Category: Romans in Britain

Roman Road Beneath York Minster

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

From the Northern Echo:

A SOLID link to the real Roman past has been uncovered beneath one of the region’s greatest places of worship.

During construction work for a new visitor development in the undercroft of York Minster a team of archaeologists have unearthed an intact section of Roman road.

The road is believed to have been a backstreet, part of the old Via Quintana, which ran behind the Roman basilica on the site where the medieval Minster now sits.

The backstreet was used for hundreds of years and was frequently patched and repaired, falling into disuse at the same time as the basilica itself.

The Dean of York, the Very Reverend Vivienne Faull, said, “While it was not as grandly paved as the main streets of Roman York, you can imagine that this backstreet, situated as it was between the Basilica and the Praetorium, was exactly the kind of place where the real business of the Empire was done.

“It probably even witnessed the very first Christians on their way to worship.”

The development of new visitor displays in the undercroft has given archaeologists a rare opportunity to investigate York Minster’s earliest layers of history.

And the newly discovered section of road will allow further analysis of the remains found in previous excavations.

The lead member of the York Archaeological Trust team, Ian Milsted, said: “Before this, there had been no archaeological excavations at York Minster for over 40 years, so it’s a huge privilege to be revealing pieces of the past in such an iconic building, all of it contributing to our picture of life in ancient York.’’

The Roman road is one of the many stories about the Minster’s ancient past which will be revealed next February when the archaeological analysis on all of this year’s excavations is released.

Very Interesting Helmet from Kent

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From a University of Kent news release:

The department of Classical and Archaeological Studies at the University of Kent has helped confirm a helmet unearthed in Kent dates back to the 1st century BC.

The helmet, found in farmland near Canterbury in September, is made of bronze and was discovered alongside a brooch by an amateur metal detectorist.

Working with Canterbury Archaeological Trust, the helmet has been carefully scanned by archaeologists at Kent using state-of-the-art technology to help define the history of the object.

Using a high resolution contactless scanner, the team have been able to see small hammer indentations in the helmet. The scanner also produces digital pictures helping to reveal intricate details often hidden by colour variations on the helmet’s surface.

Dr Steven Willis, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology and an expert in Iron Age and Roman Britain, said: ‘We are delighted to be able to assist with such a remarkable find for Canterbury and the local area. Using laser-scanning technology, which has become an essential part of the conservation of objects, we have been able to analyse the helmet from a distance and unlock many details, such as the manufacture, decoration and use.

‘This sort of emerging technology allows the rapid production of accurate and high-resolution digital 3D models of archaeological artefacts, minimising the potential harm associated with the repeated handling of these often fragile objects. The technology also ensures any details potentially overlooked by the naked eye are also highlighted.’

‘The secrets of this helmet are only just beginning to emerge but we will know much more as the work progresses. More or less intact helmets of this era are very rare finds, one used as a cremation container, as with this example, is known from Belgium’, Dr Willis added.

Due to the discovery’s archaeological significance, which includes two prehistoric metal objects found together, the find has been registered under the Treasure Act (1996). The objects have been reported to the Coroner and will remain at the British Museum where a special report will be prepared.

Julia Farley, Iron Age curator at the British Museum said: ‘This is a very exciting find, one of only a handful of Iron Age helmets to have been found in Britain. In Late Iron Age Kent, it was not unusual to bury the cremated remains of the dead in a bag fastened with one or more brooches, but no other cremation has ever been found accompanied by a helmet.

‘The owner of this helmet, or the people who placed it in the grave, may have lived through the very beginning of the story of Roman Britain.’

It is hoped that Canterbury Museum will be able to acquire the finds so they can be permanently displayed in Kent. The person who found the treasure has wished to remain anonymous.

The release includes a decent photo:

University of Kent photo
University of Kent photo

There’s a similar (I think) helmet in the British Museum …

Roman Handprint from Teesdale

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ 1 Comment

From the Teesdale Mercury … pity no photos:

A major archaeological discovery was made in Teesdale after men working on a £1million spa found the remains of a Roman building – along with coins, pottery, glass and a roof tile with a Roman handprint on it.
The discovery was made by a construction team digging up land at The Morritt at Greta Bridge to install a green waste system for the hotel’s new development.
Work had to be temporarily halted while experts were called in to investigate the buried remains.
Barbara Johnson, the owner of the hotel, said: “One side of me is really excited because I’m absolutely fascinated with what we’re finding here but on the other hand I find it totally frustrating that these Romans are halting our progress.”
Since Roman times, the road to Scotland has crossed the River Greta before climbing the Stainmore Pass to Carlisle and this is not the first significant historical find made at Greta Bridge.
The Morritt is built on a Roman settlement and 15 years ago, when Barbara and her husband Peter were building a cottage on the site, it had to be placed on a “floating foundation” so it did not disturb the fort beneath it.
Following the latest discovery last week, archaeologists have been working to reveal the structure of a Roman wall and retrieve artefacts including coins, pottery, glass, structural nails and roof tiles.
Cath Ross, a Northern Archaeological Association project officer working on behalf of Teesdale-based Archaeo-Environment, said the find was rare.
She said: “We think the building we’ve found is possibly from the 2nd Century AD. It’s very interesting but possibly unsurprising. But it gives us a rare opportunity to excavate something of this quality. To find a Roman building is very rare.”
One of the roof tiles found in the dig has a Roman handprint on it – which experts believe could be the trademark of the builder who laid it.
Ms Ross also believes the building may have had underfloor heating because of the discolouration of the bricks and a gap left between the top layer of slabs and those underneath.
As well as discovering the wall, which is mainly intact, a further dig has also revealed a 200-year-old turnpike road, where tolls would have been collected. It was found under just 40 centimetres of Tarmac. Mrs Johnson said that while the finds were exciting, they have caused a headache because the opening of the £1million Garage Spa is so near.
Costs involved in the excavation of the Roman wall will have to be paid by the Johnsons and the job could set them back up to £40,000.
She said: “I understand what they have to do but I can’t not open. I’ve got people booked in, I’ve got the press coming and a VIP night planned. I’ve also got new staff sorted.”
A green waste bio unit will now be installed on another part of the Morritt’s grounds and the new spa’s opening will go ahead as planned at the end of the month.
The turnpike road and Roman remains are being documented and photographed before being covered up again.
Mrs Johnson plans to display the artefacts in the hotel, along with other treasures found 15 years ago.

I think this is the first ‘handprint’ we’ve mentioned in these pages … we did do a thing on footprints a while back (Footprints in the … Well, Lots of Stuff … some of the photos have ‘expired’ alas) and a bit later we read of one from Caerleon (For the Footprint Fans). Would have been nice to have a photo of this one …

Roman Burials from Somerset

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From the BBC:

A Roman cemetery containing several human burials has been found during work on a new water mains in Somerset.

The finds were made by archaeologists during the laying of a four-mile (7km) long mains between Banwell and Hutton.

Among the skeletons, which have been exhumed for further study, there was one in a partially-preserved coffin.

A Bristol Water spokesman said the excavation had been described as “potentially the most important for 100 years in North Somerset”.

The cemetery was discovered “isolated from the surrounding landscape” in a curved water-filled ditch.

Roman cemeteries, according to Neil Shurety from Border Archaeology, are generally sited outside settlements and away from areas of human habitation.

Pottery and brooches

“In this case, the cemetery is evidently associated not with a town but with a villa site and it could thus represent a private burial ground serving a wealthy landowner and his immediate family,” he said.

The human remains were orientated north-south “with the head to the north, which suggests a pre-Christian burial practice,” said Mr Shurety.

“One of these individuals seems to lie within a partially-preserved wooden coffin – constructed from timber planking,” he added.

He said the site provided evidence of a “landscape almost continually in use for the last 5,000 years”.

“It covers a period ranging from an intriguing prehistoric timber structure to a Roman cemetery and defensive ditches through medieval land management features to today’s agricultural activity,” he said.

The finds, which include an estimated 9,000 pieces of pottery, brooches, a coin of Constantine the Great and a pin of Roman date are due to go on display at Banwell Village Hall on 19 November.