The Material Fall Of Roman Britain 300 525 Ce

"An examination of the transformations in lowland Britain's material culture over the course of the long fifth century CE during the late Roman regime and its end"--

The enormous hoard of beautiful gold military objects found in 2009 in a field in Staffordshire has focused huge attention on the mysterious world of 7th and 8th century Britain. This book discusses the tumultuous centuries between the departure of the Roman legions and the arrival of Norman invaders nearly seven centuries later.

An examination of Magnus Maximus's life indicates that the Roman order survived in Britain for far longer than is usually credited, both politically and to a large extent materially.

Contributions by leading archaeologists and historians pay tribute to Paul Bidwell, admired for his ground-breaking work both in the south-west and the military north of Roman Britain. This collection will be essential reading for anyone with an interest in either the civil or military aspects of Roman Britain, or the frontiers of the Roman empire.

This book provides the first detailed study of the water supply of households in antiquity. Chapters explore settings from Classical Greece to the Late Roman Empire across a wide variety of environments, from dry deserts and moderate Mediterranean zones to wet and temperate climates further north. The different case studies presented in each chapter are united by three intimately interconnected aspects. The first, rainwater harvesting in cisterns, provides detailed techno-hydraulic investigations of the household water supply systems. The second aspect, households and water at the margins, stresses how domestic water supply systems were successfully adapted to unusually harsh environmental conditions. The third, other waters for houses, focuses on other types of water supply systems (rivers, water-bearers, stepped pools, wells) and their life biographies. As shown by the different chapters, a careful study of a household’s water supply is a rich source of evidence for understanding everyday decisions, anxieties, and changes in life. They also build towards a greater understanding of the social inequalities that are at play in the ancient Mediterranean and beyond, providing a wealth of new research to greatly augment our understanding of water as a resource in the ancient Mediterranean. Providing a new and important perspective on a central part of everyday life in the ancient world, this book is aimed at archaeologists and historians of the ancient Mediterranean, notably the Greek and Roman worlds, especially those with an interest in ancient households and water culture.

The end of the Roman period and the early development of Post-Roman Kingdoms are two of the most important - and most debated - subjects for archaeologists and historians. Questioning many current assumptions, this book presents a radical reinterpretation of Britain in the period 400-600. Drawing attention to far greater similarities between immediately post-Roman Britain and the rest of Europe than previously thought possible, it highlights the importance of fifth-sixth-century Britain in understanding wider themes regarding the end of the Western roman empire as a whole. A very wide range of archaeological and written evidence from the whole of Britain is discussed, rather than focusing on either Anglo-Saxon or Celtic archaeology alone. Burials, settlements and religious centres are brought into the discussion, alongside new material and more obscure data from scattered sources. The final occupation of Roman towns, forts and villas is examined, and post-Roman hill-forts such as Tintagel, Dinas Powys and Cadbury Congresbury is evaluated. Anglo-Saxon and early Christian cemeteries such as Spong Hill and Cannington are considered, and evidence for the earliest British monasteries explored. This book not only offers an exciting new interpretation of Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries AD but is probably the most comprehensive survey of the archaeological and written evidence for the period. It will be indispensable for professional and amateurs archaeologists alike and invaluable for students of British, Roman or Medieval archaeology and history at all levels.

Research for and the writing of this book was funded by the award of a Leverhulme Trust Major Research Fellowship. The period c. AD300—1050, spanning the collapse of Roman rule to the coming of the Normans, was formative in the development of Wales. Life in Early Medieval Wales considers how people lived in late Roman and early medieval Wales, and how their lives and communities changed over the course of this period. It uses a multidisciplinary approach, focusing on the growing body of archaeological evidence set alongside the early medieval written sources together with place-names and personal names. It begins by analysing earlier research and the range of sources, the significance of the environment and climate change, and ways of calculating time. Discussion of the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries focuses on the disintegration of the Roman market economy, fragmentation of power, and the emergence of new kingdoms and elites alongside evidence for changing identities, as well as important threads of continuity, notably Latin literacy, Christianity, and the continuation of small-scale farming communities. Early medieval Wales was an entirely rural society. Analysis of the settlement archaeology includes key sites such as hillforts, including Dinas Powys, the royal crannog at Llangorse, and the Viking Age and earlier estate centre at Llanbedrgoch alongside the development, from the seventh century onwards, of new farming and other rural settlements. Consideration is given to changes in the mixed farming economy reflecting climate deterioration and a need for food security, as well as craft working and the roles of exchange, display, and trade reflecting changing outside contacts. At the same time cemeteries and inscribed stones, stone sculpture and early church sites chart the course of conversion to Christianity, the rise of monasticism, and the increasing power of the Church. Finally, discussion of power and authority analyses emerging evidence for sites of assembly, the rise of Mercia, and increasing English infiltration, together with the significance of Offa's and Wat's Dykes, and the Viking impact. Throughout the evidence is placed within a wider context enabling comparison with other parts of Britain and Ireland and, where appropriate, with other parts of Europe to see broader trends, including the impacts of climate, economic, and religious change.

This book reflects on how people over time have viewed the abandoned Roman city of Wroxeter in Shropshire. It responds to three main artistic outputs: poetry, images and texts. It explores what locals and visitors thought of the site over time, and considers how access to the site has altered, impacting on who visits and what is understood.