BRITANNIA
A JOURNAL OF ROMANO-BRITISH AND KINDRED STUDIES
VOLUME 41 (2010)
CONTENTS
ARTICLES
CHRISTOPHER STRAY, ‘Patriots and Professors’: A Century of Roman Studies, 1910–
2010, 1–31
S.S. FRERE and R. GOODBURN, Britannia 40 Years: Roman Society 100 Years, 33–35
NINA CRUMMY, Bears and Coins: The Iconography of Protection in Late Roman Infant
Burials, 37–93
ZENA KAMASH, CHRIS GOSDEN and GARY LOCK, Continuity and Religious Practices
in Roman Britain: The Case of the Rural Religious Complex at Marcham/Frilford,
Oxfordshire, 95–125
PETER WARRY, Legionary Tile Production in Britain, 127–147
J.R.L. ALLEN, The Petit Appareil Masonry Style in Roman Britain: Geology, Builders,
Scale and Proportion, 149–173
LEE BRAY, ‘Horrible, Speculative, Nasty, Dangerous’: Assessing the Value of Roman Iron,
175–185
A.K. BOWMAN, J.D. THOMAS and R.S.O. TOMLIN, The Vindolanda Writing-Tablets
(Tabulae Vindolandenses IV, Part 1), 187–224
JOHN CASEY, Who Built Carpow? A Review of Events in Britain in the Reigns of
Commodus and Septimius Severus, 225–235
ELLEN SWIFT, Identifying Migrant Communities: A Contextual Analysis of Grave
Assemblages from Continental Late Roman Cemeteries, 237–282
JEREMY K. KNIGHT, An Inscription from Bavai and the Fifth-Century Christian Epigraphy
of Britain, 283–292
JAMES GERRARD, Finding the Fifth Century: A Late Fourth- and Early Fifth-Century
Pottery Fabric from South-East Dorset, 293–312
NOTES
MICHAEL DAWSON and DAVID NEAL, New Fragments and Further Excavation of the
Bellerophon Mosaic from Croughton, 313–317
J.R.L. ALLEN and J.A. TODD, A Kimmeridgian (Upper Jurassic) Source for Early Roman
Yellow Tesserae and Opus Sectile in Southern Britain, 317–321
DAVID BARTUS and JESSICA M. GRIMM, A Knife Handle from Caerwent (Venta
Silurum) Depicting Gladiators, 321–324
RICHARD HOBBS, Platters in the Mildenhall Treasure, 324–333
DAVID WILLIAMS, IAN SCRIVENER-LINDLEY and NICOLA DOWSETT, An
Augustan Dressel 2–4 Stamped Amphora from Chapel Street, Chichester, 334–339
ROMAN BRITAIN IN 2009
I Sites Explored by E.M. Chapman, F. Hunter, P. Booth and P. Wilson, 341–408
II Finds Reported by Sally Worrell, 409–439
III Inscriptions by R.S.O. Tomlin, 441–469
REVIEWS
ADAMS, G.W., Power and Religious Acculturation in Romano-Celtic Society: an
Examination of Archaeological Sites in Gloucestershire (by Alison Brookes), 471
ALLASON-JONES, L., Daily Life in Roman Britain (by Jenny Hall), 472
APPELS, A. and S. LAYCOCK, Roman Buckles and Military Fittings (by Ellen Swift), 473
BATEMAN, N., C. COWAN and R. WROE-BROWN, London’s Roman Amphitheatre,
Guildhall Yard, City of London (by Tony Wilmott), 474
BIDWELL, P. (Ed.), Understanding Hadrian’s Wall: Papers from a Conference held at
South Shields, 3rd–5th November, 2006, to Mark the Publication of the 14th Edition of
the Handbook to the Roman Wall (by Jeffrey L. Davies), 475
BISPHAM, E. (Ed.), Roman Europe: The Short Oxford History of Europe (by John Wilkes),
476
BOWLES, C.R., Rebuilding the Britons: The Postcolonial Archaeology of Culture and
Identity in the Late Antique Bristol Channel Region (by James Gerrard), 478
BREEZE, D.J., J. Collingwood Bruce’s Handbook to the Roman Wall, 14th edition (by Tony
Wilmott), 479
BREEZE, D.J., Roman Frontiers in Britain (by Tony Wilmott), 479
BULL, R. and S. DAVIS, Becoming Roman: Excavation of a Late Iron Age to RomanoBritish Landscape at Monkston Park, Milton Keynes (by Paul Booth), 480
LUKE, M., Life in the Loop: Investigation of a Prehistoric and Romano-British Landscape at
Biddenham Loop, Bedfordshire (by Paul Booth), 480
CLARK, J., J. COTTON, J. HALL, R. SHERRIS and H. SWAIN (Eds), Londinium and
Beyond. Essays on Roman London and its Hinterland for Harvey Sheldon (by Hilary
Cool), 482
FLEMING, A. and R. HINGLEY (Eds), Prehistoric and Roman Landscapes. Landscape
History after Hopkins, Volume 1 (by Jeremy Taylor), 483
FRAKES, J.F.D., Framing Public Life: The Portico in Roman Gaul (by Louise Revell), 484
GARMAN, A.G., The Cult of the Matronae in the Roman Rhineland: An Historical
Evaluation of the Archaeological Evidence (by Brigitte Beyer), 485
GROOT, M., Animals in Ritual and Economy in a Roman Frontier Community. Excavations
in Tiel-Passewaaij (by Ralph Haussler), 486
HOLBROOK, N. (Ed.), Excavations and Observations in Roman Cirencester 1998–2007
with a Review of Archaeology in Cirencester 1958–2008 (by Patrick Ottaway), 487
HOWARTH, N., Cartimandua, Queen of the Brigantes (by Pete Wilson), 488
LAYCOCK, S., Britannia: the Failed State – Tribal Conflicts and the End of Roman Britain
(by Neil Faulkner), 489
LE BOHEC, Y., La province romaine de Gaule Lyonnaise (Gallia Lugdunensis) du Lyonnais
au Finistère (by Simon Esmonde Cleary), 490
MANLEY, J. (Ed.), The Archaeology of Fishbourne and Chichester. A Framework for its
Future (by Neil Holbrook), 491
MARTIN-KILCHER, S., H. AMREIN and B. HORISBERGER, Der römische Goldschmuck
aus Lunnern (ZH): ein Hortfund des 3. Jahrhunderts und seine Geschichte (by
Catherine Johns), 492
NICOLAY, J., Armed Batavians. Use and Significance of Weaponry and Horse Gear from
Non-Military Contexts in the Rhine Delta, 50 BC to AD 450 (by Cheryl Clay), 493
PAPWORTH, M., Deconstructing the Durotriges: A Definition of Iron Age Communities
within the Dorset Environs (by Christopher Sparey-Green), 494
REES, H., N. CRUMMY, P.J. OTTAWAY and G. DUNN, Artefacts and Society in Roman
and Medieval Winchester. Small Finds from the Suburbs and Defences, 1971–1986 (by
Quita Mould), 495
ROGERS, I.M. and D.J. GARNER, Wilderspool and Holditch. Roman Boom-Towns on the
‘Road North’ (by Roger White), 496
RUDLING, D. (Ed.), Ritual Landscapes of Roman South-East Britain (by Nina Crummy),
497
SEALEY, P.R., A Late Iron Age Warrior Burial from Kelvedon, Essex (by A.P. Fitzpatrick),
498
TRAVIS, J.R., Coal in Roman Britain (by Keith Branigan), 499
LEPETZ, S. and W. VAN ANDRINGA (Eds), Archéologie du sacrifice animal en Gaule
romaine — Rituels et pratiques alimentaires (by Ralph Haussler), 499
WILLIAMS, M. and M. REID, Salt: Life and Industry. Excavations at King Street,
Middlewich, Cheshire, 2001–2002 (by Tom Lane), 501
Aremorica: Études sur l’ouest de la Gaule romaine (by James Bromwich), 502
BRITANNIA 2010 ABSTRACTS
Christopher Stray: ‘Patriots and Professors’: A Century of Roman Studies, 1910–2010
This essay offers a survey of the history of the Roman Society during the 100 years since its
foundation in 1910. It discusses relations with other classical bodies, especially the Hellenic
Society and the Classical Association; the Society’s fragile finances until the 1950s; and the
key role played over several decades by its Secretary, Margerie Taylor. Separate sections deal
with the Society’s library; its journals, the Journal of Roman Studies (1911) and Britannia
(1980); membership and finance; and relations with schools, amateur archaeologists and the
University of London, whose Institute of Classical Studies has housed the Society’s office
and library since 1958.
S.S. Frere and R. Goodburn: Britannia 40 Years: Roman Society 100 Years
Britannia. The birth and growth of the Roman Society’s second journal: a centennial
assessment.
Nina Crummy: Bears and Coins: The Iconography of Protection in Late Roman Infant
Burials
A number of infant burials in Britain, both cremations and inhumations, contain a consistent
deposit of a small jet bear, black mineral jewellery, a coin, and a pottery beaker. Some of the
graves held several examples of these items, and some a wider variety of objects. Comparison
with more obviously amuletic grave deposits from Butt Road, Colchester, and Lankhills,
Winchester, suggests that the coins were selected for their reverse image, and that both they
and the bears are representations of guardians placed in the burials to ensure that the child did
not enter the underworld alone and unprotected. These bears are set in the wider context of
the animal’s iconography and mythology, with particular reference to the Greek cult of
Artemis, who oversaw childbirth and child-rearing. The choice and importance of materials
and the positions of objects within graves are also briefly explored and the social identity of
the dead infants is examined. In an appendix of other burials containing jet animals, the
Chelmsford hoard of jet jewellery is reinterpreted as grave goods from the inhumation of a
young woman.
Zena Kamash, Chris Gosden and Gary Lock: Continuity and Religious Practices in
Roman Britain: The Case of the Rural Religious Complex at Marcham/Frilford,
Oxfordshire
This paper presents the interim results of Oxford University’s on-going excavations at the
Roman religious complex at Marcham/Frilford, Oxfordshire. This site has long been the
focus of debates about continuity from the Iron Age into the Roman period since the original
excavations at the temple by Bradford and Goodchild in the 1930s. New findings from the
current excavations are brought to bear on this question, in particular how the Iron Age
activity influenced the design and layout of the Roman complex. In addition, the paper uses
preliminary analysis of the finds from the excavations to discuss the nature of religious
practices and activities at the site.
Peter Warry: Legionary Tile Production in Britain
There are over two thousand legionary stamped tiles incorporating some two hundred
different dies now admirably collated and listed in Roman Inscriptions of Britain. Dates have
been tentatively suggested for a minority of these dies, but some of these are inconsistent
with the other evidence. Inter alia, by using dating derived from the different forms of
tegulae on which these stamps have been impressed, revised dating is proposed. Linking
these dates with the distribution of the stamped tiles sheds new light on legionary practices
and movements, particularly on Hadrian’s Wall and in post-Antonine Scotland, as well as the
relationship between the legions and the auxiliary units. The multiplicity of different dies
could be explained by each cohort having its own stamp and stamping every one of the tiles
they produced, a practice that all the British legions seem to have followed. The discovery of
legio XX stamped tiles referring to Viducius at a rural tile-works in Merseyside confirms him
as a legionary contractor; close examination of tile sizes shows that contractors appear to
have played a significant part in the production for at least two of the legions.
J.R.L. Allen: The Petit Appareil Masonry Style in Roman Britain: Geology, Builders,
Scale and Proportion
Masonry facing at 31 widely scattered sites was characterised by the comparative lithometric
analysis of the linear dimensions, apparent areas and apparent proportions of random samples
of 50 exposed building blocks. Typically, block length lies between three-quarters and one
Roman foot and height from one-third to one-half of a foot. The mean proportions of blocks
vary with the type of stone and range from 1.50 to 2.54, with ‘military’ builders tending to
prefer low length:height ratios and stone that fractured in much the same way regardless of
direction relative to the bedding (i.e. isotropic, near-isotropic). The evidence suggests that the
choice of general-purpose stone and proportions by ‘military’ and ‘non-military’ builders
varied over time with changing circumstances. Both kinds of builder seem to have been least
selective in the late first and early second centuries A.D. and again in the late third and early
fourth centuries.
Lee Bray: ‘Horrible, Speculative, Nasty, Dangerous’: Assessing the Value of Roman
Iron
The economic aspects of metallurgy in the distant past have been relatively little studied,
largely owing to the absence of detailed records for periods preceding medieval times. This
paper takes advantage of a rare survival, an account from the Vindolanda tablets in which a
price for iron is recorded, to explore some of the economic characteristics of the metal during
the first and second centuries A.D. in Britain. The inherent difficulties in employing evidence
of this kind are examined before looking at the price information from the rest of the
Vindolanda tablets to assess the value of iron relative to other commodities at the fort. The
value of the metal is then examined compared with that of labour, thus illuminating the
potential economic opportunities that became available to iron producers following the
establishment of Roman rule in Britain.
A.K. Bowman, J.D. Thomas and R.S.O. Tomlin: The Vindolanda Writing-Tablets
(Tabulae Vindolandenses IV, Part 1)
This article contains full editions with commentaries of the first instalment of the
approximately 37 ink writing-tablets from Vindolanda discovered in the excavation seasons
of 2001, 2002 and 2003. The editions are numbered continuously from 854, following the
sequence in A.K. Bowman and J.D. Thomas, The Vindolanda Writing-tablets (Tabulae
Vindolandenses III) (2003), and are grouped in the following categories: Literary Texts,
Military Documents, Accounts, Letters. The second instalment, to be published in 2011, will
contain the remaining Letters and Descripta.
John Casey: Who Built Carpow? A Review of Events in Britain in the Reigns of
Commodus and Septimius Severus
A review of epigraphic, numismatic and historical sources examines the episode of the war of
Commodus in Britain. The relationship of this event to the present interpretation of the later
campaign of Severus is discussed. Current views of the occupation of Hadrian’s Wall are
examined in the light of Commodus’ policy in Britain.
Ellen Swift:
Identifying Migrant Communities: A Contextual Analysis of Grave
Assemblages from Continental Late Roman Cemeteries
Focusing on late Roman bracelets, and also including other relevant material culture types,
this paper brings together an examination of spatial distribution, distribution by site-type, and
selected specific burial contexts to investigate provincial Roman material of non-local origin.
Using this methodology, it is suggested that migrant communities can be identified at
Krefeld-Gellep in the Rhineland — thus demonstrating that this type of multi-layered
approach can assist in unravelling the complexity of the surviving evidence. The study also
shows that a bias towards military sites/large towns is a distribution pattern typical of
material originating from a different area of the Roman Empire.
Jeremy K. Knight:
An Inscription from Bavai and the Fifth-Century Christian
Epigraphy of Britain
The consular dated memorial of a military accountant (scrinarius) of A.D. 404 with a chi-rho
monogram from Bavai (France, Nord), previously thought to be a forgery, is reconsidered.
Geographically close to Britain and well-dated, it is relevant to the origins of post-Roman
insular epigraphy and to the possibility of recognising specifically Christian tombstones in
Roman Britain. The insular series derives from a late antique tradition introduced to Britain
via the Christian Church at an uncertain date. There is little sign of continuity with claimed
Romano-British Christian tombstones, but an early phase of the insular series can be
recognised. Literacy and perhaps the ‘epigraphic habit’ survived in other media.
James Gerrard: Finding the Fifth Century: A Late Fourth- and Early Fifth-Century
Pottery Fabric from South-East Dorset
This paper describes a type of pottery made in the same region as Dorset Black Burnished
Ware that can be shown to be current during the late fourth and early fifth centuries. This
pottery — here named South-East Dorset Orange Wiped Ware — can be used as a diagnostic
artefact to identify sites and features of the very late Roman period in Dorset. It also appears
to be associated with a new architectural tradition typified by the ‘sunken featured buildings’
present at the late and post-Roman site of Poundbury.
Michael Dawson and David Neal: New Fragments and Further Excavation of the
Bellerophon Mosaic from Croughton
In 1991 a mosaic illustrating Bellerophon slaying the Chimaera was discovered at Croughton,
Northamptonshire. It had been laid in a stone-built house which, assessed by English
Heritage, was scheduled in 1995. In 2002 when the estate owner proposed the construction of
a cover building the pavement was fully excavated together with an adjacent room. First
illustrated by David Neal, the 2002 excavation revealed more of the mosaic and the
fragmentary remains of a second, probably figured pavement above a hypocaust. Figured
mosaics are rare in Northamptonshire and the two pavements, now fully illustrated, have
been assigned to the Northamptonshire Figured Group by David Neal.
J.R.L. Allen and J.A. Todd:
A Kimmeridgian (Upper Jurassic) Source for Early
Roman Yellow Tesserae and Opus Sectile in Southern Britain
The long-appreciated importance of the Iron Age-Roman agglomerated industries of the
Poole-Purbeck area of Dorset has recently been enhanced by proof that, in the early Roman
period, a range of decorative stone was produced from the coastal exposures of the
Kimmeridge Clay Formation and widely marketed beyond the area.
David Bartus and Jessica M. Grimm: A Knife Handle from Caerwent (Venta Silurum)
Depicting Gladiators
An excavation by Channel 4’s Time Team in the Roman town of Caerwent (Venta Silurum) in
2008 produced a highly decorated ivory handle of a clasp-knife. The scene on the handle
depicts two different types of gladiators, a secutor and a retiarius, fighting. The object is
probably made of ivory. On stylistic grounds, the beautifully carved knife handle suggests a
third-century date. Knife handles in the shape of gladiators are not uncommon as more than
thirty pieces are known. Other examples from Britain include the sites of Piddington,
Northamptonshire; Corbridge, Northumberland; South Shields, Tyne and Wear; and Lexden,
Essex.
Richard Hobbs: Platters in the Mildenhall Treasure
The paper questions the terminology previously used to describe the forms of silver vessels in
the Mildenhall Treasure, arguing that the ‘Great dish’ and ‘Niello dish’ are more correctly
termed ‘platters’. These vessels are then placed in the context of three silver platter types
known in the late Roman period. Pictorial representations of these vessels and their changing
dimensions over time are discussed in relation to their use for display, the serving of food and
the presentation of donatives. It is argued that the plainest forms of the vessel served a
practical rather than decorative function.
David Williams, Ian Scrivener-Lindley and Nicola Dowsett: An Augustan Dressel 2–4
Stamped Amphora from Chapel Street, Chichester
A stamped Dressel 2-4 wine amphora from Chichester District Museum has been reexamined and its provenance re-assessed. The fabric suggests a source in the Bay of Naples
region. The impressed stamps read M. LIVI….. and AMP.S on one handle and RVS (in
retrograde) on the other and can be identified as M[arcus] LIVI [us] [Causorius] and his
slaves or freedmen: AMP[hio] S[ervus] and SVR[us]. Evidence from elsewhere suggests
these stamps date to the last twenty-five years B.C. and the first ten years A.D. The amphora
was almost certainly recovered from a watching-brief, carried out between 1934 and 1935 in
Chapel Street, and joins an impressive number of pre-Conquest pottery finds from both
Chichester and nearby Fishbourne.