The Romans

The London amphitheatre

The Roman Amphitheatre has been discovered in London, right in front of the medieval Guildhall. Work has revealed not only the foundations of the amphitheatre, but also some splendid wooden drains. However the latest work, in what was the arena of the amphitheatre, has also revealed that a somewhat squalid late Saxon settlement. But is it just coincidence that the medieval Guildhall overlies the Roman Amphitheatre? Excavator Nicholas Bateman suggests that there might have been a Saxon palace in the vicinity. (CA 137)

London

A major Roman excavation is currently taking place in the heart of Roman London. This is at No1, Poultry, where Peter Palumbo has long wanted to erect a spectacular new building. However the archaeologists have been given £2million to excavate the site on condition that they dig down while the building goes up. The preliminary results have already suggested that there is a depth of archaeology, but this is a good example of just what is involved in a £2million excavation. (CA 143)

Tripontium

At Tripontium, Jack Lucas and the Rugby Archaeological Society have been excavating a Romano-British small town, a posting station on the Watling Street, and here we learn how they found a new fort, the site of the town hall, the Roman baths, and even succeeded in re-naming the local tribe, who now it appears should not be called the Coritani, but the Corieltauvi. (CA145)

Heybridge, Essex

Scole

Another Roman small town has been that at Scole, in East Anglia. Here a modern bypass sweeps around the town, and the discoveries included a temple, some interesting carpentry, and last, but not least, the excavation of what has been called the Scole Roman brewery . . . (CA 140)

The Piddington Roman Villa.

The excavation of the Piddington Roman villa is perhaps the finest example of a purely 'amateur' excavation - indeed I cannot think of a better example anywhere in the world.

The current big story is the discovery of the late Roman 'squatters' living in the ruins of the villa. The main villa was destroyed comparatively early - at the end of the 3rd century - but during the 4th century a number of 'family units' have been discovered, where squatters were living in the ruins.
The villa itself was quite a grand affair, ranged round three sides of a courtyard. Last year a second bath-house was discovered - quite a large one, possibly that used by the estate workers, while the family used the smaller bathhouse at one end of the main range of villa buildings. (CA 146)

The Crofton Villa

At Crofton Road, Orpington in Kent, there is a Roman villa sliced in half by the railway. Brian Philp and the Kent Archaeological Unit carried out a major rescue operation and then provided the site with a cover building at half the estimated cost. (CA 135)

A Roman village

At Charlton Down on Salisbury Plain one of the largest Romano-British villages known has recently been surveyed by the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments. It lies in the middle of the impact zone of the army training area, where since 1894 more 4 million shells have rained down on it. Despite this, it is still better preserved any other Roman village site in Europe. There may even have been an aqueduct! (CA 135)

Roman fort at South Shields (Arbeia)

In the fourth century AD a troop of boatmen were transferred from the river Tigris in sunny Mesopotamia, to South Shields, where the climate is somewhat more temperate. The commander of the fort at Arbeia was determined to show the ignorant barbarians just how a Roman gentleman should live, so he built one of the finest examples of a classical Roman house yet discovered in this country. (CA 133)

The Hoxne treasure

A spectacular treasure of late Roman jewellery and coins was recently discovered at Hoxne - and splashed on the front page of the 'Sun' newspaper. It is the biggest hoard of late Roman gold and silver coins ever discovered ever anywhere in the whole Roman Empire, and there is also a fine collection of spoons and jewellery including a fine pepper pot. Catherine Johns and Roger Bland of the British Museum here provide a preliminary assessment of this fascinating hoard. (CA 136)

On Blagan Hill

In Wessex a late Roman hoard has been found on Blagan Hill: this appears to be a strong box of a late Roman official, which was buried and never recovered. Interestingly it overlies a late Bronze Age 'midden'. (CA 134)

Roman Reconstructions

Why are there so few reconstructions of Roman buildings in this country? David Johnson, one of the leading authorities on reconstructions has been looking at the situation in Europe and here he takes a colourful trip down the Rhineland inspecting some of the numerous German reconstructions. Underlying his description is a serious problem: are we being too restrictive, and too purist? (CA 143)

Roman baths

How do you stoke a set of Roman baths? Tony Rook recently spent a week as a 'furnace slave' at Xanten, in Germany, where there is a replica set of baths. Here, in an appalling display of most dreadful puns, he describes his experiences which he subtitles 'The Confessions of a Fornacator'. The word means a furnace-man, and should not be confused with a word with a similar spelling! (CA 135)

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