BRITANNIA
A JOURNAL OF ROMANO-BRITISH AND KINDRED STUDIES
VOLUME 42 (2011)
CONTENTS
ARTICLES
RONALD HUTTON, Romano-British Reuse of Prehistoric Ritual Sites, 1–22
STEPHEN G. UPEX, The Praetorium of Edmund Artis: A Summary of Excavations and
Surveys of the Palatial Roman Structure at Castor, Cambridgeshire 1828–2010, 23–
112
A.K. BOWMAN, J.D. THOMAS and R.S.O. TOMLIN, The Vindolanda Writing-Tablets
(Tabulae Vindolandeses IV, Part 2), 113–144
DAVID B. CUFF, The King of the Batavians: Remarks on Tab. Vindol. III, 628, 145–156
NINA CRUMMY, A Campanian Vessel Foot from Silchester, 157–165
STEVEN WILLIS, Samian Ware and Society in Roman Britain and Beyond, 167–242
DAVID SMITH and HARRY KENWARD, Roman Grain Pests in Britain: Implications for
Grain Supply and Agricultural Production, 243–262
SHEPPARD FRERE with an Appendix by PATRICIA WITTS, The Saga of Verulamium
Building XXVII 2, 263–274
ANDY HAMMON, Understanding the Romano-British–Early Medieval Transition: A
Zooarchaeological Perspective from Wroxeter (Viroconium Cornoviorum), 275–305
NOTES
JOHN PETERSON, Measuring the Landscape of the Bartlow Hills, 307–309
JÖRN SCHUSTER, A Lead Bust of the Goddess Isis from Groundwell Ridge, Swindon,
Wiltshire, 309–314
BRYN WALTERS, A Probable Opus Sectile Pavement from the Halstock Villa in Dorset,
315–318
ROMAN BRITAIN IN 2010
I Sites Explored by E.M. Chapman, F. Hunter, P. Booth and P. Wilson, 319–398
II Finds Reported by S. Worrell and J. Pearce, 399–437
III Inscriptions by R.S.O. Tomlin, 439–466
REVIEWS
BARBET, A. and M. FUCHS with L. RODUIT (Eds), Les Murs murmurent: Graffitis galloromains (by R.S.O. Tomlin), 467–468
COLLINS, R. and L. ALLASON-JONES (Eds), Finds from the Frontier: Material Culture in
the 4th–5th Centuries (by Hella Eckardt), 468–469
COWAN, C., F. SEELEY, A. WARDLE, A. WESTMAN and L. WHEELER, Roman
Southwark, Settlement and Economy: Excavations in Southwark, 1973–91 (by Harvey
Sheldon), 469–470
DRIESSEN, M., S. HEEREN, J. HENDRIKS, F. KEMMERS and R. VISSER (Eds), TRAC
2008. Proceedings of the Eighteenth Annual Theoretical Roman Archaeology
Conference: Amsterdam 2008 (by Ben Croxford), 470–471
DÜRRWÄCHTER, C., Time, Space and Innovation: an Archaeological Case Study on the
Romanization of the North-Western Provinces (50 BC to AD 50) (by Phil Freeman),
471–472
FISCHER, A., Vorsicht Glas! Die römischen Glasmanufakturen von Kaiseraugst (by H.E.M.
Cool), 472–473
SHEPHERD, J. and A. WARDLE, The Glass Workers of Roman London (by H.E.M. Cool),
472–473
HASELGROVE, C., The Traprain Law Environs Project, Fieldwork and Excavations 2000–
2004 (by Andrew Dunwell), 474–475
HAYWARD, K., Roman Quarrying and Stone Supply on the Periphery — Southern
England: a Geological Study of First-Century Funerary Monuments and Monumental
Architecture (by Andrew Pearson), 475–476
HINGLEY, R., The Recovery of Roman Britain 1586–1906 (by Richard Reece), 476–477
HODGSON, N., Hadrian’s Wall 1999–2009: A Summary of Excavation and Research
Prepared for the Thirteenth Pilgrimage of Hadrian’s Wall, 8–14 August 2009 (by Pete
Wilson), 477–478
BIDWELL, P. and N. HODGSON, The Roman Army in Northern England (by Pete Wilson),
477–478
HODGSON, N., Roman Scotland. XXI International Limes (Roman Frontiers Studies)
Congress, Newcastle upon Tyne. Handbook to Accompany the Post-Congress
Excursion to Scotland, 24–26 August 2009 (by Pete Wilson), 477–478
ENGLISH HERITAGE, An Archaeological Map of Hadrian’s Wall (by Pete Wilson), 477–
478
ISLES, P. and D. SHOTTER (Eds), Lancaster’s Roman Cemeteries (by John Pearce), 478–
479
JONES, J.E., The Maritime and Riverine Landscape of the West of Roman Britain (by Edith
Evans), 479–481
KAGAN, J., Gem Engraving in Britain from Antiquity to the Present: with a Catalogue of the
British Engraved Gems in the State Hermitage Museum (by Martin Henig), 481–482
KIERNAN, P., Miniature Votive Offerings in the Roman North-West (by Nina Crummy),
482–483
LAMOINE, L., Le Pouvoir local en Gaule romaine (by Penelope J. Goodman), 483–484
LAWRENCE, S. and A. SMITH, Between Villa and Town: Excavations of a Roadside
Settlement and Shrine at Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire (by Barry C. Burnham),
484–485
POULTER, J. (with a supplementary report: ‘Mapping Matters with the Antonine Wall’ by
P. McKeague), Surveying Roman Military Landscapes across Northern Britain: The
Planning of Roman Dere Street, Hadrian’s Wall and the Vallum, and the Antonine Wall
in Scotland (by Robert Witcher), 485–486
RÉMY, B. with P. FAURE, Les Médecins dans l’Occident romain: Péninsule Ibérique,
Bretagne, Gaules, Germanies (by Helen King), 486–487
ROTHE, U., Dress and Cultural Identity in the Rhine-Moselle Region of the Roman Empire
(by Mary Harlow), 487–488
RUSHWORTH, A., Housesteads Roman Fort – the Grandest Station. Excavation and Survey
at Housesteads, 1954–95, by Charles Daniels, John Gillam, James Crow and others
(by Nick Hodgson), 488–490
SYMONDS, M.F.A. and D.J.P. MASON (Eds), Frontiers of Knowledge. A Research
Framework for Hadrian’s Wall, Part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World
Heritage Site (by Rebecca Jones), 490–491
TROW, S., S. JAMES and T. MOORE, Becoming Roman, Being Gallic, Staying British:
Research and Excavations at Ditches ‘Hillfort’ and Villa 1984–2006 (by John
Creighton), 491–492
VAGALINSKI, L.F., Blood and Entertainments; Sports and Gladiatorial Games in
Hellenistic and Roman Thrace (by Tony Wilmott), 492–493
WILMOTT, T. (Ed.), Hadrian’s Wall. Archaeological Research by English Heritage 1976–
2000 (by Paul Bidwell), 492–493
WILMOTT, T. (Ed.), Roman Amphitheatres and Spectacula: a 21st-Century Perspective.
Papers from an International Conference held at Chester. 16–18th February, 2007 (by
Michael Fulford), 493–494
BRITANNIA 2011 ABSTRACTS
Ronald Hutton: Romano-British Reuse of Prehistoric Ritual Sites
Much interest has been taken recently in the reuse of prehistoric ceremonial sites during later
prehistory and early history, but only limited attention has been paid to this phenomenon
during the Romano-British period. This paper seeks to build on existing work by making a
detailed study of such activity in three specific cases: the limestone caves of the Bristol
Channel region, the Neolithic chambered tombs of the Cotswold-Severn area and the Peak
District, and the three most spectacular prehistoric monuments of the Wessex chalklands:
Stonehenge, the Avebury complex and the Uffington White Horse.
Stephen G. Upex: The Praetorium of Edmund Artis: A Summary of Excavations and
Surveys of the Palatial Roman Structure at Castor, Cambridgeshire 1828–2010
Antiquarian and modern excavations at Castor, Cambs., have been taking place since the
seventeenth century. The site, which lies under the modern village, has been variously
described as a Roman villa, a guild centre and a palace, while Edmund Artis working in the
1820s termed it ‘The Praetorium’. The Roman buildings covered an area of 3.77 ha (9.4
acres) and appear to have had two main phases, the latter of which formed a single unified
structure some 130 by 90 m. This article attempts to draw together all of the previous work at
the site and provide a comprehensive plan, a set of suggested dates, and options on how the
remains could be interpreted.
A.K. Bowman, J.D. Thomas and R.S.O. Tomlin:
The Vindolanda Writing-Tablets
(Tabulae Vindolandeses IV, Part 2)
This article contains full editions with commentaries of the second and final 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 870, following the
sequence in Tab. Vindol. IV.1, and are grouped in the following categories: Military
Document, Letters, Descripta.
David B. Cuff: The King of the Batavians: Remarks on Tab. Vindol. III, 628
Tab.Vindol. III, 628 is a letter of an auxiliary decurion of cohors VIIII Batavorum that begins
with the greeting ‘Masclus Ceriali regi suo’. A.R. Birley tentatively suggested that the title
held a literal force, while Bowman and Thomas interpreted the word as meaning ‘patron’ on
the basis of OLD s.v. 8 and a parallel with P.Mich. VIII 472 = CEL 147, a letter, also from a
military context, from ‘Claudius Tiberianus Longino Prisco domin[o] et regi suo’. This
article examines the Batavian and military contexts of these interpretations beside other
epigraphic examples of rex as ‘patron’.
Nina Crummy: A Campanian Vessel Foot from Silchester
In 2009 a leaded bronze vessel foot topped by a figure of Harpocrates was found in a
Neronian or early Flavian levelling deposit on the University of Reading’s excavations in
Insula IX at Silchester. Comparanda point to the foot originally having been fitted to a vessel
for cooking or for heating liquids that was made in Campania in the Tiberian or early
Claudian period. Its recovery is further evidence that a high-status early Roman building was
located close to Insula IX.
Steven Willis: Samian Ware and Society in Roman Britain and Beyond
Samian ware being widely present, of striking quality, and highly useful to the archaeologist
has a special position within Roman studies. This article brings a large body of samian ware
data together to explore the nature of its incidence at settlements and in graves. The
examination shows how the nature of samian ware distribution is highly structured between
different types of site and between different consumers. This is shown to be so in the case of
both Britain and the other Western provinces. The findings raise issues around the use of
samian ware in society and point the way to harnessing the rich potential of samian as a
source of information as understanding of its utility for the archaeologist expands.
David Smith and Harry Kenward: Roman Grain Pests in Britain: Implications for
Grain Supply and Agricultural Production
It is over thirty years since Paul Buckland first presented a series of arguments concerning
beetle (Coleoptera) grain pests: their origin, the timing of their introduction to Britain, and
their implications for agricultural production during the Roman occupation. Here we return
to the topic in the light of new data from a range of archaeological deposits, including
civilian and military sites dating from the earliest period of Roman occupation. Infestation
rates and, potentially, grain loss may have been high throughout Roman Britain, though
many infestations may have been in equine feed. Beetle grain pests are not recorded in
Britain prior to the Roman invasion, and it appears that they were absent, or extremely rare,
in the early medieval period and up to the Norman Conquest. This pattern of occurrence is
reviewed and it is suggested that ecological theory offers an explanation which is in accord
with supposed socio-economic changes and trade. The role of grain pests is considered in the
economic modelling of Romano-British agriculture.
Sheppard Frere with an Appendix by Patricia Witts:
The Saga of Verulamium
Building XXVII 2
Recent debate about the dating of Building XXVII 2 at Verulamium highlights a potential
conflict between archaeological and stylistic dating of mosaics. The stratigraphic and
artefactual, particularly the numismatic, evidence for the dating of the construction of
Building XXVII 2 and subsequent phases of activity are examined in detail. The coin finds
indicate a late date (after c.
A.D.
380) for the initial construction of this building and its
mosaics, with a sequence of development suggesting the continuation of urban life well into
the fifth century. This dating has been challenged, however, and it has been suggested that the
mosaics, stylistically, are significantly earlier. Comments are offered on the stylistic dating of
the Verulamium mosaics in an Appendix by Patricia Witts. In conclusion, there would appear
to be no compelling reason why the historically important sequence of structures, suggesting
the continuation of urban life in Verulamium well into the fifth century, as originally
proposed has to be rewritten.
Andy Hammon: Understanding the Romano-British–Early Medieval Transition: A
Zooarchaeological Perspective from Wroxeter (Viroconium Cornoviorum)
The demise of the Western Roman Empire combined with Germanic migration and influence
from Continental Europe had a tumultuous and profound effect on the cultural and social
identities of Britain’s population. The fifth to seventh centuries
A.D.
remain a poorly
understood epoch in British history, hence the once traditional ‘Dark Ages’ label. A variety
of factors have contributed to this phenomenon, which include the exact nature and timing of
the Roman administration’s abandonment of Britannia, the precise character and extent of
Germanic migration, questionable historical sources, the paucity of physical evidence, and
problematic artefact dating. Zooarchaeological analysis can, therefore, aid the elucidation of
this period through the development of new perspectives, highlighting the socio-cultural (and
economic) processes involved in the emergence of early medieval Britain from Roman
Britannia. Large-scale excavations were carried out at the baths basilica of Wroxeter
(Shrops.) between 1966 and 1990. The city was the fourth largest urban centre in Roman
Britain, and was the civitas-capital of the Cornovii. The excavations demonstrated how the
public buildings of this central insula fell into disuse, prior to the possible construction of a
grandiose private residence and complex in the sub-Roman period. It has been postulated that
this building represents the palatial complex of a tyrannus, or possibly a bishopric of the
‘Western British’ church. Analysis of the resultant animal bone assemblage has provided an
opportunity to explore the social and ethnic identity of the site’s inhabitants through their
dietary habits.