RomanBritainAssignment[1c)[1]

Jonathan Auty i7934415 BA Prehistoric & Roman Archaeology

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Roman Britain Assignment 1:

Dalton Parlours Roman Villa, West Yorkshire

Figure 1: The Medusa Mosaic (Wrathmell et al. 1990, p.147)

By Jonathan Auty

i7934415

4322145

BA Prehistoric & Roman Archaeology

Level H

Word count: 3.374

Pages: 13

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Contents

Contents page 2

List of Figures 3

a) “Briefly outline the process of cultural change known as ROMANISATION and 4-10

explain how this process affected the archaeological remains retrieved from excavations at Dalton Parlours, West Yorkshire”

b) “How could you interpret the changes apparent at your site from a purely historical 11-12 perspective?”

Bibliography 12-13

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List of Figures

Figure 1: The Medusa Mosaic 1

Figure 2: A map showing the location of the site in West Yorkshire 4

Figure 3: Villa structures recorded in 1854 5

Figure 4: Plan of Structure J 6

Figure 5: Room 2 and 3 of Sructure B showing the hypocaust system in situ and three 7 fragment of wall plaster found within it

Figure 6: Plan of Phase 3 of Structure M 9

Figure 7: Pugio (Roman Dagger) found at Dalton Parlours 9

Figure 8: copper alloy candle stick found at Dalton Parlours 10

Figure 9: Plan of the site with the roman features in Black and iron age structures in 10

Grey

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Roman Britain Assignment 1

a) “Briefly outline the process of cultural change known as ROMANISATION and explain how this process affected the archaeological remains retrieved

from excavations at Dalton Parlours, West Yorkshire (i.e. What does being ‘Roman’ mean and what specifically Roman things were found at this

site?).”

The Roman Empire was perhaps unusual in that it rarely imposed Roman ways upon its conquered territories but rather encouraged the spread of all things Roman throughout the lands it occupied. The term Romanisation was coined by the American linguist, William

Dwight Whitney in 1867 (Russell & Laycock 2011, p.17). Romanisation is a process of cultural change whereby Roman styles and culture such as ideas, language, customs, fashion

and objects were adopted at differing rates by different people, at various times, in particular geographical areas with varying degrees of success and uniformity. By its nature the process was both gradual and piecemeal depending to a large extent on an individual (or group’s)

exposure to Roman habits and the choices they made about which elements of ‘being Roman’ they would adopt.

Being ‘Roman’ could mean different things to different people but was likely to include some change in the homes and settlements people lived in, in terms of location, design and building

materials used, in the clothes they wore, the food they ate, the art and culture they admired and possibly in the Gods they worshipped or even the words they used for objects and places. In relation to the archaeological remains at Dalton Parlours, it is evident that, for its original

owners, at least part of being Roman was about living in a particular design of house –a villa.

Figure 2: A map showing the location of the site in West Yorkshire (English Heritage 2012)

Dalton Parlours Roman villa is located near the village of Collingham in West Yorkshire. It is the second most northerly Roman villa found in Britain to date (Ingleby Barwick, Stockton on Tees is the furthest north). The site (see figure 2) lies in countryside between the modern

day A1(M) and A58 Wetherby Roads to the south of the A659 Wattle Syke. It was previously occupied by an rural Iron Age field system, cropmarks and settlement which

consisted of ten enclosures containing eight roundhouses and three four posters for grain storage (Various 1978, pp.451–2). There is also an early Roman fort nearby that dates to c

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52-80AD which was built by the Ninth Legion and occupied by a vexilation of it; we know this from stamped tiles found at the site which were stamped LEG IX HISP (9 th Spanish

legion) and were reused on the roof of phase1 of structure M (Betts 1985, p.130). During the 3rd-4th centuries AD the site was occupied by a villa complex, once this went out of use the

site was later reoccupied by the Anglo Saxons.

Figure 3: Villa structures recorded in 1854 (Yorkshire Philosophical society 2009, p.277)

The villa has been excavated twice, the first time was in 1854-55 by a team of antiquarians

led by William Proctor and from 1976-79 a large rescue excavation by the West Yorkshire Archaeology Service was carried out. In between these two excavations the site had been

extensively ploughed, used as a tree plantation and suffered from mole hills and robbing of parts of the wall by farmers (Goodburn et al. 1979, p.288). Unfortunately it is likely that significant evidence of Romanisation may have been destroyed in the relatively recent past

due to the site being used for tree plantation, farming with the plough and deep ploughing during the 1960’s (English Heritage 2012) although there remain extensive finds of Roman

material from the site. However because of extensive damage to stratification, dating (particularly of small finds) at the site has proven difficult.

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Figure 4: Plan of Structure J (Wrathmell et al. 1990, fig.37)

The archaeological remains found at Dalton parlours from the Roman occupation of Britain consists of two wells, two bathhouses, several ancillary and agricultural buildings, a villa and

possibly a 2nd villa or building that was used for both domestic and agricultural purposes. There are several elements of the site plan which are typically Roman. Structure J has been

identified as a winged villa and consists of six rooms (see figure 4) it was investigated during both excavations of the site (Millett 1990). Its rectangular shapes and divisions into several rooms with apparently separate uses is evidence of the adoption of Roman fashions in house

building. Room 1 contains a corridor with an entrance into the villa; only two courses of mortared walls with dressed stones in them and an opus signinum floor remain –both floor

and walls are constructed of typically Roman building materials which contrasts with the wattle and daub and thatch construction of pre Roman structures at the site (Various 1978, p.452). The corridor contained a deposit of building debris which consisted of fragments of

painted plaster, tesserae, roof tiles, box flue tiles and sherds of decorated and plain 3rd and 4th century AD Terra sigillata (Samian ware). This reveals evidence of a number of new

elements of interior decoration introduced to Britain by the Romans including painted plaster and decorative tiled or stone floors.

Room two which is part of the left wing of the villa contained a tessellated pavement which was removed in 1855 under which there was heated basement containing a hypocaust system

(Yorkshire Philosophical society 2009, p.279); which has now been ploughed away and all that remained to be found by the excavation in the 1970 were some partial bits of wall, robber trenches, pila tile fragments and a tesserae. Room 3 is the central room of the winged villa,

which is rectangular in shape, in one corner of the room a mortared floor has been found along with fragments of wall plaster. The 4th room of villa in the right wing of the villa which

used to contain a hypocaust which has been robbed however the slots for the pilae in the mortared floor are still visible (Wrathmell et al. 1990, p.34). Underfloor Hypocaust heating systems were a typical feature of a reasonably affluent home and replaced the central hearth

and flue of earlier cultures in Britain. The presence of box flue tiles (Room 1) suggests that the new system extended up some walls of the building too. Some tiles have been found

along with a stoke hole in the outer wall for heating the room. Room five consists of an

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apsidal end to the left wing of the villa which contained the medusa mosaic (see figure 3) which was lifted in 1855 and placed in the Yorkshire museum (Yorkshire Philosophical

society 2009, p.273) (see figure 1). In 1977 the excavation defined the width of the apse and found tile fragments, bits of mortar and tesserae. It was in typical at the time in ‘Roman’

homes to use an apse to seat the family in a ‘separate’ section of a dining room and the fact that such a fine piece of decorative mosaic of Medusa was situated there might well support this theory. However Medusa was sometimes used to represent the Goddess Minerva and so

the room may have had a small altar to her and perhaps been used for a different purpose. Room 6 contains a basement which has been robbed of its hypocaust due to ploughing and

farmers taking the material for building walls.

Structure A which is one of the outbuildings went through two phases of use. The first phase

consisted of an aisled building held up by timber posts of which the post holes and packing have survived. During the second phase it was rebuilt in limestone and paved gritstone flag as

the floor. Two ovens were found in the building along with an oven flue, iron nails a white tesserae and a near complete Dale’s ware cooking jar. This type of cooking ware was only produced by a Roman pottery in the Yorkshire Dales and its presence together with the

sherds of other Yorkshire produced wheel thrown pottery found in structure R suggests that cooking utensils had been ‘Romanised’ in this home. Structure B (see figure 5) contained 3

rooms and it has been suggested that this may have been a bathhouse (Wrathmell et al. 1990, p.39). The first room has been almost ploughed away. The 2nd room had a hypocaust basement with a herringbone pattern running through the wall. The pila tiles survived in situ

with a few of the top ones suffering plough damage and a flue linked it to room 3. The third room was constructed from mortared walls, a flu led to a stoke pit outside for heating the building. A few of the pilae were still in situ in the opus signinum floor.

Figure 5: Room 2 and 3 of Sructure B showing the hypocaust system in situ and three fragment of wall plaster found within it (Grew et al. 1981, p.330)

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One of the most obvious signs of Romanisation in an individual’s home in Roman Britain would be the existence of separate washing facilities. At Dalton Parlours, structure E has

been suggested as a bathhouse (Wrathmell et al. 1990, p.279). It consists of a rectangular building with a hypocaust basement with a flue in one of the walls that connects to a stoke pit

and a floor above with opus signinum and tesserae. Roof tiles were also present with a well immediately outside the wall. Several other outbuildings have been found at Dalton Parlours such as Structure X which is terraced into the bedrock and consists of a sub rectangular

basement in which a quern stone, 4 beehive querns and a stoke hole have been found along with post holes for the timbers which would have supported the roof. Structure F has been

severely damaged by ploughing and a burned layer has been found (Wrathmell et al. 1990, p.59). Inside the building a flue was found that led to a kiln, also the remains of an oven was found along with limestone slabs as a rough floor surface on which there was a deposit of

building debris containing roof tiles, box flue tiles and gritstone slabs. There is also evidence of a possible partition of the room into two smaller rooms.

Three other outbuildings have been found which are structures P, Q and R. Structure P consists of a building with walls that are unmortared and single blocks of stone. Features

inside the room consist of an open hearth, a stone lined hole, a pit, quern stones and oven it has been suggested that it was used for threshing crops. Threshing was a Roman introduction

to northern Britain. Several artefacts were found during the excavation of structure P including box flue tiles, roof tiles, pila, iron nails and quern fragments (Wrathmell et al. 1990, p.62). Structure Q is ancillary building with a threshold stone at its entrance and dressed

gritstone walls. The building contains a T shaped kiln which is connected to a stoke pit by an axial flue and a quern has been found along with iron nails a fragment of painted plaster and sherds of 3rd and 4th century pottery. Structure R was built in a shallow depression is likely to

be a timber structure since 10 post holes have been found and have suffered from damage by the plough. A paved area has been found inside the building along with an oven, a flue for

heading the oven and sherds of crambeck (made in York) and huntcliff ware (made in east Yorkshire). A second well has been found behind structure M which contained environmental data and eight wooden buckets.

Another structure was excavated which may be another villa or a building used for both domestic and agricultural uses: this building is larger than the villa and is connected to it by

walls. Structure M went through 3 phases of building, phase 1 (250s AD) consisted of an aisled hall used for agricultural purposes which was supported by a double row of 10 timber posts, the post holes and packing of which still survive. Phase 2 (c270AD) consists of an

extension of the aisled hall to the east and the aisled hall being built in stone with a T shaped kiln, oven, stoke pit and flue at the western end. During phase 3 (c282AD) a suite of 7 small

rooms was added to the southern side of structure M (see figure 6). room 6 contained no heating, a floor consisting of limestone blocks and a deposit of building debris (Wrathmell et al. 1990, p.52). Structure M is built on top of structure Y unfortunately only the outline of

this building survives (see figure 9)

Room1 contained a basement with a hypocaust with a dressed gritstone wall. The hypocaust was connected to room 2 via a flue. Unfortunately the room above had been robbed and all that was found was a box flue tile, roof tiles and a pila tile. Room 2 consisted of a basement

which had it hypocaust pilae in situ and a flue connecting it to room 3 along with building debris of roof tiles and fragments of pink wall plaster (Wrathmell et al. 1990, pp.55–57).

Room 3 contains a hypocaust basement with a furnace that powered the hypocaust system in rooms 1-5 , the basement was in a good state of preservation with most of it pilae surviving in situ mortared to the floor. A flue connected it to room 4; a sherd of crambeck ware was found

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along with painted plaster and painted stucco. Room 4 consists of a hypocaust basement with an opus signinum floor above which was removed along with the hypocaust tile during the

1855 excavation. A flue connects it to room 5. Room 5 is the last of the heated rooms in the suite of rooms; it consists of a hypocaust basement with part of an opus signinum floor above

which was removed along with the hypocaust tile during the 1855 excavation (Yorkshire Philosophical society 2009, p.280)and all that is left is two pilae in situ at the bottom of the basement. Room 7 was an exact copy of Room 6 and contained a clay pipe stem fragment,

large tesserae tiles, a kiln and an oven.

Figure 6: Plan of Phase 3 of Structure M (Wrathmell et al. 1990, fig.50)

Due to the ploughing of the site several parts of five stone and marble pillars have been found along with several unstratified items including 87 coins dating from 198-370AD and a number of personal items including a silver spoon, 2 tweezers, an ear scoop, penannular

broach, a lorica squamata scale, a military belt buckle, a pugio (see figure 7), 2 javelin heads, 2 fragments of a saddle, a possible sword pommel, copper alloy candle stick (see figure 8)

and intaglio ring depicting a male holding a spear and shield (Wrathmell et al. 1990, p.84). These more personal items may when considered alongside the known history of the period, give an indication of how and by whom the site was used.

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Figure 7: Pugio (Roman Dagger) found at Dalton Parlours (Wrathmell et al. 1990, p.87)

Figure 8: copper alloy candle stick found at Dalton Parlours (Wrathmell et al. 1990, p.86)

Figure 9: Plan of the site with the roman features in Black and iron age structures in Grey

(Wrathmell et al. 1990, p.280)

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b) “How could you interpret the changes apparent at your site from a purely historical perspective (i.e. how and where would you place your site within

the established time frame of Roman Britain and how does an understanding , used?)”

The site is located in what had previously been the territory of the Brigantes tribe. Before the

Romans invaded an iron age settlement occupied the site. A Roman fort was built next to the settlement by the ninth legion which was in use from the c52-80 AD during the roman push northwards and the two Brigantian civil wars. The fort and settlement was situated in

between two Roman roads running from Ilkley to Tadcaster and from Newton Kyme to York to then connect with an extensive road network. The fort was situated on the northern military

frontier of its day which ran from Kirkham near Black pool via Blackburn, Skipton, Ilkley, Adel, Dalton Parlours, Newton Kyme, Tadcaster, York, Malton, Staxton and Scarborough( Bidwell & Hodgson 2009, p.9). After the fort went out of use the settlement continued to

exist until the villa was constructed in its place in c198AD. In northern England it is quite typical for Iron Age settlement to continue well into the Roman period without changing in

structure or use and just taking on a few Roman imports and goods.

The people who owned the villa would have possibly seen the emperor Septimus Severus in

York when he led his Army through on his way north to attempt to conquer Scotland from 208-11AD. At the villa, 87 coins have been found which span from the reign of Septimus

Severus to Valentinian (198-370AD) and interestingly enough there are three spikes in the coinage found which correspond with three significant events in the history of Roman Britain.

Phase 1 and 2 of the earlier villa (structure M) were being built during the crisis of the third century when from 260-274 AD Britain was part of the Gallic Empire which was a

breakaway part of the Roman Empire functioning de facto as a separate state. It was established by Postumus in 260AD in the wake of barbarian invasions and instability in

Rome and, at its height, included the territories of Germania, Gaul, Britannia, and (for a time) Hispania. After Postumus' assassination in 268AD the Gallic Empire lost much of its territory, but continued under a number of emperors and usurpers. It was retaken by Roman

emperor Aurelian after the Battle of Châlons in 274AD. The villa contained coins for all of the rulers of the Gallic empire (Postumus 260–268, Laelianus (usurper) 268, Marius 268,

Victorinus 268–270, Tetricus I 270–274 & Tetricus II 270–274 (Caesar, possibly Augustus 274)) (Wrathmell et al. 1990, p.77) and it may hence be the case that they were loyal supporters of that empire especially since the earlier villa went through an expansion at what

must have been for many people a time of instability and uncertainty. Certainly, the residents of Dalton Parlours appear to have prospered during the period.

The second spike is of coins depicting Marcus Aurelius Mausaeus Valerius Carausius; he was at the time in command of the Classis Britannica (British Fleet). He usurped power in

286AD, declaring himself emperor in Britain and northern Gaul and held power for seven years, before being assassinated by his finance minister, Allectus (Wrathmell et al. 1990,

pp.76–77). During this period the owner of the villa expanded his property once more and phase 3 of the early villa was constructed. It would seem that the owners considered themselves to be financially stable and presumably physically secure at the time which may

suggest they had chosen to support this latest would be emperor. The final spike in the coinage is during the fourth century shortly after the second villa had been completed which

coincides with Flavius Magnus Magnetius’s killing of the Roman Emperor Constans. Magnentius quickly attracted the loyalty of the provinces in Britannia, Gaul, and Hispania

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and proclaimed himself emperor and ruled from 350-353AD when he was defeated and committed suicide. The family may have been backers of his regime and following the

suppression of Magnentius' rebellion, Constantius II commanded an investigation be made to find his followers and there is a burning layer at the site which coincides with this witch-

hunt(Wrathmell et al. 1990, p.79).

It seems likely that the villa owners had some connection with the Roman army as several

items including the lorica squamata scale would indicate this. The latter was of a type used by either officers or the cavalry however, the saddle parts found were not of the type used by the

Roman cavalry which points to the possible conclusion that the villa owner may have been an army officer who on completion of his 25 years’ service had decided to settle in Britain on a parcel of land potentially given to him by the state. This theory is supported by the discovery

of the intaglio ring which is believed to depict Hercules-one of the Roman military gods. Given the relative proximity of the site to York it may have been that this former officer had

a business or perhaps a judicial or administrative capacity to exercise in the city and that the villa was used at weekends and holiday periods. The aisled hall in structure M may have been used as a basilica where the owner of the villa would hear cases that were about less

prominent crimes, dispense local justice, settle disputes, make decisions about tenancies and receive his supplicants to hear their complaints. The presence of extensive ancillary and

outbuildings suggests that some sort of produce was being made and sold at the site which was in the centre of an area of fertile and productive land - probably pottery, grain, bread and metalwork.

The difficulties with dating and stratification cause undoubted difficulties in interpreting the site further in terms of exactly what it was and how it was originally used. What is in very

little doubt however, is that Dalton Parlours was a site where Romanization was clearly in evidence to the extent that its results could be easily identified in virtually all aspects of

construction, industry and everyday life.

Bibliography

Betts, I.M., 1985. A scientific investigation of the brick and tile industry of York in the mid-

eighteenth century. Ph.D. University of Bradford. Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10454/2690 [Accessed March 12, 2014].

Bidwell, P. & Hodgson, N., 2009. The Roman Army in Northern England, Arbeia Society.

English Heritage, 2012. Pastscape - Detailed Result: DALTON PARLOURS. Available at: http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=54988 [Accessed March 7, 2014].

Goodburn, R., Hassall, M.W.C. & Tomlin, R.S.O., 1979. Roman Britain in 1978. Britannia, 10, pp.268–356.

Grew, F.O., Hassall, M.W.C. & Tomlin, R.S.O., 1981. Roman Britain in 1980. Britannia, 12,

pp.314–396.

Millett, M., 1990. The romanization of Britain: an essay in archaeological interpretation,

Cambridge [England]; New York: Cambridge University Press.

Russell, M. & Laycock, S., 2011. UnRoman Britain: exposing the great myth of Britannia, Stroud: History.

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Various, 1978. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, Prehistoric Society.

Wrathmell, S., Nicholson, A. & West Yorkshire Archaeology Service, 1990. Dalton

Parlours: Iron Age settlement and Roman villa, Wakefield: West Yorkshire Archaeology Service.

Yorkshire Philosophical society, 2009. Proceedings of the Yorkshire Philospohical Society, BiblioBazaar.