Roman Occupation Research Articles

Low Genetic Impact of the Roman Occupation of Britain in Rural Communities.

The Roman period saw the empire expand across Europe and the Mediterranean, including much of what is today Great Britain. While there is written evidence of high mobility into and out of Britain for administrators, traders, and the military, the impact of imperialism on local, rural population structure, kinship, and mobility is invisible in the textual record. The extent of genetic change that occurred in Britain during the Roman military occupation remains underexplored. Here, using genome-wide data from 52 ancient individuals from eight sites in Cambridgeshire covering the period of Roman occupation, we show low levels of genetic ancestry differentiation between Romano-British sites and indications of larger populations than in the Bronze Age and Neolithic. We find no evidence of long-distance migration from elsewhere in the Empire, though we do find one case of possible temporary mobility within a family unit during the Late Romano-British period. We also show that the present-day patterns of genetic ancestry composition in Britain emerged after the Roman period.

Investigating Holocene relative sea-level changes and coastal dynamics in the mid-Tyrrhenian coast, Italy: An interdisciplinary study

Understanding millennial changes in relative sea level (RSL) and coastal responses in stable regions is crucial for deciphering the intricate relationship between natural dynamics and human adaptation. This interdisciplinary study explores the interplay between mid-to-Late Holocene sea-level fluctuations and tectonic along the mid-Tyrrhenian coast.The study area, located between the Fondi and Garigliano coastal plains, held great significance in ancient times. In particular, the strategic role of Formia, a monitoring point for the Tyrrhenian Sea, made this city one of the most important commercial hub during Roman occupation, leading to a significant urbanization of the coastal stretch testified by well-preserved remains nowadays scattered along the submerged or semi-submerged coastal sectors.This study reconstructs the mid-to-Late Holocene morpho-evolution and RSL changes in the study area by creating a geodatabase made of 52 sea-level markers (SLMs) derived from direct geoarchaeological measurements, stratigraphic and palaeoecological interpretations of new borehole data, and previously published stratigraphic data. Specifically, the radiocarbon dating of three peat samples provided new data ranging between 7.62 ± 47 and 1.00 ± 51 ka BP on the sea level history in the area. Based on our dataset, between 9.0 and 8.0 ka BP, the sea level rose from −19 m to −6.5 m at a rate of about 15.6 mm/y, slowing to 0.8 mm/y afterwards, stabilizing at its current position. Results suggest that during the 1st century BC, local sea level was no higher than −0.55 ± 0.29 m.The collected RSL data support the hypothesis of tectonic stability of this sector during the last 2.0 ka, testified by the position of the SLMs in accordance with the glacio-hydro-isostatic adjustment (GIA) models and supported by the determination of average vertical ground movement rates of −0.017 ± 0.23 mm/y.Finally, in terms of coastal changes the overlay between new data from geoarchaeological surveys, reinterpretation of previously-published stratigraphic data, and geomorphological analysis allowed us to deduce a general coastal progradation trend in the historical time for both low-lying and rocky sectors, due to natural and anthropogenic forcing factors.

Meals for the dead: investigating Romano-British accessory vessels in burials using organic residue analysis

Accessory vessels, including platters, dishes, beakers, flagons, jars, and amphorae, are a common feature of Romano-British burials, raising questions as to their provenance; for example, were such vessels recycled from the domestic sphere or made specially for funerary purposes? Furthermore, uncertainty surrounds their purpose: did they contain foods for the deceased, possibly for their final journey to the underworld? Interestingly, organic residue analysis of vessels from Baginton, a site adjacent to The Lunt fort, Coventry, an early (mid to late first century) Roman military cremation cemetery did not yield evidence for food offerings and may have reflected the use of seconds or damaged vessels in burials, perhaps to provide a symbolic meal. In contrast, here we provide, for the first time, direct chemical and isotopic evidence for ‘meals for the dead’, comprising mainly dairy products, often mixed with leafy plants, extracted from somewhat unusual accessory vessels found in a small, enclosed inhumation cemetery, perhaps associated with a family group, which dates to the late (third to late fourth century, or early fifth century A.D) in urban Canterbury. Thus, we can confirm that accessory vessels found in later Romano-British burials were, in this instance, used in the laying out of funerary meals, presumably to nourish the soul on the journey to the underworld. These preliminary insights on vessel use and burial practices across the span of the Roman occupation of Britain thus provide a strong hint at the diversity of Roman burial practices.

In Search of the Romans: Sir Richard Colt Hoare in Wales

AbstractThe eighteenth century saw antiquaries taking an increased interest in evidence arising from the Roman occupation of Britain. Sir Richard Colt Hoare explored Wales. From 1793 to 1804, his tours follow in the footsteps of Giraldus de Barri. His journals describing the Welsh tours are known, except for the year 1804. These have recently been uncovered at Stourhead. The 1804 tour was taken ‘[…] with a view to […] exploring the Roman Roads and Stations through the Principality’. Colt Hoare's translation of the The Itinerary of Archbishop Baldwin Through Wales, a.d. MCLXXXVIII/by Giraldus de Barri; …, followed in 1806. Comparison of Colt Hoare's journals with his translation of Giraldus' Latin text, which is mostly silent on the Romans, shows how he uses the translation to privilege his observations on Roman Wales.

Irrigation network and watering system through the Lamasba document

Abstract: Following the Roman occupation of North Africa, their strategic objectives extended beyond acquiring fertile lands to encompass the exploitation of inland regions contiguous to the desert. This led to the displacement of local inhabitants, allowing the Romans to establish an intricate irrigation network, effectively controlling trans-territorial waters. To achieve this, they constructed water conservation reservoirs, diversion dams, and collection tanks. Subsequently, irrigation canals were developed to distribute water across fields, particularly prominent in the southeastern regions of Ouras (Algeria) bordering the Sahara. Remnants of these Roman infrastructural feats persist across numerous provinces, exhibiting remarkable diversity. Consequently, the Roman authority enacted specific legislation granting peasants and farmers the entitlement to access water for their lands, emphasizing the public nature of these installations established under the auspices of the ruling authority. This historical legacy continues to influence land use and water rights to this day.

Evaluating Roman influence in southeast Europe by zooarchaeological meta-analysis

This study uses increased specialisation in husbandry practice and the development of larger livestock as a proxy for spatial and temporal variation in Roman influence in southeast Europe. Data are presented from three regions subject to varying levels of Roman control: (a) the Balkan provinces, under long-term occupation; (b) Dacia, a province from 106 to 271/275 CE; and (c) regions beyond the Empire to the northwest and northeast. While little change in husbandry practice occurs during the early Roman occupation in the first centuries BCE and CE, clear changes are evident across occupied regions in the second and third centuries CE. A cattle-focused economic system develops, likely influenced by an increased focus on arable production, and a significant increase in cattle and sheep/goat size is observed. In the Balkan provinces, while larger livestock persist into the early Byzantine period, there is a decline in specialised cattle exploitation at rural sites in the late Roman period, and at urban sites in the early Byzantine period, concurrent with a decrease in Roman political control. In Dacia, in contrast, average livestock size decreases after the Roman withdrawal, while specialised cattle husbandry persists for several centuries. Beyond the Empire, specialised cattle husbandry is evident from the late Iron Age, but increases in the second and third centuries, perhaps indicating the spread of Roman influence beyond occupied regions.

Crop cultivation in the Talayotic settlement of Son Fornés (Mallorca, Spain): agricultural practices on the western Mediterranean islands in the first millennium bce

The Balearic Islands were colonised around the transition from the Chalcolithic to the Bronze Age, not earlier than 2300 cal bce and certainly much later than any central or eastern Mediterranean islands. The number of archaeobotanical records is low and consists mainly of cereals and a few pulses. We present here new results of our long-term study of Son Fornés, an archaeological site on Mallorca which was occupied since the beginning of the Iron Age Talayotic period (~ 850 cal bce) and until Roman times (123 bce onwards), in the Balearic Islands. In the Talayotic period of Son Fornés Hordeum vulgare var. vulgare (hulled barley) and Triticum aestivum/durum/turgidum (free-threshing wheat) were the main cereals grown and Vicia faba (broad bean) was the main pulse, while Avena sp. (oats) is considered to have been a weed but was nonetheless consumed and was probably in an early phase of being domesticated. For the subsequent post-Talayotic (ca. 550 − 250 bce), Classic I and Classic II, the Republican Roman occupation period (from 123 bce onwards) the databases are weak, displaying hulled barley as the main crop and broad bean as the main pulse. The archaeobotanical records of Ficus carica (fig), Olea europaea (olive) and Vitis vinifera (grapevine) represent wild or cultivated and domesticated forms. Prunus dulcis (almond) and Pinus pinea (stone pine) were found on Eivissa (Ibiza), pointing to a Phoenician introduction to the islands, while Phoenix dactylifera (date palm) and Castanea sativa (chestnut), found on Menorca, might have been brought in by the Romans. The number of crops being used on the Balearic Islands was limited when compared to sites of similar periods on the European mainland or the central and eastern Mediterranean islands. According to carbon isotope results of Δ13C, hulled barley grew under damper conditions than free-threshing wheat. The high δ15N values indicated that both crops were well-manured with animal dung during the entire occupation period.

Plaster – An artistic production in the Museum of Marble in Rance – Belgium

The origin of the stone industry in Belgium goes back as far as the Roman occupation. The marble industry, with the oldest pieces of testimony, goes back to the 16th century. The marble workshops were located in the South of Belgium and even at this period the main customers were abroad: France, Britain and its Empire, in the States… The realization of a sculpture in natural stone, as the marble, asks rigor and method in direct link with the material because each small modification on the marble is permanent. The plaster cast is used as a reference point during the work and allows the transfer from the model in plaster to the marble. One of the most important workshops in Rance, worked for years to answer to the orders of sculptures of customers from the different countries. Most of the plaster casts, in connection with the large past work were discovered (recently) and offered at the museum.

The Impact of Transportation on Pottery Industries in Roman Britain

Abstract The distribution of Roman pottery depended on the transportation system which moved it. Here we trace developments in these distributions during the Roman period in Britain to document how the transportation system developed and assess its impact on the island’s economy. We created a database with records from 775 excavations at 652 sites, and data on over two million pottery sherds. By analyzing the changing distributions of pottery from production centers, we are able to measure improvements in the Roman transportation system over time. These improvements seem to have been most rapid soon after conquest, with transport costs almost halving in the first century of Roman occupation. As the road network expanded and transportation technology improved and pottery gained access to wider markets, producers’ dominance over their local markets declined as rival products became more accessible, and certain industries dramatically increased their outputs. Production by small industries fell in our Middle and Later Roman periods.

Archaeological soil from Roman occupational layers can be differentiated by microbial and chemical signatures

IntroductionSoil at the Roman site of Vindolanda (Northumberland, UK) provides excellent preservation of wooden artefacts including Roman writing tablets.MethodsIn this study we examined chemical and microbial signature changes within varied occupation contexts of archaeological soil. Analysis included investigating elemental composition, sterol biomarkers, bacterial diversity and community structures from excavation trenches at Vindolanda using pXRF, GC-MS and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Samples were taken from varying depths starting at topsoil and working down through layers of Roman occupation including one cavalry stable floor, two infantry barracks and a cook house, and layers which contained Roman writing tablets.Results and DiscussionThe chemical results indicate that areas where wooden artefacts were found had increased soil moisture which was also correlated with specific chemical conditions including shifts in iron, sulphur and phosphorous concentration. Steroid biomarkers indicate the presence of faecal matter in layers, supporting occupation descriptions. Overall microbial diversity did not change across the depth profile but was correlated with soil moisture. Anaerobic soils associated with more optimal preservation differed to other soils with increases in Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Campilobacterota and Bacteroidota observed. Microbial community structure and putative function as revealed by PICRUSt2 is linked to occupation usage rather than depth of samples with laminated floor layers differing from turf structures. Understanding the complex processes within archaeological soil can help us to understand dynamics of decomposition and preservation. In addition, the apparent preservation of the environmental microbial community as well as the artefacts themselves allows us to understand the microbial environments of the past, how they relate to the present and what this means for our changing environments in the future.

A Quest for ‘Feminine consciousness’ in John Cowper Powys’s 'Porius'

John Cowper Powys’s last major novel Porius (1951) is a complex polyphonic narrative. However, its main concern is the spiritual growth of the eponymous protagonist. Porius matures through an increasing understanding of ‘feminine consciousness’, which Powys suggests is ‘deeper’than that of men and ‘contains a clue to the most basic understanding of reality’.  The novel is set in Wales in AD 499, just prior to the end of the Roman occupation, with a Saxon invasion impending. Powys began writing Porius in 1942, when Britain again faced an invasion,and he sees the twentieth century as a second Dark Age with Christianity being replaced by the worship of science and materialism, and Hitler’s Germany reflecting this trend in the extreme. Porius explores the idea that idea that evil originates from ‘some obscure struggle between men and women’ and Powys suggests that a bias toward ‘masculine consciousness’ leads to war, sadism, and violence.  The patriarchal aspects of Christianity are condemned by Powys, and he prophesises its replacement with the worship of the Mother Goddess. Mythology is a major element and the characters include King Arthur’s magician Myrddin (Merlin), his lover Nineue, Tennyson’s Vivien, and survivors of a race of giants. Powys’s ideas about ‘feminine consciousness’,were particularly influenced by C. G. Jung, various women in his life, and the novelist Dorothy Richardson, who represents for him an ideal of this consciousness.

Cattle husbandry in the Iron Age and Roman Netherlands: chronological developments and regional differences in cattle frequencies, management, size and shape

Abstract Cattle are the dominant species in most archaeological sites in the Netherlands during the Iron Age and Roman period. However, there are differences in the relative importance of cattle and in how cattle were managed. The aim of this paper is to find out which changes in cattle husbandry occurred between the Iron Age and Roman period, and whether these changes are related to introduced Roman practices. For this study, the Netherlands was divided into four regions, of which the northern region lies outside the Roman Empire. This allows a comparison of regions within and outside the Roman Empire and the potential identification of differential economic developments. First, we looked at diachronic changes and regional differences in the relative proportion of cattle compared to the other main domestic species. Second, data on slaughter ages were used to draw conclusions about the main product cattle were kept for: milk, meat or traction. Next, biometric data were used to investigate sex ratios of cattle, which – combined with mortality profiles – inform about management practices. Finally, biometric data were analysed using the log size index method to trace diachronic changes and regional differences in cattle size. A size increase and the growing role of cattle for traction and as meat providers in towns is also seen in other parts of the northwestern provinces. These changes can directly be related to the Roman occupation and the demand for meat and other animal products.

José Manuel Hernández Carracedo. La caracterización de Jesús en las notas del narrador del evangelio de Juan: Una guía de lectura para el relato

This is a slightly revised version of Hernández Carracedo’s doctoral dissertation written under the supervision of Santiago Guijarro Oporto and defended at Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, Spain. It focuses on the characterization of Jesus in the narrator’s notes in the Gospel of John. Using insights from modern linguistics, especially teoría de la polifonía del discurso (speech polyphony theory) and teoría de la enunciación (theory of written statements), Hernández Carracedo explores how Jesus’s being, relationships, and actions contribute to his identidad narrativa (narrative identity). After a brief history of research, the author selects the texts that will be the object of his study and explores the presentation of Jesus in the five main sections of the Gospel.His findings are noteworthy. First, the parentheses were intended to clarify the identity of Jesus, because in the first century this issue was the object of contradictory interpretations. Second, the narrator’s notes do not function independently of each other; they are all literarily related. Third, the parentheses have structural value: they signal major divisions in the text. Fourth, the evangelist has used notes to advance his larger purpose of presenting Jesus as the New Temple and as the one who reveals God’s glory to the world.The book is a clear contribution to scholarship about the Gospel of John, a model of close engagement with the text, and a fruitful basis for further studies interested in the theological, literary, and historical dimensions of this Gospel. Furthermore, the book includes interaction with a number of secondary sources originally written in Spanish that are virtually absent in traditional scholarship.Due to space constraints, Hernández Carracedo did not include a defense of some of the critical options that he has adopted. For example, he seems to share the view that the Gospel of John was subjected to different redactions by different authors and the narrator’s notes are evidence of a specific (and perhaps late) hermeneutical engagement with previous editions of the text. He also indicates that some specific sections in the Gospel are later interpolations (e.g., p. 316). The clear grammatical and theological links he has found between the parenthesis and larger themes in the Gospel might well point to a different conclusion, that the author behind the notes might not be different from the hand responsible for larger sections of the text.Similarly, it is not always clear how Hernández Carracedo moves from literary observations to conclusions about the putative early Johannine community. For example, he explains that the Johannine community engaged in controversy with other Jewish and Christian circles in the first century. Since the idea that a discrete group of Christians in the first century is behind the Gospel of John has been recently questioned by several scholars, the reader expects further defense of the traditional perspective and a clear explanation of how his literary and theological observations can help us answer historical questions.One of the ideas that Hernández Carracedo could have developed further has to do with the role of the narrator’s notes in highlighting Jesus’s move and engagement with marginalized areas in Israel. Given that this is a novel idea that is hardly ever found in so-called standard Johannine scholarship, the reader would benefit from a full explanation of how and why John uses the parenthesis to advance this theme.One of the findings of the book has to do with the use of the narrator’s notes to advance the portrayal of Jesus as the New Temple. Hernández Carracedo concludes: “This Christology implies a critique . . . of the traditional formal worship [in Jerusalem]. Now, the presence of God is found independently from a specific place” (p. 281). However, if the Gospel of John was written approximately two decades after the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, it is safe to conclude that he was not criticizing a practice that was no longer taking place during his time. If his temple Christology had specific contextual relevance, one can imagine that he was responding to the traumatic experience of living under Roman occupation at the end of the first century. The references to the Romans and Caesar in 11:48 and 19:15 might point to this larger imperial context.My hope is that this book will become further motivation for scholars working in the so-called developed world to engage Spanish-speaking scholarship. Traditionally, scholarship has been a one-way dialogue, where scholars who publish in Spanish engage German, French, and English scholarship. However, Hernández Carracedo’s book further demonstrates the need of more global and multilingual scholarly discourses.

Tuff, Flint, and Hazelnuts: Final Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Occupation at Netherhall Road, Maryport, Cumbria

Evidence for Final Palaeolithic and Mesolithic occupation at Maryport, Cumbria, was discovered during the excavation of Roman occupation features by CFA Archaeology Ltd. A varied lithic assemblage was recovered including worked flint (55%) and tuff (43%), with the rest consisting of a small amount of chert, chalcedony, and rhyolite. Early occupation, probably dating to the Final Palaeolithic Federmesser-Gruppen, is demonstrated through different technological styles among the lithic assemblage. Three phases of activity were identified from cut features and there was a significant amount of charred hazelnut shell, which gave radiocarbon dates centring around 8200 cal BCE. This site provides the first clear evidence that tuff was exploited directly from sources in the Central Lake District, possibly as early as the Final Palaeolithic. The occupation evidence also demonstrates intensive processing of hazelnuts centring around 8200 cal BCE and lasting for 150–558 years. The dates and occupation span are almost identical to those derived from the Mesolithic structure at Cass ny Hawin 2 on the Isle of Man.

English Landscapes

English Landscapes

Some Cultural Aspects of Romanization in Dardania

Romanization is an acculturation process or a mutual influence between newcomers and indigen people. This process was accompanied by various phases, including appeasement of the occupied territory, a number of political actions, including cultural and material, as well as efforts on the part of Romans to integrate local population. Of the entirety of changes represented in Romanization, this article will focus on the cultural dimensions in Dardania of such process. By looking at the changes brought forward by the Romans, we will try to investigate the cultural interactions, mechanisms and institutions involved, as well as understanding the nature of contacts and cultural transformation brought onto Dardania upon Roman occupation.

Silver isotope and volatile trace element systematics in galena samples from the Iberian Peninsula and the quest for silver sources of Roman coinage

Abstract Silver played a key role in the progressive monetization of early Mediterranean civilizations. We combine Pb and Ag isotopes with volatile trace elements (Bi, Sb, and As) to assess whether, during the Roman occupation of Iberia, galena constituted a significant source of silver. We find that the Pb and Ag isotopic compositions of 47 samples of galena from eight different Iberian mining provinces, many of them exploited during Roman times, are uncorrelated. This indicates that their respective isotopic variabilities depend on different petrogenetic processes. Moreover, the range of Ag isotopic abundances is approximately six times wider than that displayed worldwide by silver coins in general and Roman silver coins in particular. Although galena from the Betics provides the best fit for Pb isotopes with Roman coins, their fit with Ag isotopic compositions is at best sporadic. We suggest that, together with Sb, Bi, and As, silver is primarily derived from fluids boiled off from differentiated mantle-derived magmas. These fluids, in turn, reacted with preexisting galena and functioned as a silver trap. Lead sulfides with ε109Ag of ~0 and unusually rich in Ag, Sb, Bi, and As were the most probable sources of ancient silver, whereas samples with ε109Ag departing significantly from ~0 reflect low-temperature isotopic fractionation processes in the upper crust.

Innovation and Agency: To What Extent Did Cultural Appropriation Affect the Development of Jewellery in Britain During the 1st to 2nd Centuries AD?

From the Late Iron Age (LIA) to the second century AD significant cultural and technological changes occurred within Britain, commonly associated with the new relationship formed with the Roman Empire. This paper examines the jewellery of Roman Britain in an attempt to track the changes which occurred after the Roman occupation began. This examination aims to allow us to understand the true nature of the developments and how they could have been influenced by cultural appropriation. This paper argues that the Roman occupation acted as a catalyst for change, promoting the development and innovation of techniques, styles, and designs which were already established in pre-Roman traditions. As evidence for this, the pre-existing technical and artistic interactions with places, such as Gaul and Ireland will be discussed with consideration given to the persistence and innovation of already established pre-Roman techniques. A discussion of internal trade and distribution patterns in use prior to the Roman occupation is incorporated. These existing trends will then be compared to the development patterns which emerge during the early period of Roman occupation.

Regards des Africains sur l’impérialisme romain en Afrique

This article reports on the different positions of the North African peoples in relation to the Roman occupation of North Africa. Generally the presence of an imperialist power divides the subjugated people into two distinct parts : the protagonists who adapt to it to improve their initial situation and the opponents who, pushed by the nationalist fiber, do not intend to cede their heritage to foreigners. However, since ancient North Africa was not made up of a single nation, let alone a single state, to these two trends was added a third; a party indifferent to this domination.

Leask, Nigel. Stepping Westward: Writing the Highland Tour c. 1720–1830.

Leask, Nigel. <i>Stepping Westward: Writing the Highland Tour c. 1720–1830</i>.