UNIVERSITY OF LANCASTER CENTRE FOR NORTH-WEST REGIONAL STUDIES ARCHAEOLOGY CONFERENCE 9 March 2002 A Chairman's Reflections - David Shotter Over the past thirty years, this Conference has become an established and valued event: the variety of subjects covered has been enormous - from the Mesolithic to the Archaeology of Air Raid Shelters - and speakers have consistently included the best in the north. It has also covered a period in which, for a Romanist, exciting changes in thinking have occurred, stimulated by research-programmes and excavations which have been regularly reported to these meetings. We have seen our perception of the pre-roman Iron Age transformed to reveal the likely degree of sophistication and prosperity which existed in lowland areas, at least. We have also witnessed, through sites such as Carlisle, the Roman governor, Agricola, removed from the 'pinnacle' on which he had stood - that of conqueror of the north - to the position of being just one of a number of distinguished Roman governors who contributed, between the late-60s and the early 120s, to the conquest and consolidation of the region. We have watched the perception of the Roman frontier evolve - new ideas on the chronology and development of the Stanegate and the revelation of the Trajanic and Hadrianic coastal defences in Solway - as well as the emergence of new thinking on the chronology and purposes of Hadrian's Wall itself. Attention has been given, too, to civilians - those who lived in the extramural settlements outside the forts and who serviced the soldiers in the forts. We have seen one of these sites - Carlisle - recognised as the urban capital of the Romanised Carvetii. We have also become aware not only that parts of the north-west were densely farmed during the Roman period, but also that a principal objective of that farming was to supply those who lived in the forts and extramural settlements with a variety of durables and consumables. We also now appreciate the range and significance of the north-west's industrial sites. In all, we have gained a new perception of the interaction of Roman and native in the region.
In conclusion, we have stopped thinking of the end of Roman Britain as a fixed event at a certain point in time, and have come to appreciate it as a process of evolution, in which some of the old remained but within which the Romano-British, as their ancestors had done before them, became 'different without knowing it'. Reconstructing Roman Buildings at Arbeia and Segedunum - Paul Bidwell Since 1985 Tyne and Wear Museums has undertaken five reconstructions of Roman buildings: the West Gate, a barrack and part of the commander s house at the fort of Arbeia, and fully-functioning baths and a length of Hadrian s Wall at the fort of Segedunum. Reconstructions on archaeological sites are controversial and have only been permitted at these Tyneside forts because of their urban setting and poor structural preservation. This contribution will explore the reasons why the reconstructions were built and their effectiveness in promoting public interest in and understanding of Roman sites. Their popularity with visitors is undeniable, but do they misrepresent or oversimplify the past? Do we know enough about Roman architecture on the Hadrian s Wall to justify reconstructions? Some of the types of evidence on which their design has been based will be discussed: it has an enormous range, from architectural information from the excavation of the reconstruction sites to studies of better-preserved buildings elsewhere, paintings and even some verse penned by a Roman centurion. Finally, some proposals for further reconstructions will be described. The Vindolanda Excavations in 2001 - Andrew Birley 2001 at Vindolanda proved to be an exceptionally memorable year, sometimes for all the wrong reasons. While the organization was fighting for its very existence through the foot and mouth crisis, the excavations went ahead, as planned, and proved to be a constant source of inspiration. We were back amongst the early timber forts for the first time in nearly a decade, and the extraordinary preservation conditions once again provided a unique insight into the Roman occupation of the site. During the course of the summer we examined the remains of seven successive buildings in an area to the west of the stone fort s west gate, and discovered unexpected primary fort ditches below them. One of the timber buildings proved to be the western range of a massive commanding officer s residence, partially explored ten years ago. The occupation debris produced a large quantity of leather goods and wooden objects, some exceptionally well preserved iron tools and textiles, as well as 52 writing tablets and a mass of other finds which included a centurion s helmet crest. Elsewhere on the site a small Roman temple was located and excavated a rare example of the Romano-Celtic variety.
The Bronze Age Flat Cemetery - Alan Lupton Following a planning application by Persimmon Homes Ltd for a residential development on land off Church Road, Allithwaite, Cumbria County Archaeology Service recommended that an evaluation of the site was necessary; prehistoric activity is known of within the wider area and a Bronze Age urn was reputedly found in Allithwaite village. The evaluation, consisting of a desk-based assessment and excavation of fourteen 20m x 2m evaluation trenches, was undertaken by the University Archaeological Unit, now Oxford Archaeology North, in February 2001. Except for Trench 1, excavated close to Church Road, all the trenches were devoid of archaeological features. In the westernmost 5m of Trench 1 traces of Bronze Age cremations were revealed. In March 2001, LUAU returned to the site to excavate an area of c 20m x 7m encompassing the western end of Trench 1. A total of 10 cremations were discovered, at least four of which were associated with pottery vessels, one intact. The results of the excavation are extremely significant within the context of the later prehistoric period in South Cumbria. The opportunity to excavate and record a Bronze Age flat cremation cemetery using modern techniques has provided important information about the period. Understanding Lake District Landscapes - Susan Denyer My talk will be based on survey work carried out by the National Trust over the past ten years in key valleys of the Lake District where the Trust is a major landowner. This survey work followed on from site specific surveys of buildings, archaeological sites, woods, nature conservation sites etc and aims to bring together, through on the ground and archival surveys, information to elucidate the way settlement patterns have evolved over the past 800 years or so. What emerges from this work is a much clearer understanding of the way valley communities worked the land and the way their interaction with the natural landscape has created a cultural landscape that has evolved slowly over the centuries but is underpinned by a strong, local cultural identity. This work is continuing and will it is hoped make a significant contribution towards the assessment which is about to start on how the Lake District might measure up to World Heritage criteria on Cultural Landscapes.
Late Prehistoric and Romano-British Settlement in the Mersey Basin: 9 March 2002: 29th Annual Archaeology Conference, Lancaster - Rob Philpott From the late 1980s research into late Prehistoric and Romano-British settlement in the Mersey Basin has shed some light on this poorly understood period. For the late Iron Age, site location is difficult, with no tradition of coin use, little durable pottery, and sparse metalwork. Other than hillforts with their prominent earthworks, which may not have been in use in the late Iron Age, most sites have shown up through chance discovery or aerial photography. A small number has now been excavated, revealing details of chronology and trade connections. A collaborative research programme on the port site of Meols, North Wirral has produced further evidence from material found during coastal erosion in the 19th century. Not only have Iron Age finds been dated to the period from the 5th century BC but Carthaginian and other coins indicate contact with long-distance trade to the Mediterranean. One of the exports of Meols was salt, probably as part of a wider suite of products of raw materials. Meols is one of the rare sites that can be seen to continue in use from Iron Age to Romano-British period, and new work has revealed mid 1st century AD activity, probably associated with the Roman army. For Romano-British rural sites, location is easier with at least a small amount of pottery, coins and metalwork. Aerial photography has produced fifty enclosed farmsteads in the region. Although the enclosure has increasingly been seen as the basic unit of settlement within the countryside, other forms existed; an unenclosed hamlet at Halewood had over a dozen buildings during its occupation. Excavation has produced unexpected military connections as well as confirming some anticipated patterns. Pre-Conquest Sculpture in North Lancashire - Ben Edwards Generally speaking, pre-conquest stone sculpture is a standing reproach to archaeologists. In areas where suitable stone is readily available, surviving pieces are not uncommon. What those pieces show is that there was a resident and stable population in the area concerned. What archaeology can do all to rarely is to back up that evidence with further information about the population concerned. What then can the study of the sculpture itself tell us? Before it can help to answer any questions, we must have some idea of its date. This is sometimes a difficult task, and is almost always imprecise. In a few cases it is possible to associate inscriptions with known figures, but dating is usually based on art-historical criteria, which are highly subjective. Nevertheless a fairly generally agreed chronology for pre-conquest sculpture exists. Once dated, the sculpture can give us some ideas about the relative prosperity of places where it survives; about the nature of the beliefs of the people who sponsored its production; about the methods of transfer of ideas
and designs from one place to another; and about possible organisations of the craft of producing it. Other ideas can also be deduced with varying degrees of plausibility. The existence of the corpus ought to stir us to further efforts to discover its economic basis. The Search for Liverpool's Old Dock - Jamie Quartermaine Liverpool s history was for most of its a life a small fishing town centred around the pool, a narrow riverine inlet, which gave the town its name. But during the seventeenth century it started to develop in a small way as a harbour, but could not develop because of the inadequacy of the anchorage in the pool. Then in 1710, at considerable cost to the towns folk of Liverpool, the worlds first ever enclosed wet dock was constructed within the pool. The success of the dock was considerable attracting substantial trade from London, Chester and Bristol and as a consequence Liverpool developed into a major city. The success of the dock was demonstrated by the fact that after only 100 years it had become too small for the ever expanding shipping trade; new bigger docks were as a consequence built out into the Mersey, the Old Dock was filled in, and a large customs house was built on the site. This talk is about an archaeological investigation by Oxford Archaeology North to rediscover the monument that was at the heart of Liverpool s birth as a major city, and which for many years had been presumed to have been destroyed by the combined ravages of development and Hitler's bombs.