The Archaeology of Britain: An introduction from ... - waughfamily.ca
The Archaeology of Britain: An introduction from ... - waughfamily.ca
The Archaeology of Britain: An introduction from ... - waughfamily.ca
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• 174 • Simon Esmonde Cleary<br />
this was not inflicted by invading <strong>An</strong>glo-Saxons, then<br />
responsibility shifts back to the Romano-Britons,<br />
within the context <strong>of</strong> the fall <strong>of</strong> the western Roman<br />
Empire. What <strong>of</strong> the archaeologi<strong>ca</strong>l evidence that<br />
Romano-British culture was already in marked decline<br />
in the late fourth century? If study <strong>of</strong> the<br />
archaeologi<strong>ca</strong>l record indi<strong>ca</strong>tes the disappearance <strong>of</strong><br />
a Romanized elite culture in the early fifth century,<br />
what follows is archaeologi<strong>ca</strong>lly near to invisible<br />
(Figure 9.10). What happened to the elite, and who<br />
or what succeeded it?<br />
As well as chronology-based problems there are<br />
many more thematic ones, <strong>of</strong>ten relating to particular<br />
classes <strong>of</strong> site or material. <strong>The</strong> neglect <strong>of</strong> mortuary<br />
archaeology for the Roman period has been remarked<br />
on, though this is now changing for the better. Also<br />
remarked on has been the relatively limited range <strong>of</strong><br />
approaches to the archaeology <strong>of</strong> religious sites and<br />
Figure 9.10 <strong>The</strong> Late Roman timber churches in the material. <strong>The</strong> increasing interest in the role <strong>of</strong><br />
forum plaza at Lincoln.<br />
symbolism must mean that new perspectives on<br />
Source: Jones, M., 1995. (ed.) Pre-Viking Lindsey. Lincoln: sculptural and other representations and on the whole<br />
Lincoln Archaeologi<strong>ca</strong>l Studies 1<br />
field <strong>of</strong> ‘art’ need to be opened up, since this evidence<br />
represents very directly concerns and choices <strong>of</strong> the people who commissioned or made it. Many<br />
commonly occurring classes <strong>of</strong> artefact such as pottery or glass are now producing important<br />
and fascinating information, but others such as brooches await elucidation. <strong>The</strong>se are just a small<br />
sample <strong>of</strong> classes <strong>of</strong> evidence that <strong>ca</strong>n still yield very valuable insights; it would be possible to<br />
repeat this exercise across the spectrum <strong>of</strong> Romano-British archaeology. <strong>The</strong> important message,<br />
though, is that a period that <strong>of</strong>ten seemed to have its evidence and its answers <strong>ca</strong>rved in stone was<br />
in fact as shifting as any other.<br />
THE WIDER SETTING<br />
Roman <strong>Britain</strong> <strong>ca</strong>n be looked at in two ways. One is as a short period in the continuum <strong>of</strong> British<br />
archaeology. This may be the right approach for projects at the micro-s<strong>ca</strong>le, such as field surveys<br />
and many ex<strong>ca</strong>vations, for instance at rural sites. Here the main problems lie in longer-term<br />
developments and perspectives, and the Roman-period evidence really makes sense only in<br />
that context. Alongside this tradition <strong>of</strong> insular archaeology is another approach which<br />
recognizes the fact that for some 400 years <strong>Britain</strong> was a part <strong>of</strong> a continental-s<strong>ca</strong>le Empire. At<br />
a very simple level, it is necessary to look at evidence <strong>from</strong> elsewhere in the Empire, in particular<br />
the western provinces, for such things as comparanda and parallels. Understanding the wider<br />
processes <strong>of</strong> change, development and decline <strong>ca</strong>n be possible only within the framework <strong>of</strong><br />
the wider Empire <strong>of</strong> which <strong>Britain</strong> was a part. In that way alone <strong>ca</strong>n archaeologists hope to<br />
appreciate and understand the impact <strong>of</strong> Roman on British and British on Roman that makes<br />
this period so distinctive.<br />
Key texts<br />
Esmonde Cleary, A.S., 1989. <strong>The</strong> ending <strong>of</strong> Roman <strong>Britain</strong>. London: Batsford.<br />
Jones, G.D.B. and Mattingly, D.J., 1990. <strong>An</strong> atlas <strong>of</strong> Roman <strong>Britain</strong>. Oxford: Blackwell.