Marcham/Frilford Excavations 2001-2007 Fig

1 N 50 Metres 37 8c 25 9 33 17 8b

9 Palaeochannel 9 0 FIELD TRENDLES 33A 33B Trench 21 Trench 24 30 29 36 11 11 10 5 35 2 Trench 20 Trench 22 25 12 34 19 3 4 16 500M TO NORTH TO 500M 28 27 18 ROMAN/SAXON CEMETERY 14 15

32 T r a c k w a y a w k c a r T 31 6 7 26 GARDEN OF Site C MODERN HEDGE LINE Features Projected Features Trenches Trenches Site B FORMER NOAH’S ARK INN FORMER NOAH’S Site A A Site Marcham/Frilford Excavations 2001-2007 Fig. 1: Plan of the site at Marcham showing the location of trenches excavated from 2001 to 2007, from excavated the location of trenches showing Fig. 1: Plan of the site at Marcham Ark garden. sites in the Noah’s excavation and Goodchild’s as Bradford as well

MARCHAM_PP1_8_CS2.indd 1 17/6/08 17:32:26 History and Background

Our excavations concentrate on the site of Marcham (also known as Frilford), which is located in the Vale of the White Horse (on the A338 to Wantage behind the former Noah’s Ark Inn) [Fig. 1]. The archaeology on the site spans the prehistoric, Roman and Saxon periods. It includes prehistoric enclosures and buildings, a Roman temple enclosure, a Roman amphitheatre-like building, known as a ‘semi-amphitheatre’ and a Saxon cemetery.

The cemeteries [Fig. 2] The late Roman and Saxon cemeteries were excavated in Fig. 3: The Iron Age archaeology excavated by Bradford and the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Over 300 inhumations Goodchild (1939, ﬁ g. 3). and cremations have been found in this area. This is one of few cemeteries that span the late Roman and Anglo-Saxon In ‘Site C’ an Iron Age ring-shaped ditch lay directly periods. underneath the later Roman rotunda [Fig. 4]. This has led to speculation that the site may also have had a religious function in the Iron Age.

Fig. 2: Plan of the late Roman and Saxon cemeteries (Bradford and Goodchild 1939, ﬁ g. 12B).

Bradford and Goodchild’s excavations In the 1930s Bradford and Goodchild excavated in the garden of the Noah’s Ark Inn. They found a Roman temple and circular building, known as a ‘rotunda’. As well as these Fig. 4: Plan of the archaeology found in ‘Site C’ showing the Roman remains, Bradford and Goodchild also found Iron Iron Age ditch and the Roman rotunda above it (Bradford and Age roundhouses, pits and ditches [Fig. 3]. Goodchild 1939, ﬁ g. 5).

Time line AD 43; AD 313; AD 410-450; c. 2000 BC; c. 700 BC; The Roman Emperor The Roman Empire The Romans leave The Bronze Age The Iron Age Claudius converts to Christianity Britain; the Saxons invades Britain invade England

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MARCHAM_PP1_8_CS2.indd 2 17/6/08 17:32:27 resistivity and magnetometry. Resistivity uses probes to Discovering the measure how easily the soil conducts electricity using the principle that the damper the soil the more easily it will conduct electricity. Stone walls have high resistivity semi-amphitheatre because they are drier and so do not conduct electricity easily. Ditches and pits are damper, so they give low readings. Magnetometry measures distortions in the earth’s magnetic fi eld caused by buried archaeological features. Features cut In 1976 during crop-spraying over Trendles Field (the fi eld to into the soil, like ditches and pits, cause high anomalies the east of the garden of the Noah’s Ark Inn), a surprising in the magnetic fi eld; they appear black on the plot. Stone discovery was made of a building that looked like a Roman walls, on the other hand, appear white. amphitheatre [Fig. 5]. Small-scale excavations were carried out in the 1980s by Richard Hingley, which found the Prehistoric Marcham stone arena walls and a rectangular stone structure at the As well as the Iron Age archaeology found in Bradford and southern cardinal point. Goodchild’s excavations, prehistoric features have also been excavated in Trendles Field. Pottery from the ditches visible on the geophysical survey suggest they were dug in the Bronze Age and Iron Age.

To the north of the ditches over 32 intercutting pits were found [Fig. 7]. The pits contained a lot of animal bone and burnt stone.

Fig. 5: Aerial photograph of the semi-amphitheatre, appearing as a large darker green circle in the ﬁ eld. The structure sits in a natural hollow at the northern end of a dark green linear feature running south, which is an ancient stream channel.

Prior to our current excavations, a geophysical survey was also carried out in Trendles Field [Fig. 6]. The resulting image showed clearly the stone walls of the semi-amphitheatre with features at its four cardinal points, a large rectangular building in the centre of the ﬁ eld and a system of prehistoric ditches in the south-western corner.

Fig. 6: Geophysical plot of Trendles Field. The ditches appear black; stone walls are white (Oxford Archaeomatics). Fig. 7: The Iron Age pits in Trench 14 under excavation. How does geophysical survey work? Geophysics is a way of seeing beneath the soil without digging. There are two main methods of geophysics:

What are cropmarks? Cropmarks can help us to identify archaeological sites from the air. The presence of archaeological features underground affects the growth of crops. Crops grow thicker and denser over sunken features, such as ditches and channels, but over walls they grow sparser. So on aerial photographs, ditches appear darker than the surrounding vegetation and walls lighter.

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MARCHAM_PP1_8_CS2.indd 3 17/6/08 17:32:34 rounded by a portico, which were built c. AD 80-90 [Fig. 9]. Roman Marcham At a later date an annexe of three rooms was added. The rotunda was c. 11 m in diameter; it was probably built at a similar time to the main temple.

During the Roman period, the site at Marcham became a thriving rural religious complex. The main elements of this complex were the temple inside its sacred enclosure and the semi-amphitheatre. A pathway ran from the south of the semi-amphitheatre towards the eastern entrance to the sacred enclosure. In addition, to these structures, there were several ancillary buildings and shrines. One of these shrines, in trench 36, was on the line of the pathway articulating the site [Fig. 8]. This shrine seems to have been positioned deliberately over some earlier Iron Age pits. This suggests that the complex was designed to refer Fig. 9: Plan of the main temple as excavated by Bradford and back to the past associations of the site. Goodchild (1939, ﬁ g. 9).

MF 07 20.5,35.5 25.5,35.5 Trench 36 These two buildings were located inside a walled enclosure N called a temenos. A gravel pathway ran from the entrance in the eastern enclosure wall to the main temple building.

36025

36036

36038 15.5,30.5

36042

36010

36065 36026 36003

36054 36035 36007

36059

36006

36061 36033 15.5,25.5

Fig.10: A typical Roman temple: the Maison Carrée, Nîmes (Ward- Perkins 1981, ﬁ g. 137).

36023

Stone construction

0 1 2 3 Metres 20.5,20.5 25.5,20.5

Fig.8: The Iron Age pits and Roman shrine in trench 36.

The temple and its enclosure Bradford and Goodchild excavated two buildings inside Fig.11: Plan and reconstruction of a typical Romano-Celtic-style the temple enclosure: the main temple and the rotunda. temple: the Altbachtal sanctuary, Trier (Ward-Perkins 1981, ﬁ g. The main temple comprised a square room (‘cella’) sur- 139A).

Roman temples Classical Roman temples, such as the Maison Carrée in Nîmes, were usually rectangular in plan. They were placed on a high podium and were approached by steps, which ran across the front of the building [Fig. 10]. The front part of the building (the ‘portico’) was open and surrounded by free-standing columns. A triangular pediment decorated the upper part of the portico. Behind the portico, was the enclosed part of the temple (the ‘cella’); this was also surrounded by columns, but these were attached to the outside wall, which enclosed the space inside the temple. Many temples in Roman Britain had a slightly different design; they are known as Romano-Celtic temples [Fig. 11]. They often had a square ‘cella’, which was surrounded by a walkway or portico. These temples were usually not on a high podium, but rather were placed inside a large sacred enclosure (the ‘temenos’). The enclosure boundary was marked out by walls, ditches or fences.

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MARCHAM_PP1_8_CS2.indd 4 17/6/08 17:32:39 What happened inside the sacred enclosure? an arch or columns. These would have framed the view Inside the Sacred from the entrance and guided the eye towards the temple building straight ahead.

Enclosure What happened inside the sacred enclosure? Over 100 coins have been found on the temple pathway, de- posited as acts of personal worship. Very few artefacts have been found elsewhere inside the enclosure, which suggests Entering the sacred enclosure that general access was restricted and that the precinct was From the entrance in the eastern enclosure wall, visitors kept clear. would have been able to see the temple directly ahead. Two structures either side of the pathway inside the entrance A large pit and midden in the south-eastern corner of the would have made the entrance seem impressive and monu- enclosure may have been used for the disposal of other ob- mental [Fig. 12]. These features are typical of Roman tem- jects used inside the temple enclosure. The fi nds from this ples in southern Britain. area included vessel glass, oyster shells and a large amount of animal bone. This suggests that activities inside the en- The structures to the south (Trench 32) and north (Trench closure may have included feasting. 15) of the pathway inside the temenos mirrored each other in alignment, layout, and dimensions. In both buildings the Animals were also probably sacrifi ced at the temple as of- eastern north-south walls were created using the enclosure ferings to the gods. A sheep burial has been found in trench wall. Both buildings have an internal division to create two 15 inside the sacred enclosure, which confi rms this idea rooms. The exterior walls to the north and to the south ap- [Fig. 13]. The sheep was buried with an unusual small pot- pear to have continued further west, suggesting that a third, tery jar, which may have been used during the ritual. open-fronted room may also have existed. Nothing has sur- vived to suggest a possible function for the rooms or for the activities that might have taken place in them.

Two opposing plinths were positioned either side of the pathway on the same alignment as the internal partition walls. These plinths might have provided foundations for

MF 07 Trench 15 Trenches 15 & 32 Continuation of N temenos wall 15248 in Trench 15 15036 15232

15251 Hearth ?

15087 15033

15041 Entrance ? Temenos 10.9,24.8 wall

15059 15227 15059 15160 15254 Plinth TEMENOS 31.4,23.5 32004 = 15100 ENTRANCE 32037 Path continues P A T H W A Y Path continues Fig. 13: A complete sheep burial found in trench 15; note the towards Temple pottery jar included with the burial. 32022 Plinth Continuation of 32032 temenos wall in Trench 18 32033 Entrance ? Temenos 32019 wall

32047

32036 Entrance Trench 18 32028 32031

32050

22.0,11.5 11.8,11.1

0 5 10 Metres

Fig. 12: The structures inside the entrance in trenches 15 and 32. Fig. 14: A complete cow skeleton under excavation in trench 30.

What can we learn from animal bones? In general, animal bones can tell us a lot about what meat people ate in the past and what their stock-breeding and butchery practices were. In temple contexts, they can also tell us a lot about ritual practices, including feasting and animal sacriﬁ ce. At the Roman temple in Uley, Gloucestershire, 35,000 animal bones were recovered, particularly sheep and goats. The high number of sheep and goat bones indicated that the Roman god Mercury was worshipped at the site.

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MARCHAM_PP1_8_CS2.indd 5 17/6/08 17:32:47 vessel glass, samian ware, such as beakers and other din- The Buildings in ing equipment from Gaul, and grinding bowls (‘mortaria’). These ﬁ nds suggest that eating and drinking may have been Trenches 15 and 18 one of the activities carried out in these buildings. Several hearths were also excavated inside these buildings [Fig. 15]. In addition, evidence for small-scale metalworking has been found. It is possible that metal objects were being Three buildings have been excavated in trenches 15 and 18 made inside these buildings, which were then sold as votive directly outside the temple enclosure to the north and south items to people visiting the temple. of the entrance. These buildings were walled on three sides and open towards the east. The two buildings to the south (trench 18) were separated by an outdoor, courtyard area [Fig. 14].

MF 05 11,30.5 21,30.5 Trench 18 N

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6.75,28 North Building

18308 18302 18306

18305

18340 Hearth 18065 18320 18200

Hearth 18050 18354 18314 18338

Temenos 18355 wall 18304 18217

18329 Fig. 15: One of the hearths inside the Trench 18 buildings.

What are ‘mortaria?’ [Fig. 16] 6.75,20

“Courtyard” Area Between Buildings These bowls, which were usually white, were used for mix- ing and grinding foodstuffs. The bowls were broad with a prominent rim and spout. The inside of the bowls was gritted to aid the grinding process. Grinding bowls made

18249 in Oxfordshire were distributed across the Midlands and

South Building southern Britain from the 2nd to 4th centuries AD.

18115 18006

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18234 18265 18267 18264

7.5,7.5 21,7.5

0 5 10 Metres

Fig. 14: Plan of the buildings excavated in trench 18. Fig. 16: Two examples of grinding bowls from the Oxfordshire pot- teries [Young 1977, fi g. 21]. What were these buildings used for? These buildings were probably used to provide for the needs of the people visiting the temple. A very large number of Below: Fig 17: A typical example of decorated samian ware [Cliquet fi nds came from this area, including a high proportion of et al. 1996, fi g.X11].

Samian Ware This kind of pottery, also known as ‘terra sigillata’ or ‘Arretine Ware’, has a glossy orange-red appearance and often has moulded decoration, sometimes showing mythological scenes [Fig. 17]. It was a higher class of pottery (known as a ‘ﬁ ne- ware’), which was often used for eating and drinking, rather than cooking. Samian wares were made in large numbers in workshops in northern Italy and Gaul; it was exported widely around the Roman Empire.

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MARCHAM_PP1_8_CS2.indd 6 17/6/08 17:32:55 amphitheatre. The viewing banks, however, did not entire- The Semi- ly encircle the arena, which is similar to a theatre. In Gaul these buildings were often built in association with temples and sanctuaries, as at Marcham. They were probably used Amphitheatre for a variety of religious performances, including recitals and combat.

In its initial phase the structure had a circular arena (c. 40 m in diameter) with a sand-covered ﬂ oor. The arena was en- circled by a wall, which had an entrance to the west. The wall itself was surrounded by a bank, which did not run around the whole perimeter of the structure. To the south, a masonry drain exited under the walls and bank [Fig. 18]. Lutèce, Paris Lillebonne

Marcham St. Albans 0 50 100 Metres

Fig. 19: Plans of similar buildings from Gaul and Britain.

The shrine to the south-west of the semi-amphitheatre The religious nature of this building is strengthened by a shrine found in Trench 24. A large number of ﬁ nds were found associated with this building, in particular personal items such as bronze and bone hairpins and cosmetic spoons [Figs 20 & 21]. Two further animal burials (another sheep and a cow) were also found in this area.

Fig. 18: View of the interior of the arena looking south along the drain. Inset: Detail of the ‘Royal Box’, ﬁ rst discovered by Richard Hingley, showing the drain running underneath.

At a later date a rectangular structure (the so-called ‘Royal Box’) was constructed to the south of the arena. It may have seated dignitaries. Above left: Fig. 20: A selection of bronze hair pins and cosmetic What was this structure used for? spoons found at Marcham. This building is a cross between an amphitheatre and a Above right: Fig. 21: Two of the brooches found at Marcham. theatre; a common type in northern and central Gaul [Fig. Below: Fig. 22: A drawing by William Stukeley of the amphitheatre 19]. The arena space of this building makes it similar to an at Silchester as it looked in 1724 [Fulford 1989, plate 1a]

Amphitheatres in Britain Amphitheatres were a Roman adaptation to the Greek theatre that allowed the audience to view games and ﬁ ghts in the round. In Britain, several examples are known, for example at Caerleon, Chester, London and Silchester [Fig. 22]. These amphitheatres are simpler than ones from the Mediterranean, such as the Colosseum in Rome. In Britain, most amphitheatres were built by digging an oval space for the arena. The soil from digging out the arena was used to make banks, which surrounded the arena and on which wooden seats could be constructed.

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MARCHAM_PP1_8_CS2.indd 7 17/6/08 17:33:08 Also in the late Roman or Saxon periods a group of eight Late Roman and burials were placed in the eastern entrance of the semi- amphitheatre [Fig. 25]. The burials were all on an east-west alignment and had no grave goods. This suggests that the Saxon Marcham people buried here were Christian. It is possible that they were buried in this location to mark the closure of the arena as a functioning pagan monument.

The trench 2 building This large building (c. 34 m long x 17 m wide) was located between the temple enclosure and the semi-amphitheatre. It comprised a main central room with annexes to the west, north and east [Fig. 23]. The coin evidence suggests that the building was constructed c. AD 340.

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Fig. 23: Plan of the late Roman building in trench 2.

Was this building an early church? It has been suggested that this building was an early rural church due to its construction date, that is after the conver- sion of the Roman Empire to Christianity in AD 313. Fig. 25: One of the late Roman or Saxon burials under excavation Over 680 coins were found in this building, which comprise in the eastern entrance to the semi-amphitheatre. c. 40% of the total site coin assemblage [Fig. 24]. These coins overlap in date with those from the temple pathway, which What can we learn from skeletons? suggests that the temple and this building were in use at the Skeletons provide archaeologists with a wide range of in- same time. As it is unlikely that pagan and Christian reli- formation about the past. As well as being able to fi nd out gions would have been practised together on the same site, the age, height and sex of the people buried, scientifi c anal- it is also unlikely that this building was an early church. ysis of the bones can tell us about people’s diets, health and where they may have moved from. We can also learn about At the moment the precise identifi cation of this building the status, occupation and beliefs of people by looking at remains uncertain. how people were buried and what items they were buried with. The ‘after-life’ of the semi-amphitheatre After the 4th century AD the use of the semi-amphitheatre seems to have changed. In the centre of the arena rough working surfaces and evidence for fl imsy structures have been found. This activity seems to have continued into the middle Saxon period. Below: Fig 24: A selection of late Roman bronze coins from the trench 2 building.

Roman coins: the ﬁ rst ‘Euro’? In the Roman period, Roman coins were used and exchanged across the Roman Em- pire and even as far aﬁ eld as India. Roman coins came in several denominations from a gold ‘aureus’ to a bronze ‘as’. On one side the coins had pictures of the emperor’s head. On the other side the coins were decorated with pictures of deities, famous buildings or events. These pictures were often accompanied with an inscription, which named the emperor and sometimes communicated messages such as ‘SPES’ (‘hope’) or ‘FELICITAS’ (‘prosperity’).

MARCHAM_PP1_8_CS2.indd 8 17/6/08 17:33:15