Hadrian’s Wall in Context: A Multi-Proxy Palaeoenvironmental Perspective from Lakes

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-134
Author(s):  
Petra Dark
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Peat Bogs ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Wall Area ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Military Presence ◽  
Roman Military ◽  
Woodland Regeneration ◽  
Hadrian's Wall

AbstractThe Hadrian’s Wall area has more pollen sequences spanning Late Antiquity than any other part of the British Isles, but most are from peat bogs, posing problems of distinguishing between changes in the local wetland vegetation and events in the wider landscape. Here, an alternative perspective is offered by multi-proxy analyses of sediments from two lakes—Crag Lough and Grindon Lough—adjacent to the central sector of Hadrian’s Wall and the Stanegate, respectively. These demonstrate that at least the central sector of the Hadrianic frontier was constructed in a landscape already shaped by two millennia of woodland clearance, burning, farming and soil erosion. Roman military presence led to changes in agricultural and settlement patterns, but the overall impact, from an environmental perspective, was minor compared to that of prehistoric peoples. Roman withdrawal led to a relaxation in land use intensity, resulting in woodland regeneration on areas least favourable to agriculture, probably encouraged by climatic deterioration. The landscape, overall, remained predominantly open and agricultural, however, resembling that of the Late Iron Age. A multi-proxy multi-site approach offers the greatest prospect of understanding environmental and landscape changes connected with Roman military presence and withdrawal, and the varied spatial and temporal scales on which they occurred.

Beyond Hadrian’s Wall

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fraser Hunter
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Indigenous Population ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Military Presence ◽  
Hadrian's Wall ◽  
The Relationship

Britannia’s northern frontier varied considerably over the Roman period, stabilizing only in the early third century. This variation leads to a fascinating archaeological record of the changing Roman military presence and its relation to the local population. This chapter examines the local Iron Age societies, considers military aspects of the invasion, and presents a wider view of life on the frontier. It then turns to the relationship between the indigenous population and Rome over four centuries. Historical sources for conflict indicate an uneasy relationship, but archaeological evidence uncovers other aspects: Roman material culture found varied uses in Iron Age societies, while the long and often difficult relationship had a series of unexpected consequences on both sides.

scholarly journals Early human impact on soils and hydro-sedimentary systems: Multi-proxy geoarchaeological analyses from La Narse de la Sauvetat (France)

The Holocene ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (12) ◽  
pp. 1780-1800
Author(s):  
Alfredo Mayoral ◽  
Salomé Granai ◽  
Anne-Lise Develle ◽  
Jean-Luc Peiry ◽  
Yannick Miras ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Societal Factors ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Middle Bronze Age

We analysed the late-Holocene pedo-sedimentary archives of La Narse de la Sauvetat, a hydromorphic depression in the southern Limagne plain (central France), where chronologically accurate studies are scarce. The multi-proxy geoarchaeological and palaeoenvironmental analysis of two cores from different areas of the basin was carried out through sedimentological, geochemical, micromorphological and malacological investigations. Integration of these datasets supported by a robust radiocarbon-based chronology allowed discussion of socio-environmental interactions and anthropogenic impacts from Late Neolithic to Early Middle Ages. Until the Middle Bronze Age, there was no clear evidence of anthropogenic impact on soils and hydro-sedimentary dynamics of the catchment, but two peaks of high alluvial activity probably related to the 4.2 and 3.5 kyr. BP climate events were first recorded in Limagne. Significant anthropogenic impacts started in the Late Bronze Age with increased erosion of the surrounding volcanic slopes. However, a major threshold was reached c. 2600 cal BP with a sharp increase in the catchment erosion interpreted as resulting from strong anthropogenic environmental changes related to agricultural activities and drainage. This implies an anthropogenic forcing on soils and hydro-sedimentary systems much earlier than was usually considered in Limagne. These impacts then gradually increased during Late Iron Age and Roman periods, but environmental effects were certainly contained by progress in agricultural management. Late Antiquity environmental changes are consistent with regional trend to drainage deterioration in lowlands, but marked asynchrony in this landscape change suggests that societal factors implying differential land management were certainly predominant here.

Warriors, war, and weapons; or arms, the armed, and armed violence

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon James
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Archaeological Evidence ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Armed Violence ◽  
Roman Military ◽  
Middle Iron Age

For many archaeologists, the warrior remains a central icon of the European Iron Age, although warfare is largely ignored by others. This chapter critiques and contextualizes the notion of the ‘warrior’ in a variety of social contexts, ranging from middle Iron Age Wessex, late Iron Age Gaul and Dacia, the Sarmatian ‘horse peoples’, to the Germanic confederations of the Roman Iron Age. Considerable archaeological evidence exists relating to armed violence: weapons and equipment, military infrastructure, and pathological data, alongside iconography and classical texts. Some European Iron Age societies developed war-making capacities far beyond the Celtic warrior stereotype, with powerful and sophisticated armies, while mercenaries mastered Greco-Roman military practices. Other societies invested heavily in weaponry, but armed violence was probably largely interpersonal rather than intercommunal. The chapter seeks to develop more sophisticated ways of understanding the use of the sword, literal and figural, in the European Iron Age.

scholarly journals A multi-proxy Holocene palaeoenvironmental record of climate change and prehistoric human activity from Lough Cullin, southeast Ireland

The Holocene ◽  
2022 ◽  
pp. 095968362110665
Author(s):  
Kevin Kearney ◽  
Benjamin Gearey ◽  
Susan Hegarty ◽  
Suzi Richer ◽  
Carla Ferreira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Human Activity ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Vegetation Change ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Early Medieval Period ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Subsequent Step ◽  
Woodland Regeneration ◽  
Radiocarbon Chronology

A multiproxy (pollen, microcharcoal, loss-on-ignition, magnetic susceptibility and geochemistry) sequence from Lough Cullin, southeast Ireland, supported by a high-resolution radiocarbon chronology, modelled using Bayesian approaches, provides a record of environmental change for much of the Holocene. Following the establishment of mixed deciduous woodland, climatic deterioration was likely responsible for pronounced vegetation change and erosion, 7615–6500 cal. BC to 6245–5575 cal. BC, evidence for the ‘8.2 Kyr’ BP climate event. The so-called ‘elm decline’ is dated to 4220–3980 cal. BC and whilst there are possible indications of an anthropogenic cause, clear evidence of woodland clearance with cereal pollen is recorded at 3900–3700 cal. BC, 3790–3580 cal. BC and 3760–3650 cal. BC, during a period of clearance and farming of 320–450 years duration. A reduction in farming/settlement and woodland regeneration during the Middle Neolithic parallels the archaeological record, with low levels of activity during the Late Neolithic/Chalcolithic after 2960–2525 cal. BC, prior to increases during the Bronze Age then woodland clearance and agriculture between 1500–1410 and 1275–1000 cal. BC, corresponding with the archaeological evidence. A subsequent ‘step-wise’ reduction in human activity follows, from the latter date to 815–685 cal. BC, and a brief but pronounced cessation at 690–535 cal. BC. Renewed woodland clearance and agriculture commenced until 415–250 cal. BC. From the latter date until cal. AD 390–540, the Late Iron Age/Early Medieval period, a phase of woodland recovery is attested, followed by renewed landscape disturbance and arable agriculture in particular, continuing to the close of the record at cal. AD 780–1035.

Plant Macro-Remains and Traces of Leaves from Virje and Hlebine

2021 ◽  
pp. 212-226
Author(s):  
Renata Šoštarić ◽  
Tihana Vilović
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Foxtail Millet ◽  
Alnus Glutinosa ◽  
Late Antique ◽  
Panicum Miliaceum ◽  
Black Alder ◽  
Proso Millet ◽  
Late Iron Age

During years of archaeological research of mediaeval settlements and Late Antique and mediaeval smelting workshops in the area of Podravina, archaeobotanical samples were collected from the following sites: Hlebine – Dedanovice (H-Ded), Hlebine – Velike Hlebine (H-VH), Virje – Volarski breg (V-VB), and Virje – Sušine (V-Suš). They include fruits, seeds, and leaf imprints/remains. Despite the relatively large number of samples, only a small number of finds was found. It mostly consisted of non-carbonized plant remains from various species of weed and ruderal plants, that most likely represent recent contamination. Of the few carbonized finds, the most significant are the remains of cereals preserved in a rather poor condition: proso millet (Panicum miliaceum), foxtail millet (Setaria italica), spelt (Triticum spelta) and naked wheat (Triticum aestivum group), and fragmented and damaged remains of large-grain cereals (Cerealia). Due to the small number of archaeobotanical finds originating from the archaeological formations dated into the wide period from the Late Iron Age to the Early Modern Age, nothing can be said in more detail about the diet, agriculture, or other activities of the population of Virje and Hlebine during individual archaeological and historical periods. In general, it can be concluded, taking into account other sites from the area of Podravina (Torčec and Virovitica Kiškorija jug), that different types of cereals, such as wheat/spelt (Triticum), barley (Hordeum vulgare) and proso millet (Panicum miliaceum), formed the basis of the daily diet of the population of Podravina throughout various investigated periods, probably in combination with legumes, and that they were grown in the vicinity of the settlement. Finds of grapevine (Vitis vinifera) suggest that wine also had a significant place in the past of Podravina. At the position of Virje – Sušine, in Trench S-7, SU 314, a smelting furnace hearth wall fragment with a leaf imprint was found. The imprint most probably belongs to black alder (Alnus glutinosa) and dates from the period of Late Antiquity (late 4th/early 5th century). At the position of Hlebine – Velike Hlebine, in Trench S-2, SU 102, a partially fossilized leaf was found in the slag from the period of the transition from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. Since the sample was too small, it could not be identified with certainty.

Landscape history of the Oer-IJ tidal system, Noord-Holland (the Netherlands)

2015 ◽  
Vol 94 (4) ◽  
pp. 295-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Vos ◽  
J. de Koning ◽  
R. van Eerden
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Wadden Sea ◽  
Peat Bogs ◽  
River Rhine ◽  
Inlet System ◽  
Archaeological Heritage ◽  
Beach Ridges ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
History Of

AbstractThe prehistoric Oer-IJ tidal system in the coastal area of Noord-Holland, between Castricum, Uitgeest, Velsen and Amsterdam, was the successor of the Haarlem tidal system when this was silted up around 3000 BC and large peat bogs formed in the Zaanstreek and Haarlemmermeer areas. Since then the Oer-IJ has been the natural outlet to the sea, draining the peat hinterlands. About 800 BC the Oer-IJ system was connected to the fluvial system of the Utrechtse Vecht and became the northern branch of the river Rhine. During the Late Iron Age, when the Flevo lakes in the IJsselmeer region and the Utrechtse Vecht were connected with the Wadden Sea, the Oer-IJ lost its discharge function. The tidal area silted up and was closed between 200 and 100 BC by a barrier ridge. The settlement history of the Oer-IJ system and the archaeological heritage in the subsurface is closely related to the geological and hydrological development throughout the ages. The shape and location of the continuously migrating outlet determined the opportunities for human settlements and activities. The best locations were beach ridges, higher, silted-up salt marshes and marginal zones of the peatland. In the Late Iron Age the sand flats also became habitable since tidal activity had stopped. In the Early Roman period there was no direct connection from the harbour of Castellum Flevum at Velsen to the North Sea, but ships could navigate from the Oer-IJ channel between Velsen and Amsterdam, through the Flevo lakes and the Utrechtse Vecht to the Wadden Sea, and to the Roman border (Limes) along the Oude Rijn. Here the data used for the palaeogeographic landscape reconstruction of the Oer-IJ are presented and explained, and the most important landscape-forming processes, which led to the emergence and closure of the Oer-IJ, are described. The landscape reconstructions give a new perspective on the migration of the main tidal channel and the formation of the tidal-inlet system near Castricum, which was the result of the progradation of the beach ridges south and north of the Castricummerpolder (Binnendelta according to De Roo, 1953). The geological and archaeological observations in the Binnendelta prove that the Oer-IJ was closed from the open sea in the early Late Iron Age.

Holocene landscape reconstruction of the Wadden Sea area between Marsdiep and Weser

2015 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.C. Vos ◽  
E. Knol
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Drainage System ◽  
Storm Surges ◽  
Historical Period ◽  
Peat Bogs ◽  
Lateral Migration ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Coastal Barrier ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Tidal Basins

AbstractThis paper describes the background of five palaeogeographical maps between the Marsdiep and the Weser River, and discusses the natural and anthropogenic processes driving the coastal changes during the last part of the Holocene. Before 2500 BC, during the first half of the Holocene, tidal basins were formed in the lower lying Pleistocene valley system as a result of the Holocene sea-level rise. The tidal basins were filled during the second half of the Holocene and on the deposits from the Pleistocene in the hinterland large coastal peat bogs developed. These peat bogs were vulnerable and sensitive to marine ingressions when the peat surface subsided due to drainage, compaction and erosion. During the Subatlantic (450 BC to present), the different ingression systems in the coastal area between Marsdiep and Weser had their own histories in timing and evolution. The ingressions were naturally caused by lateral migration of coastal barrier and tidal-inlet systems or by changes in the natural drainage system in the hinterland. From the Late Iron Age onwards, humans started to be the major cause of ingressions. By reclaiming and cultivating the seaward margins of coastal peat bogs, these areas subsided significantly and were flooded by high storm surges. When coastal areas were embanked during the historical period, the situation for the lower lying peat lands became more dramatic. When the sea dikes breached, the peat land was flooded, leading to casualties and huge material damages and loss of land. Drowning of the peat lands of the Jade and Dollard in the 14th and 15th centuries are examples of such catastrophes.

Iron Age and Roman Enclosed Settlement at Winchester Road, Basingstoke

2019 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-97
Author(s):  
Richard Massey ◽  
Matt Nichol ◽  
Dana Challinor ◽  
Sharon Clough ◽  
Matilda Holmes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Roman Period ◽  
Field Boundary ◽  
Crop Processing ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Middle Iron Age ◽  
Grave Goods

Excavation in Area 1 identified an enclosed settlement of Middle–Late Iron Age and Early Roman date, which included a roundhouse gully and deep storage pits with complex fills. A group of undated four-post structures, situated in the east of Area 1, appeared to represent a specialised area of storage or crop processing of probable Middle Iron Age date. A sequence of re-cutting and reorganisation of ditches and boundaries in the Late Iron Age/Early Roman period was followed, possibly after a considerable hiatus, by a phase of later Roman activity, Late Iron Age reorganisation appeared to be associated with the abandonment of a roundhouse, and a number of structured pit deposits may also relate to this period of change. Seven Late Iron Age cremation burials were associated with a contemporary boundary ditch which crossed Area 1. Two partly-exposed, L-shaped ditches may represent a later Roman phase of enclosed settlement and a slight shift in settlement focus. An isolated inhumation burial within the northern margins of Area 1 was tentatively dated by grave goods to the Early Saxon period.<br/> Area 2 contained a possible trackway and field boundary ditches, of which one was of confirmed Late Iron Age/Early Roman date. A short posthole alignment in Area 2 was undated, and may be an earlier prehistoric feature.

Middle and Late Iron Age Occupation at Cadnam Farm, Alton, Hampshire

2018 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-136
Author(s):  
Oliver Good ◽  
Richard Massey
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
The South ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
South West ◽  
Middle Iron Age

Three individual areas, totalling 0.55ha, were excavated at the Cadnam Farm site, following evaluation. Area 1 contained a D-shaped enclosure of Middle Iron Age date, associated with the remains of a roundhouse, and a ditched drove-way. Other features included refuse pits, a four-post structure and a small post-built structure of circular plan. Area 2 contained the superimposed foundation gullies of two Middle Iron Age roundhouses, adjacent to a probable third example. Area 3 contained a small number of Middle Iron Age pits, together with undated, post-built structures of probable Middle Iron Age date, including a roundhouse and four and six-post structures. Two large boundary ditches extended from the south-west corner of Area 3, and were interpreted as the funnelled entrance of a drove-way. These contained both domestic and industrial refuse of the late Iron Age date in their fills.

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