New Books
FIRST STOP NORTH OF LONDINIUM: THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF ROMAN ENFIELD AND ITS ROADLINE SETTLEMENTFIRST STOP NORTH OF LONDINIUM: THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF ROMAN ENFIELD AND ITS ROADLINE SETTLEMENT
Martin J. Dearne
A new Enfield Archaeological Society publication giving a comprehensive account and analysis of what is known of the roadline settlement, its local context and the significance of roadline settlements around Londinium.
Full excavation and finds reports for over 45 sites. 342 pages; 137 figures; 19 plates.
After 31/03/2017 £30 + £3.50 p&p
To order send a cheque (payable to ‘The Enfield Archaeological Society’) with your name and delivery address to: the EAS, 9 Junction Rd., London N9 7JS or order through the website www.enfarchsoc.org using PayPal
BAR 557 2012: Roman Nantwich: A Salt-Making Settlement Excavations at Kingsley Fields 2002
by Peter Arrowsmith and David Power. ISBN 9781407309590. £35.00. iii+197 pages
In 2002 the fullest evidence so far recovered for the Roman settlement at Nantwich, a historic salt-producing centre in Cheshire was revealed. This uncovered a previously unknown Roman road, and, positioned along this, evidence for the collection and storage of brine and the production of salt, together with buildings, enclosures, a well and a small number of cremation burials. Waterlogged conditions meant that organic remains, including structural timbers, were well preserved on the site. These included the two finest examples of timber-built brine tanks excavated from Roman Britain. This volume presents the wide-ranging finds of these investigations.
Available from Archaeopress: http://www.archaeopress.com/ArchaeopressShop/Public/defaultArchaeopress.asp
BAR 563 2012: Birmingham Archaeology Monograph Series 13 Gorse Stacks – 2000 Years of Quarrying and Waste Disposal in Chester
Richard Cuttler, Sam Hepburn, Chris Hewitson and Kristina Krawiec. ISBN 9781407310015. £38.00. viii+232 pages
The site of Delamere Street lies just outside the north gate of Roman and medieval Chester and in recent years has been subject to intensive investigation as part of the Gorse Stacks development. This publication represents the culmination of those investigations carried out by Birmingham Archaeology during 2006 and 2008.
Available from Archaeopress: http://www.archaeopress.com/ArchaeopressShop/Public/defaultArchaeopress.asp
Excavations at Chester, the western and southern Roman extramural settlements.
A Roman community on the edge of the world: excavations 1964-1989 and other investigations by Simon W Ward and others. xvi+446 pages. Oxford: Archaeopress. (BAR Brit Ser 553), 2012. ISBN 9781407309316. £55.00.
This is the first detailed, wide-ranging report to be published on excavations in the extramural settlement of the Roman legionary fortress at Chester, specifically those around the western side of the fortress. This publication concentrates on ten interventions carried out over twenty-five years in the area to the west and south of the fortress and attempts to summarise in more detail, discoveries elsewhere around its perimeter. Discussions attempt to characterise the townscape, its development and population, and also to explore the role of the Chester extramural settlement generally. To order, go to the Archaeopress website:
http://www.archaeopress.com/ArchaeopressShop/Public/defaultAll.asp?Series=British+Archaeological+Reports&PublishedDateGT=13+Jan+2012.
Roman Britain - Life at the Edge of Empire
A New Title from Ralph Jackson and Richard Hobbs
Written by two curators of Romano-British antiquities in the British Museum, this book is an accessible, highly illustrated introduction to the history, society, culture and art of Britain when it was a province of the Roman Empire.
Published to coincide with the 1600th anniversary of the end of Roman Britain, this book explores many new finds which have not received such attention before, including the horse and rider figurine from Cambridgeshire and the Ashwell temple treasure, along with some of the most well-known and iconic items from this period of British history.
From a child's leather shoe to fascinating letters, hoards of stunning gold and silver, and the monumental bronze head of the emperor Hadrian - the authors use archaeological evidence, ancient written sources, and the latest research on survivng artefacts to paint a vivid picture of Roman Britain.
Artefacts in Roman Britain - Their Purpose and Use
Edited by: Lindsay Allason-Jones, University of Newcastle upon Tyne
- Contributors - Lindsay Allason-Jones, Richard Brickstock, Nina Crummy, W. H. Manning, Sîan Rees, M. C. Bishop, R. S. O. Tomlin, Quita Mould, Hella Eckhardt, Ellen Swift, Ralph Jackson, Joanna Bird, Hilary Cool
- Hardback ISBN: 9780521860123 80 b/w illus. 3 tables
Roman Britain has given us an enormous number of artefacts. Yet few books available today deal with its whole material culture as represented by these artefacts. This introduction, aimed primarily at students and general readers, begins by explaining the process of identifying objects of any period or material. A series of themed chapters, written by experts in their particular area of interest, then discusses artefacts from the point of view of their use. The contributors' premise is that every object was designed for a particular purpose, which may have been to satisfy a general need or the specific need of an individual. If the latter, the maker, the owner and the end user may have been one and the same person; if the former, the manufacturer had to provide objects that others would wish to purchase or exchange. Understanding this reveals a fascinating picture of life in Roman Britain.
Aspects of Industry in Roman Yorkshire and the North
edited by P Wilson & J Price
Oxbow Books, 2002. Paperback, 160 pp, 69 figs. ISBN 1 84217 078 3. £25.
The ten papers in this book (inspired by a day-school on crafts and material in Yorkshire) are grouped into three sections: crafts and industries of York and two Yorkshire rural areas; high-temperature industries - pottery, glass, and metal - and low-temperature industries - leather, black minerals, and stone.
To take the last first, the paper on stone (by Gaunt & Buckland) is very site-specific. It concentrates on the building materials found in Roman York, their point of origin, and the likely method of their transport, road or water. The local stones are discussed in geological stratigraphic order, with a short section at the end on non-local stone, making it a useful work of reference. Allason-Jones's paper on 'The jet industry and allied trades' has a wider relevance, with a large section on the various types of black minerals, their sources, characteristics and the method of working. Where possible, examples are taken from Yorkshire or the north. The paper on the leather trade (van Driel-Murray) is written along similar lines, discussing the raw material, tanneries, and military supply before turning to a specific discussion of the footwear of northern Britain and a look at the evidence from rural settlements.
Two papers deal with the pottery industry, one taking a broad view, the other concentrating on a particular manufactory. Halkon looks at the pottery industry of Holme-on-Spalding in its landscape, examining raw materials, kiln sites, and communications, before describing the pottery recovered during a programme of field-walking in the parish and attempting to establish a chronology for the various kiln sites. Swan's paper on 'The Roman pottery of Yorkshire in its wider historical context' is a thorough examination of manufacture and supply from the Flavian period through to the 4th century. Topics covered range from the recognition of probably military figlinae, the origins of the potters themselves (ie some probably came from Verulamium, others from the Lower Rhineland), and institutional and personal imports, to early military workshops, garrison changes and pottery chronology in Trajanic to Hadrianic York, the expansion of rural pottery production in the 3rd century, and so on. This is clearly a very valuable and detailed study which will no doubt stand as a major work of reference for many decades.
Price's examination of the evidence for glass production in Yorkshire and the North starts with a look at primary production (glass-making) and secondary production (glass-working) in the Empire, using evidence from beyond the study area to establish both the method of manufacture and the material and structural remains to be found in the archaeological record. She then provides a summary of current knowledge of both primary and secondary production in Britain, before describing in greater detail the evidence from Yorkshire and the North and providing an interpretation of that evidence.
Two papers deal with non-ferrous metal-working. Dungworth's short paper provides a brief overview of the production of copper-alloys in the Roman world, before turning to specific assemblages from Yorkshire. He discusses the analyses of the alloys used for Dragonesque brooches and compares the results to the typology put forward by Bulmer and Feachem. A similar section discusses fantail brooches, which were made in a distinctive low-tin alloy. A 'social distribution' approach is then used to examine the percentage of the various alloys present on different types of sites. These appear to be broadly similar on most categories of site, varying only for 'small rural', 'hoard', 'burial', 'cave' and 'hillfort'. The first has more brass objects than the general run, the four latter all have fewer. While the very nature of hoard, burial and cave finds might be expected to produce a variation of some type regardless of what aspect is examined, deliberate object selection leading inevitably if unconsciously to alloy selection, I cannot help but wonder if the 'small rural' result has been affected by the low number of objects analysed, only 25 compared to 68 for town, 161 for large rural, and 415 for military.
Bayley then describes the evidence for non-ferrous metal-working in Yorkshire, providing an overview of the processes involved, ie mining, smelting and the various secondary stages leading to production of finished objects. Examples from Yorkshire are slotted into this summary and then a gazetteer of metal-working sites is provided.
These material-specific papers are preceded by two case studies: Cool's 'Craft and industry in Roman York', and Wilson's 'Craft and industry on the North York Moors in the Roman period'. It is only in these papers that one of the most important industries, iron-working, makes its appearance, as well as bone-, wood-, and stone-working. Wilson also introduces the 'invisible crafts', such as fuel production, and the domestic crafts, such as textile production. Both authors provide summaries of the evidence for the various industries in their area and end with overviews of the manufacturing activities, relating it where possible to the military and civilian populations.
Overall, this is a very valuable regional study which on some instances provides important information for Roman Britain as a whole. It is, however, disappointing that there is no wider study of iron production and working. Perhaps a second day-school can be arranged to deal with this and the 'invisible' crafts.
Nina Crummy
Excavation of Roman sites at Cramond, Edinburgh
by N Holmes, edited by M Collard & J A Lawson
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Monograph 23, 2003. Paperback, 170 pp, 141 figs. ISBN 0 903903 23 7. £20.00.
This report presents the results of the excavations of 1975 to 1981 at the Roman fort at Cramond, on the Firth of Forth at the mouth of the river Almond. In addition, some of the finds included in the specialist reports came from rescue work in the early 1970s.
Previous work suggested that there were two military occupations of the fort between c AD 142 and 162, and a third during the Severan campaign of the early 3rd century. In addition, an Agricolan phase has been postulated based on a few 1st-century finds from the area, though with no structural evidence to support the idea.
The excavations examined the fort defences, the bath-house to the north of the fort, and an industrial complex to the south-east. The latter produced evidence for carpentry, leather- and iron-working, and shoe making.
There are detailed studies of the pottery, the small assemblage of glass, and the coins. The latter examines not just the coins from the excavations dealt with in the report, but also earlier 'casual' discoveries from the 18th century onwards, and those from other excavations from the 1950s to 1970s. The data available from this list provides little evidence in support of the theory that there was an Agricolan occupation of Cramond, and also takes issue with details of the dating of the Antonine occupation, suggesting that the abandonment of the fort was later than AD 162. Commodan coins may also be evidence for a occupation in the AD 180s, and the Severan issues suggest occupation before c AD 200, rather than after AD 208, the latter supported by comparison with the coins from Carpow.
Apart from a section on military equipment of both iron and copper alloy, the small finds are presented by material. They include medieval and later objects as well as Roman. The ironwork from a well in the industrial complex is of particular interest; it includes a shovel blade, an axe-hammer, possible files or rasps, and a punch.
The site produced three high-quality cornelian intaglios, at least two of which predate the first military occupation of the site, and the stonework includes part of an altar and sandstone bench-end, the latter from the bath-house site. The wooden objects are welcome additions to the assemblage from Roman Britain; they include part of a window-frame, slotted to receive panes of glass, and a turned leg from a piece of beech-wood furniture. An analysis of the timberwork from the same Roman well in the industrial complex that produced the iron tools suggests that there is evidence for a well-managed timber workshop with carpenters working for a specialised market other than a purely functional military one.
The tile, environmental evidence and medieval pottery are presented as brief summaries, and there is a more detailed analysis of some post-Roman inhumations, possibly plague victims, as well as reports on the small assemblages of clay tobacco pipes and post-medieval coins.
The final chapter discusses the evidence from this report, especially in the light of previous work on the site by Alan and Viola Rae. It is divided into sections on the perimeter features of the fort (defences, gates, roads), its internal layout, the bath-house and industrial complex, and includes an overview of the dating evidence form the material remains. Finally, Cramond is set in its wider context as a part of the military occupation of southern Scotland in the 2nd and 3rd century.
Nina Crummy
Bookshop Websites
East Anglian Archaeology - www.eaareports.demon.co.uk
Librairie Archéologique - www.librarch.com
Oxbow Books - www.oxbowbooks.com
Cambridge University Press - www.cambridge.org.uk
Latest News
RFG Exeter Conference 16th and 17th April 2021 - free open access - all welcome
Sorry, this event is now sold out. Click on the link above or visit the meetings page.... Read More »
Call for papers on dress and adornment at the 25th Limes Congress
From 22-28 August 2021 the 25th Limes Congress will take place in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. We would like to invite paper proposals for Session 16: Dress and adornment in frontier communities.... Read More »
Glasgow Conference Postponed
Unfortunately the Glasgow conference due to take place on 3rd/4th April has had to be postponed. Our Autumn 2020 meeting resurrect he meeting with as close to the original programme as possible.... Read More »
Masterclass on Romano-British Brooches
We are delighted to announce that Roman Finds Group committee member Dr Jörn Schuster will be offering a one-day Masterclass on Romano-British Brooches with former RFG committee members Dr Hella Eckhardt and Dr Emma Durham from the University of Reading. This one-day event will enhance your skills in the description, identification and dating of Romano-British brooches. You will also learn about the way the PAS records brooches and the research potential of personal adornment for our understanding of Roman Britain.... Read More »
Happy 30th Birthday, Roman Finds Group!
Roman Finds Group chose the city of Salisbury as the perfect place to celebrate our 30th anniversary at our Autumn 2017 conference, ‘New Research from Finds from South and South-Western Britain’.... Read More »
RFG 30th Anniversary Meeting 20th and 21st October 2017 at Salisbury Museum
This year the Roman Finds Group is 30 years old. To celebrate, we’ve organised our 2017 Autumn Meeting in Salisbury, where there will be a special reception.... Read More »
The metallurgy of our portable heritage
The metallurgy of our portable heritage study day is being held on Saturday the 17th June, 2017 at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London... Read More »
Call For Papers for Autumn RFG Meeting at Salisbury Museum on 20th-21st October 2017
The theme will be ‘Finds from Southern and South-western Britain’. This is call for papers of around 20 minutes in length.... Read More »
An Introduction to Archaeological Illustration - Saturday March 4 and Sunday 5th 2017
This weekend workshop covers aspects and techniques of archaeological illustration under the personal tuition of Mark Hoyle BA(hon);P.G.C.E.;MAAIS; MIfA. The course will look at general techniques and methods of accurately recording small finds including pottery illustration, metal objects, bone, and leatherwork. There will be a selection of objects from the excavations at Vindolanda to handle and draw over the duration of the course. An archaeological drawing starter pack to use and keep will be provided.... Read More »
Roman Rural Settlement Project - Feedback Needed and Meeting on 14th September 2016
Members of the project team and others have produced a series of short papers concerning various aspects of methodological approaches which cover a variety of topics, including one on finds, which can now be viewed and downloaded at http://www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk/methodology-study/. We are keen to get responses to the papers, and have provided an opportunity for written comments on the papers to be submitted by email.... Read More »
Fully funded AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award PhD studentship between the University of Kent and English Heritage
The key research question is as follows: How does the artefact assemblage of small finds from Roman Richborough contribute to our understanding of the military site, its occupants, and the wider nature of the Roman military in the NW provinces of the empire? There is scope to develop the project according to the student’s particular interests for instance by focusing on particular methodological approaches or categories of material.... Read More »
Finds from Roman York, Brigantia and Beyond - Abstracts Published
We have now received the abstracts for our forthcoming conference. You can read them all here.... Read More »
New Grants Available From Roman Finds Group
A series of small grants are available from the Roman Finds Group to all fully paid-up members.... Read More »
Smile please! RFG to go on film
The RFG is in the process of embarking on an exciting new project designed to act as an educational aid.... Read More »
MOLA are advertising for three Finds Trainee posts - Closing Date 30th September 2015
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Full Details and Booking Form Available for 'Celts' Conference Autumn 2015
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Grant to support the study of PAS finds from Cheshire
Chester Archaeological Society wishes to encourage the study and publication of objects (or groups/types of object) reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme from Cheshire and adjoining areas, to ensure that their potential contribution to the understanding of the archaeology and history of the county is realised.... Read More »
Constitution for Roman Finds Group
RFG members have recently received a letter setting out options for additional future activities together with a copy of our draft constitution; comments on both are welcome.... Read More »
A Review of Our October 2014 Meeting at Manchester Museum
Click here to read a review of this meeting, written by Bryan Sitch... Read More »
Journal of Roman Military Equipment Studies
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RFG Membership of Council for British Archaeology
The RFG is proud to be an organisational member of the Council for British Archaeology.... Read More »
Cheshire Archaeology Public Consultation
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Finds from the Roman North and Beyond
Joint Roman Finds Group and Centre for Interdisciplinary Artefact Studies Meeting Spring 2015 Roman Finds Group with the CIAS, Newcastle University Bookings are now open for the Spring 2015 Meeting... Read More »
Call For Papers for #TRAC2015
Following the success of last year’s Roman Finds Group session at TRAC, we are very pleased to sponsor a session this year on ‘Interdisciplinary Approaches to Roman Artefacts’.... Read More »
BARGAIN ROMAN MONOGRAPHS
The following Roman-period Yorkshire Archaeological Reports are now available at greatly reduced prices:... Read More »
Roman Society Working Party Questionnaire
The Roman Society is trying to gather data on how it can better develop links with museums, local societies and schools. Please contribute your views via our online survey. Thanks!... Read More »
Date For Your Diary: Manchester Meeting on 8th October 2014
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PhD Studentship in Archaeology | University of Reading
Project title: Tools in Roman London: industry, household practice and ritual deposition across the ancient city.... Read More »
PhD Studentship in Archaeology | University of Reading
Project title: Ringing the changes: the social significance of finger-rings in Roman Britain... Read More »
Vindolanda - An Introduction to Archaeological Illustration - ; 22nd - 23rd February 2014
This weekend workshop covers aspects and techniques of archaeological illustration under the personal tuition of Mark Hoyle BA(hon);P.G.C.E.;MAAIS; MIfA... Read More »
Unusually large find of seals and amulets in ancient sanctuary in Turkey
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Online Course: Pompeii and the Cities of the Roman World
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Conference Dates
Three dates for your diary. 27es Rencontres de l’AFAV # 9-10 novembre 2012 # Musée d'Aquitaine # Bordeaux. L’Antiquité tardive dans l’Est de la Gaule 3 - 8-10 novembre 2012. AFPMA-Association Française pour la Peinture Murale Antique : XXVIe séminaire.... Read More »
Roman Altars
An altar has been discovered during recent excavations at Maryport, the first for 142 years. See the news story at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-19224154... Read More »
Catch our committee member Sally Worrell on ITV Secret Treasures this week!
Catch our committee member Sally Worrell on ITV Secret Treasures this week! The programme, timed to coincide with this week's Festival of British Archaeology, features the top 50 finds made by members of the British public in the last 20 years, and runs on ITV1 for several evenings, culminating in an hour-long special on Sunday 22 July.... Read More »
Society of Museum Archaeologists training courses
A list of upcoming courses from the Society of Museum Archeologists.... Read More »
Training opportunity
During this week-long course you will learn the basics of processing finds from archaeological excavations. Guided by nearly a dozen experienced practitioners and specialists, you will go through all the various stages from handling and packaging, to sorting and cataloguing.... Read More »
Portable Antiquities Website
The Portable Antiquities Scheme website provides information about Scheme, eg contact details for the finds liaison officers and reports on recent finds.... Read More »
The British Museum Study Centre
Another development which is worth saying something about is the Study Centre. This is located a short distance away from the main Museum site on New Oxford Street. The current projected date for completion is 2004... Read More »
All change at the British Museum (2001)
On December 6th 2000 the Queen opened the Queen Elizabeth II Great Court after nearly three years of building work. The courtyard is vast, which is the first impression you get on entering, especially when you raise your eyes to Foster's domed glass roof.... Read More »
Training opportunity (July 2010)
IfA Workplace Learning Bursaries. Museum of London Archaeology will be hosting two IfA-funded opportunities for training from late summer / early autumn.... Read More »
Your group needs you! (January 2011)
The RFG has been in crisis - you may have noticed the absence of meetings and a winter newsletter in 2010. Since the appeal in Lucerna 39 (September 2010), we have recruited several new committee members - thank you!... Read More »
Could you contribute to Diggers' Forum?
Over at the Diggers' Forum we're relaunching our newsletter and we are planning on including factsheets and short informative pieces on subjects that are of interest to our membership.... Read More »
Survey of Archaeological Specialists 2010 - 11
Landward Research have been commissioned by the Higher Education Academy's History, Classics and Archaeology Subject Centre and English Heritage to conduct a survey of archaeological specialists.... Read More »
Archaeological Evidence for Glassworking - Guidelines for Best Practice
This latest edition in the English Heritage Guidelines series focuses on the identification, investigation and interpretation of glassworking evidence at sites in England from the Bronze Age until the 20th century.... Read More »
Please help us to make the Roman Finds Group even better!
Since 1988, the RFG has been a useful forum for everyone with an interest in Roman finds.... Read More »