A YEAR’S SPADE WORK

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 84, 3 January 1929, Page 3

A YEAR’S SPADE WORK

MORE LIGHT ON ROMAN ) ’ BRITAIN COMPLETE TOWN FOUND Two handsome official publications ’ issued by H.M. Stationery Office and - H.M. Ordnance Survey summarise in certain directions the results of research into the history and’ remains of Roman Britain. One is the beautiful volume on Roman London, in which all that has been recovered and all visible remains of the -structure of the Roman city have been set out in pictures, plans, and description. The other is the truly wonderful piece of cartography—the second edition of the map of Roman Britain. This map has been entirely reprinted and is if its colour scheme alone be regarded a beautiful piece of map-printing. But it also represents an enormous advance in the amount of information , conveyed. It covers a larger area (so that it takes in practically all of Roman Scotland), shows (in addition to what appeared on the first edition) the sites of “villas,” villages, miscel- ■ laneous finds indicating permanent settlements and inhabited caves. Important additions have been made to the road system, and the information given in the earlier map is now given in greater detail. Altogether it presents not merely an accurate, but a very convincing picture of the economic and social structure of Britain under Roman rule. The issue of these two valuable pub- . lications fitly closes a year of singular activity in archaeological inquiry, particularly by way of excavation. Quite properly the leading antiquaries believe in putting anything in the nature of inference and speculation to the test of the spade. So much is ' known generally of matters Roman that it is not expected that any future discoveries in Britain eAn make any ■ epoch-making changes in our general, knowledge of architecture, cities, forti resses, or social amenities, but excavation can always be throwing fresh light on details and connections and filling up gaps, while particularly it ’ can and does throw light on the relations of Roman rule to the pre-existing, civilisation in the country. Indeed, it Is in the opening'up of avenues .of knowledge of the life of the native population before and during the Ro--1 man settlement that one of the gieat--1 est attractions, of Roman excavation ■ lies. Schoolboy AV orkers. ; In the early part of the year Dr. R. E. Mortimer Wheeler announced a very extensive programme of excavai tion works to be carried on by various bodies and persons in many parts of the country, and the pages of ‘ AnI tiquity” and reports from time to time . of the progress of the various underI takings have shown how much has j been actually accomplished. . It is particularly interesting to note how. although the work in. most cases 1 ha. been supervised and financed by various scientific or antiquarian bodies \ or by persons interested, the actual : work has often been done by Univer- : sity students or even by enthusiastic schoolboys. But authorities and work- ' ers are very various. They include the I Society of Antiquaries, County Aichael ologicnl Societies. Excavation Commit- : tees «<? hoc. Town Councils, Universi--1 ties and schools. Part of the work ’ on the Roman wall has been done by Durham University Excavation Com--1 mittee: the Castle Howard explora- : tions by boys of Bootham School. ' York, working under supervision: and j some new- work at Hales, neat Market . Drayton— disclosing a Roman villa in , a part of the county where none was > previously known—is in the hands of i the North Staffordshire Field Club. - and the digging is done by boys of the ' Newcastle-under-Lyme Orme School. ’ The Year’s Work. ' A very rough summary of some of ’ the more interesting works and dis- ’ coveries may be attempted. It does 1 nut include all the areas of excava-

tions, or all (or even the most important) of the discoveries, but is compiled from the point of view of. the most varied interest: — Baldock, Herts. —Roman cemetery of first to third centuries. Three skeleton burials and ninety-three . other burial groups, with associated objects, making 343 burials discovered in three years. Charlton, Maekrell, Somerset (on the Fosse Way) .—Romano-British burial place. with la-20 rough stone graves (probably second and third century) discovered. ' Colchester. —Remains of large public building—possibly baths. Hales, near Market Drayton.— Discoveries suggest that the find is likely to be larger than a mere isolated Romano-British “villa.” Ipswich.—Roman villa. Kanovium (North Wales). —Interior excavation of camp completed. Evidences of first century buildings (with stone shrine), granaries, and barracks, with occupation from midfirst to end of second century, j Lydney, Glos. —Roman temple already known found to be on site of ' prehistoric timber structure. Otford, Kent. —A potter’s kiln of unusual shape found near the villa here. Coins and objects from about A.D. 37 to third and fourth centuries found in association with objects of B.C. periods. Oxfordshire.—A small town (25 acres area) near Bicester. Coins as late as fifth century found. Excavations here may throw light on native population’s occupation after abandonment of Roman .troops. Preston. Dorset.—A quarry find of 4,500 bronze coins. Wroxeter (Fourth Year).—Result is to open up problems not yet settled, but the discoveries suggest that a large part of the city has been already lying waste about a century before its final sacking. The skeleton list above shows how varied in interest and importance are the discoveries; how great a field for further light 'on Roman history is steadily being opened up; and how large has been the work done during the year. An Important Discovery. Two matters of exceptional interest may be mentioned. One is the recent discovery by air-photography of a hitherto unsuspected complete Ro-mano-British town (situation not yet announced) with its walls, streets and buildings, whose excavation when it comes will obviously be of great interest. '■The other is the fact that the stone huts of the village or town of Chysauster, almost buried in a dense gorse patch north-east of Penzance, have been explored by an officer of the British Museum. The result at present is negative, and work will be con-' tinned next year, but it seems not improbable that this work —vaguely spoken of as Early British —may prove to be of the earliest years of the Christian era. The expansion of cities and the building of new roads is also always liable to lead to unexpected discoveries, though, unfortunately, these tilings are also acting in the opposite direction to prevent discoveries in future, because of the covering of larger areas by buildings.