West Midlands Regional Research Framework for Archaeology, Seminar 3: White
1
Shropshire in the Roman Period
Roger White (with contributions by Mike Watson)
R.H.White@bham.ac.uk
Three basic core themes
Late Iron Age – Early Roman
 Settlement pattern seen as very polarised: either visible as earthworks
(hillforts) or as cropmarks (enclosures). Is this true pattern?
 What about unenclosed settlements, such as Black Knoll or Upton Cressett? A
bit like trying to understand medieval society purely from Castles and Moated
sites – would give very distorted picture.
 Filling in the gaps – cf north Shropshire
Priority: settlement hierarchy and diversity – but what is appropriate methodology
for this?
Roman period
 How much Romanisation is there in Shropshire, and how far does it extend?
 We need to cast the net wider from Wroxeter to see the broader patterns
throughout the Cornovian hinterland.
 Specific targets are the military sites (forts and mansiones) – what was their
role?
 What about rural industry?
 Rea valley – is this typical of Shropshire, or atypical response to special
landscape (lead industry)?
 Look at land use and land allotment (Duncote farm) – what is the evidence,
and can we improve it?
 Roman road network and its effect – this would be very achievable using GIS
 Role of the Dobunni
Priority: Grasping the broader patterns of land use and scale and depth of
Romanisation
Late – sub-Roman
 Where does the rural population go in the late Roman period? Changing
subsistence strategy? [Decline of arable in favour of pastoral causing
unemployment]
 Impact of developments in late Roman politics (Britannia Prima and its
impact; north and south Cornovii – Wats Dyke)
 Does it migrate to Wroxeter? If so, what is the impact on the town?
 How do you recognise the archaeology of the fifth century?
 Importance of scientific dating and environmental input
 How can one determine settlement pattern? Perhaps best to work back from
A/S patterns, e.g. diocesan boundaries; A/S estates
Priority: Identifying the resource, and dating it