UNIVERSITY OF LANCASTER ARCHAEOLOGY FORUM. 5 March 2011

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1 UNIVERSITY OF LANCASTER CENTRE FOR NORTH-WEST REGIONAL STUDIES ARCHAEOLOGY FORUM 5 March 2011 Feeding the military masses: How did northern Britain cope with the Roman army? Sue Stallibrass Whilst we shall never know exactly how many soldiers were stationed precisely where at any particular point in time, it is clear that tens of thousands of men were stationed in northern Britain during the period from c 60 70AD until AD 410. Presumably, they ate their way through large quantities of food but, since they were not farmers themselves, where did their food come from? This paper looks at some of the environmental evidence of food eaten at military sites in northern Britain, including Ribchester and Carlisle. It then goes on to consider other methods we might use to find out: how the Roman army obtained its food at the edge of empire, who was engaged in making it, and how the military diet related to that of civilians. It ends with some speculative thoughts on the effects of urbanisation and colonialism, and on the northsouth divide. Lancaster s Young Archaeologists Club, Dot Boughton and Lisa Keys (Leaders) Since the launch of Lancaster s Young Archaeologists Club in July 2007, the club has been going strong and that it is still a much needed (and much loved!) club proves that, in March 2011, we are still up and running, with a healthy membership of 31. In the past four years the membership has always been around about 30 members with c members turning up for the

2 individual monthly meetings. We meet between pm on the third Saturday of every month in Lancaster City Museum s education room and both Lisa and I would like to thank Lancaster City Museum at this point for their ongoing support. Without this wonderful venue and the support of City Museum staff, the club would most certainly not have been as successful! To be honest, nothing much has changed since we started the club four years ago: Lisa and I are still the two main leaders and we run the club with a small team of four assistant leaders who turn up for almost every session. All of us are volunteers and our club is a part of the national YAC network which is made up of over 70 Young Archaeologists Clubs. Being part of a bigger network is fantastic it means that we can provide First Aidtrained leaders, insurance for any accidents that might happen as well as expert advice if needed. We prepare all of the sessions ourselves, but we do get a lot of input from the club members and try to think of activities and crafts that match their interests. That s why our programme usually ranges from Stone Age to World War II. Geographically, we have so far covered the archaeology and history of Europe, Africa and the Far East. Lisa and I usually lead the sessions that we are most comfortable with and if we feel that we cannot provide the needed expertise, we invite other archaeologists or re-enactors in to help us out. Basically, we try to provide sessions which are both enjoyable and stimulating for the club members (it s not school but it s not a playgroup, either!). Even though all the sessions are very different when it comes to the activities and crafts, there is one thing that we have been working on ever since we started the club: Lancaster s Roman Bath House. We adopted the site in 2008 as our site and we have been monitoring it ever since. The club members feel responsible for the bath house and they want to see it being looked after by the council. This was one of the reasons why we picked archaeological finds from the Bath House when we put together our entry for the national Young Archaeologist of the Year (Group) Award 2008 and we were very pleased when we actually won it! Having won this award means that now, Lancaster s Bath House is back in the focus of the council and last year, they decided to put

3 some money aside for some much-needed improvement of the site. We are very pleased that currently, new surveillance is being installed; the grass will be mowed when the weather improves and a new Bath House panel is being made! Our YAC members can be proud of themselves! The Roman Extramural Settlement at Brougham: Excavations John Zant In , Oxford Archaeology North excavated on the route of a new pipeline running south and south-east of the Roman fort at Brougham, near Penrith. The work revealed important evidence of the extramural settlement south of the fort, focused on a road leading from the fort s south gate. Activity became less intensive away from the road, where the remains of a predominantly agricultural landscape was recorded. Several cremation burials were also excavated to the north-east of the fort. These formed part of a third-century cremation cemetery that had been extensively investigated in In view of its strategic position, the fort at Brougham has been thought of as an early, Conquest-period foundation. However, there is currently very little evidence for activity on or near the site of the visible fort in the late first/second centuries AD, a fact highlighted by the excavations, which demonstrated that the southern extramural settlement was not established before the early third century. Consequently, questions are beginning to emerge about the supposed early date of the known fort, and it is conceivable that the presumed early fort(s) are located on a different site. Evidence for post-roman activity was extremely limited, but a few handmade pottery sherds provided tantalising evidence for activity in the early medieval period, perhaps during the seventh-eighth centuries AD. A feature resembling the early medieval sunkenfloored buildings excavated at Fremington, 1km south of Brougham, was found at the eastern end of the excavation, but confirmation of its date is still awaited.

4 Baths and bathing in Roman Chester - David Mason Bath-buildings are one of the most iconic architectural and social features of Roman civilisation. In a military context they were provided by the authorities to ensure good hygiene among the troops and thus minimise the risk of reduced fighting capability caused by disease and infections. But they were more than simply a place to cleanse the body. They were also a sports, recreation and social centre, much like the leisure centres so common in our own time. The extensive bath-buildings provided at legionary fortresses like Chester were among the forerunners of the great imperial baths erected in Rome during the second century and were a proving ground for many of the constructional and other innovations subsequently introduced into urban baths. In many ways these complexes were the technological marvel of their age demonstrating Roman mastery of architecture, structural engineering, water management and thermo-dynamics. Despite being buried beneath a modern city, and having suffered from the ravages of redevelopment, we nonetheless possess considerable information about the bathing complexes of Deva Victrix. The principal bath-building (thermae) occupied the whole of the insula beside the south gate immediately east of the via praetoria (Bridge Street). Most of our information comes from two phases of urban redevelopment; the first in 1863 and the second exactly a century later in The degree of preservation found on this second occasion was quite remarkable, including walls standing to a height of 13ft (4m) or more, intact hypocaust systems extending over large areas, mosaic flooring, and even large sections of collapsed roofing-vault. Sadly only the briefest and most cursory form of investigation was permitted and the magnificent remains of this majestic building, which could have become a major cultural and tourism asset for the city, were ripped apart and carted off for use as landfill and levelling material. Not all was lost however as a considerable amount of information was recorded in the teeth of the bulldozers. Analysis of this and earlier discoveries has made it possible to construct a cogent interpretation of the entire building (report published 2005 in Chester Archaeology s monograph series). Chester was unusual in having two bath-buildings inside the fortress. The second was a much smaller example, situated beside the enigmatic Elliptical Building. Nearly all of this building

5 was excavated under rather more favourable circumstances in 1968/9. However, once again it was completely destroyed to make way for underground car-parking. In the civil settlement surrounding the fortress there is evidence for no fewer than four further bath-buildings. One of these, of which only a fragment has been seen, stood on a terrace beside the river Dee immediately south of the amphitheatre. Another was attached to the mansio (lodging-house for officials) south of the fortress. A third, more perhaps of a bathing-suite than a freestanding bathbuilding, occupied a position on the river-cliff overlooking the Roman harbour area - now the Roodee racecourse. The fourth and by far the largest bathing complex (larger even than the great thermae inside the fortress), lay on the north side of the road leading down to the harbour (now Lower Watergate Street). This part of the city is notable for its delightful and listed Georgian terraces although this has meant opportunities for investigating the building whose impressive remains (mosaic floors, hypocausts, colonnades) their construction partially revealed in 1778/9 have been rather restricted. However, excavation in 1989 confirmed suspicions that these were the remains of a baths complex which other evidence suggests extended over an area measuring a minimum of 315ft (95m) north-south by 350ft (105m) east-west. A Celebration of Community Archaeology in Greater Manchester Norman Redhead This presentation will give an overview of the many community archaeology projects that have taken place in Greater Manchester over the last ten years, which have involved many thousands of school children and adults in exploring, enjoying and understanding their local heritage. It will demonstrate the extraordinary variety of those projects and examine their character, funding, management and legacy. The creation and function of the Greater Manchester Archaeology Federation will be explained and there will be an assessment of future potential and challenges. An account will be given of the Greater Manchester Archaeology Unit s role in promoting community engagement through the planning process, and the opportunities provided by Planning Policy Statement No. 5.

6 Lancaster's Lost Observatory Peter Wade A set of foundations on a heavily wooded hill top in the south western part of Williamson Park, Lancaster are all that now remain of a public astronomical observatory. The Greg Observatory housed a telescope which had belonged to John Greg of Escowbeck, Caton. Greg, one of the sons of Samuel Greg, managed Low Mill at Caton as one of the satellite mills of Quarry Bank Mill at Styal in Cheshire. During Greg s time, the business expanded into Lancaster taking in the two Moor Lane mills adjoining the canal. The observatory opened in 1892 and for many years was also the site of Lancaster s weather station. The observatory was available for use by the general public and for private study. Its use to observe the total eclipse of the Sun in 1927 was however to be frustrated. In 1939 responsibility for the day to day operation of the observatory passed to the Grammar School but mechanical problems forced the observatory s closure in Since then the story of the observatory has remained of interest and is the subject of an annual guided walk in the park.

7 Moseley Heights ring cairn Rick Peterson Moseley Heights ring cairn was partially excavated by Walter Bennett and the Burnley Historical Society in The cairn was dug as a rescue excavation in advance of open cast mining which was thought likely to destroy the monument. In the event the open cast pit stopped just short of the cairn site. Excavations by the University of Central Lancashire in 2009 and 2010 have attempted to understand the cairn in its wider landscape setting but also to see what survived of the site. Our excavations established that, although the cairn had not been quarried away in the 1950s, it had been very heavily damaged. Bennett s finds and archive material have therefore become even more valuable. The human remains from the 1950 excavations have been reanalysed and the stone tools and pottery are also in the process of being re-studied. Results from the two seasons of excavation have been brought together with archive material from Bennett s work to provide a more complete picture of the monument and its use in the Early Bronze Age. Lancashire Textile Mills Assessment Survey Quantifying the County s Greatest Heritage Reosurce Ian Miller Lancashire is pre-eminent in its industrial heritage, which may be considered to be of international significance. Arguably the iconic symbol of the region s industrial prowess is the multi-storey textile mill, which came to dominate the region s townscapes from the late eighteenth century onward. However, following the rapid demise of the textile industry after the 1950s, many of these buildings have been progressively lost through demolition and redevelopment. The need to at least take stock of the remains of this important built heritage before it was too late was recognised at the highest level in the 1980s, when a series of archaeological studies were carried out in Greater Manchester, East Cheshire and West Yorkshire, although Lancashire was at that time excluded. In the face of increasing losses of these iconic structures, Lancashire County Council, in partnership with English Heritage, initiated the Lancashire Textile Mills Rapid Assessment Survey. The principal research aim of the survey was to quantify and develop a database of the state of textile-manufacturing sites in the modern county of Lancashire. Oxford Archaeology North, based in Lancaster, was commissioned to carry out this major survey, which commenced in June 2008 and has recently been completed. This paper summarises the results obtained from this important survey.