Category: Romans in Britain

“Rude” Roman Pots?

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

One that was lost in t shuffle last week:

WORK on the £11.6 million revamp of Canterbury’s prestigious Beaney Institute has ground to a halt – because of Roman pornography.

Archaeologists are racing against time to recover lost evidence beneath the city’s streets before the builders return.

Among the artefacts already uncovered are saucy carvings of couples having sex.

A spokesman confirmed: “We have found many personal effects and high-class pottery – known as samianware – depicting hunting and erotic scenes.”

A team from Canterbury Archaeological Trust is digging in shifts seven days a week to take advantage of the temporary halt in the building programme.

Trust Director Paul Bennett said: “We are grateful to the city council for allowing us the extra time.

“This is a vitally important site in the heart of Canterbury. What we have discovered is a unique glimpse of ordinary everyday life.”

Among the discoveries is a well-metalled and cambered Roman road and a large masonry and timber-framed building.

Mr Bennett added: “The street frontage is flanked by a narrow timber-framed portico, supported on dwarf walls that are perfectly preserved, including scars and a ‘void’ for timbers that have rotted.”

The excavation began in February and was due to end last week. But work has been extended for three more weeks.

Archaeologists believe they have stumbled on an extensive network of small shops, homes and lanes representing inner-city life nearly 2,000 years ago.

Nearby is a clay-floored workshop or shop containing bread ovens. There is evidence to suggest it burnt down and was rebuilt. The time team believe they have also uncovered stables.

The Beaney building in the High Street dates back to 1900. It is being extended to double its size to update the city’s museum and library.

via Rude Roman pots halt city revamp | This Is Kent.

The original article has a tiny photo of a fragment of one of the pots, but it’s too small to really get any idea of the ‘rudeness’ (alas) …

Boudicca at Calleva Atrebatum?

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

Calleva seems to be an awfully interesting dig … last time we heard about it, it was about the ‘puppy skin’ trade. Now we hear of Boudicca’s possible involvement there:

Professor Michael Fulford said that 13 years of excavations at Calleva had revealed evidence of the first gridded Iron Age town in Britain.
The site also bears the scars of possible early Roman military occupation, and evidence of later, widespread burning and destruction.
This suggests the site could have been destroyed at the hands of Boudicca.
Queen Boudicca waged war against the Romans in Britain from 60 AD after the Romans decided to rule the Iceni directly and confiscated the property of the leading tribesmen.
Boudicca’s warriors successfully defeated the Roman Ninth Legion and destroyed the capital of Roman Britain, then at Colchester. They went on to destroy London and Verulamium (St Albans).
Thousands were killed. Finally, Boudicca was defeated by a Roman army led by Paulinus. Many Britons were killed and Boudicca is thought to have poisoned herself to avoid capture.
The site of the battle, and of Boudicca’s death, are unknown.

Professor Fulford said that in excavations at Silchester they had found evidence of a major military occupation at Calleva (now called Silchester) in 40 AD, then destruction between 60 and 80 AD, including wells that were filled in at this time and burned buildings.
“The settlement is completely wiped out somewhere between 60 AD and 80 AD, and it starts again in 70 AD,” he said.
Although Calleva is not mentioned in historical sources concerning Boudicca, it is known that she waged war at St Albans and London, just 50 mile away.
“Winchester became an important military location for the Romans and so was Silchester,” said Professor Fulford, urging more people interested in Roman history to learn about the site.
“There’s more to see at Silchester than there is at Winchester.”
The University of Reading’s Department of Archaeology has been excavating and researching a central area of Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester) since 1997.

via BBC – Excavations near Reading show evidence of Boudicca.

FWIW, one of the proposed sites (which has been in the news) for Boudicca’s final battle is Rugby …

More previous coverage:

Roman Temple in Southwell (Iterum)

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

This one seems to be making the rounds again:

Remains unearthed in Nottinghamshire could be an unknown Roman temple, archaeologists have claimed.

Excavations on the Minster C of E School site in Southwell between September 2008 and May 2009 revealed walls, ditches and ornate stones.

The team analysing the finds said the shape and quality of the remains suggest it could have been an important place of worship.

This could mean Southwell enjoyed a high status Roman Britain, they added.

A wall of large block masonry that was probably plastered and possibly painted, with a ditch that may have contained water, was possibly the boundary of a large temple.

Roman pilgrims

The remains of timber scaffolding for the wall were also uncovered. Radiocarbon dating of this dated it to the first century.

Ursilla Spence from Nottinghamshire County Council, the archaeologist who supervised the work, said a lack of domestic remains, like pots and tools, also indicated a ceremonial use.

“This is a fascinating site,” she said. “But, so far, it has raised more questions than it has answered.

“I hope that future excavation work, when the site is developed, will throw more light on exactly what was going on here 2,000 years ago.

“But, whatever we might find in future, I believe we have already shown that Roman Southwell was a much more significant place than anyone previously thought.”

She added that if the site was a temple, a nearby ‘villa’ with mosaics, excavated in 1959, could actually have been a hotel for pilgrims.

The site is expected to be developed for housing and further excavation would take place during the building work.

via BBC News – Remains in Southwell ‘could be Roman temple’.

We first mentioned this back in December of 2008 (Roman Complex from Notts) and Adrian Murdoch (who mentioned on Twitter this was an “old story” was blogging about that one even before that (Roman temple at Southwell, Notts). It really doesn’t seem like there’s anything new here and it doesn’t appear that the relevant excavators’ website has been updated in a long time either.

Roman Altar Stones from Musselburgh

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment
Drem
Image via Wikipedia

Interesting item from the BBC:

Roman altar stones dating back almost 2000 years have been found at a cricket pavilion in Musselburgh, East Lothian.

The stones have been described as the most significant find of their kind in the past 100 years.

Renovations were planned at the pavilion but archaeologists had to survey the protected building before work could begin.

Their unearthing of the stones and other artefacts has postponed the planned developments on the pavilion.

George Findlater, senior inspector of ancient monuments at Historic Scotland, said: “The stones have carvings and quite possibly inscriptions which can have a wealth of information on them, a lot of data about the people and their religion at that time.”

At least one of the altars is from the 2nd Century and is dedicated to the Roman God Jupiter.

Councillor Paul McLennan, cabinet member for community wellbeing at East Lothian Council, said: “The discovery of these remains is particularly exciting as it is not often that Roman altar stones are discovered during an archaeological excavation in Scotland.

“This helps with the emerging picture of life in and around the Roman fort at Inveresk during the second century.”

via Roman altar stones unearthed at Scottish cricket ground | BBC News .

Looking For Roman Lincoln

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

Work has begun on a new archeological dig in Lincoln, which could reveal more about the city’s rich Roman heritage.

Excavation at the site, whose exact location is being kept a secret to deter looters, is currently underway, and is expected to take place for around eight weeks. It is being reported that evidence of Roman walls have already been discovered.

The Romans conquered the Lincoln area of Britain in AD 48, and shortly afterwards built a legionary fortress high on a hill overlooking what is now the Brayford Pool.

The popularity of the city during the Roman occupation of Britain means that reported discoveries of artefacts and burial sites are no longer uncommon.

Dr Mick Jones, the city archeologist at the City of Lincoln Council, said that he expected the dig to uncover evidence of a Roman farm of villa.

“The building of the A46 by-pass in the 1980s revealed part of a Roman wall foundation, as well as some burials, suggesting a Roman estate with its own burial ground,” he explained.”Based on Lincoln’s rich history, the City of Lincoln Council employs an archeologist to advise on matters such as this,” he said.

“I advised that archeological investigations take place on part of the site before development began. This is so that any remains on the site are recorded before they are destroyed, and we thereby add to the information we already have about Lincoln’s archeology.

“There have been countless excavations in Lincoln, especially since the increased scale of development from the 1960s.”

via New archaeological dig to uncover Lincoln’s Roman artefacts – Echo..