ill 1 972). I n Devon, r ather more s ites a re known: t he l egionary f ort a t E xeter, f orts a t Wiveliscombe, O kehampton and North Tawton, a f ortlet a t B roadbury, s ignal s tations a t Martinhoe, O ld B urrow, S toke H ill and S ourton Down, marching c amps a t Alverdiscott, T iverton a nd Sourton D own, and a s upply base a t Topsham ( Silvester 1 978). Only o ne town i s known, I sca Dumnoniorum ( Exeter) t he c apital o f the c ivitas, and only three villas, Magor i n Cornwall, ( O' Neill 1 934), and S eaton ( Miles 1 969) a nd Holcombe ( Pollard 1 974) i n D evon, i n t he 1 24 miles f rom L ands E nd t o t he River E xe. I n Cornwall f inds o f Roman c oins a re n ot uncommon: a pproximately 4 0 hoards have b een r ecorded and o ver 1 20 f inds; p erhaps a money economy was a dopted or i mposed to s ome extent. F ull analysis o f t his evidence, c urrently being organised by t he I nstitute o f Cornish S tudies, may c larify the economic d evelopment o f t he f ar South W est. A s eries o f Roman milestones s uggests s ome measure o f o fficial i nvolvement west o f t he T amar, and a t in bowl f rom Bosence ( Figs 3 .83; 1 1.8/3; 1 3; 1 4) d edicated t o Mars, i mplies e ither t he a doption o f Roman r eligion b y the l ocals or the presence o f t he p urveyors o f Romanitas. Some s ites do s how a d egree o f Roman i nfluence a nd a fflu ence. K ilhallon, f or example, produced a r elatively l arge quantity o f pottery i ncluding S amian ware a nd a lso g lass ( Can yon 1 976). E xcavations a t Carvossa ( Probus) ( Figs 2 .7; 1 3; 1 4) produced c oins, g lass, brooches a nd pottery which i ncluded amphorae, mortaria a nd S amian ware. In a ddition evidence was f ound f or a ctivity not only w ithin the enclosure but a lso f or e xtensive ' extra-mural' s ettlement. This h as b een c onfirmed by g eophysical s urvey. P erhaps this s ite o f o ver 1 .9 h ectares s erved a market f unction. However, a t Carvossa, t he enclosure i tself i s p reRoman I ron Age ( pers c omm P Can yon). I f t here a re s ites o f particular s ize and i mportance t his n eed not b e a scrib ed to Roman i nfluence rather t han t he c ontinuation o r d evelopment o f earlier traditions. The r ange o f enclos ures a ssumed to b e pre-Roman i ncludes s ites o f t he s ize

o f Gear ( Fig 2 .3) 6 and 8 h ectares.

and

Castle

Canyke

( Fig

9 .1)

r espectively

The overriding factor i s the continuation o f native traditions in r ural s ettlement: even west o f the Tamar there were undoubtedly important c entres in the Roman period, including market c entres, a s t here may well have been in the pre-Roman I ron Age. But t here are no ' Roman' towns and only one modest villa. Although t here i s import ed pottery on s ome s ites, there i s no r eason a s y et to s uppose that s uch s ites were o therwise d ifferent in form or function from the pre-Roman r ural s ettlements, both enclosed and unenclosed. In Cornwall i t i s only in t he granite uplands o f West P enwith ( the L ands End peninsula) that a t l east s ome o f the open s ettlements o f this p eriod c an be i dentified with confidence from f ield evidence a lone. These are the well known c ourtyard houses, villages and f arms s uch a s Chysauster and Cam nEuny where the rooms o f t he house are s et in a massive wall around a courtyard. These s ites date from the f irst c entury B C to the f ourth century AD, and their d istribution i s r estricted to West P enwith and the I sles o f Scilly. Roman and pre-Roman I ron Age hut c ircles have been excavated in West P enwith and elsewhere on the uplands o f West Cornwall, but without excavation i t i s difficult or impossible to d istinguish I ron Age from Bronze Age examples. Open s ettlements are common enough i n West P enwith t o s uggest that they would a lso be a f eature o f l owland Cornwall i f p loughing had not f lattened them and biased the evidence in f avour o f t he better preserved enclosed s ites. Unfortunately b ecause the s ites are poor in artefacts and do not produce pot s catters i t i s d ifficult to l ocate open s ettlements i n l owland Cornwall. Those that have been found were d iscovered either in a ssociation with other types o f s ites ( as a t Glendorgal, N ewquay, ( Dudley, 1 962 where an I ron Age hut had been built a djacent to a barrow), or where buried by s and ( as at Constantine Cliff ( Penrose-Williams, 1 913), and at Harlyn B ay, where a l arge midden was f ound c lose by the extensive I ron Age c emetery ( Whimster 1 977)). THE

SURVEY

The information for this s urvey has been drawn from the Cornwall S ites and Monuments Register ( SMR) and f orms part of a s tudy o f the archaeological potential o f l owland Cornwall. This s tudy i s l imited to examples f rom Cornwall, and we have made no attempt to draw comparisons with material from other areas; we l eave the r eader to follow this through. Rather than g ive a b low by b low account o f the excavations o f the l ast f ifteen y ears, we a im to present the evidence for one c lass o f s ite in s uch a way t hat the

s ites

can b e

compared with one

1 53

another

and with

s imilar bodies o f material f rom o ther r egions. Much f ield work, a ir photo i nterpretation a nd e xcavation h ave t aken p lace s ince t he 1 965 Roman r ural s ettlement c onference and i t s eems a ppropriate t hat t he r esults s hould b e n ow u pdated i n a s f ull a f orm a s possible. I n F igs 2 -7, 9 -15, a ll a vailable p lans o f enclosures a ssumed t o b e r elevant t o a d iscussion o f t his p eriod ( je Roman and pre-Roman I ron Age) h ave b een r edrawn t o a s tandard f ormat a nd s cale. The majority o f t he p lans a re based on t he 1 :2500 s urveys o f t he Ordnance S urvey Archaeological D ivision, b ut many o ther s ites h ave b een p lotted f rom c ropmarks a nd s oilmarks a ppearing o n a ir photographs. ( These a re d istinguished on t he p lans f rom s ites s urveyed a s earthworks.) Approximately 2 90 s ites a re i llustrated h ere; another 1 70 s ites a wait s urvey o r p lotting and t here i s g ood evidence f or a f urther 1 70 s ites, g iving a total o f 6 30. Many s ites i ndicated o nly by p lace o r f ield n ames h ave n ot b een i ncluded i n t hese s tatistics. As y et t here h as b een n o s ystematic e xaminat ion o f a ll existing a ir photographs i n o rder t o l ocate f urther s ites; nor h as t here b een s ystematic f ieldwork i n a ll parts o f Cornwall: i t i s s till d ifficult t o e stimate t he total population o f t hese s ites. The plans a re d eliberately bold f or c larity a nd i n many c ases a re a c omposite o f past s urveys, s howing f eatures n ow l ost, and modern p lans o f badly d enuded earthworks. The s ites a re a rranged i n broad c lasses which a re d iscussed i n more d etail b elow. The c onventional s igns u sed a re a s f ollows: 1 .

Ramparts

B road b lack l ine. f or probable l ine

2 .

D itches

D efined by t hin b lack l ines with t hin dashes f or probable l ine o f d itch

3 .

Soil

Hatched

4 .

Cropmarks

Dotted l ines w ith s ize o f dot t ing t he width o f c ropmark

5 .

S ea

S tippled

6 .

Coast

F or c liff c astles t he t hick l ine i s t he h ighwater mark and t he broken l ine i s the i nland e dge o f t he c liff .

Marks

With broad dashes o f r ampart

l ines r eflec-

All o f t he s ites s hown on F igs 2 -7, 9 -15 a re l isted i n the Appendix s o t hat t he s ites on F ig 4 , f or example, a re l isted i n t he Appendix under t he h eading F ig 4 . The Cornwall S ites and Monuments R egister Number i s g iven, a s t here a re many d etails and r eferences a vailable i n t he SMR that a re n ot i ncluded h ere. Also l isted i s t he s ite's n ame, i ts l ocation, and t he c ross r eference; t his c ross r eference s hows on which o ther F igures t he s ite i s i llustrated. Thus, Cam nL s B oel C liff Castle i s s hown

1 54

a s s ite number 2 8 on F ig 4 ( 4.28) a s well a s s ite n umber 4 on Fig 1 0 ( 10.4). F ig 1 s hows the d istribution o f these s ites; a s one would expect, the upland granite a reas are avoided, a lthough there are l arge areas o f l owland that a lso appear blank. This may be partly a g enuine l ack o f s ites, o r a l ack o f f ieldwork ( especially i n East Cornwall). The mass o f s ites i n Central Cornwall ( an area has been c hosen for c loser examination and i s drawn in detail in F ig 1 6) r eflects the s usceptibility o f this area to cropmarking and the availability o f s pecialised archaeological a ir photo cover. The s outhern l imit o f the Culm Measures has been a dded to the plan i n order that others may ponder whether there i s a g enuine prehistoric appreciation that this area has l ow f ertility and difficult s oils. Information s o far a vailable does not s uggest a marked fall o ff o f s ites north o f this l ine in Cornwall. THE

TYPES

OF

S ITE AND

THEIR CHRONOLOGY

The enclosures discussed h ere are u sually c lassified as rounds, h illforts, c liff c astles and multiple enclos ures, with a d egree o f overlap b etween the c ategories. The rounds are usually d escribed a s small f arming s ettlements d efended by a s ingle bank and d itch. The defences are not massive and the enclosure i s not u sually s ited with defence a s the main o bjective, but on h illslopes and s purs rather than on h illtops. Apart f rom West P enwith, the rounds t end to avoid the granite uplands o f Cornwall, Bodmin Moor, H ensbarrow, and Carnmenellis, in f avour o f better farming country. F ig 1 s hows the d istribution o f a ll enclosures s urveyed in Cornwall. The h illforts are c lassified by a c ombination o f f actors including a s trong position ( usually a h illtop), s trong defences and ( sometimes) multivallation, with both wides paced and c losely s paced ramparts. Cliff castles are f requently considered a s a s eparate c lass o f monument but there i s l ittle r eason to doubt that they c an be c losely compared with the other types o f enclosed s ite d iffering only in that they take a dvantage o f naturally s trong h eadlands and promontories to complete their defences. The s ites c lassified by Fox ( Fox 1 952, 1 961) a s mult iple enclosures s eem in many c ases to f all b etween the rounds and the h illforts. On the whole the s ites are l arger and more s trongly girt about than the rounds but typically they s elect l ocations on h illslopes and s purs rather than on h illtops, a lthough there are examples o f the latter which are a lso described a s h illforts. Fox divides the multiple enclosures i nto concentric enclos ures ( or enclosures with widespaced ramparts), enclosures with annexes, enclosures with dependent enclosures, and enclosures with cross banks or outworks. The conclusion that these multiple enclosures were u sed for the coralling

1 55

and protection o f l ivestock has ( Thomas 1 966, S ilvester 1 979).

r eceived

g eneral

acceptance

EXCAVATIONS Excavations have now b een undertaken in 3 8 o f t he enclosures but the l imitations must b e emphasised. F igs 1 3 and 1 4 bring together a ll those enclosures which h ave been excavated for which r eliable published evidence i s available. Only thirty one o f the t hirty e ight s ites are i llustrated h ere but d etails o f t he r emaining s even are g iven i n the Appendix. F ig 1 3 s hows the area o f e ach s ite that was excavated. I t i s c lear that many were j ust small trenches and in only two c ases, ( Trethurgy and T hreemilestone) was more than half the enclosed a rea excavated, and these examples were both o f the s maller type o f s ite. The H illforts and Multiple Enclosures have s carcely b een touched by excavation. Only s eventeen o f t he excavations have been published. Therefore, any c onclusions r eached h ere about the date ranges o f particular types o f s ite must r est upon s canty evidence. I t will a lso begome a ppar ent that many o f the variations found amongst t he enclos ures have not y et been investigated by excavation. I n F ig 1 3, the excavated s ites have been arranged in chronological order, s o far a s this i s possible. T he s ites' dating can b e difficult and i t i s not a lways c lear how c losely the date r ange o f f inds f rom a s ite a ccords with the construction and continued u se o f t he enclosure i tself. However, i f we consider broad t rends, then perhaps the most noticeable f eature i s the r edundancy o f the multivallate h illforts and multiple enclosures, both o n the h illtops and h illslopes, by the middle o f the f irst c entury AD and earlier. I n contrast occupation a t u nivalla te enclosures, ( rounds) established i n the pre-Roman I ron Age continued into the Roman p eriod and n ew r ounds were established a fter the Conquest. The f act that m ultivallate h illforts and multiple enclosures had gone o ut o f u se by the f irst c entury AD implies that important changes were occurring, perhaps l argely a s a r esult o f the Roman Conquest. Local s trongholds would have b een f irmly discouraged. But other factors s hould be considered: i ll-defined notions o f s ocial and political change, o r in the c ase o f the multiple enclosures ( which are t aken to be a ssociated with pastoralism) a change i n farming practice. C ertainly s ome multivallate enclosures h ad a lready gone out o f u se before the f irst c entury AD. The abandonment o f these s ites a t l east was due to f actors other than the Roman Conquest. There i s l ittle evidence for occupation o f multivallate enclosures during the Roman period and a s y et none are known to have b een constructed a fter the Conquest. Occupation a t Trevelgue c liff c astle was a pparently l imited to an inner earthwork, and a t Gurnard's H ead ( Gordon 1 940), s herds f rom a s ingle mortarium are the only evidence for Roman occupation. T here

1 56

i s however, evidence f or s ome s ort o f post-Roman u se a t a number o f s ites - Maen Castle ( Crofts 1 955), Chun Castle, ( Thomas, 1 956), Castle Dore, ( Radford 1 951), K illibury, ( Miles et a l 1 977) and Trevelgue, ( Dunning 1 949), b ut the nature o f t his r e-use r emains o bscure. On t he o ther hand, t he univallate enclosures h ave a date r ange f rom the s econd a nd f irst c enturies B C ( or earlier?) t hrough t o t he f ifth a nd s ixth c enturies AD. P erhaps t here i s a t endency t owards more r ectangular f orm i n s ome o f t he l ater s ites, but t his point s hould n ot b e emphasised when Trethurgy, e stablished i n t he t hird c entury AD, i s o val while t here a re r ectangular e lements in t he p lans o f Tregilders and Carvossa ( See F ig 1 3). Occupation i n s everal o f t he r ounds c ontinues i nto the post Roman p eriod. The end o f Roman B ritain may have meant l ittle t o r ural s ettlements i n t he f ar S outh W est, but i t s hould b e n oted t hat a lthough e stablished s ites c ontinued i n u se, a s y et n o r ound has b een s hown t o o riginate in t he f ourth, f ifth o r s ixth c enturies AD. P erhaps f undamental c hanges in s ettlement f orm were o ccurring a s early a s the 4 th and 5 th c enturies, or p erhaps s tability in t he s ettlement pattern precluded t he e stablishment o f n ew s ites. In bringing t hese emerge:

s ites

t ogether t hree

i mportant points

1 . Air photography and f ieldwork h ave s hown t hat many f eatures s uch a s annexes ( Fig 5 ), c oncentric enclosures ( Fig 4 ), c ross-ridge dykes ( Figs 6 a nd 7 ), a djacent enclos ures ( Fig 1 1) a nd f ield boundaries ( Fig 1 2) r emain t o b e d iscovered. Many more multiple enclosures h ave b een planned s ince F ox drew a ttention t o t his c lass i n 1 952 and many more r ounds, t hat a t f irst a ppeared c onventional have been s hown, s ince Thomas's s urvey i n 1 966, t o h ave annexes and o ther a ssociated f eatures. Univallate r ounds l ie waiting f or t heir h idden c lassificatory f eatures t o b e d iscovered s o t hat t hey c an b e r eclassified i nto t he multiple enclosure c lasses! A s ufficient n umber o f ' new' f eatures h ave n ow b een a dded t o e xisting s ites t o s uggest that c lassification must b e a f luid a rrangement. A g lance at F igs 5 ( annexes), 4 ( concentric enclosures) a nd 1 1 ( adjacent enclosures), s hows c learly t he e ffect t hat a ir photo d iscoveries have had on o ur p erception o f h ow c ommon o r not t hese f eatures a re. 2 . Excavations have a lso d emonstrated t hat many enclos ures, a s t hey a ppear t oday, a re a c omposite o f e arthworks o f d ifferent dates. F ig 1 5 s hows f our e xamples o f e arthworks t hat, t hrough e xcavation o r a nalytical f ieldwork, c an be s hown t o b e multiphase i n t heir c onstruction. O f course, i t i s possible t o d emonstrate t his f or many o ther s ites, s uch a s t hose t hat possess a nnexes, where c learly t he a nnexe has b een t acked onto an e xisting earthwork.

1 57

F ig 1 5. S ite 1 . Castle an D inas. This i s n ot s imply a multivallate h illfort w ith c lose s paced r amparts a s a t f irst s eems probable f rom the p lan . Rather i n i ts f irst phase t he s ite c onsisted o f a l arge univallate enclosure ( Rampart 3 ) with s ix entrances ( Fig 1 5.1/1). This r ampart a ppears t o h ave b een a bandoned a nd a s eparate s et o f earthworks were t hrown u p ( Fig 1 5.1/2), c onsisting o f a l arge i nner r ampart ( Rampart 1 ) with o uter c ounterscarp bank ( Rampart 2 ), with a g ap o f t wenty f ive metres s eparating t his f rom an o uter r ampart ( Rampart 4 ) and d itch. ( NB The Ordnance S urvey s how evidence f or a c ounterscarp bank o utside t he o uter r ampart ( Rampart 4 ) and t his i s s hown i n F igs 9 .13; 1 3 a nd 1 4 but n ot i n F ig 1 5, which i s b ased on Wailes' published excavation p lan.) T he s econd phase e arthwork a ppears t o b e a s tandard c oncentric enclosure with widespaced r amparts ( see F igs 1 3 a nd 1 4 f or e xcavation d etails). P erhaps a s imilar s tory c an b e t old o f Warbstow B ury ( Fig 4 .1), but how do t hese h illtop f orts c ompare with t he h illslope enclosures s uch a s Tregeare r ounds, F ig 4 .4, which a lso h as wide s paced r amparts? S ite 2 . Tredinnick. A multiple enclosure s ite t hat evidently b egan a s a r ound a nd d eveloped thereafter. The enclosure a t T regear, ( Fig 5 .20) was a lso t hought to b e a s imple r ound until a n a nnexe a ppeared o n a ir photos. The enclosures a t T redinnick h ave s urv ived to a llow i nterpretation b ut many e lsewhere h ave not. S ite 3 . The Rumps, C liff Castle. L ike Castle a n D inas, t his a ppears t o b e a multivallate enclosure with c lose s paced r amparts f rom f ield evidence a lone, a lthough i t i s c lear t hat t here i s a g ap b etween t he two o uter a nd t wo i nner r amparts. E xcavations h ave s trengthened t his i mpression ( see F ig 1 3 and 1 4, f or e xcavation d etails). P hase 1 h ad a l arge i nner r ampart with an o uter r ampart s eparated f rom i t by a g ap o f 2 5-50 metres. I n Phase 2 , t he i nner d efences b ecome b ivallate with t he a ddition o f a s econd r ampart b uilt i n f ront o f t he f irst; even s o t here was a l arge enough g ap b etween t hese two i nner r amparts t o a llow h uts to b e built ( Fig 4 .29). T he Phase 1 o uter r ampart a ppears to have b een upstaged by a f inal o uter r ampart, t hus preserving t he w ide s pace b etween t he i nner a nd o uter s ets o f d efences. Although t he b ivall ation o f the i nner r amparts was n ot s trictly c lose s paced, does t his mean t hat f rom b eing an enclosed a rea with widespaced r amparts ( or f orm o f c oncentric enclosure) in P hase 1 , t he c liff c astle d eveloped a ' hillfort' c haracter while r etaining t he wides pacing? Presumably, s omething l ike t his a lso h appened a t Trevelgue, ( Fig 7 .1) and Treryn D inas ( Fig 7 .2).

1 58

S ite 4 . Trevisker. There was evidence a vailable before the e xcavation t hat this was probably a n enclosure wth two ramparts. E xcavation c onfirmed the presence o f two r amparts, but a lso t hat t he i nner enclosure was r eplaced by t he o uter enclosure ( ApSimon and Greenfield, 1 972); i ndeed, t he i nner r ampart was s lighted when t he o uter was built. The s ite i s n ot a concentric enclosure a s f ield evidence a lone would s uggest, b ut a univallate enclosure ( 0.1 h a, 0 .25 acres) that was r eplaced by a l arger u nivallate enclosure ( 0.9 ha, 2 .3 a cres) ( See F igs 1 3 a nd 1 4 for excavation d etails and c hronology). H ow many more concentric enclosures a re i n f act s imilar i n character t o Trevisker? 3 . The variety a nd i n s ome c ases c onsistency i n s ize, s hape and d evelopment i s s ufficiently b ewildering t o make e xplanation f or t hese d ifferences and s imilarities v ery d ifficult. The characteristics o f s ites c ould p erhaps r eflect t he a ctivity o f t he i nhabitants, t he s tatus o r n umber o f the o ccupants, t he n eed f or s ecurity• or o ther equally possible f actors. Many o f t hese points will b e d iscussed below when i ndividual c lasses o f enclosure a re c onsidered i n more d etail. I t i s i mportant f or u s t o b e a ble to r ecognise the s tatus o f a s ite a s r eflected i n t he a ppearance a nd l ocation o f t he s ite ( ie f ield evidence). These t wo a spects have t raditionally b een u sed a s i mportant c haracteristics when d iscussing enclos ures, a nd i n particular when d iscussing t he r elationship b etween h illforts and rounds, o r more f ully h illforts and the f ull r ange o f enclosed a nd unenclosed f arming s ettlements. Appendices 2 -7, 9 -11 c ontain t he i nformation o n a ppearance and l ocation that s hows very , c learly t hat t he r elationship b etween s ite s tatus o r ' importants' ( however one d efines t his) a nd t hese t wo f actors i s f ar f rom c lear c ut. Some examples covering t he whole r ange o f a ppearance and l ocation a re g iven b elow. ( NB t his l ist i s n ot e xhaus tive.) Univallate 1 .

2 .

Enclosures

H illtops

Hillslopes

1 .1

Large eg Cadsonbury ( Fig 2 .5) Dunmere ( Fig 2 .19)

1 .2

M edium eg L esingey

( Fig

3 .99)

1 .3

Small

eg Trengayor

( Fig

3 .181)

2 .1

L arge

eg G ear ( Fig 2 .3), Carvossa ( Fig 2 .7), Carloggas ( Fig 2 .13)

1 59

Multivallate with c lose 1 .

2 .

H illtops

1 .

2 .

r amparts

1 .1

l arge

1 .2

s mall eg Castle a n D inas, L udgvan ( Fig 9 .16), P adderbury T op ( Fig 9 .5)

H illslopes

Multiple

s paced

eg Prideaux ( Fig c liff c astles Castle Canyke

eg T okenbury

9 .3), many ( Fig 1 0), ( Fig 9 .1)

( Fig

9 .4)

enclosures

H illtops

H illslopes

1 .1

l arge eg K illibury ( Fig and a nnexe)

4 .3,

c oncentric

1 .2

s mall eg S t. D ennis c hurchyard 4 .20 c oncentric)

2 .1

l arge eg Tregeare Rounds ( Fig 4 .4, c oncentric p lus annexe), Warbstow ( Fig 4 .1, c oncent ric)

2 .2

s mall eg Caer Vallack ( Fig 5 .11, annexe), Castle Kayle ( Fig 5 .22, annexe), Smith's T enement ( Fig 4 .21, c oncentric).

( Fig

The examples g iven a bove s how t hat t hose s ites t hat possess what may b e t ermed h illfort c haracteristics ( je multivallation and l arge s ize) a re n ot a ll c onfined t o h illtops and c onversely s ites t hat d o n ot possess h illf ort c haracteristics ( ie univallate a nd s mall) a re n ot a lways on h illslopes. I f multivallation, a h ill t op l ocat ion and l arge s ize, whether i n c ombination or i ndividually, c an b e r egarded a s i ndicative o f a s ite's i mportance, t hen t here i s an extraordinary d iversity o f ' important' s ites. What this d iversity means i n t erms o f t he s ociety t hat produced i t t his a rticle does n ot s erlously a ttempt t o s ort o ut and we a re mindful t hat c onsideration o f t he purpose b ehind enclosure f orm c annot b e c onfined t o s uch s uperficial evidence a s t hat l argely produced f rom f ield evidence. However, we a im t o s how t hat t his d iversity e xists a nd t hat t he s ituation i s c omplicated both i n t he purpose and nature o f enclosure d esign but equally c omplic ated i n t he c hronology a nd date r ange o f u se a nd o ccupation o f t hese enclosures i n t he I ron Age a nd Romano-British p eriod. H aving c onsidered s ome g eneral points i t i s a ppropriate t o d iscuss t he i ndividual c lasses o f enclosed s ites i n more d etail. U NIVALLATE ENCLOSURES I n F igs 2 and 3 , t he t erm ' univallate enclosure' has b een u sed to c over a wide r ange o f s ites. S ome may n ot b elong to t his period; i t h as b een s uggested t hat the

1 60

s quare enclosure a ssociated with the o utworks o f L argin Castle might b e a C ivil War earthwork, ( Fig 3 .208), a nd Crowpound ( Fig 3 .153) may b e a medieval pound. Work i n D evon s uggests t hat o ther s ites b earing a s urface r esemb lance t o rounds may i n f act b e medieval s ettlement enclos ures ( Silvester 1 980). Another o f t he s ites i llustrated i s the Roman f ort a t Nanstallon, ( Fig 3 .33), and C arwin ( Fig 2 .8), has a lso b een put f orward a s a c andidate f or s imilar s tatus ( Thomas 1 964). This univallate c ategory a lso i ncludes s ites which a re i dentified b y their f orm and l ocation ( on h ill t ops) a s h illforts ( Cadsonbury, F ig 2 .5, Dunmere, F ig 2 .19, T rencrom, F ig 3 .32, and L escudjack, F ig 2 .17). Two o f t he enclosures a re p erhaps n ot d efensible but h ave b een i ncluded f or c ompleteness a nd f or c omparison with t he o ther examples: t he enclosure wall a t Bodrifty, F ig 3 .24 ( Dudley 1 956) h ad no d itch a nd was n ot r egarded by t he e xcavators a s d efensive, but r ather a s a pound. T he s eco nd s ite, Noon D igery ( Fig 3 .28) n ear Castle a n D inas, L udgvan, i s an enclosure with ' antennae' which g ive i t t he a ppearance o f a Wessex banjo enclosure. The r emaining s ites a re univallate enclosures s ited i n positions n ot primarily c hosen f or d efence, on h ills lopes and s purs, a lthough i t s hould b e n oted t hat many o f these l ocations do a t l east provide a s trong position o n two o r three s ides. Looking a t t hese univallate enclosures t he most n otable f eature i s the variety i n s ize. There i s n o s tandard s ize for a univallate enclosure o r round, b ut a s equence f rom the s mallest, only 2 5-30 metres i n d iameter t o t he s ize o f G ear ( Fig 2 .3, ( 6 h ectares)). S ites s uch a s Carl oggas, ( Fig 2 .13), Carvossa, ( Fig 2 .7) a nd Goldherring, ( Fig 3 .198), h ave a ll b een c alled rounds but i t i s u nlikely t hat a ll t hese u nivallate enclosures a re c omparable i n s tatus and f unction when t hey a re s o d isparate i n s ize. Carloggas ( Fig 2 .13), a nd Trevisker, ( Fig 3 .27), f or examp le, must have r equired a n i nvestment i n manpower e qual t o t hat n eeded t o c onstruct t he univallate enclosures d escribed a s h illforts s uch a s Trencrom ( Fig 3 .32), Dunmere, ( Fig 2 .19), and L escudjack, ( Fig 2 .17), o r P hase 1 a t Castle a n D inas, S t. Columb Major, ( Fig 1 5.1/1). H ow do these s ites d iffer f rom t he univallate h illforts? None o f t he univallate h illforts has b een excavated, w ith t he exception o f Castle a n D inas ( Phase 1 ), ( see F igs 1 3 and 1 4 and Appendix), s o c omparison i s d ifficult. However, Carloggas ( Fig 2 .13) had a s trongly d efended a nd imposing entrance; s imilarly a t Carvossa, ( Fig 2 .7), massive posts c ould h ave s upported a g atehouse o ver t he entrance.

1 61

TABLE

1

D itch d imensions

f or e xcavated e nclosures W idth

D epth

6 .7

4 .3

C arloggas

7 .0

C astle D ore

( metres) W idth

D epth

T revinnick

5 .5

2 .0

4 .0

C rane G odrevy

2 .5

1 .9

6 .7

3 .7

M aen C astle

6 .7

1 .8

C astle G otha

6 .4

3 .7

T hreemilestone

3 .5

1 .8

G rambla

6 .0

3 .0

N anstallon

2 .5

1 .6

K illibury ( inner d itch)

7 .0

2 .8

T rethurgy

3 .04 .0

1 .5

T revisker

3 .6-

2 .5

G oldherring

2 .6

1 .3

1 .8-

C astle a n D inas

1 .8

1 .0

3 .0

1 .2)

2 .8

0 .9

T he R umps ( middle d itch)

( inner & o uter d itches)

( first e nclosure)

4 .8

C arwarthen

3 .0 T revisker

5 .5

2 .1

( second e nclosure) T regilders

( univallate p hase) ( Gurnards H ead ( outer d itch)

2 .8

2 .1

B odwen

I n Table 1 the d itch d imensions o f the excavated enclosures are l isted t o s how t he c omparative s izes o f t he d efences. This i s n ot a ltogether a s atisfactory guide. T he data for s ome v ery important s ites h ave y et t o b e published ( Trevelgue, Cam nB rea, Castle a n D inas, C arvossa); s ome s ites, particularly t hose o n g ranite, r ely l argely o n s tone walls o r p iled s tone banks f or t heir d efence a nd much l ess on d itches ( eg Gurnards H ead and Chun, where B orlase , (1769, 3 47) e stimated t he i nner wall to b e f ifteen f eet h igh). However, t he excavation o f a d itch produces d imensions which c annot b e e stimated with s imilar c onfidence o r c onsistency from eroded o r f lattened banks. The s ites are p laced i n o rder a ccording to t he d epth o f the d itch. Only t he d imensions o f the d eepest d itch has b een i ncluded f or t he multivallate enclosures. The d itches o f s ome o f the r ounds a re v ery s ubstantial. Carl oggas and Castle Gotha r ank with T he Rumps and Castle Dore. Grambla i s a lso s ubstantial, d eeper t han t he i nner d itch a t K illibury. Although t he f irst enclosure a t Trev isker i s c omparatively s mall ( 0.1 h ectares) i ts d efences must a lso have presented a c onsiderable barrier a nd even l ittle Threemilestone h as a d eeper d itch t han t he R oman f ort a t Nanstallon. The excavators o f Goldherring s uggested t hat the r ing wall may have o riginally b een 2 .1 metres h igh ( Guthrie 1 969). I f t his wall was s urmounted b y a

1 62

breastwork then the d efences would have presented a barrier o f s ome 1 6 f eet ( 4.8 metres) f rom the bottom o f the ditch to t he top o f the breastwork. Although there i s quite a range i n the s ize o f these d itches t he majority were s urely part o f d efensive barriers that were i ntended to present a s erious obstacle to would-be raiders and ravagers. D itch for d itch s ome o f t he d efences o f t he rounds were a s massive a s those o f the multivallate enclos ures. But whereas the multivallate enclosures go out o f use by the f irst c entury AD, Carloggas and Castle Gotha both continue well into the Roman period. This would s eem to confirm that these s ites b elong i n a d ifferent category. There c an b e no doubt o f the importance o f s ites l ike Carloggas and Carvossa, but how does t heir importance d iffer f rom that o f the multivallate enclosures? I s there a s ocial d istinction b etween t he occupants o f the hillforts and the occupants o f s ome o f t he equally l arge rounds? I s i t t he s ocial or the defensive d istinct ion between t he s ites ( or both i f one i s the r esult o f the other) that l ed to t he r edundancy o f multivallate enclosures but the continuance o f rounds i n the Roman period? On the basis o f the excavated evidence i t i s p erhaps s implest to a rgue that the d istinction s hould be drawn between d efended s ites and s trongly d efended s ites. Whether the multivallate s ite i s on a h illtop or h illslope i s not o f prime importance; whatever i ts l ocation, t he f act that i t i s multivallate puts i t i nto the broad c lass o f strongly d efended enclosures. P erhaps we c an f urther s uggest that univallate enclosures on h illtops are a lso to be c lassed a s s trongly d efended because o f t heir l ocat ion and that a s s trongly d efended s ites they c an b e a ssumed not to have continued i nto t he Roman p eriod. Unfortunat ely this has not y et b een t ested by excavation. On the other hand Carloggas and Carvossa s hould on the basis o f this f irst l evel s ieving b e p laced primarily with s ites l ike Goldherring and Threemilestone, i mplying that i t i s indeed valid to group s uch s ites together a s ' rounds' in s pite o f the variety involved. Having s aid t hat, the variety o f t he rounds s hould be r e-emphasised. One wonders whether Gear ( Fig 2 .3), a lthough a univallate enclosure on a h illslope, c an r eally be placed in t his c lass. At t he o ther end o f the s cale s ites s uch a s Goldherring ( Fig 3 .198) c an s carcely b e compared with Carloggas ( Fig 2 .13), Carvossa ( Fig 2 .7) and Trevisker ( Fig 3 .27) in t erms o f the e ffort r equired to construct t hem, the population they c ould have c ontained and the s ocial organisation implied. The excavated examples come from various points i n the s pectrum o f d ifferent s ized enclosures ( Fig 1 3). Unfortunately the l arger s ites have not been e xcavated on a s cale s ufficient to produce plans o f the i nternal f eatures that c an b e c ompared to one

another

or to

s ome

o f

the

1 63

s mall

s ites.

We

do have

a c learer p icture o f t he i nternal a rrangements a t G oldh erring ( Fig 3 .198 a nd F ig 1 4), Trethurgy ( Fig 3 .193 and F ig 1 4) and Porthmeor ( Fig 3 .95 a nd F ig 1 4) where t he enclosures c ontain a s mall n umber o f houses which a t Tret hurgy and Threemilestone hug t he b ack o f t he r ampart l eaving an o pen s pace i n t he c entre. Grambla ( Fig 3 .55 and F ig 1 4) i s not quite l ike t he o ther e xamples. A lthough t he enclosure i s l arger i t c ontains p erhaps only f our h ouses. These a re n ot r anged a round t he back o f t he rampart, but i n t heir s hape t hey a re s imilar t o t he o void houses a t T rethurgy a nd Castle Gotha. On t he whole t he r ounds a ppear to b e f arming s ettlements o f s imilar t ype but o f d iffering s izes. P erhaps t he r ound s imply v aries i n s ize a ccording t o whatever l ocal pressures r esult in s maller o r l arger s ettlements, c overing t he f ull r ange o f s mall holding, f armstead, hamlet a nd v illage. I f any o f t hese pressures c hange we may b e a ble to s ee t his e ffect i n t he c hanging f orm o f i ndividual r ounds. At Trevisker t he i nitial enclosure o f 0 .1 h ectares i s r eplaced by one o f 0 .9 h ectares ( Fig 1 5.4) and ApSimon a nd Greenfield ( 1972, 3 67), s uggest t hat t his may h ave b een to a ccommodate a n i ncrease i n population: I t may b e t hat p eople f ormerly l iving i n o pen s ettlements r ound a bout c ame t o dwell within, making n ecessa ry e xtra s pace f or t hem a nd t heir c attle. This might b e a r esponse t o more unsettled c onditions, o r s imply a r eflection o f c hanges i n s ocial patterns o r i n t he r anking o f t he o riginal i nhabitants. I n s pite o f t he c hange c lassified a s rounds.

i n

s ize,

both enclosures

c an b e

I t has b een a ssumed t hat t he majority o f t hese s ites a re f arming s ettlements but t here may b e e xceptions. A t in bowl d edicated t o Mars was f ound i n a s haft w ithin t he enclosure a t B osence ( Fig 3 .83 a nd F ig 1 4), p erhaps t he s ite o f a t emple. Evidence f rom c ropmarks a lso a ffects o ur view o f these s ites: t he n umber o f enclosures i s i ncreased dramatically and earthworks a re f requently s hown t o b e more c omplicated when c ropmark evidence i s a vailable. I n s everal c ases r ounds c an b e s een t o have annexes, i mmediately putting t hem i nto t he multiple enclosure c ategory. How many other r ounds r eally b elong i n a nother c ategory, but a t p resent l ack t he a ir photographs t o put t hem t here? S imilarly, e xcavation a t Threemilestone ( Fig 3 .176 a nd F igs 1 3 and 1 4) r evealed a s econd o uter d itch, c oncentric t o t he i nner d itch but much s hallower and o f uncertain f unction ( Schwieso 1 976, 5 5,65). Other e xamples have s hown a s c ropmarks, Raginnis, Paul ( Fig ' 3 .161) a nd P enhale, S t. Enoder, ( not i llustrated). This i s another f eature which may b e more c ommon t han h as b een s upposed a nd r equires explanation. Other c ropmarks s how enclosures which do n ot quite f it

1 64

into for and

the

defensible

univallate

example i s the nature o f o f Resparva ( Fig 3 .48)?

enclosure

Tregilders,

category. ( Fig

3 .59

What 1 1.5/1)

Many o f the univallate enclosures i llustrated in F igs 2 and 3 are c liff c astles. Like the other univallate enclosures the areas enclosed vary enormously, f rom twenty h ectares at the Dodman ( Fig 2 .1) to the t iny s ite at Tubby' s Head, St Agnes, ( Fig 3 .141). When contemplating the f unction of these s ites, and the nature o f a s ite the s ize o f Rame Head ( Fig 2 .2) or the Dodman ( Fig 2 .1), i t s eems far more appropriate to compare them to a s ite l ike Gear ( Fig 2 .3) rather than to compare the Dodman to Tubby's Head, or Gear with Goldherring. Conversely, s hould a ll c liff castles, r egardless o f their s ize and the form o f their defences, b e c lassed a s ' strongly defended s ites' ( as discussed above) on the basis o f their location, rather than on the grounds of multivallation or univallation? The enormous range in the form o f c liff castles may make a mockery o f any attempt at s uch a s imple c lassification. This problem has y et to be adequately explored by excavation. Research, s ubsequent to the production o f the i llustrations, has suggested that the enclosure at Bosvisack, n ear Truro ( Fig 2 .10) should not be included in the univallate category a s early writers describe i t a s being a concentric enclosure with widespaced ramparts. This emphasises the l imitations o f f ield evidence. MULTIPLE

ENCLOSURES

In her descriptions o f the multiple enclosures Fox ( 1952 and 1 961) has made i t c lear that there i s not only great variety in t he form o f the multiple enclosures s uch that they can be d ivided into the categories o f concentric enclosures, dependent enclosure etc, but a lso that there i s considerable variety in s ize and form within these categories. Figures 4 to 7 demonstrate these varieties. I t has already been suggested that concentric enclosures and dependent enclosures appear to have been discontinued by the first century AD. However, i t must be emphasised that the examples that have been excavated only r epresent a t iny proportion o f the number and forms o f these types o f

s ite.

CONCENTRIC ENCLOSURES RAMPARTS) Fig 4

( OR

ENCLOSURES

WITH WIDESPACED

In strategic t erms multivallation i s best u sed when the ramparts are contiguous with one another. Where t here i s a wide berm s eparating the ramparts, it s uggests that the area was used for some other activity that a lso r equired defence - perhaps an area o f defensible grazing cultivation or s ettlement. Tregeare Rounds ( Fig category that i s u sually

4 .4) i s the example f rom this i llustrated; two concentric

1 65

enclosures, a nd a t hird a ppended enclosure, partly c oncent ric but n ot f orming the c omplete c ircuit a round the o ther enclosures. A well worn holloway t hrough t he outer r ampart i s i n k eeping with an i nterpretation t hat the s ite owes i ts f orm t o an emphasis on pastoralism. Most o f t he s ites i llustrated h ere ( Fig 4 ) f it happily i nto t his c ategory o f widespaced r amparts; i t i s i mportant t o n ote t hat s everal c liff c astles c an a lso b e c onsidered part o f this c lass. ( The Rumps ( Fig 4 .29), Trevelgue, ( Fig 7 .1), T reryn D inas, S t L evan, ( Fig 7 .25)), where o uter e nclosures encompass l arge a reas o f l and t hat are n ot i mmediately o bvious t o t he primary t ask o f d efence. T here i s no r eason why c liff c astles s hould not b e comparable t o enclosures i nland. I t i s c lear f rom F igs 2 , 3 , 7 , a nd 1 0 t hat t hey d isplay t he s ame variety o f form and s ize a s o ther enclosures, with s ingle o r multiple r amparts and w idespaced r amparts. The s iting o f t hese earthworks o n promontories o bviates t he n eed f or a rtificial d efences o n a ll but a n arrow f ront, c reating t he i mpression that t hey a re a s eparate c lass o f monument. The date r anges a vailable f or c liff c astles s uggest t hat l ike other multip le enclosures their u se f ades away i n t he f irst c entury AD ( see F ig 1 3). Cam nB rea ( Fig 7 .6) t hough different i n f orm and b adly mauled by mining a ctivity, a lso h as r amparts that a re widely s paced a nd enclose a very l arge a rea o f the h illside. Many o f t hese s ites h ave v ery s trong d efences, and even t hough most a re not i n i deal d efensive positions t here c an b e l ittle doubting t heir i mportance a s s trongholds. Some do o ccupy h illtops - C astle a n D inas ( St Columb Major) ( Fig 4 .2, 9 .13 and 1 5.1), Castle an D inas ( Ludgvan) ( Fig 4 .16; 9 .16), Chun ( Fig. 4 .22), Cam nBrea ( Fig 7 .6). T he u se o f a c oncentric r ather t han a n a ppended enclosure may i n i tself s ignify t hat s trength i n d efence was a n e ssential e lement i n t he p lanning o f these s ites. The a ddition o f an annexe would b e a more e ffective way to i ncrease t he a rea enclosed, but t he area that r equired d efending would a lso b e greatly i ncreased, whereas c onc entric enclosures o ffer d efence i n d epth. There h as y et t o b e s ufficient e xcavation t o d emonstrate what s ort o f a ctivity went on b etween the r amparts. F ig 1 4 s hows how l ittle excavation h as b een done on t hese t ype o f s ites. The c urving g ulley a t K illibury ( Fig 1 3) s uggests a house s ite, i mplying p erhaps domestic o ccupat ion r ather t han s tock h erding, and s everal huts were f ound i n t he a rea b etween t he two r amparts a t The Rumps ( Fig 4 .29, B rooks 1 979). The d ifference i n s ize b etween i nner a nd o uter enclosures, a nd h ence the w idth o f t he i nter-rampart s pace varies c onsiderably, p erhaps r eflecting a d ifferent f unction f or t he a rea e nclosed. Do t he r ectil inear examples d iffer f rom t he r est merely i n s hape o r i n f unction a s well? Treringey Rounds ( Fig 4 .7) i s u nus ually s ited on ground s loping down t o t he water a t t he

1 66

R iver Ganel, perhaps defending a l anding place on the e stuary. This variety may increase with future excavat ion. The present l imited evidence s uggests that occupation o f these s ites i s confined to the pre-Roman Iron Age but this cannot be r egarded with confidence. Other variations are apparent on cropmark s ites, for e xample, Higher D emain ( Fig 4 .18) where the outer ditch i s considerably l ess s ubstantial than the inner ditch, a nd Tolcroggan ( Fig 4 .30), where the concentric plan i s c omplicated by d itches radiating from the inner enclosure. A ir photographs a lso show the Castle Gotha s ite ( Fig 4 .26) t o consist of three conjoined enclosures, two with concent ric ditches and internal divisions. Interpretation at present depends a lmost entirely on f ield evidence and o n a ir photographs but these may be misleading. The excavation at Trevisker ( Fig 1 5.4, 1 3 and 1 4) has s hown, as d escribed above, that an inner and outer enclosure n eed n ot be contemporary; in this example the l arger enclosure i s a r eplacement for the smaller one. P erhaps this i s a lso the case at Engelly, ( Fig 4 .23). Some d epth o f c hronology is a lso apparent in the defences o f Wai-bstow ( Fig 4 .1), where the middle rampart appears unfinished, a t Chun Castle ( Fig 4 .22), and has been demonstrated by e xcavation at The Rumps ( Fig 1 5.3) and Castle an Dinas ( Fig 1 5.1). It i s sometimes possible through careful examination t o note that one o f the ramparts i s s lighter than another, s uggesting that one i s older than the other; this i s c ertainly the case with Rampart 3 at Castle an D inas, F ig 1 5.1/1. However, differential s urvival o f earthworks i s a notoriously unreliable indicator o f chronology espec ially when in many cases the outer rampart has been ploug hed away. At Bosvisack ( Fig 2 .10) the inner rampart h as been ploughed away and was only visible in the early part of this century. Perhaps there are other ' univallate' enclosures that n urse a s imilar s ecret. ANNEXES

( AND

DEPENDENT

ENCLOSURES)

F ig

5

Whatever their function annexes are not uncommon. N ew s ites with annexes are regularly discovered from a ir photographs, which a lso show that previously known rounds c an have unsuspected annexes ( eg 5 .8; 5 .20; 5 .28; 5 .29); t here are also n ewly discovered rounds with annexes ( eg 5 .9; 5 .3; 5 .23; 5 .25). Again there i s a great range in t he s ize and form of the s ites both o f the enclosures a nd annexes; a f ew are on hilltops ( Helsbury, 5 .14; K illibury 5 .3), but most are on s purs and h illslopes. For comparison the c lass o f s ite described by Fox a s depend ent enclosure has a lso been i llustrated h ere, ( 5.32-7), p erhaps a variant on the concept o f enclosure s eems to combine elements s ure and the concentric enclosure.

1 67

an annexe. The d ependent o f the appended encloThe potential weakness

which an a ppended enclosure introduces by extending t he l ength o f the d efences and l eaving a weak point at t he j unction o f t he enclosures, i s avoided by continuing t he c ircuit r ight around the primary enclosure i n the manner o f a concentric enclosure, but with t he ramparts c losely s et instead o f widely s paced. With t he exception o f t he r ather different dependent enclosure a t Merthen ( Fig 5 .30) which i s r ectangular with a r ectangular annexe, t he d ist ribution o f these enclosures i s l imited to t he area s outh a nd west o f Bodmin Moor ( Fig 8 ). Three o f t hese enclosures are a ssociated with o utworks and c ross r idge dykes t hat enclose l arge areas around them ( Fig 6 .1, 2 , 4 ). The s imilarity o f these s ites i s most marked, and the well d efined d istribution argues s trongly f or a s imilar s pecial ised f unction for these s ites which Fox and others h ave c oncluded to b e the management o f l ivestock. S imilarly the o uter c ircuit a t Tregeare ( 5.2), a lthough a concentric enclosure, i s worth considering when d iscussing annexes. The o uter enclosure i s appended to t he earthwork i n t he manner o f an annexe, r ather s imilar t o the annexes ( Fig 5 .24-7) which s urround a l arge part o f the c ircumference o f t he primary enclosure. At K illibury, ( 5.3) annexes have b een a dded to o pposite s ides o f a concentric enclosure; a t Tredinnick ( 5.31) an annexe was a dded t o the original enclosure and a third a dded partially concentric to t he f irst. Some annexes are s maller than t he primary enclos ure, a cting a s a type o f barbican t o the entrance ( 5.142 9) but o thers a re l arger and s ometimes much l arger ( 5.61 3). Whether this variety i n the t ype o f a nnexe r eflects a variety i n t heir f unction will r emain obscure until a s election o f the s ites has been f urther i nvestigated. The only excavation within an annexe has b een at K estle R ings ( 5.15), where P eter ( 1902) f ound walling and t races o f a h earth ( see Appendix f or F igs 1 3 and 1 4 for the excavations a t Castle Dore and K estle R ings). Radford ( 1951) f ound the r emains o f two huts within t he d ependent e nclos ure a t Castle Dore, the only dependent enclosure t hat h as b een investigated ( see F ig 1 3). Were the annexes planned f rom t he outset or only added a s the n eed arose? There a ppears t o be a s equence a t Engelly ( 5.29) which i s only a pparent f rom a ir photographs. On the ground a s ingle enclosure i s v isible but i t s eems t hat this enclosure r eplaced a s maller enclosure on t he s ame s ite. An annexe was then a dded which unlike most, which enclose the entrance to the primary enclosure, i s t acked on to the s ide o f the enclosure and has i ts o wn s eparate entrance. This r eflects a n eed to i ncrease the a rea enclosed; initially i t was s implest t o build a large univallate enclosure ( as at Trevisker, s ee F ig 1 5.4) but when f urther expansion was r equired i t was s ufficient s imply to tack another enclosure on t o the existing o ne. How do these s ites u nivallate enclosures?

differ i n I s there

1 68

f unction f rom s imple a d ifference in s tatus,

o r have the annexes merely b een a dded t o i ncrease t he e nclosed a rea, o r d o t hey r epresent a d ifferent a ctivity f rom those without annexes? I f s o, does t he a nnexe s erve t he s ame f unction a s t he primary enclosure o r i s i t put t o s ome s pecialised u se, p erhaps t o c ertain s tock o r domest ic occupation o f a s pecialised k ind, p erhaps even o ccupied b y p eople o f a s tatus d ifferent f rom those i n t he primary e nclosure? Fox ( 1961, 4 5) s uggests t hat t he f unction o f t he annexes o r d ependent enclosures was t o provide a prestigious a pproach to t he main g ate i n p eace a nd a more hazardous a pproach i n war. B elow i s g iven t he l imited evidence s o f ar a vailable f rom excavations i n a nnexes and t he i nter-rampart s pace o f c oncentric enclosures. They s how that s ome a ctivity t ook p lace h ere b ut without exception t he excavators w ere n ot a ble to e lucidate f urther. E vidence 1 .

f rom e xcavation

C astle D ore

f or o ccupation i n t he

D ependent e nclosure

i nter-rampart

T wo h uts

s pace

i n t he d epen-

d ent e nclosure c lose t o t he e ntrance 2 .

K illibury

C oncentric a nd A nnexe

O ne h ut? b etween t he t wo r amparts

3 .

T regeare

C oncentric a nd A nnexe

O ccupation d ebris b etw een t he

t wo r amparts

4 .

K estle R ings

A nnexe

W alls a nd h earth i n t he a nnexe

5 .

T he R umps

C oncentric(?)

1 .

C liff C astle

t he a rea b etween t he

S oil

s tripped o ff

i nner a nd o uter s et o f r amparts

t o b uild

i nner

o f t he o uter s et o f r amp arts ( je 1 st p hase o uter r ampart) ( see F ig 1 5.3/1 & 1 5.3/2)

P hase

1 .

T his

w ould p resumably i nhibit g razing o r c ultivation. 2 .

T wo h uts b uilt b etween

t he t wo i nner s ets o f r amp arts. P hase 2 . ENCLOSURES

WITH

O UTWORKS

The o utworks i llustrated i n F ig 6 .1, 2 , 4 h ave b een m entioned a lready under t he h eading o f ' Annexes a nd d epend ent enclosures', a nd their possible f unction d iscussed. I n these c ases l arge a reas a re enclosed a round well f ortif ied s ites by c utting o ff the a pproach t o t he s pur-end, where the enclosure i s on a s pur ( Largin Castle a nd H all R ings, F ig 6 .1 a nd 2 ), o r by a more encircling o utwork where

the enclosure

i s

on more

1 69

l evel

g round

( Pencarrow

Rings, F ig 6 .4). F ig 7 , 1 -6, i llustrates o ther examples i n which t he d efended a rea i s i ncreased by c rossridge dykes o r by o ther forms o f • outwork. At Ashbury ( Fig 7 .3) and B ury Castle ( Fig 6 .3) a re the c ross r idge dykes i ntend ed to enclose and d efend a l arger a rea, o r a re t hey c ons tructed primarily a s an extra l ine o f d efence on t he s ide o f t he s ite which enjoys the l east natural protection? Other s ites i n F ig 7 have a lso b een i llustrated u nder o ther c ategories but have b een i llustrated a gain under t he h eading o f ' Miscellaneous enclosures with outworks' b ecause i n each c ase, whether t he s ites might a lso b e d escribed a s enclosures with widespaced ramparts ( Fig 7 .1, 2 , 4 , 6 ) or enclosures with a nnexes ( Fig 7 .5), particular i mportance has b een g iven t o providing a l arge enclosed a rea b eyond t he primary d efences o f t he s ite. Although t he s uggestion t hat these l arge a reas were r equired f or t he c oralling o f c attle may well b e c orrect, i t has y et t o b e proven by f urther i nvestigation. None o f t he l arge o uter enclosures i llustrated i n F igs 6 and 7. has b een e xcavated or even t ested by g eophysical s urvey. CONTIGUOUS

ENCLOSURES

R ecent o bservations s uggest t hat a nother c ategory s hould b e added to F ox's c lassification o f multiple e nclos ures. At present only two examples a re known, M erthen ( Figs 5 .30, 1 0.15) and Castle Gotha ( Figs 4 .26, 5 .28, 1 1.4). H ere t he enclosures a re immediately a djacent a nd s hare a d itch, but unlike annexes f or example, these e nclos ures a ppear t o b e i ndependent; c ertainly a t Merthen t here i s no d irect a ccess f rom o ne e nclosure to t he o ther. P erhaps these s ites a re c omparable t o t he a djacent e nclos ures d escribed b elow and have a s imilar o rigin. TOR ENCLOSURES

( Fig

7 .7-12)

S ilvester ( 1979, 1 88) c oined t he t erm ' tor-enclosure' t o d escribe enclosures ' located c lose to granite o utcrops i n potentially d efensible positions' a lthough the l ow r ubble walls, h e s ays, are unlikely t o have p erformed a d efensive r ole. H e s uggests a s econd or t hird millenium B C date f or t hese s ites. The s ites i llustrated i n F ig 7 .7-12 a ll a dopt the a ppropriate l ocation f or t or e nclosures but t here i s c onsiderable variety i n t heir s ize a nd i n t he s trength a nd the f orm o f the d efences. Trencrom ( Fig 7 .9) and B erry Castle ( Fig 7 .10) both have s ubstantial d efences and a re n ot o ut o f p lace i n t he h illfort c ategory, but t he c haracter o f t he o ther enclosure walls i s r ather d ifferent and much l ess s ubstantial ( with t he exception o f t he massive primary enclosure a t S towe's Pound ( Fig 7 .7). Cam nB rea ( Fig 7 .12) has b een s hown by excavation t o b e a d efended N eolithic s ettlement ( Mercer 1 970) b ut a s imilar date n eed not n ecessarily b e i nferred f or t he o ther s ites; H elman Tor ( Fig 7 .8) i s o f a s imilar s ize

1 70

but Roughtor and Stowe' s Pound ( Fig 7 .11 s tructed on a much larger s cale and with

and 7 ) were congreater complexity.

The multiple enclosure at Stowe's Pound includes two annexes and an outer concentric work enclosing a l arge area. This example s eems particularly s uited to the corralling o f l ivestock, perhaps a fore-runner o f the multiple enclos ure s ites described above, i f indeed this i s an early s ite. The l arge enclosure which contains many hut platforms may not be typical o f annexes in general, but a s i t i s a n annexe to the smaller but more s trongly defended primary enclosure the possibility of occupation within other annexes must be considered. In conclusion, the t erm ' tor enclosures' embraces a wide variety of monument. Perhaps the main f eature t hat they have in common, their l ocation, i s outweighed by the differences, but their context and form would a ppear to put at l east Stowe's Pound, Helman Tor, Rough Tor and Cam nBrea into a c lass of their own and the s uggest ed early date for these s ites i s probably j ustified. The variety in the form and s ize o f these s upposedly early enclosures i s quite as great as the variety in the later enclosures. MULTIVALLATE ENCLOSURES ( Figs 9 and 1 0)

WITH CLOSE-SPACED RAMPARTS

Although wide-spaced multivallation i s put forward a s very much a f eature of the south-west, many o f the Cornish enclosures do, to a greater or l esser extent, have c lose-spaced ramparts. On Fig 9 Warbstow Bury and Castle an Dinas, St Columb ( Fig 9 .12 and 1 3) s hould be d iscounted from inclusion in this c lass, except for brief d iscussion; for Castle an Dinas a c lassification a s multivallate with c lose-spaced ramparts hinges on the interpret ation of the inner defences, as either bank, d itch and c ounterscarp bank, or two banks with ditches. The former i s more usually accepted, and so Castle an Dinas can be r egarded a s a concentric enclosure. At Warbstow Bury t he middle rampart appears to be unfinished but perhaps t he intention i s for at l east partially c lose-spaced ramparts. F ig

On the 9 have

other hand many o f the s ites i llustrated defences that are essentially c lose-set,

in for

e xample Castle Canyke, St Stephen's B eacon, Prideaux, P adderbury Top and Bury Castle ( 1,2,3,5,21). Other s ites h ave only a small element o f c lose-spacing eg the outer d efences a t Castle an Dinas, Ludgvan ( Fig 9 .16), but in t he dependent enclosures ( Fig 9 .15,17-20,22,?11, and ? ?14) wide-spacing

and

c lose-spacing

are

combined.

Although all these s ites share the f eature o f c lose s et ramparts, presumably indicating the desirability o f s trong defences, in many ways the s ites are quite difficult. A s

in

other

categories

there

i s

1 71

a great variety

in

s ize

and form and i n the arrangement and t he number o f t he ramparts. Their l ocation i s a lso o f interest; a lmost a ll t he multivallate enclosures that c annot a lso be c lassed a s multiple enclosures are s ited on h illtops, but t he d ependent enclosures are on s purs a nd h illslopes. Centuries o f battering from the Atlantic have o bscured the f orm o f many o f the c liff castles. At Crane Castle, f or example, ( Fig 1 0.5) only the d efences r emain. B ecause o f the l ocation o f the c liff c astles there i s a great potential f or the u se o f c ross-banks or outer ramparts to produce a dditional enclosed a reas. However, in only a f ew c ases do the multivallate c liff castles include examples o f wide-spaced r amparts, whether enclosing a l arger area ( eg Trevelgue and Treryn Dinas, Fig 1 0.1 and 2 ) or a s maller area ( eg The Rumps and Cam nL es B oel, Treyarnon and F ig 1 0.3,4 and 6 ), but they a ll have a t l east s ome e lement o f c lose-spacing. I n t his r espect perhaps t he multivallate c liff c astles a re not d irectly comparable with the i nland multivallate enclosures i n that only a r elatively s mall proportion o f the l atter has c lose s et ramparts. Alternatively because l ess l abour was r equired to c ut o ff a n arrow n eck o f l and perhaps the available manpower could be d irected t o developing the d efences in d epth. ADJACENT ENCLOSURES So f ar l ittle has been s aid a bout how t he s ites r elate to one another i n t he l andscape. I n most a spects, d istribution maps o f these s ites are at present meaningless because we do not know which s ites a re contemporary o r how many r emain to b e discovered. However, F ig 1 6 h as been i ncluded to g ive at l east an i ndication o f the s etting o f s ome o f the enclosures. One point which may b e noted h ere and which i s t rue o f Cornwall a s a whole i s the proximity o f s ome o f the enclosures to one another ( Fig 1 1). I n s ome c ases the enclosure i s very c lose to a h illfort ( Padderbury, F ig 1 1.1, Caer Bran, F ig 1 1.2, St Stephens B eacon, 1 1.6, K illibury, 1 1.5, Castle P encaire, 1 1.3). Other a djacent enclosures a re more comparable in s ize, a lthough t he r ound a t Small H ill Farm ( Fig 1 1.7) i s accompanied by a s mall enclosure o f quite a d ifferent type f rom the ' rounds'. Why are t hese rounds s o c lose to one another? Has one b een built n ext to the other to g ive accommodation for an increasing population, p erhaps a branch o f the f amily t aking a portion o f the f armland and s etting up i n a s eparate home? Or does one enclos ure r eplace the o ther, e ither d irectly or a fter a g ap o f c enturies? I f they are contemporary i s one more i mportant t han t he o ther, and do they s erve d ifferent f unctions, one t he s tock yard, t he other t he domestic quarters f or example? Or are s ome o f the s ites more than s imply t he homes o f f arming communities? The earthwork at Bosence, for example,

contained

a r itual

1 72

s haft.

I f

t he

n earby

c ropmark h aps the c entre.

enclosures ( Fig 1 1.8) are contemporary then p erthree enclosures f orm an important r eligious

Only a t Killibury has there b een s ufficient excavation t o date adjacent enclosures. I n t his example o ccupation o f two o f the enclosures does o verlap ( Tregilders and K illibury, F igs 1 1.5/1 and 1 1.5/2); t he date o f t he t hird enclosure i s not known. E NCLOSURES AND F IELDS In Fig 1 6, an a ttempt has b een made t o s et t he enclos ures into s ome s ort o f context, n evertheless t hey s till s eem to f loat in a void because s o l ittle i s known o f t he countryside b etween the enclosures. I f t hese s ettlements practised mixed farming, a s i s g enerally s upposed ( Thomas, 1 966)), t hen what were their f ields l ike, how l arge an a rea was f armed f rom each round, how much h eathland a nd moorland was there i n t he Roman p eriod? Where t he earthworks have n ot been completely f lattened by p loughing palynological evidence may b e preserved i n s oil profiles s ealed by the enclosure banks. ( Samples have b een t aken a t Caer Bran ( Christie, 1 978) and with l ess s uccess a t K illibury ( Miles et a l 1 977). In lowland Cornwall the evidence for f ields i s s canty i n the extreme. Cropmarks are now r evealing f eatures b eyond the enclosures which can s carcely b e d escribed a s f ields but which do g ive s ome i ndication o f what f urther i nvestigation may s how. For example, the r ound a t White c ross ( Fig 1 2.1), i s s urrounded by an o uter enclosure with radial s ub-divisions, perhaps s mall f ields, garden p lots, or s tock enclosures. A c urving d itch t o t he east ( Fig 1 2.1/2) may d ivide o pen pasture on the west s ide f rom enclosed l and on the east through which a hollow way runs. At Pawton ( Fig 1 2.4) an enclosure i s a ssociated with t rackways and o ther ditched f eatures; a t Tolcroggan ( Fig 1 2.7) ditches r adiate from concentric enclosures. A t rack way bounded by granite walls and a s mall area o f f ields s urvives i n woodland outside the round a t Grambla ( Fig 1 2.6) ( Saunders 1 972). Although boundaries a ssociated with the r ound a t Pol s tain ( Fig 1 2.2) may be traces o f h edges r emoved r elatively r ecently, i t s hould be noted that i n many c ases where r ounds s urvive a s earthworks they a re i ncorporated i nto the present f ield s ystem, but t he antiquity o f t he boundar ies i s not known. In the granite uplands o f West Cornwall, early f ield s ystems are better preserved. For e xample, i n B reage parish on Tregonning H ill, two r ounds s it i n a s et o f s trip f ields on t he s lope b elow Castle P encaire h illfort. There

are

c learance

cairns

i n t he

1 73

f ields

and

r idge

and

f urrow both within t he s trips and a bove t hem towards t he h illfort. At present i t i s uncertain whether these f ields a re earlier, c ontemporary o r l ater t han t he enclosures. The greatest potential f or r ecording a nd analysing f ield s ystems o f a ll p eriods i s t o b e f ound i n West P enwith ( The L ands End P eninsula), both i n t he moorland a reas a nd i n t he a reas o f present day f armland. I n modern f arml and i n t he vicinity o f c ourtyard h ouses a nd r ounds, t he h edges f requently s it on massive l ynchets which a re p res umed t o have b een d eveloping s ince t he I ron Age. M any o f t he early boundaries within t hese s ystems have n ot b een r etained but t hey do s urvive a s p loughed down l ynchets within t he modern f ields. A s t hese f ields c over h undreds o f a cres ( see Russell 1 971 f or a l ist), i t i s r emarkable t hat until r ecently n one h ad b een a dequatelyrecorded. A s tart has n ow b een made a round t he Porthmeor c ourtyard h ouse s ettlement ( Fig 1 2.11) where Ratcliffe ( 1981) h as d emonstrated c learly h ow t he s ettlement a nd then the s ettlement enclosure were e stablished within a pre-existing f ield s ystem which c ontinues i n u se today. Where t he f ields h ave gone o ut o f u se a nd a griculture has not b een r esumed t he l ynchets and s tone walls s urvive i n t he moorl and, f or e xample a t Maen Castle ( Fig 1 2.3) where t he t iny f ields a re d efined by l ines o f u pright s tones, b y banks o f piled s tones and by s ubstantial l ynchets which i n s ome c ases a ppear t o b e r evetted by l arge uprights. The Cornwall Committee f or R escue Archaeology has n ow s tarted a l ong t erm project f unded by t he D epartment o f t he Environment t o r ecord t he f ields and o ther r emains i n West P enwith b efore t he evidence i s d estroyed. F urther work i s b eing undertaken by t he Archaeology D epartment o f E xeter University. R eturning t o F ig 1 6, i f both o pen a nd enclosed s ettlements a re f ound i n West P enwith, t hen p erhaps o pen s ettlements c an a lso b e e xpected i n t he l owland a reas o f C ornwall. I t i s possible t hat o pen s ettlements a re t he more u sual f orm but a re more e lusive b ecause t hey a re more easily d estroyed t han d efensive enclosures. Where there a re both o pen and enclosed s ettlements i s t here a d ifference i n s tatus b etween t he o ccupants? Why, f or e xample, w ere t he c ourtyard houses a t Porthmeor ( Hirst 1 936) enclosed a bout AD 2 00 whereas t he Chysauster houses ( Hencken 1 933) r emained unenclosed? I n t he l owland a reas, there h as b een n o s ystematic a ttempt t o l ocate o pen s ettlements. F ield walking f or pot s catters would probably b e u nprod uctive i n Cornwall, but s ome c ropmark s ites i n the a rea s hown i n F ig 1 6 do n ot f it i nto t he c ategories o f e nclosed s ites, and r equire f urther i nvestigation. I t i s a lso possible t hat t here may h ave b een o ccupation i mmediately o utside s ome r ounds. There was s ome evidence f or t his a t Carwarthen, S t J ust i n Roseland ( Fig 3 .11) ( Opie 1 939).

1 74

Fig 1 6 i s particularly s eductive t o t he ' territory b uff' with i ts well s paced enclosures o ccupying p lots i n an a pparently, o r a t l east t emptingly predictable f arm ing l andscape. T he a rea even h as a f ocal point, f or t he l arge earthwork ( Fig 2 .18), a pproximately i n t he c entre o f the map, i s much l arger and i s more s ubstantial t han t hose that s urround i t; i t a lso l ies o n t op o f t he r idge t hat dominates t he a rea. O f course c ontemporaneity, migi dentification a nd misinterpretation o f s ites a nd t he a ddition o f n ew d iscoveries will probably c omplicate what a t this s tage s eems a lmost understandable. F rom F ig 1 3 i t i s a pparent t hat r ounds were c oming i nto a nd going o ut o f u se throughout the l ater I ron Aee a nd Roman period, a nd s o one c an c onclude t hat only a proportion of the s ites on F ig 1 6 a re l ikely t o b e c ontemporary. I f, i n a ddition t o this t here are f urther enclosures t o b e d isc overed a nd p erhaps a whole r ange o f o pen s ettlements t hen i t i s quite c lear how l ittle we r eally know a bout t he s ettlement pattern and t he c hanges t hat must have o ccurred during t his p eriod. However, F ig 1 6 does r epres ent a s olid base f rom which t o t ackle t hese problems. The g eophysical s urveys a nd trial e xcavations undertaken by the Dyfed Archaeological Trust o n enclosures within a small b lock o f l and ( Small Enclosures P roject) i s a n e xample o f the n ext i mportant s tage o f r esearch. CONCLUSIONS 1 . The l imitations o f f ield evidence a lone a re emphasised by t he r esults o f excavation which s how t hat s ome s ites h ave considerable c hronological d epth a nd a c omplicated s equence i n t he d evelopment o f t heir d efences. F urthermore cropmarks i n many c ases s how f urther f eatures i n a ddition t o t hose visible on t he g round, and s o t he c lassif ication must b e a ltered. 1 . The s tudy o f c ropmarks h as n ot only s hown t hat known s ites are o ften more c omplex t han i s a pparent f rom t he ground but a lso h as i ncreased dramatically t he n umber o f s ites. Many o f t he n ew s ites a re r ather d ifferent i n character t o t hose previously known ( eg F igs 4 ; 5 ; 1 1; 1 2). 3 . The variety i n t he r ange o f t he enclosures i s r emarkable - univallate enclosures, enclosures with a nnexes o f varying s ize a nd f orm, enclosures with widespaced r amparts s ometimes with annexes a s well, multivallate h ill f orts, enclosure with o utworks: t he enclosures s eem t o f orm a lmost every possible c ombination a nd c an f requently b e p laced i n more t han one c ategory. 4 . In t he l ight o f t he variety i llustrated h ere, t he l imitations o f t he excavations t o date a re s elf-evident. Only in t hree c ases ( Threemilestone, Goldherring a nd Trethurgy, F ig 1 4) has excavation b een on a nything l ike an adequate s cale. I n c omparison, t he l arger, presumably

1 75

more important s ites have s carcely b een touched, and a spects o f many categories have not b een i nvestigated a t a ll other than on the s mallest s cale, f or example annexes, d ependent enclosures, the i nter-rampart areas o f concentric enclosures, the areas enclosed by c rossridge dykes. 5 . A whole range o f questions r emains , to b e answered. What are the basic d ifferences between those c lasses o f enclosure whose s ize or l ocation s uggests t hat they a re o f particular i mportance - the h illforts, multivallate and univallate, the multiple enclosures, and the l arger univallate enclosures? Do the multiple enclosures owe t heir d esign to t he r equirements o f l ivestock management o r will f urther e xcavation provide evidence f or a d ifferent f unction, p erhaps occupation areas a s s uggested by the h uts a t Castle D ore ( Radford 1 951) the h earth a t Kestle Rings ( Croft Andrews 1 951) and the possibility o f a h ut a t K illibury ( Miles et a l l 1 977)? Does the great a s imilar range i n Are

r ange in s ize f unction?

o f

Why are s ome o f t he enclosures they contemporary and a re they

t he

' rounds'

r eflect

s o c lose together? s imilar i n character?

Can we expect t o f ind a reas o f unenclosed occupation immediately o utside many o f the enclosures, a s at Carvossa ( Douch and B eard 1 970) and Carwarthen ( Opie 1 939). Will the a pparent s ettlement pattern i n Lowland Cornwall b e radically a ltered by the d iscovery o f l arge n umbers o f open s ettlements? Are there changes in t he s ettlement pattern during t he Roman and l ate pre-Roman Iron Age, and what factors l ead to c hange i n E arly Christian Cornwall? What i s the n ature o f this change? 6 .

Future Work

I t i s only when data o f this s ort a re brought together t hat we c an s ee j ust how l ittle i t i s understood, what questions r emain t o b e answered and how we c an s et a bout answering t hem. I nitially f urther s urvey work i s r equired to r ecord known s ites for which t here are a s y et no s urveys, t o l ocate and r ecord n ew s ites and perhaps most importantly, to r ecord t he extensive f ield s ystems a ssociated with the s ites i n West P enwith. This i s t he only area where both the unenclosed and the enclosed s ites s urvive with their f ields on a s ufficient s cale. Many s ources o f a ir photographs h ave y et to b e c hecked for f urther s ites, and many known c ropmark s ites have s till not b een p lotted. In a ddition s pecialised cover i s r equired to r ecord s ites i n greater detail than c an u sually be hoped f or f rom a ir photographs t aken for n ona rchaeological

purposes.

1 76

Geophysical s urveys have b een undertaken on s everal C ornish s ites by t he Ancient Monuments L aboratory o f t he D epartment o f t he Environment with most encouraging r esults. J udging from these r esults a p lanned programme o f s urvey work with a magnetometer ( eg Dyfed Archaeological Trust, S mall Enclosure P roject a s d escribed a bove) would r apidly p rovide evidence f rom s everal c lasses o f monument; i n a nnexes, i n d ependent enclosures, b etween t he r amparts o f concentric enclosures, i n t he v ery l arge a reas enclosed by c ross-ridge dykes, i n l arge enclosures l ike C astle C anyke and Gear where we have n o i dea o f t he i ntensity o f t he occupation. Geophysical s urvey s hould a lso l ocate s ettlement o utside t he enclosures a s i t h as done a t Carvossa. I f t he s urvey i s s ufficiently ambitious t here i s every r eason t o s uppose t hat p loughed-out f ield s ystems a nd o pen s ettlements will a lso b e p lotted. Work o f t his k ind can r apidly produce data o f which t he i mportance i s quite o ut o f proportion t o t he t ime a nd l abour i nvolved. I t i s extraordinary t hat s uch a c ost-effective s urvey t echnique i s n ot t aken f or granted a s a n ecessary a djunct t o o ther methods o f f ieldwork, and that t he c entralised f acilities f or t his s ervice ( at t he Ancient Monuments L aboratory) are n ot g reatly expanded. U ltimately o f course most questions c an o nly b e a nswered by excavation. The great majority o f t he s ites i llustrated h ere i s under t he p lough. Many o f t hem s urv ive a s earthworks but t he earthworks a re b ecoming d enuded. T he question must b e a sked whether s ites t hat a re n ot e xcavated i n the n ear f uture will s ooner o r l ater b ecome s o badly damaged t hat e xcavation will s carcely b e worthwhile. W ith the b enefit o f f urther f ieldwork and a nalysis o f t he r esults i t will b e possible t o s uggest a r easoned c ampaign o f excavation which s hould produce r eal a dvances i n o ur understanding o f t he d evelopment o f t he l andscape a nd s ociety in t he Roman and pre-Roman I ron Age. A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS We have pleasure i n a cknowledging h elp f rom Daphne H arris ( information on S hortlanesend a nd Castle Gotha), P at Can yon ( information o n Carvossa), J eanette Ratcliffe ( information and a p lan o f the P orthmeor F ield S ystem) a nd Caroline Johnson.

1 77

A PPENDIX S ite d etails o rdered b y F igure n umber.

I nformation g iven i s a s

f ollows: N umber - e g 2 .4 S ite N ame

- 2 = F ig 2 ;

4 = S ite n umber 4 o n F ig 2 .

- U sual n ame w ith o thers u sed

C CRA S MR N o

- C ornwall C ommittee

f or R escue A rchaeology,

M onuments R ecord N umber. t o b ack u p m aterial L ocation - T opographical P = p lateau;

i n b rackets. S ites a nd

T his n umber g ives

a ccess

i n t he C ounty A rchive.

l ocation.

H = h illtop;

H S = h illslope;

S = s pur;

C = C liff

( Cliff C astle).

G rid R ef - N ational G rid R eference S ite C ross R ef - O ther F igs o n w hich t he

F IG 2 U NIVALLATE E NCLOSURES ( PART

s ite

i s

i llustrated.

1 )

N umber

S ite N ame

C CRA S MR N o

L oc

G r id R ef

2 .1

T he D odman

S X 0 3 N W/5

C

S X 0 0103985

2 .2

R ame H ead

S X 4 4 N W/1

C

S X 4 1874847

2 .3

G ear

S W 7 2 S W/44

H S

S W 7 21248

2 .4

L itt le D ennis

S W 7 2 N E/26

C

S W 7 8632565

2 .5

C adsonbury

S X 3 6 N W/81

H

S X 3 4356740

2 .6

G o lden

S W 9 4 N W/46

H

S W 9 2444687

2 .7

C arvossa

S W 9 4 N W/45

H S

S W 9 1884828

2 .8

C arw in

S W 5 3 N E/13

H S

S W 5 8353990

2 .9

W illapark

S X 0 8 N E/6

C

S X 0 6298962

2 .10

B osvisack

S W 7 4 N E/32

S

S W 7 8254624

2 .11

K e lsey H ead

S W 7 6 S E/7

C

S W 7 6506080

2 .12

G unwa lloe

S W 6 2 S E/75

C

S W 6 5952055

2 .13

C ar loggas

S W 8 6 N E/25

S

S W 8 7356562

2 .14

T rethern

S X 0 8 S E/1

H S

S X 0 8948477

2 .15

T he R ounds

S X 0 8 S E/7

H S

S X 0 8028296

2 .16

H ugus

S W 7 4 S E/7

H S

S W 7824340

2 .17

L escudjack

S W 4 3 S E/97

H

S W 4 7543104

2 .18

G oonhoskyn

S W 8 5 N E/15

P

S W 8 7685731

2 .19

D unmere

S X 0 6 N E/2

H

S X 0 5086865

2 .20

B ishop 's W ood

S W 8 4 N W/16

H

S W 8 2904873

2 .21

T reath

S W 7 2 N E/15

H S

S W 7 6522608

178

S ite C ross R ef

1 3;14

1 3;14

1.7/2

NIVALLATE E NCLOSURES ( PART 2 ) F IG 3 U N umber

S ite N ame

3 .22

W illapark

S X 0 9 S E/6

C

S X 0 9149124

3 .23

R ings C amp

S X 2 7 N E/5

H

S X 2 8967780

3 .24

B odr ifty

S W 4 3 N W/105

H S

S W 4 4503544

3 .25

A llabury C amp

S X 2 7 N E/4

H S

S X 2 5757695

3 .26

K ilm inorth

S X 2 5 S W/26

H

S X 2 34541

3 .27

T revisker

S W 8 6 N E/13

H S

S W 8 8726859

C CRA S MR

N o

L oc

G r id R ef

S ite C ross R ef

1 3;14

1 3;14;15.4; 4 .14;3.177

3 .28

N oon D igery

S W 4 E/182 3 N

H S

S W 4 8403575

3 .29

H endra

W/3 S W 8 5 S

H S

S W 8 1155297

3 .30

C arthamartha W ood

S X 3 E/6 7 N

H S

S X 3 7757825

3 .31

L evalsa D own

S X 0 4 N W/2

H S

S X 0 0354975

3 .32

T rencrom

S W 5 3 N W/25

3 .33

N anstallon R oman F ort

S X 0 W/6 6 N

3 .34

L ankidden

1 N S W 7 E/34

3 .35

G ur lyn N orth

S W 5 E/113 3 S

H S

S W 5 7253255

1.8/1

3 .36

G ur lyn S outh

S W 5 E/114 3 S

H S

S W 5 7333238

1.8/2

3 .37

C al

S X 3 E/3 8 S

H S

S X 3 5148235

H ill

S W 5 1773620 H S

S X 0 3436700

1 3;14

S W *7 5551650

3 .38

H erdbury

S S 2 W/14 0 N

H S

S S 2 4290846

3 .39

M el a ncoose

S W 8 6 S E/13

H S

S W 8 6436175

3 .40

T regonning

S W 8 5 N E/1

H S

S W 8 6405879

3 .41

P engo ldbury

S X 1 W/6 9 S

H S

S X 1 4359402

3 .42

T revarnon

S W 5 4 S E/49

H S

S W 5 8734016

3 .43

T revinnick

S X 0 7 N W/20

H S

S X 0 08787

1 3;14

3 .44

C ar li dnack

S W 7 E/42 2 N

H S

S W 7 8252935

1 3;14

3 .45

C arwythenack

S W 7 W/32 2 N

S W 7 1552810 S W 6 1683645

3 .46

C arwen B ury

5 N E/7 S X 1

H S H S

3 .47

G ear

S W 6 3 N W/26

H S

3 .48

R esparva

S W 8 5 S E/26

H S

3 .49

D eme lza

S W 9 6 S E/6

3 .50

W hitecross

3 .51

C ast le G otha

( Tresithney)

S X 1 6565554 83545 S W 8 S W 9 7726366

S W 8 5 N E/54

H S

S W 8 9745974

S X 0 4 N W/7

H S

2764964 S X 0

1 2 .1/1 1 3;14;4.26; 5 .27;11.4

S X 2 5758244

3 .52

T rethinna

S X 2 8 S E/14

3 .53

C osw insawsin

W/30 S w 6 3 N

H S

S W 6 2803895

3 .54

C renver' (Kaergenv er)

S W 6 W/9 3 S

H S

S W 6 2903330

3 .55

G ramb la

S W 6 2 N E/7

H S

S W 6 9272835

3 .56

N azearth

S W 9 E/115 5 S

H S

65527 S W 9

3 .57

C argo ll

S W 8 5 N W/9

H S

S W 8 1665670

3 .58

B osi g ran

S W 4 W/59 3 N

3 .59

T regilders

S X 0 W/7 7 S

H S

S X 0 1797412

3 .60

B lakewood C amp

S S 2 E/4 0 S

H S

S S 2 5350415

3 .61

C arnyorth

S W 3 3 S E/88

H S

S W 3 9073294

3 .62

T regonning

S W 6 W/3 3 S

H S

S W 6 0283003

3 .63

B urncoose R ound

S W 8 4 N E/42

H S

S W 8 9914719

3 .64

C oosewartha

S W 7 W/41 4 N

H S

1904675 S W 7

1.14/2

3 .65

T regonning

W/2 S W 6 3 S

H S

0173032 S W 6

1.3/2;12.10.2

3 .66

L anner

S W 8 4 N W/57

H S

S W 8 2355968

1.9/2

3 .67

R estineas

W/33 S X 0 5 N

H S

S X 0 4465511

S W 4 1683694

3 .68

R oseworthy

W/15 S W 6 3 N

H S

1953903 S W 6

3 .69

B urncoose

E/42 2 S S W 6

H S

S W 6 9562325

3 .70

P envent innie

4 N S W 7 E/33

H S

S W 7 9384602

1 79

1 3;14;12.6

1.5/1;13;14

1.3/3;12.10/3

1 .13/2;12.9/2

F IG 3 ( continued) N umber

S ite N ame

C CRA S MR N o

L oc

3 .71

H igher T refullock

S W 8 5 N E/20

H S

3 .72

T rethullan C ast le

S W 9 5 S E/65

3 .73

P enscawn

S W 8 5 N E/49

H S

S W 8 7105515

3 .74

L ower R esparva

S W 8 5 N E/24

H S

S W 8 7985542

3 .75

C raskan

S W 6 2 N E/12

H S

S W 6 7262786

3 .76

C ar lannick

S W 8 3 N E/2

H S

S W 8 5803955

3 .77

T rebow land

S W 7 3 N W/12

H S

S W 7 2943875

3 .78

K estle

S W 7 2 N E/11

H S

S W 7 5182622

3 .79

T re loskan

S W 6 2 S E/37

H S

S W 6 8802305

3 .80

G oonzion

S X 1 6 N E/66

H S

S X 1 7146771

3 .81

G oodern

S W 7 4 S E/17

H S

S W 7 8964306

3 .82

T rew idden C amp

S W 4 2 N W/56

H S

S W 4 3942967

3 .83

B osence

S W 5 3 S E/40

H S

S W 5 7563250

3 .84

B urnow

S W 6 2 S E/79

H S

S W 6 6932287

3 .85

C argelly

S X 2 8 S W/20

H S

S X 2 4748147

3 .86

P enhale

S W 8 5 S E/17

3 .87

B erry D own

S X 3 5 N E/13

H S

S X 3 7615544

3 .88

N ew lyn E ast

S W 8 5 N W/35

H S

S W 8 2825673

3 .89

P

S W 8 5 N E/18

H S

S W 8 7805788

3 .90

R oseworthy

S W 6 3 N W/91

H S

S W 6 1943913

3 .91

H alwyn

S W 7 2 S E/60

H S

S W 7 8902306

3 .92

T o lzethan

S W 5 4 S E/48

3 .93

C ar lenno

S W 6 4 S W/13

H S

S W 6 0624183

3 .94

P enscawn

S W 8 5 N E/58

H S

S W 8 7215523

1.12/1

3 .95

P orthmeor

S W 4 3 N W/74

H S

3443709 S W 4

1 2 .11/1;13;14

3 .96

T regear

S W 6 3 S W/14

H S

3 .97

L inkinhorne

S X 3 7 S W/14

H S

4003430 S W 6 S X 3 1927376

3 .98

B unnings P ark

S X 1 7 S E/28

H S

8977217 S X 1

3 .99

L esingey

S W 4 3 S E/101

3 .100

C arnabeggas

S W 5 3 S E/1

3 .101

T re laske ( Bury D own)

S X 2 5 S W/23

H S

S X 2 2835412

3 .102

H igher C alamansack

S W 7 2 N E/7

H S

S W 7 5202743

3 .103

C arnanton ( Cast le F ust)

S W 8 6 S E/7

H S

S W 8 9186402

3 .104

T retherras

S W 8 5 S W/30

3 .105

T redinnick

S W 8 5 N E/4

3 .106

H ilton W ood C ast le

S X 2 9 N E/1

3 .107

T renython

S X 1 5 S W/107

H S

S X 1 0255438

3 .108

T rew innion

S W 8 5 N E/27

H S

S W 8 8075753

3 .109

L estow

S X 1 5 S W/65

H S

S X 1105245

3 .110

T resaw le

S W 8 6 S E/7

H S

S W 8 9186402

3 .111

B artinney

S W 3 2 N E/25

3 .112

T re laske W ood

S X 2 8 S E/17

H S

S X 2 9308066

3 .113

G ear

S W 6 3 N W/55

H S

S W 6 4183890

3 .114

K illabury

S X 3 7 N W/1

H S

3 .115

L uttabury

S S 2 0 N W/16

H S

03784 S X 3 3300913 S S 2

3 .116

C arwarthen

S W 8 3 N W/11

H S

S W 8 4953753

3 .117

B ospebo C amp ( Trevoryan

S W 6 4 S W/21

H S

S W 6 1154110

3 .118

T reveneague

H S

4713303 S W 5

3 .119

S t. E lvan ( The G ar land)

S W 6 2 N W/14

H S

3912745 S W 6

S W 8 5 N E/79

H S

S W 8 5205538

S W 8 5 N E/82

H S

S W 8 6225831

3 .120 3 .121

s e

T revilson T resillian B arton

R ound) SW 5 3 S W/122

1 80

G r id R ef

S ite C ross R ef

S W 8 9375623 S W 9 71514 1.12/2

1.8/3;13;14

S W 8 8505103

1.13/1;12.9/1

S W 5 95409

S W 4 5343035 S W 5773478

S W 8 20503 H S

6055627 S W 8 S X 2 5229969

S W 3 9452931

1.10/2

F IG 3 ( continued) N umber

S ite N ame

C CRA S MR N o

L oc

3 .122

T revarthian

S W 8 5 N W/13

H S

3 .123

C arp light

S W 7 2 S W/56

3 .124

N anco lleth

S W 8 5 N E/6

H S

S W 8 5575734

1 2 .5/1;11.15/1

3 .125

S t. S tephen's B eacon

S W 9 5 S E/4

H S

S W 9 5885434

1.6/1

3 .126

P o lmenor

S W 6 3 N W/14

H S

S W 6 1803850

3 .127

T ehidy P lantat ion

S W 6 4 S W/45

G r id R ef

S ite C ross R ef

S W 8 4875853 S W 7 4972380

S W 6 4364376

( Northcliff P lantat ion) 3 .128

H illdown C amp

S X 1 9 S W/13

H S

S X 1 4429315

3 .129

P ol h endra

S W 8 3 N E/39

H S

S W 8 6683618

3 .130

S tamford H ill

S S 2 0 N W/9

H S

S S 2 2750705

H S

S X 3 6108298

3 .131

L awhitton B arton

S X 3 8 S E/26

3 .132

H endra ( The R ound)

S W 6 2 S E/21

3 .133

F roxton W ood C ast le

S X 2 9 N E/2

H S

S X 2 5439970

3 .134

B rane

S W 4 2 N W/2

H S

S W 4 0402945

3 .135

T he B ow ling G reen

S X 2 9 N W/18

H S

S X 2 2429724

3 .136

G illan

S W 7 2 N E/28

H S

S W 7 8182525

3 .137

H alligye

S W 7 2 S W/36

H S

S W 7 1352395

3 .138

T rew innick

S X 0 8 N E/76

H S

3 .139

C rane G odrevy

S W 5 4 S E/31

3 .140

C oosewartha

S W 7 4 N W/42

3 .141

T ubby 's H ead

S W 6 5 S E/1

1.11/2

S W 6 7352388

H S

S X 0 8438780 S W 5 8924265

1 3;14

S W 7 1834682

1.14/1

S W 6 9825048

3 .142

P awton

S W 9 7 S E/42

H S

S W 9 5657050

1 2 .4

3 .143

T rethurgy

S X 0 5 N W/29

H S

S X 0 3475564

1 3;14

3 .144

S mall H ill F arm

S X 1 9 S E/25

H S

7409490 S X 1

1.17/1

3 .145

B odwen

S X 0 6 S E/34

H S

S X 0 6876112

1 3;14

3 .146

T renow in

S W 6 3 N W/5

H S

S W 6 0253865

3 .147

T ren se

S W 7 1 N W/72

3 .148

P o lh endra

S W 8 3 N E/17

3 .149

P engenna

S X 0 7 N E/2

H S

S X 0 5777846

H S

S W 7 5202154

S W 7 2061753 S W 8 6653635

3 .150

A nhay

S W 7 2 S E/24

3 .151

S t. P iran's R ound

S W 7 5 S E/11

S W 7 7895448

3 .152

S towe W ood

S S 2 1 S W/14

S S 2 2121143

3 .153

C rowpound

S X 1 6 N E/65

3 .154

T rewannion G ate

S X 1 8 N E/10

3 .155

G week

S W 7 2 N W/16

3 .156

C ast le M ennack

S W 5 3 S W/22

H S

S W 5 4043496

3 .157

B odenna

S W 8 5 N E/84

H S

S W 8 8065764

3 .158

G reat N ancekuke

S W 6 4 N E/11

S X 1 7436773 H S

S X 1 5238883 S W 7 0452620

S W 6 6654610

3 .159

H igher B esore

S W 7 4 S E/45

H S

S W 7 87447

3 .160

A berry

S S 2 1 S E/46

H S

S S 2 6791117 S X 0 2354280

3 .161

S ir H enry B odrugan's C ast le S X 0 4 S W/20

3 .162

T revissick

S W 7 4 N W/5

H S

0074800 S W 7

3 .163

W err ington P ark C ockpit

S X 3 8 N W/14

H S

S X 3 3638635

3 .164

H elstone R ound ( H igher B ury S X 0 8 S E/23

H S

S X 0 9338109

G round) 3 .165

W err ington H illfort

S X 3 8 N W/9

H S

S X 3 2678666

3 .166

S t. E noder

S W 8 5 N E/21

H S

S W 8 9625666

3 .167

R aginnis

S W 4 2 N E/45

H S

S W 4 5972615

3 .168

C ubert R ound

S W 7 5 N E/29

H S

S W 7 9595741

3 .169

T regearedown B eacon

S X 2 8 N W/13

H S

S X 2 4938678

1 21

1.11/1

1 .10/2

F IG 3 ( cont inued) N umber

S ite N ame

C CRA S MR N o

L oc

3 .170

G oongilling ( The R ound)

S W 7 2 N W/51

H S

S W 7 3462807

3 .171

C arw innion

S W 7 2 N E/40

H S

S W 7872825

3 .172

R oundbury

S X 2 6 N E/8

H S

S X 2 5546606

3 .173

T rebarfoot

S X 1 9 N E/3

3 .174

K ingswood

S X 1 6 N W/45

3 .175

S wannacott W ood

S X 2 9 N W/1

3 .176

T hreem ilestone ( Pendeen &

S W 7 4 S E/11

G r id R ef

S ite C ross R ef

S X 1 8679950 S X 1 0776631 H S

S X 2 4989817 S W 7 8644491

1 3;14

M ount P leasant) 3 .177

T revisker ( Tregear)

S W 8 6 N E/13

H S

S W 8 8726859

1 5.4; 1 3 ;14; 3 .27; 4 .14

3 .178

C astallack

S W 4 2 N W/166

3 .179

G ear

S W 5 3 S E/15

H S

S W 4 4822541 S W 5 7703444

3 .180

C ast le H ill

W/ 3 S X 0 4 S

S X 0 0044372

3 .181

T rengayor

S X 1 9 N E/18

3 .182

S hort lanesend

4 N S W 8 W/21

H S

S W 8 0504755

3 .183

A r iulwhidden

3 N S W 4 E/166

H S

S W 4 8743724

3 .184

T regullas

1 S S W 8 W/1

H S

S W 8 1434198

3 .185

B rayDown

S X 1 8 S E/42

H S

9068258 S X 1

3 .186

G oonhoskyn

S W 8 5 N E/26

H S

74574 S W 8

3 .187

P o lwyn

E/40 S W 6 2 S

3 .188

T rewern R ound

S W 4 W/167 3 S

H S

S W 4 3313197 S W 6 9443166

S X 1 7209777

1.1 . 6 /1 1.7/1

S W 6 9432370

3 .189

T rewavas

S W 6 3 S E/10

H S

3 .190

H igh C ross C amp

H S

3 .191

C allestock V eor

S W 7 2 N W/65 S W 7 5 S E/64

S W 7 4312895 S W 7 6875054

3 .192

T regullas

S W 8 4 S W/2

H S

S W 8 1444190

3 .193

G ummows S hop

S W 8 E/80 5 N

H S

S W 8 6795697

1.16/2

S X 0 5018851

3 .194

T intagel C hurch

S X 0 8 N E/13

3 .195

T resillian

S W 8 4 N E/39

3 .196

V eryan C ast le

S W 9 W/3 3 N

3 .197

G umbe lls

5 N E/78 S W 8

3 .198

G o ldherr ing

S W 4 W/23 2 N

H S

S W 4 1122821

1 2 .8;13;14

3 .199

N anco lleth

S W 8 E/69 5 N

H S

S W 8 5725747

1.15/3;12.5/3

3 .200

N anco lleth

H S

S W 8 5625743

1.15/2;12.5/2

3 .201

K illibury

E/70 S W 8 5 N W/47 S X 0 7 S

H S

S X 0 1907343

1.5/3;13;14

3 .202

T renance

S W 8 5 N W/20

H S

S W 8 3955715

3 .203

K erthen

S W 5 E/15 3 S

H S

S W 5 8403288

3 .204

B oswarthen

S W 4 W/11 2 N

H S

S W 4 0902901

3 .205

C rankan

S W 4 3 S E/13

H S

S W 4 6003424

3 .206

C hygw idden

S W 4 3 S W/187

H S

S W 4 1543103

3 .207

T regair

S W 8 W/26 5 N

H S

S W 8 2105854

3 .208

L argin C ast le

E/11 S X 1 6 S

3 .209

T remayne

W/71 2 N S W 7

H S

S W 7 2912560

3 .210

W inwood C astle

W/19 S S 2 1 S

H S

4861109 S S 2

3 .211

M erther U ny

S W 7 2 N W/3

H S

S W 7 0342932

3 .212

K ern s R oundago

S W 4 2 N W/81

H S

S W 4 4502724

H S

S W 8 6694656 S W 9 0903990 S W 8 6905762

65 1 5 359 S X 1

3 .213

C arburrow T or

E/69 S X 1 7 S

H S

5467050 S X 1

3 .214

Z elah H ill

S W 8 5 S W/44

H S

S W 8 1935260

3 .215

T relan

W/20 S W 7 1 N

3 .216

G arras

W/8 S W 8 4 N

H S

S W 8 1904898

3 .217

T refronick

3 .218

H igher L esneague

S W 8 5 S W/59 S W 7 E/42 2 S

H S H S

S W 8 2515231 S W 7 6922214

3 .219

T revean

3 N S W 4 W/24

H S

S W 4 1323530

3 .220

L anyon

3 S S W 4 W/94

H S

S W 4 3153357

182

1.2/2

1 3;14

S W 7 3091941 5 231

F IG 4 C ONCENTRIC E NCLOSURES N umber

S ite N ame

C CRA S MR N o

4 .1

W arbstow B ury

S X 2 9 S W/3

4 .2

C ast le a n D inas

S W 9 6 S W/22

4 .3

K illibury

4 .4

T regeare R ounds ( Dame liock

L oc

G r id R ef

S ite C ross R ef

S

S X 2 0129077

9 .12

H

S W 9 45624

9 .13;13;14;15.1

S X 0 7 S W/5

H

S X 0 1867365

5 .3;11.5/2;13;14

S X 0 8 S W/3

H S

S X 0 3338003

5 .2;13;14 5 .1;7.4

C ast le) 4 .5

C aer D ane

S W 7 5 S E/28

H

S W 7 77521

4 .6

R ound W ood

S W 8 4 S W/17

C

S W 8 3704305

4 .7

T rer ingey

S W 8 6 S W/1

H S

S W 8 1146037

4 .8

T revibban

S W 9 6 N W/68

H S

S W 9 1006920

4 .9

R estorme l

S X 1 6 S W/47

S

S X 1 0256108

4 .10

B lacketon

S X 2 6 S W/11

H

S X 2 93601

4 .11

P rospidnick

S W 6 3 S E/3

H

S W 6 54312

4 .12

T reloweth

S W 9 5 S E/93

H S

S W 9 8605033

4 .13

B ury C amp

S X 1 5 N E/1

H S

S X 1 88594

4 .14

T revisker ( Tregear)

S W 8 6 N E/13

H S

S W 8 8726859

4 .15

T revado

S W 4 2 N E/15

4 .16

C ast le a n D inas

S W 4 3 N E/177

4 .17

R eaw la L ane

S W 6 3 N W/23

H S

S W 6 0503630

4 .18

H igher D emain

S W 9 4 S W/1

H S

S W 9 0694270

4 .19

T resawson

S W 7 4 N E/19

H S

S W 7 8414953

4 .20

S t. D ennis C hurchyard

S W 9 5 N E/1

4 .21

S m ith 's T enement

S X 0 7 S E/11

4 .22

C hun C ast le

S W 4 3 S W ' 1 17

4 .23

E ngelly

S W 8 5 S W/2

4 .24

C argurra C amp ( Berry R ing)

S X 1 9 S W/15

H S

S X 1 3069201

4 .25

V eryan C ast le

S W 9 3 N W/3

H S

S W 9 0903880

4 .26

C ast le G otha

S X 0 4 N W/7

H S

S X 0 2764964

1 3;3.51;5.27;11.4

4 .27

K est le R ings

S X 2 8 S E/1

H S

S X 2 8968464

5 .15

4 .28

C am nL es B oe l

S W 3 2 S E/17

S W 3 5702327

1 0 .4

4 .29

T he R umps

S W 9 8 S W/1

S W 9 33811

1 0 .3;13;14;15.3

4 .30

T o lcroggan

S W 8 5 S W/38

H S

S W 8 1205124

1 2 .7

C CRA S MR N O

L oc

G r id R ef

S ite C ross R ef

5 .37;9 .22;8 .5

3 .27;3.177;13; 1 4;15.4

( Kerrowangilly)

S W 4 5192823 S W 4 8483500

S W 9 5075832 H S

S X 0 9247083 S W 4 0503395

1 3;14

S W 8 0475269

5 .29

F IG 5 E NCLOSURES W ITH A NNEXES N umber

S ite N ame

5 .1

C aer D ane

S W 7 5 S E/28

H

S W 77521

4 .5;7.4

5 .2

T regeare R ounds ( Dameliock

S x 0 8 S W/3

H S

S X 0 3338003

4 .4;13;14

5 .3

K illibury

S X 0 7 S W/5

S X 0 1867365

4 .3;11.5/2;13;14

5 .4

P r ideaux

S X 0 5 N E/58

S X 0 59556

C ast le) ( Ke lly R ounds)

H S

S X 0 5846995

9 .11

S W 7 8255251

7 .5

5 .5

P enhargard C ast le

S X 0 6 N E/1

5 .6

C aer K ief

S W 7 5 S E/25

5 .7

S t. N onna's C amp

W/26 S X 2 5 N

5 .8

L anner

S W 8 4 N W/4

H S

S W 8 2204973

5 .9

K est le

E/18 S W 8 5 S

H S

S W 8 8225001

5 .10

B ake R ings

S X 1 5 S E/30 H S

S W 7 2552455

S X 2 2455602

S X 1 87549

5 .11

C aer V allack

W/45 S W 7 2 S

5 .12

H ammett

W/16 S X 3 6 N

H S

S X 3 2236592

5 .13

F ord

E/47 S X 0 6 S

H S

S X 0 8526302

5 .14

H elsbury C ast le

E/26 S X 0 7 N

1 23

S X 0 83795

1.9/1

F IG 5 ( continued) N umber

S ite N ame

C CRA S MR N o

5 .15

K est le R ings

5 .16

B erry C ast le

5 .17

G r id R ef

S ite C ross R ef

S X 2 8 S E/1

S X 2 8968464

4 .27

S X 1 6 N E/17

S X 1 9706895

7 .10

R esugga C ast le

S W 9 W/54 5 S

S W 9 4015104

5 .18

P erdredda

S X 3 W/5 5 N

H S

S X 3 3705630

5 .19

B att le R ing

S X 3 8 S W/14

H S

S X 3 1908055

5 .20

T regear

S W 8 5 S E/15

H S

S W 8 6305034

5 .21

L ower H e lland W ood

S X 0 E/9 7 S

H S

S X 0 6107025

5 .22

C ast le K ay le

S W 5 E/192 3 N

H S

S W 5 8353565

5 .23

T revoale

S W 8 W/21 5 N

5 .24

R oundbury

W/20 S X 3 7 S

5 .25

F iddlers G reen

S W 8 W/5 5 S

5 .26

B ury C amp

S X 4 W/11 6 N

5 .27

C astle G off

S X 0 8 S E/15

5 .28

C ast le G otha

S X 0 W/7 4 N

5 .29

E ngelly

S W 8 5 S W/2

5 .30

M erthen

S W 7 2 N W/69

5 .31

T redinnick

S W 9 W/8 7 S

S W 9 2347104

1 5 .2

5 .32

H all

S X 2 W/23 5 N

S X 2 14555

6 .2;9 .17;8 .4

S X 1 6896457

6 .1;9 .18;8 .2

S X 0 3987001

6 .4;9.19 ;8.1 9 .20;8 .3;13;14

( Kerrowangilly)

R ings

L oc

S W 8 2705784 S X 3 1187252 H S

S W 8 1555480 S X 4 0176865 S X 0 8318260

H S H S

S X 0 2764964

3 .51;4 .26 ;13;14

S W 8 0475269

4 .23

S W 7 31266

9 .15;8 .6

5 .33

L argin C ast le

S X 1 6 S E/2

5 .34

P encarrow R ings

S X 0 W/21 7 S

5 .35

C ast le D ore

W/1 S X 1 5 S

S X 1 0355453

5 .36

B ury C ast le

S X 1 6 N W/23

S X 1 3536962

6 .3;9.21

5 .37

B lacketon

S X 2 E/11 6 S

S X 2 93601

4 .10;9 .22;8 .5

G r id R ef

S ite C ross R ef

H S

F IG 6 E NCLOSURES W ITH O UTWORKS S ite N ame

C CRA S MR N o

6 .1

L argin C ast le

S X 1 6 S E/2

S

S X 1 6896457

5 .33;9 .18;8 .2

6 .2

H all

S X 2 5 N W/23

S

S X 2 14555

5 .32;9 .17;8 .4

6 .3

B ury C ast le

S X 1 6 N W/23

S

S X 1 3536962

5 .36;9 .21

6 .4

P encarrow R ings

S X 0 7 S W/21

H S

S X 0 3987001

5 .34;9 .19 ;8 .1

N umber

R ings

L oc

OR E NCLOSURES MISCELLANEOUS) A ND T F IG 7 E NCLOSURES W ITH O UTWORKS ( N umber

S ite N ame

C CRA S MR N o

L oc

G r id R ef

S ite C ross R ef 1 0 .1;13;14

7 .1

T revelgue

S W 8 6 S W/5

C

S W 8 2516304

7 .2

T reryn D inas

S W 3 2 S E/34

C

9742212 S W 3

1 0 .2

7 .3

A shbury C amp

S X 2 9 N W/7

H

2799747 S X 2

9 .14

7 .4

C aer D ane

S X 7 5 S E/28

H

S W 77521

4 .5;5.1

7 .5

C aer K ief

S W 7 5 S E/25

H

S W 7 8255251

5 .6

7 .6

C am nB rea

S W 6 4 S E/113

H

S W 6 87408

1 3;14;7.12

T OR E NCLOSURES 7 .7

S towe's P ound

S X 2 7 S E/17

H

S X 2 5787247

7 .8

H elman's T or

S X 0 6 S E/38

H

S X 0 6136165

7 .9

T rencrom

S W 5 3 N W/25

H

S W 5 1773620

7 .10

B erry C ast le

S X 1 6 N E/17

H

S X 1 9706895

7 .11

R oughtor

S X 1 8 S W/77

H

S X 1 4728087

7 .12

C am nB rea

S W 6 4 S E/113

H

S W 6 87408

1 84

5 .16 7 .6;13;14

F IG 8 D ISTRIBUTION O F D EPENDENT E NCLOSURES N umber

S ite N ame

C CRA S MR N o

L oc H S

G rid R ef

S ite C ross R ef

8 .1

P encarrow R ings

S X 0 7 S W/21

S X 0 3987001

6 .4;9 .19;5.34

8 .2

L argin C ast le

S X 1 6 S E/2

S X 1 6896457

6 .1;9 .18;5.33

8 .3

C ast le D ore

S X 1 5 S W/1

S X 1 0355453

9 .20;13;14

8 .4

H all

S X 2 5 N W/23

S X 2 14555

6 .2;9 .17;5.32

8 .5

B lacketon

S X 2 6 S E/11

S X 2 93601

4 .10:9 .22;5.37

8 .6

M erthen

S W 7 2 N W/69

S W 7 31266

9 .15;5.30

G r id R ef

S ite C ross R ef

R ings

H S

F IG 9 M ULTIVALLATE E NCLOSURES W ITH C LOSE S PACED R AMPARTS N umber

S ite N ame

C CRA S MR N o

9 .1

C ast le C anyke

S X 0 6 N E/25

H

S X 0 8556580

9 .2

S t . S tephen's B eacon

S W 9 5 S E/5

H

S W 9 6005450

1.6/2

S X 0 59556

5 .4

L oc

( Car loggas) 9 .3

P r ideaux

5 N S X 0 E/58

9 .4

T okenbury ( Roundabury)

S X 2 7 S E/47

9 .5

P adderbury T op

S X 3 6 S W/5

S X 3 1406105

1.1/2

9 .6

C ast le P encaire

S W 5 3 S E/57

S W 5 9953005

1.3/1;12.10/1

9 .7

D ingerein C ast le

S W 8 3 N E/11

S W 8 8183752

9 .8

C arnsew

S W 5 3 N E/215

S W 5 5643713

9 .9

C aer B ran

S W 4 2 N W/8

S W 4 0752903

9 .10

N ance

S W 6 4 S E/3

S W 6 6424495

9 .11

P enhargard C ast le

S X 0 E/1 6 N

S X 0 5846995

5 .5

9 .12

W arbstow B ury

S X 2 W/3 9 S

S X 2 0129077

4 .1

9 .13

C ast le a n D inas

S W 9 6 S W/22

S W 9 45624

4 .2;13;14;15.1

9 .14

A shbury C amp

W/7 S X 2 9 N

S X 2 2799747

7 .3

9 .15

M erthen

S W 7 2 N W/69

9 .16

C ast le a n D inas

9 .17 9 .18

H S

H S

S X 2 8627055

1.2/1

S W 7 31266

5 .30;8.6

S W 4 3 N E/177

S W 4 8483500

4 .16

H all R ings

S X 2 5 N W/23

S X 2 14555

5 .32 ;6 .2;8 .4

L argin C ast le

E/2 S X 1 6 S

S X 1 6896457

5 .33;6 .1;8.2

9 .19

P encarrow R ings

S X 0 7 S W/21

S X 0 3987001

6 .4;5.34;8.1;9.19

9 .20

C ast le D ore

S X 1 5 S W/1

S X 1 0355453

5 .35;8 .3;13;14

9 .21

B ury C astle

6 N S X 1 W/23

S X 1 3536962

6 .3;5.36

9 .22

B lacketon

6 S E/11 S X 2

S X 2 93601

4 .10;5.37;8 .5

F IG 1 0

H S

M ULTIVALLATE C LIFF C LASTLES W ITH C LOSE S PACED R AMPARTS G r id R ef

S ite C ross R ef

S W 8 6 S W/5

S W 8 2516304

7 .1;13;14

S W 3 2 S E/34

S W 3 9742212

7 .2

S W 9 8 S W/1

S W 9 33811

4 .29;13;14;15.3 4 .28

N umber

S ite N ame

C CRA S MR N o

1 0 .1

T reve lgue T reryn

1 0 .2

H S

P inas

L oc

1 0 .3

T he R umps

1 0 .4

C am nL es B oe l

S W 3 2 S E/17

S W 3 5702327

1 0 .5

C rane C ast le

S W 6 4 S W/42

S W 6 3504405

1 0 .6

T reyarnon ( W ine C ove)

S W 8 7 S E/1

S W 8 54737

1 0 .7

inas)SW 4 3 N W/151 G urnards H ead ( Treryn D

S W 4 3253851 S W 8 4156647

1 0 .8

G r iff in P oint

S W 8 6 N W/28

1 0 .9

B lack H ead

S X 0 4 N W/14

S X 0 3954800

1 0 .10

K enidjack

S W 3 3 S E/118

5553258 S W 3

1 0 .11

R edc liff

S W 8 6 N W/1

S W 8 49696

1 0 .12

C hynhalls

S W 7 1 N E/29

S W 7 8551740

1 0 .13

P enhale

S W 7 5 N E/2

S W 7 5915897

1 0 .14

M aen C astle ( Mayon)

S W 3 2 N W/3

S W 3 4762577

1 0 .15

P ark H ead

S W 8 7 S W/8

S W 8 415708 , ,

C ast le

1 5

1 3;14

1 2 .3;13;14

F IG 1

A DJACENT E NCLOSURES

N umber

S ite N ame

C CRA S MR N o

L oc

G r id R ef

S ite C ross R ef

1.1/1

P adderbury

S X 3 6 S W/9

H S

S X 3 1286094

1.1/2

P adderbury T op

S X 3 6 S W/5

H

S X 3 1406105

1.2/1

C aer B ran

S W 4 2 N W/8

H

S W 4 0752903

9 .9

1.2/2

B oswarthen

S W 4 2 N W/11

H S

S W 4 0902901

3 .204

1.3/1

C ast le P encaire

S W 5 3 S E/57

H

S W 5 9953005

9 .6;12.10/1

1.3/2

T regonning N orth

S W 6 3 S W/2

H S

S W 6 0173032

3 .65;12 .10/2

1.3/3

T regonning S outh

S W 6 3 S W/3

H S

S W 6 0283003

3 .62;12 .10/3

1.4

C ast le G otha

S X 0 4 N W/7

H S

S X 0 2764964

5 .28;4.26;3 .51;13;14

1.5/1

T regilders

S X 0 7 S W/7

H S

S X 0 1797412

3 .59;13;14

1.5/2

K illibury

S X 0 7 S W/5

H

S X 0 1867365

5 .3;4.3;13;14

1.5/3

K illibury

S X 0 7 S W/47

H S

S X 0 1907343

3 .201

1.6/1

S t. S tephen's B eacon

S W 9 5 S E/4

H S

S W 9 5885434

3 .125

1.6/2

S t. S tephen's B eacon

S W 9 5 S E/5

H

S W 9 6005450

9 .2

H S

S W 8 74574

3 .186

S W 8 7695731

2 .18

9 .5

( Car loggas) 1.7/1

G oonhoskyn

S W 8 E/26 5 N

1.7/2

G oonhoskyn

S W 8 E/15 5 N

G ur lyn N orth

S W 5 3 S E/113

H S

S W 5 73325

3 .35

G ur lyn S outh

S W 5 3 S E/114

H S

S W 5 7333258

3 .36 ,

B osence

S W 5 3 S E/40

H S

S W 5 7583250

3 .83;13;14

L anner

S W 8 4 N W/4

H S

S W 8 2204973

5 .8

1.9/2

L anner

S W 8 W/57 4 N

H S

S W 8 2355968

3 .66

1.10/1

B odenna

S W 8 E/84 5 N

H S

8065764 S W 8

3 .157

T rew innion

S W 8 5 N E/27

H S

S W 8 8045759

3 .108

1.11/1

P o lhendra

S W 8 3 N E/17

S W 8 6653635

3 .148

1.11/2

P o lhendra

S W 8 3 N E/39

S W 8 6683618

3 .129

P enscawn

S W 8 5 N E/58

H S

S W 8 7105515

3 .94

P enscawn

S W 8 5 N E/49

H S

S W 8 7215523

3 .73

R oseworthy

W/91 S W 6 3 N

H S

S W 6 1943913

3 .90;12/9/1

R oseworthy

W/15 3 N S W 6

H S

S W 6 2043908

3 .68;12.9/2

C oosewartha

S W 7 4 N W/42

H S

S W 7 1834682

3 .140

C oosewartha

4 N W/41 S W 7

H S

S W 7 1905675

3 .64

1.15/1

N anco lleth

5 N S W 8 E/6

H S

S W 8 5575734

3 .124

1.15/2

N anco lleth

5 N E/70 S W 8

H S

S W 8 5625743

3 .200

N anco lleth

5 N E/69 S W 8

H S

S W 8 5725747

3 .199 3 .184

1.8/1 1.8/2 1.8/3 1.9/1

1.10/2

1.12/1 1.12/2 1.13/1 1.13/2 1.14/1 1.14/2

1.15/3 1.16/1

T regullas

4 S W/1 S W 8

H S

S W 8 1434198

1.16/2

T regullas

S W 8 W/2 4 S

H S

S W 8 1444190

3 .192

H S

S X 1 7409490

3 .144

E/29 S X 1 9 S

H S

7389489 S X 1

C CRA S MR N o

L ac

1.17/1 1.17/2 F IG 1 2

S mall H ill F arm S mall H ill

F arm

9 S E/25 S X 1

F IELDS A ND E NCLOSURES

N umber

S ite

N ame

1 2 .1/1

W hitecross

S W 8 5 N E/54

1 2 .1/2

F ields a t W hitecross

S W 9 5 N W/54

1 2 .2

P o lstain

S W 7 4 S E/10

1 2 .3

M aen C ast le ( Mayon)

S W 3 2 N W/3

1 2 .4

P awton

S W 9 7 S E/42

1 2 .5/1

N anco lleth

S W 8 5 N E/6

1 2 .5/2

N anco lleth

( Tresithney)

G r id R ef

S ite C ross R ef

H S

S W 8 9745974

3 .50

H S

S W 9 03597

H S

S W 7 8274445 S W 3 4762577

1 0.14;13;14

H S

S W 9 5657050

3 .42

H S

S W 8 5575734

1.15/1

S W 8 5 N E/70

H S

S W 8 5625743

3 .200

1 2 .5/3

N anco lleth

S W 8 5 N E/69

H S

S W 8 5725747

3 .199

1 2 .6

G ramb la

S W 6 2 N E/7

H S

S W 6 9272835

1 2;14;3 .55

1 2 .7

T olcroggan

S W 8 5 S W/38

H S

S W 8 1205121, 4 .30

1 86

F IG 1 2 ( continued) N umber

S ite N ame

C CRA S MR N o

1 2 .8

G oldherr ing

S W 4 2 N W/23

1 2 .9/1

R oseworthy

S W 6 3 N W/91

1 2 .9/2

R oseworthy

S W 6 3 N W/15

1 2 .10/1

C ast le P encaire

1 2 .10/2

G r id R ef

S ite C ross R ef

H S

S W 4 1122821

3 .198;13;14

H S

S W 6 1943913

3 .90;11.13/1

H S

S W 6 2043908

3 .68;11.13/2

S W 5 3 S E/57

H

S W 5 9953005

1.3/1;9 .6

T regonning N orth

S W 6 3 S W/2

H S

S W 6 0173032

3 .65;11.3/2

1 2 .10/3

T regonning S outh

S W 6 3 S W/3

H S

S W 6 0283003

3 .62;11.3/3

1 2 .11/1

P orthmeor

S W 4 3 N W/74

H S

S W 4 3443709

3 .95;13;14

1 2 .11/2

T reen

S W 4 3 N W/79

H S

S W 4 3723720

F IG 1 3

E XCAVATED E NCLOSURES - C HRONOLOGY

F IG 1 4

E XCAVATED E NCLOSURES - A REA E XCAVATED

E xcavation

C CRA S MR N o

M aen C astle

S W 3 2 N W/3

B odr ifty

3 N S W 4 W/105

C ast le D ore C hun C ast le

L oc

G rid R ef

L oc

S ite C ross R ef

R eference

S W 3 4762577

1 0.14;12.3

C rofts,

1 955

S W 4 4503544

3 .24

D udley,

1 956

S X 1 5 S W/1

S X 1 0355453

8 .3;9 .20;5.35

R adford,

S W 4 3 S W/117

S W 4 0503395

4 .22

L eeds,

T homas, 1 956 M iles e t a l, 1 977

H S

1 951

1 927,

1 931

K i llibury

S X 0 7 S W/5

S X 0 1867365

5 .3;4.3;11.5/2

T revelgue

S W 8 W/5 6 S

S W 8 2516304

7 .1;10.1

D unning,

G urnards H ead

S W 4 3 N W/151

S W 4 3253851

1 0.7

G ordon,

T regeare R ounds

S W 0 W/3 8 S

S X 0 3338003

5 .2;4.4

B ar ing G ou ld,

1 904

C astle a n D inas

S W 9 6 S W/22

S W 9 45624

9 .13;4.2;15.1

W ailes,

1 964,1965

T he R umps

S W 9 8 S W/1

S W 9 33811

4 .29;10.3;15.3

B rooks,1964,1966,1968,

B odwen

S X 0 6 S E/34

H S

S X 0 6876112

3 .145

H arr is e t a l,

1 977

C am nB rea

S W 6 4 S E/113

H

S W 6 87408

7 .6

M ercer,

1 971

T hreem ilestone

S W 7 4 S E/11

H S

S W 7 8644491

3 .176

S chw ieso,

T revisker I

S W 8 6 N E/13

H S

S W 8 8726859

3 .177;4.14;

A p S imon & G reenfie ld,

1 5.4

1 972

S W 7 0342932

3 .211

T homas,

S W 8 7356562

2 .13

T hreip land,

S X 0 2764964

aunders, 1 961, 4 .26;5.27;3.51; S

H S

1 949 1 940 1 963,

1 974

1 972,

1 970,

1 973,

D udley, T revisker I

S W 8 6 N E/13

H S

M erther U ny

S W 7 2 N W/3

H S

C ar lo ggas

S W 8 6 N E/25

C astle G otha

S X 0 4 N W/7

H S

1 981

1 976;

1 968

1 968 1 956 1 963

1.4 S W 4 3443709

3 .95;12.11/1

H irst,

S W 5 8924265

3 .139

T homas,

H S

S X 0 1797412

3 .59;11.5/1

T rudigan,

S W 9 4 N W/45

H S

S W 9 1884828

2 .7

D ouch & B eard,

G o ldherr ing

S W 4 2 N W/23

H S

S W 4 1122821

3 .198;12.8

G uthr ie,

C arwarthen

S W 8 3 N W/11

H S

S W 8 4953753

3 .116

O pie,

N anstallon

S X 0 6 N W/6

H S

3436700 S X 0

3 .33

F ox & R avenhil1,1972

C ar li dnack

S W 7 2 N E/42

H S

S W 7 8252935

3 .44

H arr is & J ohnson,1976

T revinnick

S X 0 7 N W/20

H S

S X 0 08787

3 .43

F ox & R avenhil1,1969

S hort lanesend

S W 8 4 N W/21

H S

S W 8 0504755

3 .182

H arr is,

G ramb la

S W 6 2 N E/7

H S

9272835 S W 6

3 .55;12.6

S aunders,

B osence

S W 5 3 S E/40

H S

S W 5 7503250

1.8/3;3.83

B or lase,

T rethurgy

S X 0 5 N W/29

H S

3475564 S X 0

3 .143

M iles & M iles,

P orthmeor

S W 4 3 N W/74

C rane G odrevy

S W 5 4 S E/31

T regilders

S X 0 7 S W/7

C arvossa

H S

127

1 936 1 969 1 977 1 970

1 969

1 939

1 979 1 972 1 769 1 973

E XCAVATIONS N OT I LLUSTRATED O N F IGS 1 3 a nd 1 4 E xcavation

C CRA S MR N o

L oc

G r id R ef

S ite C ross R ef

R eference

K ilhallon

S X 0 5 S E/31

H S

S X 0 7325494

K estle R ings

S X 2 8 S E/1

H S

S X 2 8968464

4 .27; 5 .15

P eter,

T reveneague

S W 5 3 S W/122

H S

S W 5 4713303

3 .118

B light,

H all i gye

S W 7 2 S W/36

H S

S W 7 1352395

3 .137

S tartin p ers c omm

T intagel

S X 0 8 N E/1

C ar lyon,

S X 0 50891

1 976

1 902

R adford,

1 867 1 935;

B urrow,

1 973;

T homas,

1 981

S W 9 5 N E/1

H

S W 9 5075832

4 .20

T homas,

1 965

C arthamartha W ood S X 3 7 N E/6

H S

S X 3 7757825

3 .30

C roft A ndrew ,

S t. D ennis

F IG 1 5

M ULTIPHASE E NCLOSURES

N umber

S ite N ame

C CRA S MR N o

L oc

1 5.1

C astle a n D inas

S W 9 6 S W/22

1 5.2

T redinnick

S W 9 7 S W/8

1 5.3

T he R umps

1 5.4

T revisker

1 951

G r id R ef

S ite C ross R ef

H

S W 9 45624

9 .13;13;14;4 .2

H S

S W 9 2347104

5 .31

S W 9 8 S W/1

C

S W 9 33811

4 .29;13;14;10.3

S W 8 6 N E/13

H S

S W 8 8726859

3 .177;3.27;4 .14;15.4

1 RR

b o u n d a r y

0

C o r n w a l :

a ) L C

1 4 1

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o

C1 H

U ) W 4J

( n • H I M r C U ) a )

( E D c u 4 — ) 0

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c n rC

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( 5 ) t n 0 r tH

W

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W

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1 90 e n c l o s u r e

1 91

U n i v a l a t e E n c l o s u r e s h e c t a r e ,

e n c l o s u r e

1 92

S e t e x t

w i t h A n e x e s

L T ,

19 3

E n c l o s u r e s w i t h O u t w o r k s

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soil marks visible on a erial photographs o f the area a round Copse Farm, Oving, a bout two miles east o f Chichester. All on a narrow s trip o f l ow-lying, f reshwater a lluvium, these s oil marks ( which correspond t o ditches) define a s eries o f enclosures, l inked by trackways ( Fig 2 ). The great importance o f these s oil-mark s ites i s that s o f ar they are the only group known on the Coastal P lain i n S ussex Preliminary investigations o f these s ites were undertaken ( Bedwin 1 981a) during 1 980 ( Fig 2 ). Large-scale excavation o f one o f the enclosure complexes ( Trench B ) r evealed a s mall, r ectangular enclosure within a more extensive enclos ure, dated by the pottery to the Late I ron Age, with a l ittle overlap i nto Roman t imes. B esides a bundant pottery f inds, there were l arge quantities o f bone, charcoal, burnt f lint, daub and s lag, thus indicating a s ettlement, a lthough the only f eature which could be interpreted a s a hut ( a c ircular r ing-gulley), l ay j ust outside the enclosure. B edwin has s uggested that the enclosure may b e ' a ' workingenclosure', perhaps for farmyard-type a ctivities and s malls cale i ndustrial use.' I f s o , i t i s possible that t he main area o f hut s ites may be to the north and east o f the a rea a lready excavated. The small Trench C indicated that the focus o f s ettlement in this a rea was Roman. Further work i s planned a t this group o f enclosures. Already the excavat ions have d emonstrated that the f irst permanent s ettlement o f this l ow-lying area, which n ecessitated considerable drainage s chemes, can be dated to the L ate I ron Age, with continuity into the Roman period. The l ack o f known early Saxon s ettlement in the locality perhaps indicates t hat the r egion was l argely abandoned until the Later Saxon period. Cunliffe ( 1973, 1 24-5) has s tressed the i mportance o f s alt to the economy o f this r egion during the I ron Age and Roman period. As y et no s alt-working s ite o f e ither period has b een excavated, except a t Chidham ( Bedwin 1 980a) where coastal erosion had destroyed most o f the s ite. A u seful ' Gazetteer o f I ron Age s ites on the Coastal P lain in Sussex' i s to be found a s an a ppendix in the North B ersted r eport ( Bedwin and Pitts 1 978). From this gazetteer i t can be s een that S elsey B ill s tands out a s an area particularly r ich in I ron Age f inds. The s ame i s true for the Roman period, a lthough perhaps in this case there i s n o r eason to believe that this picture i s not r epresentative o f the P lain a s a whole ( Pitts 1 979, 8 0). Unfortunately much o f S elsey has been eroded by the s ea, and c learly excavation h ere r emains a h igh priority in the f uture. b .

The

Downs

There have b een s everal r ecent e xcavations which h ave y ielded evidence for I ron Age occupation. At S lonk H ill, Shoreham ( Hartridge 1 978) a s mall unenclosed I ron Age s ettlement, dated 6th to 1 st c entury B C provided evidence

2 72

• •

T rackway >

r—

u . s i t em i9 3 9 -4 5 F e a d i o r n ae s

T rench D

T rench A

O ld wood land b oundary

P c '

6

1 00

Figure

2 .

Copse Farm, s ettlement

Oving.

2 73

Iron Age

2 00 Me tres

and Romano-British

f or domestic occupation, farming and metalworking. The f inds s how that sheep, cattle and pigs occurred in that order o f frequency throughout the Iron Age. Although hunting was not extensively practised, the frequent occurrence o f s hellfish r emains shows that the s ea was an important source o f food. On the basis o f the lack o f Later I ron Age f inds the excavator concludes that ' from a bout 1 00 B C until the Roman occupation the area was either deserted or farmed from elsewhere' ( Hartridge 1 978, 9 3). At the multiperiod s ite at B ishopstone ( Bell 1 977) three broad Iron Age phases are represented: a primary unenclosed phase, then an enclosed s ettlement, followed by a Late Iron Age unenclosed phase. The data s uggest that the I ron Age was a t ime o f fairly intensive, perhaps cont inuous occupation, but a s B ell stresses, the dating o f material belonging to this period ' is so coarse that a gap o f a c entury might well go undetected' ( Bell 1 977, 1 34). A mixture o f arable and pastoral activities was the basis o f the economy, the principal domestic animals being cattle, s heep/goat, horse and pig. Cattle throughout the period would have produced the greater meat weight, a lthough ' there i s some evidence that sheep increased in r elative importance towards the end o f the Iron Age' ( Bell 1 977, 1 35). Other important aspects o f the economy were the exploitation o f the n earby marine e nvironment, some hunting, and a s eries o f productive and craft activities ( Bell 1 977, 1 35). The Roman Conquest does not appear to have resulted in any s udden change and Bell notes a substantial measure o f continuity between the Late Iron Age and early Romano-British s ettlements, this being ' reflected both by the area in which f eatures were found, and the continuance o f Late I ron Age pottery fabrics and forms into the Roman-British period ( Bell 1 977, 1 87). Another demonstration o f continuity has been shown by an intense study of a block of Downland at Bullock Down Farm, Eastbourne ( Drewett 1 982). Fieldwork has demonstrated that many o f the s urviving archaeological f ield systems and trackways on this farm had been established by the Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age and continued in use during the Romano-British period, when they were considerably developed and expanded. Unfortunately we know very l ittle r egarding the occupation o f Bullock Down during the Late I ron Age, but there are a f ew indications o f some form o f activity, including the discovery o f two Iron Age coins ( one being a Potin coin found in a lynchet), and the discovery at the two known Romano-British occupation s ites o f pottery types which belong to the late I ron Age-early Roman period. Thus, a lthough i t i s possible that the Romano-British s ettlement pattern on Bullock Down was a lready in existence by AD 4 3, the evidence i s not conclusive and one cannot rule out the possibilities o f either and as yet undiscovered Late I ron Age s ettlement s ite, or phases o f a hiatus in the occupat ion o f a ll, or part o f the Down. With r egard to the l atter it i s important to note one o f the main genera_ points to emerge from the Bullock Down study viewed as a whole, that

2 74

i s

an e lement o f

discontinuity

o f

s ettlement

( Drewett

1 982).

During 1 980 investigations a t the s ite o f the known Romano-British t emple on Lancing Down ( Bedwin 1 981b) a gain raised the question o f possible continuity f rom the Late I ron Age into the Roman period. Adjacent to the t emple were d iscovered traces o f a s mall, s quare wooden s tructure, a ' shrine', which y ielded potsherds probably o f an immediat ely pre-Conquest date. ROMAN RURAL S ETTLEMENT Cunliffe ( 1973, 7 4) emphasises t wo characteristics o f the r ural s ettlement pattern o f the Regni: the ' strong e lement o f continuity' mentioned a bove and ' a very marked discrepancy i n wealth which a ppears dramatically within thirty y ears o f the Roman i nvasion and r emains a f eature o f the s ocial s cene until the early d ecades o f the f ifth c entury.' Cunliffe a lso s tresses that the r elative distribution o f r ich and poor s ettlement i s not random, the poorer establishments - ' the peasant farms and villages' - being fairly evenly s pread over the Downs and Coastal P lain, while the r icher f arms - ' the villas' - t end to be l ocated where the s oil i s more productive, principally in three main zones, the Coastal P lain, the s outhern f ringes o f the Downs, and the Upper Greensand r idge at the f oot o f the Downs. S ince 1 973 a n umber o f Roman rural s ites o f various types have been investigated and s everal previously excavated s ites prepared for publication. Where a pplicable this n ew data i s now u sed to investigate various a spects o f Roman r ural s ettlement in Sussex, paying particular attention to the main conclusions arrived a t by Cunliffe ( 1973). THE EARLY

' IMPOSED'

VILLAS

One o f the most s triking f eatures o f the Roman s ettlement pattern in Sussex i s the a ppearance before the end o f the f irst c entury o f a group o f l arge, s umptuous villas, ' a phenomenon which distinguishes the Regni from most o ther tribes o f Britain' ( Cunliffe 1 973, 7 4). So far f ive e xamples o f this c ategory o f villa are known: F ishborne, Angmering, Southwick, Eastbourne and P ulborough, but o f these only that a t F ishbourne has been i nvestigated on any s cale under modern conditions and published ( Cunliffe 1 971). The only other r ecent publication o f any o f the villas i s a r eprint o f Thomas Sutton's 1 952 s ummary o f known r ecords a bout the Eastbourne villa, together with an a dditional s upplement and i llustrations which a re a imed to h elp ' clear up various o bscurities and present t he entire s ubject in a wider s etting' ( Stevens and Gilbert 1 973). This group o f early villas a ppear to have been ' imposed' on the Late I ron Age s ettlement pattern and are presumably a r eflection o f the f avourable political and economic c limate in the c lient kingdom o f the Regni ( Bell 1 976, 2 51). I t i s a lso a ssumed that the villas were owne r by members o f the l ocal a ristocracy and not by i mmigrant l and owners

2 75

( Cunliffe 1 973, 7 9). The s ource o f wealth which was n ecessary f or the construction o f s uch f ine masonry b uildings i s unknown, though s ources in addition t o t hose gained f rom farming are l ikely, possibilities p erhaps i ncluding: i nvolvement in the e xploitation o f Wealdon I ron ( Down 1 978a, 5 6), s alt production ( Rudling 1 979, 3 44) and s tone quarrying ( it i s perhaps worth n oting that the Eastbourne villa i s s ituated n ear an o utcrop o f Greensand which was quarried and u sed f or t he building o f P evensey Castle). The s ize o f the individual villa estates i s a lso unknown, but i t has been pointed o ut that the s pacing o f t he villas may be s ignificant, with each being s ituated on a g eographically distinct p lot o f l and o ver which the a ristocracy may have h eld control ( Cunliffe 1 973, 7 9). E xcept in the c ase o f F ishbourne ( which f or a brief period b ecame a vast palat ial r esidence), our knowledge concerning t he l ater h istory o f these early villas l eaves a l ot to be d esired, therefore this i s an area which would r epay f uture i nvestigation. Such r esearch might provide us with a f airly comprehensive picture o f the s ettlement pattern and h istory o f the a rea around s uch a villa, and perhaps a lso s hed s ome light on the r elationship between a ' villa estate' and n earby ' peasant' s ettlements. A possible a ddition to o ur group o f early villas might be a partially e xcavated s ettlement a t Newhaven ( Bell 1 976). The area investigated, a r ectangular enclosure containing s everal t imber buildings, yielded evidence o f occupation from the s econd half o f the 1 st c entury until the Antonine period, when the s ite was l evelled. There i s no evidence for any previous I ron Age o ccupation. Demolition horizons over the s ite produced painted wall p laster, o pus s igninum, box f lue t iles, window g lass and a bundant building s tone. On the basis o f this evidence the excavator concluded that a small early villa ( possibly dating to the f irst half o f the 2nd c entury) s tood n earby, and t hat the s tructures that h e had uncovered were presumably i ts outbuildings ( Bell 1 976, 2 18). B ell's excavations a lso indicated that an important part o f the s ettlement's economy was concerned with mixed farming. Evidence f or domesticates i ncluded: s eeds o f bread wheat, s pelt, barley and perhaps rye; bones o f c attle, sheep, pig, dog, horse, hen and c at. The predominance o f cattle in the pastoral economy i s in contrast to the evidence o btained f rom contemporary n earby Downland s ites, s uch a s B ishopstone, where s heep were more n umerous. B ell ( 1976, 2 52) has o ffered an explanation f or this by s uggesting that the waterless Downs were better s uited to s heep, whereas a villa s ituated in a r iver valley was capable o f s upport ing a bigger h ead o f cattle. He a lso s tresses that t he Newhaven villa i s s ituated in one o f the l east potentially f ertile areas and s uggests that a lthough the s ettlement was ' first and f oremost a farm, proximity to t he Ouse e stuary and mouth s eems to have been the major f actor governing the choice o f s ite. This o ffered the potential f or c ommun ication both within the Ouse basin and with e xternal markets.

2 76

We may s peculate that s uch a s ite s erved a s something o f a c entre f or the n umerous s mall downland f arms l ocated i n i ts more f ertile h interland' ( Bell 1 976, 2 52). This information i s interesting in that i t s hows that not a ll villas were l ocated ' where the s oil i s more productive' and that factors s uch a s communications may b e extremely important in the l ocating o f villas. The i dea o f villas a cting a s ' centres' for the s mall ' peasant' s ettlements i s an attractive one, and in the c ase o f the early villas a t l east may have been an important s ource o f r evenue. Other economic o perations at Newhaven include s mall s cale basic productive activities, s uch a s s mithing, weaving and pottery ( Bell 1 976, 2 52). Why the villa buildings were s ystematically d emolished in the l ate s econd c entury i s uncertain, perhaps a s part o f a s hift i n occupation to ' the " upland meadow" where traces o f a villa were f ound in 1 881' ( Bell 1 976, 2 51). OTHER VILLAS Many villas in Roman Britain ' grew organically out o f native farms' ( Applebaum 1 966, 9 9) and the majority o f Sussex villas are o f this type. The normal pattern i s f or a gradual development, with usually a change f rom a farm built in t imber to a s ingle masonry building o f much the s ame s ize, to which occasionally l uxuries s uch a s s mall baths, underfloor h eating and s imple mosaics might be added. Some villas were f urther elaborated during the f ourth c entury, but only a very f ew a chieved l uxurious proportions ( Cunliffe 1 973, 8 2). On the Coastal P lain there has only been one r ecent investigation o f a villa, a s mall masonry building ( Fig 3 ) discovered during construction work at Goring. The archaeological investigations at this s ite a lso traced an eastern boundary ditch running a pproximately norths outh, two ' corn drying kilns' and a pond. Most o f the pottery a ssociated with this complex i s dated to the 2 nd and 3 rd c enturies, a lthough in addition to 2nd c entury wares the boundary ditch a lso contained s herds o f Late I ron Age date ( C Ainsworth, pers c omm). On the S elsey peninsula i s the S idlesham villa which was excavated in the 1 950s ( Collins, Wilson and Wilson 1 973). The excavated building proved to be a 2 nd c entury bath house which i s s aid to have ' lasted until the end o f the 2nd c entury.' The excavations a lso demonstrated that the s ite had been occupied during the 1 st c entury and that i t continued to be used until the middle o f the 4 th c entury. Another Coastal P lain villa s ite, excavated by G R Cutler in 1 949, but r egrettably s till unpublished, i s that r eferred to a s the Thorncroft villa, L ittlehampton. Fred Aldsworth has kindly provided a copy o f Cutler's villa plan ( see F ig 3 ). The f inds f rom this s ite are s aid

2 77

to

i ndicate

occupation between the

i st

and

3 rd

c enturies.

Our knowledge a bout villas on the Downs has been greatly increased due to the work o f Alec Down. For n early f ourteen years Mr Down was r esponsible f or o rganising archaeological r esearch in s everal l arge parishes on t he South Downs o f western Sussex, from Mardens in the west to West Dean in the east. The Roman a spects o f this r esearch, which f inally d eveloped into the ' Chilgrove Valley Landscape Project', have r ecently a ppeared in print ( Down 1 979). In a ll, three villas were excavated, two i n the Chilgrove Valley and one a t Upmarden. As y et no other f orm o f Roman s ettlement has b een i dentified within the s tudy area. Chilgrove 1 has f ive main periods, o f which the f irst belongs to the pre-Roman I ron Age and dates to the 2nd to i st c entury B C. The s econd period i s r epresented by pits and post holes below the earliest masonry footings o f the Roman villa, and these are dated to the l ate 1 st/early 2nd c entury. P eriod 3 , which i s undated, consisted o f a s imple building with narrow ground s ills o f f lint. I t was during P eriod 4 ( late 3 rd/mid 4 th c entury) that the villa was r ebuilt on a l arger s cale and a cquired a ddit ional s igns o f l uxury, s uch a s a bath house and mosaics. The f inal period ( late 4 th c entury onwards) i s a t ime o f dramatic change when part o f the villa was burnt down, the bath s uite robbed o f s tone, and an i ron forge construct ed in Room 8 . There a re a lso s igns o f ' squatter' occupation. F ive main periods were a lso detected at Chilgrove 2 , but h ere the s equence does not begin until the 2nd c entury, when there are traces o f two wooden buildings, s urrounded by a ditched enclosure. As at Chilgrove 1 we have the gradual development by the mid 4 th c entury o f a fairly comfortable villa. Again the l ate 4 th c entury s hows s igns o f destruction by f ire and a decline in l iving s tandards. In comparison with the Chilgrove Valley villas very l ittle i s known about the Upmarden villa s ince only a s mall area o f this could be explored. The date range however s tretches from F lavian t imes until the 4 th c entury, and in the areas available for s tudy there were n o s igns o f d estruction by f ire or ' squatter' occupation. Turning to the economic s ide o f the villas, they are interpreted a s principally farms based on a mixed agricultural s ystem. Unfortunately s eed data were not o btained, but the bone evidence s uggests that c attle were the main s ource o f meat, followed by s heep. Other animal bones include those o f p ig, horse, deer, dog and cat. Down has s uggested that by the 4 th c entury the f arming emphasis ' may well have been on s heep, with a rable t aking s econd place' ( Down 1 979, 4 8). Viewed a s a group the Chilgrove villas present l ittle evidence o f continuity o f s ettlement from the Late I ron Age, only Chilgrove 1 having any pre-Roman antecedents and even then there a ppears to be no d irect l ink. The

2 78

C 0

r 1 4

2 79 P LU MPTON

L ITTLEHA MPTON

L ittlehampton

villas have been s hown to evolve gradually f rom fairly modest origins, with the farms presumably existing well a bove s ubsistence l evel, but unable to a fford l arge-scale improvements until the l ate 3 rd or early 4 th c entury. Down argues that the r eason this position changed must be due to an expanding market ( 1979, 4 6) and h e has found s upport f or this i dea by comparing t he origins, development and decay o f these country s ites with the s ame processes in the n earby town o f Noviomagus Regnensium ( Chichester), which i s only s ome s ix miles s outh o f the c entre o f the Chilgrove Valley Landscape Project. A discussion o f Roman Chichester i s outside the s cope o f this paper and the r eader i s r eferred to the various e xcavation volumes ( Down and Rule 1 971; Down 1 974; Down 1 978b and Down 1 981). What does emerge f rom the r esearch in Chichester however i s that ' the early 4 th c entury was a period o f r ebuilding and expansion, with n ew town houses being built and f rontages extended and a s pread o f urban development outside the East and South Gates' ( Down 1 979, 4 8). This evidence o f r ising prosperity in Chichester s uggests an increased market for farm produce and thus extra wealth for the e laboration o f the farms able to s upply the n ew de r i land. The s uccess o f the town and s urrounding countryside thus a ppear to be interlinked and they must be examined together in order to arrive at a proper understanding o f either. The r easons for the deterioration o f the Chilgrove villas are uncertain. A s eries o f d isasters i s one possibility, perhaps with the villa owners moving to the s afety o f Chichester. Another explanation might be the e ffects o f an increase in s heep farming with an a ssociated amalgamation o f s everal f arms, this r esulting in a n umber o f redundant f arm buildings ( Down 1 979, 5 1). The collapse o f a money economy i s l ikely to have had many s erious effects for both townspeople and villa owners, s uch a s a gradual decline in the various ' service industries' s uch a s construction work and the l aying o f mosaics. When the Chilgrove villas came to an end i s uncertain, but they ' could have continued well into the 5 th c entury, or even l ater' ( Down 1 979, 5 2). The evidence from Chichester for instance s uggests a s low decline, and the a bsence o f pagan Saxon f inds f rom the r egion has been taken to indicate the s urvival at Chichester o f a s ub-Roman town. Over the l ast c entury there have been various d iscoveries on the s ite o f a Roman villa i n S pringfield Road, Brighton ( for a r eappraisal o f the evidence; Kelly and Dudley 1 981). The dating o f this villa on the southern fringes o f the Downs, r emains s omewhat problematic, but occupation o f the s ite a ppears to date f rom the i st to the 3 rd c entury. ' Burial s eems to have been a distinct f unction o f the s ite o ver at l east a c entury' and in particular two l ate 2nd c entury burials were very e laborate. The third main zone in Sussex i n which villas t end to concentrate i s the Upper Greensand r idge. The most

2 80

famous o f these villas i s B ignor, which during the l ate 3 rd/early 4th c entury was transformed into a l arge, extremely l uxurious, c ourtyard villa ( Cunliffe 1 973, 8 9 and Frere 1 982). Further excavations undertaken between 1 979 and 1 976 by Mrs M Rule and Mr F Aldsworth e xamined the north and s outh walls o f the north corridor, the deposits under the f loor, and the inserted s tone-lined drain with l ead pipe, the boundary d itch; and an area containing a s mall kiln or kilns ( F Aldsworth, pers comm). B ignor developed f rom a fairly s mall late 2nd c entury t imber house, and was i deally l ocated to take a dvantage o f both f ertile s oils and good communications with Chichester ( Cunliffe 1 973, 8 9). I ts exceptional development during the 4 th c entury probably r elates to either a s ubstantial economic improvement or a change o f ownership ( Cunliffe 1 973, 9 3). Applebaum ( 1966, 1 04) has s uggested ' it may have been connected with the immigration o f ambitious and a ble busin essmen f rom Gaul and the Rhineland.' The end o f the establishment i s uncertain, but the a bsence o f major damage s uggests that i t might have continued into the 5 th c entury before i t was f inally a bandoned. Excavations during 1 975 at E lsted, on the j unction o f the Chalk and Upper Greensand, r evealed a n umber o f f eatures inside an enclosed courtyard, which was apparently a ssociated with a r ectangular building detected to the north ( Redknap and Millett 1 980). I t i s reasonable to a ssume that this i s another s mall villa. Dating evidence for this s ite includes a s catter o f I ron Age sherds from the 3 rd c entury B C onwards, and Roman pottery o f the 1 stmid 4 th c enturies. Several chaff t empered s herds ' may be early Saxon, a lthough this i s by no means c ertain.' The main economic data discovered at this s ite were animal bones, including those o f cattle, s heep/goat, pig, dog, horse and deer. Another fairly r ecent discovery o f a vi119 . on the s carp-foot zone o f the Downs, this t ime j ust to the s outh o f the ' greensand way' on the c lay, i s one at P lumpton, located by f ieldwalking, but not excavated. The villa i tself has been s urveyed by Michael Allen ( plan in Fig 3 ). Finds include: pieces o f painted wall plaster, combed box-flue t iles, t egulae, pilae, t esserae, and pottery o f the i st to 3 rd c enturies ( M Allen, pers comm). One possible market in West S ussex for some o f the farming communities s ituated on the Greensand r idge and the northern edge o f the Downs was the s uggested minor urban s ettlement In an area n ear Pulborough ( Cunliffe 1 973; Evans 1 974). F inally the possible villa at Arlington s hould be mentioned. I t i s s ituated adjacent to the r iver Cuckmere j ust to the north o f the Downs on the f ringes o f the Weald. Unfortunately very l ittle i s known a bout this ' villa', most o f which has

now been destroyed by

2 81

a r eservoir.

Mr E Holden o bserved the area during the construction o f the r eservoir in 1 968 and discovered ' an i ndustrial area o f considerable s ize' ( Holden 1 979, 6 1). A s alvage excavat ion was undertaken to i nvestigate one particular area and this r evealed a pottery kiln, a potter's workshop and a pottery s catter. I t i s possible that this potting complex may belong to the postulated villa and a s Cunliffe has pointed out ( 1973, 8 7) ' there were other ways to make money in the countryside besides corn.' This considerat ion i s probably particularly r elevant in the c ase o f s ites on the edge o f, or a ctually within, the Weald. THE NON-VILLA FARMING

SETTLEMENTS

A major f eature o f the r ural l andscape o f Roman Sussex i s a category o f s ites which are g enerally r eferred to a s ' peasant' or ' native' s ettlements. For practical purposes the main criteria normally used to d istinguish between these s ites and the villas are architectural ones, the villas being ' Romanised buildings o f s ufficient s ize or distinction to l ift them out o f the cottage c lass' ( Frere 1 974, 3 03). The ' cottage c lass' however was a lso susceptible to Roman i deas, an example o f this being the change in many areas f rom c ircular to r ectangular huts. One s uch r ectangular hut at Park Brow in c entral Sussex r evealed a s urprising d egree o f sophistication in that i t had a t iled roof, painted wall plaster, window g lass and a door key ( Wolseley et a l 1 927). When i t i s r emembered that the majority o f the villas r epresent ' a n ew s ystem growing up beside, and out o f, the o ld' ( Frere 1 974, 3 02) i t b ecomes obvious that one cannot ' always s eparate villas and peasant communities either agriculturally or s ocially... the phenomena r epresent not distinct c lasses but polarized extremes' ( Applebaum 1 966, 9 9). As y et l ittle i s known about the r elationship between villa and non villa s ettlements and this problem i s a c lear priority f or f uture r esearch. During the l ast d ecade a n umber o f non villa s ettlements have been investigated in s outh east S ussex. At Bullock Down two s uch s ites have been excavated and the s urrounding f ield systems s urveyed and i nvestigated ( Rudling 1 982). Both o f the Roman s ettlements ( Sites 1 6 and 4 4) f ace southwards and a re s ituated adjacent to a double l ynchet trackway. F ield s urvey at S ite 1 6 r evealed f our pairs o f more or l ess l evel ' platforms' ( Fig 4 ) provisionally interpreted a s house s ites. A g eophysical s urvey ( Fig 4 , areas A and H ) f ailed to indicate any s ubstantial anomalies, while the excavation o f one o f the platforms ( Fig 4 , Trench I II) r evealed a t errace with a possible f ence l ine, s everal pits, a number o f i solated postholes, but no s tructural evidence for there having been a building. The l arge quantities o f domestic pottery s uggest, however, that there might have b een a dwelling, i f s o i t must have been

2 82

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o f a type which did not l eave any trace in the archaeological r ecord ( possibilities may include s ome forms o f t imber f raming for the u se o f either turf or cob walls). The main dating evidence for the t errace covers the 1 st to 3 rd c enturies. S ite 1 6 i s fairly unusual in that o ver the y ears i t has y ielded a l arge number o f metal objects, s ome o f which are exotic, and at l east f ive, perhaps s ix, 3 rd c entury coin hoards. Possibly s ome o f the metalwork and coins c ame f rom elsewhere ( perhaps the Eastbourne villa?), i f not, one i s l eft with the impression that these particular ' peasant' inhabitants were l iving well above the s ubsistence l evel. Excavations on Frost Hill ( site 4 4) have been mainly in an area to the east o f the probable habitation r egion ( assuming d itches 2 and 1 3 to be part o f the s ettlement's enclosure s ystem). The area investigated was probably u sed principally for farming activities, evidence including two ' corndrying ovens' ( 6 and 1 1) and a possible threshing f loor ( 8). Pottery from the excavations and f ieldwalking shows that o ccupation had s tarted by the f irst c entury and continued until at l east the l ate 4 th c entury; The s mall number o f animal bones from s ites 1 6 a nd 4 4 include those o f cattle, sheep, pig, horse, dog, b ird and f ish, and indicate a predominance o f s heep. S eed f inds, most o f which came from the l arge ' corndrying oven' ( 6) were mainly o f s pelt and s ix-row barley. Other economic activities included the collecting o f marine molluscs, i ron forging ( at s ite 1 6) and possibly potting. For a discussion o f the Bullock Down Roman data in a s lightly wider s etting s ee Rudling 1 978. At B ishopstone a r ectangular enclosure was l aid o ut early in the Roman period. The enclosure ditch had become s ilted by the l ate 2nd c entury and B ell ( 1977, 1 39) s uggests that there was possibly a r educed l evel o f activity on the s ite during the 3 rd c entury, following by a more intensive occupation in the 4 th c entury when a corndrying oven was in operation. Romano-British occupation at the s ite may have l asted into the 5 th c entury, before being r eplaced by a Saxon s ettlement. There i s no s atisfactory evidence however to s uggest continuity between the two s ettlements ( Bell 1 977, 2 38). B ishopstone has failed to y ield any traces which can definitely be interpreted a s Roman buildings, the only possible candidate being Structure LXII. Structure XLVII, which was originally dated a s Roman and whose plan a ppeared a s s uch in The Regni ( Fig 3 7), has now been attributed to the Saxon period ( Bell 1 977, 2 21). The economic data f rom the s ite are s imilar to that described for Bullock Down. A small area o f a f armstead was excavated at the foot o f Ranscombe H ill ( Bedwin 1 978b), two s hallow d itches and a corndrying oven being the principal f eatures uncovered. The f inds indicate occupation f rom the i st to the l ate 4 th c entury.

2 84

F ROST H ILL

-

I n

C lay w i th F l in ts

L im i t o f E xcava t ion

• P os t H o le

—

f eatures.

N arrow S lo t

0 O the r F ea tu res

Further west a t S lonk H ill occupation was r esumed i n the l ate 1 st/early 2nd c entury and continued until the end o f the 4 th c entury ( Hartridge 1 978). The economic data i s basically s imilar to that r ecovered from the I ron Age s ettlements, a lthough t here i s an i ncrease in the proportion o f pig bones and a change in s hellfish preference f rom mussel to oyster. Throughout the Roman period t he Bronze Age barrows on the s ite were a pparently treated a s monuments worthy o f r espect. The evidence f rom Bullock Down ( site 4 4), B ishopstone, Ranscombe, and S lonk H ill indicates that a ll o f these s ites were in u se during the 4th c entury and thus does not s upport the i dea that during the l ate Roman period there was ' a process o f nucleation, the s cattered farms being a bandoned a s the population became concentrated in villages' ( Cunliffe 1 973, 1 07). E xcept during the course o f excavating I ron Age s ites ( see a bove) there has been no r ecent i nvestigation o f Roman non-villa type farms on the Coastal P lain. C learly their investigation i s l ong overdue. THE RURAL TEMPLES Our knowledge o f this c lass o f s ite in S ussex h as been increased f ollowing l imited excavations at Chanctonbury Ring ( Bedwin 1 980b) and Lancing Down ( Bedwin 1 981b). At Chanctonbury the pottery and coin evidence indicate a ctivity f rom the mid 1 st to the l ate 4 th c entury, and s uggest a c onsiderably greater use o f the s ite in the 1 st and 2nd c enturies than l ater on. At Lancing, in addition to r evealing the l ate I ron Age s hrine mentioned a bove, the excavations conf irmed the presence ( suspected f rom an a erial photograph) o f a t emenos gulley. The pottery f inds s uggest that the t emple was probably built earlier than that at Chanctonbury ( 5 km away) and a lso went out o f use earlier. What a ppears to be a n ew t emple s ite at Ratham Mill, Funtington, has r ecently been r ecorded ( Pitts 1 979, 7 0). THE WEALD Our knowledge a bout Roman rural s ettlement i n t his r egion, which ' has a lways t ended to be underpopulated by agricultural communities' ( Cunliffe 1 973, 9 6), i s e xtremely poor, particularly in the case o f the H igh Weald. A t ypical o pinion o f the Weald in Roman t imes i s that i t provided ' a general barrier between the coast and London, p enetrated only by roads, and in the east, industrial workings' ( Tittensor 1 979, 1 4). Cleere ( 1978) concludes that ' there i s a lmost no evidence o f any kind o f s ettlement in t he Weald a part f rom i ronmaking establishments.' The only h ints o f farming in the Weald are: a corndrying oven a ssociated with i st c entury pottery a t Uckfield ( Tebbutt 1 968) and RomanoBritish pottery in a l ynchet at Hastings ( J B ell, pers comm).

2 86

Cleere

( 1978)

has

suggested

that

the

apparent

absence

of

agriculture in most of the Weald during the Roman period might be explained if the region had been an Imperial Estate

devoted

on Roman

to

ironmaking.

ironmaking

in

the

For

a general

Weald

see

Cleere

C Ainsworth

and

M Allen

discussion 1978.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish

to

thank

for

allowing

me to reproduce the plans of the Goring and Plumpton villas, and P L Drewett, B Sc, FSA, and Dr 0 Bedwin, FSA, who both kindly

read

also provided

through

Fig

2 ,

a draft

and

Mrs

of

this

C Page

paper.

prepared

Dr

the

Bedwin

typescript.

R EFERENCES A pplebaum,

S ,

1 966

P easant E conomy a nd T ypes o f A griculture,

R ural S ettlement i n R oman B ritain B edwin,

0 ,

1 978a

0 ,

1 978b

S outh M alling,

t ions

1 16, 0 ,

( ed P L D rewett),

E ast S ussex 1 976,

B edwin,

1 980a

1 18, 0 ,

S ussex,

S ussex A rchaeological C ollec-

2 41-255 N eolithic a nd I ron A ge m aterial f rom a c oastal

s ite a t C hidham, W est S ussex 1 978, t ions

4 1-51

T he E xcavation o f : a R omano-British s ite . a t R anscombe

H ill,

B edwin,

i n

9 9-107

I ron A ge S ussex - t he D owns a nd C oastal p lain i n

A rchaeology i n S ussex t o A D 1 500 B edwin,

( ed C T homas),

S ussex A rchaeological C ollec-

1 63-170

1 980b 1 977,

E xcavations a t C hanctonbury R ing, W iston, W est B ritannia 1 1,

1 73-222

B edwin, 0 , 1 981a E xcavations a t C opse F arm, O ving, W est S ussex, i n R escue A rchaeology i n S ussex, 1 980 ( ed P L D rewett), B ulletin o f t he I nstitute o f A rchaeology 1 8, B edwin,

0 ,

1 981b

E xcavations

a t L ancing D own, W est S ussex,

S ussex A rchaeological C ollections B edwin,

0 & P itts, M ,

a t N orth B ersted,

1 978

M ,

1 16,

l andforms a t N ewhaven,

C ollections

1 14,

C leere,

1 977

H ,

C ollins, S ite,

A H ,

S ussex,

E xcavations a t B ishopstone,

S ussex A rchaeological

R oman S ussex - t he W eald,

( ed P L D rewett), W ilson,

A E ,

i n A rchaeology i n S ussex

5 9-63

& W ilson,

C ,

1 973

S ussex A rchaeological C ollections

1 11,

B ,

1 971

E xcavations a t F ishbourne

C unliffe,

B ,

1 973

T he R egni

A ,

1 974

S ussex A rchaeological

2 18-305

C unliffe,

D own,

S ussex

1 15

1 978

t o A D 1 500

1 975-76,

2 93-346

T he E xcavation o f a n e arly R omano-British s ite a nd

1 976

C ollections

1 980,

3 7-55

T he Excavation o f a n I ron A ge S ettlement

P leistocene

B ell, M ,

1 19,

B ognor R egis, W est S ussex,

A rchaeological C ollections B ell,

3 3-37

C hichester Excavations 2

287

S idlesham R oman 1 -19

D own,

A ,

1 978a

R oman S ussex - C hichester a nd t he C hilgrove V alley,

i n A rchaeology i n S ussex t o A D 1 500

( ed P L D rewett),

D own, A ,

1 978b

D own, A ,

1 979

C hichester E xcavations 4

D own,

1 981

C hichester E xcavations

A ,

D own A ,

C hichester Excavations

5 2-58

3

5

& R ule, M ,

1 971

C hichester E xcavations

1

D rewett, P L ( ed), E ast S ussex

1 982

T he A rchaeology o f B ullock D own,

E astbourne,

E vans, K J , 1 974 E xcavations o n a R omano-British s ite, W iggonholt, 1 964, S ussex A rchaeological C ollections 1 12, 9 7-151 F rere,

S S ,

1 974

B ritannia

F rere,

S S ,

1 982

T he B ignor V illa,

G reen,

C ,

1 980

B ritannia

1 3

H andmade p ottery a nd s ociety i n L ate

R oman E ast S ussex,

I ron A ge a nd

S ussex A rchaeological C ollections

1 18,

6 9-86

H artridge, R , 1 978 E xcavations a t t he P rehistoric a nd R omano-British s ite o n S lonk H ill, S horeham, S ussex A rchaeological C ollections 1 16, 6 9-141 H olden,

E ,

1 979

A rlington,

A R omano-British p ottery k iln a t P olhill's F arm,

S ussex A rchaeological C ollections

1 17,

5 7-62

K elly, E , a nd D udley, C , 1 981 Two R omano-British b urials, A rchaeological C ollections 1 19, 6 5-88 P itts, M ,

1 979

A G azetteer o f R oman s ites a nd f inds o n t he W est

S ussex C oastal P lain, R edknap,

M & M illett, M ,

S ussex A rchaeological C ollections 1 980

D R ,

1 978

R udling,

D R ,

1 979

E ast S ussex, J ohnson), R udling,

D R ,

1 982

i n S outh E ast

S ussex,

U niv L ondon

I nvasion a nd R esponse:

i n I nvasion a nd R esponse

B AR 7 3,

6 3-83

S ussex A rchaeological C ollections

R oman r ural s ettlement

u npublished MA t hesis,

1 17,

E xcavations o n a R omano-British f arm-

s tead a t E lsted, W est S ussex, 1 18, 1 97-229 R udling,

S ussex

D ownland s ettlement

i n

( eds B C B urnham & H B

3 39-356 T he R omano-British f arm o n B ullock D own,

T he A rchaeology o f B ullock D own,

E astbourne,

E ast S ussex

i n

( ed P L

D rewett) S tevens,

L & G ilbert,

T ebbutt,

C F ,

1 968

R ,

1 973

A 1 st c entury c orn d rying k iln a t U ckfield,

S ussex N otes a nd Q ueries17, T ittensor,

R M ,

1 979

G R ,

S mith,

2 5-6

T he Evolution o f t he L andscape,

C hichester E xcavations 4 , W olseley,

T he E astbourne R oman V illa

R A ,

i n A D own

1 -24 & H awley,

R oman s ettlements o n P ark B row,

W ,

1 927

P rehistoric a nd

A rchaeologia 7 6,

2 88

1 -40

1 979,

RURAL SETTLEMENT IN ROMAN DYFED Heather James and George Williams

I NTRODUCTION The modern County o f Dyfed, whose name r evives that o f the Early Medieval kingdom and the pre-Roman tribal grouping, f orms a d iscreet g eographical area, l argely i solated on the east by the Cambrian Massif and s howing characteristics o f both the h ighland zone and the I rish S ea basin: a division corresponding to the upland north and east, and lowland s outh and west o f the area. This division i s r eflected by most a spects o f the archaeology o f the area, and in this r espect the area forms a microcosm o f the differences b etween the two zones, which l ends i t a particular s ignificance i n a ll periods o f antiquity. Our picture o f Roman Dyfed i s s till fragmentary. Current projects o f the Dyfed Archaeological Trust, the excavation o f a group o f s mall enclosures n ear L lawhaden and a s eries o f excavations within the Roman town o f Carmarthen ( Moridunum), have initiated a more s ystematic s tudy o f the period in s outh-west Wales than has h itherto been undertaken. The authors f eel that r ecent work does a llow some r e-assessment o f the basic s ettlement evidence beyond that o ffered by Dr. Hogg ( 1966) in this volume's predecessor or more r ecently by Dr. Wainwright ( 1967). In doing this our intention has been at l east to l ink the Romano-British s ettlement pattern with a s ummary o f the Iron Age background and post-Roman s uccersion. Throughout this r eview there are two important g eneral considerations. The f irst concerns the question o f I ron Age antecedents and post-Roman s uccession. In h is excell ent article on Dumnonia, Professor Thomas ( 1966) s tressed the essential continuity o f I ron Age and Romano-British s ettlement, and this s eems equally true o f Dyfed. Many s ites which have been excavated indicate, not s urprisingly, occupation in both periods, a lthough the majority o f known s ites r emain unexcavated. While the l atter r eflect a typology and distributional pattern which i s, in the main, r elevant to pre-Roman t imes, i t i s a lso potentially i ndicative o f Romano-British s ettlement. The s econd consideration concerns the g eographically d etermined d ivision o f most a spects o f the a rchaeology o f the area b etween the upland north and east and l owland s outh and west. Although varying in details b etween p eriod and c lass o f evidence ( particularly in the case o f the

2 89

Towy Valley), the division r emains g enerally constant. I t i s manifest by a d ifference in t he quality and quantity o f the evidence, which r eflects undoubted d ifferences in native culture and economy, a Roman military presence a lmost exclusively in the north and east, and not l east, a lack o f excavation in the l atter a rea. THE MORPHOLOGY OF NATIVE

SETTLEMENT TYPES

These comprise defended enclosures ( hillforts and r elated s ites), undefended hut groups, and c ave and s and dune s ites. Defended enclosures a pparently form t he main s ettlement type. At l east three main groupings can b e defined, which correspond in part to the g eographical d ivisions between north-east and s outh-west ( see F ig 1 ). These can be t ermed the Taf/Cleddau group, the upland group, and the s outh-western coastal group. The Taf/Cleddau group l ies to the west o f the Towy Valley, bounded on the s outh by Carmarthen Bay and the South Wales coalfield ( the latter an area o f poor s oils and consequently f ew s ites) and to the north by the u pland s pine culminating in the Preseli h ills. I t i s characteri sed by the absence o f large s ites and the presence o f a great number o f small ones increasing in d ensity toward the west. Allowing for complex morphological variations, two broad types can be r ecognised. The f irst can b e t ermed small hillforts. These are defensively s ituated, o ften multivallate and in local t erms r elatively l arge. Although s mall in comparison with many o f those further east and north, they are s imilar to them in density and morphological characteristics. The s econd type are smaller, univallate and weakly defended r ingworks, o ften in h illslope positions, with a distribution which i s largely confined to the Taf/Cleddau area. The s ites in the upland group t end to b e l ess n umerous, consequent on the decrease in density o f the r ingwork type, and include an extended s ize range o f small t o l arge hillforts, the l atter being r elatively rare. The g roup contains a number o f s ub-groups, corresponding to the r iver valleys that penetrate the uplands. By far the largest i s an eastern group corresponding to the Towy Valley, while the s ub-groups in the north o f the area correspond to r iver valleys which empty into Cardigan Bay. The south-western coastal group, which i ncludes i nland s ites as well a s c oastal promontory forts, again contains larger, s tronger and multivallate s ites. The group i s most distinct in the Milford Haven area, where i t contrasts with the Cleddau Valley s ites to the north, a lthough s imil ar t endencies to s ize and s trength are perhaps detectable a long the coast o f Carmarthen Bay and in the Dewisland Peninsula. Various

forms

o f multiple

enclosure

2 90

s ite

a lso occur

throughout Dyfed. These concentrate in the s outh-west o f the area, but are rare i n the Towy Valley. These s ites have perhaps been s ubject to over-detailed c lassification in the past. They s eem to be essentially variant on the s ingle enclosure types. Their n uclei are s imilar to s ingle enclosure types, while the form o f the s ubsidiary enclosures s eem to be at l east partially dictated by the form o f these nuclei ( Williams 1 979a, 1 8-19). These variations are o f more than l ocal s ignificance. Overall the increase in n umber and decrease i n s ize toward the west mirrors the s ituation in s outhern Britain a s a whole: the l arge Towy valley s ites especially r epresent an extension o f the ' hillfort dominated l andscape' o f s outhern and western England, while the Taf/Cleddau conc entration, including the l arge number o f r ingworks, i s typical o f the ' dispersed fortified s ettlement' pattern o f the western s eaboard ( Cunliffe 1 978, 3 34). The coastal s ites contrast with this g eneral pattern, and are part o f an independent phenomenon which includes the c liff castles o f Cornwall, while the multiple enclosures a lso s eem to have a s omewhat independent distribution in s outhwestern Britain ( Forde-Johnston 1 976, 2 77). Undefended hut groups, with a peripheral distribution on marginal land in P embrokeshire, r emain a poorly documented type. The atypical s ite at Gateholm will be discuss ed below. Other types include open s ettlements and homes tead groups s imilar to north-west Welsh types ( Hogg 1 962a), a lso a ssociated with f ield s ystems. A further group o f s ettlements has r ecently been i dentified which are s uperficially s imilar to the ' scooped enclosures' o f northern Britain ( Williams 1 978, 9 ). A point worth s tressing however, i s the l ikelihood o f these undefended s ites r epres enting the ' tip o f an i ceberg'. Their peripheral distribution i s l ikely to be an accident o f s urvival, exaggerated by the t endency to build in wood, and the l ack o f both s urface f inds and indications o f the kind o f s tone built s tructures known from excavated defended enclosures. Closer examination o f the gravel t erraces in the northern and eastern r iver valleys may produce s ettlement evidence. The r emaining occupation s ites, those in c aves and s and dunes, s how occupation throughout the p rehistoric period and up to medieval t imes. The cave s ites, which are mainly in the l imestone areas o f the extreme s outhwest, have been r elatively prolific in material, particul arly the Caldey I sland caves ( Lacaille and Grimes 1 961). Of the s and dune s ites, only Stackpole Warren has been investigated in any d etail, and s howed well-established pre-dune s ettlement s urviving a s equence o f l ater s and incursions ( see below). SUBSISTENCE ECONOMY There

i s

now no doubt

that mixed

2 91

farming was practised

•

DYFED - S ITE LOCAT IONS P en D intg -

, ) T rA escoed , ; -- -

. 0

C

\0

e t -

4 1 / P • 0

e

, -` , _ , , , ( P - n E Se ‘ , rc __

4 / 1

C legyr B o ia

D ew is land P en insu la

.

C ost le F lem ish •` , r i -r , › F ord

, • , _ . , -,(

fK l oe l T r iga m ,

, _ -' t .C -_

L langynog .71 C w i nbrw n S komer

E g Iw ysCwmm in P a rc y rE ge es

() , • • G a teho lm"

e •C -- ' `

_ ,. v

C oy gan

6 00

• Uys l rychan 8 :9 4 1r

, -

1

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, (‘'\ 1 , ', P ( . ,r d

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: ,-‘ 2 ,

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S tackpo le Warren 2 0

1

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1 0

I. zp , _e , . e ry i , z 1 •U a n fal ra ry 5 • , , ' " j '

u

. ' L land ro _ y euj r y\ „ . ,_\_)

• : .

Ab eray for ' ) _C r •-' (J — . / 7, L lans tephan ,

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Cas t lemar t in B ur rows

. Pumpsa in,t _ r

M er l in ' s H i l l.

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r , ,

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r ;

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L l awhaden

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-. t , , ,.

z

' 1 . . 5-2 .

z r,

3 0 km.

C ONTOUR

Figure

2 92

1 .

,

DYFED ROMAN S ETTLEMENT E XCLUD ING DEFENDED ENCLOSURES I l i

F ORT AND V ICUS

( = I

F ORT

✓

V ILLA

✓

?V ILLA

I

CAVE W ITH

D

CAVE W ITH ROMAN

A m _ ▪ H

S AND

ROMAN

DUNES W ITH

S AND DUNES W ITH

OCCUPAT ION F INDS ROMAN ROMAN

OCCUPAT ION F INDS

HUT GROUP ROAD POST ROMAN

ACT IV ITY

V

Figure

2 93

2

1 = 1

in

the

south-west

o f

Dyfed

in

Iron Age

and Romano-British

t imes. Although today f ield systems s urvive only on marginal and coastal land, there i s evidence for arable farming from excavation and pollen analysis in inland areas. A general Iron Age/Romano-British date has been demonstrated for parts o f the f ield system at Stackpole ( see below ) and an Iron Age date suggested at St. David's Head and S komer ( Grimes 1 950, 1 8-19) and Pembrey ( James and Williams 1 977. Williams 1 979, 2 6). To this evidence can be added the well known plough t ips from Walesland Rath ( Wainwright 1 971, 9 4-8) and carbonised grain a t Pembrey ( Williams 1 979b), while there i s a lso a s light increase in c ereal pollen in the s equence at Llanllwch Bog, Carmarthen, for this period ( Thomas 1 965). In the Romano-British period there i s evidence for mixed farming from Coygan ( Wainwright 1 967, 5 6-58). In the north and east the picture i s fragmentary and contradictory, with no excavation evidence. In this area f ield systems are markedly absent from marg inal l and where they might be expected to s urvive. Neither i s there any quantifiable content o f c ereal pollen in the pollen r ecord from Tregaron Bog for the period ( Turner 1 964, 7 8). The western distribution o f f ield systems i s s trikingly paralleled in north Wales and suggests a real dichotomy. However, in upland areas a probably arable contribution to the economy in the period has long been s uggested on grounds o f hillfort distribution and by r eference to post-Roman Wales, where the apparent absence o f archaeological evidence for arable farming contrasts with the documentary evidence ( Alcock 1 965a and 1 965b, 1 91 and 2 08). In northern and eastern areas of Dyfed we have Dark Age evidence for multiple estates, which a lmost by definition s upported a mixed agricultural economy ( see below). The possible stimulation o f grain production in these areas due to the Roman military occupation ( Manning 1 975, 1 15) i s a factor to be taken into consideration in both the Roman and post-Roman periods. I n general we can s uggest a greater emphasis on agriculture in the south-west than in the north and east. The matter i s f urther considered below in r elation to the economic function o f c ertain s ite types. IRON AGE

SETTLEMENT

In south-western Dyfed a reasonable number o f excavat ions, a lbeit small s cale, a llow us t entatively to s uggest a pattern o f s ettlement. Most s ites have produc ed traces o f s tructures, confirming their character a s s ettlements. Buildings include round houses and four posters, a lthough the only complete plan i s the well known one from Walesland Rath, with its peripheral range s urrounding a group o f round houses. A very

t entative

chronology might

2 94

be

s uggested,

i nvolving the early establishment o f s ome o f t he l arger s ites and the proliferation o f r ingworks a t a l ater I ron Age date. Although, a s Savory has s uggested ( 1976, 2 55-7), the c onstruction o f d efences i s probably a l ate I ron Age phenomenon in western Wales, a n umber o f the l arger s ettlement s ites, including s ome o f t he s mall h ill-forts o f c entral P embrokeshire and s imilar s ites i n coastal a reas, have evidence o f a more extended h istory in t he f orm o f pre-rampart a ctivity. By contrast only one o f t he r ingworks - Merryborough Camp - s hows definite pre-rampart a ctivity ( Crossley 1 964), while t heir c onstruction may have continued into the Roman period. D irect dating evid ence does not contradict this s equence. C 14 dates a re awaited from a n umber o f l arger i nland s ites, but dating i s a t present c learer on coastal examples, i ncluding a group o f dates c entres on 5 10 bc f rom d efended o ccupation a t L lanstephan ( Guilbert 1 974, 4 3-4), g eneral l ate B ronze Age/early I ron Age pottery from pre-rampart occupation a t Coygan, and a date o f 3 35 4 5 bc for a s econdary phase o f pre-rampart occupation a t P embrey Mountain ( Williams 1 979b). Of the r ingworks, only Walesiand Rath d emonstrated a c lear pre-Roman s equence, including a C 14 date o f 2 10 ± 9 0 bc for an initial phase o f occupation. This s uggests a r elatively l ate I ron Age date but i s a dmitt edly not s ignificantly different from the date f rom P embrey. Allowing a r elatively l ate date for the r ingworks, there i s no indication that they r eplace the l arger s ites. Occupation o f the l atter during the l ater I ron Age i s proven at Coygan, and s uggested e lsewhere by morphological characteristics s uch a s multiple enclosures and multivall ation. Whether or not f urther work will confirm s uch chronolos ocial and economic, g ical differences, f unctional, rea, d ifferences may a lso exist. In the Taf/Cleddau a istribution o f the s mall any overall s imilarities i n the d h illforts to s ites in the north and east may i ndicate tatus without t he f actors s ome s imilarity o f function and s which l ead to l arge s ize. The contrast i n s ize and s trength between r ingworks and s mall h illforts may indicate a s ubs idiary s ocial and-or economic r ole f or the former. At the very l east this dimorphism may r eflect the s ocial h eirarchy to be expected in Celtic s ociety. The f ragmentat ion o f s ociety a ssumed to be r eflected by t he s mall f orts o f the western s eaboard i s perhaps an o ver-simplification. For example, the d eveloped s ocio-economic mechanisms o f Early Welsh Society are not mirrored by an s ophistication o f s ettlement in t he archaeological r ecord. S tevens' model o f Rath and Clachan ( or i n t his context p erhaps more particularly Gwely and L lys/Maerdref) s ettlement ( Stevens 1 966. L ewis 1 976a, 1 4) may prove more r elevant to this d imorphism.

2 95

In t he n orthern and eastern a reas o f Dyfed e xcavation has been s o n egligible t hat l ittle o f s ignificance c an b e s aid. I t i s unknown t o what e xtent t he j uxtaposition o f l arge and s mall s ites implies a c hronological o r f unct ional d ifference. Presumably t he l arger s ites r eflect s imilar complex s ocial a nd economic d evelopments t o t hose which c haracterise the h illfort z one f urther east. W e c an envisage the emergence o f a g reater d egree o f politic al and economic c ontrol, t he c entralisation o f t hese f unctions and o f c ertain e lements i n t he population, a nd p erhaps an increase i n population per s e. There i s l ittle r eason t o doubt t hat t hese d evelopments a re o f early o rigin. H ints o f t his a re provided b y s urface evidence on s ome o f t he l arger s ites a nd by t he t wo s ites which have been excavated; P en D inas with i ts l ong s equence b eginning with a t imber f ramed r ampart ( Forde e t a l 1 963) a nd Moel Trigarn with i ts potentially early material ( Baring-Gould et a l 1 900). Occupation a t both s ites c ont inues i nto the l ater I ron Age, and p erhaps t he Roman p eriod a t Moel Trigarn. As r egards t he r easons f or t hese d ifferent d evelopments i n both a reas o f Dyfed, a ny e xplanation i nvolving t he expansion o f an i ntrusive hillfort building e lement f rom the Marches ( Savory 1 980, 3 02) i s unproven, a s i ndeed i s the presence o f s uch an i ntrusive e lement i n t he marches t hemselves. Another model would e quate t he s maller s ites with a basically pastoral economy, and t he d evelopment o f t he l arger s ites with a s tronger a rable e lement ( Cunliffe 1 978, 2 68ff and 3 07ff). However, what d irect evidence we have s uggests r ather t he o pposite o f t his economic d ivision. The Taf/Cleddau a rea o f r ingworks and o ther s mall s ites c orresponds l argely t o t he d istribution o f t he evidence f or a rable f arming, a nd i ndeed t he ' Rath and C lachan' model i nvolves a mixed f arming economy. On the o ther hand, f ields a re r are i n t he mainly upland ' large h illfort' a reas o f t he n orth a nd east. A n umber o f writers have f ollowed A lcock ( 1965a, 1 8809) in s uggesting t he possibility o f t ranshumance i n t hese a reas. Allowing t he unlikelihood t hat t he l arger s ites r epresent s easonal r efuges a s o riginally s uggested by Alcock, the e xploitation o f l arge tracts o f unpopul ated upland grazing may s till b e s een a s a f actor i n t heir d evelopment. This would t ip t he balance i n s upport o f a r elatively l arge population and t he production o f s urplus wealth i n a djacent a reas a nd provide t he s timulus f or a c omplex s ocial evolution within a l argely pastoral economy. I t must b e a dmitted t hat t he d istribution o f multiple enclosure s ites, which a re g enerally c onsidered t o r eflect a basically pastoral economy, does n ot c onform t o t he a bove pattern: for i nstance t hey a re c oncentrated i n s outh-west Dyfed but a re r are i n t he Towy Valley. H owever,

2 96

accepting their basic f unction a s s tock enclosures, there i s no r eason to a ssume that this involves an increase in pastoralism per s e while even this basic f unction r emains unproven ( Bradley 1 978, 4 8). As far a s t he coastal s ites are c oncerned, i t s eems most l ikely that their increased s ize and s trength r eflect the control and exploitation o f coastal r esources and maritime trade ( Forde-Johnston 2 56 and 2 77). Dating evidence for hut groups i s s canty. They c an be s uspected o f having a r espectable pre-Roman ancestry. Late Bronze Age/Early I ron Age pottery has b een r eported from Grassholm ( Grimes 1 951, 2 29 No. 7 19), a lthough the s urviving s tructures on the I sland are perhaps o f Early Medieval date ( Hague 1 972). Only a t Stackpole has a c lear s equence been d emonstrated ( see below) including well established I ron Age s ettlement within a l ong s equence o f occupation. I ron Age activity, especially Early I ron Age, i s well attested f rom other c ave and dune s ites. Evidence from elsewhere s uggests that, a lthough coastal activity o f this type was in origin s poradic or s easonal, i t was becoming more permanent by the Iron Age ( Bradley 1 978, 6 9-70). However apart from Stackpole there i s no c lear indication o f s ettlement pattern in Dyfed. SETTLEMENT

I N THE ROMAN PERIOD

I N THE SOUTH AND WEST

As in the pre-Roman period, s ettlement in this area i s by far the best documented. With the exception o f villas, the s ites occupied are essentially the s ame a s in the Iron A e. The material has been well r ehearsed, and only the main outlines o f the s ettlement pattern and r ecent contributions n eed b e r eviewed h ere. In considering the areas west o f Carmarthen ( and in this case the equally f ertile area o f the Towy Valley) we are immediately faced with the problem o f villas ( Fig 2 ). The only building with any r eal c laim to s uch s tatus i s L lys Brychan, which appears to have b een o f extensive courtyard plan ( Jarrett 1 962 and Wilson 1 963). The well known r emains o f other Romanised buildings at Ford ( Fenton 1 811, 3 31-2) and Abercyfor ( Collinson 1 779), together with the l ittle known building r eported from below the medieval church at L lanfair-ar-y-Bryn ( Fenton 1 811, 1 4-15 and 6 2-3) n eed not have been much more developed than the s tructures within the r ingworks at Cwmbrwyn ( Ward 1 907) and Trelissey ( Thomas and Walker 1 959). The argument has a lways b een that there s hould b e a villa belt c entering on Carmarthen, paralleling the d evelopment in the Vale o f Glamorgan, and that f urther f ieldwork will r eveal these s ites. The authors f eel that, with the possible exception o f the Towy Valley ( see b elow p . 3 08) this argument i s no l onger t enable, and that the contrast with areas to the east i s g enuine.

2 97

Most o f the evidence for s ettlement comes f rom d efended enclosures ( Fig 3 ). The total number o f s ites i s small, but r epresents a h igh proportion o f excavated s ites. Again i t can be emphasised that t he peripheral distribution o f undeveloped s ettlements unassociated with d efended enclosures i s l ikely to r epresent a very partial p icture, especially g iven the l ack o f n ecessity for defence c onsequent on the Pax Romana. The evidence falls into a n umber o f c lasses: 1 ) D irect excavation evidence. This has been particularly well covered by previous s urveys. The excavations o f Coygan Camp and Walesland Rath r emain the only modern, large s cale excavations in t he area. 2 ) P lan e lements betraying Roman influence. 3 ) Post-Roman a ssociations perhaps implying continuity ( considered more f ully b elow p _ p. 3 04-6) 4 ) Stray f inds; s ince Dr. S impson's s urvey ( 1964) a number o f n ew s ites have produced s mall quantities o f Romano-British material, but we would r eiterate Dr. Wainwright's warning about placing too much emphasis on these ( 1967, 6 9), a lthough we would perhaps be a l ittle more g enerous in a llowing their s ignificance for'certain s ites. The g eneral context o f this o ccupation i s r easonably c lear ( Savory 1 976, 2 85-6). Sites with early material - including Bosherton ( Simpson 1 964, 2 15 No, 4 ), Walesland and Castle Flemish ( Wheeler 1 923) - make i t c ertain t hat we are dealing with the continued occupation and/or cons truction o f s ettlements within a basically pre-Roman tradition, a phenomenon s hared with s outh-east Wales. Later occupation o f r ingworks Cwmbrwyn and Parc yr Eglwys ( Treherne 1 907 and 1 926) - probably r epresent the c ontinuat ion o f the s ame tradition, and r eflect d ifferent f actors from those which l ed to l ate Roman occupation elsewhere. The r eoccupation o f Coygan may b e an exception. A more s pecific problem concerns the origin o f i ndividual s ettlements. The majority have produced RomanoBritish material only, a lthough this i s o f l imited s ignificance g iven the l argely aceramic l ocal I ron Age. Also there i s no doubt that the s mall h illforts are o f preRoman origin. However, the origins o f the r ingworks are l ess c lear. Although occupation a t Walesland was proven to have pre-Roman antecedents, i t i s possible that the type continued to be constructed i nto Roman t imes. E xcept at Walesland excavation has not b een adequate to r eveal the occupation s equence. However, h ints o f a pre-Roman origin come from a number o f multiphase r ingwork s ites. At Cwmbryn a r ectangular s tone building was c learly i nsert ed into an earlier enclosure bank ( Williams 1 978, 1 3), while c urrent work a t L lawhaden has r evealed three more multiphase s ites where Romano-British a ctivity a ppears to be s econdary: Drim Camp and Bodringallt and Dan-y-Coed enclosures. The s ituation i s l ess c lear a t Merryborough

2 98

Camp where an extended period o f a ctivity was i ndicated by pre-rampart occupation a lthough the only dating evidence, a s ingle s herd o f Drag. 4 5, was not c learly s tratified. The r emaining excavated r ingworks with Romano-British f inds, Trelissey and Parc-yr-Eglwys, are o f unknown origin. Other s ites can be s een with more c ertainty to have had Romano-British foundations. At L langynog I I, excavat ed in the early s eventies by Richard Avent ( 1973; 1 975) two building p latforms, s upporting insubstantial s tructures, were l ocated within an insubstantial r ectangular enclosure. The s ite produced C 14 dates f alling b etween 1 00+ 7 0 ad and 1 30 + 7 0 ad. The s ite i s one o f a number o f s trongly r ectilinear enclosures in Dyfed ( Savory 1 954, 6 8 ( i). Hogg 1 962b, 365 nos. 7 0-73). Some may b e medieval and the form i s by no means a lien to the I ron Age, but a Romano-British date s uggested f or a proportion o f these by L langynog I I i s s upported a lso by the presence o f apparently s ophisticated Romanised buildings in the r ectilinear enclosure o f Castle F lemish. The types o f building in s ites o f proven Ro i nano-British date vary from primitive to r elatively s ophisticated, but a common factor o f elongated r ectangular plan f orms a marked contrast with native round houses and four posters. This varying d evelopment parallels the s ituation in Glamorgan and elsewhere, and a lthough c omplex villas do not develop, s tages on the way a re s hown. However, no overall d evelopment s equence i s y et a pparent. Primitive and s ophisticated buildings occur in both 1 st and 2nd c entury and 3 rd and 4 th c entury contexts. The s ites excavated could only have functioned a s s ingle farms: no village s ize s ettlements are known, with the possible exception o f Sheep I sland ( see below) a lthough admittedly there has b een a paucity o f excavation in the l arger enclosures. Of the hut groups which have f urnished Romano-British material, ( Fig 2 ) the b est known are those on i slands Gateholm, and the comparable s ite a ssociated with a promontory f ort on S heep I sland ( Crossley 1 963, 1 76 No. 1 9). These s ites are l arge enough to r epresent village s ize s ettlements. Gateholm i s a d ifficult s ite, r ecently r eviewed a t l ength by Davies, Hague and Hogg. I ts rows of conjoined, r ectangular huts are a typical. Material f rom i t i s l argely unstratified, but i ncludes a l ittle Samian, a quantity of 3 rd and 4 th c entury pottery and a pin o f 5 th or 6 th c entury date. Obviously an extended p eriod o f a ctivity i s r epresented, while S amian f rom the make-up o f a building and the p in f rom the f inal occupation phase s uggest that the buildings may b e r elatively l ate. has

A clear s equence of I ron Age/Romano-British s uccessiOn now been r evealed by excavation a t S tackpole Warren.

2 99

( Benson 1 977, 1 978 and 1 979. We a re grateful to Mr. B enson for the following information). S tackpole i s a c omplex s and dune s ite, with occupation f rom Neolithic to RomanoBritish t imes, in an area o f l imestone and loess engulfed by sand in various s tages from the Early Bronze Age. I ron Age occupation occurred i n s uccessive s and d eposits ( C14 dated 2 85 + 6 0 bc and 1 05 + 6 0 bc), broadly contemporary with an extensive f ield s ystem l ittle a ffected by s and b low ( C14 dated 4 05 + 7 0 bc and 9 5 ± 7 0 bc). One o f the I ron Age s ettlements, with t imber buildings and l ittle coherent plan, was s ucceeded by a number o f s tone built huts, one o f which produced quantities o f pottery o f the 2nd and 3 rd c enturies AD. I n early Roman t imes further s and encroachment took place on the f ield system. Nevertheless the f ields continued in u se, and another s tone built s ettlement possibly b elonged to this phase. THE NORTH AND EAST,

THE ROMAN MILITARY

Z ONE

The military s trategy o f the c onquest period in the mid 7 0s AD i s c learer now than in 1 966 and, a s the map ( Fig 2 ) s hows, the road and forts f orm an unbroken frontier on what we consider to be the eastern f lank o f Demetian t erritory. The most s ignificant d iscovery s ince 1 966 has b een the Roman fort at Pumpsaint, ( Louentinum) ( Jones and Little 1 974), guarding the crossing o f the River Cothi and c lose to the gold mines at Dolaucothi. From h ere the route north to L lanio ( Bremia) on the upper r eaches o f the T eifi and on to Trawscoed and the forts o f Gwynedd i s c lear. With the exception o f the fort a t L landovery, which may be an outlier in the c ampaigns from AD 4 8 against the Silures, the forts in Dyfed a ll date f rom the mid 7 0s AD. We now have good evidence f or a vicus a t Carmarthen and at L landovery, L lanio and Trawscoed; there i s a lmost c ertainly a vicus s ettlement a t Pumpsaint. At Carmarthen s ubstantial t imber f ramed buildings o f the early to mid 2nd c entury were demolished to make way f or the massive town defences o f the l ate 2nd c entury. At L lanio there i s evidence for two phases o f l ayout in t he t imber vicus buildings; a ir photography has i dentified a vicus north o f the fort at Trawscoed, whose s treet grid, a s noted by J .L. Davies, i s a ligned on the fort, ' suggest ing a c lose r elationship between an auxiliary fort on the one hand and an o fficially constituted vicus on the other' ( Davies forthcoming). The fort and road n etwork, and the vici e stablished with them can b e a ssumed to have made a considerable impact on the native economy. The orthodox view i s that the military phase o f this northern and eastern area o f Dyfed was shortlived; the forts were a bandoned b etween AD 1 201 30 and the vici declined rapidly. The l ack o f any pottery demonstrably l ater than the mid 2 nd c entury from s uch s mall s cale excavations a s have t aken place on the vici s eems to s upport this. The rapid d ecline o f the v ici has

3 00

DYFED DEFENDED ENCLOSURES W ITH ROMAN S ETTLEMENT •

ROMAN OCCU PAT ION

0

ROMAN

•

E XCAVATED R ECT IL INEAR

F INDS ENCLOS CI RE

J NEXCAVATED R ECT IL INEAR •

POST ROMAN

A

7 POST ROMAN

ENCLOSURE

ACT IV ITY ACT IV ITY

Figure

3 01

3

been deduced s olely from the l ack o f any o bviously post 2nd c entury pottery. But the native tradition, i t i s c lear, was barely c eramic. Pottery in t he vici could well be s urplus s old up from army c ontracts, s o t hat once army s upplies dried up, pottery would have no l onger occurred in the archaeological r ecord in any quantity. Only l arge s cale area excavation will d emonstrate how long the vici r emained viable s ettlements. There i s evidence o f a 3 rd c entury r e-occupation a t Loughor and Carmarthen's enhancement o f i ts earthen d efences and probable occupation into the 5 th c entury AD a llows a l ate military use. The l ater occupation o f bases l ike Caerleon and Caernarvon i s well attested, a ll t raditionally l imited to a coastal fortification policy against I rish S ea raiders The c oin evidence from Dolaucothi i ndicates mining, or at l east Roman occupation until t he l ate 4 th c entury AD. The o ften r epeated a ssertion that the gold mines passed into c ivilian control i s based purely on the a ssumption that the troops had l eft by AD 1 20. Outside the vici evidence for s ettlement in t he period i s a lmost nonexistent ( Figs 2 and 3 ) consisting only o f a f ew f inds from h illforts, a s catter o f r ectilinear s ites, and s ites where Romano-British u sage may be indicated by post-Roman activity. Only at Carmarthen i s there any evidence for a vicus developing into a defended town. I ts position i s s omething o f an outlier to the northern and eastern military frontier described above, but i ts s iting a t the bridging point o f the Towy and accessibility from the s ea was obviously o f military advantage i n t he 1 st c entury. These factors ensured i ts s uccess a s a s ettlement probably into the 5 th c entury AD. Carmarthen's inclusion i n the Antonine I tinerary indicates that governmental f unctions were carried on there. On these and other grounds i t i s a ssumed to be the c ivilian c apital o f the Demetae. There has been l ittle excavation i n the town, and no opportunity a s yet to excavate i n t he c entre. However, the l ine and phasing o f i ts d efences are now f irmly establ ished. I n s ize ( 33 acres) i t i s s imilar to Caerwent, the c ivilian capital o f the S ilures. Current excavations have located part o f a gridded s treet pattern and previous work on the defences, where an early s econd c entury t imber building was demolished to make way for the earthen defenc es, h ints at a r eorganisation o f p lan, possibly s ubsequent to a change in the s tatus o f the town. The ' back s treet' buildings have been mainly o f t imber, with evidence o f iron working and s melting. Professor G D B Jones' excavat ion o f 1 969, located a s tone-built, hypocausted and plastered house with mid 4 th c entury coins in i ts foundat ion trench, and s tone town houses a re b eing investigated i n c urrent excavations ( Jones 1 970).

3 02

ECONOMY The evidence for native s ubsistence economy has been detailed a bove, and the s uggestion mentioned o f Roman military s timulation o f this economy. The demands from the chain o f f orts on the eastern f lank o f D emetian t erritory may have been s hort-lived but n evertheless c onsiderable, even i f they only commandeered meat and l eather s uppl ies and imported grain. B eyond this there i s s ome evidence for the trading connections o f Carmarthen, and the impact o f a monetary economy on both ' zones' o f D emetia. Maritime l inks with Caerleon are d emonstrated by the presence in the metalling o f the quay a t Caerleon ( Early 3 rd c entury) o f phyllite, an Ordovician s late f rom the s outhern Preselis ( Boon 1 978, 1 1-12). This occurs i n quantity a s a roofing material in Carmarthen, and from t he Romanised farmsteads o f Cwmbrwyn, Trelissey, Ford and Castle F lemish. George Boon notes the phyllite disc from the fort a t Neath, and its occurrence in a 3 rd or 4 th c entury c ontext a t Cae Summerhouse, a native farmstead n ear Porthcawl. H e s uggests Carmarthen a s a c entre for the i ndustry, with the waste used a s s hips ballast. This trade in roofing s tone demons trates Carmarthen's maritime l inks and, equally importantly, the town's l inks with the s outhern Preselis. I t i s unlikely that the archaeological r ecord can throw l ight on the means o f transporting gold bullion f rom the mines at Dolaucothi, but i t may have been by s ea through Carmarthen. We may a lso s ee the coin hoards ( whose d istribution i s not, a s o ften a sserted, predominantly c oastal, but fairly widely s cattered over Dyfed) a s proof o f the r egion's participation in the monetary economy o f Roman Britain. The o ld i dea that 3 rd and 4 th c entury hoards r eflect the activities o f I rish raiders has been abandoned in the l ight o f Bateson's demonstration ( 1973) that there i s no corresponding I rish evidence o f loot f rom s uch raids and that the coins were, at the t ime o f deposition, virtually worthless through d ebasement and i nflation. But their deposition c omes only at the point when they were no l onger worth using, and coins continued to enter the area until well on into the 4 th c entury. A partly monetarized and r ather r emote r egion was i n f act j ust the milieu for t he forger o f barbarous radiates o f the l ate 3rd c entury AD whose activities c ame to s uch an a brupt end a t Coygan. To j udge from the amounts and types o f c eramic and bronze f inds to date, Carmarthen's r emote westerly position in no way a ffected i ts access to the f ull range o f Roman ' consumer goods'. The very l imited amount o f s uch ' consumer goods' f rom native s ites further west hardly argues for any developed marketing range for the town. I nsuffi cient excavation has been done on native s ites c loser to Carmarthen itself to a ssess the extent o f ' Romanisation' in t erms o f ' consumer goods'. The presence o f anthracite coal in the town and s ites s outh-west o f C armarthen and numerous q uern s tones o f l ocal s andstone and Millstone

3 03

Grits, a s well material argue h interland.

a s the use o f Preseli s late a s for s ome extractive i ndustries

a roofing in t he rural

Changed building t echniques and s tyles on native s ites are far s tronger evidence o f Roman i nfluence, and s ignific antly, fall well s hort o f those o f d eveloped villa s ites. POST-ROMAN

SETTLEMENT

Outside ecclesiastical s ites and p lacename evidence, evidence o f s ettlement i s extremely s crappy and rarely s ecurely s ecular. There i s l ittle evidence for the occupation o f defended enclosures. Some T intagel ware was d iscovered a t Coygan ( Wainwright 1 967, 7 0-72), a lthough this r epresented three vessels only, and was unaccompanied by any s tructural r emains. Some l ate 4 th c entury material, arguably contemporary, was a lso present. The material hardly compares with either the Romano-British occupation on the s ite or with post-Roman occupation o f other d efended enclosures in Western Britain. In i dentifying s ites o f this period, tradition i s a s good a criterion a s ' many. Clegyr Boia, n ear St. Davids, i s a ssociated with a c heiftain who f igures in the vita o f the s aint. Excavations on the s ite in 1 943 ( Williams 1 953) d id not at the t ime provide any material o f this period, but a r ecent C 14 date from a burned-out t imber gate s tructure, c entering on the turn o f the i st millenia bc and a d ( Burleigh and Hewson, 1 979), could r epresent h eart wood u sed within a late or post-Roman context. Craig Gwrtheyrn in t he T eifi Valley i s a f urther s ite o f t his type, i dentified with the s tronghold o f Vortigern mentioned by ' Nennius' ( Willoughby-Gardner 1 932, 1 46-150). A number o f s ites s howing Christian u se o f presumably earlier defended enclosures have a lready b een mentioned, in view o f the possibility o f their r epresenting c ontinu ity o f occupation from Romano-British t imes. Their involvement in Christian u sage may have originated in a number o f ways; possibly by direct g ift or even following on from non-secular pagan u sage. Another model involves their evolution into c emeteries following the primary burial o f the founder, the owner o f the enclosure. This last model especially s upposes occupation up to and during the early s tages o f u se a s a c emetery, not n ecessarily, but presumably, Christian. I t a lso presupposes o ccupat ion in the Roman and s ub-Roman period and s uggests one o f the r easons for their eventual a bandonment a s s ettlements. The b est documented examples are t hose a ssociated with l ong c ist c emeteries, s uch a s t hat r ecently excavated by one o f the authors at Caer, Bayvil ( James 1 979), and a lso at Caerau, Moylegrove ( Vincent 1 864, 3 02) and possibly Great Castle H ead, St. I shmaels ( Pers. Comm. the l ate Rev J P Gordon-Williams). Other s ites o f this type can be s uspected, including two more d eveloped s ites now

3 04

a ssociated with existing c hurches, a t Meidrim ( RCAHM 1 917, 2 14 No. 6 24) and Eglwys Cummin. Undeveloped s ites are s uggested by a ssociation with Early Christian monuments or small chapel s ites ( Lewis 1 976b, 1 90-1. Williams 1 979a, 2 4-5 and note 4 3). A s imilar d evelopment may b e h inted a t by the Romanised building r eported a s underlying the c hurch a t L lanfair-ar-y-Bryn. Outside t he d efended e nclosures evidence i s even more s canty. Mention has a lready b een made o f t he s ettlement on Gateholm, and Davies, Hague and Hogg s uggest s imilari ties with other I sland s ites - Ynys L ochtyn, Grassholm and Sheep I sland. I n r espect o f the possible l ate date o f the buildings a t Gateholm, Davies, Hague and Hogg's s uggestion that the s ite may be monastic s till d eserves c areful consideration. The s equence a t the s ite may b e comparable with that postulated a bove f or the d efended enclosures. The a bsence o f a building s izeable enough to r epresent a chapel r emains a major problem. F inally, mention c an b e made o f two pins f rom Castlemartin Burrows ( Mathias 1 927, 1 92-5), and a l ittle T intagel ware from Longbury Bank c ave, a lthough the l atter may b elong in a r eligious context ( Alcock 1 965b, 1 99-200). The extent to which this s crappy evidence r elates to continuity or r eoccupation o f earlier s ites i s unclear, but other s craps o f evidence f rom the Early Medieval period h int a t a c ontinuity not only o f c ertain s ettlement types but a lso o f a dministrative s ystems. Professor Glanville Jones has l ocated two ' maenors', or multiple estates whose boundaries persisted into medieval t imes, which were r ecorded in the mid 9 th c entury and 1 0th c entury a s marginal entries in the s o c alled Book o f Chad ( or L lyfyr T eilo). Chad 6 c entres on M edfynych in L land eilo parish, Chad 3 and 4 r ecord t he g ift o f ' Trefwyddog' to St. T eilo's patrimony, a probable bond township i n an area c entering on Pumpsaint, whose boundaries s urvived a s those o f the medieval commote o f Cab . S pace does not permit even a s ummary o f Professor Jones' a rguments but h e concludes that ' here on t he moorland f ringe o f c entral Wales...one might expect a d egree o f a dministrat ive continuity f rom the Roman p eriod onwards' ( Jones 1 972). There i s a s trong and early tradition o f a s ynod h eld at L landewi Brefi, c lose t o the fort and vicus o f B remia ( Llanio) in the early 6 th c entury when S t. David r efuted the P elagian h eresy. I f the area was a t that t ime a f ocus o f P elagianism we would s ee this arising in a l ate o r s ub-Roman milieu. L landewi Brefi was i n the early medieval period a ' clas° c hurch, an ecclesiastical estate owned by a group o f h ereditary ' claswyr'. At Carmarthen there was a ' bishop house' j ust o utside the eastern gates o f the Roman town, d edicated t o ' Teullyddog', a f ollower o f or misnomer for, the 6 th 1 9-20). The town i s a good

c entury T eilo c andidate f or

3 05

( James 1 979, c ontinuity o f

nucleated administrative s ettlement, f unctions may have contracted.

even

i f

i ts economic

A s econd vexed question, which c an only be briefly s ummarised h ere, i s that o f an I rish s ettlement i n Wales in the l ate or s ub-Roman period. The documentary evidence s uggests immigration i n the l ate 4 th c entury, and much has been made o f the t itle protector, which may derive from an honorific l ate Roman rank, on the 6 th c entury tombstone o f Voteporix, one o f the r ulers castigated by Gildas ( Alcock 1 970). As i s common in this context, d irect archaeological evidence i s a lmost confined to Ogham i nscribed s tones and place names. No s pecific s ettlement s ites are known, while the f ew s ites producing material o f t he period ( including a f ew pieces o f metalwork o f s pecific ally I rish type, the pins from Castlemartin and possibly that from Gateholm), could belong i n either an I rish o r native context. The r ingworks o f the Taf/Cleddau a re s uperficially s imilar to I rish examples and have o ften been c laimed to owe something to post-Roman influence, but not only have they failed to produce r elevant material ( Alcock 1 970, 6 3), more particularly, their distribution i s markedly different from that o f both the Ogham s tones and placenames. The i dentification o f the areas o f primary s ettlement by this means, a s d efined by Richards ( 1960), i s a s far a s we can go. The greatest concentration o f both i s in north P embrokeshire, but a s pread o f p lacenames north o f the Teifi s uggest i nitial s ettlement h ere a lso, overrun by Gwynedd before the erection o f the earl iest Early Christian monuments. However, we may s uspect a change i f not in native s ettlement types, then in t erritorial organisation due to I rish s ettlement, parts o f which were fossilised in l ater medieval t erritorial and administrative units. Hints o f this may be s een i n the organisation o f the early church in Dyfed. In a s eminal article, Dr. Thomas Charles-Edwards ( 1971) confirms the early origin o f the l ist o f s even B ishop Houses i n Dyfed in the Latin Law Books - one per Cantref. ' The Cantref', h e a sserts, ' appears to have o ften been t he s uccessor o f the ancient tud, the o ld small kingdom r uled o ver by a tudyr ( /* toutorix) or a breyr ( /* brogoux)'. L ike the I rish church each tud will have had i ts B ishop. However i t must be a dmitted that this n eed not n ecessarily r eflect the a ffect o f I rish immigration, but rather t he expected parallel development on e ither s ide o f the I rish S ea and perhaps the proselytizing o f a British Church; the h ints o f t erritorial B ishoprics extend beyond Dyfed and any presumed I rish influence. SUMMARY D ISCUSSION In our present s tate o f knowledge, we can only pose a s eries o f s ummary questions, r ather than r each c onclusions.

3 06

Whatever the complexities o f their pre-Roman development the morphology o f native s ettlement types s eems l ikely to r eflect a s ettlement pattern o f g eneral r elevance to the immediate pre-conquest period. P erhaps the most s ign ificant factors in this r espect a re the d ifferences in defended s ettlement types, and i n the evidence for s ubsist ence economy, b etween the s outh-west o f the area and the north and east. These undoubtedly i mply s ignificant s ocial d ifferences; between s mall s cale communities i n the s outh-west, perhaps organised on a s ystem a kin to that documented in the Welsh Laws, and u ltimately more h ighly c entralised i f not politically organised s ocieties to the north and east. They may a lso correspond to a more agrarian economy practised in the former area. This division perhaps corresponds to a tribal or political one ( Savory 1 954, 5 6) r eflecting the l imits o f the t erritory o f the Demetae. While i t i s d ifficult to accept Jarrett and Manns' arguments r elating S ilurian t erritory to the distribution o f Roman forts ( Savory 1 976 ,; 2 83-4. Pace Jarrett and Mann 1 968, 7 1) - the l atter could well r efl ect a r eaction to topography - the ' cultural d ivision' i s a more t elling argument. The question o f D emetian tribal l imits i s a moot point, but i t does have r elevance to another question, that o f the l ocation o f Carmarthen, which was presumably their cantonal capital. Factors other than a dministration undoubtedly influenced the l ocation o f the town: the presence o f an existing vicus ( James 1 979, 1 2), and i ts position at the navigable l imit o f a r iver at a n exus o f potential trade routes. Merlins H ill may have a lready fulfilled s uch a function at the interface b etween the Towy Valley and western s ettlement a reas ( James 1 979, 9 . Colgan 1 977, 1 3). Whatever the r easons for the l ocation o f Carmarthen, i ts effect on the h interland appears to b e minimal. Major and fundamental changes may r emain archaeologically undetectable at our present s tage o f knowledge; any economic s timulation r esulting in a s urplus a bsorbed by the military market would have l ittle e ffect on s ettlements ( Manning 1 975, 1 15). We are s till f ar f rom having a c lear picture o f the rural l andscape. The impact o f the mining industry i s a lso unknown. However, the broad picture cont inues to be one o f l imited Romanisation. The r easons for this l ack o f Romanisation r emain to be explained. The Highland Z one c haracteristics o f t he area, r emoteness and a pastoral tradition, are perhaps not s ufficient explanation. These f actors only c learly a ffect the north and east o f the area. H ere, i f the mult iple estate s tructure has i ts roots i n the Roman p eriod, i t may well b e earlier s till, and the precursors o f the food and cattle r enders l isted i n the Welsh Laws may have s imply been creamed o ff by Roman tax gatherers, j ust a s

3 07

the Norman invaders took over existing s ystems o f r enders and s ervices. The factors are not c learly a pplicable to the s outh-west. Carmarthen i tself i s l ocated to the east o f a l arge tract o f f ertile f arming country, w ith an established agrarian tradition, a position c omparible with that o f Caerwent in r elation t o t he South Wales c oastal lowland, and i ts r emoteness f rom eastern markets i s o bviated by access to the s ea. I ts s uitability f or ' development' i s emphasised by the f act that i n Norman t imes the area s upport ed a s eries o f f lourishing Marcher Lordships. Any s uggest ed depressant e ffects on t he economy o f t he f orced d emands o f t he military market are r elevant only i n t he early p eriod. I t s eems most l ikely that t his backwardness has i ts roots i n t he pre-Roman s ettlement pattern. The l ack o f development may be due to the c ontinuation o f s mall s cale t enure, r eflected by t he continued occupation o f d efended enclosures. The Towy Valley i s perhaps a s eparate c ase. Again i t i s a tract o f f ertile country, c lose to the marketing c entre a t Carmarthen, and h ere we may s uspect l arger units existed by r eference to earlier s ettlement patterhs. In this r espect i t may be more than c oincidence that t he most developed s ite known, at L lys B rychan, l ies c lose to the great h illfort complex o f Cam nGoch, while three out o f f our o f the other possible villa s ites a lso l ie in the Valley. A f urther factor o f r elevance c oncerns the n eed f or d efences under the Pax Romana. While i nfluenced by t he threat o f piracy in the l ater s tages, and earlier s temming from continued occupation o f e stablished s ettlements, we may s uspect a s ocial order o f endemic violence based o n the blood f eud, a nd i ts c ounterbalancing e laborate mechani sms o f c ompensation, a s in E arly M edieval Wales, and a h ierarchical s ociety inherited f rom t he pre-Roman p eriod, whose r eflections we dimly s ee i n t he various l evels o f s ettlement. Of c ourse, a lthough we have emphasised the probable continuity b etween I ron Age and Romano-British s ettlements, the former are s ignificantly d ifferent f rom t hose which f inally emerge in the early medieval period. The Maerdrefi are by no means i dentifiable with d efended enclosures, while the s cale o f s ettlement, a t l east i n n orthern a nd eastern areas, i s vastly d ifferent. We c an envisage t hese changes a s i hitiated by the Roman o ccupation, even i f we are i n n c b position to c hart their progress, a nd r eaching their c ulmination in the post-Roman period. This post-Roman development s hould theoretically c onc ern the e ffect on t he s urviving mix o f Roman a nd n ative British s ystems o f Irish s ettlement, and that connected with the c hurch. Continuity o f earlier organisations may b e h inted a t in Carmarthen and i n t he s tructure o f the multiple e states, while the o rganisation s uggested

3 08

by the B ishop houses may imply the imposition o f a lien s ystems. However, a ll this r emains elusive i n s trictly archaeological t erms. We have a basic problem i n i dentifying any s ites, both the well documented nuclear s ettlements o f the l ater period and their presumed post-Roman predecessors, while the evidence we have for the l atter i s o f very l imited s ignificance. In the future, part o f the answer may l ie in the defended enclosures thems elves and the use o f radiocarbon dating on a ceramic s ites. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We are grateful to Don B enson for h is h elp with the preparation o f this r eport. Thanks a lso to T erry James for a r eview o f the t ext, Mrs. D iane Hood for typing s everal drafts, and Ken Murphy for the i llustrations F igs 2 and 3 . R EFERENCES A lcock,

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W ainwright,

1 971

E xcavations o f a F ortified S ettlement a t

G J ,

W alesland R ath, W ard,

J ,

1 907

R E M ,

C ambrensis W illiams, 1 943,

A ,

B ritannia 2 ,

1 923

7 8,

A rchaeologia

A R oman S ite

i n P embrokeshire,

A rchaeologia

2 11-224

1 953

G H ,

C armarthenshire,

1 75-208

C legeyr B ola,

A rchaeologia C ambrensis

W illiams,

4 8-108

R oman R emains a t C wmbryn,

C ambrensis 6 2, W heeler,

P embs,

1 978

S t D avid's, 1 02,

P emb,:

e xcavation i n

2 0-47

A spects o f L ater P rehistoric a nd N ative R oman

C armarthenshire:

P art

I ,

C armarthenshire A ntiquary

1 4,

3 -19

W illiams, G H , 1 979a A spects o f L ater P rehistoric a nd N ative R oman C armarthenshire: P art I I, C armarthenshire A ntiquary 1 5,'15-37 W illiams,

G H ,

1 979b

C ourt W ood E nclosure,

A rchaeology i n W ales W ilson,

D R ,

1 963

1 9,

P embrey M ountain,

1 3

R oman B ritain i n 1 962,

312

J o f.Roman S tudies 5 3,

1 25

RURAL SETTLEMENT OF THE ROMAN PERIOD IN NORTH AND EAST WALES H C Mytum

I NTRODUCTION Hogg ( 1966) divided Wales into a number o f distinct areas, each with i ts own characteristic s ettlement type. The south-west i s covered by another contribution in this volume. The r est o f Wales i s included h ere, under the h eadings o f north-west, the Marches and the s outheast. I t i s gratifying to f ind that s ince 1 966 at l east s ome o f the areas d evoid o f Romano-British s ettlement have produced native occupation s ites. The areas b est known for native Roman occupation have continued to attract greater analysis, and this paper will r eflect this. Few distribution maps are g iven, because they would merely r eflect d ifferential f ieldwork and c ertain preservational and r ecovery factors that are d iscussed where appropriate below. One o f the greatest problems in Wales at this period i s dating the s ettlements. Even where the s ites a re easily visible a s upstanding monuments, dating has to be based on morphological characteristics derived f rom the small s ample that has been excavated. The g eneral l ack o f diagnostic artefacts from most s ites, even t hose fully excavated, makes this s ituation even more d ifficult. Roman pottery occurs most frequently, and i s taken t o indicate s ome occupation during the Roman period, but this does not exclude either earlier or l ater u se o f the s ite, for which periods the characteristic artefacts are particularly rare. This paucity o f artefacts means that in a lmost a ll cases the s equence o f development o f the s ite cannot be placed in a chronological framework. The most that can usually be s uggested i s that a s ite belongs to the Roman period, implying nothing about i ts date o f foundation or abandonment. Hogg ( 1966) s uggests that the different nature o f the s ettlements i n north-west Wales was due to a deliberate population movement into the area, possibly even f rom Spain, instigated by the Romans a fter the decimation o f the indigenous peoples during and a fter the conquest. Equally i t i s possible that s uch s ettlement types d eveloped within a native c ultural, s ocial and economic s ystem s timulated by the presence o f Roman troops in the n eighbourhood. K elly ( 1976, 1 31) s uggests that the d istinctive

3 13

s ettlement pattern might ' be interpreted a s an i ndigenous economic r esponse to the military presence' and this would account for the quite d ifferent nature o f s ettlement compared with the r est o f Wales. Kelly l ists s even auxiliary forts, s ome a long the coast, and s uggests that there may have been more. Thus, the n eed to provide l ocal grain s upplies could have l ed, either voluntarily or compulsorily, to the development o f an intensive agricultural s ystem in the h interland to s upply the troops. This a ssumes that the s ites were not a lready in existence and fully functioning b efore the Roman invasion, and a lso that grain s upplies were obtained l ocally. The l atter was no doubt at l east partially true, a lthough how easy i t would have been f or s ome o f the marginal areas to have produced a l arge enough s upply i s n ot c lear. Where production was for a military market, i t i s a lways difficult to decide whether the s urplus was t aken a s taxation, and therefore d id not contribute positively to the native s ocial and economic s ystem, or whether i t was purchased and provided an influx o f cash which a llowed investment in l arger and better homesteads, f ield s ystems, objects for domestic use and personal adornment. The evidence from excavation s uggests that only a l imited amount o f profit r eached those working on the s ites, a lthough s ome do s eem to have had a considerable r ange o f goods brought in from the more Romanised parts o f the province, presumably via the military areas. The variability in wealth i s discussed b elow. THE NORTH-WEST In this area the r emains are most complete and archaeological investigation has been most intense. Wheeler ( 1925, 2 59) and Hogg ( 1966) devoted over half their d iscussions o f Welsh native s ettlement to this one r egion. The r emains are different in form to those in t he r est o f Wales and therefore the conclusions r eached h ere cannot be a pplied elsewhere except at the most g eneral l evel. Nevertheless, i t i s h eartening to s ee a n umber o f n ew methodological a pproaches over the last decade and a half which h ave a llowed a much fuller understanding o f the possible economic and s ocial s ystems o perating in this one r egion. Numerous morphological c lassifications have b een attempted, each using s lightly different criteria ( Hemp and Gresham 1 944; Griffiths 1 951; RCAHM 1 964; Bowen and Gresham 1 967). S everal d istinct forms o f s ite have b een r ecognised which can now b e t entatively a ssigned f unctions and social s tatus. Smith ( 1974) has carried out s tatistical analysis o f those s ettlement plans which were s uffic iently complete to a llow a l arge n umber o f a ttributes or f eatures to be measured. Inevitably there was a b ias in the s election o f the criteria u sed for c lassification. On the other hand it may have been useful to weigh c ertain

3 14

factors more h eavily than others. Many factors o f possibly l ittle or no r elevance may have swamped the f ew important variables. The major disadvantages o f Smith's s ystem i s that i t i s based on the best preserved 8 5 s ites out o f a known total o f 2 85. The method o f analysis i s s uch that the other s ites cannot be integrated into the c lassification, and s o discussion has to b e confined to this s mall s ample. For this r eason the RCAHM c lassification has r etained cons iderable appeal, and has been u sed by l ater workers ( eg Johnson 1 981). I t i s i nteresting, however, to note the different r esults produced by t he two methods o f c lassif ication. Only those farmsteads in Caernarvonshire have been used; the information i s l isted i n table 1 . Only in Smith's category I d i s there any RCAHM category. I n most cases, the c lassifications a ppear to have very l ittle in common. In order to a ppreciate this problem visually f igs 1 and 2 s how the s ame s ites grouped by each c lassification s ystem. In both o f these s ystems, there are s ome s ites in one category which l ook s imilar to s ome i n another. Whereas subjective j udgment decided the RCAHM d ivisions, the computer programme used by Smith c lustered the s ites using s tatistical methods, producing coherent groups o f defined s imilarity. Nevertheless this does not n ecessarily mean that the l atter c lassification i s any more valid or correct. In 1 966 the full organisation and c lassification o f s ites had only r ecently been produced. This was s een, correctly, a s a major a chievement, but l ittle i nterpretat ion o f the functions o f the s ites was put forward. Three important articles have s ince a ppeared dealing with s ocial and economic a spects o f morphology ( Smith 1 977), the presence o f metalworking ( Kelly 1 976), and agricultural potential ( Johnson 1 981). In addition to agricultural production, the extraction and primary processing o f metals could have provided payment o f taxes, or have a cted a s an extra s ource o f income. Certainly, the Roman authorities would have welcomed extra s upplies o f metals s uch a s i ron, copper and l ead produced by the native population. Although a ll l arge-scale metal extraction was carried out under d irect s upervision, the nature o f l ocal deposits and the s mall s cale o f the working made this inefficient and inappropriate, and the n atives were l eft to work the s ources themselves. I t i s o f particular interest to f ind f ield s ystems a ssociated with many o f the homesteads, a lthough r arely well preserved. Smith ( 1977) has s tudied agricultural practices from the s tandpoint s ettlement morphology while Johnson ( 1981) extrapolates from s oils and topography. In areas whose conditions a re very r estricted, the more confident interpretations are possible; a lso where the s ettlements • are particular

s pecialised

3 15

types.

But

in the

2z ) e 0 er ;, 0e ) Ib

t z n

4 1 7

t eb6 9 * 0 9e c e bee 4 9

I d

1, l ib

5 0

F igure

1 .

1 00

me t res

Classification o f native ( after Smith 1 974)

3 16

farmsteads

4

I aQ

4?

4 4

c1 /

Ib

t)

0

9 I l a

I l b

I V

6 9 veg 9 uü e3 Qe , e

Q

Z

I Vb

1 Va

V

• : * -e 0 e 0 0

I Vb i

s b0

I Vb i

b 0, 4 ,e, , , i v c , I V d 0

Figure

5 0

2 .

1 00

m e t re s

Classification ( after

RCAHM

of

1 964)

3 17

native

farmsteads

vast majority o f cases, the environmental and architectural possibilities are s ufficiently wide to a llow human choice an almost full r ein. In these c ases, even excavat ion may not provide the answers, and we must await f urther methodological advances for them to be interpreted. Smith ( 1977, 4 9) considers that a ll but one c ategory o f s ite worked on a mixed farming economy. The one except ion i s the type o f s ite with u sually only one round house s et in an enclosure, s uitable only for a very s mall population. This i s h is c ategory I b, and considered a s transhumance dwellings a t higher a ltitudes, not occupied by the whole social and familial group, but only a portion o f it. These s ites o ften overlie t erraced f ields, s uggest ing a r eduction in the amount o f arable l and. The g eneral conclusions r eached by Smith a re s upport ed by the analysis o f Johnson ( 1981). What i s c lear through the latter's work, however, i s the detailed unders tanding o f the potential o f the various s oils that occurr ed in the area. Johnson noted that no t erraced f ields occur in wet land, and h is s oil maps around a s election o f s ites show that the configuration o f the f ields was intimately a ssociated with the d istribution o f the b etter s oils. There i s g eneral agreement that the t erraced f ields indicate areas that were r epeatedly ploughed. The t erracing was caused by accentuated s oil c reep due to the l oosening o f the soil by the plough, and erosion between ploughing and the growth o f crops. Soil creep was produced by water percolating downhill with the s oil until r eaching a barrier s uch a s a wall or collection o f s tones. O ' Neil ( 1936) and Fowler and Evans ( 1967) s uggest that there were no boundary walls to the t erraced f ields, merely rough l ines o f s tones dumped at the edges o f the f ields in the course o f c learance and c ultivation. I f the arable f ields were not properly enclosed, then t here may have been difficulties in the control o f grazing animals in their vicinity. Nevertheless, s uch t erraced f ields could and probably did s upport l ivestock ( possibly t ethered). This may have been on a s easonal basis, or a s part o f a long-term s cheme o f rotation, and i t would be most unwise to a ssume that the acreage o f t erraced f ields a ssociated with any one farmstead r epresents t he area under crops in any one year. The s tone-walled type o f enclosure was presumably only for s tock raising a s t erracing does not occur. Smith ( 1977, 4 9) considers that there were earlier f ields r edundant by the Roman period. This may be an over-simplification. I t i s very probably that many o f the s tone-walled enclosures were pre-Roman i n origin, but they could have been u sed l ater. I f only the t erraced f ields were used in the Roman period, then we s hould imagine a system o f ranching for the l ivestock on open h illsides, with the crops within d efined f ields. The only animals kept n ear the s ettlements and in controlled conditions

3 18

would have been a small n umber on t he fallow t erraces. While this practise i s possible, i t i s a lso l ikely that f ield s ystems existing elsewhere would have been utilised in t he control o f grazing, and i n t he protection o f h erds. The detailed analysis o f s oils i s more a pplicable in defining arable than pastoral f arming. Certain s oil types, notably the brown earths and s ome podzols, are s uitable for arable agriculture, whereas others, s uch a s poorly drained podzols, g leys and rock-dominant s oils, are not. Thus a map can be drawn o f potential arable l and, whereas a ll s oil types can b e used for pasture. On the other hand arable c ultivation could only have been a minor element in the economy o f many s ites. On s ome s ites, s uch a s RCAHM 1 063 n ear Tyddyn-Mawr ( Fig 3 ), the f ields f ill a ll the s uitable ground between a s hallow, s trong podzol on the s teep s lopes, and poorly drained g leys on the f latter ground ( Johnson 1 981, 4 01). Some f ields a lso extended i nto the poorer ground, these presumably b eing the marginal part o f the farm. Those f ields on the wetter, poorly drained areas could have had s pecial value in dry periods, a s they would have b een l ess s usceptible to drought whereas the s teep, s trong s lopes would have been best in wet weather. At other s ites the picture i s c learly more complex. I n Johnson's a rea 3 , around Thostrytan, a s catter o f enclosed farmsteads can be s een, some with a ssociated f ields s ystems ( Fig 4 ). Two blocks o f f ields are marked by Johnson, each a lmost exclusively on the grade 1 , well-drained brown earths. What n eeds s ome explanation, however, i s not the a bsence o f f ields from the poorer s oils, but f rom other patches o f h igh quality s oils. Clearly one i s dealing h ere with either a partial distribution o f t he original f ields, or other factors were o perating which conditioned the s ite l ocations and the disposition o f f ields around s uch s ettlements. In s ome areas, where there i s h igh quality s oil, there are enclosed farmsteads bu no extant f ield s ystems. This i s most easily explained by d ifferential d estruction. Nevertheless, This s till l eaves s ome tracts o f good l and uncultivated. Various interpretations are possible, which a pply not only to this particular s tudy area, but to the r egion a s a whole. The f irst interpretation o f t he b lank areas on the map i s that in areas o f good s oil not only the f ield systems but a lso the s ettlements have been destroyed. As Johnson points out ( 1981, 4 05) the analysis o f s ite l ocation can be used a s a predictive tool in the s earch for f urther s ites. I t s hould t herefore be possible to produce a hypothetical r ecreation o f the partially d estroyed l andscape. On the o ther hand, differential preservation may not be the only f actor in the creation o f the extant s ettlement pattern. B lank a reas may have had a different form o f s ettlement and f arming s ystem which

3 19

Figure

3 .

Tyddyn-Mawr

and

a ssociated

3 20

f ields

( after Johnson

1 981)

Figure

G rade 1

G rade 2

G rade 4

G rade 4

b rn e a r ths

d ry p odzo ls 1 w e t b rn e a r th s

w e t p odzo l s l ow land g l ey s

d ry p odzo is

4 .

S ites and soils around ( after Johnson 1 981)

3 21

Rhostrytan

l eaves no trace. Although a possibility this i s unlikely a s various other forms o f s ettlement have been noted there. I t i s l ikely that a ll s ettlements would have b een a t l east partially made o f s tone and would have l eft s ome earthwork traces in an area so l ittle disturbed in the post-Roman period. The third interpretation i s t hat the b lank a reas have a lways been s o , s uggesting that arable agriculture was not carried out to its full potential. This would i ndicate t hat the s ettlements and a ssociated f ields a lready r ecogn ised were s ufficient to s upply t he indigenous d emand and that o f the Roman army, and that f urther production would have been o f l ittle or no value. Alternatively, i t could indicate that the s timulus c ausing the expansion o f a rable agriculture did not l ast l ong enough to a llow population increase and the s pread o f s ettlements to a ll s uitable l ocations. In this r espect t he military movements i n t he area are o f s pecial s ignificance. Kelly ( 1976, 1 37) s ugg ests that there was a continuous military presence i n north-west Wales, a lthough i t has b een s uggested . that there was a considerable r eduction a fter the middle o f t he s econd c entury. I f this r eduction d id occur, i t i s quite possible t hat in the hundred years o f Roman control up to t hat point, the full potential o f the upland i nterior was not r ealised. Any s lackening in demand would have s tifled f urther expans ion, and there could even have been contraction. At this point i t i s worth r emembering Smith's I b s ettlements, probably a ssociated with pastural a ctivities, overlying t erraced ( and so arable) f ields. A n ew s table s ettlement pattern would have emerged, utilising only s ome o f the potential locations. These s ettlements would presumably have s till produced a s urplus, and only a considerable market expansion could instigate r enewed expansion. The f inal interpretation probably explains a t l east s ome o f the gaps in the s ettlement pattern in r elation to h igh quality s oil, though i t i s l ikely that s ocial factors were a lso operating. I t i s worth noting that most RCAHM c lass IV s ettlements occur i n small c lusters, with r elatively s parse s ettlement between them ( Fig 5 ). This i s not r elated s olely to l ocation o f good s oils, a lthough this i s c learly one factor. The l ocation o f market or consumption c entres may a lso have i nfluenced the s ettlement pattern. I f expansion had continued these c lusters may have amalgamated, thus f illing the l andscape. Johnson, i n choosing his s tudy areas, picked units containing c lust ers. This i s in itself r easonable, but i t does mean that i t i s difficult to a ssess the importance o f s oil d istribution in the location o f s ettlement in the r egion a s a whole. I t may be that within a very l imited area, the positioning o f s ites in r elation t o h igh quality s oils was important. Nevertheless, in t he overall patterning o f s ettlement, other factors were i n operation, s uch a s the

d istribution o f

tribal

l ands,

3 22

l ocation o f markets

and

Figure

5 .

Distribution

of

RCAHM

class

3 23

IV

sites

( after

RCAHM

1 964)

access to them, the s ocial desirability o f l oosely c lust ered s ettlement and the presence o f other economic r esources, s uch a s exploitable metal ores. Most o f the homesteads s eems to have s upported only a s ingle nuclear family ( Smith 1 977). Indeed i t i s difficult to f ind many s ites where l arge groups l ived within the s ame enclosure or loose agglomeration o f huts. Even Smith' s c lass I I s ites h eld only extended families, this being based on t he greater number and/or s ize o f the round buildings. There were s ome l arger population concentrat ions a s a t Tre' r Ceiri, which could be considered urban, but these are not discussed h ere. A n umber o f s ettlements, particularly c f the RCAHM c lass IV, have evidence o f metalworking. The detailed evidence has been tabulated and briefly discussed by Kelly ( 1976), and h e has s hown how important the farmsteads were in the production and at l east initial processing o f the ores. Lynch ( 1966) has s uggested that the copper cakes were manufactured on native homesteads. The l ack o f s uch ingots from military s ites s uggests that the trade in the metal, at l east in t his form, was i n c ivilian hands. Metal exploitation was more l ikely to hav t been an activity carried o ut to obtain money and exotic go ds, and not part o f the tax s ystem. This would imply that the taxes were in the form o f corn, causing the s timulus to arable production in an area which was and s till i s more s uited to pasture. In order to obtain imported goods the inhabitants o f the homesteads may have found it essential to s earch out metalliferous deposits and work them. I t may have only been those s ites that were s uccessful in this that could obtain pottery and other desired i tems. Some native s ites do produce considerable quantities o f pottery and other imported goods, for example Din L ligwy ( Baynes 1 908; 1 930) and Hafoty Wen Las ( Williams 1 923). Most s ites in contrast produce very l ittle. Those who exploited metals ( or controlled the exploitation by others within the continuing i ndigenous social and economic infrastructure) could have o btained a comparatively wealthy position even though the d ifferences in agricultural production from one f arm compared with another may have been very s light. I t i s worthwhile considering the consequences o f diversification on s ome o f the homesteads. One o f the r ichest s ites, D in L ligwy, has considerable evidence f or i ronworking and i s, a long with Hafoty Wen Las, considered by Kelly ( 1976) to b e a local c entre for s mithing. The r edistribution and s ervice c entres within t he l ocal economic s ystem, and t hose which a cted a s mediators between the native and Roman military c entres, would have b een in an i deal positon to cream o ff s ome o f the profits. D in Lligwy and Hafoty Wen Las may have b een two o f these. In each o f the c lusters, one s ite was perhaps the major r edistribution point which in this way rather than through

3 24

i ts agricultural production, b ecame more w ealthy a nd more c omplex i n t erms o f a rchitecture. This would s upport Smith's s uggestion ( 1977) t hat t he amount o f l abour i nput i nvolved i n the various s ites indicates t he d egree o f s ocial and economic s tatus o f each s ettlement a nd i ts o ccupants. S uch r edistribution c entres n eed n ot a lways h ave b een o f the enclosed homestead type. This i s evidenced by the s cattered s ettlement o f Ty Mawr a t Holyhead, where much evidence o f metalworking, particularly c opper a nd i ron, has b een f ound. The workings o f t he s ystem s uggested a bove c an b e s een i n model 1 ( Fig 6 a). This i llustrates t he i mportation o f exotic goods, i ncluding pottery, c oinage, j ewellery and other i tems s uch a s c loth and wine n ot r ecognisable i n the a rchaeological r ecord. All t hese c ould h ave b een s ent initially t o the f ort. The main f ood s upply f or t he military may have b een o btained l ocally f rom t he n ative f armsteads through t axation. S ome s ites, h owever, had d irect c ontact with t he f ort, s upplying m etals ( possibly a s f inished goods, o r i n t he f orm o f i ngots), and c ould o btain i n exc IA-a nge a r elatively wide s election o f goods. Some o f the goods may t hen have b een r edistributed t o o ther s ettlements which d id not c ontrol t he l ocal market, but s upplied metal t o t he d istribution c entre. Wealth i s n ot based o n the a mount o f a gricultural production, but r ather on the s ubsidiary a ctivity o f metalworking. C ertainly, t hose s ites with most evidence f or metalworking y ield t he most imported material, a nd o ften t end t o b e b etter c ons tructed. The dual economies on t he n ative s ites may h elp t o explain t heir l ocation within t he r egion. No doubt t here were o ther f arms o n t he f ertile l owland, most o f which have d isappeared, but t here was probably a lways a c oncent ration on the h illslopes. These s ettlements c an b e s een ' t o l ie on an ecotone, t he j unction b etween u pland grazing and l owland m ixed f arming. They a lso l ie n ear t o t he metalliferous d eposits i n t he h ills, a nd a re well p laced t o exploit them. This may b e a nother f actor i n t he s iting o f the f armstead c lusters, but d etailed knowledge o f t he mineral d eposits t hen a vailable i s n ot s uch t o c onfirm t his. F inally, a f ew c omments n eed t o b e made o n t he dating o f the s ites, a nd any c hanges t hat c an b e n oted t hrough t ime. Hogg ( 1966, 3 5-6) h as s uggested t hat t he excavated evidence implies d eliberate p lantation o f f armers i n t he t hird c entury. Although s everal s ites, n otably Caeran a nd Cors y G edol, h ave produced s mall quantities o f earlier material, this was c onsidered t o b e r esidual. The d iffic ulties o f dating when d iagnostic o bjects, particularly f rom s ignificant c ontexts a re r are h as b een n oted. Therefore, t he g reat i ncrease i n t he t hird c entury pottery n eed not indicate t hat t he s ites were f ounded t hen, but

3 25

c o rn t ax f o r t

t own Figure

6a.

Model

1

e xo t ic g oods

e xo t ic g ood s iS

l o ca l change

m e ta ls 0

c o rn t ax

0 Na t ive

R oman f o r t

h ome s teads

Figure

6b.

Model

2

rather that there was a change in the trade and exchange s ystem. The explanation may l ie with the c hanges in the military presence in the area. I t has b een s uggested that from the middle o f the s econd c entury there was a r eduction in the s ize o f the army in the r egion ( Kelly 1 976). This could account for the increased wealth, a s taxation would probably have been r educed, and s urplus corn therefore became available for s ale. The market for this would have been l imited, but perhaps s ufficient to a llow f iltration o f s ome Roman-style i tems into native areas. The d istribution c entres could have continued with their h igher l evel o f a ffluence. What i s different i s t he r elative amounts o f produce going a long the l ines, with s ome corn previously s ent a s tax, c irculating a s a trade c ommodity instead. THE MARCHES Hogg ( 1966, 3 0) discussed briefly the native f armstead o f New P ieces n ear the Breiddin, excavated by O ' Neill ( 1937). This r emains one o f the f ew excavated s ites, and deserves further comment ( Fig 7 ). The main enclosure was oval, with an external ditch and a bank r evetted with s tone on the exterior and wood on the interior. Only part o f the interior a s excavated, but r emains o f one hut were i dentified, a i1 : 1 gullies a lso discovered must r epresent other t imber buildings. Outside the s tructures was a s pread o f metalworking d ebris, including i ron s lag and ore. F inds o f various kinds came from a thick occupation d eposit, and they indicate a date range o f the s econd to fourth c enturies. B eyond the main enclosure was an annexe, defined by a s imple bank which j oined the main r ampart to the north and s outh. The bank was i dentical in cons truction and form to those used i n the n earby f ield s ystem, and O ' Neil plausibly s uggests that i t was a pound for s tock ( 1937, 1 07). The f ields, which l ie to the north-west towards the h ill-fort, s how the s ame t erracing e ffects from ploughing visible on the Caernarvonshire s ites. They a lso display the s ame form o f l ayout, with the enclosures t ending towards a r ectangular s hape, but without any f irm a ppearance o f c areful planning. New P ieces indicates that at l east s ome o f the farms teads could have a r elatively h igh d egree o f Romanisation even without villa-style architecture. Hogg notes that the presence o f s tyli indicate s ome l iteracy, and other bronze items and the three g lass vessels s uggest wealth and some s ophistication. As i n the north-west metalworking rather than agricultural production may have b een t he s ource o f the s urplus exchanged f or manufactured goods. That New P ieces i s not an exceptional f armstead i n t erms o f form has b een confirmed by t he n umerous d iscoveri es by a erial photography in r ecent y ears. A c ollection o f native s ites h as been noted around the Roman f ort a t Forden Gaer ( Crew 1 980) and these d isplay the typical f orms

"")7

found so frequently in the lowland parts o f Britain s uch as the Thames Valley, or possibly o f greater r elevance h ere, the Warwickshire Avon. Two groups o f s ites are noteworthy ( Fig 7 ). S ites numbers 2 2-5 may well r epresent a farming unit, with the main r esidential s ettlement ( 24) with adjacent f ields, and facing onto a trackway running north-west - s outh-east, with a l arge enclosure on t he eastern s ide. The pit a lignment ( 22) and t he small enclos ure ( 23) s uggest s everal phases o f the s ettlement, with different types o f boundary and s lightly changing arrangement o f the farm unit. The other s ettlement o f Late I ron Age/Roman character ( 33) l ies s ome 5 00 metres to the east o f t he group d escribed above. The r esidential enclosure with pits and possible buildings has s light traces o f a ttached f ields, but t hese are far from c lear. The s ite i s s lightly l arger in area than 2 4, but i s very s imilar in s hape. Although more s ites are being discovered o f this kind i t i s s till too early to produce a distribution map. Many o f the s ites in the Marches area have been at l east partially damaged by s ubsequent agriculture, and are not visible a s earthworks. The present pastoral landscape means that considerable areas are blan : published excavat ions. The only l arge-scale f ield s urvey i s that partly completed by the and the F en Edge

present writer on the L ittle Ouse Valley between Weeting and F eltwell. Even t his

3 51

has been t emporarily s uspended i n f avour o f urgent c ommitments elsewhere in the county. Excavations have b een c arried out on the villas a t Grimston in 1 906 ( Laver 1 907), Gayton Thorpe in 1 922-3 ( Atkinson 1 929) and Park F arm, Snettisham in the 1 930s ( unpublished); on d etached bathhouses o f villas at Glebe Farm, F eltwell, L ittle Oulsham Drove, F eltwell; on t he t emple s ites at t he Sawbench and at L eyland's Farm, both Hockwold; on t he s ettlement a t D enver ( all unpublished excavations o f the 1 960s), on the Grange Farm crop-mark s ite, Hockwold ( Salway 1 967), a nd by the Norfolk Archaeological Unit and the D epartment o f the Environment's C entral Excavation Unit on t he s ettlement immediately west o f the Saxon Shore Fort a t B rancaster in 1 974 and 1 977 r espectively ( Hinchcliffe and Green f orthcoming). The majority o f t he evidence i s d erived from, i n the f irst instance, casual f inds o ften followed up by a s ite visit and by further collection o f material. Many o f these r ecords were accumulated b efore the 1 960s and t heir r eliability i s not a lways c ertain. Later r ecords a re o ften more detailed, but there i s a d istinct b ias towards c ertain areas, either because o f the presence i n the a rea o f an enthusiastic amateur archaeologist or b ecause r ecords derive from f inds r eported by treasure-hunters who c oncentrate on r ich but unprotected s ettlements and villas. Two areas which have r eceived particular attention are the northwest o f the county where the work o f the l ate Charles L ewtonBrain and o f John Smallwood with s tudents f rom the K ing Edward VI Grammar School, Kings Lynn are particularly important, and the Hockwold-Feltwell area where the l ate Frank Curtis and now John Mayes have contributed enormously to our knowledge. Nevertheless, the variability o f the r ecord makes any objectivity in a ssessing the f inds i mpossible. For i nstance, i t i s c lear that in s ome cases i ron s lag was present among s urface f inds but not collected or r ecorded, and s imilarly that t ile and building s tone, o ften the only evidence for a s tructure, may have been ignored a t the expense o f more attractive f inds. For this r eason, no attempt has b een made in the distribution maps to distinguish types o f s ites at any but the most r udimentary l evel. Thus, three main categories are plotted: casual f inds o f material r anging from a s ingle Roman coin to unspecified quantities o f pottery, s ettlements ranging in s ize from a s ingle building to many h ectares o f intensive s ettlement evidence, a nd s ettlements with s ubstantial buildings. S uch a l ow l evel o f discrimination i s c learly unsatisfactory and r enders detailed analysis o f s ocial and economic factors a lmost impossible. The boundary between c asual f inds and s ettlements i s most indistinct, particularly s ince one i s more a s tatement o f the c ircumstances o f d iscovery while the other an interpretation o f s tatus. At this l evel o f s ubj ective

r ecords,

manure

s catters

3 52

and derived material

are

Figure

1 .

West Norfolk:

Iron Age

s ettlement

indistinguishable from g enuine s ettlement evidence. The t erm ' settlement with s ubstantial buildings' i s more precise in that i t indicates the presence o f an important s ocial and economic factor, but does not d istinguish b etween villas and other buildings. Where possible s uch a d istinction i s made i n t he t ext. S imilarly chronological d istinctions are not a lways possible. Many o f the collections o f material are e ither too small and undiagnostic, or a re no l onger available for s tudy and checking. All too o ften r ecords g ive coin l ists but do not detail pottery. I n view o f the vagaries o f c oin l oss and i dentification s uch r ecords are o f c omparat ively l ittle value. Therefore c hronological d istinctions a re drawn only in the t ext. THE

I RON AGE

The distribution o f I ron Age s ites and f inds ( Fig. 1 ) s hows c lear concentrations in the Heacham-Snettisham a rea, on the Southern Greensand, and in t he Methwold-FeltwellHockwold area o f the F en Edge, concentrations which a re mirrored both i n the Middle and Later Bronze Age ( Lawson 1 980, Figs. 6 -9) and in the Roman period ( Fig. 2 ). The traditional route o f the I cknield Way ( Lewton-Brain 1 965) with its two a lternatives north o f the Nar has l ittle a pparent connection with the d istribution o f I ron Age f inds. The principal exception i s the presence o f an undated, but morphologically I ron Age, enclosure a t Narborough, c lose to the r iver crossing ( Clarke 1 940, 9 9 and F ig. 8 ). The disparity between the route and the f inds has l ed t o the s uggestion ( most r ecently Rivet 1 970, 4 7) that the a ccept ed route i s in fact a post-Roman d istortion c aused by the presence o f the Saxon town o f Thetford, and that t he preh istoric and Roman course s hould b e put a long the edge o f the Fen, through the concentration o f f inds a t Mildenhall ( Suffolk) and further north. However, this s uggestion would entail considerable problems in r iver-crossings, particularly in the winter when one s uspects that t he Nar, Wissey and L ittle Ouse would have been impassable i n their lower r eaches. In contrast the eastern route crosses t hese r ivers where their valleys are narrower. The argument r emains open. While this i s not the place for detailed d iscussion o f the I ron Age d istribution, three points s hould b e made. F irstly, nothing i s known o f the n ature and d istribution o f I ron Age s ettlements, a s opposed to f inds. S econdly, t he concentration o f f ind-spots i n north-west Norfolk i s partly the r esult o f discoveries o f metal-work o f t he l ate f irst c entury BC. The torcs f rom Bawsey and S edgeford ( Brailsford 1 971), the great hoards o f torcs, s crap and coins from Snettisham ( Clarke 1 954) and the bronze hoard from Ringstead ( Clarke 1 951) r epresent the work o f a s ingle man or workshop, and while i t can b e argued t hat this distorts the evidence, i t i s n evertheless i ndicative

3 54

o f considerable wealth and a ctivity in the area. Thirdly, a l arge number o f I cenian coins have been found in west Norfolk with a particular c oncentration in the s outh ( Allen 1 970 F ig. 1 ) while f inds in the north-west are f ew. The possibility o f a s hift i n economic and political emphasis from north to s outh around the end o f the f irst c entury B C r equires further examination. ROMANO-BRITISH OCCUPATION The density o f Romano-British occupation in c ontrast to that o f the I ron Age i s o bvious ( Fig. 2 ). This i s attributable in part to an expanding population but a lso to the ease with which Romano-British s ites are r ecognised. The main difference between t he two occupations i s the expansion in the Roman period into the F ens and to a l esser degree onto the h igh chalk to the east o f the main concentration o f I ron Age f inds. The dominant f eature o f the Roman period i s the absence o f any s ite which may be r egarded a s a town or l arge village. The n earest towns are the I cenian capital at Caistor St. Edmund to the east and Water Newton n ear P eterborough to the west. Large nucleated roadside s ettlements ( ' minor s ettlements' in OS t erminology) are known at Saham Toney and Brettenham where P eddars Way crosses r ivers, and at Toftrees, eight, t en and twelve km r espectively east o f the eastern boundary o f the s tudy area. Into this category may fall the s ettlement at Denver, a narrow s trip o f occupation and s altern s ites a long 2 .5 km o f the Roman road known a s the F en Causeway ( Phillips 1 970, 3 28-9). The distribution o f urban and roadside s ettlements in Roman Britain, o f course, i s intimately r elated to the early military occupation, and an i ncreasing number o f s uch s ites are now producing evidence for early military occupation. Within the area under s tudy no c ertain early military s ites are known. Possible s ites a long the l ater roads are s uggested by Graham Webster ( 1980, Maps IV and V ) but until the fort s ites and their duration o f occupation are determined, Webster's hypothetical maps are o f l ittle value in analysing s ettlement patterns, except i n s o far a s the road-lines, inextricably l inked with the fort s ites, would have exerted their own influence on communications and s ettlement. Apart from the I cknield Way, the continuation o f which into the Roman period i s discussed below, two roads dominate west Norfolk. The F en Causeway from Water Newton crosses the peat and s ilts o f the F ens via a s eries o f i slands and roddons, to emerge onto the upland a t D enver from where i t veers north-eastwards to Castle Acre, B illingford and Brampton and eventually towards Caister on S ea. P eddars Way crosses the River L ittle Ouse into Norfolk, passes through the s ettlements at Brettenham and Saham Toney and runs over the h igh chalk to r each the coast at Holme -next-the-Sea, to be carried by a hypothet ical

f erry

across

the Wash to L incolnshire.

3 55

I t

i s

A S e t t lemen t A

,

H o lme

w i th s ubs tan t ia l b u i ld ing

B rancas te r

• F i ndspo t • K i ln

A

T emp le Coun ty b ounda ry

-- P os t -Roman r i ver c ou rse

Heacham

Fr i Cha lk G reensand

•

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F ri n g l

S i l t e tc .

S ne t t isham

•

C ongham • G r ims ton

Bank

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• Gay ton • •

Gay ton T ho rpe

•

f ia r fo rd

P en tney

•

r •1

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R .W ISSEY

F en C auseway

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wo ld

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A keman S t ree t

I e e t ing

R .L .6U-g E . 1 0km

5

0

Figure

2 .

West Norfolk:

Romano-British

s ettlement

•

•

immediately a pparent that, outside the F ens, these two roads had no positive e ffect i n a ttracting s ettlement s ites ( Fig. 2 ). In fact there s eems to be l ittle d irect r elat ionship between roads and s ettlement in the area. S ince the major l ines o f communication provided by the roads are o f greater importance to the l arge-scale and l ong-distance movement which one a ssociates with the urban economy than to the more l ocal communications from farm to farm or village to village which one a ssociates with a r ural economy, this s ituation underlines the a bsence o f large villages and towns. NORTH-WEST NORFOLK The north-south roads o f west Norfolk c learly converge on the north-west corner o f the county i n the HolmeHunstanton area. The h igh chalklands, c apped i n places by boulder c lay, fall away to c oastal marshes, on the west over t he Greensand measures and down a s eries o f s mall narrow valleys which typically widen into basins on l ower ground. Occupation i s concentrated on the valleys a t Hunstanton, H eacham and Snettisham. A consistent pattern emerges o f s ubstantial buildings, a pparently villas, on the s lopes overlooking the valleys or on the valley-lips. These villas overlook the r iver basins which a re r ich in f indspots and s ettlements, but which themselves l ack s ubs tantial buildings. At Snettisham and I ngoldisthorpe, a long the River Ingol ( Fig. 3 ), a s pread o f f indspots including a kiln-site with mortarium wasters ( Preece's Field, Snettisham) probably r epresents a combination o f s ettlements and manure-scatters, with the former predominat ing. The villa at Park Farm, Snettisham, 3 00 m from the western l ine o f the Icknield Way, overlooks and controls the basin. A s ingle estate with upland grazing on the h igh chalk, arable on the valley s lopes and in the basin, and water-meadow a long the I ngol i s plausible. The r elat ionship o f s uch an estate to the building a t the h ead o f the Ingol at Shernbourne and to the buildings north o f Park Farm i s not c lear, but on present evidence none o f these c an compare in s ize or wealth with the Park Farm s ite. The l atter and many o f the s ites i n the basin are connected by the frequency o f f inds o f i ron s lag. The villa was partially excavated by H C Sheringham in the mid 1 930s, and produced third to fourth c entury pottery, painted wall-plaster and a mosaic f loor. However, the only part o f the excavations with any s ort o f s urviving r ecords, merely a s chematic s ketch, s eems to have included a walled yard enclosing chalk and carrstone f loors, three f urnaces, and l arge d eposits o f s lag ( Fig. 4 ). The hard iron pan which forms in the upper l evels o f the Greensand rather than the l ower and l eaner carrstone i s l ikely to have been the ore s melted. The north coast i s dominated by the Saxon Shore Fort at Brancaster. More important to this s tudy, i s the 2 3 ha complex o f enclosures to the east and west o f the f ort

3 57

1

•

N

• •

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

\

• Snettisham

I NGOLD ISTHORPE

SHERNBOURNE

1

• / /

•

r r )

Marsh e dge

F igure

4 .

Park

Farm villa,

Snettisham;

H C Sheringham

3 59

s chematic plan a fter

( Edwards and Green 1 977) where excavations ( Green and Hinchcliffe forthcoming) have r evealed a combination o f domestic, industrial and agricultural functions. Whatever the r elationship o f the s ettlement to the fort, the enclos ures r epresent an extensive, but not particularly intens ive occupation with every i ndication o f s ome formal plann ing in the r egular l ayout o f trackways. Within t he blocks s o formed the s ubdivisions s how more i nformal and f luid a rrangements. I f we are indeed dealing with a vicus a ssoc iated with the Saxon Shore Fort and i ts possible predec essor, then Brancaster must have acted a s an economic and s ocial focus for the area. The h igh chalk, crossed by P eddars Way, has produced only s light evidence for s ettlement. In view o f i ts expos ed position, and the unnattractive nature o f the s oils this i s hardly s urprising. Two s ites are known a t Fring, one a s catter o f s econd to third c entury s herds with rooft ile, probably on the s ite where a t esselated f loor was r ecorded in the l ate 1 8th c entury, and the o ther, l ess than a kilometre to the s outh-east, a s quare enclosure known from a ir-photographs ( Fig. 6 and Edwards 1 977). An area o f three ha i s enclosed by two ditches in s uch a way a s to s uggest a double-ditched entrance around two s ides o f the enclosure. The interior i s d ivided into t hree and apparently contains four s imple r ectangular buildings. Surface indications s uggest occupation from the s econd to the early fourth c entury, and the a bsence o f any building material s uggests t imber or c lay s tructures. The h exagonal s tructure in the c entral area cannot be i dentified with any confidence but i s unlikely to be a Romano-Celtic t emple ( Edwards 1 977, 2 36). THE

I CKNIELD WAY VILLAS

Along e leven km o f the western l ine o f t he I cknield Way l ie s even villas or s ubstantial buildings, conforming s o c losely to the l ine o f the track that there can be l ittle doubt that this s ection o f i t continued in use into the Roman period. They form a group o f s ites unparalleled in the r est o f Norfolk where r ecognisable villas a re rare, both in their nature and their concentration. The preference for the I cknield Way, a s o pposed to P eddars Way, i s presumably connected with the s treams which r ise a long i ts l ine, and with the partial s helter a fforded by the l ee o f the chalk from the north and north-east winds o f Norfolk winters. None o f the s ites has been s ubjected to modern excavation, and the evidence i s typically patchy. At West Newton a s catter o f occupation material and building debris o f a lmost 2 ha includes a bath-house with t hird and fourth c entury s herds, c lose to the s ource o f a s tream, while two km to the east l ies the D en B eck, Appleton, villa ( Fig. 5 ). Three concentrations o f building material are s cattered over one h ectare around the s ource o f a s tream.

Excavations

by the Norfolk

3 60

Research Committee

APPLETON

a )

•

c r ,

a )

C l )

I " II

0 0

r 1

r — i

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3 61

( 3 —

Or

C l )

u i ld ing d ebr is

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under the d irection o f the l ate Rainbird C larke i n 1 947 and 1 948 investigated the two northernmost s catters. A building was r epresented by a wall with s craps o f a t essellated f loor while to the west l ay a walled yard 2 3m wide by 1 2m or more with a cobbled s urface and t hree s mall l ean-tos. The d itch below the east wall gave a t erminus post quem for the wall in t he early s econd c entury, while the majority o f the f inds were o f third and early f ourth c entury date, with no evidence for i ntensive mid- o r l ate fourth c entury occupation. Sherds o f Pagan Saxon pottery have b een found elsewhere on the s ame s ite. The n ext s ite, at F litcham, i s r epresented by a s catter o f s herds with f lue t ile, while to the s outh l ies the Congham villa which in r ecent y ears has been the s ubj ect o f excavation o f sorts. S tructural d etails a re s carce, but painted wall-plaster has b een found, and coins f rom Postumus to Valentinian I . Within 2 50m o f the building C laudio-Neronian brooches, and Pagan- and Middle Saxon occupation have a lso been d iscovered. The fragmentary r emains o f the Grimston villa ( Fig. 7 ) were excavated by Major Bale in 1 906 ( Laver 1 907). Sufficient r emained to s uggest a well-appointed building more complex than a s imple winged-corridor villa. A courtyard plan with a bath-suite in the east wing and a s outh range at l east four rooms wide i s possible. Surviving f inds have not y et been traced, s o no a ssessment o f date i s possible. In the parish o f Gayton two s ites are known a t the s outhern end o f t he chain o f s ettlements. At Well Hall, Gayton, detailed s urface s urveys by John Smallwood have r evealed about two ha o f s urface f inds in eight d istinct concentrations to the north o f the s prings where the Gayton River r ises ( Fig. 6 ). Three o f these include s uffic ient building material to s uggest s ubstantial buildings. The pottery i s overwhelmingly l ate in date, with a b ias towards third c entury types. The p lan s uggests a s eries o f s cattered s tructures and occupation areas. This s ite i s l ess l ikely than others in the group to be a villa. B est known o f a ll the I cknield Way s ites i s Gayton Thorpe, excavated 1 922-3 ( Atkinson 1 929). I t l ies 5 00m from a tributary o f the River Nar and consists o f t wo conjoined winged-corridor buildings with a probable d etached bath-house known only from s urface i ndications i mmediately to the s outh and a concentration o f building material 2 00m to the east. A s eries o f crop-marks in the immediate vicinity o f the villa are not understood ( Fig.8). O f the two winged-corridor buildings, the northernmost i s the better-appointed, with t essellated f loor i n most rooms, a bath-suite at the north end and two demolished hypocausts at the s outh. F inds from this building included painted wall-plaster and marble veneer. The s impler and p lainer s outhern building includes in i ts s tructure s ome r e-used material, unlike i ts n eighbour, which l ed Atkinson to

3 62

GAYTON

0

9

9 9

r / ng

MR

B u i ld ing

s

9

S he rds e tc .

0

W . NE WTON

FR ING

o -

B a th-house

3

W . DEREHAM

Figure

6 .

Site plans, Well Hall Gayton, West Newton, Fring and West Dereham. Scale and symbols as Gayton

GR IMSTON

r n 0

=t esse l la ted f l oor

20 M

GAYTON

THORPE

y a rd

D emo l ished h ypocaus ts? D ump

2 0 M

B u i ld ing ma te r ia l

V i l la

1 00 m

Figure

7 .

Villa

plans,

Grimston

and

Gayton

Thorpe

p o H

II

G . ) r c i

o 0

Gay -t on Thorpe:

7 :) 1

3 65

0 P t 7 ) H

Z . 4

s uggest that i t was the l ater o f the two. At any r ate, the j oining room i s later than both. Although no critical dating groups can be r econstructed, the f inds a s a whole range from the l ate s econd c entury to the fourth, but without any r eal evidence for l ate fourth c entury occupation. Aerial photography by Derek Edwards o f the Norfolk Archaeological Unit has r evealed a complex o f enclosures and l inear f eatures over an area o f s ome 1 00 ha around the villa ( Fig.8). While i t i s t empting to interpret these a s l and-divisions a ssociated with an estate based on t he villa, f inds o f Late Saxon and medieval pottery f rom two areas o f the crop-marks l eave this in s ome doubt. To s ummarise, the I cknield Way s ites consist o f a group o f villas or building-complexes c lose to the I cknield Way, on the j unction o f the chalk and the Greensand and s ites at the s ources o f water-courses running o ff to the west. Where dating evidence i s available there i s a conc entration on the third and early fourth c enturies, and none o f t he s ites r eached a h igh l evel o f l uxury. The absence o f s atellite s ites, s uggest smaller estates c entred entirely on the villas. THE GREENSAND To the west o f the I cknield Way the c entral Greens and block was a pparently s parsely occupied. S everal s ites have produced evidence for i ron-working on an intensive basis, including the well-known s melting and smithing establishment at Ashwicken ( Tylecote and Owles 1 960). The Nar valley which forms the s outhern l imit o f this b lock has a group o f s ites in its upper r eaches. S ettlements and f inds c luster around the crossing o f the I cknield Way over the Nar at Narford. To the east, in the parish o f Narborough, i s a possible t emple with third and f ourth c entury f inds. Across the Nar to the north-west i n t he parish o f P entney an extensive area o f occupation with r emains o f buildings and at l east three pottery kilns i s c urrently being investigated. The products o f the k ilns are largely third c entury in date, and s imilar i n both forms and fabrics to s ome o f the products o f the Shouldham kilns to the s outh-west. The s outhern Greensand b lock, b etween the Rivers Nar and Wissey, has y ielded only a thin s catter o f s ites: Shouldham, with pottery kilns in operation in the third and fourth c enturies, has produced occupation from t he C laudian period onwards. At Runcton Holme and Tottenh ill, in the north-west corner o f the b lock, gravel-digging and informal excavations have produced evidence for o ccupation a long the s tream valleys f eeding the F ens and the Nar. At Runcton Holme pottery o f the f irst c entury AD predominated ( Hawkes 1 933), whereas the Tottenhill material i s largely o f l ate f irst and s econd c entury types. To the s outh l ies the s ettlement at West Dereham ( Fig. 6 ) where pottery kilns, four buildings and a concentration o f i ron-

3 66

working d ebris have been discovered within a t en ha s pread o f f inds. F irst to fourth c entury material has been found and the plan o f the s ite r esembles that o f Well Hall, Gayton more than i t does the o rthodox villas. The s outhernmost building, however, partly excavated by John Smallwood, may be a bath-house. FENLAND S ites and f inds in the Norfolk F enland are noticeably s parser than in corresponding a reas o f Cambridgeshire and L incolnshire. Even the outdated distribution map o f 1 970 ( Phillips Sheet K ) shows a c lear disparity, and r ecent f ieldwork by David Hall and Brian S immons has h ighlighted this even more s harply. I t i s not yet c lear how far this r eflects a r eal s carcity o f s ettlement in Norfolk. The peat F ens o f Norfolk l ack the l arge i slands on which the Cambridgeshire s ettlements a re s ituated. The Norfolk Marshland from West Walton to Runcton Holme, and from T errington to the Marshland Smee not only l acks evidence o f s ettlement, but a lso o f the f ormer water-courses which s how s o c learly on the L incolnshire a ir-photographs. Casual f inds in the s ilt marshes a re f ew, but d eep. They l ie between one and two metres in depth, at one to three metres OD, well within the • range o f heights o f L incolns hire s ites. There i s a s trong possibility that buried below the Norfolk marshland s ilts i s a Romano-British l andscape a s r ich a s that o f L incolnshire. C lassic F enland s ettlement types are known only from further s outh, a long the F en Causeway and up the Old Croft River ( Phillips 1 970), Sheet D and H ). Most s pectacular i s the area o f a pparently continuous occupation for two and a half kilometres a long the F en Causeway, which h ere runs a long the bank o f a s ubstantial roddon, from the edge o f the upland a t Denver to B irchfield Farm, Nordelph. The D enver end o f the s ite has produced evidence f or s ubstant ial buildings, occupation from throughout the Roman period with a concentration in the third c entury and s altern debris. To the west, between the B edford Rivers, the Lake Farm s ite has produced t ile and evidence for l argely third c entury occupation. The western end o f the complex has produced only third c entury evidence, with no building material. Throughout the s ettlement l arge quantities o f briquetage o ccur, and the pottery-assemblages are dominated by Nene Valley products o f a ll kinds. NETHWOLD-FELTWELL-HOCKWOLD

BASIN

The f inal area o f intensive s ettlement i s s eparated f rom the Fen Causeway by the great peat-filled basin which today forms Methwold F en, Southery F en and F eltwell Anchor. This area l acks the Greensand measures o f f urther north, with the r esult that the F en peat butts directly u p t o the edge o f tha chalk, with only the narrowest band o f intervening s and-hills. I t i s on this band, up to 4 00 m i n width,

3 67

FELT WELL G lebe F arm

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P os th o les

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Bath-house plans, Feltwell: Glebe Farm a fter W F Curtis, Little Oulsham Drove a fter E Greenfield

3 68

and on the very edge o f the chalk i tself, that s ettlement occurs, f rom the Methwold Brook, a long the edge o f the F en i n F eltwell and up the peat-filled valley o f the L ittle Ouse to Hockwold and Weeting. D etailed r esults o f the a uthor's f ield-survey o f this area are not y et available, but preliminary r esults and the immense amount o f data gathered in t he l ast 2 0 years through the work o f the l ate Frank Curtis and John Mayes a llows c ertain conclusions to be drawn. S ubstantial buildings, a pparently parts o f villa comp lexes, occur a t Methwold and F eltwell. At Glebe Farm, Feltwell, immediately north o f St. Nicholas' Church, traces o f buildings and occupation have been r ecorded over a l ength o f at l east 3 00 m . The only s ystematic excavation has been the excavation o f a detached-bath house by Frank Curtis in the 1 960s ( Fig. 9 ). Although the f inds s urvive i t i s not possible to r econstruct any s atisfactory dating evidence beyond a g eneral date o f occupation in the third and f ourth c enturies. The well appears to have b een f illed in the fourth c entury. This s ite s its upon the chalk at 8 m OD, 1 20 m from the Fen and 1 600 m s outh-east o f the L ittle Oulsham Drove villa. The bath-house o f L ittle Oulsham Drove was excavated by Ernest Greenfield i n 1 962, in a dvance o f the drainage from the South Midlands around the Fen edge. The r ectangular bath-house was built o f Barnack s tone, a r egular f eature o f buildings in the area, with t ile quoins and bonding-courses. Fourth c entury pottery was a ssociated with the disuse o f the hypocaust, and an i ron s word with bronze s cabbard-fittings was found. I t i s not c lear whether this s word s hould be r egarded a s a l ate Roman or Pagan Saxon piece, and i ts present whereabouts are uncertain. The villa itself probably l ies to the s outh-west, b elow the f loodbank f lanking the Relief Channel. The discovery o f Little Oulsham Drove villa on the l ine o f the Relief Channel i s unfortunately typical o f a ll s ites from Hockwold village to the northern boundary o f Feltwell parish; the a lignment o f s ites a long the s andhill z one coincides precisely with the hydrographic condit ions s uited to the Channel. These complexes mostly cons isted o f r ectangular enclosures with i nterspersed occupat ion areas. Although lacking i n any building r emains a part from daub and chalk f loors the occupation areas are r ich in pottery; coins and other metal o bjects a re r are. They r esemble the s ettlements o f the L incolnshire s ilts and occupy comparable l ocations, notably a reas o f dry ground c lose to the edge o f the wetlands. A s ubstantial building i s known in t he L ittle Ouse valley a t Hockwold, and f inds o f t iles on t he edge o f the s ite i nvestigated by Salway ( 1967, 4 1) s uggest a s econd. Two t emple s ites, at Hockwold Sawbench and a t L eylands Farm, Hockwold, l ie s ix km a part a long t he L ittle Ouse. The f ormer, e xcavated by s everal individuals to various

3 69

3 70 Weeting,

interim plan

s tandards a ppears to have been a t imber s tructure in u se in the l ate third and early fourth c enturies, and s tanding within a r ectangular enclosure. The l atter i s t he s ite where the priestly crown and d iadems in the British Museum ( ' the Wilton c rowns') were found. Excavation by Charles Green r evealed a chalk f loor with a l arge number o f l ate Roman brooches trodden into i ts s urface. Other f inds f rom the s ame s ite include a c urse-tablet, s everal horse-andr ider brooches, two hoards o f pewter vessels and enormous quantities o f Roman coins, ranging from Hadrian to Arcadius. The Hockwold-Feltwell s ites in g eneral s how s parse f inds o f Iron Age and f irst c entury AD date, with a marked increase in the s econd and third c enturies. Generally, fourth c entury occupation s eems to have been thinner except on t he t emple s ites. In Salway's excavations on the Grange Farm s ites the largely s econd-century occupation was f ollowed by the d eposition o f a chalky s ilt in the drainage d itches, s uggesting a breakdown in local drainage either causing or r esulting from the abandonment o f the s ite. Salway s uggested a l ater r e-occupation on the evidence o f a r emetalled road s urface over the s ilt, and a c ürious s eries o f l inear f eatures interpreted a s battens and planks o f extensive wooden f loors. However, the quantity o f third and fourth c entury f inds i s very s mall, the r emetalling undated except for its s tratigraphic position a bove the s econd-century occupation, and the l inear f eatures may be the r esult o f agricultural activity ( Salway 1 967). Excavations by Col. Kelly on part o f the Whitedyke complex o f r ectangular enclosures, in a l ocation in F eltwell very s imilar to that o f the Grange Farm s ites, produced occupat ion material in ditches covered by f lood-silts. The general date-range o f these f inds i s s econd and thirdc entury with no obvious s igns o f a break. Further up the L ittle Ouse valley a t Weeting, a building was excavated by the author in 1 979 ( Fig. 1 0). I t i s one o f a group o f buildings over an area o f a bout three ha which has produced evidence for occupation f rom the late I ron Age to the fourth c entury. F irst-century occupation was covered by a l ayer o f wind-blown s and. The area was l ater crossed by a double-ditched track pres umably g iving access to contemporary buildings to the west. Expansion o f farm i nstallations, in the f orm o f a corn-drier and a well,replaced the track. F inally, i n the fourth c entury, a f lint building with t ile quoins was built. The f loor o f the building was raised on a l ayer o f make-up including f lue-and roof-tiles and f ragments o f marble veneer. In the f irst i nstance the building had two small corner projections on i ts northern s ide, possibly architectural s keuomorphs o f the wings o f a winged-corridor house, but these were demolished and the building r educed to a s imple r ectangle. Detailed f ieldwork and processing o f the r esults o f the excavation will continue i n the very n ear

f uture.

3 71

ECONOMY AND SETTLEMENT PATTERNS

In the absence of modern, well-published excava­ tions, any conclusions about the economy of the region must be tentative. Published bone reports are few, and direct evidence of agricultural products is rare. Agri­ cultural activity must therefore be deduced from indirect evidence. In some areas special conditions would have restricted the range of activities possible. In the Fens where brackish, tidal water-courses made salt-extraction an attractive proposition, the lack of freshwater would have created severe problems for arable farming and would have made any stock-raising apart from sheep impossible on a large scale. Finds of triangular clay loom-weights in Roman contexts at Denver show the existence of weaving but not its scale. The Greensand would have imposed looser restrictions; the poor, light soils would not have supported long-term intensive arable and may have led to a greater emphasis on stock-raising than on richer soils. There is certainly a clear distinction between the sparse settlement on the broad Greensand blocks and the -intensive occupation of the narrow Greensand band in north-west Norfolk. The principal difference between the two areas is the proximity of other geologies and environments to any point in the latter.

The common factor between the three areas of inten­ sive occupation, north-west Norfolk, the Icknield Way and the Methwold-Feltwell-Hockwold basin, is their location at the junction of two or more geological zones. The same is true of certain spots in the Greensand blocks of mid-west Norfolk, particularly along stream-valleys (Fig.11). This sort of favoured location is particularly prominent with the Icknield Way villas, typically sited on the junc� tion of the chalk and the Greensand. In topographical terms, this leads to a valley-slope siting often at the sources of the streams. In other areas however, the valley-side location and the junction of zones takes precedence over the location of springs. This being the case, attention must be paid to those sites (Fig. 11 nos 3, 10, 12, 13, 25 and 35) which are located within a single geological block. Detailed field surveys and soil-plotting is required for these sites in order to define possible economic bases and territories. With a single exception (no 12) these sites are located on the high chalk in the eastern part of our area, a zone so extensive that it could not be efficiently exploited by sites in other geological zones. Settlements in geologically uniform areas might have specialised �conomies. Those sites on the junction of several environmental zones would have tended, at least in their early stages, to mixed economies which exploited the widest range of viable and available resources. Thus the majority of the population of west Norfolk could have been supported by mixed farming. This might provide partial

372

answers to two o f the pecularities o f the r egion. F irstly, the villas do n ot s eem to have developed into the l uxury establishments known in parts o f s outhern England, but instead r emained small working mixed farms. The expansion o f a s mall farm into a l arge estate entails the i nvestment o f large quantities o f cash, and o ften increasing s pecial isation in a cash-crop. The very variety o f r esources available in the intensively-settled zones o f west Norfolk may even have r estricted t his, s imply because no s ingle r esource was a vailable in s ufficient quantity to a llow an economic r eturn. At the s ame t ime the total r esources available were in s uch a balance that the mixed economy could s urvive despite the f inancial gains available f rom s pecialised economies e lsewhere. S econdly, the mixed economies may have l ed to an unusual degree o f s elf-sufficiency. I f s o, the l ocal n eed for a major market c entre would have been r educed, s ince most n ecessities would have been available f rom l ocal, probably uncentralised, trade. Longer-distance trade, notably in l uxury goods c learly took place. The distribution o f Samian ware and l ater o f Nene Valley pottery must have involved the n etwork in which the s mall towns o f Roman Britain were s o important. Yet in west Norfolk those s mall towns are a bsent. The three s ettlements o f this s ort are each around 3 0 km from a corresponding concentration o f occupation in west Norfolk. The Snettisham area i s 2 9 km from Toftrees, the I cknield Way s ites 2 8 km f rom B illingford, and the Methwold-Feltwell-Hockwold s ites 3 2 km f rom Brettenham. The d istance to the n earest urban c entre i s around 7 0 km, Venta I cenorum in the case o f the two former areas and Durobrivae o f the l atter. In this west Norfolk differs s harply f rom more nucleated s ettlement patterns to the south. In Trinovantian t erritory, for example, nucleated s ettlements are s ituated at 1 5-25 km s pacing, with the r esult that f ew places are a s far a s even 1 5 km from their n earest potential market c entre. Of a ll s ettlements in our area, Denver i s t he only one which might have fulfilled c entral-place f unctions. Located on a c ross-roads o f major importance and on the very edge o f the F ens, i t i s an obvious choice for a hypothetical early fort, and therefore for a l ater market-centre. There i s however no evidence for this. Further, i ts l ocat ion on the edge o f the Fens, commonly h eld t o b e an Imperial estate may militate against this. An Imperial estate would have constituted a s elf-contained and c entrally controlled economy whose contacts with the outside world would have been r egulated by other factors a s well a s market forces. Therefore a market c entre on the F en edge i tself would s eem to be r edundant. In conclusion, the dense s ettlement o f west Norfolk s hows c ertain peculiarities o f s iting and economy, which will only be s atisfactorily explained by a detailed

3 73

1

1

I 1 1 ii I 1

NW NORFOLK

I CKN IELD WAY

M ID WEST NORFOLK 2 5

2 2

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L

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SW NORFOLK

F igure

A l luv ium

C lay

B ou lder C lay

Car rs tone

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West

Norfolk:

geology

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and

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s ettlements.

F igure

1 1.

West Norfolk:

Geology

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s ettlements

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Thornham

2 1.

Pentney

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Hunstanton

2 2.

Narborough

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Munstanton/Ringstead

2 3.

Tottenhill

4 .

Ringstead

2 4.

Runcton Holme

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Heacham

2 5.

Gooderstone

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S edgeford

2 6.

Shouldham

7 .

H eacham/Snettisham

2 7.

Caldecote

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Snettisham Park

2 8.

Oxborough

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Fring

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West

1 0.

Fring

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Runcton Holme

1 1.

Sherbourne

3 1.

Leziate

1 2.

Ingoldisthorpe

3 2.

Narford

1 3.

Choseley

3 3.

Methwold

1 4.

West Newton

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Feltwell,

1 5.

Appleton

1 6.

F litcham

3 5.

Feltwell

Glebe

Farm

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Congham

3 6.

Feltwell White

Dyke

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Grimston

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Weeting

1 9.

Gayton Well

3 8.

Weeting/Lynford

2 0.

Gayton Thorpe

Hall

Farm

3 75

Dereham

Little

Oulsham Drove

programme of field-work and selective excavation aimed at the inter-relationships of sites and geological areas. The degree of economic specialisation and the way in which exchange mechanisms respond to ·it warrant the most detailed attention. RE FERENCES

Allen, DF, 1970

The Coins of the Iceni, Britannia 1, 1-33

Atkinson, D, 1929 TheRoman Villa of Gayton Thorpe, Norfolk Archaeol 23, 166-209

Brailsford, J w,' 1971 The Sedgeford Tore, in Prehistoric andRoman Studies (ed G de Sieveking�, 16-19

Clarke, RR, 1940 The Iron Age in Norfolk and Suffolk, ArchaeolJ 96, 1-113

Clarke, RR, 1951 AHoard of Metalwork of the Early Iron Age from Ringstead, Norfolk, Proc Prehist Soc 17, 214-225

Clarke, RR, 1954 The Early Iron Age Treasure from Snettisham, Norfolk, Proc Prehist Soc 20, 27-86

Edwards, D A, 1977 The Air Photographs Collection of the Norfolk Archaeological Unit: SecondReport, East Anglian Archaeol 5, 225-236

Edwards, D A, and Green, CJ S, 1977 The Saxon ShoreFort and Settlement at Brancaster, Norfolk, in The Saxon Shore (ed D E Johnston), 21-9

Green, CJ S, andHinchcliffe, J, forthcoming Hawkes, CF C, 1933 RunctonHolme. The Second Occupation: a Peasant Settlement of the Iceni, Proc Prehist Soc East Anglia 7, 231-262 Laver, H, 1907 On aRoman Villa Recently Discovered at Grimston, Norfolk, Norfolk Archaeol 16, 219-227

Lawson, A, 1980 The Evidence forLater Bronze Age Settlement and Burial in Norfolk, in The British Later Bronze Age (edsJ Barrett andR Bradley), 271-294

Lewton-Brain, CH, 1965 The Icknield Way. Its Course from Narford and Narborough to OldHunstanton, Norfolk Archaeol 33, 408-422 Phillips, C W, 1970

TheFenland inRoman Times

Rivet, ALF, 1970 The British Section of the Antonine Itinerary, Britannia 1, 34-82

Salway, P, 1967 Excavations atHockwold-cum-Wilton, Norfolk, 1961-2, Proc Carob Antig Soc 60, 39-80

Tylecote, RF, and Owles, E, 1960 A Second-Century Iron Smelting Site at Ashwicken, Norfolk, Norfolk Archaeol 32, 142-162 Webster, G, 1980

TheRoman Invasion of Britain

376

THE NORTHERN FRONTIER:

FARMERS

P A G

IN THE MILITARY ZONE

Clack

The countryside in North-East England during the Roman period can n ever be s een a s purely native or pure ly Roman, however much one might wish to. The two a spects are inextricably bound by l inks which are not complet ely r etrievable either through f ieldwork or excavation. There are, however, a number o f e lements, definable with varying degrees o f accuracy, which a id an understanding o f the countryside: physical r emains ( settlements and their l ands) and administrative, economic, s ocial and political s tructures. The l ink between n ative and Roman has to be s een primarily through the administrative, f inancial and political s tructures, with the r emaining two elements playing a greater role in determining the nature o f the native s ociety and economy. What follows, therefore, i s a preliminary a ttempt to d escribe the countrys ide and a ll i ts elements in the Roman period. The r elat ionship between s ettlements and their f ield s ystems, and the intricacies o f the h istory o f the Roman occupation o f the North East will not be discussed in detail h ere, a s others have dealt with these questions at l ength ( Breeze & Dobson 1 976, Gillam 1 974; Frere 1974; Charlton & Day 1 978; Gates, in preparation). I .

EARLIER MODELS

Until Jobey's magisterial s urveys o f native s ettlements, published in the early 1 960's, the main emphasis o f f ieldwork and excavation had been on Roman military s ites and, in particular, on e lucidating the problems o f Hadrian 's Wall. A large number o f native s ettlement s ites were known but the Imperialist interests o f Britain i n the earlier part o f this c entury possibly dictated that the military a spects be emphasised. In 1 912 Haverfield wrote ' we shall not s eek for traces o f Romanisation in the military area. There n either towns existed, nor villas' ( Haverfield 1 912, 2 0). Twelve years later, Haverfield and Macdonald ( 1924, 1 67) were more explicit: ' The whole o f the North and West was military and not c ivilized.' Collingwood, s lightly more charitable to the underdog ( the ' not wholly pacified h ill-districts') d escribed the army ' dividing and dominating a country enclosed in the meshes o f a vast n et, whose knots were l ittle f ortified posts and whose cords were military roads' ( Collingwood 1 923, 4 3). Childe r epeated Haverfield's and Macdonald's

3 77

views ( 1912, 5 9; 1 924, 1 67) that no a ttempt was made by the Romans to introduce to the native population a spects o f Roman c ivilisation other than military rule. ' On the whole the impact o f h igher c ivilization on barbarism can have been no more profitable for n ative c ulture in Scotland than i t i s today i n the Pacific. Old tribal institutions were perhaps undermined, but no n ew industries were e ffectively established t o absorb the s urplus o f a population s till r elying on farming and plundering for a l ivelihood' ( Childe 1 940, 2 2). I t i s probable that t he ' Imperial' model that a ll o f these s cholars had in mind derived from two, then c urrent, s tructures. The f irst was the Colonies, which frequently had small s ettlements from this country with equally s mall military and police c ontingents ( Oliver 1 979); and the s econd was the North West Frontier o f I ndia, which might, perhaps, be described f airly a ccurately i n Collingwood's words ( 1923, 4 3; Kirk 1 979). The view i s o f ' Us and Them'; s ince then we have l earnt a great d eal more o f ' Us' ( Richmond 1 958; Gillam 1 974; Daniels 1 978; Mann 1 979) and, thanks principally to Jobey ( eg 1 966), much o f ' Them'. I I.

THE

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

In order to r econstruct the l andscape in the Roman period, i t will be n ecessary to examine the various elements that have a lready been defined. The f irst, and most important, i s the physical evidence. This may be s ubdivided into three parts: native s ettlements, villas and vici. Native

s ettlements 1 ( Fig

1 )

Three types o f native s ettlement s ite occupied i n the Roman period have been i dentified through f ield s urvey and excavation. In the upland areas curvilinear enclos ures with round s tone houses a t the r ear and f acing onto a lower ( often s cooped) courtyard a t the front are predominant ( Jobey 1 966, 7 , F ig 2 a). Rectilinear s ites which occur principally on the l owlands have round s tone houses a t the r ear with a cobbled yard between them and t he entrance. In numerous instances there are causeways l eading from the houses to the entrance(s) and walls connecting houses both to one another and to the walls o f the s ettlement enclosure ( Jobey 1 966, 7 , F ig 2 b). The d istributions o f these two types o f s ite are complementary and r eflect d ifferences in topography. A third type o f s ettlement has r ecently been i dentified by Charlton and Day ( 1978, 7 7-8) - the unenclosed forecourt s ettlements o f Redesdale - and i s o f presumed Romano-British date. The

s ettlements

g enerally occupy between

3 78

0 .2

ha a nd

S ETTLEMENT & E NV IRONMENT

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2 0

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f o rt

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n a t ive s ett lement p astora l r d u s e

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F igure

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S ettlement period

and Environment

3 79

in NE

England

in the

Roman

0 .4 ha. I rrespective o f s ize, the majority have between three and four houses in contrast to the two or three houses o f the pre-Roman s ettlements ( Clack 1 976, 8 1-7). About 3 7% o f the s ites ( mainly upland) s how evidence f or expansion o f population ( Jobey 1 974, 2 5). As might be expected, excavation d emonstrates that there i s considerable variety whthin t he s ites. Riding Wood ( Jobey 1 960), perhaps the c lassic example o f the r ectilinear s ettlement, has three round s tone houses f ront ing onto a cobbled yard with c auseways l eading to the entrances. A f ourth house was l ater a dded b ehind the f irst three. The s ettlement has been dated to the mids econd c entury AD. A n umber o f other e xamples, eg West Longlee ( Jobey 1 960), have been excavated: a ll have c omparable internal s tructures and dates. Burradon and Hartburn both s howed a s two c oncentric r ectilinear enclosures on a ir photographs. The o uter enclosure o f each h eld an I ron Age s ettlement while t he inner contained a Romano-British s ettlement. At Burradon i t consisted o f one round t imber house ( Jobey 1 970 . , 6 37 0) and at Hartburn o f about eighteen round t imber houses in a number o f phases which were later overlain by a t l east two round s tone houses and a cobbled courtyard, probably on the Riding Wood pattern ( Jobey 1 973a, 3 1). Gubeon Cottage ( Jobey 1 957, 1 63-79; C lack 1 976, 2 495 0) and Woolaw ( Charlton and Day 1 978, 6 1-72) both have only one phase o f enclosure, but two phases o f houses, the f irst in t imber and the s econd i n s tone. The s econd phase at both s ites i s dated to the s econd c entury AD and later. Five s ites i n the North Tyne valley s hare the s ame occupational h istory. All s tart with a palisaded r ect ilinear enclosure containing one t imber house. Only at K ennel Hall Knowe ( Jobey 1 978) was the palisade r eplaced ( twice). The t imber houses were r eplaced s everal t imes at a ll s ites. These phases are broadly dated to b etween the third c entury B C and the mid-second c entury AD when the palisades were r eplaced e ither by walls or banks a nd ditcheß and the t imber houses by s tone ones. At The L aw there are p lough marks under the l ater enclosure bank. ( Jobey 1 960; Charlton and Day 1 974, 3 3-40; Jobey 1 973b; Jobey 1 977; I Jobey 1 978, 8 .) At E sp Green n ear Lanchester t here i s evidence f or both Iron Age and Romano-British s ettlements underlying a medieval f armstead ( Clack 1 979; 1 980). Forcegarth P asture North had a t l east two phases o f occupation, the l ater dated to AD 7 0. Forcegarth Pasture South had t imber and then s tone houses, both dated to t he s econd c entury AD ( Coggins and Fairless 1 980). F inally,

we

come

s econd phase

o f

s ettlements,

to Huckhoe

( Jobey

1 959)

enclosed by

3 80

where

t he

s tone walls

and

containing round s tone houses i s dated to the s econd c entury AD. ( The preceding palisaded phase with t imber houses has b een dated to the s ixth c entury bc). Two houses with s mall attached courtyards were built i n the s econd or third c enturies AD and continued in occupation to the f ifth or s ixth c enturies. The evidence from excavation thus s hows continuity o f s ite and s ettlement from the pre-Roman into the Roman period on a r elatively h igh proportion o f excavated s ites. Some were s ettled a s early a s the f ifth or s ixth c entury bc and others only s hortly before the Roman Conquest: r elatively f ew s eem to have b een s ettled f or the f irst t ime in the Roman period. In view o f a ) the d ifficulties o f d istinguishing preRoman from Roman period native s ettlements without excavat ion, particularly in the l owland areas ( Higham 1 979, 4 3); and b ) the possibility that many s ites, o f which Huckhoe i s the only c ertain example, continued into the postRoman period, the pattern o f s ettlements s hown on F ig 1 was probably established in the pre-Roman period and continued into the post-Roman period. Villas

( Figs

2 -3)

There are f ive known villas or potential villas in the North East, a ll o f which l ie s outh o f Hadrian's Wall. Only fragments o f the villa a t O ld Durham were r ecovered over a number o f years. Apart f rom two c ircular threshing f loors o f mid- to l ate-second c entury date, and a pit containing third c entury pottery, the main s tructure r ecovered was a bath house o f fourth c entury construction which partly overlay an earlier boundary ditch, the primary s ilting o f which contained s econd c entury pottery. From the ditch f ill i t would a ppear that part o f the s ite, a t l east, had been c leared o f buildings before the bath house was erected ( Richmond, Romans and Wright 1 944; Wright and Gillam 1 951; 1 953; Scott 1 973, 1 -7; Romans' S ite Notebook and photographs, D ept. Archaeology, Durham). The Holme House villa ( Fig 3 ), excavated by D ennis Harding ( 1970, 2 79-80; 1 971, 2 51-2; Scott 1 973, 8 -21), provided evidence for an early s econd c entury corridor villa enlarged l ater in the s ame c entury by the a ddition o f a bath s uite a t the north end and h eated rooms a t the s outh end. The north extension overlay a pair o f d itches which cannot have been contemporary with one another. A l arge c ircular s tone building, a bout fourteen metres in diameter, with four c entral post-pits r e-cut s everal t imes may have been built in the s econd c entury or earlier. The villa was dismantled at the end o f the s econd c entury and the s ite probably moved a bout 7 00 metres to the South East. No evidence for third c entury occupation

3 81

W OODHAM O LD D URHAM

1 0 0

m2 0 0

,4 1/ 4

rry1

m e t re s

0

4 0

2 .

Villas

"

A PPERLEY D ENE 0

Figure

1

m et re s

4 0

in NE England

Sources:

Woodham:

D W Harding AP; G E L ee transcription Harding 1 979 Old Durham: Richmond et a l 1 944; Wright and Gillam 1 951, 1 953 Apperley Dene: Hildyard 1 952; Greene 1 978

3 82

Figure

3 .

Piercebridge Sources:

complex

and

Hold

House Villa

Scott 1 973, Harding 1 970, 1 971; D W Harding A P s; G E L ee and B H Gill transcriptions

3 83

was r ecovered, though there could have b een s quatters in t he dismantled villa then. The fourth c entury s aw a s light r e-occupation o f the s ite, though not in the form o f a villa. Scott ( 1973, 7 0) has interpreted t he s ite a s having been a native s ettlement l ater converted to a villa. It i s possible that Old Durham may have the same h istory. At Apperley Dene a r ectilinear s ite, originally interpreted a s a fortlet ( Hildyard 1 952) and r e-interpreted a s a native s ettlement ( Greene 1 978), r equired f urther examination. The s ite has two phases o f enclosure a nd o f i nternal s tructures. The f irst phase consisted o f a pair o f ditches and banks enclosing a t l east one round t imber house o f individual post-hole construction. The s econd phase ( which followed the f irst a fter a break in occupation) consisted o f a bank and d itch inside the earl ier pair and an i ll-defined internal s tructure, probably o f s tone, which had been d eliberately d ismantled and, together with the enclosure bank, had been u sed to f ill the ditch before even a primary s ilt had formed. There was a lso a n umber o f widely positioned d epressions or pits which s eem to belong to a l arge r ectilinear s tructure ( 7m x 2m). The f irst phase o f the s ite f alls within the s econd c entury and the s econd in the early or mid-fourth c entury. There are four s ignificant points artefacts r ecovered: native

pottery was

concerning the

1 .

No

found.

2 .

The quantity o f Roman pottery r ecovered was considerably greater than that normally found on n ative s ettlements.

3 .

A large number o f fragments ( 6.1 kg) o f Roman t ile was r ecovered: Roman t ile i s unknown on o ther n ative s ettlements.

4 .

No querns were r ecovered which might have t ed i f the s ite were native.

been expec-

Apperley Dene has been i dentified a s a fortlet and r e-interpreted a s a native s ettlement ( Greene 1 978, 5 2-3) but t he four points enumerated a bove militate against the interpretation o f at l east Phase I I and probably Phase I a s a native s ettlement. The very c lose comparison, on the other hand, with the h istories o f the villas a t Old Durham and Holme House, together with the ' Romanised 1 nature o f the artefactual evidence s uggests t hat the s ite r epresents a villa or, at the l east, a h ighly Romanised farmstead. I t s eems l ikely that Holme House and O ld Durham, a t l east, s tarted l ife a s n ative s ettlements and were l ater converted to villas. The s ame may be t rue o f Apperley Dene.

3 84

The evidence f or the r emaining two villas i s to s ome extent c ircumstantial. An a ir photograph at Woodham s ugg ests the presence o f a villa ( Harding 1 979, 2 7). An unconfirmed r eport o f a hypocaust underneath Escomb church ( Pevsner forthcoming) s uggests the presence o f another villa there 2 . Vici The evidence f or vici outside forts i s, with a f ew exceptions, meagre, s ince s o f ew have been adequately excavated. In g eneral, they s eem to have their o rigins in the s econd c entury, and r eached their f ullest extent in the course o f t he third and fourth c enturies. Three are o f particular interest. At Corbridge the c ivil s ettlement, founded in t he early s econd c entury, had grown to either 1 3 ha ( Breeze and Dobson 1 976, 2 06) or 1 7 ha ( Daniels 1 978, 9 7). By the mid-second c entury i t had become a market t own with d efences and continued i n occupation at l east until the l ate f ifth c entury ( Daniels 1 978, 9 8-9; Salway 1 965, 4 5-60). The two consecutive extra-mural s ettlements a t Vindol anda had different natures. The f irst was a d efended compound, interpreted by Salway ( 1980, 1 5-16) a s a base for the procurator s upervising confiscated t erritory o f the Brigantes in the s econd half o f the s econd c entury. The s econd was a normal c ivil s ettlement built in the third c entury ( Daniels 1 978, 1 59-162; B irley 1 977). The c ivil s ettlement at P iercebridge ( Fig 3 ), a t l east a s l arge a s that at Corbridge, was founded by AD 1 00. I t s panned Dere S treet until the road was moved f urther east to avoid the s ettlement: at the s ame t ime the bridge crossing the T ees was moved. The vicus c ertainly c ontinued in being to the l ate Roman period and probably b eyond. A s hort distance north o f the s ite was a r ectilinear ditc hed enclosure which was occupied before the early fourth c entury. While t he evidence i s s light and the r ecord incomplete ( Richardson 1 962) i t may be that this i s either a Romano-British s ettlement or, more l ikely in view o f i ts proximity to the c ivil s ettlement and fort, a villa. South o f the T ees, the Holme House villas were a lso c lose to the c ivil s ettlement and fort and Dere Street. Both o f these s hould b e s een a s part o f the P iercebridge c omplex ( Branigan 1 980a, 2 5; Pevsner, forthcoming). The third and fourth c enturies s aw the main period o f prosperity o f the c ivil s ettlements ( Salway 1 980, 1 11 2). While the forts may have been abandoned in the l ate fourth c entury, a t l east s ome o f their attendant c ivil s ettlements continued - P iercebridge, Corbridge and B inchester are r easonably c ertain examples, while o thers s uch a s Newcastle, Chester-le-Street, South Shields and Lanchester may a lso have continued to exist.

3 85

I II.

ECONOMY

3

Artefacts r ecovered in excavations on native s ettlements s uggest that weaving was carried out on a number o f s ites ( Riding Wood, West Longlee: Jobey 1 960, 1 -38; Tower Knowe: Jobey 1 973b, 7 4). Only t hree s ites have evidence for metal working: iron s mithing a t Huckhoe ( Jobey 1 959, 2 38-9) and Tower Knowe ( Jobey, 1 973b, 7 5) and a t Hartburn, copper a lloy c asting ( Jobey 1 973a, 4 1). Animals The yards at the f ront o f the s ettlements are presumed to have been cattle-folds. Acid s oils prevent the r ecovery o f much bone but, when i t i s preserved, c attle and s heep or goat are common with pig, horse, r ed d eer, dog and fowl occurring occasionally. I t may b e that this s imply r epresents the s ize o f the bones and their r esistance to acidity but, at Vindolanda i n the l ate fourth c entury c ivil s ettlement, evidence f or the following animals was found: cattle, s heep and p igs were common, with a f ew instances o f goat, horse, dog and cat ( Birley 1 977, 7 5). Hogg ( 1942, 1 73) commented on the comparability between the material from the native s ettlement a t Gunnar P eak and that from the Roman s ite at Corbridge. More r ecently, Hodgson ( 1977, 9 -10) has s hown that the l ate material from the Vindolanda vicus and Corbridge are s imilar, with cattle the main animal r epresented ( 80-95%) and s heep being present only a s a very s mall element ( 24 %) in the a ssemblage. I t i s possible that the s mall s ample o f bones from the native s ettlements may be r epres entative in view o f the comparability with the proportion o f animals r epresented at Vindolanda and Corbridge. I f this i s s o, then i t s uggests that c attle were the main s ource o f meat with s heep being bred for wool. Arable

farming

Querns are found in r elatively s mall numbers on a ll s ites ( eg Hartburn: f ive rotary querns and s ix hand pounders ( Jobey 1 973a, 4 0-1) and are thus an indication o f a rable farming o f an unknown but possibly r elatively r estricted extent. P lough marks under the l ater enclos ure o f The Law ( Jobey 1 977, 1 0) go s ome way towards providing f irm evidence, a s must the plough marks found under s o many o f the Roman forts ( Daniels 1 978, 7 9), though these could r eflect engineering works. The r idges under Rudchester fort, however, r eflect e ither the u se o f the mould-board plough or were s pade dug and a lmost c ertainly r epresent more than one s eason's c ultivation ( Gillam, Harrison and Newman 1 973). The three s eries o f p lough marks under Wallsend Fort ( Fig 4 ) must s imilarly r epres ent cultivation ( Daniels 1 978, 5 8).

3 86

0

Figure a . b . c . d . e . f . g . h . i . j .

4 .

1 0 0

2 0 0

3 0 0

i n 4 00

Fields

Hartside Hill, Northumberland ( D W Harding AP) Barracker Rigg, Northumberland ( CHarlton & Day 1 978) Greaves Ash, Northumberland ( Jobey 1 964,51; D W Harding AP) Ewe Hill, Northumberland ( D W Harding AP) Knock Hill, Northumberland ( D W Harding AP) Forcegarth Pasture, Durham ( by kind permission o f Messrs D Coggins and K J Fairless) Brian' s Folds, Durham ( D W Harding AP; G E Lee transcription) Dyance, KilIerby, Durham ( D W Harding AP; G E L ee transcript ion; Harding 1 979) Penny Hill, Durham ( D W Harding AP; G E L ee transcription) Walfords Wood, Durham ( D W Harding AP; G E Lee transcription)

While querns are commonly found on excavated native s ettlements, f ields t end only to b e found a ssociated with s ettlements in the upland areas, this b eing a r eflection o f t he upper l imits o f more r ecent i ntensive arable f arming on t he l owlands which has obliterated the s light f ield walls. I t i s uncertain, therefore, whether the form, s ize and number o f f ields r ecorded i n the uplands i s a true r eflection o f the r egion a s a whole, or only o f t he upland areas. Where f ields have b een r ecorded ( and not a ll s ites have a ssociated f ields) they are g enerally r elatively f ew in number and may i nclude one or two s mall er f ields or paddocks. As y et, there i s no direct evidence for the uses to which they were put, though c ultivat ion must be a s trong possibility, b earing in mind t he evidence f rom artefacts. Examples o f the range o f f ields are i llustrated i n F igure 4 . The f ields at Netherhouses East and West ( Charlton and Day 1 978, 7 6) are r elatively l arge ( not i llustrated), while those at Barracker Rigg ( Charlton and Day 1 978, 8 0) are more complex and include paddocks. The two c losely s ituated s ites a t Greaves Ash s how not only s igns o f expansion but a lso trackways l eading f rom one to the other and the r emains o f f ields. At Brands Hill ( not i llustrated) the numerous s ettlements are a lso l inked by trackways and f ields ( Jobey 1 964, 5 3; Gates, pers comm). There are possible f ield c learance cairns a t Quarry House, Thockrington ( Hedley 1 886; Clack 1 976, 2 56) and at Tower Kn cm A ' Te ( Jobey 1 973b, 7 0) ( not i llustrat ed). South o f Hadrian's Wall the evidence for f ields i s s carcer, but the pair o f s ettlements at Forcegarth Pasture i s a ssociated with a l arge c omplex o f f ields o f at l east two phases, one o f which i s r elated to the s ettlements. Bollihope, too, has an extensive collection o f f ields a ssociated with the s ettlement ( B K Roberts, p ers comm). The other three s ites f rom s outh o f the Tyne i llustrate the nature o f the evidence j ust becoming a pparent a s a r esult o f D ennis Harding's f lying programme i n the d ecade 1 969-79 ( Harding 1 979) and o f Dr A F Harding's work. Pollen D iagrams

( Fig

5 )

In order to obtain a b etter picture o f the environment and the farming practices in the North East, i t i s essential to employ the twenty-seven pollen diagrams available. Their distribution s hows a bias towards County Durham which in s ome r espects balances the d efic iency o f f ield evidence. The g eneral impression t hat they g ive i s one o f a f airly o pen l andscape with l arge areas o f grasslands. There i s only one d iagram where woodland had not b een c leared by or in the Roman p eriod, and that i s at Neasham F en ( Bartley et a l, 1 976, 4 38-445) but there i s

3 88

•

T REES

ei

S HRUBS

i 1 1 1,

G RASSES

0

P LANTA IN

0

C amp H i l l M oss B road M oss

H ERBS

c

B lack L ough

C EREAL

1 0K 1 LOM ET RES20

3 0

S teng M oss 1 6 0BC-AD80

A D270 -4 0 0.

C oom R i gg

• C rag L ough M uckr e ' M oss 3 28C -AD 0

T YNE

e lend M oss C ranbe r ry B og H a l lowe l l M oss S te 7 -d S h i iel h t le

R ookho e , Head

1 6 06 c

„c j

i

T ho rpe B u lme r

H enry

B o l l ihope B ishop— M idd leham •

A D7 0 -3 7 0 S imy F o lds

A D6 0400

A n s1 9 6 M o rdon C a r r

Wee lhead M oss M i re

S lapes tone S i ke D ead C rook

A D6 15 -660

A D68 2 4s

A D84

c , Ha ton

V a l ley B og

cl

W iddyban

F ou lm ire S i ke Wee ko t

Figure

5 .

R ed S i ke

N easham F en

The environment pollen diagrams

of

3 89

the

Roman NE

as

shown by

an element o f doubt over the dating o f the s ubsequent c learance ( Mrs A . Donaldson, pers c omm). The l and u se indicated by the diagrams i s predominantly pastoral except in South East Durham where arable s eems to have b een more important. The s even diagrams around the Cow Green R eservoir i n upper T eesdale ( Turner et a l, 1 973) s how a l andscape made up mainly o f grassland with b lanket p eat, a s ituation f irst arrived at c 5 00 bc ( 860-520 B C). The authors s ugg est that the pattern o f grassland expansion a t t he expense o f woodland was a lmost entirely due to grazing and human c learance, and was r estricted to better drained areas i n that part o f T eesdale. At Valley Bog ( Chambers 1 978) a major phase o f d eforestation s tarted 2 65+ 5 5 bc ( 4302 00 B C) and continued into the Roman period to end a t an unknown date. Again there was predominantly grassland. S imy Folds ( Mrs A Donaldson, pers c omm), f urther down T eesdale, s hows a r elatively treeless l andscape by 4 90 + 8 0 bc ( 820-460 B C) with a l ater, l arger c learance which may belong to the Roman period, a lthough there i s.an Anglo-Scandinavian s ite ( Batey et a l 1 980) immediately adjacent to the bog. Moss Mire ( Mrs A Donaldson, p ers comm) s hows a s ubstantial c learance which ended i n a d 4 00 + 9 0 ( AD 3 20-570) and was followed by a further, small er ' Elearance in ad 5 20 + 9 0 ( AD 4 50-640). At a ll o f these s ites pastoral r ather than arable land use is indicat ed, though at the end o f the f irst c learance at Moss Mire, c ereal pollen makes a f leeting a ppearance. The other P ennine upland s ites are in Weardale. Rookhope H ead ( Rendell 1 971) s hows a postulated Roman period c learance with only two appearances o f c ereal pollen. a t Steward Shield ( Roberts et a l, 1 973) the c learance s tarts 1 10 + 1 10 bc ( 420 B C - AD 6 0) and ends in the early twelfth c entury. The l and u se i s pastoral. The s ame i s true o f Bollihope with the c learance s tarting a d 2 20 + 1 00 ( AD 7 0-370) and again ending i n the twelfth c entury. H ere there i s s ome indication o f c ereal c ultivation. The two Cheviot s ites at Broad Moss ( Davies and Turner 1 979, 7 97-9) and Comb Rigg ( Chapman 1 964) both s how c learances which may have s tarted b efore the Roman period, with predominantly pastoral l and u se. At Broad Moss, however, there i s s ome indication o f c ereals. Steng Moss ( Davies and Turner 1 979, 7 90-794), on the f oothills o f the Cheviots, s hows a considerable c learance a ccompanied by pastoral l and u se between 2 0 + 6 0 bc and 4 60 + 6 0 ( 160 BC - AD 6 00). The l ater part o f the d iagram h as a particularly h igh l evel o f h erbaceous p lants and s ome c ereals and has been dated by estimation to t he l ate third and fourth c enturies AD. The d iagram from Camp H ill, Northumberland, ( Davies and Turner 1 979, 7 97-801) has contaminated radiocarbon dates, but i t i s l ikely that a major c learance occurred

3 90

in or about the Roman period, a bain s howing predominantly pastoral l and u se. At B lack Lough, n ear Edlingham ( Moyle 1 980), the d iagram s hows extensive c learance with both pastoral and arable indicators present. There are more arable indicators in the l ater than the earlier part o f the c learance. Nevertheless, pastoral l and use i s predominant. There are three diagrams f rom Hadrian's Wall i tself, Muckle Moss ( Pearson 1 954; 1 960), Crag Lough ( Pearson 1 954) and F ellend Moss ( Davies and Turner 1 979, 7 86-790). They a ll s eem to b e s imilar. F ellend Moss, the only dated d iagram, s hows extensive c learance f or mainly pastoral l and u se i n ad 2 + 4 5 ( 32 B C - 8 0 AD) with a peak a t an estimated date in the mid-second c entury. The c learance ends in ad 6 20 + 4 0 ( AD 6 00 - 6 80). A s ample o f peat f rom a d itch at Vindolanda ( Turner 1 979, 4 88), dated to the f irst quarter o f the s econd c entury, and another from the Turf Wall ditch in s ector 5 0a/b indicate the s ame d egree o f c learance and l and use a s the F ellend d iagram ( Mrs A Donaldson, pers comm). South o f the Tyne at Cranberry Bog ( Turner and K ers haw 1 973) a l arge c learance, perhaps Roman in date, was a ssociated with pastoral l and use. Mordon Carr i n South Durham ( Bartley et a l 1 976, 4 41-6) has a s ubstantial c learance, probably Roman, with c lear indications o f cons iderable c ereal cultivation. At B ishop Middleham ( Bart ley et a l 1 976, 4 47-9) the c learance began in 3 310-2940 B C and has been maintained up to the present with arable l and use again important. Hutton H enry in South East Durham ( Bartley et a l 1 976, 4 49-453) had a major p eak in agricultural activity, possibly arable, ad 1 08 + 7 0 ( Ad 3 8-196) with a r eturn to pastoral farming l ater on. A major c learance s tarted a t Thorpe Bulmer ( Bartley et a l 1 976, 4 53-9) in 1 14 + 6 0 bc ( 420 B C - AD 6 ) a ssociated with arable f arming 7 in particular the c ultivation o f Cannabis. H emp pollen had r isen to 1 9% o f total pollen by ad 2 20 + 1 20 ( AD 6 0-400). The bog h ere must have been very c lose to a f ield or f ields o f h emp. Cannabis c ultivat ion dies out in the l ater eleventh c entury, though the high l evel o f production c eased a t the end o f the Roman period, with a r eturn to mainly pastoral l and u se. F inally, the Hallowell Moss d iagram ( Donaldson & Turner 1 975) f rom n ear Durham City, s hows that c learance s tarted in 6 + bc ( 160 B C - AD 8 4) and was maintained until a d 5 95 +- 5 0 ( AD 6 15 - 6 60). Tree pollen was r educed ( at i ts minimum) to l ess than 5 % with an even s maller proportion o f s hrubs, thereby indicating a h ighly e fficient management o f the l and. Land use was mainly pastoral, though there i s s ome indication o f arable. I t i s o f particular i nterest that the maximum c learance o ccurs a fter the Roman withdrawal.

3 91

Three

points

can b e

drawn from this material:

1 . The upland s ites s how l ittle evidence f or arable farming except on a small s cale, but the l owland s ites s how rather more evidence for arable f arming, particularly in the l ater part o f the c learances. The South East Durham s ites, on better drained s oils or n ear t he Magnesian L imestone Escarpment, a ll s how considerably more arable i ndicators then e lsewhere. 2 . Each o f the d iagrams r epresented on the map ( Fig 5 ) s hows merely one point from each pollen d iagram. Both Steng Moss and Hallowell Moss have b een s elected t o s how the way in which the l andscape in two areas c hanged i n the course o f the Roman period, with s teadily d ecreasing d eforestation and changing balances b etween the d ifferent groups o f plants. 3 . I t s eems l ikely that only two o f the n ine dated d iagrams s how c learance occurring entirely within t he Roman period. These are Bollihope and Thorpe Bulmer ( Turner 1 979). The former i s particularly i nteresting in v iew o f its position in r elation to a native s ettlement and the use o f the area for boar hunting by Roman army o fficers. Could i t be that the Roman equivalent o f a park k eeper's l odge i s h ere? I t i s possible that F ellend was c leared in the l ater f irst c entury - l ike Muckle Moss and Crag Lough, when the Roman army was active in the immediate area building the forts a long the S tanegate and then Hadrian's Wall, a ll o f which activities must have n eeded considerable quantities o f t imber and turf. The Hadrian's Wall diagram may r eflect in part the construction o f the various e lements o f the frontier s ystem and i ts predecessors. Vici The economic impact o f the vici on the r egion has been c learly s ummarised by Salway ( 1965; 1 980) and Mann ( 1979, 1 50-151). Mann has argued t hat the n ett i nflow o f c apital into the area a s a d irect r esult o f the cont inuous payment o f troops was a s timulus to the growth o f thriving s ettlements around the f orts. Salway ( 1965, 1 7-34) has commented on the cosmopolitan n ature o f the c ivil s ettlement populations and the r elatively s mall ( 17%) Celtic group r ecoverable f rom t he inscriptions ( though this may b e a r eflection o f t he d ifficulties o f writing the l anguage). H e has a lso pointed to t he very romanised nature o f this population. The only c onclus ion that c an b e drawn from this evidence i s that once the troops were r emoved, the artificial economy c reated by their presence collapsed and the s ettlements d ependent on the troops rapidly dwindled, with those r emaining i n the vici continuing to l ive ' at a minumum s ubsistence l evel ' Mann 1 979, 1 51).

3 92

The economic r elationship b etween c ivil and native s ettlements may b est b e s een a t P iercebridge. H ere, the f ort/vicus/villa complex ( Fig 3 ) had villas on the o utskirts o f the vicus which presumably acted a s the c entres o f rural estates each o f which will have i ncluded a number o f native s ettlements ( eg two at Manfield). All o f t he other villas ( actual and postulated) l ay within 1 0 km o f e ither a c ivil s ettlement or a fort. I t i s possible that Branigan's model for the Gatcombe estate ( 1977, 2 00-213) might b e applied h ere, with each villa estate containing native s ettlements to house estate workers. The produce o f the estates will have gone to the c ivil s ettlement and products f rom the c ivil s ettlements out o f the estates. S imilar processes must have b een operating where there i s no evidence for villa e states. Here, the r elationship may have been between individual s ettlements or groups o f s ettlements and vici. This trade was r elatively s light i f the s urvival o f Roman artefacts on native s ettlements i s any guide. The comparability between the a ssemblages o f animal bones found on native s ettlements, the vici at Vindolanda and Corbridge.is founded on s light evidence, but s uggest that the n ative population was bringing cattle and wool to the c ivil s ettlements. The evidence o f the pollen diagrams, only one o f which ( Simy Folds) has been prepared a s part o f an archaeological project, s uggests s trongly that the emphasis in the r egion was on animal husbandry, with only a small degree o f arable farming. The s uggestion i s s trengthened in s ome d egree by the excavation evidence and the r elatively s mall area o f f ields a ssociated with s ettlements. The only exception - and h ere there i s at present insufficient archaeological evidence - i s in South East Durham where arable f arming s eems to have been a c haracteristic o f the economy. I t i s a lso this area that contains the bulk o f the villa estates and i t may be that h ere we s ee the d istinction between intensive farming for profit and s ubsistence f arming with a small s urplus ( Branigan 1 980b, 2 4-5). While the industrial economy, c entred on the c ivil s ettlements ( Salway 1 965, 4 1-164), must have collapsed once the f inancial s timulus provided by Roman t roops had been withdrawn, the agricultural economy s eems n ot to have s uffered the s ame fate. The pollen d iagrams s how that agriculture a s practised in the Roman period cont inued for at l east one and probably two c enturies a fter the withdrawal o f troops. I ndeed, i f B ede ( quoting Gildas) i s any guide: ' After the enemy's depredations had c eased ( mid-late 4 40s), there was s o great an abundance o f corn in the i sland a s had n ever before been known' ( HE I .xiv). The implications o f both the pollen d iagrams and B ede are that s ocial and economic s tructures, both north and s outh o f Hadrian's Wall, continued into the post-Roman

3 93

period, which i s in d irect contradiction to Mann's s uggest ion ( 1979, 1 51) that ' No s ense o f community c an have developed or s urvived in the wall area' in this period. IV.

LAND

HOLDING UNITS

When the pattern o f s ettlements i s considered i n r elation to topography i t i s possible to s uggest t entatively the r elationship o f s ettlements to l and-holding units. I t has been shown in a s tudy o f native s ettlements i n South-East Scotland and Northumberland that the d isposit ion o f s ettlements s eems to r eflect an ordering o f s ites within l and-holding units ( Clack 1 976, 1 06-141, 1 47-152). That s tudy was concerned principally with upland s ites and the model which emerged i s s tated s imply. S ettlements occur either s ingly or grouped together in ' clusters' ( defined a s groups o f s ites within 1 km o f each o ther) o f two or more s ites. There was a c onsistent pattern o f s ettlements in both the pre-Roman and Roman periods, o f c lusters o f s ites occurring toward the mouths o f valleys with more dispersed s ettlements h igher up. This may indicate a distinction between the exploitation o f arable l and/hay meadows/winter pasture in the lower valleys and h igher s ummer pasture. I f s o, the pattern o f l and-holding units was probably based on the tributary valleys t o the main r ivers with boundaries d efined by natural f eatures, in particular r ivers and water s heds. Three areas i llustrate the g eneral point ( Fig 6 ). Almost a ll s ites in the Breamish valley occur in c lust ers, with a c lear r elationship to well-defined topographic units. In Redesdale s ixteen o f the twenty-seven s ettlements occur in c lusters which are more widely s paced than those o f the Breamish valley. In the Wear Valley east o f Durham City ( Pittington/Coxhoe area) i t i s possible that much o f the s ettlement pattern has now b een r ecovered through a ir photography. In t his l owland area the d ispos ition o f s ites i s l ess aggregated t han in the uplands. The s ites are positioned on h igher r ather than l ower l and where more favourable s oils are to b e found. The variation in d egrees o f c lustering in t hese examples i s probably influenced by the d istribution o f natural r esources, ranging from the r estricted nature o f the Breamish valley to the more even d istribution o f a ll r esourc es in the Wear Valley east o f Durham City. As yet, there i s insufficient evidence to e stablish i f the native s ettlements within the villa estates c onform to this pattern. The implications o f the excavations at Holme House, Apperley D ene, and O ld Durham, o f a n ative s ettlement underlying the villa are o f s ome r elevance in the context o f l and-holding units The a ssumption that a villa i s the h ead o f an estate covering a l arge a rea r equires that there be s ubsidiary c entres, i f only f or housing estate workers.

I f,

a s

3 94

Branigan has

s uggested

t Y ) H

Redesdale,

( 1980b, 2 2-3) the owners o f the l esser villas, at l east, c ame from the upper l evels o f native s ociety, then t he villas with underlying native farmsteads may r eflect earlier s ites owned by those individuals. The occupiers o f the outlying farmsteads may have been t enant farmers or workers on a c entrally managed estate ( cf Gatcombe ( Branigan 1 977, 2 06)). This s uggestion f inds s ome s upport at Apperley D ene I where s tructural evidence indicated a farmstead but with r ich artefactual evidence. Apperley D ene I I, a lbeit with a gap in occupation o f a c entury, was a villa proper, conforming to Branigan 's model ( 1980b, 2 2-3) o f poorer estates which f lourished in the l ate Roman period. To cont inue this s peculation one s tage further: could i t b e that the l esser villa estates r eflect not a n ew plantation, but merely the r emodelling ( ' Romanisation') o f a preexisting s ocial and t enurial s tructure o f which the n ative s ettlement underlying the villa was the earlier c entre? This can only be guessed at, but the l and-holding units d escribed above may r eflect an estate-type s tructure i n a native context. V .

TOWARDS A RECONSTRUCTION OF THE COUNTRYSIDE

The evidence which forms t he basis for a r econstruction o f the countryside in the Roman period in NE England has been presented above. I ts deficiencies are immediately apparent: the lack o f any s ustained excavation in c ivil s ettlements ( Vindolanda excepted), the l ack o f pollen diagrams positioned s pecifically to enlarge on available archaeological evidence ( again with one exception) and, perhaps most s erious o f a ll, the very imcomplete s tate o f knowledge o f lowland native s ettlements and their f ields. Despite the uncertainties o f the evidence, an a ttempt will be made here to provide a s peculative r econstruction o f the countryside o f North-East England. The commonest f eature in i t was the s mall native farmstead, the o ccupants o f which concentrated on animal husbandry and produced r elatively small quantities o f c ereals, presumably f or their own consumption. In South-East Durham, however, there was a greater concentration on arable farming. The farmsteads were probably organised into l and-holding units ( ? exploitation units), c learly r ecognizable i n the uplands, l ess s o i n the l owlands, and influenced by the distribution o f n atural r esources. The l and-holding units a ppear to be a characteristic f eature o f native s ettlement in South-East Scotland a s well a s the Tweed-Tees r egion. One o f the farmsteads in each unit was presumably occupied by owner or t enant/ l essee o f the estate who, by virtue o f that position, had a h igher s tatus than the o ccupiers o f the o ther f arms teads. T enurial s tructures and r elationships cannot now be r ecovered, but those d iscussed by Stevens ( 1966)

3 96

and Jones ( 1972, consideration.

3 20-349)

form the

basis

for

f urther

South o f Hadrian's Wall a number o f villas have been f ound, a t l east three o f which had their origins in native f armsteads and possibly in pre-Roman n ative estates. ( The r emarkable coincidence between t he Holme House villa estate, which probably occupied a b lock o f l and s outh o f the T ees, 3 km s outh and 6 km west o f D ere Street, and that part o f a post-Roman e state, c entred on Gainford but s plit o ff f rom that estate i n the l ate s eventh c entury ( Clack & Gill 1 981, forthcoming), s hould be noted in passing. This estate l ies between the Stanwick f ortifications and the T ees.) The economic r elationship b etween n ative farmsteads and estates, villas and c ivil s ettlements has been touched on above. The c ivil s ettlements must have a cted a s c entres for the r eceipt o f produce from both villas and native f armsteads on estates, a s well a s the s ource o f the Roman material found in small quantities on n ative f armsteads and in l arge quantities on villas. Two in partic i alar, ( Corbridge and P iercebridge) s eem to have r eached town s tatus, the former being walled. Others, s uch a s Lanchest er ( which may a lso have had a very l arge c ivil s ettlement i f the s pread o f Roman material i s any indicator) may a lso have had that s tatus. The c ivil s ettlements acted a s market and a dministrat ive c entres ( Salway 1 980, 8 ), each presumably having a c learly defined area under i ts ( mainly f inancial) control. They would have acted a s an intermediary b etween the c ivitas c apital ( Isurium Brigantum) and the individual estates. Initially, this a dministrative arrangement would have covered most o f northern England. I t has been s uggested ( Salway 1 980, 1 3) that this area was c onfiscated and placed in the hands o f an Imperial procurator ( ?based at Vindolanda), in the l atter half o f the s econd c entury and early third c entury. S ubsequently i t was r eturned to a utonomous l ocal government based on s maller administrative units, perhaps tribal s ub-divisions, which presumably r etained the place o f the c ivil s ettlements. The increased i mportance o f the c ivil s ettlements, within this organisation, may have l ed to t heir growth a s market c entres at the s ame t ime. These s ettlements f lourished in the third and fourth c enturies which coincides with Salway's proposed s ub-division o f the Brigantian c ivitas for administrative purposes. The area a dministered by the c ivil s ettlements probably coincided with the tribal a rea r ather t han coming to an abrupt halt on a l ine between Wallsend and Carlisle. The northern l imit o f the Province may thus have been s ome d istance north o f Hadrian's Wall. There i s a t l east one probable vicus north o f the military frontier a t Risingham

( Salway

1 965,

1 10-1)

which was probably

3 97

a bandoned with

the other outpost forts in the f irst d ecade o f the f ourth c entury. By the mid-fourth c entury, the area north o f Hadrian's Wall was o ut o f Roman control ( Mann 1 979, 1 50). All administration prior to these events was presumably s hared by the c ivil s ettlements and t he army through the arcani ( Jones 1 979, 6 6-7; Mann 1 979, 1 44-8). That there were r egularised meeting places ( loca) i s known ( Richmond and Crawford, 1 949); they l ay much f urther north and west and are probably to b e s een a s the f rontier zone equivalent o f C ivitas c apitals. They s hould b e s een a s part o f the s tructure designed to maintain a n orderly frontier z one. How they were organized and whether their influence c ame a s far s outh a s North-East England i s unknown. Whatever the administrative s tructure, the estate s tructure will have c ontinued much the s ame throughout the r egion. South o f Hadrian's Wall t here i s a r emarkable coincidence b etween l ocation o f the c entres o f the early post-Roman e states and o f the c ivil s ettlements, i n part icular the l arger ones ( Corbridge, Lanchester, B inchester, P iercebridge and Chester-le-Street). So far a s c an b e s een the l imits o f these post-Roman e states coincide with the areas that were a dministered by the c ivil s ettlements ( Clack and Gill 1 981, forthcoming). The proposed s ub-division o f Brigantian t erritory in the third c entury, with the elevation o f the s tatus o f c ivil s ettlements that went with i t, may have s trengthened pre-existing ( ?tribal) divisions to the extent that by the post-Roman period they had become independent units administered c entrally from t he c ivil s ettlements. It i s possible that the smaller villa or native e states coalesced under the s ame pressures to form the early postRoman s ettlement. This process i s j ust visible i n u pland Durham and s outh Northumberland. How estate s tructures evolved without c ivil s ettlements a t the core r emains to be investigated. The s ophisticated t enurial ( and, by implication, s ocial) s tructure o f t he post-Roman estates d id not develop overn ight. The l ast two s ections o f this paper are an a ttempt ed s olution to the problem. The d ifficulty in t he past has been l argely caused by viewing t he Northern Frontier s trictly a s a military zone. What has been s uggested i s the way in which the Roman a dministration took o ver and d eveloped c ertain a spects o f an e xisting ( ?tribal) organisation which, a s a r esult, was s ufficiently wellestablished to f lourish not only i n t he a ftermath o f the withdrawal o f troops but a lso to s urvive into the medieval period in a s lightly modified form.

3 98

A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS T he

o pportunity h as b een t aken t o r evise

C onference a nd p aper. s ome

t he p aper r ead

t o e nlarge o n c ertain t opics

I a m g rateful

t o M rs A M D onaldson

o nly

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t he

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t o t he

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U npublished M S c

t hesis,

R ichardson, G H , 1 962 R ecent R oman d iscoveries a t P iercebridge, T rans A rchit a nd A rchaeol S oc D urham a nd N orthumberland 1 1, 1 64-175 R oberts, B K , T urner, J & W ard, P F , 1 973 l and u se i n W eardale, N orthern E ngland, E cology

( eds J J B irks & R G W est),

R ichmond,

IA ,

( ed),

1 958

R ichmond,

IA & C rawford,

R avenna C osmography,

R ecent f orest h istory a nd i n Q uarternary P lant

2 07-220

R oman a nd N ative 0 G S ,

1 949

i n N orth B ritain

T he B ritish S ection o f t he

A rchaeologia 9 3,

1 -50

R ichmond, I A , R omans, T & W right, R P , 1 944 A c ivilian b ath-house o f t he R oman p eriod a t O ld D urham, A rch A el S er 4 , 2 2, 1 -21 S alway,

P ,

1 965

T he F rontier P eople o f R oman B ritain

S alway,

P ,

1 980

T he V ici:

t he B rigantes S cott,

P R ,

1 973

M A t hesis, S tevens,

C E ,

U rbanisation i n t he N orth,

( ed K B ranigan), R oman V illas

i n R ome a nd

8 -17

i n t he N orth o f E ngland,

U npublished

D urham U niversity 1 966

S ettlement,

T he S ocial a nd E conomic A spects o f R ural

i n R ural S ettlement

i n R oman B ritain

( ed A C T homas),

1 08-128 T homas,

A C ,

T urner,

J ,

t imes T urner, 1 973 a nd

1 979

a s J ,

( ed),

R ural S ettlement

H ewetson,

V P ,

H ibbert,

J A rchaeol S cience,

F A ,

L owry,

T he h istory o f t he v egetation a nd t he C ow G reen R eservoir b asin,

J ,

i n R oman B ritain

T he E nvironment o f n orth e ast E ngland d uring R oman

s hown b y P ollen A nalysis,

S oc L ondon, T urner,

1 966

B ,

2 65,

& K ershaw,

f rom C ranberry B og,

K H ,

6 ,

2 85-290

& C hambers,

C ,

f lora o f W iddybank F ell

U pper T eesdale,

P hil T rans R oy

3 27-408 P ,

1 973

A L ate- a nd P ost-Glacial p ollen d iagram

n ear B eamish,

C ounty D urham,

N ew P hytol 7 2,

9 15-928 W right,

R P ,

& G illam,

O ld D urham, W right,

R P ,

& G illam,

O ld D urham,

J P ,

1 951

A rch A el S er 4 , J P ,

S econd R eport o n R oman B uildings a t

2 9,

1 953

A rch A el S er 4 ,

2 03-212 T hird R eport o n t he R oman s ite a t

3 1,

1 16-126

4 02

TOWN AND COUNTRY IN ROMAN BRITAIN A PARASITICAL RELATIONSHIP? Michael Fulford

Any c onsideration o f the n ature o f t he r elationship b etween town and country i n Roman B ritain must s urely b egin with Collingwood: Economically, the towns were parasitic on t he countryside. They had to b e f ed by i t and the goods t hey produced, together with the s ervices they r endered a s markets and t rading c entres were no a dequate r eturn f or the f ood they consumed and the expenditure which they d emanded for t he upkeep . of their public s ervices. They had their i ndustries, but these c ontributed only t o a s mall extent i n t he production o f goods n eeded i n t he c ountry; ..the total quantity o f those goods which f ound i ts way into the country d istricts was the barest f raction o f what the town consumed. From the s trictly economic point o f view the towns were a l uxury ( Collingwood and Myers 1 937, 1 98-9). More r ecently, a whole, F inley has town and country i s

i n the c ontext o f the ancient world a s a ppreciated t hat the r elationship b etween considerably more complex:

Hypothetically the economic r elationship o f a c ity to i ts countryside... c an r ange over a whole s pectrum, f rom complete parasitism a t one end t o f ull s ymbiosis a t t he other. All r esidents o f a c ity who a re not d irectly engaged in primary production derive t heir food and raw materials f rom producers i n the c ountrys ide. All c ities are i n that s ense c entres o f c ons umption. The question then i s whether, a s Max Weber thought, primarily c entres o f c onsumption ( 1973, 1 25). F inley

t hen

s ummed

up

h is

analysis:

E ssentially the ability o f ancient c ities t o pay for their food, metals, s laves and o ther n ecessities r ested on four variables; t he amount o f l ocal agric ultural production..., t he presence o r a bsence o f s pecial r esources ( such a s minerals); the i nvisible exports o f t rade and t ourism; and f ourth, t he i ncome f rom l and ownership and empire, r ents, taxes, t ribute. The c ontribution o f manufactures was n egligible.... ( 1973,139).

4 03

•

•

Although this may s eem s imple and obvious, i t i s quite another matter to explore Finleys' four variables in t erms o f the s urviving evidence, which, i n the c ase o f Roman Britain and, indeed, the ancient world i n general, i s very l argely archaeological. While we may r ecognise the presence or absence o f any o f the f our variables, it i s quite another matter to a ssess their r elative importance. Quantification can hardly b e cont emplated! This will b ecome c lear i n the c ase o f Roman Britain. Before examining those variables which c ontributed to the s uccess or failure o f Romano-British towns i t i s important to s tress that the definition h ere o f ' urban' embrac -2 s a ll c lasses o f nucleated s ettlement ( except military establishments) where the communities were not engag ed primarily in food production. So o ften our view o f the urban h ierarchy i s l imited to s ettlements with r eadily i dentifiable status s uch a s the coloniae, municipia and c ivitas capitals. Collingwood was a lmost c ertainly conf ining h imself to s uch communities. Although a lmost none o f the authors was prepared to s tate why they cons idered their particular s ubjects to be c lassed a s urban ( except on grounds o f s ize), a r ecent collection o f papers has drawn a ttention to a l arge number o f n ucleated s ettlements, loosely c lassed a s ' small towns' where i t i s r easonable to doubt whether food-production was the chief occupation o f the inhabitants ( Rodwell and Rowley 1 975). This followed an earlier s tudy by Todd o f ' The Small Towns o f Roman Britain' where c ertain criteria were l aid down for evaluating these s ettlements ( 1970). However the n eed to understand the various s trands which enabled a community to pay for itself r emains a s a cute now a s it was when Roman Britain and the English S ettlement was f irst published in 1 936. At the outset the a ll-embracing d efinition o f ' town' raises an immense problem. How do we r ecognise whether the population o f a nucleated s ettlement was or was not primarily engaged in food production? Even a t the l evel o f c ivitas capital i t has b een f elt n ecessary to explore the food-producing potential o f the t erritory which could be farmed from within the town itself. In the c ase o f S ilchester ( Calleva Atrebatum) Boon concluded from h is calculations that for an estimated population o f 1 200, there was insufficient l and that could be f armed d irectly ( up to a distance o f 1 .5 km from the walls) to s ustain s uch a number ( Boon 1 974), 2 45-8). At a very g enerous estimate the l and could only provide b etween one third and one quarter o f the town's n eeds. In the case o f Godmanchester, a s ettlement ( ' small town') in East Anglia, whose enclosed area expanded from 8 .06 ha in the Hadrianic period to 1 0.91 ha i n t he l ater 3 rd c entury, Green argued that the population could have

4 04

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S ilchester

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4 05

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s upported i tself from the s urrounding l and. I n fact the argument i s c ircular because the estimated population s ize i s based directly on the potential o f the estimated extent o f arable l and that could be farmed from the town ( 1975, 2 02). Such an approach, which, a t the outset, a ssumes s elf-sufficiency for a s ettlement o f this kind i s t otally a t variance with that which might s eek to work outwards from the evidence o f the s ettlement i tself. I t would be foolish to deny that s ome o f the buildings within walled towns were farms or were i n s ome way engaged i n agriculture. The buildings in Insula X II, Cirencester, would s eem to b e a c ase in point, a lthough the i dentific ation o f buildings with an agricultural f unction i s exceedingly hazardous ( McWhirr 1 978,77-9). Equally i t would b e foolish to deny that s ome o f the o pen s paces within walled areas were g iven over to orchards or k itchen gardens. Nevertheless, both in the case o f buildings and areas o f open l and i t i s not y et possible to draw any quantifiable conclusions about their contribution t o the fortunes o f their town, either in early or l ate Roman Britain. While the examination o f the potential o f the extramural or n eighbouring t erritory o f nucleated s ettlement may provide us with s ome i dea o f the maximum or minimum yield the r eal s ituation may b e quite different. To t ake the c ase o f S ilchester again where we c an s ee the poor quality o f the s urrounding area which i s made up o f either gravels, to the west and north-west, or poorly drained c lay soils to the s outh and east ( Fig. 1 ), we now have information a s to how the l and was actually exploited. Pollen from a deposit c losed towards the end o f the 2nd c entury i ndicates that the s urrounding f ields were mostly g iven over to hay meadow and pasture. C ereal pollen i s present but in insignificant amounts ( KeithL ucas, forthcoming). I t i s a lso interesting to note f rom the intensive s urveys o f the Calleva F ield Research Group how rapidly the density o f Roman material d eclines away f rom the walled area and the main roads l eading to and from the town ( Corney, M , pers comm). S everal modern f ields within 1 .5 km o f the walls have produced a lmost no Roman material at a ll. Had much l and b een c ultivated more material might have been expected s imply a s a r esidue from r epeated manuring. Thus the material evidence s eems to s upport the environmental, pointing to a pastoral l andscape, perhaps grazed by s tock waiting to be s old i n the town. Without even g iving much consideration to s uch buildings a s the Forum-Basilica, the public baths and the s hops, which i n themselves point to a considerable popul ation engaged in non-agricultural pursuits, i t would s eem l ikely that the town's population obtained only a fraction o f i ts food from the s urrounding t erritory. Calleva, then, might b e taken a s a model for a ll the h igher s tatus communities o f Roman Britain, d ependant

4 06

t hroughout their existence on a much l arger h interland than i ts immediate t erritory for i ts food r equirements. As we descend through the s ettlement hierarchy t he problem o f a ssessing the extent to which a s ettlement was engaged in food production becomes more acute. The s maller the nucleated area, the more f easible s elf-sufficiency b ecomes. The preliminary r esults o f pollen analysis f rom Godmanchester, for example, indicate a s ubstantial proportion o f arable l and o ffering a contrast to the p icture f rom S ilchester ( Green 1 975, 1 90-1, f ig.6). Further environmental evidence combined with the comparative s tudy o f faunal r emains from different s ites will h elp to e lucidate this problem ( Maltby 1 979). The characterisation o f s ettlements according t o t he d egree to which food production was a primary activity c an a lso be a pproached from the s ettlements themselves, their buildings and the s pecialist a ctivities that c an b e i dentif ied. Undefended s ettlements s uch a s Camerton ( Somerset) and K ingscote ( Glos.) i llustrate this well ( Fig. 2 ). E xcavations at Camerton, a s ettlement ranged a long the Fosse Way, have been r easonably extensive ( Wedlake 1 958). I t consists o f a number o f r ectangular buildings with evidence o f h earths and ovens ranged a long the road. Away from the road are l arger premises. B esides the pewtermoulds, the Camerton buildings produced a gread d eal o f evidence o f iron-working. L ikewise K ingscote, where l ittle excavation has taken place, has produced evidence o f both i ron and bronze-working ( Eagles and Swan 1 972). Waste f rom these processes was a sssociated with concentrations o f debris r ecovered by f ield-walking over about 2 3 ha. I n both s ettlements it can be d emonstrated that industrial a ctivities took place. As with the problem o f foodproduction, i t i s a question o f a ssessing the r elative importance and duration o f these s pecialist activities. Further, c an we extrapolate f rom the extent o f industrial waste s uch a s i ron s lag or pottery wasters, for example, the extent o f other non-food-producing activities whose r esidues do not s urvive a s easily i n the archaeological r ecord? In trying to establish the archaeological c riteria which we c an use to a ssess the balance between foodproduction and other s pecialist a ctivities i t i s u seful to o ffer a 1 4th c entury comparison. Professor H ilton 's work on the smaller English medieval town has a ssembled documentary evidence to which the archaeologist s hould pay h eed ( 1975, 7 6-94). In the 1 340's Stow-on-the-Wold had a taxed population o f 1 66, perhaps r epresenting a population o f 2 50-300. Twenty-eight s eparate crafts and trades are documented and the h eads o f only four households are r ecorded a s cultivators, a lthough others may have had s ome agricultural interests. Chipping Campden had a taxed population o f 2 99, perhaps r epresenting an

4 07

actual population o f 5 00. Thirty-five s eparate c rafts and trades are documented o f which two are r ecorded a s c ultivators and one a s a ploughman. S imilar communities existed at Winchcombe and Fairford, s uggesting that in r eally quite small communities food production c ould b e a minor occupat ion. However documentary evidence from o ther, s imilärs ized s ettlements points to the opposite b eing true a s well. Kempsford, for example, had 1 18 t ax payers o f which 2 9 were peasant c ultivators. S even were i n ' service' occupations which could i nclude c ültivation and there w ere a lso 2 8 s ervants and l abourers. Sherborne i s r ecorded with 1 76 tax payers ( more than Stow-on-the-Wold), a ll o f which were c lassed a s c ultivators. In other areas there was a more equal balance b etween c raftsmen and c ultivators, a s was the case in north Staffordshire, north Worcestershire and north Warwickshire. The medieval evidence then s uggests that we s hould b e c areful about using s ize a s an i ndication o f craft s pecialisation. At the s ame t ime i t s uggests that we s hould be prepared to accept that s ettlements s uch a s Camerton or Kingscote were not primarily engaged i n f ood production. What i s r eally n eeded now i s t he c areful archaeological d issection o f documented s ettlements o f contrasting character in order to s ee how f ar the d istinct ions based on documentary evidence are r eflected i n the material r emains. Such an approach in the medieval p eriod could then provide the archaeologist with u seful c omparat ive material for the Roman period. To conclude, while i t i s r easonable t o s uppose that the c ivitas c apitals and above were d ependent on a cons iderably l arger area than c ould b e farmed from the town itself, we have a s y et no c ertain means o f d istinguishing b etween a l esser s ettlement primarily made up o f f armers and one where the emphasis l ay on c raft and trade s peciali sation. The fact that many o f the l esser, s o-called towns have produced evidence o f craft-specialisation s hould a lert u s to the possibility that even undefended road-side s ettlements l ike Camerton might have depended on craft and t rade s pecialisation, rather than agriculture. Excluding communication-links by road, r iver o r s ea, f ew towns in Roman Britain owed s ome or a ll o f t heir exist ence to the presence o f s pecial r esources, s uch a s minerals. Bath with i ts hot-water s prings and Charterhouse i n t he midst o f the l ead-mining r egion o f the Mendips a re obvious c andidates, a lthough i t i s not possible to quantify t he precise contribution o f s uch s pecial r esources. A s ettlement l ike Water Newton ( Durobrivae) might a lso be considered h ere in view o f the s uccess which must, in part pottery c lay.

o f a t

i ts extra-mural pottery i ndustry l east, derive from the quality o f

t he

When we come to c onsider the r ole o f towns a s markets we are h eavily dependent on artefactual evidence. I f the d istribution o f a d istinctive object s hows c lustering around

a s ettlement,

gradually declining with d istance

4 08

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Camerton ( Somerset) and K ingscote ( Gloucestershire) s howing areas where metalworking i s a ttested

4 09

4 10 Distribution

Savernake

S ilchester ware

it, it is reasonable to deduce that the class of objects in question was traded from, and perhaps even manufactured in the town. If the finds are reasonably riumerous, it may also be appropriate to regard· the distribution as a reflec­ tion of the area from which that settlement regularly drew its custom. Unfortunately the majority of Romano-British aretefact types have generalised distributions. Even brooches, which are relatively plentiful, tend to reveal only regional scatters with no particular concentrations which might sugggest a point of origin. Attempts have been made to discover marketing arrangements by using pottery (Hodder 1974a). However those pottery distributions which prove to be localised are invariably of cooking or kitchen­ wares. Thus we must be cautious about deducing too much concerning the likely extent of a town's hinterland when using artefacts of little intrinsic value and whose manu­ facture was widespread across the lowland zone.

This is illustrated by the example of lst-2nd century Savernake ware from Wiltshire. The majority of �he examples found occur within a 10-15 mile radius of the small town of Cunetio (Hodder 1974b; Swan 1975) (Fig. 3). The latter was not a civitas capital but was considered worthy of defence in the 4th century. Hodder suggested that the distribution of Savernake ware reflected the marketing area of Cunetio, although the predicted market-area was assessed on the basis of the later Roman walled-area. One might assume therefore that, had Savernake ware been marketed through a larger settlement, such as a civitas capital, the distribution would have been correspondingly larger, reflecting the greater attractiveness of a larger town with a wider range of services to offer. The case of Savernake ware can be compared with another coarse ware of 1st century date. Silchester ware is the term given to a series of jar­ forms in a distinctive flint-tempered fabric which could have been used for cooking and storage and whose distribution con­ centrates around the civitas capital (Charles 1979) (Fig. 3). We do not know the precise point of origin but it cannot be far from the town. Interestingly, like Savernake ware, the majority of known examples are found within a 10-15 mile radius of the town. Thus, in the case of this particular kind of ware, the size of the town does not seem to affect In both cases the size of the the distribution pattern. pottery distribution hardly suggests the presence of specialist merchants, but is it reasonable to infer that either distribution reflects the area from which people came regularly to use the market and facilities of Calleva? With more specialist classes of pottery the relation between the town and its market area still remains unclear. If we take the example of stamped mortaria of later 2nd century date manufactured in the kilns just outside the walls of the colonia at Colchester, we find a large dis­ tribution in south-east England, either side of the Thames estuary and-extending far through East Anglia. To the

411

• •

C OLCHESTER

•

• •

• •

•

• •

• •

•

•

• •

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4 12

north there i s a further d iscrete d istribution on the front ier ( Hartley 1 973) ( Fig. 4 ). I n the case o f the s upply to the l atter i t i s c ertainly r easonable to i nvoke the involvement o f s pecialist middlemen and a s imilar explanat ion s eems a ppropriate for the s outh-east d istribution. I t does not s eem l ikely that people would c ross the Thames e stuary to Colchester from north K ent on a r egular basis. S imilar, extensive distribution patterns, can be found with the products o f other urban-based potteries, s uch a s those at Durobrivae ( Water Newton) or Brockley H ill b etween Verulamium and London ( Castle 1 972) ( Fig. 4 ). As with coarse wares, the distribution pattern t ells more about the i ntrinsic value o f the r elevant object than i t does about the market catchment o f a particular town. Such a conclusion can only b e r einforced when the d istributions o f r ural-based potteries s uch a s the New Forest or Alice Holt are considered ( Fulford 1 975; Lyne and J efferies 1 979). S ettlements a djacent to the kilns s eem to have l ittle influence on the d istributions. These examples which point to a number o f difficulties in a ssessing the importance o f any s ettlement a s a market l ead on to the question o f manufacturing i tself. F inley i s dismissive o f the role o f manufacturing a s a s ource o f urban income but the medieval evidence c ited above ( p.407) calls for caution on this point. The nature o f a rchaeol ogical evidence i s s uch that we c an only easily r ecognise a l imited range o f craft-specialisations s uch a s metalworking. Even h ere, though, there i s s till a basic n eed to s how f irstly whether towns s pecialised i n particular products in a way that rural s ettlements did not and, s econdly the d egree to which rural consumers b enefited from these crafts, a s compared with town-dwellers. As Richmond r ecognised, evidence o f craft-specialisation can b e found a t a wide range o f s ettlements ( 1966). I ronworking, usually r epresented by s lag, i s particularly ubiquitous. So too, s urprisingly, i s bronze-working which, intuitively, one might have a ssociated only with the major towns. I f bronze-working i s a ttested on a rural s ettlement l ike Kingscote ( Eagles and Swan 1 972, 6 4-73), a s well a s in the l arger towns, i t i s n ecessary to a sk whether there are d ifferences in s cale and c omplexity. Evidence o f what was actually made on individual bronze-working s ites i s usually elusive. F inds o f moulds, s uch a s that for a dish from L eicester ( Blank 1 971, 1 1) and that for a brooch from Baldock ( Stead 1 975, 1 28) are exceptional. The d istribution o f pewter-moulds i s a lso by no means confined to the major town-sites ( Fig. 5 ). One i s forced then to conclude, on present evidence, that from the manufacturing point o f view there i s l ittle to distinguish a r ural from a town-based craftsman. However we n eed to r emind ourselves how infrequently details, s uch a s the amount o f manufacturing waste, are g iven i n excavation r eports and that more i nformation r egarding s cale o f operations may y et be e lucidated. I f, a part f rom the working o f gold and s ilver, which do a ppear

4 13

to be confined to the towns, we cannot discriminate between urban and rural on the evidence o f manufacturing a lone, there s till r emains the potential o f the artefacts themselves. I t s eemed a useful approach to examine t he variablilty o f what are normally c lasses a s the ' small f inds' from excavations. Thus, i f an urban s ite had a more complex a ssemblage than the s um o f i ts rural n eighbours i t might s uggest either the possibility or more complex manufacturing within the town or a greater c onsumption o f goods by the townspeople themselves. Conversely i f there was s imil arity between town and country, i t would s uggest either an effective marketing s ystem or more l ocalised production. Variability i s u sed a s an index o f the s imilarity or d iss imilarity o f urban and rural s ettlement r egardless o f the u ltimate source o f the material in question. F ew r egions l end themselves to this approach, but the potential o f Verulamium and i ts r egion has been explored h ere. In comparison with the wealth o f detail from the I nsula X IV excavations ( Frere 1 972) and from t he Gadebridge P ark villa ( Neal 1 974) i t would b e unwise to s uppose t hat the information f rom the r emaining s ites o ffers anything but a taste o f the original excavated s ample. I t a lso n eeds to be s tressed that a ll the rural s ites in this area whose a ssemblages were s tudied were villas and s o the comparison i s bound to be d istorted in favour o f h igher s tatus s ites.' The most important c lass o f material c onsidered was o f bronze but objects o f bone, s hale and j et were a lso included. These artefacts were d ivided into t he following main c ategories: 1 )

objects r elated to dress ( brooches, dressfasteners, belt-plates, l eather mounts, etc.)

2 )

personal ornament bracelets, etc.)

3 )

toilet articles mirrors, etc.)

4 )

food

5 )

furnishing and decoration ( box/casket f ittings, s tatuary, l ocks and keys, l amps, etc.)

6 )

household/commercial

7 )

horse

and drink

( finger-rings,

( ligulae, ( paterae,

and waggon

ear-rings,

ear-scoops, bowls

( weights,

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tweezers, etc.)

s teelyard,

etc.)

trappings.

On the basis o f this broad d ivision o f the material, Verulamium has a t l east twice a s varied an a ssemblage a s any other s ingle s ite in the r egion throughout the Roman period. I f we then compare Verulamium with the s um o f the evidence from a ll the rural s ites, there are c lose s imil arities in s uch c ategories a s dress-related and toilet articles. However t he town i s more o bviously pre-eminent in items r elated to personal j ewellery, food a nd drink,

4 14

F igure

5 .

D istribution map

o f

4 15

s ites with pewter moulds

furnishing and decoration, and waggon and horse-trappings. Thus even on the basis o f this i nadequate and b iased s ample, a d istinction emerges b etween town and country i n the s upply o f, primarily, bronze goods. As s uggested above this may point to greater s pecialisation i n manufacturing in Verulamium a s well a s greater c onsumption on t he part o f the town-dwellers. We s hould a lso r emember t hat t he evidence from Verulamium may be i nfluenced by t he n ature o f the occupation in Insula X IV, which included bronzeworking. When we turn to commoner artefacts, t he picture c hanges I n the c ase o f i ron-work there i s c onsiderable s imilarity b etween t he Insula X IV a ssemblage o f the 2 nd c entury and that o f the s ame date from Gadebridge Park villa. I n the 4 th c entury there i s practically no d ifference b etween the urban and that villa's a ssemblage. However we s hould r emember that the most varied i ron-work a ssemblages f rom l ate Roman Britain are the hoards f rom S ilchester and Great Chesterford ( Boon 1 974, 2 68-72; Neville 1 856). Pottery a ssemblages a lso s how increasing s imilarity b etween t own and country from the 2nd c entury onward, n ot only i n s hared f abrics but a lso in the range o f forms r epresented. Urban and rural s ites do not s hare s uch s imilarities in their pottery and iron-work a ssemblages in the i st c entury, particularly in the pre-Flavian period. The d ifference, even in the comparatively humble pottery a ssemblage, i s due largely to the s ignificant presence o f more valuable imports s uch a s s amian in the pre-Flavian period i n urban s ettlements. The conclusion that might b e drawn f rom this preliminary s urvey o f the artefactual evidence i s that towns do not a ppear to o ffer a more s pecialist market i n i ron-work ( although the l ate Roman hoard evidence might s uggest otherwise) or pottery from the 2nd c entury onwards, but that the converse i s true with more expensive material s uch a s bronze. The urban bronze a ssemblage i s more varied, pointing to the possibility o f more s pecialised craftsmen or a greater demand from within the town. In this r espect i t i s important to note that Verulamium i s s till pre-eminent in the l ater Roman p eriod. Although I believe that the r ole o f manufacturing has been under-emphasised in the past, i t s till r emains d ifficult to e stablish whether, a s i n the c ase o f t he metalwork and ' small f inds' g enerally, greater d iversity within the town a ssemblage r eflects only the urban d emand rather than that o f the r egion. The fact t hat t his has not y et been s olved does not mean t hat a s olution i s unattainable. This s entiment must a pply more widely; our data are s till not good enough but that i s not to d eny that answers will be forthcoming. To t urn briefly to the question o f a parasitical r elationship. I n the case o f those s ettlements b elow the

4 16

l evel o f c ivitas capital the nature o f the r elationship with the countryside c annot yet be c learly d iscerned. We n eed to know more about the morphology o f s uch s ettlements before we c an estimate the ratio between c raft s pecialisat ion and dependence on local agriculture. Given the comparative s carcity o f public buildings i n these s ettlements, i t s eems probable that much o f their s uccess was due to their r elative s trengths a s craft and market c entres. The role o f craft-specialisation and the provision o f s ervices has probably b een underestimated for these s ettlements. With the l arger towns, i e those with a s tatus and with a dministrative and defensive f unction, i t does l ook a s i f we can s how that immediately adjacent l and was insufficient to s upport the urban population. At present we cannot s how the extent to which imported food was paid for by craft s pecialisation and trade. We cannot yet s how that a larger town had a greater impact on i ts h interland than a s maller s ettlement. In s ome r espects, s uch a s the metalwork, i t could be argued that great urban s pecialisation was meeting a purely town-based demand. While the presence and use o f public buildings, t emples, baths and d efences may be a r eflection o f the wealth o f the c ivitas a s a whole, a s derived by t axation, the extraordinary wealth o f town-houses i s s urely mainly connected with the income derived from r ents and rural estates. S ilchester, for example, which s till has the best example o f a town-plan boasts more than 3 0 houses which could pass a s villas in the countryside. In t erms o f their pattern in the countryside, while r ecognising our present i ncomplete s tate o f knowledge we would n eed a ll the villas from the presumed c ivitas area b efore we could match the number o f houses within the town. In the case o f Verulamium, where the plan i s far from c omplete we would s till n eed to include a ll the villas f rom a 1 0-15 mile r adius before we could match the present complement o f houses within the town. This i s obviously a crude means o f a ssessing a town's wealth but t he rural villa distribution i s a valuable way o f a ppreciating the s ize o f estate we might a ssociate with the range o f townhouses that we f ind in the towns. To conclude, Collingwood i s s urely r ight when h e r egarded the t owns o f Roman Britain a s parasites on the countryside, provided we accept that h is definition o f town was confined to the colonia, municipium and c ivitas capital. Even in our present s tate o f knowledge i t s eems c lear that more was drawn into this c lass o f town than was ever r eturned i n the form o f s ervices or manufactured goods besides public a dministration and j ustice. With the l esser towns the picture does s eem different but we do n eed to a ddress ourselves to the fundamental problem o f d istinguis hing between a community dependent primarily on agriculture and one d ependent on craft s pecialisation and the provision o f

a r ange

o f

s ervices.

4 17

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

the

I am very figures.

grateful

to

Mark

Corney

for

drawing

all

NOTES 1 .

The villa assemblages considered those from: Boxmoor ( Neal 1976); ( Neal

1974;

Wycombe

Hemel

( Hartley

Hempstead

1959);

in this survey are Gadebridge Park

( Neal

Latimer

1976);

( Branigan

Lockleys (Ward-Perkins 1938); Northchurch Park Street ( O' Neil 1945; Saunders 1961).

High 1971); ( Neal

1976);

R EFERENCES B lank, B oon,

E ,

1 971

G C ,

B ranigan,

R atae C oritanorum

1 974

S ilchester:

K 1 971

L atimer:

T he R oman T own o f C alleva

A B elgic,

R oman,

D ark A ge a nd E arly

M odern F arm C astle,

S A ,

1 972

A K iln o f t he P otter D oinus,

A rchaeol J. 1 29,69-88

C harles, D , 1 979 A spects o f t he C hronology a nd D istribution o f S ilchester W are R oman P ottery, u npublished B A D issertation, U niversity o f R eading, C ollingwood,

R G ,

a nd Myres,

E nglish S ettlements, E agles,

B N ,

1 979

a nd S wan,

V ,

1 972

S ettlement a t K ingscote, S oc

9 1.

F inley, F rere,

S S ,

1 973 1 972

M G ,

H J M ,

H artley,

a R omano-British

B ristol a nd G loucestershire A rchaeol

V erulamium E xcavations V ol

1 975

B R , 1 6

N ew F orest R oman P ottery:

K F ,

o f P ottery T ypes,

a nd R T R owley),

1 959

:4 ,

1 ,

S oc A ntiquaries o f

2 8

R oman G odmanchester,

( eds W R odwell

B ucks

T he C hessalls,

T rans

D istribution w ith a C orpus

H artley,

R oman B ritain a nd t he

T he A ncient E conomy

L ondon R esearch R eport

G reen,

1 937

6 0-91

M I ,

F ulford,

J N L ,

2 nd e dition

M anufacture a nd B AR 1 7

i n S mall T owns B AR 1 5,

o f R oman B ritain

1 83-210

A R omano-British V illa a t H igh W ycombe,

R ecords

2 27-57

1 973

The M arketing a nd D istribution o f M ortaria,

i n C urrent R esearch

i n R omano-British C oarse P ottery

( ed A D etsicas),

3 9-51 H ilton,

R H ,

H odder,

I ,

P ottery, H odder,

I ,

1 975

1 974a

T he E nglish P easantry S ome M arketing M odels

B ritanniä 5 , 1 974b

R A ,

1 968

f or R omano-British C oarse

3 40-59

T he D istribution o f S avernake W are,

N atur H ist M ag 6 9, J arvis,

i n t he L ater M iddle A ges

W ilts A rchaeol

6 7-84

S oils

o f t he R eading D istrict

S urvey R esearch B oard

418

( Great B ritain,

S oil

K ith-Lucas,

M ,

f orthcoming

S ilchester E xcavations

P ollen A nalysis,

L yne, M A B , a nd J efferies, P ottery I ndustry M altby,

M ,

1 979

A ,

N eal,

1 971-75,

1 978

A ntiq J 5 8 D S ,

N eal,

1 979

T he A lice H olt/Farnham R oman

1 974

T he A nimal B ones

E xeter A rchaeol R eports

C irencester,

( 1978),

1 973-6:

T enth

2

I nterim R eport,

6 1-80

T he E xcavation o f t he R oman V illa i n G adebridze

P ark H emel H empstead R eport

R S ,

F aunal S tudies o n U rban S ites;

f rom E xeter, M cWhirr,

i n M F ulford,

1 974-80

1 963-8,

S oc A ntiquaries o f L ondon R esearch

3 1

D S ,

1 976

N orthchurch,

T hree R oman B uildings A rchaeology 4 , N eville,

R C ,

B oxmoor a nd H emel H empstead S tation

i n t he B ulbourne V alley,

H ertfordshire

1 -135

1 856,

D escription o f a R emarkable D eposit o f R oman

A ntiquities o f I ron,

D iscovered a t G reat C hesterford,

1 854,

1 -13

A rchaeol J 1 3,

O 'Neil,

H E ,

1 945

H ertfordshire,

T he R oman V illa a t P ark S treet, A rchaeol J 1 02,

E ssex,

N ear S t.

i n

A lbans,

2 1-110

R ichmond, I A , 1 966 I ndustry i n R oman B ritain, i n T he C ivitas C apitals o f R oman B ritain ( ed J S W acher), 7 6-86 R odwell,

W ,

a nd R owley,

R T ,

( eds)

1 975

S mall T owns o f R oman

B ritain B AR 1 5 S aunders,

A D ,

1 961

A rchaeol J 1 18, S tead,

IM ,

E xcavations a t P ark S treet,

1 975

B aldock,

i n S mall T owns o f R oman B ritain

W R odwell a nd R T R owley), S wan, W are T odd,

V G ,

1 975

1 970

W ard-Perkins,

W J ,

B ritannia 6 ,

3 7-61

T he S mall T owns o f R oman B ritain, J B ,

Antiquaries J 1 8, W edlake,

( eds

1 25-9

O are R econsidered a nd t he O rigins o f S avernake

i n W iltshire, M ,

1 954-57,

1 00-135

1 958

1 938

B ritannia

T he R oman V illa a t L ockleys,

3 39-376 E xcavations a t C amerton,

419

S omerset

1 ,

W elwyn,

1 14-130

TOWN AND COUNTRY:

A REVIEW OF SOME MATERIAL EVIDENCE Martin Millett

Roman Britain has b een s tudied a s a s eries o f units which are treated a s s elf-contained. Thus we have conf erences, books and articles about s mall towns, c ivitas c apitals, villas and rural s ettlement. This has r esulted from the s ize and complexity o f the s ubject, and a s s uch, this compartmentalisation i s u seful a s a d escriptive d evice. However, i t has a lso t ended to h inder c onsiderat ion o f Roman Britain a s a whole, and the very i mportant questions o f the r elationships b etween t he elements o f the s ettlement pattern have been n eglected a s an important area o f s tudy in themselves. The r elationship ' between t he towns and the countryside i s perhaps the most i mportant o f these r elationships, and has b een d iscussed i n most o f the g eneral works about the province. These have g enerally b een considerations based on g eneralisations, l ike Rivet's s tatement that ' we c annot have a villa without a town' ( 1958, 1 05) or Collingwood's that ' towns were parasitic on the countryside' ( 1937, 1 98). These views t end to b e deductive s tatements founded in contemporary s cholarly i deas, and have rarely been t ested against material evid ence. This f ailure to t est models may have much to do with the s eparation o f s tudies o f the towns and t he c ountrys ide. Recently a r enewed interest i n towns in economic, s ociological, anthropological and g eographical r esearch has t ended to question the r eality o f considering the two s eparately ( eg Abrams 1 978). This r esearch has r aised again a number o f i nteresting questions about urban-rural r elationships, and h istorical data, s uch a s that f rom Roman Britain, has come i nto i ts own a s a potential s ource o f evidence against which hypotheses c an b e t ested ( Burnham and Johnson 1 979). I t i s a matter o f s ome r egret i n these c ircumstances that archaeological r esults have been found inaccessible by other s cholars ( eg Hopkins 1 978, 7 1 note 7 9). This r enewed interest in o ther disciplines has coincided with n ew types o f s tudy o f artefact d istributions in Roman Britain. In addition the archaeological s tudies o f bones and s eeds have a lso begun to f lower. The 1 970s a lso s aw a data explosion with innumerable excavat ions and f ield s urveys producing more i nformation each y ear. These s tudies are at an increasingly h igh l evel o f competence, s uch that we are now able to r ecover much more data than we could in the past. These trends s hould together provide grounds for o ptimism about the f uture potent ial o f work on t he Romano-British countryside. However,

4 21

a g lance through the r esults o f r esearch s ince the l ast conference on the s ubject in 1 965 ( Thomas 1 966) s hows that much o f the potential has s till to be r ealised. The greatest changes have been in the s cale o f our i deas: we now b elieve in a much l arger population, and a much d enser conc entration o f s ites than in 1 965. Furthermore, t he work by those s uch a s P eter Reynolds ( 1979) has s hown u s h ow much more efficient agriculture could have been, and how much l arger crop yields might have been. This s uggests that many peasant farmsteads c annot s imply have b een s ubs istence enterprises. Thus villas are unlikely to b e s imply an economic phenomenon, and the farmsteads must a lso have been involved in exchange and c ontact with other s ettlements to a greater extent than has previously b een b elieved. The data explosion has not y et b een f ully a ssimilated, and i n many ways interpretive models have been l eft b ehind. The r eason for this l ies in t he r eason b ehind our expansion o f excavation and f ieldwork, namely an increasing awareness o f the s peed o f destruction. This has meant that much o f o ur information has b een gained s imply because o f t hreats, and i s o ften consequently s imply r epetitive. The move towards archaeological policies for the s election o f s ites and areas for f ield s urvey has not a s yet achieved r esults which appear much better. There are s everal r easons f or this, the f irst l ies in the danger o f a sking outdated quest ions, the s econd i s that too much s ampling i s b eing u sed s imply to l earn a s much a s possible from a s l ittle, r ather than to answer s pecific questions. Much o f my own d isillus ionment with r ecent work i s, therefore, a r esult o f the l ack o f n ew questions b eing a sked, not the l ack o f answers to o ld questions. I hope this paper will i ndicate s ome u seful questions by putting forward a different view o f the Romano-British countryside in a way which i s t estable against the quality o f evidence that we have available. I b elieve that the key to a n ew a pproach to t he s ubj ect l ies in an abandonment o f the treatment o f Roman B ritain a s a s eries o f s elf-contained parcels o f d ifferent types o f s ettlement. I nstead, they s hould b e treated a s a n etwork o f individual s ettlements and groups o f s ettlements which were originally connected by a n etwork o f s ocial r elationships: r elationships and contacts b etween people which varied in nature f rom b lood r elationships to what might l oosely b e called tribal and i ntertribal r elationships. The archaeological r ecords o f these a re extremely fragmentary and wholly i ndirect, consisting o f the s urviving s ettlement pattern, and the r emains o f the material f lows between t hose s ettlements. I n the c ontext o f the r elationship between town and country, the l atter c an be d ivided into f lows f rom town to country and f lows f rom country to town. This paper r eviews the evidence f rom s ome o f the more r ecent s tudies in these s pheres.

4 22

To l ook f irst at the n etwork o f the s ettlement patterns, which form the framework for our s tudy, we have to contend with the incomplete n ature o f the data. This r ecurring problem can probably only be overcome by f uture s ystematic f ieldwork, a lthough i n the meanwhile i t s eems worthwhile to l ook at the pattern a s a whole, and draw provisional conclusions which must be t ested against future r esults o f f ieldwork. Professor Rivet long ago ( 1955) drew attention to the concentration o f villas around s ome towns ( especially Bath, I lchester, and Winchester) and concluded that the s ize o f these groups was r elated to the degree o f Romanis ation. More r ecently I an Hodder and I ( 1980) have examined the pattern o f villa distributions i n r elation to towns, and have concluded that they indicate that the administrat ive s tatus o f the towns was the main attraction to t hose building villas. The r esult i s that administratively important c entres have a s hallow fall-off in density o f villas around them, while the s mall towns, without adminis trative s tatus, have a much more r apid f all-off in villa d ensity away f rom them. This, together with the l ack o f correlation between density f all-off o f villas and the area o f the towns suggests that the villa d istribution was s ocially determined, a s Rivet ( 1955) and P ercival ( 1976) had suggested. Nevertheless, the villas ( however they are defined) do not make up the whole o f the s ettlement pattern, and indeed it i s the known density o f t he other rural s ettlements that has increased so r emarkably s ince 1 965. The r elationship b etween towns and these other rural s ettlements i s not a well r esearched s ubject, a lthough we have s ome valuable r ecent i nformation from various r ecently published local s tudies. For instance P itts' ( 1980) s tudy o f the West Sussex Coastal plain, and Schadla-Hall's ( 1979) o f the Winchester District both s how variations in the d ensity o f these RomanoBritish rural s ites but n either s hows any marked influence that could be r elated to the towns. This l ack o f any marked urban influence i s s uggested e lsewhere where r eliable data are available. Moreover, where detailed s tudies have been undertaken away f rom towns ( eg Taylor, 1 975; Cunliffe, 1 977, F ig. 2 ; Jones and Miles, 1 979) the densities o f these s ettlements have b een found to be very h igh in r elation to the ' villas'. The variations in s ite densities in these s tudies, a s far a s one c an j udge, are l argely environmentally d etermined, and l ittle influenced by the proximity to towns. The interpretation o f this pattern presents s ome problems, not l east because the d etailed s urveys familiar to me have not been designed with this problem in mind and are, therefore, o ften n ot best s uited to its solution. I t s eems c lear that, i n the s outh at l east, the countryside was densely populated with what we might s imply call farmsteads which were fairly evenly and densely s pread and not a pparently s ited with a l ocational preference for areas n ear to the t owns.

4 23

In the area of northern Hampshire with which I am most familiar, these sites continued in occupation from the Iron Age, and therefore do not reflect the later super­ imposition of Roman urban centres. The villas, on the other hand, were located with a marked tendency to group near the towns, and with a preference for the more impor­ tant administrative centres. In neither case does market­ ing advantage seem to have had much direct influence as neither villas nor farmsteads appear to favour locations close to larger rather than smaller towns. Indeed, our largest town, London, which has good evidence to suggest that it was an important commercial centre, has little in the way of a cluster of farmsteads or villas around it, although it does have a circle of small nucleated settlements (Sheldon and Schaaf, 1978). This is perhaps a surprising result, especially if one is committed to a market interpretation of Roman Britain. Before considering its implications let us look at the flows of materials between sites which form the archaeological evidence for the relationships between town and country.

Flows of materials can flow either from town to country or country to town or can be redistributed via a town. However, because of the perishability of most of the objects which would have been involved in these flows, we are left with a very small proportion of the evidence, little of which can be identified to source. For the most part this evidence consists of bones, seeds, pottery, tile and glass. Products of the countryside almost certainly travelled either to the town or were redistributed via the towns if exchange was taking place. Manufactured goods are on the other hand more likely to have travelled to the country from the towns, or been redistributed via them. Contacts in either direc­ tion are likely to reflect each other to a greater or lesser extent if exchange is taking place. A considerable amount of work has now been done which is relevant to these movements, the most relevant on the distributions of some types of artefacts. Other aspects, ·however, have been less studied and few have tried to relate them to the problem of the nature of the town-country relationship. The greatest pity is that the bone and seed evidence has yet to be used to its full potential. With the larger towns it seems clear that the bulk of the agricultural produce used would have been imported from the surrounding countryside, but the degree of the sophisitication and the organisation of the exchange mechanisms concerned is difficult to guage because of the absence of the necessary studies. King's (1978) recent study of bone assemblages from Roman Britain contained only 22 bone assemblages from towns and road­ side settlements and this sadly reflects the state of our knowledge of this important category of evidence. The most encouraging study recently is that of the Exeter bones by Mark.Maltby (1979) which does provicte the sorts

424

o f information r elevant to this problem. Maltby was able to show that in the early period, when Exeter was a l egionary base, and for a s hort p eriod a fterwards, animals were driven on the hoof to the town and c entrally s laughtered there. Later, the s upply o f meat s eems to have b een l ess organised and there i s even s ome evidence for meat production on the edge o f the urban c entre. At Neatham, a Romano-British s mall town i n Hampshire, Geraldine Done has s hown ( forthcoming) that the majority o f butchery took place within the town. Professor Branigan has shown a t Gatcombe ( 1977) that animals were s laughtered and butchered on the s ite b efore the meat was transported for consumption elsewhere. These s tudies h ighlight what bone evidence can t ell u s, and further s tudies are r equired to establish what were the normal patterns f or farmsteads, villas, and towns. We n eed our bone r eports to t ell us whether bone a ssemblages r epresent butchery waste, kitchen r efuse or c arcase trimmings. Does the Exeter s tudy indicate that a h ighly organised meat trade was achieved only by the Army? King's r ecent ( 1980) s tudy r elating to the fourth c entury s hows t hat c attle at l east were s laughtered outside the town, s o i s there a difference between the l arger and smaller towns? I f the towns d id act a s markets in any s ense their bone a ssemblages ought to r eflect this, and bones ought to be s tudied to establish these patterns. ( For d iscussion o f this, s ee Maltby, 1 981). As far a s the analyses o f s eed r emains are c oncerned l ess potential information s eems available. Jones ( 1981; this volume) has s hown that most o f the i nnovations and developments in crop husbandry took place either in the l ate I ron Age or in the l ater Roman periods. H e postulates a connection with phases o f i ncreased rural investment and urban s tagnation. This c ould account for t he pattern in the villas which Reece ( 1980 and pers comm ) c onsiders to have s upplanted the declining towns in t he l ater Roman period. However, the l ack o f demonstrable s patial r elationships between the towns and farmsteads on t he other hand may make this interpretation l ess creditable. These farmsteads presumably accounted for a l arge proportion o f crop production. What we l ack a t the moment i s an a ssessment o f what botanical material was r eaching the towns and in what proportions. We a lso n eed f urther i nformation a bout the ' villas' within the walls o f s ome towns ( Wacher, 1 974) and what they were producing in t erms o f c ereals, and other crops. Again, s eeds are a potential source o f much invaluable information which n eeds further t apping. Studies which r elate to t he s eeds f rom towns together with their h interland a re d esperately n eeded. The area where most work has b een done i s i n t he f ield o f material distribution, many o f the s ubjects o f which s eem most l ikely to have been distributed a t l east

4 25

via the towns. These artefact distributions contain much potential information about the influence o f towns on the countryside, a s have the l ocation and organisation o f the industries producing the manufactured goods. I an Hodder has r ecently brought together much o f this evidence ( Hodder and Orton, 1 976, 9 8-183; Hodder, 1 978, 4 2-6), but i t s eems worthwhile to attempt another r eview. There has now b een a considerable number o f s tudies o f d istributions o f various artefacts, especially pottery, many o f which have utilised quantitative methods. The r esults o f a number o f these s tudies have g enerally b een u sed but usually in the context o f s tudies o f d istributional mechanisms rather than the influence o f towns on t he c ountryside. These s tudies s uggest t hat many o f t he a rtefacts have purely l ocal d istributions which c an b e r elated to the s ervice areas o f towns ( eg Savernake ware, Roman t iles, and l ocally d istributed Farnham ware) ( But on the s ource s ubject s ee Fulford's paper, t his volume p . 4 03) The fall-off in density o f these d istributions s uggested ( Hodder and Orton, 1 976) that t he d ist ribution mechanisms consisted o f f airly frequent d irect contact between consumer s ites ( the countryside) a nd the market. This was characterised by s teep concave r egression l ines. At the other end o f the s cale, t here were l arge s cale distributions which r eached beyond the s phere o f influence o f any one c entre, s uch a s Oxfords hire, Nene Valley, New Forest and Farnham Wares. These d istributions are in s ome c ases a ssociated with more e fficient transport media, in the form o f r ivers and the s ea. These two a spects o f distribution through l ocal s ources o f s upply for most goods, and non-local s ources o f s upply through the s ame markets f or others, has proved an attractive model to many. Nevertheless, this model o f markets has been taken to indicate a d eveloped economy i n which the farmsteads were participating. Although a ttract ive, this s eems open to a great deal o f doubt. We have a lready s een how l ittle l ocational influence t he t owns have on the bulk o f the f armsteads, and we c an s uggest that meat marketing might not have b een a s s ophi sticated a s s ome have s uspected. Three points s eem t he k ey to the examination o f this problem. F irst the o verall d istribution patterns; s econdly the boundaries b etween d istribution; and thirdly the location o f the production c entres. L et us begin with the rather o bvious f act pointed o ut by Professor Frere ' The more humdrum products o f t rade and industry penetrated through the periodic markets to the poorest peasants o f the deepest countryside' ( 1967, 2 63). This i s well documented in a r ecent s tudy o f Samian in Sussex ( Millet, 1 981) and a s tudy o f 3 rd and 4 th c entury f ine wares in c entral s outhern England ( Hodder, 1 974a, F ig. 8 ). I t n eeds n o more e vidence than

4 26

that a lready a pparent to any excavator, that Samian and f ine pottery appear, a lbeit in s mall quantities, on most rural s ites. The s urprising f act brought out by the Sussex s tudy was that Samian was arriving on r ural s ites c omparatively early: within 2 0 years o f t he conquest most s ites were r eceiving i t. Regrettably there i s very l ittle quantitiative date available r egarding the amounts o f Samian in deposits, s o i t proves very difficult to a ssess the importance o f i t or establish i ts fall-off away from market c entres. However, s amian a t l east s eems to have been r eaching rural s ites very s oon a fter the conquest and before we have any s ubstantial evidence for the towns' having a major marketing role. This may s uggest that the towns were d eveloping r emarkably rapidly into e ffective markets. I f this were s o one would expect evidence for the extension o f their influence. The Sussex data do not s eem to s how this, and other mechanisms may, therefore, be a t work. The l ater f ine wares s uggest a pattern without any major dichotomy in s upply between towns and the countryside even in a period when there i s s ome evidence for the towns acting a s markets. There does not s eem to b e enough evidence yet available for model t esting. I t i s possible that in the l ater Roman period the market r eached s aturation point. However, the rapidity with which s amian r eached rural s ites once i t was in plentiful s upply in the province s uggests that i t was r eaching those s ites through an a lready existing n etwork o f r elationships, perhaps through the s ocia l ! n etwork which undoubtedly existed in the l ate Iron Age. Although it would be wrong to over-emphasise the importance o f pottery, i t i s possible that s amian r epresented a prestige i tem which was quickly acquired in small quantities through s ocial c ontact with the import ing c entres and people with access to those c entres. This model could be t ested i f s ufficient quantitative data were available from the rural s ites to compare with those from the urban s ites. I n a more g eneral perspect ive, a combination o f factors, including a s trong s ocial influence, s eems the most appropriate for the understanding o f distributions to rural s ites: a s imple economic model does not f it. We n eed now to look at the d istribution o f the products o f individual industries, where the purely market models again do not s eem wholly a ppropriate. Hodder's original s tudies o f, for instance, Savernake ware ( 1974b) and Rowland's Castle ware ( 1974c) both compared the pottery distributions with the predicted s ervice areas o f the towns n earby. These were defined in t erms o f the distance to their n earest n eighbour towns, weighted according to s ite s ize and indicated a s notional polygons. The initial comparison o f the d istributions with these polygons s eemed r easonable. However, when they are considered more c losely problems emerge. For instance,

4 27

the predicted s ervice area o f Chichester i n Hodder's paper on Rowland's Castle ware was drawn on the basis o f the inclusion o f the Civitas Capital a lone. When this i s r edrawn u sing the small towns a s well ( Millet, 1 981, F ig. 2 1) the r esult i s that there i s a l ess convincing f it to the model. That the distribution i s l op-sided was c lear from Hodder's original paper ( 1974c) and a s imilar lop-sidedness i s a lso s een i n the S avernake d istribution ( Hodder, 1 974b). In a r ecent paper Hodder ( 1979) r econsidered these r esults and r e-interpreted the l ops idedness in t erms o f s ocial r elationships. H is n ew interpretation s eems to explain the data more s atisfactori ly and again questions any s imple economic interpretation o f Roman Britain. F inally, there i s information a vailable c oncerned with the s cale and l ocation o f production c entres. What i s most r emarkable about this i s that t he l arger s cale manufacturing c entres in Roman Britain are o ften rural. For instance, the Oxfordshire, New Forest a nd Alice Holt kilns are a ll l arge s cale, r ural i ndustries with wide s cale third and fourth c entury d istributions. In the earlier period the B lack Burnished industry o f Dorset had a s imilar rural location, and Darvill ( 1980) has r ecently s uggested that t ile production at Minety i n Wiltshire might a lso have been on a s imilarly l arge s cale. The explanation o f the impetus behind s uch d istributions, a s opposed to an analysis o f the transport mechanisms, i s extremely difficult: the fact that water was used in s ome c ases does not explain the widescale distribution in i tself. What i s most r emarkable a bout these distributions i s that they are not c entred on towns. Hodder ( 1974a) s uggested that economies o f s cale may have been r esponsible, but i f t he towns were r espons ible for marketing, one would expect rural l ocations to be disadvantageous, especially t o l arge s cale production. This i s c learly not the case and there s eems good r eason to s uggest that these industries were s easonal ( Fulford, 1 975) and run by those involved in agriculture. There thus s eems to be problems in r econciling these r ural l ocations with a model o f a developed market economy in Roman Britain based on the towns. Much o f t he produce o f the Alice Holt kilns, for instance, s eems l ikely to have by-passed the towns and went d irectly to t he main consumer c entre o f London. This s eems a lmost i nexplicable i f the l ocal town was the l ocal market through which trade naturally passed. However, i f the town i s s een in the context o f exchange mechanism d etermined and constrained by s ocial r elationships, then i t i s p erhaps explicable. By avoiding the l ocal town the s ocially constrained channels might a lso have b een avoided, and i t might have become possible to b ecome an ' outsider' in s everal exchange n etworks rather than an ' insider' in one. We might thus interpret the l arger s cale r ural

4 28

enterprises a s the beginnings o f a l ess s ocially c ons trained manufacturing and marketing s ystem ( see a lso Hodder, 1 979, 1 94). Such a d evelopment took place only in the l ater Roman period and then n ever universally. I have a ttempted to r eview s ome material evidence p ertinent to t he r elationship o f countryside and town. Three major points have emerged: 1 .

There i s a wealth o f information available, l ittle o f which has been f ully utilised.

2 .

The material available r aises many questions which could be answered g iven an a pproach which uses the data to t est models. This t esting ought to b egin with the d esign o f excavation and post-excavation s trategies.

3 .

Explanations in purely economic t erms a re inadequate. We n eed to b e careful not t o a ssume that the Romano-British economy was o f particular type until this has been critically examined.

Most important, we must begin to treat artefacts f rom excavations a s integral to the s tudy o f the RomanoBritish countryside. Only then will the r elationship b etween the parts o f the s ettlement pattern, which have been examined s o much s ince 1 965, b egin to be understood. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The views expressed in t his paper have emerged a s the r esult o f discussion with a n umber o f friends over the past couple o f years. Any inspiration c ame from Richard Reece and Ian Hodder; the arguments have been d eveloped in discussion with S imon James, J eremy Evans and Tim Schadla-Hall. To these I am extremely grateful. J eremy Evans, Mark Maltby and Martin Jones have kindly r ead the t ext for me. Any errors r emain the a uthor's r esponsibility. R EFERENCES A brams,

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2 82-4

LAND

TENURE AND

POLITICS

IN

FIFTH-CENTURY

BRITAIN

Shimon Applebaum

S ixteen y ears ago a t a conference convened by the Council f or British Archaeology on Rural S ettlement i n Roman B ritain, C E Stevens r ead a paper which, i f i t h as n ot become f amous, a t any rate was s omething o f a l andmark in the s tudy o f the province ( Stevens 1 966). I n that paper h e put f orward the theory that the province, l ater the diocese, o f Britain was d ivided b etween two predominating s ystems o f r ural t enure, one i n the east, composed o f l ess wealthy villas, economically hampered by the C eltic practice o f dividing the holding among three c onsecutive g enerations o f agnates, and the other, in the west, o f wealthy villas whose income was based predominantly on the l abour o f h ereditary bondmen villages o f the type d escribed in the Welsh codes; these villages c ultivated their l and communally and c arried out a r edistribution o f plots whenever a s on attained h is majority or a s enior d ied. Stevens ( who h enceforth in this paper will be r eferred to a s Tom) did n ot c laim that h is two proposed t enurial d ivisions were a bsolute or monolithic; h is division was r ather one o f preponderance or weight in each area. S ince then much progress has b een made in the s tudy o f the Romano-British countryside, and we may now f eel b etter equipped to understand or to evaluate h is theory. But b efore h e d ied, h e expressed to me the b elief that the a bove d ivision went f arther and d eeper than s imple s ocial-economic s tructure, a t l east in s outhern B ritain. H e believed that the d ivision extended to the political and perhaps to t he theological s pheres. And h ere we must c all to mind the work o f one o f Tom's pupils, who i s a lso no l onger with u s - John Morris. Morris's contribution to our understanding o f 5 th c entury Britain was I b elieve a d ecisive one a nd h is book The Age o f Arthur was d edicated t o Tom ( Morris 1 973). H e d id not r efer to Tom's e xtended theory i n h is book, n or d id I do s o in my contribution to the Agrarian H istory o f England and Wales ( Applebaum 1 972) a lthough I knew a bout i t. Tom a lways s low to publish, d id not l ive to work h is theory out, but John f urnished, knowingly or unknowingly much o f the analysis o f 5 th c entury B ritain which must s erve a s one o f t he f oundations o f my paper. I have t herefore conceived i t a s a d ebt to c onsider Tom's e xtended t heory a s I understand i t, the more s o especi ally because J T Smith has r ecently brought f orward another a spect o f villadom which, h e believes, r eflects in B ritain and Gaul the regime o f partible inheritance c haracteristic o f Celtic s ociety ( Smith 1 978). C learly h is theory must i nfluence our evaluation o f Tom' s theory o f dual r ural 4 33

s ocieties in Roman Britain, and i ts d egree o f validity i s l ikely to d etermine the g eographical validity o f Tom's proposed t enurial and i deological d ivision. In considering the problems before us, we must e xamine f irst the d ivision o f theological thought in 5 th c entury B ritain, then the political division, and f inally the evidence f or t enurial-social division a s i t i s a ffected by r ecent a rchaeological r esearch and by the t heory o f the r eflection o f partible property in the planning o f villas. P elagianism, a s trong r eligious movement in Britain i n the f irst half o f the 5 th c entury, i s better known today to s tudents o f the Diocese thanks to the work o f Morris ( 1965) and J N L Myres ( 1960, 2 1). I s there any evidence that P elagianism was l ocated more particularly in any d efin able z one o f Britain? Our f irst piece o f evidence a rises o ut o f the l ittle we know about Victricius, B ishop o f Rouen i n the early 5 th c entury. In 1 972 I s uggested that p ewter vessels f ound a t Weyhill, Hampshire, one o f which bore h is name and another a Christian symbol, might be h is ( Applebaum 1 972, 2 3). I did n ot then know that he.actually visited Britain, and that h e called the c lergy who i nvited h im to come, i n order to mediate in an ecclesiastical d ispute, consacerdotes mei ( Migne 1 878-90, 2 0, 4 43); s everal s cholars r egard h im a s a native o f Britain ( Barley & Hanson 1 968; Frend 1 968). The ancient church o f Weyhill i s d edic ated to S t Michael, patron s aint o f s oldiers; Victricius had been a s oldier ( Morris 1 973, 1 46). I hold that Weyhill was h is church, and h is parish may well have been the Andover villa-group. I f s o, h is parish was orthodox and faithful to the Gallic and Roman establishment. Not only i s there no evidence that Victricius was called to B ritain to arbitrate in a dispute in which P elagianism was i nvolved, but i t would have been chronologically impossible. B ut we may o bserve that h e advocated devotion to the tombs o f the martyrs ( Morris 1 973, 3 36), whereas the P elagians were o pposed to this practice. This g ives point to S t G ermanus' visit to St Albans's tomb in 4 29. But the Christ ian c emetery a t Cannington in Somerset was concentrated round the burial o f a young g irl ( Rahtz 1 968), and t hat i s in the west. In other words, Christian burials could be o bjects o f d evotion at both ends o f the s outhern provinces. There are indeed grounds for s upposing that P elag ius h imself was educated in s outh-eastern B ritain ( Myres 1 960, 2 1), a lthough h is theological i nfluence, exerted a fter h e had r eached I taly, would not n ecessarily have a ffected t he s outh-east more than any other part o f B ritain. Corinium may have been a f ocus o f P elagianism; t his i s how one might i nterpret the r estoration o f the Jupiter Column h ere in the fourth c entury, by the governor o f Britannia Prima, s uggesting, f irst, that the Christians were s trong there, and s econdly that the most l ikely converts to P elag ianism would b e the wealthy educated in the Roman t radition, e specially the owners o f the big Gloucestershire villas.

4 34

Constantine' s L ife o f St Germanus describes the P elagians who gathered to dispute St Germanus a s s plendidly dressed and c ircumdati a ssentatione multorum ( Constantine, Vita Sancti Germani, 5 0). Whether or not the popular s upport i s to be believed, and i t has been doubted i f P elagianism ever a ffected more than the educated intelligensia - the r eference might have been merely to the o bsequious c lients o f the wealthy men who followed the P elagian trend o f thought, though among Germanus' adversaries was a man o f t ribuniciae potestatis. But we can only s uspect that the meeting o f St Germanus with these o pponents might have t aken place a t Corinium because i t was the capital o f Britannia Prima. While Germanus' easiest route would have been down the S eine and a cross the Channel to Clausentum we do n ot know where h e went f rom there; that h e went to London could be a rgued f rom the fact that thence h e visited S t Alban 's tomb at Verulamium; that h is r eturn j ourney l asted s everal days while the trip from Verulamium to London could be done in a day, t ells us nothing, a s h e had to s pend s everal n ights in a village tavern due to a s prained ankle ( Constantine, Vita Sancti Germani, 5 0). Does the g eographical extent o f Vortigern's rule c ast any l ight on the distribution o f P elagianism? E pigraphical evidence ( the P illar o f E lseg, Bartrum 1 966, nos 1 -3), makes Vortigern the founder o f the kingdom o f Powys. Nennius has h is genealogy ( Historia B rittonum, 4 8-9) - probably a g enuine tradition but much muddled - which r ecords a Roman name, Pascentius, a s early a s s ix g enerations before h im. I f the Celtic estimate o f 3 3 years f or a g eneration be a ccepted, this was a pproximately two c enturies earlier, j e i n the t ime o f the S even ; he was born at B uilth. On the other hand the s ame g enealogy r ecords that Vortigern's father bore the s ame name; a ccording to another tradition, one o f h is s ons a lso. This Pascentius, a ccording to Nennius, r eceived l and f rom Ambrosius Aurelianus in Powys evidently. Then h e had transferred h is political a llegiance. One o f Vortigern's grandsons was Guitolin, father o f Gloiu, who had a s on o f the s ame name. I f the chronology i s hopel ess, the a ssociation with Gloucester i s evident, and the l ast-named's military c lash with Ambrosius i s r ecorded by Nennius ( Historia B rittonum, 6 6). Morris, i ndeed, believed that h e was the s ame man a s Vortigern, and in view o f t he l atter's t itle, which means ' Overking', this i s possible ( Morris 1 973, 5 5), but the g enealogical t ext does not n ecessarily s upport the emendment. But f rom the g enealogy and the t itle i t i s c lear that Vortigern c laimed authority o ver the greater part o f s outhe r n Britain - in Roman t erms Prima, S ecunda, and F lavia Caesariensis. The G loucester evidence would s eem to s how that there were two parties within the c ity, one s upporting Vortigern and t he other Ambrosius, and that one o f t he l atter's s upporters, Pascent ius, belonged to the c ity a ristocracy, perhaps to i ts magistracy. I f we a ccept Nennius' information, h e was o f Vortigern's family, h ence the political s plit divided

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even c lose r elatives. I t i s accordingly evident that Vortigern's a uthority extended to the s outhwest half o f s outhern Britain, but that within that area h e encountered o pposition. I t would f urther s eem that Vortigern's kindred had b een r esident in Gloucester for at l east two c enturies, and that their d egree o f Romanization has been underestimat ed by h istorians. The r evolution that expelled Constant ine I II's administrators was carried out by the upper c lass ( Zosimus, H istoria Nova VI, 5 ), s o that the crucial action would have c entred on London the s eat o f power. While the early 4 th c entury t estimony g ives u s bishoprics only in the east - London, York, L incoln and Colchester the f act that three o f these were Roman colonies might s trengthen the belief that Gloucester a lso was a Christian c entre. One piece o f information f urnished to u s by Gildas t ells us s ome thing both o f the extent o f Vortigern's a uthority and o f the political s tructure o f the country a t the t ime. The British r epresentatives who f ell victim to S axon treachery during the n egotiations a fter the s econd r evolt numbered 3 00 ( H istoria Brittonum 4 6). Most numbers in ancient chronicles are untrustworthy, and this r igure i s not to be taken a s precise. But f urther consideration s uggests that i t may bear s ome r elation to the truth. Gildas and B ede knew o f 2 8 c ivitates in Britain ( Gildas, De Excidio, 3 ; B ede, Ecclesiastical H istcrz, 1 , i ). Tom could count 2 2. S ince then we have the C ivitas Corioelsoliliorum from Caves Inn ( Tripontium) ( Wilson 1 966, 2 23), and L indinis o f the Durotriges, which Tom himself s howed to have been a s econd c entre o f that tribe ( Stevens 1 951). Other possible candidates can be distinguished eg Cunetio ( Mildenhall), s uitably walled and equipped with bastions; Carmarthen, i f i ts amphitheatre i s to be s o interpreted, P etuaria, a vicus under Trajan, but called a polis by Ptolemy a d ecade or two later, ( Geog I I, 3 , 7 ), and an unknown Bricic ( Collingwood and Wright 1 965, 7 07). Evidently the f igure o f Gildas and B ede was n ot f ar wrong. I f then each c ivitas s ent t en r epresentatives to the n egotiations to be undertaken with H engest, we have 2 80 d elegates, a f air a pproximation to Gildas' n umber. The f igure o f t en, moreover, r elates to the Roman s tucture o f c ity government in the Lower Empire, when the t en primores, or principies became the a ctive committees o f the c urial councils ( Jones 1 964, I I, 7 31). In this c ontext we may r ecall Germanus' encounter with E lafius, d escribed a s quidam r egionis i llius primus ( Constantine, Vita S ancti Germani, 2 6-7). I f our s uggestion i s correct, the 2 80 delegates r epresent some 2 80 villas; theoretically, a countrywide total o f 2 ,800. In 1 978 a thousand were known, and a lthough I am c ertain there are many others t o f ind, I doubt i f s ome c ivitates had a s many a s a hundred i n t heir r espective t erritories a t this t ime. Probably s ome c urials, especially f rom the north, were rougher s pecimens f rom upland villages or Dinorbens; and what are we to s ay o f

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Gwyrangon, King o f Kent, o f whom we h ear f rom Nennius? Nor s hould we f orget St Patrick's father, decurion r esident at Bannaventa ( Historia Brittonum, 3 7). These elements may a ccount f or the u ltimate break up o f the rule o f the c urials. B ut the conclusions to be drawn f rom our s uggest ion n evertheless i s, that the delegates r epresented the entire Diocese o f Britain a s far a s Carlisle. We r eturn to the political r ift. I f this divided Gloucester families, another case i s known, unfortunately not c ertainly l ocatable on the map, in which a c ultured Romano-British f amily was s plit by the P elagian controversy. The father Gerontius disinherited h is two daughters for their adherence to P elagianism ( Migne 1 878-90, 3 0, 4 5-50). How s atisfactory i f this man could be i dentified with the Cornovian Gerontius who a ided Germanus in h is halleluiah campaign o f 4 29, and whose memory a ppears to be p erpetuated n ear L langollen ( Morris 1 973, 6 4). Unfortunately the n ame was common, but the date i s a pproximately correct, and Gerontius was a name favoured by the Cornovian dynasty o f Powys. We may perhaps s ee Powys a s another r egion where P elagianism had penetrated. Whatever the case, this would s uggest that the differences bred by r eligious controversy caused r eplications in the political f ield. This probability gains s upport from Pope Z osimus, who, d enouncing the condemnation o f P elagius by the African bishops ( 416-418) c laimed that many o f the enemies o f P elagianism were polit ical traitors employed a s o fficials by Constantine I II in his bid for the empire ( Migne 1 878-90). As the f irst event in Britain a fter 4 10 was the expulsion o f Constant ine' s a dministration, active P elagian s upport o f this coup d ' etat would have been natural. The British P elagian B ishop Fastidius' l etter to a widow who had l ost h er husband in these d isorders points in the s ame direction ( Migne 1 878-90, 4 0, 1 031). Can we l earn anything concerning the a ttitude and policy o f Vortigern with r egard to P elagianism? Some s cholars have found i t difficult to think o f this warlike product o f unromanized tribalism f inding a llies i n the philosophical i ndividualism o f the P elagian intelligensia. Political s tringencies breed s trange bedfellows, but Vortig ern's background a ppears to have been misrepresented. Even in the t erritory o f the Cornovii, where one tradition c laims h e had connexions, there may have been adherents to P elagianism a s we have s een. But i f we have understood Nennius' g enealogy, Vortigern's family had roots in Glouc ester a t the beginning o f the 3 rd c entury, and s ome o f i ts members a re r ecorded with Roman names. There i s no particular r eason, therefore, to r egard Vortigern a s an uneducated ruffian, and Kenneth Jackson has s uspected h im o f being a l owlander ( Jackson 1 953, 1 16, no.4). H e c ertainly owed h is a scent to power, i f i ndirectly, to P elagian s upport. Morris, moreover, has argued convincingly f or

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a political s ituation which obliged h im to withold a ctive a ssistance to Germanus during the latter's f irst crusade against British P elagianism in 4 29. H e could a fford n either to a lienate h is P elagian s ubjects nor to o ffend the orthodox c hurch o f Gaul ( Morris 1 973, 7 2). D espite the f og o f miracle and i - c lame in which Constantine s hrouds the Saint's visit, h e a ppears to have achieved l ittle in the r eligious controversy, however important h is part in d efeat ing the I rish. In h is s econd visit h e was more s uccessful, and was a ble to arrest and deport a handful o f P elagians. I b elieve that there i s an explanation f or this, and I s hall r efer to i t l ater. There was, therefore, no s harp g eographical d ivision in l owland Britain between P elagians and orthodox; t here may have been foci or enclaves o f one or the other. We may c hose to s ee P elagians in the west ( eg a t Cirencester and Gloucester), on the marches o f Wales, in London but not at Verulamium which with the Andover district a ppears to have been orthodox. There do s eem to have been political i mplications in the theological antagonism, but not a ll the political d ifferences were o f r eligious origin 0r comp lexion. A c learer l ine o f political d emarcation between east and west Britain, i s probably to be f ound in the hostility between Ambrosius Aurelianus and Vortigern. Ambrosius was evidently a powerful l and-owning aristocrat: Myers ( 1960) has s uggested that he was r elated to B ishop Ambrosius o f Milan, whose f ather's name was a lso Ambrosius Aurelianus. H is c lash with Vortigern's son Vitalinus a t Guoloppum would indicate ( Nennius, H istoria Brittonum 6 6) that he was involved i n the politics o f Gloucester; Gildas c laims for h im imperial l ineage ( De Excid, 2 5). His parents were purpurea induti, or i f there were an o lder and a younger Ambrosius, then t he description a pplied to the e lder. Gildas c alls h im ' the l ast o f the Romans', Vortigern's f ear o f h im i s mentioned pari passu with his f ear o f ' Roman' aggression ( De Excid, 2 5; H istoria Brittonum 3 0, 3 1). In view o f the i dentification o f Guolop with Wallop, i t has been h eld that Ambrosius' estate i s perpetuated by the name o f Amesbury ( Ambresbyrig a bout the year 8 80 CE) ( Ekwall 1 940) and we s hould note G lanville Jones' information that medieval Amesbury possessed discrete manors a t L yndhurst and Bowcombe i n t he I sle o f Wight, where a Roman building i s now. Jones has found that ' on or n ear the s ite o f a lmost every Roman s ettlement in Yorkshire, c ivil or military, there was a mansio or c apital o f a d iscrete estate i n 1 086' ( Jones 1 961, 1 99). Amesbury i s on the s outh-east f ringe o f S alisbury P lain, in an area o f extensive and c ontinuous blocks o f n ative f ields and s ettlements. I t a lso s tands a l ittle s outh o f the Harrow Way which l inks S omerset with eastern Britain, and l ies within easy distance o f the Roman road connecting Old Sarum with Mildenhall. Both Morris ( 1973, 1 00) and I ( Applebaum 1 972, 2 4), observed independently

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that Ambrosius' name has been perpetuated i n place n ames much farther a field, and Amberley in western S ussex i s c lose to the l arge villa o f B ignor, which may have b een h is property. Morris marked down a much l arger n umber o f Ambrose place names in the S evern valley, Sussex and E ssex, a ssociating them with places which the younger Ambrosius, the victor o f Mount Badon, may have f ortified o r garrisoned. The h eartland o f the e lder Ambrosius' property was S alisbury P lain - free o f villas but s urrounded by t hem; i n the n orthern part o f this a rea was a r egio policed by a c enturio r egionarius and therefore imperial land ( Coilingwood and Wright 1 965, no.179). Collingwood thought t hat the whole o f Salisbury P lain was o f this s tatus ( Collingwood and Myres 1 937, 2 24). I would dare to conjecture t hat Ambrosius' s trength l ay in the domination o f the peasant villages o f the P lain, and in the s upport o f the big estate owners o f Gloucestershire and Somerset. The l ast a ssumption i s s peculative, but i f Ambrosius did dominate the P lain, h e virtually cut off the proprietors of those areas f rom t he r est o f the Diocese ( significantly, perhaps,' we f ind Ambrosden cheek by j owl with Alchester, which bars the main road to Verulamium and London). The big estate owners, moreover, with a h igh s tandard or romanization, P elagian or not, might have disliked Vortigern's c laims and i nnovations. They were, perhaps, the Dixie democrats o f that B ritish a ge. Ambrosius' eastern l imit i s l ikely to have coincided with the o ld f rontier between the Durotriges and t he B elgae, that i s, the Christchurch Avon, but i f Ambrosius r eally h eld e states at Lyndhurst, in the I sle o f Wight and a t B ignor, ( Applebaum 1 974, 1 31-32), h is area extended a long the Channel coast to western Sussex; this i s well i n l ine with the behaviour o f s ome o f s outh-western I ron Age c ultures which thrust f ingers o f influence both into S ussex and the Thames Valley ( Cunliffe 1 974, Fig 3 :1, 3 :5). B ut i f we may c ountenance Morris' s uggestion that the Celtic C erdic was a r uler o f the B elgic c ivitas f ighting the younger Ambrosius with S axon f oederati, the e lder Ambrosius' control would n ot have e xtended much inland. I t i s notable that without this coastal belt, h is eastern l imit was very much that o f the B elgae 's western expansion on the eve o f the C laudian i nvasion, a lthough the l atter had a pparently a lso s eized t he northern drainage basin o f the River Avon and i ts tributaries ( Cunliffe 1 974, 9 0, F ig 7 :1). This was a lso t he western l imit o f Anglo-Saxon s ettlement i n the earlier 6 th c entury ( Myres 1 977, 3 4). Westward, Dumnonia c ontinued a s a s eparate community uninfluenced by the r est o f Britain t ill the l atter half o f the 5 th c entury ( Thomas 1 976, 2 06-9). I f we may s um up at this point, we conclude t hat while P elagianism does a ppear to have possessed political i mplic ations, i t cannot be confined to any one r egion o f 5 th

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c entury B ritain. I f there was a political d ivision, it was between Britain s outh o f Thames and an Ambrosian enclave c entred on Salisbury P lain with probable extensions to G loucester and Somerset. I f Vortigern's a ttitude towards t he P elagians became hostile towards the middle o f the c ent ury, therefore, i t may have been because the P elagian community in the west was s upporting Ambrosius; this s plit t he P elagians g eographically and placed those o f them r esid ent within Vortigern's t erritory in an ambiguous position o pen to s uspicion o f disloyalty. With this we may turn to r econsider the S tevens doct rine: Did the d ivision imply a difference o f t enurial r egime o utside the c ities? In order to weigh this problem, we must s crutinize the bold s uggestion o f J T Smith, that t he phenomenon o f double dwellings and c ertain internal a rrangements which h e d istinguishes among Romano-British villas, s ignify the Celtic institution o f partible i nherit ance ( Smith 1 978). C learly the authentication o f t hese phenomena, and their a ppearance both in the east and west o f Britain, would have a considerable impact on Tom's theory and might even r elegate i t to the compost h eap o f eallant and f ertile errors. But there might be truth in both hypotheses. Firstly, we must consider Smith's l ist o f c ertain or possible ' dual' villas; we f ind 2 8 o f them in s outhwestern Britain, and 4 3 in eastern Britain. These f igures are c ertainly not s ufficient to g ive either a decisive a dvantage. Of the ' possibles' and ' probables' among the a bove villas, moreover, there are 1 7 in the east and s ix i n the west. Instances thought by Smith a s c ertain, theref ore, are 2 6 in eastern Britain and 2 2 in western B ritain. This r esult i s hardly amenable to a d ecision, and l ess questionable methods must be used for an a ssessment. I am not going to d iscuss h ere Tom's detailed s urvey o f f ield-patterns and s ettlements in the highland and l owland z ones o f Britain. But h is important thesis o f a g eographic al division between two t enurial r egimes, one the f reeholder's villas, l ess prosperous because their property was partible until the third g eneration, the o ther t he big e state-owners drawing their income f rom the l abour a nd produce o f n ucleated villages o f bondmen cultivating c ommon l and ( tyr cyfrif), does not l ose s ignificance j ust because h is s urvey did not yield c lear r esults. S ince h e wrote, a number o f valuable s tudies have been published both o f B ritish villas and o f native British f ield s ystems, a lso s ome n ew s tudies o f Welsh l aw and t enurial distribution. Had Tom had these before h im, h e might have found more evidence with which to t est his hypothesis. A preliminary word must be s aid on s ettlement and f ield-patterns. We now have a s triking and graphic e xample o f what a bondman village s hould l ook l ike theoretically. I t i s on Bodmin Moor I r efer to the S tannon St Breward

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s it e s urveyed by R J Mercer ( 1978, f ig 2 5:2). The f ields are s trips and there are s ixteen huts built in l oose n ucl eation. The fact that they belong to the Early B ronze Age merely confirms the antiquity o f this form a s l ong a dumbrated by s everal s cholars. Next we may consider the work o f the Essex r esearchers ( Rodwell 1 978) who have d emonstrated that much o f the present E ssex f ield-pattern i s pre-Roman; in general i t c onsists o f s quarish parcels, but s tripfields a ppear among them h ere and there. E ither these a re what the Trinovantes f ound when they r eached Essex, or they are B elgic. How this i s r elated to s ettlement f orms I do not y et know, but s ome villas a re c ertainly integrated into the s ystem. The third s tudy I wish to mention i s that o f the O xford Archaeological Unit. The most important f eature o f the C laydon P ike ( Lechlade) area, for our present d iscussion, i s the presence o f a s ystem o f ditched roads, s ome s ectors o f which are r uler-straight ( Miles 1 982). I t i s the work o f Roman s urveyors and indicates governmental concern f or the e fficient e xport o f the area's produce. The s ettlement h ere i s o f two kinds: there i s a n ucleation o f platf orm houses, but c ircular enclosures are found c lose by. We know these n ucleated platform villages f rom Salisbury P lain and f rom Dorset ( Bowen and Fowler 1 966). In Salisbury P lain there i s a s uspicion that some are a ssociated with s tripfields. In s ome cases in the 4th c entury the f ields a ppear not to have been used ( Cunliffe 1 973, 4 44); this could mean a transition to animal husbandry, that the commun ity was devoted to handicrafts or the introduction o f an o pen f ield s ystem. The Claydon Pike s ite, I believe, was on an imperial estate; the Salisbury P lain villages - quite possibly. A s imilar pattern, but without s traight s urveyed roads, has been s tudied by Professor Cunliffe ( 1977) at Chalton, north o f Portsmouth. H ere e xtensive native f ield s ystems are a ssociated with three platform house n ucleations, three i solated masonry buildings and a t l east twelve i solated homesteads. The l ast c ategory belongs both to the I ron Age and the Roman period; one o f the platform villages was s hown to have been o ccupied f rom the 2nd to the 4 th c entury. So far a s I c an s ee, the s cattered hut pattern preceded the n ucleations, which were a Roman phenomenon, and I s uspect r eorganisation f rom a bove. But s ome o f the huts may have persisted. I t i s possible that s ome o f the s urrounding f ields comprised l ong s trips but i t s hould be emphasized that a g eneral r edistribution o f l and could a lso take place within s quare parcels, and i t did s o in western I reland. How are we to evaluate this pattern? Clearly more s tudy and e xcavation are r equired, but . one may a sk t entatively whether these were not peasants moved f rom e lsewhere and made to n ucleate, and whether their r elationship to the n earby masonry buildings - presumably villas - was

4 41

one o f s ubordination. Could this be a d eliberate r eproduct ion o f t ir cyfrif, by the a uthorities, or the r esult o f e xcess population o f bondmen villages and the r esettlement o f t he s urplus c ultivators? I t were well to r ealize t hat the mensal and personal estates o f C eltic tribal kings, which were normally composed o f bondmen villages, i f we a ccept t he early date o f the Welsh and I rish institutions ( Jones 1 972, 3 76, note 2 ; B inchy 1 970, 2 0-21) - would o ften h ave become i mperial estates , by t estament or confiscation. This a ssumption might explain much. And now for Mr Smith's a bsorbing thesis concerning dual villas and partible i nheritance. To begin with, I would r emind you that i t was Tom who f irst noticed t he two-villa phenomenon in h is CBA paper o f 1 966, and t hen thought that i t was a Kentish s peciality ( Stevens 1 966). E ight K entish s ites o f this type f igure in Smith's l ist. Tom, f urthermore, c ited Eccles a s a villa possibly based on partible inheritance. B ut before we examine s tructures, l et u s r ecall what the Welsh codes s ay r egarding d ivision o f the kinship estate'. The s ystem can be r egarded a s g enuinely ancient because i t i s r ecorded in t he La c abooks o f I reland, where the Roman l egions n ever trod. H ere, a s i n Wales, the division was r epeated twice, f irst a mong t he a gnatic cousins, then among the third g eneration, c omprising s econd cousins ( Commission o f P ublic Records 1 841, Vened Code, I I, X II, 4 -5). The r edivisions took p lace not when the s on had r eached manhood a t t he a ge o f f ourt een, but with the decease o f the s enior father, who i s a lso the grandfather ( Commission o f Public Records 1 841, Vened Code I I, X II, 4 1). On the other hand marriage and childbearing were r egarded a s commencing f rom the a ge o f fourteen, s o that the e ldest s on might have to wait a s much a s 5 0 years or more before a r edivision could t ake place. By this t ime a third g eneration would have g rown up. The Welsh l aws and the g enealogies s trongly s uggest that t he commonest s urviv i lmg number o f s ons was three ( Commi ssion o f Public Records 1 841, Vened Code I I, XXI,3; B artrum 1 966, n o.78, 1 4, 1 5), s o that i f a ll l ived i n the grandfather's home, there might be twenty-seven s ons under h is roof a nd a s many wives, to s ay nothing o f daughters, b efore the e ldest f ather o f the s econd g eneration had d ied. T here might have been a t l east 2 4 s ouls o f t he s econd g eneration, and N eal o bserved that f ive o ut o f s ix villas in t he H ertfordshire r egion possessed e leven or twelve rooms ( Neal 1 976, 1 24). The s ignificance o f this n umber, o f c ourse, d epends on a t what s tage t his n umber was r eached and whether a s econd s torey existed i n t he houses i n question. B ut o f 1 2 rooms a t l east one g eneral l iving room was n eeded, a s well a s quarters for domestic s taff and kitchen. Nor c an we a lways be c ertain that proprietorship d id not c hange; i t a lmost c ertainly did for instance a t Farningham, K ent, about

3 00m,

and

a t

B oxmoor a t much t he

4 42

s ame

date.

As we examine a f ew sample villas to s ee i f t hey c omply with the r equirements s uggested by the Welsh codes, I want to draw your attention to the plan o f Tarrant H inton. While Smith ( 1978, 1 67, f ig 5 7) f igures this interesting villa in h is paper, he makes no comment concerning i ts buildings. The plan i s a dmittedly incomplete, but n ot to the extent that we c an a void s eeing h ere the C eltic kinship a ctually in the s tage o f transition to villadom. We c an d istinguish four bipartate buildings, j ust i n a process o f amoeba-like integration: one more, s ingle roomed, h as been built onto one o f them; two other buildings, i ncompletely excavated, but internally more complex, l ie to s outh. The original n ucleus are the two bipartite s truct ures on the north, j oined by a corridor, and one, the l arger, I take to be the a bode o f the h ead o f the kin. These bipartite houses a re in the best Celtic tradition; they are r epeated a s the bipartite units within d eveloped villas s uch a s Eccles, and I a ssume that Smith has r ecognized these a s the a ccommodation o f a family within the e xtended kinship group. L et us l ook at Brixworth ( Woods 1 972). The .villa begins between 7 0 and 1 00 a s a s trip house with s ix rooms and a l obby which probably h eld a s tairway to an u pper s torey. Somewhere a bout 1 70, two o f the rooms o f a bipartate unit are merged and a building in l ine with the main building, incompletely known, i s erected. Some 6 0 y ears a fter, the original dwelling r eceives a bath range, an external corridor, and a byre attached to the end o f the building. The dating o f the three phases was not c losely d etermined, but a s i t s tands, no change in the number o f rooms i s a scertainable before a c entury o f l ife; t here would hardly have been room f or two g enerations a fter the f irst unless an upper s torey existed. The merging o f two rooms in phase 2 would mean the l iquidation o f the kinship s ystem, or merely that the n ew outbuilding houses the o verf low. In any case, the vicissitudes o f families, t heir s ize a nd a dozen other unknown factors make a uthentication very d ifficult. We t urn to Winterton ( Stead 1 976). H ere too a group o f three masonry c ircular huts a ssociated with a s tonebuilt byre and another s tone building which s erved f or l ivestock and c rops a s well a s f or hands, s hows us the group, possibly a kinship, s ettling in the early 2nd c entury in t he f irst phase towards villa s tatus. By the l ater 2nd c entury, s ay 6 0 y ears a fter, they are a ble to erect a very personable villa r esidence a ssociated with a bathhouse, an a isled building both f or farm manager and c ertain agricultural work, and s omewhat l ater in the 3 rd c entury, another a isled building which s uperseded the o ld byre and combined hands' quarters with corn s torage and probably industry. The s ymmetrical duality o f the r esidence i s well marked and encouraged Smith to s ee h ere the r eflection o f a kinship conforming with the practice o f partible inheritance.

4 43

H ere the difficulty i s the s ixty or s o years intervening b etween the 2nd c entury huts and the mansion, during which a third g eneration would a lready be growing u p. F inally, l et us consider Eccles ( Detsicas 1 964; 1 972). The villa begins a s a s triphouse with corridor, a bout the y ear 6 5. It has twelve rooms, f ive with mosaic pavements a nd probably a s econd s torey. There are three bipartite s uites. About 5 5 years l ater a projecting wing was a dded c omprising f ive rooms. 6 0 years l ater another wing with n ew r ooms was erected, and a f urther wing with hypocaust a dded, both together comprising s even rooms. Three g enerat ions may well be r epresented, and i f s o in each c ase t he s enior member o f the f irst and s econd had evidently l ived t o a r ipe o ld age, and a s the s econd g eneration comprised a t l east three married families the total n umber o f t he kinship i n the villa b efore f inal r edistribution may have a pproached 6 0 s ouls o r more. Now the examples we have s ketched raise two i mportant problems. At l ate 2nd c entury Winterton we h ave the i nmates o f the r esidence, presumably the kinsmen, on t he one hand, and the dwellers in the s ubordinate a isled build ings, o f which at l east three existed on the other. What was the s tatus o f those who inhabited this s econd group? Some must a lso have belonged to the kinship b efore t he l ater 2nd c entury, before the r esidence was built. B ut who l ived in these buildings when i t was i nhabited? Were they kinsmen or s laves or free l abourers? S econdly, both Winterton and Eccles r eflect a very c onsiderable a ccumulation o f wealth, Eccles f rom the f irst, Winterton a fter s ome 6 0 y ears o f hard work. This would s uggest that i t was precisely the wealthier c lass o f r omani zed B ritons who perpetuated, or could a fford to perpetuate - the t radition o f partible i nheritances. I f the poorer d id this, i t would have been s imply by building two o r three huts. Alternatively, the villa owners c linging t o the o ld f orm, f ound i t no impediment to material prosperity. There are other d ifficulties. Smith s ees the phenomen on o f two r esidences i n c lose proximity a s e xpressing t he rggime o f t ir gweliog, and I am prepared to a gree with h im where c ertain cases are concerned. But i s h e r ight when the s econd house d iffers f undamentally f rom the f irst i n plan? For i t i s important n ot to l ose s ight o f t he f unctional a spect o f villa buildings. In s ome cases t he a dditional buildings contain wing-rooms, but a re o ften s impler. Examples are t he s econdary buildings a t Gayton Thorpe and S poonley Wood, and both a pproximate much more t o t he ' hall' type and to what Smith quite r ightly c alls t he ' work hall'. Now we do know s omething a bout t hese b uildings. Such a building was e xcavated a t K81nB raunsfeld by Fremersdorf ( 1930); i t c ontained a s mall s tall f or l ivestock, a rrangements for s uspending utensils o ver cooking f ires, a t l east three h earths, an o ven a nd

4 44

a threshing f loor. As an example o f the hall type in B ritain, we have the carefully excavated example o f Frocester ( Gracie 1 971). As i t i s enclosed by a boundary ditch, I think we may take i t this i s the greater part o f the f arm. In the f irst period, the hall consisted o f kitchen, dining s pace and a l iving room; a room at one end o f the building was a s mithy, and the western wing room, added a l ittle l ater, contained a corn-dryer. An a dditional room at the east end o f the house was a f ulling and c loth-making establ ishment. I t may f urther be noted that at Farmingham a bout 3 00 AD the n ine-roomed house was converted to a ' hall' t ype o f r esidence, implying a f undamental change o f s ocial arrangements, probably o f ownership ( Meates 1 973). Accord ingly both Winterton and Frocester contribute to the i mpr ession that this type o f building r eflects a lower s tatus than the main r esidence o f Eccles or Winterton, and occasions s erious doubt whether a n umber o f the ' secondary' houses presented by Smith can be r egarded a s the homes o f the younger g eneration o f kinsmen. But precisely this difficulty raises the problem o f the a isled house which frequently a ppears a s an annexe or s ubsidiary to the owner's r esidence When I was writing my contribution to the Agrarian History ( Finberg 1 972), I could not f ind an instance o f s uch a building s ecurely i dentified or dated before the early 2nd c entury AD in this country. S ince then we have Crickley Hill ( Harding 1 974, 4 9, Fig 1 3c, 5 2, 5 9), where s uch a isled barracks belonged to the 5 th c entury B C, s howing that the Welsh Laws tradition i s o f r espectable antiquity. In the Roman period, s uch buildings a ppear both independantly and a s s ubsidiaries in the yards o f well-to-do villas, and I s uggest ed that these were the dwellings o f the extended kinship, at l east when they were independent s tructures. Ancient Welsh l iterature, both epic and l egal, l ends this i dea s ome s upport. This type o f building a s s uch became in the Roman period a maid o f a ll work, agricultural and i ndustrial, o ften combining these f unctions with l iving s pace. But they have one common denominator, namely - work. The a isled house, however, does r etain a s ocial s ignificance. Take the Landwade-Exning s tructure ( Taylor 1 960, 2 28), where i n the s econd phase the owner's quarters, complete with mosaics and hypocaust, occupy one end o f the house. Smith has noticed the two s ocial l evels within many o f the a isled buildings, and has drawn a ttention to the potent ial equality between villa r esidence and a isled dwelling at Norton Disney and the comfortable a ppurtenances o f the big a isled building, s ubsidiary to the villa, at Mansfield Woodhouse. Surely this implies original equality o f s ocial s tatus, which, however, i s in a s tate o f d ecline. I have s uggested that the multiplication o f a isled houses in the l ater 2nd and 3 rd c enturies meant the l egalization o f the power o f the chief o f kindred and the beginning o f the debasement o f the younger generation to mere labourers,

4 45

perhaps now t ied to the estate. I h esitated, however, to a pply the s ame interpretation to the a isled buildings placed a s s ubsidiaries in the yards o f large villas. Mansf ield Woodhouse, Exning and Norton Disney n evertheless s upport the thesis; Winterton creates difficulties, and perhaps no one s ocial formula can a pply. There i s, I think, one case where we have evidence o f the a ssociation o f the a isled house with partible inheritance. At S troud n ear P etersfield ( Applebaum 1 972, 1 75, Fig 3 6) we s ee t hat the western part o f the building, which i s the main dwelling o f the villa unaccompanied by any o ther r esidence, was s ubsequently divided into three bipartite s uites o f t he s ort i dentifiable a s belonging t ofamily units. There i s a ccommodation f or three o x t eams in the outbuilding, and l ater a s hrine was built in the yard, r epresenting, I s uggest the h ead o f the kinship. But the farm a s s uch is a dependant; i ts big bath building s howed non-resident l abour, and i ts production must have e xceeded i ts r elatively s mall granary. This i s a fourth generation which has budded o ff f rom the H endref, but n evertheless r emains economically dependent on the paternal estate. The bulk o f a isled buildings are l ocated east o f the Jurassic Way and Salisbury P lain. In 1 978, 1 07 were known, 8 5 to the east o f that l ine, and 2 2 to the west o f i t. In 1 972 I knew o f s ix villas in the west possessing s ubsidiary a isled buildings; there were twelve to the east. No doubt today more a re to be r ecorded; s ince the number o f known houses o f t he c lass has been t ripled. Their numerical s uperiority i n the east a pplies a lso s outh o f the Thames. There may be an e xplanation o f the role o f the s ubs idiary a isled house in the I rish l aws which govern partible inheritance and which c an be s hown to have existed i n the 8 th c entury AD. I f the kinship could not provide each adult member with a s tandard holding, these members c ould have become c lients or vessels o f the lord, a cquiring a grant o f l and in r eturn for personal s ervice. A kinship not a ble to provide its members with a s tandard holding became s emi-free, i ts members were bound to their l ord, and their d escendants became h ereditary s erfs a fter f our generations. Within a Roman framework, s imilar l aws might produce a c lass o f t ied colonus a ppropriate to the t rend o f Roman l egislation in the 4 th c entury, and ' the l ord' o f the I rish codes might in Britain have been the n earest l arge villa-holder with l and to s pare, or - the Emperor. Could this e xplain the a isled houses existing a s s ubsidiaries in the yards o f l arge villas? And does this not f it the apparent d ependence o f Stroud upon another c entre? We must attempt to s ummarize. We have s een that we cannot confine P elagianism to any one area, but the eastwest f ission between the area s outh o f the Thames westward to Salisbury P lain and Ambrosius' r egion, with the possible s upport o f Gloucestershire and Somerset, was a r eality. Ambrosius' power in Salisbury P lain was perhaps based on a rural r egime r esembling the bondmen villages o f the Welsh

4 46

codes, and perhaps enjoyed the s upport o f villa-owners to the west against potential r evolt in Wiltshire. But the d ivision between the a lleged kinship s ystem and the bondmen estates i s l ess c lear, and probably no very s harp d ivision existed; there may have been enclaves, but g enera lly o utside the P lain it would have been a matter o f weight. There a re indeed s ome s igns that kinship villas, i f they were s uch, were s ometimes s eats o f the wealthy, h ence their s ocial s ystem c ut s quarely a cross economic categories. While I believe Smith's interpretation o f double houses i s r ight in various instances, each case has to be s crutin ized, the evidence carefully weighed and due attention paid to the f unctional a s well a s to the s ocial a spects o f villadom. The chronology o f phases i s vital in a ll cases. Nor will it do to i gnore the a isled house in e ither i ts s ocial or i ts functional a spects, s ince this i s a s tructure o f profound traditional s ignificance. FOOTNOTE 1 . On the writing o f the following brief discussion, I am indebted to Professor G R J Jones for informa t .ion a nd guidance with r egard to questions o f Welsh Law and the a ssociated l iterature. In considering the early date o f Celtic l aws governing kinship and partible inheritance, I have been compelled by exigencies o f time to omit mention o f the i mportant work o f Wendy Davies. Her book on the L landaff Charters was not a vailable to me, but i f I may j udge f rom h er preliminary s urvey in An Early Welsh Microcor ns. Studies in the L landaff Charters ( 1978) and f rom h er contribution to The End o f Roman Britain ( 1979), Roman s ettlements and post-Roman estates in south-east Wales, s he i s convinced that the earlier land-grants, commencing in the 6 th c entury, owe a great d eal to Roman l aw, and this c onclusion a lone i s s ufficient to s upport the a ssumpt ion o f a degree o f agrarian continuity between the Roman and post-Roman periods in s outh Wales. On the other hand only in a minority o f cases, a pparently, i s there a ctual i dentity o f Roman s ettlements with the earlier e states; r egional coincidence i s more i mpressive, and a g eneral continuity o f l and-use i s evident. But there a ppears to have been a c ertain change o f s ocial s tructure in the 8 th c entury, when the i solated trey becomes the dominating unit. The most s triking f eature o f the earlier s trata o f the charters, however, i s the r elative paucity o f evidence f or group proprietorship or the partible inheritance o f estates, nor does Dr Davies s ee any connexion between t enurial s erfdom ( evidently h ere o f a s pecifically ecclesi astical character) and the bondmen villages f eaturing in the Welsh law codes. It i s n evertheless the conclusion o f F M Charles-Edwards ( Past and Present, 5 6, 1 972, 1 7) that an analysis o f r elevant t erms in I rish, Welsh and Breton s hows that u p t ill the end o f the Romano-British period Britons possessed the same kinship s ystem a s that r ecorded in the o ld Irish laws, which existed i n the 8 th c entury.

4 4;

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1 878-90

P atrologia L atini

M yres, J N L , 1 960 P elagius J R oman S tuds 5 0, 2 1-36 M yres, N eal,

J N L , D S ,

1 977

1 976

C orpus

P ,

1 968

S ub-Roman C emeteries

W ,

1 978

S mith,

J T ,

R elict L andscapes

1 978

I M ,

V illas a s

S tevens,

1 976

C E ,

i n S omerset,

i n C hristianity

i n E ssex,

( ed M T odd),

S oc

B AR 4 8,

8 9-98

i n S tudies

1 49-85

a t W interton R oman V illa

T he R oman N ame o f

A rchaeol N atural H ist

1 93-6

i n E arly L and A llotment

a K ey t o S ocial S tructure,

E xcavations

1 951

i n t he B ulbourne V alley,

( eds H C B owen & P J F owler),

i n t he R omano-British V illa S tead,

t he P agan P eriod

( eds M W Barley & R P C Hanson),

i n t he B ritish I sles

i n B ritain,

B oxmoor a nd H emel H empstead S tation:

t hree R oman b uildings 1 -135

i n B ritain 3 00-700 R odwell,

t he E nd o f R oman R ule

o f A nglo-Saxon P ottery o f

N orthchurch,

t he e xcavation o f H erts A rchaeol 4 , R ahtz,

a nd

9 6,

I lchester,

P roc

S omerset

1 88-192

S tevens, C E , 1 966 T he S ocial a nd E conomic A spects o f R ural S ettlement, i n R ural S ettlement i n R oman B ritain ( ed C T homas), 1 08-28 T aylor,

M V ( ed)

J R oman S tuds T homas, W est

A C ,

1 960 5 0,

1 976

C ountry;

D R ( ed)

J R oman S tuds W oods,

R J ,

1 959:

T he E nd o f

S ites Explored,

t he R oman S outh W est,

C lassical C ulture a nd C eltic

& P J F owler), W ilson,

R oman B ritain i n 2 10-36

i n T he R oman

S ociety

( eds K B ranigan

1 98-213 1 966 5 6,

1 972

R oman B ritain i n 1 965:

S ites Explored,

1 96-217

E xcavations

a t

B rixworth,

T he R oman V illa

4 49

N orthants,

1 965-70:

THE END OF ROMAN BRITAIN:

SOME DISCUSSION

C J Arnold

For Roman Britain to have had an ending, a t whatever l evel we a pproach the s ubject, i t must a lso have had a b eginning. In t erms o f material c ulture a lone there a re areas o f Britain which s how intensive Romanisation. At the o pposite extreme there are others where i t i s s uperf icial or a non-existent f eature. I t i s n either a ppropriate h ere, nor possible, to d escribe in detail t he events which make up the ' end'. The h istorical events o f the end o f Roman Britain have b een approached through the h istorical s ources, s ome contemporary, o thers l ater than the events themselves. These have been pieced together to form a nairative o f the r esult o f extensive and detailed s tudy, yet there are gaps in our knowledge and ongoing debate even r egarding the date o f the s ources themselves, f or instance Gildas. The f ew dates that are provided have had a c ritical e ffect on archaeological interpretations due to a dependence on ' key' events, l ike the ' barbarian cons piracy' o f AD 3 67. Evidence o f burning in villas i s u sually a ssigned to this date even i f masked by the pseudovagueness o f ' AD 3 60-70'. An a lternative approach would be to consider the archaeologic and h istoric data i n t erms o f the collapse o f s ystems in Roman Britain and the d evelopment o f n ew s ystems a fter the collapse, the c ritical phase being the s o-called dark age, the i nterface b etween the two, perhaps artificial, phases. I t n eed hardly b e s aid that we cannot understand the collapse o f Roman Britain unless the prerequisites and the outcome are f ully understood. In c ertain areas o f Britain the matter may be more complex a s a r esult o f the activities o f various groups o f foreigners, but this i s not a s traightf orward s ubject. There has b een a t emptation to make s implistic j udgements. Migrating Saxons, for i nstance, c annot be invoked a s the s ole c ause o f the collapse o f the villa s ystem in s ome areas o f England without an unders tanding o f that collapse in areas unaffected by s uch popul ar movements, i f indeed s uch an economic s ystem collapsed a t a ll. The evidence o f West Country c emeteries, t emples, and r ural s ettlements n eeds to b e i ntegrated i nto a model f or the changes taking place i n that area ( Rahtz and Fowler 1 972; Rahtz 1 977; Rahtz and Watts 1 979; Fowler 1 976). The s tudy o f ' continuity' has b een brought i nto d isrepute by the t endency to grasp a t i solated, o ften f eeble, p ieces o f evidence without viewing them in perspective and by an unwillingness to s tate what, exactly, i s continuing. S imilarly the use o f s ymbols on maps to r epresent s ettlements

4 51

o f d ifferent periods does not demonstrate anything except perhaps that those areas s upported a population a t various t imes. They c ertainly do not, in themselves, d emonstrate that the s ocial, economic and political s tructure o f s ociety r emained unchanged. We have the tools to t est t he s ignifi cance o f d istribution maps r igorously, but s uch t ools are g enerally avoided. Such an a pproach has b een t aken with the question o f early medieval estates and their boundaries ( Davies 1 979; Haslam 1 980. 5 6-64). The question o f whether l ocational r egularities are coincidental i s only analysed i n t erms o f a s ingle variable, l ocation, i gnoring o ther c ritical f actors, s uch a s the overall availability and l ocation o f l and s uitable for particular agricultural economies. Approaches to the period have b een c onstrained f or a number o f r easons r ecently i solated by Haselgrove ( 1979). Specialists, i t i s s uggested, o f the Roman period have s ought ' vestiges' o f Roman institutions and evidence o f the s urvival o f processes, while those o f the S axon period have l ooked to Roman Britain for t he f orm . and organisation o f the s tate. Chronology i s c ertainly a major problem. A double s tandard i s u sed in the dating o f Roman material. T echniques which are d eemed valid for the 2nd c entury are not valid for the 5 th, a s c ertain artefacts may have had a l onger l ife during periods o f s hort s upply. This problem has r ecently b een tackled by Burrows ( 1979). There has b een a r eluctance to u se radio-carbon dating because the method i s thought by many to be too inaccurate for s uch an ' historic' period. While the number o f dates i s increasing, particularly f rom early Anglo-Saxon period s ettlements, it would b e misleading to s uggest that 1 st millenium radio-carbon d eterminations are not without their problems, a s r evealed by more a ccurate dates provided by d endrochronology. I t i s worthwhile h ere to outline the main s equence o f known h istorical events o f the l ate 4 th and early 5 th c enturies, but i t i s inappropriate to a ttempt to s ubstantiate the h istorical d etails u sing archaeological evidence. H istory c annot b e written from belt-sets and brooches without the r isk o f c ircular argument. In AD 3 67 ' barbarians' l aunched an attack and overran the f rontiers o f Britain. Countermeasures were taken. We are not i nformed a s to whether this a ttack was c arried o ut by a f ew or a f ew t housand. Despite problems with the army the c ities and f orts were r estored in AD 3 68. I n AD 3 82, a fter a c ampaign against P icts and Scots, Magnus Maximus e lected h imself to t he position o f Emperor and in the following y ear d eparted from England with an army i n an a ttempt to persuade o thers o f the l egality o f his position, a lbeit unsuccessfully. I n AD 3 98 there was again pressure on the northern f rontier and Stilicho r etaliated. D espite this threat a l egion was withdrawn from northern Britain in AD 4 01/2.

4 52

I n AD 4 06 Roman troops in Britain elected their own Emperor, Constantine, at a t ime when the Gallic provinces were r eported a s being overrun by Germanic peoples. H e crossed to Boulogne with much o f the r emaining British garrison to s trengthen the Rhinedefences. The Greek h istorian, Z osimus, implies that i n AD 4 08 the ' Britons' expelled Roman o fficials and took control at a t ime when Britain was s upposedly being d evastated by an incursion o f Saxons. But again, were there a f ew or a f ew thousand? A l etter from the Emperor Honorius, which n eed not even be addressed to Britain, in AD 4 10, instructed c ities to l ook a fter t heir own defence, but i t i s unclear to whom this l etter was written. Was i t a r eply to a r equest for a ssistance, one s eeking c larification, or i s this an o fficial unloading o f r esponsibility? P erhaps the events o f AD 4 08-10 r eflect a desire and r eadiness to face the future independently, an independence which may have been growing s teadily during the 4 th c entury in much o f Britain. At l east, by the 4 20s a Gallic B ishop visited Britain and met c ivic l eaders and church d ignitaries. The ensuing events are even more problematical, their being various s ources presenting different versions. I t i s s uggested that Vortigern had invited Saxons to Britain in the 4 20s, was discredited, and his s uccessor s uffered a t the hands o f these Saxons when they took up arms against the British in c 4 40. I n AD 4 41/2 the Gallic chroniclers r ecord that Britain passed into Saxon power. I t does not c laim that Britain was overrun by hoards o f barbarians. The h istori cal data provide an outline, with a ll i ts obvious l imitat ions, o f c ertain political events. I t i s only the archaeol ogical evidence that can produce g eneralised insights to the more widespread processes o f c hange in s ociety at this t ime. Roman towns t ell a consistent s tory a s portrayed in a f airly typical press r elease from Chelmsford: I n the f ifth c entury the o ctagonal t emple was u sed for domestic occupation and two l ean-to s hacks were erected against the t emple's porch and a three-roomed hovel was built. Later s till the t emple was d emolished and the s tone taken away....A s ub-rectangular hut was t hen put up on the t emple s ite and s everal rubbish pits dug. The pit-fills contained a Saxon-style bone comb and g lass b eads. There i s no evidence for occupation o f e ither the Roman or the medieval town areas b etween the f ifth and the twelfth c enturies. ( Rescue N ews, June 1 980) An important f actor h ere i s how vigorous the towns were i n the 4 th c entury. Reece has argued for a massive decline ( 1980) to balance the combined weight o f o ther s cholars who have urged prosperity and expansion upon u s ( Frere 1 975; Wacher 1 975; B iddle 1 976). There i s evid ence for work b eing carried out on town defences, the a ddition o f bastions, s trengthened or n ew walls b eing constructed, which may be a collective r esponse to

4 53

insecurity c aused by an unknown f actor in the 4 th c entury, or a g eneral policy pursued by Roman c entral administrat ion. Some public buildings were b eing built on an impressive s cale, a t Cirencester and Verulamium, e lsewhere buildings were being maintained, roads r emetalled. While money ( ?) was b eing s pent i t t ells u s nothing o f the c apital that was actually available. Reece h as examined a reas o f urban decay. Four towns show areas o f d esertion which i s s een a s the r esult o f a declining population. I n L eicester the Forum was burnt out in the l ast quarter o f the 4 th c entury and not r eplaced, the drains o f the public baths in Exeter were choked by c 3 80, in York parts o f t he s ewage system were not b eing c leared a fter a s imilar date, while in Verulamium the theatre f illed with r ubbish. The evidence s uggests that towns were f unctioning into the f inal quarter o f the 4 th c entury when a d ecline, at l east in public s ervices, s eems t o have b egun. This i s important when considering the f ate o f urban c entres in the 5 th c entury. To understand what ensued a s earch must be made for s tructures that s pan the 5 th and 6 th c enturies or the prolongation o f post-Roman s tructures a s far into the 5 th c entury a s possible s o that they can be shown to overlap with the earliest Anglo-Saxon a ctivity. Any activity taking place within towns during the 5 th c entury i s difficult to date. The u se o f coins, for instance, depends on the l ength o f t ime they were i n c irculation. Some have turned to an imaginative model o f continuous activity in towns during the 5 th c entury based on Germanic s oldiers, especially in eastern England. The hypothesis has not s urvived the t esting. The archaeolog ical evidence for s uch Germanic s oldiers i n l ate Roman Britain i s l ess s ubstantiated than has b een s uggested and to call these people ' mercenaries' i s s imply misleading. When the graves and metalwork a ssigned to this putative group c an be s ecurely dated they f all before the tradit ional date o f the o fficial break with Rome. Only York

has produced evidence

for

t he

s urvival

o f

an individual building whose ( Roman?) roof collapsed onto 9 th c entury material. I t i s York that has a lso produced the earliest evidence for the black r at ( Rattus rattus), in a 4 th or possibly 5 th c entury context, with a ll t he implications this might have for concentrations o f populat ion ( Rackham 1 979). There i s no unequivocal evidence for a continuous unbroken s equence o f d ifferent s tructures on the s ame s ite. At Verulamium a hall was constructed a fter AD 4 30, a date which i s the r esult o f a s tretched chronology, and l ater, a fter i ts d estruction, a water-pipe was l aid across the s ite. The problem h ere i s f airly typical. The excavator c laims the building must have been s tanding for 3 0 y ears ( Frere 1 975, 3 19) and while t his may be true, i t i s an unsubstantiated guess d esigned to s upport

a s ingle

theory.

4 54

Most Romano-British towns have produced evidence o f prolongation into the 5 th c entury, but only four have produced evidence for early English activity c lose enough in t ime and s pace to infer overlap, Canterbury, Cirencester, Winchester and London. Canterbury i s r epresentative o f the group: a t imber verandah was constructed against the outer wall o f the public baths encroaching on the s treet and was l ater f looded with s ewage. Sunken buildings have b een excavated in the area, originally dated to c 4 00, but which are now more f irmly placed i n the l ate 6 th c entury onwards ( Blockley and Day 1 979). The ethnicity o f the builders i s unknown. Research by Mortmain ( pers comm) into the pottery at Canterbury s uggests three phases. The f irst consists o f good quality wheel-turned pottery which i s in evidence until about 3 75 a fter which i t d eclines i n quality and c eases. S econdly, the l atest wheel-turned wares were found in a ssociation with hand-made grog-tempered wares in a ' black-soil' layer overlying many l ate Roman s tructures. This decline o f industries has a more g eneral a pplicability. Thirdly, good quality wheel-turned products do not a ppear until the 9 th c entury. Much i nterest has been s hown in the b lack s oils that occur over Roman l evels in London, C irencester, Chichester, Canterbury, Winchester, Gloucester and York. Various analyses have been carried out and opinions expressed about these s oils; s ome have viewed it a s an a rtifical s oil containing much anthropogenic waste, others a s the accumulation o f the dust and humus o f abandonment while others have gone a s far a s to interpret i t a s a ploughsoil. When the l ayer i s thin no evidence for the disturbance o f underlying s urfaces has been r eported and i t o ften occurs in l ocations unsuitable for ploughing. While ploughing i s not n ecessary for arable agriculture, in London the s oil s hows no evidence o f agricultural usage. A L eicester, a l ean-to s tructure built against the forum complex and producing evidence for i ndustrial activity was s ealed, and was i tself s ealed by, b lack s oil. I n the countryside villa buildings eventually went out o f u se. Some continued to be occupied i n one f orm or another into the l ast quarter o f the 4 th c entury, a lthough the evidence i s poor in quality and quantity, but g enerally s uggests occupation a t a d ifferent economic l evel. Some bathhouses c ease to b e used, h earths and ' corn-drying' ovens occupy r esidential areas; in s ome villas the d ead were buried in an abandoned corner o f a building. Failing this f orm o f evidence i t i s a matter o f g eneral dilapidation, mosaic working loose from f loors, doorways and c orridors b eing b locked o ff to i solate collapsed buildings, rooms s ubdivided by rough partitions. Some s ites have ' postvilla phases' with t imber buildings and types o f hand-made pottery contrasting with the earlier c eramics. The f ate o f other rural s ettlements, while not s o well known a s villas,

s eems

to be very

s imilar.

4 55

The

evidence

o f

the

s outh-west o f England has been u sed to plot the d ecline o f the villas ( Branigan 1 976, 1 36-41), while the l andscape archaeologists have argued forcefully f or the continuity o f villa estates, even though the c entre may have moved, on what Fowler describes a s ' no r elevant evidence' ( 1975, 1 35). The growing, yet r elatively s mall, n umber o f s ites excavated in r ecent y ears which s how not only occupation in various s tructures on the s ite during the 5 th c entury but a lso the maintenance o f f ields and the economy o f the villa, s erves to emphasise that the activity on the s ites i s a s, i f not more, important a s t he l ocation i tself. Just a s in t he towns, in the rural areas i t i s possible to f ind a f ew buildings b eing put to n ew economic u ses, buildings demolished and the a ppearance o f handmade pottery. The l atest Roman coins to b e f ound in an unequivoc ally Roman context are considered by n umismatists to have been s truck c 4 20 ( Kent 1 979; Archer 1 979). Many o f the coins o f the l ate 4 th and 5 th c enturies come from hoards which cannot be accurately dated. While there are a lternative explanations for hoards to which s ome archaeologists pay l ip-service, the frequency o f coin-hoarding i s normally s een a s a r esponse to s tress. I t c an a lso b e s een a s a r elative willingness, n eed or ability to r eturn to collect ones possessions; i f, indeed, that was t he original intention. Rarely i s any consideration g iven to how a hoard might have accumulated, but g iven that the principles o f s tratigraphy are rarely a pplied in the excavation o f a hoard i tself and the normal c ircumstances o f the d iscovery o f hoards, it i s unlikely that s uch an analysis could be undertaken at present. P lotting the t ermini post quos o f hoards during this period i s o f the greatest i nterest but this can only be r elevant to the d iscussion i f we know the nature o f the s tress which caused their deposition. I t i s a ll too easy to a ttempt to correlate s uch evidence with Germanic, I rish or P ictish raids, popular r evolts, military coups, when other explanations might b e g iven equal weight. There were at l east people in many areas o f Britain burying Roman coin in the ground throughout the 5 th c entury. The archaeological evidence for the ' Germanic hordes' provides a different range o f information. One s erious problem i s that i f the archaeological evidence i s t aken l iterally there can have been very f ew people in England i n the 5 th c entury. There are a pproximately 2 4,000 graves excavated b elonging to the pagan Anglo-Saxon period ( cremation urns frequently contain more than one i ndividual r equiring a s caling-up o f this f igure). Given an average age o f death during the period o f 3 0 y ears, the average population o f early Anglo-Saxon England was 2 ,400! I f population was growing, for instance, i n t erms o f an unlikely exponential growth, an initial population o f a bout

4 56

1 50 r ising to 1 0,000 by AD 7 00 has to b e r eckoned with. Even i f these f igures are multiplied by 1 0 o r even 1 00 to make them more ' realistic', they r emain very s mall. E stimates for the p eak o f Roman Britain's population have r anged f rom 3 00,000 to 4 million ( Jones 1 979), a nd s ome h ave argued that population was i n d ecline during t he 4 th c entury ( Fowler 1 978, 6 ). Would s uch f igures a lso b e more r ealistic i f multiplied by 1 00 ( that i s up to 4 00 million)? P opulation f igures are g iven added s ignificance i f t he i dentity o f the population i s a lso known. Some a uthors have turned to l imited c lasses o f grave-goods ( Longley 1 975) or grave-orientation ( Faull 1 977) t o d emonstrate t he ' survival' o f a n ative population. S tuckert ( pers c omm ) has taken a l ess ambigious path by a pplying the s cience o f physical anthropology to this very question, on s keletal material f rom l ate Roman and Anglo-Saxon c emeteries i n Hampshire. The d istance from the r esults o f t he analysis to the i nterpretation may be great, but the conclusion i s that the type buried in urban Roman c emeteries were not annihilated or d isplaced, but r edistributed, r eappearing in a ll the ' Saxon' s amples in their r ural c ontexts. They may have b ecome r efugees, abandoning t heir urban dwellings and f leeing to t he c omparative s ecurity, o r s elf-sufficiency, o f the countryside. Other s ources s uggest that s ome Contin ental Saxons migrated to Hampshire but these f irst arrivals were predominantly, i f not exclusively, male. The most important point i s that in Hampshire i n the s econd half o f the 5 th and 6 th c enturies bodies adorned with S axon-style grave-goods, on most individuals, are those o f n ative p eople, not Saxons. What t hen i s t he d ifference b etween t he s o-called Anglo-Saxon i nhumation c emeteries o f s outhern England a nd t hose o f s outh-west England, whose c hronology i s a lmost i dentical? Anglo-Saxon burials are found i nterred princ ipally by i nhumation or c remation. Cremation i s most c ommon i n eastern England and there i s c onsiderable, and c rucial, debate c oncerning the date o f the earliest pottery v essels. We do not know the date o f the d emonstrably ( ?) earliest Anglo-Saxon pottery, a lthough i t i s s uggested that they j ust o utlasted the 4 th c entury on t he c ontinent. S imilarly one o f t he most important and t horough s tudies o f continental metalwork o f this p eriod s uggests that n one o f the metalwork found in England c an b e dated b efore AD 4 00 ( Böhme 1 974). One particular s tyle o f metalwork a ssumes especial importance h ere, the Quoit Brooch S tyle, an insular s tyle o f metalwork whose b eginning i n t he early 5 th c entury i s n ow widely a ccepted and Haseloff's a rgument ( 1974) that i t d eveloped f rom an i ndigenous s ub-RomanoBritish context i s c urrently considered t he most r ealistic. I t i s unclear, t herefore, why the presence o f t his s tyle o f d ecoration on quoit brooches and ' military-type' b elt f ittings i s an i nsuperable problem. There i s no d ifficulty i n a ssuming t hat Romano-British c raftsmen c ontinued to produce metalwork, nor n eed we r ely on Germanic c raftsmen to

4 57

take over the production o f the type and u ltimately bury them with their dead in Anglo-Saxon c emeteries, when most o f the d ead may not be Germanic anyway. While chronologic al questions are important they s hould not b e a llowed to distract us from the more important i ssues s uch a s the processes o f the migrations, a ssimilation and s ettlement o f Germanic people in a l andscape a lready s ettled by a native population. The chronology o f s ettlements i s now l ess o f a problem than artefacts a s radiocarbon dates have b een produced for four s ettlements, Cowdery's Down, Mucking, Catholme, and Northampton which a t one s tandard deviation g ive dates in the s econd half o f t he 5 th c entury f or c ertain buildings. The archaeological data o f the 4 th and 5 th c enturies will not be understood while a ttempts are made to f it i t into a framework built up from available h istorical dates. The evidence s hould be s tudied, initially, in i ts own r ight, moving towards an understanding o f the form o f l ate Roman s ociety and economy and the manner in which i t was c hanging. Models o f collapse in c omplex s ocieties and o f migrations and c ultural dominance a re r elevant in t his c ont ext. Post-Roman s ocieties n eed to b e analysed objectively. R EFERENCES A rcher,

S ,

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s ilver c oin h oards

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i n B ritain:

( ed P J C asey),

B AR 7 1,

2 9-64 B iddle,

M ,

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( ed D M W ilson), B lockley,

K ,

i n T he A rchaeology o f A nglo-Saxon E ngland

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( eds K B ranigan a nd P J F owler),

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(ed P J C asey),

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P J ,

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4 58

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F rere, S S , 1 975 V erulamium a nd t he t owns o f B ritannia, N iedergang d er R ömischen W elt 2 .3, 2 90-327 H aselgrove, B ritain

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( ed P J C asey)

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1 8,

1 -15

A M iddle S axon I ron S melting S ite a t R amsbury,

M edieval A rchaeol 2 4,

1 -68

J ones, M E , 1 979 C limate, N utrition a nd D isease: a n h ypothesis o f R omano-British p opulation, i n T he E nd o f R oman B ritain ( ed P C asey) K ent,

B AR 7 1,

J P C ,

1 979

2 31-251 T he e nd o f R oman B ritain:

n umismatic e vidence r eviewed, ( ed P J C asey)

B AR 7 1,

D ,

1 975

T he A nglo-Saxon C onnexion,

R ackham ,

J ,

1 979

R attus,

R ahtz,

i nto B ritain, P ,

1 977

R oman W orld R ahtz,

P ,

R ahtz,

P ,

t he

B AR 2 2

i ntroduction o f t he b lack

1 12-20

L ate R oman c emeteries a nd b eyond,

a nd F owler,

a nd W atts,

o f B ritain,

r attus:

A ntiquity 5 3,

( ed R R eece),

a nd t he L andscape

P J ,

1 972

1 979

i n B urial i n t he

5 3-64 S omerset A D 4 00-700,

( ed P J F owler), L ,

l iterary a nd

1 5-27

L ongley,

r at

t he

i n T he E nd o f R oman B ritain

i n A rchaeology

1 87-221

T he e nd o f R oman t emples

i n T he E nd o f R oman B ritain

i n t he w est

( ed P J C asey),

1 83-201 R eece,

R ,

1 980

T own a nd C ountry:

W orld A rchaeol W acher,

J S ,

1 975

1 21,

t he e nd o f R oman B ritain,

7 7-92

T he T owns o f R oman B ritain

459

B AR 7 7,

S UBJECT I NDEX a erial p hotography 1 54, 1 57, 1 76, 3 00, 3 37, 3 45, 3 94

5 8-61, 6 3, 1 51, 2 12, 2 72, 2 85, 3 60, 3 66, 3 80,

a isled b uilding 8 4, 8 6, 4 44-6 A mbrosius A urelianus 4 38-9, 4 46 a mphitheatre 6 3 A ntonine I tinerary 3 02 b arn

c ultural s ystems d eer

8 4,

9 0,

9 2,

9 5,

2 77-8,

3 52,

6 -7,

9 ,

1 3-14,

4 8,

9 0,

9 2,

5 5,

2 28,

,m ultiple

2 34

2 74,

e xports

2 76,

2 78,

2 84, 3 42, 3 86, 3 93 c aves 2 90-1, 3 32 c ellars 8 4 c emeteries 1 53, 2 36, 2 39, 3 04, 4 34 c entral p lace t heory

2 7,

c hurches

2 84,

4 17, 4 36 c lachan 2 95 C lassis B ritannica c lay 1 39, 1 41-3 c liff c astle

1 51,

1 33, 4 04,

4 08,

4 11,

1 31

c ontinuity 8 9,

9 3,

c orn d riers

1 ,

1 58,

1 65-6,

4 17

1 1, 1 3-14,

2 84, 2 77,

2 89, 2 84,

3 44,

9 2,

9 7,

7 ,

1 0,

3 05

3 8

3 88

1 08,

3 52,

3 57-8

1 37

g oat 3 86 g ranary 2 34 3 88, 3 90 1 17-9

H adrians's W all

1 72 c oal 1 24, 3 03 11, c olonia 9 2, 4 04, 4 C olumella 1 13 C onstantine 4 35, 4 38

2 5,

,s axon s hore f ortress

g rassland g ynaeceum

1 55-6,

6 6,

g eography, i nfluence o f 2 g eophysical s urvey 1 77 G ildas 1 19, 3 06, 4 36, 4 38

3 05

c ivitas c apitals

2 3,

3 27-8,

4 3

2 76,

2 7,

f ish 2 84 f orest c learance 9 8, 3 88-90, 3 91-2 f ort 1 52, 2 14, 2 16-7, 3 00, 3 03, 3 05, 3 07, 3 14, 3 27, 3 86, 3 92

2 50-1,

c ereals 6 6, 6 8, 1 00, 1 03, 2 94, 3 86, 3 90, 3 96 c harcoal 1 24 c heese 1 17 c hiefdoms 3 0

2 5,

f lax 1 03 f ields 8 , 8 3, 9 5, 1 02, 1 73-4, 1 76-7, 2 31, 2 70, 2 74, 2 82, 2 94, 3 00, 3 14-5, 3 18-9,

2 81,

3 0,

1 25

e states 9 -12, 5 8, 6 5-6, 8 1, 8 9, 9 2, 9 4, 9 7, 1 02, 2 34-6, 2 76, 3 57, 3 93-4, 3 97-8, 4 38, 4 52 ,i mperial 1 26, 1 31, 2 25, 2 86, 3 45, 4 39

C aesar, J ulius 1 13, 1 16 c ash c rops 1 00-1, 1 03 c at 2 76, 2 78, 3 86 c atchment a nalysis 9 7 c attle

3 86

e mpire s ystem 1 7-18, 2 2-3, 3 0, 3 4, 3 7-8, 4 0-1 e nvironmental a rchaeology 1 03-4, 3 48-9, 4 21

6 3, 2 34-5 b rick, m anufacture 1 37-149 ,s tamps 1 38 b urials 2 80 ,S axon 1 2, 4 57-8 b yre

2 81,

5 5

D omesday B ook 2 , 1 2, 2 37 d rainage 2 28-9, 2 31-2

4 46 B ede 3 93, 4 36 b eetles 6 8 b one a ssemblage 4 24-5 B oudicca 5 4, 8 4, 9 3 b oundaries

2 78,

1 75,

D iocletian's P rice E dict 1 20, d iscontinuity 9 2, 2 75, 4 51 d og 2 76, 2 78, 2 81, 2 84, 3 86

2 34

b aths

c oulters 1 02 c ropmarks 6 1, 6 9, 1 54, 1 64, 3 28, 3 37 c rop p roduction 9 8-9, 1 01-5

6 5,

8 3,

8 7,

3 81 2 85

h amlets

3 93,

3 97

h en 2 76 h illfort 1 51, 1 55-6, 1 58, 1 60-1, 1 73, 1 75, 2 12, 2 14, 2 16-8, 2 35-6, 2 69-70, 2 90-1, 2 95-8 h oards, c oin 1 52, 2 86, 4 56 ,i ron

4 16

H onorius 4 53 h orse 2 76, 2 78, h ouses,

4 60

3 77,

1 1

c ourtyard

2 81,

2 84,

1 53,

1 74

3 86

h unting 3 92 h ypocaust 9 2, 3 45,

1 38,

3 69,

2 7,

3 02,

3 30,

3 85, 4 45

i deology 1 01 i mperialism 1 7, i mports 2 3, 2 5, 3 25 i ndustry

2 29,

1 00-1, 1 04-5 3 2, 3 7, 4 2, 3 24,

3 2-3,

5 8,

1 23-34

i nnovation 1 02-4 I rish s ettlement 3 06, 3 08 i ron w orking 1 24, 1 26, 1 31-2, 2 85-6, 3 02, 3 24, 3 38-9, 3 48, 4 13 l andscape a rchaeology l eather

5 4

M agnus M aximus 4 52 m anufacturing 1 9, 2 4 m arkets 2 6-7, 3 2-8, 4 3-4, 4 8, 1 47,

2 76,

2 80,

4 08, 4 26-7, 4 29 m eadows 6 6 m etal p roduction 1 24,

m igration 2 6, 4 2 m ilestones m ilitary s upplies m ilk 1 17 m ills 8 7 f l ines,

g old

3 00,

3 03,

3 73,

3 24-5,

3 27,

r ath

r oads

6 8

4 45 m unicipia N ennius o ppida

4 04, 4 35,

1 39-41 2 14, 226

2 77-8,

2 80,

4 17

4 37-8

1 24

p astoralism P elagianism 2 28, 2 84-5,

2 96-7, 3 18 4 33, 4 37, 4 39-40, 4 46 2 74,

2 76,

1 25, 2 35,

1 32, 3 00,

1 47, 3 44,

1 51,

1 55,

1 57-8,

1 73-4,

2 78,

S aint G ermanus 4 34-6 s alt 1 24, 1 33, 2 31, 2 72, 3 42, 3 67, 3 72 s ampling 6 5, 6 8, 2 51 s ediments 9 9 s ettlement d rift 3 -4, 1 1 s ettlement h ierarchy 4 -5, 2 4, 3 0, 3 2-3, 3 6, 4 4, 4 7, 6 5, 6 8 s hears 1 16 s heep 1 09, 1 13-4, 1 16, 2 74, 2 76, 2 78, 2 80-1, 2 84, 3 42, 3 72, 3 86 s hellfish 2 74, 2 84-5 s ickle, b alanced 1 02 S ites a nd M onuments R ecords s lavery 2 1-2, 4 0-1 s mithing 2 77 s oil a nalysis 3 18-9, 3 37

6 8

o ysters

p igs

2 22,

5 6, 6 3, 2 22, 2 25,

6 8

1 76

,o f v illa d evelopment 8 3-92, 2 25 ,m arket 4 26-8 m oney 2 5-6, 3 3-5, 3 9, 4 2, 1 00-4, 1 52, 2 16, 2 80, 2 82, 3 03, 3 24 9 2,

2 95

r ounds

3 02

I ron A ge s ociety

9 0,

2 76

3 55, 4 41 r ound h ouse 8 6-9, 9 2, 2 33, 2 70, 2 94, 3 18, 3 28, 3 78, 3 80T1, 4 43

3 14

,o pen c ast 1 24 m odels, h istorical 2 36 ,i mperial 3 78 ,i ndustrial 1 28-31,

m osaics

1 26,

3 30

r egional s trategies 5 4-5, 6 1, R egni 2 69, 2 75 r esearch d esigns 5 6, 6 5 r ingworks 2 90, 2 95, 2 99, 3 06

, l ead 1 26, 4 08 m ining 2 3, 1 26, 3 15

,o f

p romontory f orts

r adiocarbon d ates 1 03, 2 99-300, 3 09, 3 90-1, 4 52, 4 58 r at, b lack 4 54

5 6,

3 08,

3 32, 3 66, 3 86, 4 07 m iddle r ange t heory 6 2,

p opulation 4 7, 6 5, 4 56-7 p ort 2 23 p ottery p roduction 3 3, 3 7, 4 7, 5 8, 1 23-6, 1 32-3, 2 16, 3 57, 3 66, 4 08, 4 26, 4 28 ,m arketing 4 11-3

q uarries

1 24

1 01,

p ig s ty 2 34 p lace n ames 2 49, 3 03, 3 06 P liny 1 14 p loughs 1 02 p ollen 9 8, 1 03, 2 94, 3 88, 3 90-3, 3 96, 4 06-7

2 81,

3 86

4 61

s tatus s ymbols 3 2 S tilicho 4 52 s tone 1 24-5 S trabo 1 13 s urvey, f ield 6 1-3,

3 37,

3 49,

6 2

3 51

t axation

1 9,

2 4-7,

3 0,

3 2,

3 5,

3 9,

4 3, 1 00, 1 04, 2 17, 3 14-5, 3 24, 3 27, 3 32 t ax g atherers 3 07 t emples 5 8, 6 3, 2 17, 2 75, 2 85, 3 52, 3 69-70 t extiles

1 12

t ile p roduction 4 8, 1 24 t ir c yfrif 4 42 t ir g weliog 4 44 t owns 2 4-6, 3 0, 3 3-4, 3 7, 4 1, 4 3-4, 4 8, 5 6, 8 4, 1 04, 1 34, 1 38, 1 48, 2 19, 2 22, 2 26, 2 28, 2 80, 2 81, 3 48, 3 55, 3 73, 3 97, 4 03-17, 4 21-4, 4 28' ,d ecline o f 4 53-5 t rade 2 6, 3 0, 3 3, 3 5, 3 7, 4 7-8, 1 00, 1 23 t ranshumance

1 19

t ransport, c osts 1 25 ,p rinciple 4 3 ,r iver 1 48 V arro

1 13,

V ictricius

1 16,

1 19

4 34

v icus

4 3, 3 00, 3 02, 3 05, 3 60, 3 85, 3 92, 4 36 v illages 2 , 8 , 1 1, 4 2, 6 5-6, 1 17, 1 53, 2 75, 2 85, 4 33, 4 40, 4 41 v illas 5 , 1 1, 3 2-3, 3 8, 5 8, 6 1-3, 6 9-71,

8 1,

8 3,

8 4,

8 6-90,

9 2,

9 4-5, 9 7, 1 02, 1 19, 1 48, 1 53, 2 19, 2 25-6, 2 28-9, 2 32, 2 34, 2 39, 2 49, 2 51, 2 75, 2 77-8, 2 80-2, 3 28, 3 52, 3 60, 3 69, 3 73, 3 81, 3 84, 3 96-7, 4 14, 4 23, 4 33, 4 36,

4 46, 4 55-6

,d ual

4 40,

4 42-3, 4 47

, i ndustrial 1 30-1 ,u rban 4 25 V ortigern 4 35, 4 37-9 w eaving w eeds

1 17, 6 8,

2 77,

3 72,

w oodland 6 6, 2 37, 2 49, 3 48, 3 88 w ool 1 09-20, 1 24, 2 26, w oolcombs 1 17, 1 20 w orkhalls 4 44-5 w orld s ystems Z eno

3 86

9 8

1 8,

3 38,

3 40,

3 86,

3 93

3 45,

2 2, 4 1

1 14

Z osimus

4 36,

4 53

462