BRITANNIA 35 2004
A JOURNAL OF ROMANO-BRITISH AND KINDRED STUDIES
(journal to be published in November 2004 and despatched in December)
CONTENTS
ARTICLES
David Shotter: Vespasian, Auctoritas and Britain, 1-8
J.R.L. Allen and M.G. Fulford: Early Roman Mosaic Materials in Southern Britain with Particular Reference to Silchester (Calleva Atrebatum): a Regional Geological Perspective, 9-38
Neil Holbrook: Turkdean Roman Villa, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Investigations 1997-1998, 39-76
David R. Wilson: The North Leigh Roman Villa: its Plan Reviewed, 77-113
Sheppard Frere: The Roman Fort at Colwyn Castle, Powys (Radnorshire), 115-120
N. Hodgson and P.T. Bidwell: Auxiliary Barracks in a New Light: Recent Discoveries on Hadrian's Wall, 121-157
J.A. Biggins and D.J.A. Taylor: Geophysical Survey of the Vicus at Birdoswald Roman Fort Cumbria, 159-178
Lawrence Keppie: A Roman Bath-house at Duntocher on the Antonine Wall, 179-224
NOTES
Alan Bowman: The Haverfield Bequest: a Further Note, 225
Joanna Bird: Two Hairpins from Surrey, 225-228
Andrew Breeze: The God Silvanus Callirius and RIB 194, from Colchester, 228-229
Stephen R. Cosh: A Possible Date for the Silchester Roman 'Church', 229-233
Bruce Eagles: Britons and Saxons on the Eastern Boundary of the Civitas Durotrigum, 234-240
Rosamond Hanworth: A Possible Name for a Landowner at Brading Villa, 240-244
D.B. Saddington: C.L. in the Titulature of Coh. II Tungrorum, 244-248
E. Waddelove: A Roman Fort at St Asaph and the Location of Varis, 248-252
ROMAN BRITAIN IN 2003
I Sites Explored, by B.C. Burnham, F. Hunter and A.P. Fitzpatrick, 253-316
II Finds Reported under the Portable Antiquities Scheme, by Sally Worrell, 317-334
III Inscriptions, by R.S.O. Tomlin and M.W.C. Hassall, 335-349
REVIEWS
Bishop, M.C., Lorica Segmentata Vol. I. A Handbook of Articulated Roman Plate Armour (by H.E.M. Cool), 351
Blagg, T.F.C., Roman Architectural Ornament in Britain (by Louise Revell), 351-352
Cooley, A.E. (ed.), Becoming Roman, Writing Latin? Literacy and Epigraphy in the Roman West (by Richard Hingley), 352-353
Eckardt, H., Illuminating Roman Britain (by Richard Reece), 353-354
Fincham, G., Landscapes of Imperialism: Roman and Native Interaction in the East Anglian Fenland (by Steve Roskams), 354-355
Grünewald, T., and Seibel, S. (eds), Kontinuität und Diskontinuität. Germania Inferior am Beginn und am Ende der römischen Herrschaft. Beiträge des deutsch-niederländischen Kolloquiums in der Katholik Universiteit Nijmegen (21. bis 30.06.2001) (by John Drinkwater), 355-356
Trumm, J., Die römerzeitliche Besiedlung am östlichen Hochrhein (50 v.Chr.–450 n.Chr.) (by John Drinkwater), 355-356
Guilleux, J., L’enceinte romaine du Mans (by Jason Wood),357
Jones, M.J., Roman Lincoln. Conquest, Colony and Capital (by Neil Holbrook), 358
Keegan, S.L., Inhumation Rites in Late Roman Britain: the Treatment of the Engendered Body (by Sally Crawford), 358-359
Landes, C. (ed.), La mort des notables en Gaule romaine (by John Pearce), 359-360
Bel, V., Pratiques funéraires du Haut-Empire dans le Midi de la Gaule. La nécropole gallo-romaine du Valladas à St-Paul-Trois-Châteaux (Drôme) (by John Pearce), 359-360
Martino, V. di, Roman Ireland (by Richard Warner), 360
Morillo Cerdán, A. (ed.), Arqueología militar romana en Hispania (by Simon Esmonde Cleary), 360-361
Neal, D.S., and Cosh, S.R., Roman Mosaics of Britain: Volume 1, Northern Britain, Incorporating the Midlands and East Anglia (by Roger Goodburn), 361-363
Sas, K., and Thoen, H. (eds), Schone Schijn: Romeinse juweelkunst in West-Europa /Brillance et Prestige: la joaillerie romaine en Europe occidentale (by Ellen Swift), 363-364
Webster, G., The Legionary Fortress at Wroxeter. Excavations by Graham Webster 1955–1985 (Ed. J. Chadderton) (by William Manning), 364
Wilson, P.R., Cataractonium. Roman Catterick and its Hinterland. Excavations and Research 1958–1997 (by Roger White), 365
Wilson, P. (ed.), The Archaeology of Roman Towns: Studies in Honour of John S. Wacher (by Paul Booth), 366-367
BRITANNIA 2004 ABSTRACTS
David Shotter: Vespasian, Auctoritas and Britain
Vespasian, a first-generation senator, won power by armed rebellion; despite his ending of the civil war, however, some thought that he needed to prove himself. Making reconstruction a theme, Vespasian initiated a building-programme in Rome which aimed to 'bury' the memory of Nero. Britain, too, offered opportunities: the Brigantian rebellion of A.D. 69 called for a resumption of conquest – possibly developed by Vespasian into an ambitious project to bring mainland Britain and Ireland into the Empire. Britain also needed physical reconstruction after Boudica's rebellion – at St Albans, London and Colchester, where the temple of Divus Claudius was brought to completion. The Monument at Richborough should also be attributed to Vespasian; by commemorating Claudius' British achievement, it aimed to enhance Vespasian by placing him in the conquering tradition of Nero's predecessor.
J.R.L. Allen and M.G. Fulford: Early Roman Mosaic Materials in Southern Britain with Particular Reference to Silchester (Calleva Atrebatum): a Regional Geological Perspective
Geological analysis of a large assemblage of early Roman tesserae from Insula IX, Silchester indicates that the Kimmeridge Clay Formation (Upper Jurassic) of south Dorset was a major source of mosaic materials, particularly of grey-black and dark red colours, but also, probably, bright yellows and dull oranges. The first two materials are well represented among other early Roman mosaics across southern Britain from villas, towns, and legionary fortresses. Geographically, these range from Caerleon in the West across to London and Eccles (Kent) in the East, from the Neronian period through to the second century A.D.
Neil Holbrook: Turkdean Roman Villa, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Investigations 1997-1998
A large Roman villa was discovered in 1976 at Turkdean, near Northleach, in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds. It was examined over ten days in 1997 and 1998 for two Time Team television programmes. A combination of cropmarks and geophysical survey revealed the plan of a triple courtyard villa, c. 140 x 80 m in extent, with a further series of structures 60 m to the south-east. A total of 13 small test trenches were excavated to examine specific areas of the villa and recover dating evidence. Artefacts suggest that the site was occupied from the second century, and that the villa continued in use until the later fourth century A.D.
David R. Wilson: The North Leigh Roman Villa: its Plan Reviewed
The remains of the villa at North Leigh are known from excavations undertaken in 1813-17, 1910-11, 1956-9 and 1975-7, only the last of which were ever fully published. A new plan was produced in 1980 for the Official Handbook of the site, which also contained a summary account of the development of the plan of the villa. The present paper offers for the first time a detailed justification for that summary, based in substantial part on unpublished excavation records from 1910-11 and 1956-7, some of which are no longer extant.
Sheppard Frere: The Roman Fort at Colwyn Castle, Powys (Radnorshire)
The foundation date of the Roman fort at Colwyn Castle, hitherto considered to be Flavian, is suggested to be early Neronian because of the discovery of sherds of a samian dish (form Dr. 15/17) of that period which were unearthed by a badger. The purpose of a pre-Flavian fort in this position is discussed in relation to a Neronian campaign to establish a strategic road from the fort at Hindwell Farm, Walton, towards the Towy Valley.
N. Hodgson and P.T. Bidwell: Auxiliary Barracks in a New Light: Recent Discoveries on Hadrian's Wall
This paper illustrates sixteen complete auxiliary barrack plans obtained in recent excavations at the Hadrian's Wall forts of South Shields and Wallsend (and one already published at Vindolanda). Remarkably few barracks have been excavated completely using modern techniques, and this new sample reveals much that can be added to the simple 'text-book' barrack plan. Understanding of barracks is advanced in four principal areas: the accommodation of cavalrymen and horses in forts; the planning and use of infantry contubernia;variety of attested construction techniques; and changes to barracks occurring from the earlier third century A.D. onwards that have important implications for so-called 'chalet barracks' and later-Roman communities inhabiting forts.
J.A. Biggins and D.J.A. Taylor: Geophysical Survey of the Vicus at Birdoswald Roman Fort Cumbria
The geophysical survey, using magnetometry techniques, covered the whole of the area of the vicus to the east and west of the fort, together with a cemetery to the south-west and the river platform below the fort. A small area to the north of Hadrian's Wall was covered where a significant number of buildings were identified. The vicus to the east and west of the fort was seen to be of contrasting layouts. A full topographical survey was also undertaken and the results of an earlier unpublished resistivity survey are included. The report of a geophysical survey of the fort itself was published in Britannia 30 (1999), 91-110.
Lawrence Keppie: A Roman Bath-house at Duntocher on the Antonine Wall
In 1775 a bath-house was accidentally uncovered on the north-western slope of Golden Hill, Duntocher, west of the fort which crowns its summit, and the remains investigated. The present report draws on unpublished material, especially correspondence between Richard Gough and the Edinburgh bibliophile George Paton, on the Minute Books of the Society of Antiquaries of London, and on the Gough Papers preserved in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. Excavation in 1775-78 revealed a sequence of three rooms, of which two were heated. Pottery exhibited at the Antiquaries in 1779 confirmed an Antonine date; an engraved plan of the site survives bound into an Antiquaries Minute Book. Also presented here are accounts of the chance rediscovery of the bath-house in 1978 and of a geophysical survey undertaken in 2001. The Duntocher bath-house is considered in relation to other such structures along the Antonine Wall.
Joanna Bird: Two Hairpins from Surrey
The paper discusses and illustrates two unusual hairpins from Surrey, both recent surface finds. The first is of copper alloy with a plating of white metal. The head is in the shape of a female bust with the hair neatly modelled; the face is absent, and was probably shown on a separate inlay in some other material. The second pin is also of copper alloy and the head is in the shape of a claw-hammer. As a tool, the claw-hammer is rare in the Roman period, and this pin is important evidence for its use by Roman carpenters.
Andrew Breeze: The God Silvanus Callirius and RIB 194, from Colchester
The rural god Silvanus Callirius mentioned in RIB 194 has been linked with Welsh coll 'hazel' and associated with the magic of hazel trees. Yet this is etymologically baseless. Callirius is to be derived instead from British *kalli 'wood' (which gives Modern Welsh celli 'grove'). He was thus merely a god of woods, and had no special connection with hazel trees or their lore.
Stephen R. Cosh: A Possible Date for the Silchester Roman 'Church'
The small building south of the forum in Silchester has often been regarded as a church. Archaeological dating merely provides a terminus post quem of the late second century A.D. The mosaic has been compared to one from Verulamium which the Wheelers tentatively dated to c. A.D. 300, although the building was constructed in the second century. Other comparable mosaics in Leicester, Gloucester, Wroxeter and Canterbury can be more securely dated to the late second century A.D., and therefore both the Verulamium and Silchester examples probably belong to the same period. This implies that the building at Silchester was not originally a church.
Bruce Eagles: Britons and Saxons on the Eastern Boundary of the Civitas Durotrigum
It is argued that Bokerley Dyke formed a part of the eastern border of the Civitas Durotrigum. From a fifth-century nucleus round Old Sarum, to the east, sixth-century 'Anglo-Saxon' culture, and probably presence, spread westwards across the Dyke, to reach as far as Seaxpenn ('the Saxons' hill') and Combs Ditch, an area which may have coincided with a pagus centred upon Badbury Rings. However, to the west of Teffont ('the funta on the boundary'), immediately north of the Dyke, it is only in the seventh century that Anglo-Saxons are first evident, as is the case in the remainder of Dorset. Saxon acquisition of this former Romano-British civitas was, therefore, piecemeal and long-drawn-out.
Rosamond Hanworth: A Possible Name for a Landowner at Brading Villa
Mosaics at Brading Villa are closely similar to others from Antioch. It is suggested that Palladius, the former magister officiorum of that city was their creator subsequent to his banishment to Britain: the notorious caricature of a cock-headed man being Palladius' lampoon of his former persecutor the Caesar Gallus.
D.B. Saddington: C.L. in the Titulature of Coh. II Tungrorum
The coh. II Tungrorum stationed in Britain bears the unique title of C.L. on several inscriptions. Various explanations of it have been proposed, such as 'c(oram) l(audato)', the regiment having been 'publicly commended'. But the traditional expansion is 'ciuium Latinorum' which, on the analogy of the common C.R., implies that the unit received a grant of Latin status (rather than Roman citizenship). In this note the suggestion is made that this is probably the correct interpretation -- such a grant could well have been made by Trajan when he was on the Rhine and when he apparently raised the civitas of the Tungrians (Tongres) to the status of a municipium (with Latin status).
E. Waddelove: A Roman Fort at St Asaph and the Location of Varis
The Roman station of Varis appears in Iter XI of the Antonine Itinerary between Segontium (Caernarfon) and Deva (Chester); its precise location has long been a subject of debate. The evidence for a Roman settlement at St Asaph is here presented; the Roman road system, with up-to-date information, is examined; the topographical suitability for the place-name and for a Roman military site is assessed; and the author's observations of features seen in and near the city over a period of years are described. The conclusion is reached that St Asaph is the site of Varis which developed from the vicus of a Roman fort.