THE PRE-CONQUEST ROMAN PENETRATION OF SOUTH-EASTERN BRITAIN
by
Roderick J. 0. Millar
B.Sc.(Eng), The University of London 1950 Banff School of Advanced Management, 1966 B.A., The University of British Columbia, 1987
A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS
in
THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES
Interdisciplinary Studies (Anthropology/Classical Studies)
We accept this thesis as conforming
to the required standard
THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
April 24 1991
(c). Roderick J. 0. Millar, 1991 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission.
(Signature)
R.3.0. Millar
Department of Graduate Studies
The University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada
Date May 1 1991
DE-6 (2/88) ii
AESIEACI
This thesis is concerned with an examination of the interaction between a state level society, that of Rome in the period of the Late Republic and Early Empire, and a neighbouring group of chiefdoms, those in the south-eastern part of Britain. In this period the social, economic and political systems in southern Britain appear to have gone through processes of major stress and change. The study tests the general hypothesis that in the period between the expeditions of Caesar in 55 and 54 BC and the final Claudian conquest in AD 43, the south-east of Britain went through an evolution from a number of small independent chiefdoms competing with each, other to a proto-state. This evolution was triggered and accelerated by the interaction with Rome. To test this hypothesis the published archaeological reports on the excavations in three areas of south-eastern Britain were analyzed. The areas around St. Albans, Braughing and Skeleton Green, and Colchester were used. The analysis compares a number of specific types of artifacts, certain features, and burials from all three areas. The general weight of the evidence, despite some minor inconsistencies, shows that in the approximately ninety years between 55 BC and AD 43 power shifted from several centres: the St. Albans area, Braughing, Welwyn and Hertford to one centre at Colchester. Under the dominance of Colchester, St. Albans and probably other formerly independent chiefdoms, became iii satellite centres to Colchester. This shift in the power centre was accompanied by a marked increase in social stratification, demonstrated in the elite burials, the increasing range of elite goods, and larger and more complex features. iv
ABSTRACT ii
List of Tables vi
List of Figures vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS viii
Chapter I. INTRODUCTION 1
Chapter II. THE BACKGROUND 6
Chapter III. A REVIEW OF THE THEORETICAL CONCEPTS 14 1. The Historical Background in Southern Britain. 2. Alternative Theoretical Concepts.
Chapter IV. THE SITUATION IN SOUTH-EASTERN BRITAIN FROM THE EARLY FIRST CENTURY BC TO AD 43...23
Chapter V. RESEARCH QUESTIONS, HYPOTHESES AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS: A MODEL 28 1. General Research Questions. 2. General Hypothesis for this Thesis. 3. Specific Hypotheses to Test the Validity of the General Hypothesis. 4. Implications of the Specific Hypotheses. 5. Specific Archaeological Research Questions. 6. A Theoretical Basis for the Model. 7. The Model. 8. Specific Implications from the Model.
Chapter VI. THE SOURCES OF THE DATA . . 52 1. The Literary Sources. 2. The Archaeological Record. 3. Archaeological Source Material (Monographs, Articles and Publications).
Chapter VII. THE ANALYSIS OF THE DATA 57 1. Problems with the Data. 2. Selection of the Data. 3. Analysis and comparison of the Tabulated Data. 4. The Literary Sources. 5. Statistical Analyses.
Chapter VIII. ANALYSIS OF THE POTTERY 67 V
Chapter IX. ANALYSIS OF THE AMPHORAE. 84
Chapter X. ANALYSIS OF THE COINS 89
Chapter XI. ANALYSIS OF THE BROOCHES 99
Chapter XII. ANALYSIS OF THE BURIALS 102
Chapter XIII. ANALYSIS OF THE FEATURES AND BUILDINGS 114
Chapter XIV. THE LITERARY AND NUMISMATIC EVIDENCE 124
Chapter XV. THE TRADING PATTERNS 128
Chapter XVI STATISTICAL ANALYSIS 132
Chapter XVII. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS 137
Chapter XVIII AN EVALUATION AND PROPOSALS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH 151
Glossary 1. List of Site Names and Areas 156
Glossary 2. Names of British Tribes and Rulers 157
Glossary 3. Technical Terms Used in this Thesis 158
Bibliography, and References Cited 160
Appendix A. References to Britain in Classical Literature 183
Appendix B. Burial Sites 185 vi
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Imported Pottery, Arretine 72
Table 2. Imported Pottery, South Gaulish 72
Table 3. Imported Pottery, Gallo-Belgic 73
Table 3a. Summary, Imported Pottery, Gallo-Belgic...73
Table 4. Native Pottery 77
Table 4a. Summary, Native Pottery 78
Table 4b. Summary, Gallo-Belgic and Native Pottery Types for the Key Sites 79
Table 4c. Gallo-Belgic and Native Types
in % for the Key Sites 79
Table 5. Amphorae 85
Table 5a. Summary, Amphorae 86
Table 5b. Origin, Contents and Dates of Amphorae.... 87
Table 5c. Chart of Amphorae Dates 87
Table 6. Coins 90
Table 6a. Summary Table of Coins 90
Table 7. Brooches 99
Table 8. Rich Burials 109
Table 9. Grave Goods from Intermediate and Plain Burials 110 Table 9a. Intermediate and Plain Burials. Presence or Absence of Grave Goods Ill
Table 10. Statistical Tabulations 135 vii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. South-Eastern Britain, Showing the
Principal Sites 187
Figure 2. Tribes of Southern Britain 188
Figure 3. The Colchester Area 189
Figure 4. The Braughing Area 190
Figure 5. The St. Albans Area 191 Figure 6. Burial Sites in the St. Albans, Welwyn, Wheathampstead, Hertford and Braughing Areas 192
Figure 7. Relative Chronology of the Sites 193
Figure 8a. Cluster Diagram, 17 Variables. Wheathampstead, Prae Wood, Skeleton Green, Camulodunum 194
Figure 8b. Cluster Diagram, 17 Variables. Prae Wood, Skeleton Green, Camulodunum..195
Figure 8c. Cluster Diagram, 15 Variables. Prae Wood, Skeleton Green, Camulodunum..196 viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
On the theoretical aspects my heartfelt thanks go to
Professor Michael Blake for his unfailing patience and help
in assisting me to clarify my thoughts on the theoretical parts of the thesis. In developing a clear presentation of the theoretical alternatives both Dr. Blake and Dr. Richard
Pearson made invaluable criticisms and suggestions. Dr.
Blake also acted as my advisor for the first three years of my M.A. programme. Dr. Pearson gave me many valuable hints
on possible cross-cultural comparisons and similarities.
Professor E. Hector Williams served on my committee
throughout, and took over as advisor for the last year, while Dr. Blake was absent on sabbatical leave. Dr.
Williams, as well as giving me a very solid background on
the Graeco-Roman world, also provided me with four long
seasons of excavation at his site at Mytilene. This practical field experience, while the data was not directly
applicable to my thesis, greatly helped in my analysis of
other excavators' reports.
Professor Anthony Barrett, the external examiner,
provided a most helpful critique on the nomenclature that I used for the British tribal groups in south-eastern Britain.
Professor R.G. Matson, who chaired the committee at my
oral defence of the thesis, made a number of helpful
suggestions on the presentation and layout of the material
in the tables and statistical work. 1
I.INTRODUCTION
This thesis explores the interaction between a state level society, that of Rome in the period of the Late
Republic and Early Empire, and a neighbouring group of chiefdoms, those in the south-eastern part of Britain. At the same time the thesis is concerned with the interaction among this group of chiefdoms, in contact with, and affected by, the Roman presence in Gaul. The time period examined is from about 120 BC to AD 43, the year of the Claudian invasion and conquest of the southern part of the island. A particularly detailed study has been made of the almost ninety years from the first invasions and withdrawals made by Julius Caesar in each of the years 55-54 BC to the final conquest in AD 43.
The interaction and relationship involved trade, politics and diplomacy, dynastic struggles in Britain, warfare, and finally in AD 43 the conquest of the southern and eastern parts of the country.
During this period the British political and socio• economic systems were going through processes of major stress and change1. In Britain this culminated in the
1 The name Catuvellaunl for the dominant tribe in eastern and southern Britain is widely used in published works. There is, however, very little evidence for its use at the time of the Roman conquest. Caesar and Tacitus do not mention the name. Dio uses the name for the tribe in the area (LX 20,2), and Ptolemy mentions Salinae a polls of the Catuvellaunl (II 3, 21), but locates it near the Wash, outside the area normally assigned to the Catuvellaunl. Two inscriptions from Hadrian's Wall mention clvitate Catuwellaunorum and natione Catvallauna respectively. In this thesis Catuvellauni is used, as in other published 2 establishment of the hegemony of the Catuvellaunian kingdom over much of southern and eastern Britain.
The specific object of the paper is an examination of the social, political and economic changes in south-eastern
Britain, from the late second century B.C. to the conquest by Rome in A.D. 43, and an investigation of the forces and stresses, internal and external, that caused the changes.
Both the historical and archaeological records suggest major upheavals and restructuring in the political organization of south-eastern Britain at this time. Without stress the society would be expected to remain stable, or to change only slowly over time with "cultural drift". In systems terminology it would be stable, and with negative feedback damping out forces trying to change it. In fact it was unstable, with positive feedback pushing it farther away from its previous condition. The type of forces and stress that can trigger this situation include both natural and man-made ones. Natural forces, such- as drought, climatic change or shortage of food or other resources do not seem to have been critical. Man-made forces and stresses were probably the primary ones. On the Roman side these included forces such as expansion in search of secure frontiers; an appetite for a larger population and tax base to exploit; a need for larger imports of raw materials in exchange for surplus luxury agricultural products, such as wine and olive oil; and symbolic forces such as Claudius' need to show work, as a convenient name for the dominant polity in south• eastern Britain at the time of the conquest. 3 military prowess. On the British side the forces and
stresses would be similar. There was a search for security by enlarging one's territory; a desire to acquire prestige goods, and to control the acquisition of them; and a need to
increase wealth by creating surpluses in basic agricultural products and raw materials. These surpluses could then be used both to trade for the imported prestige goods, the
symbols of power, and for building status symbols,
earthworks and a capital or oppidum.
On both sides there is an obvious intention by the
ruling group to increase its power and wealth by the
exploitation of others, both their own subjects and the peoples of adjoining polities.
In Britain at this time external forces and stresses
originate with Rome or from the European mainland,
particularly Gaul and the lower Rhine area. Internal
forces, which may be linked to the external ones, are primarily those operating within society in south-eastern
Britain. Even without the pressure of Roman expansionism,
Late Iron Age society in Britain was under significant
internal stress.
The source material for this investigation will be primarily the archaeological record, complemented by the
limited Roman and Greek literary evidence. The paper will
focus on :
1. The changing socio-economic and political scene in
south-eastern British society in the period from ca.120 BC 4 to AD 43, and the forces and processes leading to the change.
2. The pre-conquest Roman economic and political
interaction with Britain from c.120 BC to AD 43, leading to a marked trading penetration of Roman goods into southern
Britain, and finally conquest by Rome in AD 43.
The significance of the research undertaken in this thesis is as follows:
1. Many of the traditional views of the history of Britain
in the Late Iron Age have been seriously challenged or overturned by new research and excavation in the past five
to ten years. This upheaval is still in progress. This paper will examine a particular aspect of Late Iron Age
Britain, the changes in the social, political and economic
organization, and the causes of these changes in British
society in the south-east part of the island in the 160 years preceding the Roman conquest.
2. Much of the recent research has been concerned with elucidating the problems of the British Later Bronze Age and
Iron Age, prior to significant interactions with Rome. This paper, by contrast, will deal with the period of active
transition from the last stages of the British Iron Age to
the conquest and absorption by Rome, and the causal processes of evolution and change taking south-eastern
Britain from an independent secondary proto-state to a
component of a much larger and more complex society, the
Roman Empire. 5
3. Apart from the investigation of processes and causes at work in this particular transition period, the research provides a case study with a general application to other similar situations, and helps illuminate some of the theoretical concepts described in chapter 3. 4. The particular area and time period were selected for research because:-
a) There is a reasonable amount of good recent work published on both the theoretical concepts, and on relevant sites and excavations.
b) There are two sources of evidence, literary and the archaeological record. These can be compared, contrasted and evaluated.
c) The takeover of Britain by Rome was successful and long-lasting. d) This is about the best example in the classical world of this type of penetration and conquest, involving a long pre-conquest contact period, a seaborne assault into relatively unknown territory, and a successful long-term consolidation of the territory gained. On Rome's Mediterranean frontiers, where new provinces had been conquered, the subjugated societies were usually already established states, with an existence and history as complex societies, centuries or millenia longer than that of Rome. Examples are Egypt, Greece and the Hellenistic states of Asia Minor and the Near East. 6
I..Lt...JUiE_.JBACKQE.QUlffi
In the pattern of cultural evolution in Britain and north-west Europe there is a steady trend from egalitarian
late Mesolithic hunter-gathers and Neolithic farmer- pastoralists, to the ranked and stratified Bronze and Iron
Age societies, culminating in the Hallstadt and La Tene cultures.
Between the sixth and fourth millenia BC the hunter- gatherers were developing a more settled way of life, and in
Britain there is archaeological evidence for the probable exchange of certain lithic items, such as stone axes, between regions (Care 1979; Darvill 1987:45-46, 49). By the early third millenium BC farming was well established, combining cereal cultivation and animal herding (Fowler
1983). Evidence from the megalithic tombs and long barrows of this period suggests a social organization of small scale egalitarian groups, claiming a certain defined territory.
Exchange of both utilitarian and prestige goods continued, either as raw materials or as finished artifacts. Evidence
for cross Channel inter-regional trade occurs in the more than 100 jadeite axes found from Cornwall to the Orkneys, with the source of the jadeite identified in the Alps, 1200 kilometres distant (Darvill op.cit.:72). Small scale warfare was common. A number of defended enclosures have been identified, and skeletons with embedded flint arrowheads have been found. By about 2500 BC more overt ranking appears. Single grave burials, with variations in 7
the number and quality of grave goods occur. Metalworking
developed by 2000 BC. By this time a stratified society had
evolved (Shennan 1982). Trade in artifacts and ideas with both continental Europe and Ireland was well established.
Metalworking techniques and traditions paralleled those of northern France (Darvill op. cit.:100).
Contact and exchange between Britain and Europe
remained vigorous for the period from about 1500 to 600 BC,
and specific communal exchange sites have been located, for
example at Ram's Hill (Bradley and Ellison 1975: Ellison
1981). By the end of this period a definite hierarchy of
settlement existed, from small open settlements to large
defended sites, with these autonomous or semi-autonomous units forming large loose regional groupings (Darvill op.
cit.:132).
By about 650 BC in southern Britain, the hillfort based
society started to appear, with a trend for greater local
self-sufficiency. Foreign trade and cultural contacts
continued with northern Europe, both across the channel and
along the western seaways. In the fifth and early fourth
centuries imports included iron swords, fibulae brooches,
and bronze vessels of Hallstadt D provenance. At the same
time Mediterranean goods from the emerging classical
civilizations, Etruscan, Greek and Roman, began to appear in
Britain. Later in the period La Tene style metalwork
appeared in central and southern Britain. 8
For some unknown reason trade and exchange along all routes diminished greatly in the third and second centuries
BC, and only recovered in the late second and early first centuries BC1. In this period of isolation British society developed well marked regional groups, with an increase in conflict, and difficulty in supporting the elite superstructure (Bradley 1984:138-144). Social organization developed further, with tribal organization in the north, and chiefdoms with a warrior elite and well defined territory in the south and east. This society had marked stratification, chiefs, warriors, probably priests, specialized craftsmen and craftsmen/farmers (Cunliffe
1983:165-171; Darvill op. cit.:160-161).
In general, over the period from the fourth millenium to the late first millenium BC in Britain, there was an evolution from simpler to more complex and stratified societies, and a parallel growth in exchange and trading contacts with Europe, and later with the classical world.
There was also growth in inter-regional trade and exchange within Britain.
Starting about 120 BC there was a revival in contact and trade between southern Britain and the Continent. This coincided with the beginning of a major change in the socio• political organization in south-eastern Britain. At this
1 One possibility is that with the developing use of iron for weapons and tools, the need for a trade in bronze , or its constituent metals, diminished. Iron is easily smelted from ores occurring widely in Britain. Society in general may have become more locally self sufficient. 9 time the hillforts fell quite abruptly into disuse as centres of power, and were replaced by more open sites in the valleys, or on the flanks of the hills. In the later part of the first century BC a number of these valley sites developed into oppida, large and often undefended sites of
30 ha or more, frequently much more. They are usually located on, or very close to, trade routes, and especially on navigable rivers (Collis 1976:10, Cunliffe 1976:142-156).
This development in Britain is paralleled at an earlier date in central and eastern Gaul (Nash 1976:98-99). At the same time there was a reduction in the number of socio-political units, with the formation of a small number of larger polities, based on the new territorial oppida as their centres of power (Bradley 1984:147). These kingdoms or proto-states minted their own coinage, and in some cases their oppida had satellite 'towns' (Cunliffe 1976:151).
These powerful new groups became 'core' areas, receiving imports from Gaul and northern Europe, keeping some for their own use, and trading others with peripheral tribes for metals, slaves and other items, to be passed back to Gaul to balance the imports (Bradley 1984:144-156).
In the late second century BC the Roman penetration and conquest of Gaul started. In 124-120 BC the southern part,
Gallia Transalpina, was conquered, and in 58-51 BC Julius
Caesar conquered the remainder. During the Gallic wars
Caesar made two expeditions to Britain, reconnaissances in force, in 55 and 54 BC. 10
Up to the time of Caesar's invasions in 55-54 BC, the general situation in southern Britain was one of numerous small political units engaged in continuous competition and conflict. However, in the period after Caesar's incursions, there is a dramatic change in the later part of the first century BC, with the evolution of a small number of much
larger territorial units based on the oppida (Bradley op.cit., Darvill op.cit.). This type of change is not unusual when a number of small polities are threatened by a major external enemy. Small states or chiefdoms will federate, or come together in some other manner for self- preservation. An example is the temporary alliance of the
Greek city states in face of the Persian threat in the early
5th. century BC.
All available historical and archaeological evidence suggests that the Catuvellauni, who had become the dominant power in southern and eastern Britain by the time of the
Roman conquest in AD 43, used economic penetration by trade and exchange to this end. They may also have made a succession of individually modest military conquests to build their position. Concurrently they and their smaller allies were exposed to a growing volume of trade with Gaul and the Roman empire. To pay for this trade and to pay for their imports they needed to expand further their sources of wealth, both in terms of agricultural land, and in their catchment area for items such as slaves and metals, not available in their core area. 11
At the same time Roman Italy, and to a lesser extent
Roman Gaul and Spain had agricultural surpluses, such as wine, for which they urgently needed outlets (Cunliffe
1988:75)2.
There is no particular evidence for population pressure, or limitations on resources in their core area, driving the Catuvellaunian expansion at this period. But their elite wanted the items which could only come from trade with Gaul and Rome. They probably also needed additional amounts to satisfy their followers and supporters in their core area.
From the brief review of the cultural history and archaeological evidence above, it is apparent that Britain, despite the barrier of the Channel, had been involved in extensive trade and exchange networks with continental
Europe for many centuries. The intensity of this exchange and trade had varied cyclically over the previous two millenia. About 100 BC there seems to have been a major upsurge in trading activity. There were also dramatic social and structural changes in Britain in this Late Iron
Age period, paralleling and probably linked to the changes
in the pattern of exchange and trade.
By the first century BC strong local and inter-regional exchange and trade networks had operated within Britain for
2. An alternative explanation is that more wine and olive oil were produced to meet expanding markets, but a surplus seems more likely. 12 centuries, some between equally powerful tribal groups, and some between minor or subordinate tribes and a major group.
With the renewal and expansion of a major cross-channel trade with pre-Roman and Roman Gaul in the first century BC, the rulers of the dominant tribal groups in southern and south-eastern Britain increased their internal power, and finally in the years immediately preceeding the Roman conquest of AD 43, one tribe, the Catuvellauni, acquired a dominant position.
What appears to have happened in southern Britain in the period c.120 BC to AD 43 was the simultaneous formation of a secondary state3, that of the Catuvellauni, and the penetration and finally the conquest of that state by.the larger and more sophisticated polity, Rome. The formation of this secondary state was dependent on the existence of the adjacent Roman state.
The traditional historical view is that the invasion of
AD 43 took place to satisfy, the need of the Roman emperor
Claudius for a military triumph, and to remove a potentially troublesome frontier (Frere 1987:45-46). This explanation, however, fails to take account of important socio-political, demographic and economic factors, acting both within
Britain, in Roman dominated Gaul, and in the western part of the Roman empire.
3. A secondary state is defined as a state formed adjacent to, and as a result of interaction with an existing state. This contrasts with a primary state evolving from a complex chiefdom, with no influence from any other state level society. 13
In particular, exchange and trade were major causes both in the evolution of a more complex type of society in southern and eastern Britain, and in the final Roman conquest of Britain. By the conquest the Romans were able to intensify both agricultural production and resource procurement. The new province provided much larger quantities of metal, particularly lead and silver, as well as corn, hides and manpower.
After the Claudian invasion and conquest of southern
Britain in AD 43, trade expanded further. For the next 350 years, Britain became part of the Roman imperial trading network. This situation ended in the fifth century AD.
With the departure of the Roman garrison and administration
in AD 410, and the subsequent increase in barbarian
invasions, the established trading network disintegrated.
The infrastructure of civilization, towns and town life and the centralized administration all decayed quite rapidly, and were not re-established until the later medieval period. 14
III. A REVIEW OF THE THEORETICAL CONCEPTS
In considering the period and place discussed in this thesis, there appear to be two parallel and interacting processes occurring, one internal to south-eastern Britain between the Catuvellauni and the smaller tribes they
subjugated, and one between the Romans and the Catuvellauni and their allies. There are similarities, in that in both cases, a larger and more powerful entity penetrates and
finally conquers a less developed group. However, there are also significant differences.
The Catuvellauni in the first century BC were one of a number of chiefdoms contending for predominance in a restricted geographical area. Even if very successful in
their pattern of conquest, they lacked the internal state
organization, and probably the resources, to sustain a
developing proto-state over a long period of time. In
Wright's terms they were "externally but not internally
specialized", with the decision making process operating at
only two levels, the central and the local, and with no sub•
division of responsibility, or "specialization at the
central level (Wright 1977:381)1. The Catuvellauni were not
1. The evidence for this is discused in chapter IV. Put in simple terms the Catuvellaunian kingdom in the period covered in this paper was too large for all decisions to emanate from the capital at Camulodunum (Colchester). There would be considerable local autonomy. Decisions in villages and settlements on such matters as crops, harvesting, and small scale manufacturing of common use items would be made locally. Thus the chiefdom was externally specialized. The capital would only make.decisions about the decisions made at the lower level, and would not be directly involved in 15
a primary state as defined by Wright or Spencer. They did not form from an isolated developed chiefdom, but evolved while interacting with an existing state, Rome. This is a
classic case of a secondary state forming "on the margin of extant states" (Wright and Johnson 1975:267).
By contrast the Romans, by the late 1st. century BC, had a developed state level of organization, with a central decision making body, the emperor assisted by the Senate, provincial governors with substantial delegated authority, and permanent subordinate staff in both Rome and the provinces. The Senate as a central authority had a history going back to the sixth century BC. This organization was already, using Spencer's terminology, highly "internally specialized" and "externally differentiated" (Spencer
1982:2). During the period from about 50 BC to AD 100 this process continued, culminating by the early second century
AD in a state with a complex civil and military administrative system, and with a career 'civil service', almost in the modern sense (Cary and Scullard 1978:428-29).
The Romans in the 2nd. and 1st. centuries BC were building their empire largely by the "agglomeration of extant states" (Wright and Johnson ibid), the conquest, decisions about production and exchange at the local level. There is almost no evidence for internal specialization. Internal specialization implies the division of the control and decision making process into more than one "department" at the central level, with corresponding branch "departments" at the subordinate levels. The exception is the possible concurrent existence of two centres for minting coins, one at St. Albans and one at Colchester. A third centre may have existed at Gatesbury. 16 annexation and absorption of existing states. Spain, Gaul and Britain in the west were added to the Roman Empire in this period, and in the east Egypt and the Hellenistic kingdoms of Asia Minor and the Near East (Cary and Scullard
1978:212-312).
Thus there would appear to be these two superficially similar processes happening simultaneously, and obviously interacting, creating a rather complex situation. In both cases an established society was trying to extend its power and influence, and gain control of more resources. However, they were operating from quite a different base level, the
Catuvellaunl from a complex chiefdom in the process of evolving into a proto-state, and the Romans from a fully developed state level society.
2. Alternative Theoretical Concepts
In reviewing the literature on the theoretical aspects of state formation there would appear to be no ready made model for this set of circumstances. Polyani and
Rostovtzeff produced conflicting economic models, with
Polanyi's concepts being expanded and modified by Jones and more recently Finley (Finley 1973, Jones 1974, Polyani
1957;1977, Rostovtzeff 1957). Curtin, Hirth, Hodges and
Webb have examined the role of trade in the interaction between societies, and the penetration of one group by another (Curtin 1984, Hirth 1978, Hodges 1982, Webb 1973).
Carneiro and Webster have examined the role of warfare
(Carneiro 1970, Webster 1977; 1975). Wright, Flannery, and 17
Friedman and Rowlands have considered the processes involved in state formation (Flannery 1972, Friedman and Rowlands
1977, Wright 1977). Colin Renfrew's concept of 'peer polity interaction' and the early state module (Renfrew 1986,
1984b), and Barbara Price's 'cluster interaction model'
(Price 1977) propose the idea of group interaction as a necessary prerequisite in state formation, but also see it as part of a 'normal' evolutionary process, leading to a number of similar state based societies.
While these authors do provide useful and interesting insights on various aspects of the growth of states, these insights in themselves do not appear to provide a basis for a good model for the subject of this thesis. A model proposing that the evolution from a chiefdom to a state is a matter of slow quantitative and cumulative change, rather than a rapid qualitative as well as quantitative change, simply does not fit the known facts of this case.
Spencer has advanced a somewhat different concept, that of "the more general punctuated equilibria interpretation of macroevolution" (Gould 1980:119-130; Gould and Eldredge
1977:115-151; Spencer 1982:257). His conclusions are that chiefdoms and the state are qualitatively different, and that in particular the state needs internal administrative specialization and decentralized decision making, a quite different set of controlling processes from those used in a chiefdom (Spencer 1982:257). 18
This suggests an evolutionary trajectory with quite sharp discontinuities in its progress. As a generalized hypothesis, evolution with discontinuities would appear to
fit some cases in both biological and cultural evolution.
In the biological field, sudden genetic mutations in both wheat and maize have been suggested from the evidence in the archaeological record (Flannery 1986:7-8; 1973: 282, 290-6;
Galinat 1985). In the growth of cultures and societies over the past few thousand years, both the archaeological and the historical records suggest periods of relative stability, or slow change or gradual substitution, alternating with marked disruptions or discontinuities, leading to a qualitatively different society. Examples are the collapse and re- emergence of 'civilization' in the eastern Mediterranean ca.
1200-900 BC, the so called "Dark Ages", and the sharp social and cultural changes observable from the archaeological record in Britain and Ireland during the Later Neolithic period, and carrying on into the Bronze and Iron Ages
(Sandars 1985:10-11, Megaw and Simpson 1979:345-7,417).
Spencer, who was dealing with a case of primary state formation in Mesoamerica, a state developing from adjacent societies without the influence of another state, concluded that interregional interaction, a campaign of conquest of adjacent areas by the Zapotec, forced them into the development of state level administrative and regulatory systems. These systems were first applied to the newly conquered territories, and only later implemented in the 19 original heartland of the Zapotec, the Oaxaca valley.
Spencer believes that this strategy was both more cost effective and less politically hazardous than attempting to start the state level system in the valley (Spencer op.cit.:255-6)2. This development occurred in a relatively short timespan, ca. first century AD.
An alternative theoretical basis for a group of societies going through a rapid change, involving discontinuities in the social structure and in the administrative and regulatory systems has been suggested by
Gailey and Patterson (Gailey and Patterson 1988, Patterson
1989). They disagree with the idea that all societies in a region pass through the same stages from egalitarian bands to chiefdoms, and finally to states, as proposed by Price with "cluster interaction" or Renfrew with "peer polity interaction" (Price 1977; Renfrew 1986).Their concept of
"combined and uneven development " is based on a
Marxist/Neo-Marxist approach. They do not see state formation as a smooth progression from simple to more complex societies, from subsistence hunter-gatherers to large urban based civilizations. Rather the process of
2. Spencer concluded that the extension of Zapotec territory and the acquisition of a new subject population required decentralized decision making, and internal administrative specialization. These are state level characteristics. The state level systems were needed immediately in the newly conquered area, and the cost could be defrayed from the tribute exacted from it. In the Oaxaca valley the settled Zapotec population could continue to function with the existing system at no extra cost, and need not be unsettled politically at that time by the imposition of hew systems and burdens. 20 state formation involves the development of class-based production, distribution and consumption systems. State formation in their view appears concerned with the reproduction or continuance of dominant and exploitative class relations. State formation, an historical process, is probably never unidirectional. States evolve, may rise to a position of dominance, then weaken, and may even disintegrate completely. State formation is often a regional phenomenon, the emerging state being involved in relations of dominance or subordination with its neighbours, and influencing their social structure towards increasing stratification, or being influenced by them. State formation is usually a rapid affair, of a few months or years, rather than decades, and is characterized by marked discontinuities or 'jumps' in the process of cultural evolution. The transformation to a state level of society creates a qualitatively different social and cultural structure. Whether the state, a centralized political power, emerges to protect pre-existing socio-economic stratification and exploitation, or whether the process of state formation creates or magnifies stratification and exploitation, is an interesting dilemma. Certainly an interaction between different groups seems an essential component of state formation (Gailey and Patterson 1988,
Gledhill 1988, Patterson 1989). Patterson proposes uneven development, with societies in a region being at significantly different levels of social and political 21 organization. He and Gailey take a historical materialist view, seeing the transition "from kin-based societies to class based state societies is contingent not on any natural laws, but on historically specific conditions" (Gailey and
Patterson op.cit.:86). Patterson draws three conclusions from his Marxist theoretical approach, and from consideration of two case studies, one using the Central
Andes and Peru, and the other the Han period in China and the Yamato period in Japan.
He contends that:
State formation is always part of historical developments that occur in larger regions. ... Early states have appeared in regions characterized by uneven social and political economic development. ... They consolidate very rapidly in a matter of months or a few years. (Patterson op. cit.:14)
Patterson's examples are largely of secondary state formation, in regions where other state level societies existed, or had existed.
This contrasts with the 'uneven' development proposed by Gailey, where contiguous groups of existing societies will have different social and political- economic structures, with shifting relationships of dominance and subordination. In this dialectical view state formation will occur in rather different ways, depending on the historical context and the linkages between the different societies.
In developing a theoretical model for the subject matter of this paper, two quite different concepts will be considered, cultural evolution with discontinuities, 22 exemplified by Spencer's punctuated equilibrium, and Gailey and Patterson's hypothesis concerning combined and uneven development. 23
IV. THE SITUATION IN SOUTH-EASTERN BRITAIN FROM THE EARLY
FIRST CENTURY BC to AD 43'
In the complex situation in south-east Britain in the period from the first century BC to AD 43, change may have been triggered by internal forces and stresses within the society, by the traditional (but probably illusory) waves of
'Belgic' invaders from continental Europe, by the contact with Rome, or by some combination of two or more of these phenomena. Traditionally it was thought that change was caused by a major 'Belgic' penetration of south-east Britain from Gaul prior to Caesar's attacks in 55-54 B.C., either by an elite group or by larger tribal invasions from Belgic
Gaul. In the past fifteen years this view has come under increasing attack, and is now not generally accepted. It was based largely on the reading of a passage from Caesar, and the archaeological record was made to fit this passage.
Recent work on the dating of the Late Iron Age Aylesford-
Swarling type cremation cemeteries, and on other new cremation practices traditionally ascribed to 'Belgic' invaders, has shown that the changes attributed to the
'Belgic invasions' took place after Caesar's attack in 55-54
B.C. It is now generally, if not universally, thought that trade and cultural contacts were the significant factors in the process of change, reflecting outside influence rather than direct immigration or invasion. In this paper this view of Belgic influence, rather than Belgic immigration is accepted, and the changes in British society will be 24 examined from the aspect of internal forces at work, plus the effect of contact and interaction with Rome and Gaul.
It appears possible that either the concept of
'combined and uneven development' or Spencer's hypothesis of punctuated equilibrium, evolution with discontinuities, may apply to the polities contending for dominance in south• eastern Britain, with the situation further modified and influenced by the proximity of the Roman state, and the trading activity with that state.
In Britain this area and time period seem to have had an unusually complex process of development, with power shifting between a number of groups in the space of one hundred years. At this time three possible centres of power are known or suspected, in the Colchester area at
Camulodunum, in the Braughing area at Skeleton Green and
Gatesbury, and in the area of St. Albans at Verulamium,
Wheathampstead and Prae Wood, all less than 100 km apart1.
The sequence of occupation of the sites seems to have been that the St. Albans area was probably a power centre at the time of Caesar's invasions in 55 and 54 BC, and that the
Colchester area and particularly Camulodunum had become the dominant centre of the Catuvellauni by the time of the
Claudian conquest in AD 43. Braughing, lying more or less on a direct line between the other two appears to have grown
1. Over the past twenty years there has been a remarkable increase in the number of archaeological sites discovered of all periods, from the Neolithic to the Medieval. It is quite likely that other centres of power will be found in south-eastern Britain, and this may require a revision of the sequence proposed here. 25 and decayed during the middle fifty years of this period.
In the final stages prior to the Roman conquest, St. Albans and possibly Braughing seem to have revived as regional centres for the ruling dynasty at Camulodunum.
If this sequence of development is correct, then, as figure 7 shows, the centre of power shifted from an interior site to a river site, and finally to a coastal site with its much greater possibilities for overseas trade and exchange.
Haselgrove has examined the function of trade relations with the Roman empire in both increasing social stratification and political expansionism in this area and period. He notes that a new feature is the contact with an
"organized commercial economy", the Roman one (Haselgrove
1982:80). He sees the trade with Rome as a new source of prestige goods, which enabled one group, through control of this trade to move to dominance from a situation of comparative equality with other groups. In particular
Cunebolinus, with his capital at Camulodunum (Colchester) in the early first century AD, established control over the previously dominant centres at Verulamlum (St. Albans) in
Hertfordshire, and over areas that had been subordinate to the Hertfordshire elite (Haselgrove 1982)
Darvill has suggested that one result of Caesar's expeditions was the establishment of "formal trading links" between Rome and south-eastern Britain. In this core zone from the first century BC to the early first century AD the archaeological record shows marked changes in the settlement 26 patterns, burial customs and the growth of imports. Locally produced gold, silver and bronze coinages develop, implying both a prestige use for gold coins and a functional use in trade for bronze coinage. Oppida develop as a focus for craft activities, trade, and the exercise of power. Rich burials start to occur, usually associated with oppida. In general, the period after Caesar is associated with very marked social and economic changes (Darvill 1987:162-171).
Partridge has proposed that after Caesar's expeditions the power of Cassivellaunus, his principal opponent, dropped off sharply2. Concurrently a group of small tribes mentioned by Caesar, but not attested directly in the archaeological record, the Cenimagni, Segontiaci, Ancalites,
Bibroci and Cassl, grew rapidly in wealth and power. He locates these tribes between Camulodunum (Colchester) in
Essex, the capital at that time of the Trinovantes, and
Cassivellaunus' probable oppida in the St. Albans area. He further suggests that a federation of these small tribes based itself on the Skeleton Green (Braughing) area, and ultimately under Tasciovanus, known from the legends on his coins, became dominant in the south-east. His probable successor, Cunobelinu3, known from both his coinage and the historical record, moved the capital to the east to
Camulodunum (Colchester). This was probably also the
2. After Caesar's invasion Cassivellaunus disappears from the historical record. Partridge hypothesizes that he lost a large proportion of his young nobles and warriors in the battles with the Romans, and that this undermined his power base (Partridge 1981:354). 27 capital of Caratacua, the son of Cunebolinus, who led the
British forces against the Roman invaders in AD 43
(Partridge 1981:351-356). 28
RESEARCH_QUESTIONSj, HYPOTHESES AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS:
~: "~ ~ A MODEL ' " "~
In this thesis an attempt has been made to answer the general and specific research questions set out below. To this end a general hypothesis has been developed, along with its implications. From this general hypothesis three specific hypotheses were evolved, together with their consequences. Four specific research questions and a model have been propounded for testing against the archaeological and literary data available.
X • Clej3^al_._R^^
a) What were the cultural evolutionary or other
processes, detectable in the archaeological record, at
work in transforming the Late Iron Age small tribal groups
in south-east England into a dominant proto-state, that of
Cunebolinus, between the 55/54 BC expeditions of Caesar,
and AD 43, the conquest by Rome? Was this an example of a
punctuated equilibrium, cultural evolution with
' discontinuities, or a case of "combined and uneven
development"?
b) Was this a locally engendered phenomenon, resulting
from internal strains and tensions, was it initiated or
augmented by outside forces, or was it a combination of
the two influences? Can local effects and outside forces
be distinguished in the archaeological record?
There would certainly appear to have been the possibility for social change and evolution based largely on 29 internal forces, as happened in the third and fourth centuries BC (Bradley 1984).
Change due to direct Roman influence might be felt in both the economic (trade) and political fields.
There is substantial evidence for trade, but was this a cause or an effect of internal change? If the Romans were aggressively pursuing new markets in Britain, this tends to suggest trade as a cause of social change. If, on the other hand, the British elite were promoting trade to strengthen or sustain their position, then it is an effect.
On the political front the Romans might desire to extend their influence to Britain, either to stabilize their frontier, or as a prelude to expansion. In Britain the local elites might wish to obtain Roman help in their inter- elite conflicts, or might regard Rome as the greatest threat, and wish to minimize Roman political influence.
Were the Romans thrusting themselves into Britain, or were they being drawn in reluctantly at the behest of
British chiefs? In the archaeological record it may be possible to distinguish the two cases. Put simply, if the
Romans were pushing in, one would expect Roman trade and political influence to show in the archaeological record over most of the area accessible to them, the south and south-east of Britain. If, on the other hand, some particular elites were seeking Roman trade or political help, then Roman artifacts and cultural traits should appear predominantly, or at least more frequently, in the area of 30 those elites. A complication could be that both processes were going on at the same time1.
The literary evidence is inconclusive on this point, and if anything suggests that both processes were operating.
There are accounts of displaced British chieftains appealing to Rome for help, but there are also accounts of unsought honours and friendship accorded to British kings. The nature of the trading contacts are spelt out by Strabo in some detail, and tend to suggest that the Romans were actively seeking certain British products. The two active
Roman interventions with force before the final conquest were Caesar's invasions of 55/54 BC. Broadly the British of southern and eastern Britain seem to have been hostile ca.
55/54 BC, then in general friendly for about eighty years until the death of Cunebolinus, and then hostile again under his successors, Caratacus and Togodumnua (Caesar B.G.:IV,
20-37, V 9-23; Strabo 11,5,8, IV,5,3; Suetonius,
Claudius:17; Tac itus, Ann.:2.24)2.
1. In either case Willey's trait-unit intrusions Bl and B2 seem to occur (Willey 1956). For coinage the B2 trait-unit, fusion with dominance of the corresponding part of the receiving culture occurs. On the other hand for pottery the Bl trait-unit, adoption without modification and without fusion happens. For the period covered in this paper imported and local pottery remain largely .separate and maintain their own traditions, although local copies of imports were made. 2. This is a broadly correct but somewhat simplified picture. For example the southern Atrebatea, under their successive rulers, Tincommiua, Epplllua, Verica and Cogidubnus, remained friendly to Rome throughout. Cogidubnua, the last of the line, remained a client king in Roman Britain until his death, probably in the mid 60s AD (Barrett 1979: Frere 1987:29-30). 31
^TTA..&.>->...... ^i^.^^,!^^.^^ r^^T.^ff ^^J^^USr^^^ • • • .^jfc^l.3e..fa^—..!JL'.33i.Q..^..X
The following general hypothesis will be tested in this paper:
Between the expeditions of Caesar 55/54 BC, and the
Claudian conquest by Aulus Plautius in AD 43, the south-east of Britain went through an evolution from "small scale political units engaged in continual competition" (Bradley
1984:147), to a proto-state level society. This took place, not as a smooth evolutionary process, but as a succession of sharp discontinuities in the structure of society, a manifestation of either punctuated equilibrium in cultural evolution, or of "combined and uneven development", resulting from tensions, stress and interaction between the tribal groups in the area, with quite different levels of sophistication in their social structures. The Roman intervention in the area in 55/54 BC was probably a triggering event, and the earlier Roman trade penetration helped accelerate the process. This culminated in the dominance of the Catuvellaunl led by Caratacus, based on his oppidum at Camulodunum (Colchester).
In order to validate this general hypothesis the following changes and processes must be demonstrated:
a) Society changed from an organization of a number of
chiefdoms of approximately equal power to one where a
paramount chief or king ruled over a large part of south•
eastern Britain. 32
b) This ruler's territory and society should show
evidence of incipient state level organization, in the
centralization of power, and the organization of control
mechanisms.
c) The changes did not involve a steady growth based on
one centre, but involved well marked shifts in control
from one centre to another as successive groups acquired
at least a temporary mastery.
d) The processes included Roman trade penetration,
expansion of the territory controlled by the successive
paramount chiefs in southern Britain, and exploitation by
the ruler of both the territory under his direct control,
and of the hinterland to the north and west.
3L. Spjej3.i£i.G„Hypoi.]i^
HypotliesJLs
The specific hypotheses to be tested are:
a) In south-east England, in the zone between the
Verulamium (St. Albans) area and Camulodunum (Colchester),
see Map 1., a number of small and middle- sized
independent chiefdoms were drawn together into a proto-
state between ca. 55 BC and AD 43. In this process two
groups successively rose to dominance, the first based on
Skeleton Green, near Braughing, Hertfordshire, and the
second based on Camulodunum (Colchester) in Essex. These
centres replaced the previous centre at Wheathampstead, 33
near St. Albans, which was dominant prior to Caesar's
raids of 55/54 B.C.
b) There was a temporal and spatial change in the centre
of power, the centre of trade and exchange, both internal
and external. The centre moved successively from
Wheathampstead in the period before 55 B.C., to Braughing
by the end of the millenium, and to Colchester on an
eastern coastal estuary by the early first century A.D.
c) The growth of the dominance of the group based on
Colchester, the Catuvellauni, led by Cunebolinus, was
built on exploitation of both the internal resources of
the kingdom, increased exchange and tribute exactions from
the less organized and structured periphereal areas to the
north and west, and the extension of trade with Rome.
4. Implications of the Specific Hypotheses
When a number of smaller chiefdoms are pulled together into a proto-state, the development of a major central place or capital would be expected, as a focus for both the rituals surrounding and reinforcing the status of the king, and as an administrative and controlling centre. The founding and growth of such a centre should be perceptible in the archaeological record. The former small central places of the chiefdoms could remain about the same size, if the chief had made a willing submission to the new overlord.
However, a change in elite artifacts should occur, as the new subject chief received prestige goods from the overlord.
For example a sudden appearance of gold coins, minted by the 34 king, in the subject chief's capital, suggests a new relationship. For chiefdoms which had resisted absorption, and whose chief had been displaced, two alternative outcomes are possible. The peasants might be given a new overlord, a retainer of the successful king, or they might become little more than slaves on a king's estate. In the first case there should be a break in the elite dwellings and artifacts at the site, as the 'foreign' elite takes over. In the second case the former chiefdom's central place would decline in size and complexity, and elite items would disappear.
Thus, in summary, with the scenario described in the hypotheses above, one would expect to find a new capital, or a much expanded old central place functioning as the new capital, with concurrent varying changes in the smaller centres within the new proto-state. In particular the St.
Albans area should show a decline from about 54 BC, while concurrently the site at Braughing should grow and acquire a wider range of elite goods. Similarly in the early first century AD, the Braughing site should show a decline and, possibly even abandonment, as Colchester expands. There could also be other changes in the social, economic and cultural patterns, for example, subordinate regional centres might develop and a very probable change would be the practice of elite burials for the new kingly families.
Again this should be detectable in the archaeological record. 35
With power and control of trade (intra-chiefdom, internal British, and overseas trade) moving from the St.
Albans area to Colchester, as proposed in specific hypothesis b), two effects should be expected. In succession each area would develop workshops, and the debris of workshops, making goods for trade and exchange, and possibly a mint3. This general phenomenon is well attested at a number of Late Iron Age major centres in Britain,
Hengistbury Head, Mountbatten, Camulodunum, and Skeleton
Green (Cunliffe 1989a, 1987; Hawkes and Hull 1947;
Partridge 1981). The workshops would expand and decline in parallel with the political and economic importance of the centre. Secondly, as each area becomes a trading centre, a scatter of low and medium level value local coins should appear, either as the state's payment for low level services, or as the medium of exchange for the smaller transactions. Locally minted British coinage should predominate but some Gaulish and Roman coins might probably be used. The presence of medium and higher value 'foreign' coins might also be expected if overseas trade developed4.
A corollary to the use of coins is that, because the minting
3. Coin moulds have been recovered from several Late Iron Age oppida sites in south-eastern Britain (Partridge 1981) 4. Evidence on this point is contentious. In the first few centuries after the introduction of coinage in the Mediterranean the coinage of the trading city states of Greece, Magna Graecia and the Hellenistic world tended to have a restricted circulation within their geographic boundaries (Kraay 1976). However, the silver coinage of 5th. century Athens appears to have been used over much of the Aegean. The low value Athenian coinage, the obol was used to pay citizens for services to the state, such as service in the triremes (Rutter 1983:31-35). 36 of local coinage only started in the Late Iron Age in
Britain, it would be expected that the amount of low value coinage in use would increase as the proto-state became more centralized, and with tighter control over economic activities.
The specific implications of hypothesis c) are that the range of types of goods and the volume of goods exchanged with, or exacted as tribute from, the less organized periphereal tribal groups should expand. Similarly the types and volume of goods imported from overseas should increase.
IL, JapejCiifJ^^
a) Is there evidence in the archaeological record which
will demonstrate the period and intensity of occupation at
the three areas, St. Albans, Braughing and Colchester, and
in particular evidence for successive occupations as power
centres between the early first century BC and AD 43?
b) Is there evidence for the expansion of the sphere of
influence of these areas, successively or simultaneously,
and for the intensification of their exploitation of the
peripheral areas?
c) Is there evidence for the growth of a power centre at
Braughing, by the federation or consolidation of several
smaller groups, and then for a shift of the power centre
to Colchester under the Catuvellauni? Is there evidence
for a revival of St. Albans and Braughing as regional
centres later in the period? 37
d) Is there evidence for increasing trade between Britain
and the Roman world, Italy, Gaul, the Rhineland and Spain,
particularly in the later 1st century BC and on up to AD
43? Evidence for increasing trade would be larger amounts
of specific imports, amphorae, Gaulish and Roman pottery,
glassware and luxury items such as jewellry.
An affirmative answer to question a) will support specific hypothesis a). Affirmative answers to questions b) and d) will support specific hypothesis c), and an affirmative answer to question c) will support specific hypothesis b).
6. A Theoretical Basis for the Model
A brief summary of the historical background to the situation in south-eastern Britain has been given in chapter
3, as part of the review of theoretical concepts which might be used. In this section the particular theoretical basis for the model to be used is developed.
The political changes in southern and eastern Britain in the period 55 BC to AD 43 most probably reflect a case of secondary proto-state formation in the shadow of the Roman
Empire. The archaeological and literary evidence suggests several sharp discontinuities in the social and political structures in the hundred year period. However they were more in the form of the rapid development of larger social units, proto-states, and the rise and fall of successive elites, rather than drastic changes in the peasant family or small community level of society as a whole. In general the 38 picture is of polities in southern and eastern Britain contending for dominance. These groups were at a more sophisticated level of social and political organization than the tribes in the peripheral areas and hinterland.
Although the apparent sequence of events in Britain might seem to fit either Spencer's or Patterson's model, there are difficulties. One is that in Britain a proto- state rather than a state was developing. It might have gone on to acquire the "internal administrative specialization" that Spencer proposes for a state, but the evidence suggests administration and regulation from one centre, Camulodunum (Colchester), with possibly limited decentralization to the St. Albans and Braughing areas. Its potential was cut short by the Roman conquest. The evidence for public or ceremonial buildings in the capital is slight, partly because of the probable timber, wattle-and-daub, and thatched construction, and partly because only a very limited area has been excavated. However, there are the very massive earthworks, the 'dykes', implying either voluntary communal effort or a corvee. The stratigraphic evidence indicates that the dykes were built in a fairly short period, and not over decades or centuries. Coinage was minted and circulated, and the evidence for manufacture and trade suggests an incipient mercantile society, producing at least some commodities or goods for exchange rather than consumption. 39
The cultural evolution with punctuated equilibrium approach of Spencer is one that allows a fairly generalized theoretical approach, which should be widely applicable.
With the neo-Marxist / historical materialist hypothesis proposed by Patterson and Gledhill, the situation is considered unique, moulded and affected by the constraints and forces of its historical context.
It appears that both concepts can have validity, but in rather different time frames. The evolutionary concept is essentially a longer cycle phenomenon, either proceeding as a smooth continuum with minute increments of change occurring all the time, or more probably as a series of long periods of relative stability with little change, punctuated by sharp discontinuities and short periods of intensive change. The short periods of intensive change will be unique events in their temporal and locational contexts.
Depending on the historical constraints and stresses, the course of events may have more than one possible trajectory.
The actual outcome will be determined by the set of conditions in the particular time and place, and not necessarily by a general theory. Once the short period of intensive change dies out, then another period of predictable stability will resume. One problem with the approach of Patterson and Gledhill is that it does not really account for preceeding and subsequent events, and is most easily used after the fact. 40
In the case discussed in this paper, it would appear that a case of intensive change in a brief time frame is occurring, but embedded within a longer cycle evolutionary framework. There had been some marked changes in the social and political structure in the previous few centuries as
British society moved from the Late Bronze Age through the
Early and Middle Iron Ages, but not changes of the rapidity and scale that happened between 55 BC and AD 43. These periods of change were preceeded by millenia of relative stability, punctuated by occasional short periods of intensive change, throughout the Paleolithic and Neolithic epochs.
The theoretical model used in this paper will employ the concepts advanced by Spencer and drawn from Gould in his paper. His application is in biology and botany, but the broad concepts are equally applicable to cultural evolution.
As Gould sees it:
Evolution is a hierarchical process with complementary, but different modes of change at its three major levels, variation within population, speciation, and patterns of macroevolution. Speciation is not always an extension of gradual adaptive allelic substitution to greater effect,, but may represent as Goldschmidt argued, a different style of genetic change-rapid reorganization of the genome, perhaps non-adaptive. Macroevolutionary trends do not arise from the gradual adaptive transformation of populations, but usually from a higher order selection operating upon groups of species, .... A new and general theory of evolution will embody this notion of hierarchy and stress a variety of themes either ignored or explicitly rejected by the modern synthesis: punctuational change at all levels, important non-adaptive change at all levels, control of evolution not only by selection, but equally by constraints of history, development and architecture- 41
thus restoring to evolutionary theory a concept of organism. (Gould 1980)
The situation in south-eastern Britain between ca. 55-
54 BC and AD 43 appears to be one of punctuational change, with "control of evolution...equally by constraints of
history, development and architecture...."
In the long chain of cultural evolution in Britain, the
archaeological record shows evidence for stable hunter-
gatherer societies surviving over several millenia up to ca.
3500 BC This was followed by three phases of Neolithic
farming communities, showing increasing complexity of social
organization and improving technology, followed by the
introduction of bronze and bronze weapons (Darvill 1987).
By about 600 BC, with iron in common use, a more turbulent
period emerged, with the development of a hillfort based
society. Society broke up into smaller groups with distinct
regional characteristics (Darvill op. cit.:133). By the
late second and early first century BC in the south-east,
hillforts went out of use and are succeeded by oppida, large
relatively undefended settlements. At the same time an
intense inter-chiefdom struggle developed for a dominant
position. Stability in society ends, and south-eastern
Britain moves into a period of punctuated change, or
alternatively of combined and uneven development. 42
7~.* The M.Q.de.1
The model, based on Partridge's hypothesis (Partridge
1981:353-6), is of a group of chiefdoms, the Cenimagni,
Segontiaci, Ancalites, Bibroci and Cassl, sandwiched between two large chiefdoms, that of Catuvellaunua to the west, based at St. Albans, and the Trinovantes to the east in north Essex. Caesar stated that these small tribes made peace with Rome, presumably in part as a shield from their more powerful neighbours6. Catuvellaunua' kingdom, after his defeat by Caesar was weak, and the Trinovantes to the east were not warlike. This temporal situation, and the locational situation of the small chiefdoms in the Braughing area, between St. Albans and Essex, allowed them to expand their influence, consolidate into one group, move first to the west to take over the St. Albans area and later to the east to take control of north Essex from the Trinovantes.
Finally a new capital was established at Camulodunum
(Colchester), with the beginnings of the development of a proto-state, with regional centres established at St.
Albans, and probably at Braughing.
5. Caesar's statement is the only evidence for the existence of these tribes. To date there is no archaeological evidence. The Trinovantes are the group for which there is the most solid evidence, literary and archaeological. The chiefdom of Cassivellaunus is mentioned several times in Caesar. A number of sites in Hertfordshire, including Wheathampstead and Prae Wood, have been proposed as a possible capital for him, but the evidence is circumstantial, not definite. One by-product of this thesis could be a firmer position for the existence of these smaller tribal groups. 43
The broad implications of the model are:
a) In the St. Albans area there should be a site or sites
of a chiefdom, possibly Wheathampstead, showing evidence
of pre-Caesarian occupation , followed by a decline. This
may have associated chiefly burials. By the time of the
Claudian conquest there may be one or more sites
developing as regional centres, at Prae Wood, Verulamium
(St. Albans) or Skeleton Green, to the capital at
Camulodunum (Colchester). Associated with the regional
centre or centres should be rich intermediate burials with
the post Caesarian Aylesford-Swarling cremation rite6.
b) In the Braughing area there should be a site later
than Wheathampstead and showing rapid growth as the minor
chiefdoms concentrated their power, and then a decline to
a regional centre when the capital moved to Camulodunum
(Colchester). There should be some evidence of elite and
intermediate Aylesford-Swarling type cremation burials.
c) In the Colchester area, when Braughing and St. Albans
declined, the largest site of the three, Camulodunum
should develop as the capital of the emerging proto-state.
This site should exist up to the Roman conquest in AD 43,
and probably in a Romanized form after the conquest7,.
Again Camulodunum (Colchester) should show evidence for
late and probably richer royal and elite cremation burials
than earlier sites.
6. The elite or royal burials should appear at Camulodunum. 7. Roman towns and centres in Britain are frequently on the site of, or adjacent to, pre-Roman oppida or major valley settlements (Corney 1984; Fulford 1986,1984; Wacher 1978). 44
8. Specific implications from the Model
Specific implications of the model for the archaeological record have been defined for each type of artifact or feature/structure, including pottery (Roman,
Gallo-Belgic and native wares), amphorae, coins, brooches, earthworks and buildings, and burials. Other classes of artifact noted in the excavation reports, glass, iron and bronze metalwork, jewellery and miscellaneous items occurred either in quantities which were too small for meaningful inter-site comparison, in an undefinable form (for example
"piece of bronze"), or occurred only at one site, al Poitery.
The pottery can be subdivided into three classes, Roman
(Arretine and South Gaulish ware, or terra sigillata),
Gallo-Belgic imports from Gaul (mostly terra nigra, terra
rubra and mica-dusted wares, and mortaria), and native
wares. If the model is valid the following patterns
should appear:-
These should be minimal or non-existant at
Wheathampstead, should appear at Braughing and Prae Wood
(St. Albans), and be most plentiful at Colchester.
These should follow a similar pattern to the Roman
imports. 45
X..3J Es&±veJitlajc.gg,
These should be predominant at Wheathampstead, and
still make up the bulk of the pottery at the other two
sites. Local copies of imports should begin to appear at
Prae Wood and Braughing, and should be present as a higher
percentage of the total native wares at Colchester, b) Amphorae
Amphorae were used as containers for wine, olive oil,
fish sauce and other luxury comestibles traded to Britain.
In the period covered in this thesis they were all
imported. Roman amphorae have distinct stylistic changes
depending on the period and their place of manufacture.
The amphorae from the excavations were originally
classified under a number of different systems, Dressel,
Haltern, Loeschcke, Pascual, Hofheim and Camulodunum. For
the purposes of this paper, and to make comparisons
possible, they have been reclassified into one system,
that proposed by Peacock and Williams in Amphorae and the
Roman Economy (Peacock and Williams 1986). In general no
amphorae, or only early ones, such as Dressel I or Class
4, should be present at Wheathampstead. Braughing should
have more amphorae, and possibly from more than one
source. Colchester should have the largest number, both
in variety, and in the number of sources from which they
came. 46 c) Coins
By the middle of the time period examined in this
paper, British Iron Age coinage was usually inscribed
either with the name of the ruler, or the name of the
tribe, and sometimes with the name of the mint. In some
cases both the ruler's name and the mint appear. The
production and use of coinage should increase with
increasing social complexity8. The geographic spread of
the coinage should reflect the area ruled by, allied to,
or under the influence of the ruler issuing the coinage.
Coin distributions may also indicate trading patterns.
British Iron Age coins, particularly inscribed coins
should be minimal or non-existent at Wheathampstead,
should be in reasonable supply at Braughing, especially in
the later pre-Roman phases, and at Colchester should be
more plentiful, and reflect the predominance of one ruler
Cunebolinus.
A further expectation from the coin finds would be that
the overall distribution of the coins would increase, as
the area governed by one ruler expanded. Coins of the
Braughing ruler or rulers should have a fairly local
8. In the Classical world coins first appeared about the 8th. century BC in Asia Minor. They were technically and artistically of high quality, with a limited distribution and were almost certainly prestige items. By the late 1st. century BC coinage was in everyday use in the Roman world in both high and low value denominations. One principal use was for army pay. In Britain at this period low value potin and bronze coins were in circulation, and this suggests a more complex economy and society. 47
distribution, while those of Cunebolinus should be
recovered from a much wider area.
There should also be changes in the grouping of the
different classes of coins, gold, silver, potin9 and
bronze. Earlier coins would tend to be gold or silver,
for use as prestige items or payments among the elite.
For this period their distribution might identify possible
centres of the elite class. As society became more
complex, low value coins would appear, either to pay for
subordinate level service, or or for use in trade and
exchange. At the same time the gold and silver coinage
would tend to concentrate at the capital and regional
centres, the home base of the king and his immediately
subordinate elite group, d) Brooches
One large find has been published, 237 brooches from
the 472 burials at King Harry Lane (St. Albans) (Stead and
Rigby 1989). Of the 237, 50 were from contexts that can
be firmly dated to the period under study. Only thirty-
three brooches were recovered from datable contexts at all
the other excavations. Some were imported, and some were
manufactured locally.
9. Potin coinage was a low value usually uninscribed cast tin and bronze alloy coinage, occurring in areas in southern Britain, but with the largest concentration along the Thames valley. When new they had a silvery appearance. They probably evolved from Gaulish types, which in turn were derived from the bronze coinage of Massilia (Marseilles) (Allen 1960:122). 48
In general, with increasing social complexity, two
hypotheses appear possible. In one the increasing
complexity and size of the social unit, and the increase
in trade might both be reflected in increasing variety in
the types of brooches used by different classes, and a
higher proportion of prestige imports. With the
alternative hypothesis, while prestige imports would still
be numerous, the variety of types might be restricted by
sumptuary laws or customs. Conceivably both hypotheses
could be valid, but at different time periods. For the
situation in Britain at this time the first hypothesis is
considered more likely, in part because of the fluid and
rapidly changing social structure with insufficient time
for new sumptuary customs to become established.
The pattern should be a minimum of variety and imports
at Wheathampstead, more at Braughing, and the most at
Colchester. eJ. JB.ur_i.als.
Prior to Caesar's invasions of 55-54 BC, inhumation in
flat graves was the normal rite. Shortly after 55-54 BC,
cremation followed by burial in a flat grave with some
grave goods became the usual practice in south-eastern
Britain. The excavations at Aylesford (Evans 1890), and
Swarling (Bushe-Fox 1925), established the type site for
this burial practice.
The implications of the specific hypotheses are that
pre-Caesarian Wheathampstead is most unlikely to have 49
associated cremation burials. Cremation burials of the
Aylesford-Swarling type and elite burials should be
associated with the Braughing site. Prae Wood and
Verulamium (St. Albans) as a possible later regional
centre may have cremation burials of the Aylesford-
Swarling type, and possibly some middle level elite
burials. Colchester should have the richest elite
burials, as well as cremation burials of the Aylesford-
Swarling type, f) Earthworks
From the archaeological evidence the main part of each
of the earthworks associated with this study, although
built at different periods, was built in a relatively
short space of time, perhaps ten to fifteen years. In
general their size would have required a communal effort,
either voluntary, or a corvee. Those at Prae Wood (St.
Albans), Braughing and Colchester are on the flanks of
hills, or spreading out onto plains or low plateaus. As
group they define an area rather than enclose it.
Wheathampstead's earthworks probably had a defensive
purpose, but the impression at the other sites is more of
stock enclosures, or boundary delineation. Those at
Camulodunum may have made a statement of prestige, as wel
as serving functional purposes.
If earthworks for all these purposes, defensive,
boundary markers, stock enclosure, or a statement of
prestige, were a common cultural trait throughout the 50 period, then one hypothesis would be that they should increase in size and complexity with time. However their functions are obviously different. Some are purely defensive, some are just part of the animal husbandry system, some are boundary markers, and some have elements of more than one function.
The specific implications proposed are based on a change in the social and political organization. At the
Wheathampstead enclosed area, where the surviving work was sectioned by Wheeler in the 1930s, it proved to be a ditch
40m wide and 12m deep, with the earth and spoil spread mainly on the inner lip, with only a small amount on the outer lip. This suggests the Late Iron Age hillfort of a
local chiefdom, a defensive structure, appropriate to a period when Cassivellaunus was aggressively expanding his
sphere of control while surrounded by hostile neighbours.
After his defeat by Caesar, the power struggle in south• eastern Britain was initially among smaller groups, operating in part under the protection of treaties with
Rome. These had neither the resources, the time, nor the need for a defensive enclosure, but did need stock enclosures. With the supremacy of Cunebolinus established by the beginning of the first century AD, and the founding
of a new capital at Camulodunum (Colchester), there were both the resources and the need to build a massive series
of earthworks, some defensive, some to define territory
and some to demonstrate prestige, as well as the more 51 mundane requirement for stock control. The implications for this scenario are a defensive enclosure in the
Wheathampstead phase, stock control enclosures at Prae
Wood and Skeleton Green, and boundary markers and prestige monuments in the Camulodunum (Colchester) phase, with some
lesser earthworks for stock enclosure' within the boundary markers.
£1_ Buildings
For buildings the implications from the hypotheses are: -
(1) Increasing social complexity from Wheathampstead
through Prae Wood, Verulamium, Skeleton Green and
Camulodunum should be reflected in a wider range of
sizes and types of dwelling, as a result of more
stratification and classes in society.
(2) At Camulodunum (Colchester) and possibly at
Braughing and Verulamium (St. Albans), one or more quite
different high status buildings should appear as royal
residences. 52
VI. THE SOURCES OF THE DATA
There are two principal sources for the period 55 BC
to AD 43 in Britain, the published reports on the
archaeological record and the ancient literary sources. l.» I!h^._Li±ej_-.ar„y SQU.r.C„e,3
In the past there has been a great tendency to regard
the literary sources as accurate, and to try to fit or match
the archaeological facts to the historical accounts. A match between the two sources has been rare, or is made
"often at the cost of severe distortion" (Megaw and Simpson
1979:347).
How 'hard' is the literary evidence? It was written most commonly by people in an elite group, or by people
attached to the interests of an elite group. Much of it is
favourable or unfavourable reporting, or outright
propaganda, for or against a person or interest. The
authors were often- completely uncritical in using the work
of earlier writers, and very frequently gave no attribution
for material that was outside their personal knowledge. For
example Caesar's Gallic Wars were probably intended to
present him in a favourable light to the people, and
possibly the senate, in Rome. Tacitus' work on Agricola,
his father-in-law, is an eulogy, intended to present a
picture of a brilliant and selfless general, thwarted by a
cruel and vindictive emperor. A further problem is that
style was often regarded as more important than content
(Mann and Penman 1977:4-6). 53
Is the literary evidence then of any value to the archaeologist? The answer is probably "yes", but not as a primary source of evidence. In using the literary sources the standard questions must be asked, who wrote it, when and for what purpose? A contemporary account by a participant is likely to be more accurate about what he saw, did or thought, or what he believed he saw, did or thought, than an account written tens or even hundreds of years after the events. Was a "history" written to promote or defend an interest? Can the reliability of the author be checked against other non-literary evidence?
Probably the chief value of the literary sources is that they can provide a broad background, as well as information or hints on social and political organization, religious customs and rituals and other cultural traits that may leave little or no trace in the archaeological record.
One caveat with most of the Roman and Greek literary sources is that we do not have the originals, but only medieval copies, often in several versions, and frequently incomplete or fragmentary. The exceptions are the intact, or substantially intact inscriptions that have survived from public buildings, monuments, altars and tombstones, such as the res gestae divi Augusti, together with the occasional graffiti.
In this paper the literary sources will be used only as secondary evidence, and then primarily in the discussions and conclusions to amplify or clarify the archaeological 54 data. In a few cases the literary evidence is the only evidence. For example, Strabo's statement that "dogs suitable for hunting" were part of the exports from Britain is the only evidence for this "fact" (Strabo IV,5,2).
Inscribed coinage has been extensively studied and reported. Discussion of this as another source for written evidence, mainly giving rulers' names, titles, and mints is included with the review and evaluation of the coin finds in
Chapter X.
A list of the literary sources, with a brief description of their contents is given in Appendix A.
2_= Ihe„jy^haep lojgjcalJFtejc^&d,
Obviously the archaeological 'facts', the shape,size, location and stratification of artifacts, structures and buildings are fairly 'hard' evidence, provided that the excavator has been skilful and competent. However, the archaeologist's interpretation of the material is often unavoidably quite subjective, depending on his 'school', and his theoretical, scholastic and personal biases. Quite often diametrically opposed conclusions will be drawn from the same set of 'hard' archaeological facts, as in Hodder's and Binford's disagreement over the "post-processual" approach (Hodder 1986:171). Nevertheless, in the long run, a consensus or significant majority interpretation can often be reached.
The archaeological record, in addition to the normal features, artifacts and ecofacts recovered during 55
excavation, may include certain artifacts carrying
additional information, for example inscribed and datable
coins or objects with dedicatory inscriptions.
3. Archaeological Source Material (Monographs, Articles and
Eubj_ts.ai„imisl
The material used in this thesis falls into several broad categories. Apart, from the literary-historical
sources discussed in section 1 above, the following sources were used:
a) Excavation reports for the main sites:
(1) Wheathampstead, Prae Wood, King Harry Lane,
Verulamium, and Welwyn in the St. Albans area,
(2) Skeleton Green, Gatesbury and Wickham Hill in the
Braughing area.
(3) Camulodunum, Sheepen and Gosbecks Farm in the
Colchester area.
b) Excavation reports for a number of minor periphereal
sites and excavations have also been utilized. Many of
these have been done by local archaeological societies,
are reported briefly in slightly obscure county
publications, but are far more recent than the main
excavations done in the 1930s.
c) Specialist studies on pottery, coins, amphorae,
brooches, earthworks, buildings and burials.
d) Recent works of synthesis or summary and review for
the period and area being studied. As noted earlier there
has been a revision in the interpretation of the Late 56
British Iron Age in the last ten years or so. Earlier
works have been referred to, but used selectively and only
when their conclusions are still valid.
These principal sources are discussed and evaluated at more length at the appropriate points in the thesis.
In answering the specific research questions most reliance has been placed on the principal excavation reports, and the more recent additional work and re- evaluation done on the sites, supplemented by specialist monographs and analyses on types of artifacts. 57
XII .THE_.ilJiaLXSI.S.„..OZ„lH£..mT.A
The analysis of the evidence and data collected has been divided into four parts. The first involved the tabulation of the data on artifacts and features abstracted and summarized from the excavation reports. From an examination and analysis of the tabulated material inferences and conclusions have been drawn. This was to some extent a subjective analysis. The second was the analysis of information from specialist monographs and studies on the features, artifacts and ecofacts, and from the inferences and conclusions drawn by the authors of the monographs. In some cases the excavator has written the specialist analysis, in others he has called on another scholar with the appropriate expertise to carry out the analysis and draw the conclusions. The inferences and conclusions from these first two approaches are reported in
Chapters VIII to XV. The third approach was the analysis of the material in the literary sources, reported in Chapter
XIV. The fourth was use of some simple statistical methods on the tabulated data for certain artifacts, principally to make some inter-site comparisons.
XJ_..Px.QbJ,..ejioLs._a? j t hL_ths--J3.a.t..a
In general there is insufficient material from the sites for sophisticated statistical or mathematical treatment. Some simple broad brush statistical methods and analyses have been used with the tabulated data, and this treatment is reviewed briefly in section 5 below. Most of 58 the analysis has been based on less rigorous and more subjective analyses based on logic and common sense. For example, the Lexden Tumulus burial has a substantial number of grave goods which do not occur in any other burials of the period. These grave goods are more numerous, richer and show major Roman influence. Several useful hypotheses can be inferred from this. The burial is probably that of a paramount chief in the area, with more resources and therefore control over a wider territory than his contemporaries, and with significant links with Rome, either political or economic. These hypotheses are strengthened by work on the distribution of inscribed coinage, and the proportions of imported pottery. Many of the final conclusions are based on this type of correlation of data from different sources, in which the cumulative weight of evidence, rather than a single piece, suggests a probable answer.
The major problems in using both subjective analysis and statistical methods with the data tabulated from the sites and burials are that the sample, statistically speaking, is terrible, and that for a number of artifact types the actual number is very small, in the ones and twos, rather than the five to ten required in each group for reasonable reliability. At none of the sites was complete excavation either contemplated or practicable. At none of the sites were the excavation units located in accordance with a predetermined random sample selection of units. At 59
St. Albans the excavations were made on and around substantial visible features, the earthworks. At Braughing and Colchester the excavations were made in advance of major projected road improvements. Although two seasons of excavation were possible at Braughing and ten years work was done at Colchester, the areas excavated were essentially
limited to those later covered by the new road systems, representing less than 1% of the probable site area.
Since the original excavations were completed and published1, there have been a number of further small excavations and surveys done, and published in the local archaeological journals. These have amplified, corrected and re-evaluated the earlier publications, but have not in general, extended the areas excavated or the data base for the artifacts. The major part of all the sites remains unexcavated, and with the growth and development of the cities of St. Albans and Colchester, these unexcavated areas are now largely inaccessible. At Braughing a limited amount of further work has been done, noted briefly in the annual summaries, but in detail it remains unpublished.
A further difficulty is that at all three sites there was a major Roman occupation later, overlying significant parts of the Late Iron Age site. These Roman levels obviously lie above the Iron Age material, and have
1. Excavation and publication were done as follows:- The St. Albans area in 1930-34, published in 1936, Colchester in 1930-39, published in 1947, Braughing in 1971-72, published in 1981, and King Harry Lane in 1965-1970, published in 1989. 60 generally attracted the most attention. From recent
Bondages below Roman St. Albans, it has now become obvious that a hitherto unsuspected and major Late Iron Age site of the same general date as the adjacent Prae Wood site underlies Roman St. Albans. All we have to date is a tantalizing glimpse into this area.
The conclusions drawn from both the subjective and statistical analysis of the data can thus only be very tentative and qualified, will need support from independent sources, and will certainly be subject to revision as new material comes to light in the next decades.
2. Selection of the Data
The data from the archaeological record suitable for analysis and comparison can be grouped into a number of classes. Those selected for study and analysis are pottery; amphorae; coins; brooches; burials; and earthworks and buildings.
Other finds included small quantities of bone from domesticated small oxen, sheep, pig, horse and dog. Wild animal bones were very rare, only a few red deer and fox bone fragments were found. Bird bones included raven, heron, buzzard and crow, together with a few from domestic fowls. At Camulodunum alone were large quantities of oyster shells reported. At Skeleton Green fish bones were identified from eel, roach and chub (freshwater fishes), and from flounders, plaice and Spanish mackerel (estuary and marine species). Fish bones may have been present at 61
Camulodunum, but the excavation techniques at this 1947 dig may not have been sufficiently sophisticated to recover them. A few grains of emmer and spelt wheat, and six row barley were recovered from Skeleton Green. Three fragments of glass were found in pre-conquest levels at Camulodunum.
Glass was not recorded from the other sites. Because the numbers of these ecofacts and artifacts were small, and usually not quantified in any consistent manner, and because they did not all occur at most sites, they are not suitable for statistical analysis, and are of limited use for subjective comparison across sites. Their significance has been noted in the analysis where relevant.
The raw data on pottery, amphorae, coins, brooches, burials, buildings and earthworks is shown in the tables in the subsequent chapters. From these tables of raw data, various summary tables have been made to facilitate both subjective analysis of the tabulated material, and statistical manipulation of the data.
The limited information from the literary sources is discussed briefly below, and reviewed and discussed in detail in chapter XIV.
3. Analysis and Comparison of the Tabulated Data
As noted earlier, this analysis done from an inspection of the tabulated data, is more subjective than a rigorous statistical approach. It often uses pieces of evidence even less clearly defined than those used in the statistical analysis. However, used with due caution, it is felt that 62
the subjective analysis is as reliable as the statistical work, perhaps more so. It uses a wide range of often
fragmentary sources, but by rigorous cross-checking between
all the sources, and only accepting firm inferences when
they are supported by the evidence from several sources, an
acceptable degree of credibility should be attained.
The archaeological evidence from the three areas, St.
Albans, Braughing and Colchester, has been examined by class
of artifact and feature. Information relevant to this
thesis, from the peripheral areas around south-eastern
Britain, has been collected from other excavation reports
and monographs. For example, the distribution in the
periphereal areas of coins minted by the rulers of south•
eastern Britain, is used in examining both the coinage,
trade and spheres of influence.
Caesar is the principal contemporary source, and there
seems to be no reason to doubt the reality of his two
invasions of Britain, even though, unlike the Claudian
invasion of AD 43, there is no archaeological evidence for
the incursions of 55 and 54 BC. He was there in person and
his evidence is first hand. Tacitus, probably the second most reliable source, had second-hand but still quite
reliable evidence. He must have talked to his father-in-
law, Agricola, who campaigned in Britain for eight seasons,
AD 78-85, and probably to other veterans. 63
Evidence from other authors such as Horace, Strabo,
Suetonius and Frontinus, and from the res gestae divi
Augustae, is principally of interest in showing the probable state of political and diplomatic relations between Rome and
Britain in the years from 55 BC to AD 43.
A brief summary of the sources for the literary evidence is given in Appendix A.
5_. Jatatisjfeica,! Analyses,
The raw data, as noted above, is not any sort of random sample. At all three major locations, Colchester, Braughing and St. Albans, sites were excavated because they were available, and at Colchester and Braughing in advance of major road works. The burials were nearly all chance finds, made in the course of civil engineering and municipal projects. The only two excavated completely, and in a planned manner by archaeologists, are the King Harry Lane cemetery (St. Albans) and the Lexden tumulus (Colchester).
A further problem is that at all the three principal sites, the pre-conquest material was overlain by Roman occupation remains, often of a very substantial nature. Thus although very large quantities of artifacts were recovered, for example over forty tons of pottery at Camulodunum
(Colchester), very few artifacts were found in, or could be assigned to pre-conquest levels. In most cases this has given very small sample sizes in, the raw data. To help overcome this difficulty, much of the raw data has been regrouped into larger, but still logical, units for 64
statistical analysis. An additional problem with the
ceramics is the different methods used by the excavators to
report the material recovered. For the imported pottery,
all have reported the range of types and variants found, and
all except the Prae Wood excavation have reported their
estimated number of vessels of each type present. For the
Gallo-Belgic pottery Prae Wood uses the indefinite terms
"numerous" or "very numerous".
For the native pottery all except Gatesbury (Braughing)
report the range of types and variants, but only Camulodunum
(Colchester) reports the number of vessels.
This has restricted the pottery analysis and
comparison, to analysis and comparison of the range of types
and variants. Considering the serious weaknesses in the
sample, this aggregation of the data may in fact produce
more reliable and useful diagnostic information than a
comparison of absolute quantities.
Amphorae are somewhat similar. All sites report the
full range of classes present at the site, but Prae Wood
(St. Albans), Camulodunum (Colchester) and the burials
report the actual number of amphorae, while Skeleton Green
and Gatesbury (Braughing) just the total weight of sherds in
gm. To make comparisons possible these weights have been
converted, as shown in Table 5a, into an estimated
equivalent number of vessels.
Coins occur in numbers at only two sites, Skeleton
Green (Braughing) and Camulodunum (Colchester). Prae Wood 65
(St. Albans) produced one coin, and Wheathampstead,
Gatesbury (Braughing) and the burials none, except for a small hoard of ten coins from one grave at King Harry Lane
(St. Albans). Statistical use of the coins is therefore restricted to a comparison of these two sites.
The sample of brooches, Table 7, is of doubtful value for statistical analysis. King Harry Lane cemetery has produced the largest number, followed by Skeleton Green and
Camulodunum. Some interesting comments on the relative proportions of imported and native brooches have been made by Mackreth (Mackreth 1981:131).
The published information on the modest and
intermediate burials was insufficient for statistical analysis. The recent publication of the 472 burials from the King Harry Lane (St. Albans) site, has provided more data. Of the 472 graves excavated, 73 could be assigned to the period covered in this paper, and could be used in
intra-site comparisons, but not for inter-site work.
The rich burials can be compared on type, and range and number of artifacts.
The statistical analysis used four techniques:-
a) Some exploratory data analysis (EDA) to search for patterning. b) Inter-site comparisons of selected artifact types, to
see if changes in social organization and economic activity between sites can be inferred from the archaeological
record. 66 c) Multi-variate analysis using clustering and dendrograms for the complete assemblage of selected artifacts from the three key sites to see if they show some sort of ranking in complexity, and if so, whether this ranking conforms to the model, and agrees with the subjective analysis. 67
1... Introduction
the pottery recovered from the various sites falls into two groups, local and imported, and each group has two types. There is locally made pottery, either in local shapes and styles, or made in imitation of the styles and shapes of imported wares. There is imported pottery of two main types, a red glossy Terra Sigillata1 in two varieties, and Gallo-Belgic wares with three variants2. Very little
Terra Sigillata was recovered from stratified deposits for the period covered by this paper. In Tables 1 and 2 the
Terra Sigillata has been separated into Arretine and South
Gaulish wares. Very few pieces of South Gaulish ware were found, most of the Terra Sigillata coming from Arretium. In the discussion below the Terra Sigillata is largely treated as one group, as South Gaulish ware occurs only at Skeleton
Green, where it is represented by three sherds from two
1. The bright red glossy imported fineware that occurs in large quantities at post-conquest Romano-British sites was traditionally called Samian ware in British Archaeology. Today Terra Sigillata is the preferred term. This style of pottery was originally made at Arretium in Italy, and has been called Arretine ware. In the first century AD the original Arretine ware was largely replaced by superior copies made in South Gaul at La Graufesenque and Montans. Production in South Gaul started between AD 15-25. Later other provincial centres in Africa and the East attempted to copy the ware, but with less success. 2. Gallo-Belgic Pottery was made in three forms in Northern Gaul, Terra Rubra with an orange coated cream to buff finish, Terra Nigra polished grey to black vessels, and Terra Nigra plus a mica dusting to simulate metal vessels. This pottery was shipped to Britain before the conquest, but Terra Rubra was out of production before the 50s, and Terra Nigra by ca. AD 80 (Swan 1978:11). 68 vessels. This scarcity of South Gaulish ware is to be
expected, as production only.started a few years before the
conquest. The three types of Gallo-Belgic pottery have been
grouped together in Tables 3 and 3a, as there is not enough
information in some of the excavation reports to make a
separation. This is believed to be reasonable, as to a
large extent production of the variants was contemporaneous,
although the production of Terra Nigra lasted a few years
longer. Native pottery, whether of native style or native
copies of imported styles has also been grouped together in
the tables. Native pottery from Wheathampstead had no
copies of imported vessels. At Prae Wood about one third of
the locally made pottery copied Gallo-Belgic styles. At
Camulodunum and Skeleton Green, although no detailed
breakdown of the proportions of native style and copies of
imported vessels for locally made pottery is given, an
examination of the published profiles suggests that more
than half the styles were copies of imports.
2..« Kojfce^jQ&jJae^^
The raw data on pottery types and number of vessels
from the excavation reports has in many cases tended to give
small or very small numbers. To help overcome this
difficulty, much of the raw data has been regrouped into
larger, but still logical, units for both subjective and
statistical analysis. This has restricted the pottery 69
analysis and comparison, to analysis and comparison of the
range of types and numbers of vessels, rather than a vessel
by vessel comparison across sites. Considering the serious weaknesses in the sample, discussed in Chapter VII, this
bunching of the data will in fact produce more reliable and
useful diagnostic information than a comparison of absolute
quantities. An additional problem with the ceramics is the
different methods used by the excavators to report the
material recovered. For the imported pottery, all have
reported the range of types and vessels found, and all
except the Prae Wood excavation have reported their
estimated number of vessels of each type present. For the
Gallo-Belgic pottery Prae Wood uses the indefinite terms
"numerous" or "very numerous".
For the native pottery all except Gatesbury (Braughing)
report the range of types and vessels, but only Camulodunum
(Colchester) reports the number of vessels.
For inter-site comparisons the absolute number of
vessels of each type appears to be of dubious value. As
noted previously in Chapter VII, the percentage of each site
actually excavated is small, and was not based on any
sampling procedure. The actual absolute area excavated
varied widely. The area investigated at Camulodunum was
about one hundred times larger than the area excavated at
Skeleton Green. The actual number of vessels recovered is
most likely related to the area excavated, and to the 70
fortuitous occurrence of vessels in a particular trench.
The range of vessel types seems a much better figure for
inter-site comparison. Although it is still not a random
sample, a large enough area was excavated at all sites for
there to be a fair chance that representatives of most types
of vessel were recovered. Quite a number of sherds were
from rubbish pits or tips, and these are more likely to be
representative than sherds from a specific activity site,
such as a kitchen, an elite dining room or a slave's hut.
Therefore for inter-site comparisons the range of vessel
types has been the figure used.
For example at Skeleton Green imported and locally made
platters are equally represented, while at Camulodunum 93%
of the platters are imported. One interpretation of these
figures might be that Camulodunum was a wealthier community, where the elite could afford more luxurious eating vessels.
For intra-site comparisons the actual number of vessels
probably has some significance. For example, at Camulodunum
of a total of 114 platters, most are imports, while from 360
drinking vessels only 25% are imports. One inference from
this might be that high status people used imported platters
and drinking vessels, while low status people used locally
made drinking vessels, and ate out of bowls (see Tables 3a
and 4a).
In the pottery tables the lefthand figure under each
site is the number of different styles for each type of 71
vessel, and the righthand figure is the actual number of
vessels the excavators believed they had found. For example
in Table 1 for Camulodunum there are nine different styles
of Arretine vessels in a total collection of 26+ vessels.
In Table 3 there are sixteen different types of platter in a
collection of 106. The vessels were not complete in
general, but enough varieties of sherds were found for the
number of vessels to be inferred. Where there is an "x" in
the tables, the information or data were not recorded in the
published excavation report. With the exception of
Gatesbury, only pottery from stratified deposits which dated
prior to AD 43 has been used in this paper. The pottery
from Gatesbury, a site adjacent to Skeleton Green, is in the
Henderson Collection, made from a series of casual
excavations by a local farmer, and has no exact provenance
or context. It has not been used at all in the statistical work, and only with caution in the other discussions. The
Gatesbury site, from more recent work, was occupied both
before and after the Roman conquest, and the finds could be
from either period.
At Camulodunum and Skeleton Green, far more pottery
than that listed here was recovered, but the bulk of it was
either from unstratified and undatable deposits, or post
conquest layers. At Camulodunum over forty tons of pottery
was excavated. 72
ZL, IfflEPXJlLadJE^
Tables 1 and 2 show the Arretine and South Gaulish vessels from each site. As would be expected, there is practically no South Gaulish, as it was not in full production until ca. AD 15-25. In these two tables there were too few vessels to make a detailed classification into
the different vessel types meaningful.
Table 1. Imported Pottery, Arretine (Number of Styles and Vessels) Type Camulo- Gates- King Prae Skel- Wheat• dunum bury Harry Wood eton hamp• Lane Green stead All Types 9 26 7 14 1 1 4 7 6 12 0 0 (Number of Styles and Vessels) Table 2. Imported Pottery, South Gaulish
Type Camulo- Gates- King Prae Skel- Wheat- dunum bury Harry Wood eton hamp- Lane Green.,, stead All types 000000002300
Setting aside the Gatesbury material for the reasons noted above, the Iron Age enclosure at Wheathampstead produced no imports, the King Harry Lane site one vessel,
Prae Wood four types of Arretine ware, Skeleton Green six
types of Arretine ware and two South Gaulish, and
Camulodunum nine types of Arretine. This suggests an
increase in both the variety and volume of imports with
increasing political importance of the site . This is
consistent with the hypotheses and model in Chapter XII.
4_.„. Imp„Qj?ie„4^
The Gallo-Belgic imports are shown in detail in Table
3, and in a summarized form in Table 3a below. 73
Type Camulo• Gates• King Prae Skel• Wheat• dunum bury Harry Wood eton hamp• Lane Green stead Platters 16 106 13 62 ~8" " 16 _ N 15 64 0 0 Cups 2 26 4 12 8 13 5 N 8 21 0 0 Beakers 8 61 4 47 10 29 6 N 6 39 0 0 Bowls 3 3 0 0 3 3 2 N 1 0 0 Jars 0 0 1 1 1 3 4 N 14 ' 34^ 0 0 Stor. Jars 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 N 1 0 0 Pedestals 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 N 0 0 0 0 Jugs 3 30 0 0 0 0 2 N 5 11 0 0 Flagons 0 0 0 0 6 7 2 N 2 3 0 0 Mortaria 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 N 2 2 0 0
TOTAL 34 229 22 122 36 71 33 N 52 174 0 0
T_ab.le_..__3.a,J S_umjmrjyJ.._I^^
Type Camulo• Gates• King Prae Skel• Wheat• dunum bury Harry Wood eton hamp• Lane Green stead Platter 16 106 13 62 8 16 ~ 9 N 15 64 0 0 Cup/bkr/ped 11 88 8 59 18 42 12 N 14 60 0 0 Bowl/jar 3 3 1 1 4 6 6 N 14 34 0 0 Stor./mort. 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 N 2 2 0 0 Jug/flagon 3 30 0 0 6 7 4 N 7 14 0 0
TOTAL 34 229 22 122 36 71 33 N 52 174 0 0 Eotea In making the summary Table 3a, types of artifact were combined as follows. 1. Cups, beakers and pedestals were made one type. Examination of the excavation reports showed that almost all the pedestal bases were quite small, obviously from cup like vessels. The three types can be considered as a group of small drinking or utility vessels. 2. Bowls and jars were combined. Bowls and jars can be considered as food storage and preparation vessels, and are considered to be similar types of containers. 3. Storage and mortaria were lumped together, as a general class of coarse domestic pottery. 4. Jugs and flagons were grouped, both being containers for liquids. 5. At Prae Wood the number of vessels was recorded as "numerous", without specific numbers being given. The notation "N" has been used in the tables to indicate this.
As with the Terra Sigillata, Wheathampstead produced no
Gallo-Belgic imports. Skeleton Green shows the greatest 74 range of types, 52, with King Harry Lane, Camulodunum and
Prae Wood with 36, 34 and 33 types respectively. The large range at Skeleton Green, with a relatively small area excavated is surprising. One possible explanation is that
Prae Wood and Camulodunum were both excavations done in the
1930s, while Skeleton Green was excavated in 1971-72, some thirty five years later, with possibly a greater subdivision of artifact types. An alternative explanation is that this
is a real difference between Skeleton Green and the other sites. One interesting possibility is that if, as proposed
in Specific Hypothesis a) on page 32, Skeleton Green was the
site of an agglomeration of small and middle-sized chiefdoms, then the wider range of imported types results
from the coming together of several groups with somewhat different tastes in imported pottery types. Prae Wood and
King Harry Lane are approximately contemporary, although
King Harry Lane may date up to ca. twenty years later, and have a similar distribution of types. At all sites platters plus cups and beakers have both the widest range of types
and the largest number of vessels. Skeleton Green has far more Gallo-Belgic bowls and jars, both in types and numbers,
than any other 3ite. The Henderson Collection from
Gatesbury, and adjacent site, also shows a preponderance of
platters and drinking vessels. The Gallo-Belgic wares from
Gatesbury, with some caution, can be used in this
discussion. Imports of this ware into Britain scarcely
continued into Britain beyond ca. AD50 for Terra Eubra and 75
AD 70 for Terra Nigi^a. From other evidence the Gatesbury
site appears to have been unoccupied during this period, and hence the Gallo-Belgic pottery would be from pre-conquest
provenances.
Jugs and flagons appear at the four key sites.
Camulodunum has three types, King Harry Lane six types, Prae
Wood four types and Skeleton Green seven types. As with
platters and drinking vessels Skeleton Green has the
greatest variety.
In the King Harry Lane cemetery jugs and flagons appear
in all grave types from modest to rich, as do platters and
drinking vessels. This distribution suggests that imported
Gallo-Belgic vessels were available to most members of this
community, at least as grave goods. At all sites except
King Harry Lane, the numbers of platters and drinking vessels are about the same within each site. This might
imply that if a person owned an imported platter, he probably had an imported drinking vessel as well.
From the types of Gallo-Belgic pottery found, it is
obvious that this ware was imported primarily in the form of
fine tableware. At Skeleton Green 20% of the imports were
jars and bowls, which were almost absent at other sites. If
the occurrence of this pottery in all levels of burial at
the King Harry Lane cemetery were duplicated among the
living, then the Gallo-Belgic pottery would appear to be a
fairly widely used modest prestige item. All the elite had
some access to it. Skeleton Green is anomolous in the group 76 with the wide range of types present, and this may indicate
a more mixed and less homogeneous society than at Prae Wood
and Camulodunum. An alternative explanation is that the
assemblage from Skeleton Green is from two different periods. From other evidence it is known that the site was partially abandoned from ca. AD 20 to AD 35 (Partridge
1981:32). Thus the greater variety may represent changes in
imported pottery styles between the pre- and post-
abandonment stages. From the evidence of coinage, discussed
in Chapter X below, it is probable that Camulodunum was a more centralized society. The apparently narrower range of
imports there may reflect a tighter control of imports.
Prae Wood appears to predate Skeleton Green, and is less
accessible to traders and imports. This could explain why
this site should have less variety.in its imports than
Skeleton Green. In general the evidence from the Gallo-
Belgic pottery suggests that Prae Wood was a somewhat less
politically complex society than the other two, and that
Camulodunum was a more centralized society than Skeleton
Green. At Skeleton Green the wider variety of types
probably reflects both a more detailed classification by the
excavator, and a less homogeneous society.
fL Eatly.e.JPQttery
The locally made pottery excavated is shown in detail
in Table 4, and in summary form in Table 4a. The data in
these tables is less complete than in the tables for the
imported pottery. At Skeleton Green and Wheathampstead only 77 the range of types was reported, and not the absolute number of vessels. With the Henderson collection from Gatesbury only the actual numbers of vessels were listed. For Prae
Wood the range of types was given, but the number of vessels was just given as numerous. At Camulodunum the range of types was given, but for some types of vessel the numbers present were given as numerous or very numerous, rather than
in absolute numbers. Only the King Harry Lane site, the complete excavation of a cemetery, has reported the full range of types and numbers present.
The native pottery from Gatesbury has not been used in
the discussion or statistical analysis. With no provenance
it could equally well be pre- or post-conquest. Wheat• hampstead has a small collection of basic vessels, cups, beakers, bowls and storage vessels. There is no suggestion
of elite pottery. At King Harry Lane cemetery about 70% of
the jars were used for cremations, as were some beakers.
Type Camulo• Gates• King Prae Skel• Wheat• dunum bury Harry Wood eton hamp• Lane Gre_en_ stead Platters 3 8 X 5 8 9 10 N 16 X 0 0 Cups 2 3 0 0 2 2 6 N 2 X 1 X Beakers 8 269 X 7 11 27 6 N 15 X 0. 0 X Bowls 14\ k 941 X 53\ 8 9 13 N 88\ 17\ x Jars 00J 00/ X 00J 18 30 11 N 00J X 00J X Stor. Ves. 3 NN 0 0 0 0 1 N 20 X 3 x Pedestals 0 0 X 8 0 0 6 N 27 X 4 x Jugs 2 15 0 0 0 0 0 N 1 X 0 0 Flagons 3 7 0 0 7 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cook. Pots 10 102 0 0 0 0 3 X 0 0 0 0 Urns 3 18 0 0 0 0 3 X 0 0 0 0 Lids 2 2 0 8 0 0 0 0 17 X 0 0 Crse. Bowls 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 X 0 0
TOTAL 50 518 X 81 54 85 59 N 197 X 25 x 78
Tj|j5le_ 4a StimigQaxXx-..lJa,t, iye, JgQ^k&ej^
Type Camulo• Gates• King Prae Skel• Wheat• dunum bury Harry Wood eton hamp• Lane Green stead Platters ~3 8~ X 5 8 9 10~ N 16 X 0 0 Cups/bkr/pd 10 272 x 15 13 29 18 N 44 X 5 x Bowls/jars 17 112 X 53 26 39 27 N 99 X 17 x Stor./cook 13 102 0 0 0 0 4 N 20 X 3 x Jugs/flag. 5 22 0 0 7 8 0 0 1 X 0 0
TOTAL 48 516 X 73 54 85 59 N 180 X 25 x
Moteg 1. In tables 4 and 4a "N" means numerous and "x" means the information was not given in the published material. 2. In making the summary in Table 4a, lids were dropped from the table. The excavation reports comment that most were made from broken pieces of pot, and they do not appear very useful diagnostically. Other groups were combined as in Table 3a.
As with the Gallo-Belgic wares, Skeleton Green has by
far the greatest variety of native pottery types, except for
jugs and flagons. All three sites, Camulodunum, Prae Wood
and Skeleton Green have a good range of bowls, jars, cooking
and storage vessels. This result might be anticipated, as
the relatively cheap locally made coarsewares would tend to
dominate in the kitchen operations, for storing and cooking
food. Camulodunum has only a small range of native
platters, but this is offset by its much more extensive
range of imported platters.
Some interesting comparisons are shown in Table 4b,
where the range of types for Gallo-Belgic imports and
locally made pottery, and the total of types are shown for
each site. Table 4c shows the same data, but with the
number of styles in each type at the site converted into a 79 percentage of the total range of types and styles at that site. This presentation in percentages tends to compensate for possible differences between excavators in the number of classifications they used for each type of vessel. For these two tables, bowls, jars and storage vessels have been combined into one type.
Table 4b. Summary, Gallo-Belgic and Native Pottery Types for the Key Sites
Type. Camiilodiinum Pxae__Mo_o_d SJifi.l£tJ3n_.Grs.s.n GJB NAT GE MAT SB MAT Platters 16 3 9 10 15 16 Cups/bkrs. 11 10 12 18 14 44 Bowls/jars 4 30 8 31 16 119 Jugs/flag. 3 5 4 0 7 1
Total 34 48 33 59 52 180
IabJLe__j4j^^
Type. Camu1odunum P.Ea.e._.Wo_o_d JG.r.e GB JHA1_ TOT GB .J&AI .TO T QB J1AX. TOT Platters 47 6 23 27 17 21 29 9 13 Cups/bkrs. 32 21 26 37 30 33 27 24 25 BowIs/jars 12 63 41 24 53 42 31 66 58 Jugs/flag. 9 10 10 12 0 4 13 1 4
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
Looking at the totals in Table 4c first, Camulodunum has the highest percentage of platters in its total pottery assemblage, and they are predominantly imported types.
Skeleton Green has the fewest platter types, and from Table
4b about 50% are imported. Prae Wood has about the same percentage of platters as Camulodunum, but from Table 4b only about 50% are imported. If the use of platters is taken as a mark of status and wealth, a reasonable 80 assumption, then Camulodunum appears to be a wealthy and high status centre. For Skeleton Green and Prae Wood the evidence is somewhat contradictory. Skeleton Green has a lower percentage of platter types in its total assemblage than Prae Wood, but an equal proportion are imports.
Against this Skeleton Green has the highest percentage of bowls and jars, and if some fine bowls were an alternative food containing vessel, then the percentage of elite tableware would be quite similar at all three sites. One inference could be that Skeleton Green had a less homogeneous elite group, still relatively wealthy, but using a mixture of imported platters and imported bowls as food service or personal eating vessels. Prae Wood had an elite group, but they could not afford, or perhaps obtain, the wider range of imports.
Drinking vessels are a higher proportion of the total assemblage for Prae Wood, while for Camulodunum and Skeleton
Green they are about the same. The figure for Prae Wood is higher largely because the figure for jugs and flagons is lower than Camulodunum. Without this distortion, all sites would have about the same percentage of drinking vessels, about 25%3. Jugs and flagons are probably a marker for
3. For some inter-site comparisons the percentages in Table 4c are used, to minimize the effects of the different detail in the classification systems used by each excavator. For intra-site comparisons, Table 4b, the actual range of styles for each type is used, on the reasonable assumption that for their own site the excavators are consistent. Table 4b is used when comparing the proportions of imports to native pottery for any one type of vessel, in both inter-site and intra-site comparisons. 81 modest to high status elite groups, and the numbers from
Table 4b suggest more elite activity at Camulodunum and
Skeleton Green. From Table 4b, looking at each site,
Camulodunum has about 50% imported drinking vessel types, while Prae Wood and Skeleton Green have 40% and 24%
respectively. As with the platters the evidence from the
cups and beakers suggests that Camulodunum was wealthier and
of higher status.
With bowls, jars and storage vessels, the kitchen end
of the spectrum, Camulodunum and Prae Wood have just over
40%, while Skeleton Green has 58% of the total pottery
assemblage in this form. However, considering just the
imports, which are more likely to be tablewares, Skeleton
Green has 31% of its import assemblage in bowls and jars,
against 24% for Prae Wood and 12% for Camulodunum. One
possibility, as suggested above, is that Skeleton Green used
both bowls and platters for eating dishes.
fiL CJDJXQIUJSJ^^^
Despite some anomalies and contradictions the pottery
data tends to support the specific hypotheses and model
proposed in Chapter V. The very small group of imported
Terra Sigillata shows the most variety at Camulodunum,
somewhat less at Skeleton Green and Prae Wood, and is not
represented at Wheathampstead. Similarly Gallo-Belgic
imports do not appear at Wheathampstead, but are well
represented at Camulodunum, Prae Wood and Skeleton Green.
Assuming that platters and imported drinking vessels are 82 markers for the presence of an elite group, then all these three sites have evidence for an elite. The data from both the Gallo-Belgic imports and the native pottery from
Skeleton Green shows a wider range of types than the other sites. Two explanations are possible. The first is that at
Skeleton Green, a modern excavation, the typology and classification system used was more detailed than at the pre-war excavations at Camulodunum and Prae Wood. The second possibility, which may still be valid even if the first is partly correct, is that the society of Skeleton
Green was more heterogeneous, being made up of a confederation of the five tribes mentioned by Caesar, the
Cenimagni, Segontiari, Ancalites, Bibroci, and Cassi. This confederation centre would tend to show cultural traits and preferences of all five groups, giving more variety in the artifacts, both in those made locally and in the imports.
The proportion of native to imported types goes from about 46% imported types at Camulodunum, 38% imported types at Prae Wood, 23% imports at Skeleton Green, to none at
Wheathampstead. The proportion for Skeleton Green is low, partly because of its large range of native types. In absolute terms Skeleton Green has more variety of Gallo-
Belgic imports than Prae Wood, 52 to 33. Considering the figures as a whole, the inference is for an increasing and more complex trade with Roman Gaul.
At Camulodunum, Prae Wood and Skeleton Green some locally made pottery copied imported forms and styles. Some 83 of the copies are excellent. This is most marked at
Camulodunum. This implies both trade and cultural influences, and a more sophisticated society with specialization in the manufacture of pottery. 84
Amphorae are found both in the domestic and communal areas of the principal sites discussed in this paper, and associated with burials. In this chapter only amphorae from the sites in general are considered in the analysis.
Amphorae from burials are discussed with other grave goods in Chapter XII, ANALYSIS OF THE BURIALS.
The amphorae recovered from the five sites and the King
Harry Lane cemetery are shown in detail in Table 5, and in summary in Table 5a. The amphorae were classified under a number of different systems in the excavation reports. To make comparisons possible, all the amphorae have been identified and re-classified into the system of 66 classes proposed by Peacock and Williams (Peacock and Williams
1986). The range of dates given for the period in which the amphorae were produced and used could be in error by a few years, but the mid-range dates are quite reliable. Early amphorae may turn up re-used in later contexts.
As with the pottery there are differences in the methods used by the various excavators for reporting amphorae. All sites report the full range of classes present, but Prae Wood (St. Albans), Camulodunum
(Colchester) and the burials report the actual number of amphorae, while Skeleton Green and Gatesbury (Braughing) just the total weight of sherds in gm. In Table 5a, to make comparisons possible these weights have been converted, as 85 shown in the footnote to the table, into an estimated equivalent number of vessels.
Class & Equival- Date Camu Gates- Prae Skel King Content .jeirt. bury Wood Grn. 3 Italy Dres.1A 130-50BC 0 0 0 (wine) 4 Italy Dres.1BL 75-10BC 5 15650 > 0 176 > 0 (wine) Cam 181/ 5 Italy Dres.lC 125-75BC 0 0 0 (wine) J 8 Apulia Dres.6 150BCAD100 0 0 0 1800 0 (wine) 9 Rhodian Cam 184 25BC-125AD 1 0 0 0 0 (wine) 10 Italy Dres.2-4 25BC-150AD 3 0 0 1446 1 Spain Cam 182 (wine) Cam 183 15 Spain Cam 185A 50BC-AD50 1 0 0 0 1 (syrup) 16 Spain Drs.7-11 25BC-AD100 0 0 0 1665 1 (fishsauce) 17 Spain Cam 186A 25BC-AD100 1 404 0 0 0 (fishsauce) 18 Spain Dres.38 1-2 Cen AD 0 67 0 0 0 (fishsauce) 24 Spain Dres.25 15BC-1C.AD 0 0 1 0 0 (olive oil) 25 Spain Dres.20 30BC-4C.AD 2 8121 0 448 1 (olive oil) 38 Algeria Dres.30 3-4 C. AD 0 566 0 0 0 (oil)
Rates. 1. To overcome the problem of the Gatesbury and Skeleton Green figures in Table 5 being in weight of sherds, for Table 5a sherd weights were converted to an equivalent number of amphora as described in footnote l1.
1. The studies by Chase on estimating whole vessel numbers, weight or capacity from sherd data are not of any assistance in this case (Chase 1985). In his studies various types of pot were deliberately broken, and an attempt was made to correlate vessel properties with sherd properties. Some correlations were useful, but vessel weight versus sherd weight was not, as essentially all the sherds were recovered from each pot broken. There was nothing to correlate. An empirical figure has been used for Table 5a. On the basis that an average empty amphora weighs 10 to 20 kg, and 86
2. As no amphorae were found at Wheathampstead, no listing for this site has been shown in Table 5. It is included in the summary to record the absence of amphorae.
XEJ2I&J2&J. Sx^mma,rj^„.,AroPllQXae
Peacock Camulo• Gates• King Prae Skel• Wheat Class dunum bury Harry Wood eton hamp- Lane Green stead 3-5 5 3 0 0 1 0 8 0 0 0 0 1 0 9 1 0 0 0 0 0 10 3 0 1 0 1 0 15 1 0 1 0 0 0 16 0 0 1 0 1 0 17 1 1 0 0 0 0 18 0 1 0 0 0 0 24 0 0 0 1 0 0 25 2 2 1 0 1 0 38 0 1 0 0 0 0
TOTAL 13 8 4 1 5 0
The numbers and varieties of amphorae increases from none at Wheathampstead, to one type at Prae Wood (St.
Albans), five at Skeleton Green (Braughing) and six
different types at Camulodunum (Colchester)2. Prae Wood has
one type from Spain (olive oil). Skeleton Green has one
early type from Italy (wine), one later one from Italy
(wine), one later one from Spain or Italy (wine), one later
one from Spain (fish sauce), and one late one from Spain
(olive oil). Camulodunum has five amphorae of early type
from Italy (wine), which Peacock considers may have been with the assumption that with largely shattered vessels from rubbish pits and dumps, less than half the sherds will be recovered, the following conversions were used: Up to 7,500 gm, 1 amphora 7,500 to 15,000 gm, 2 amphorae Over 15,000 gm 3 amphora. 2. Four from the King Harry Lane cemetery are listed here but discussed more fully under burials. 87 reused (Haselgrove 1987:168-70, Peacock 1971), one late
Rhodian amphora (wine), three later Italian or Spanish ones
(wine), one later one from Spain (sweet syrup), one late one from Spain (fish sauce), and two late ones from Spain (olive oil).
The dating of the amphorae can most easily be seen in tabular form.
Table 5b. Origin Contents and Dates of Amphorae
Site. Num.. _C.l_a.s_a Origin Gojit.ejii.s_ Camulodunum 5 4 Italy Wine 75BC-10BC 1 15 Spain Syrup 50BC-AD50 2 25 Spain Olive oil 30BC-4th c AD 1 17 Spain Fish sauce 25BC-AD100 1 9 Rhodes Wine 25BC-AD125 3 10 Italy Wine 25BC-AD150
Prae Wood 1 24 Spain Olive oil 15BC-lst c AD
Skeleton Green 1 8 Apulia Wine 150BC-AD100 1 4 Italy Wine 75BC-10BC 1 25 Spain Olive Oil 30BC-4th c AD 1 16 Spain Fish Sauce 25BC-AD100 1 10 Italy Wine 25BC-AD150
XaJal.e___.c___ .G.ha_r___.._oX.A^ BC< >AD Site __laaaJ_JE_fi 125_J£fiL 15. 5_L 25 jgL..„25___..4j5_ Camulodunum 4 < > 15 < 25 < 17 < 9 < 10 <
Prae Wood 24 <
Skeleton Gr. 8 < 4 < > 25 < 16 < 10 < 88
From the amphorae there seems to be a marked increase
in trade in exotic and luxury comestibles from the Prae Wood
site (St. Albans), to Skeleton Green, and then another
increase at Camulodunum (Colchester). A greater variety of
luxury food and drink was imported, and was drawn from more
sources, Italy, Spain and Rhodes.
The increasing variety of types from none at
Wheathampstead, one at Prae Wood, five at Skeleton Green and
six at Camulodunum suggests increasing wealth and
sophistication. Similarly the increase in the variety of
the contents, and the number of points of origin implies
substantially greater trading activity with a wide
geographic area. Most of the amphorae probably came through middlemen in Gaul. The amphorae from Spain may have come
from the Atlantic rather than the Channel ports of Gaul,
either directly or through the British point of entry at
Hengistbury.
This distribution of the amphorae from the three sites
appears to answer the specific research question d) on page
36, and conforms to the model. The amphorae show increasing
trade between the Roman world and Britain between the mid
first century BC and the conquest in AD 43. 89
X ANALYSIS OF THE COINS AND COIN MOULDS
1_. Coins
Coins occur in numbers at only two sites, Skeleton
Green (Braughing) and Camulodunum (Colchester). Prae Wood
(St. Albans) produced one coin, and Wheathampstead and
Gatesbury (Braughing) none. The burials yielded none, except for ten British bronze coins from one grave in the
King Harry Lane cemetery at St. Albans. Inter-site statistical analysis of the coins is therefore not practicable or meaningful, and even for comparison of these two sites simple inspection of the tables seems adequate.
The coins recovered are shown in detail in Table 6 below, and in summary in Table 6a.
1. Mack no. refers to the classification for British Iron Age coinage developed by R.P. Mack (Mack 1964). Coinage was reported by a number of older systems in the excavation reports, but has all been converted to the Mack numbers to facilitate comparisons. 2. At Prae Wood and Camulodunum the south-eastern inscribed coinage was grouped according to inscriptions. I have not found the illustrations in the excavation reports sufficiently clear to allow classification into the Mack numbers, without expert help. 3. Because of the wide variation in the numbers of coins recovered from the different sites, a summary Table 6a has been made to simplify the subjective analysis. 4. From other evidence Tasciovanus is thought to have reigned from about 20 BC to AD 5-10, and Cunebolinus from about AD 5-10 to AD40-41. 5. The mark * indicates other British kings or tribes who issued coinage. In general their territory was adjacent to south-east Britain, and they had a common border, except for the Brigantes who occupied the northern part of the country. 6. Potin coins were peculiar to Gaul and Britain. They were made from an alloy of copper and tin, and can resemble silver coins in appearance. The type seems to have originated in Gaul, was carried over to Britain, was copied, and finally original British types were struck. 90
Table 6. Coins
Coin Type Mack Camulo•• King Prae Skeleton Number dunum Harry Wood Green Lane GAUL Gallo-Belgic E 27a 0 0 0 1 Gaulish na 0 0 0 1 BRITISH Tasciovanus Types 167 0 1 168 0 2 172 0 5 175 0 1 177 4 > 0 1 1 179 0 1 183 0 1 189 0 1 192 J 0 5 Cunebolinus Types 221 0 0 1 245 0 0 1 246 116 > * 0 2 249 0 0 2 251 0 0 1 260/a J 0 0 2 Dubnovel1 aunus* 227 3 0 0 2 Addedomarus* 272 3 0 0 0 British LX 22 274 0 0 0 2 Iceni* 409 1 0 0 0 Coritani Brit KB* 449 0 0 0 1 Brigan tes/ Cori tani* na 2 0 0 0 Potin, Class I, II na 0 0 0 3 Bronze na 0 10 0 0
TOTAL 129 10 1 37
Coin Type Mack Camulo• King Prae Ske Number dunum Harry Wood Gr Lane Gaulish 0 0 0 2 Tasciovanus 4 0 1 18 Cunebolinus 116 0 0 9 Periphereal British 9 0 0 5 Potin/Bronze 0 10 0 3
TOTALS 129 10 1 37
Coinage increases sharply from none at Wheathampstead, and only one coin from Prae Wood (St. Albans), to 37 at 91
Skeleton Green (Braughing) and 129 at Camulodunum
(Colchester). The pattern is quite different between
Skeleton Green and Camulodunum. At Skeleton Green, half the coins are those of Tasciovanus (18 of 37), a quarter are those of Cunebolinus, and the remaining quarter mostly
British coins from peripheral tribes. At Camulodunum 90% are coins of Cunebolinus, 5% coins of Tasciovanus and 5% those of periphereal tribes.
A study of the published coin distribution maps in CBA
Research Report No. 38i (Cunliffe 1978:79-84) suggests that:
(1) The gold coinage of Tasciovanus clusters around St.
Albans-Braughing as a centre, with outliers in the
peripheral tribal areas to the north, west and south.
Tasciovanus' bronze coinage is much more tightly
clustered, with outliers almost all to the north.
(2) The gold coinage of Cunebolinus has an inner cluster
north of the Thames (London and St. Albans area), a
cluster around Colchester, and then a very marked arc of
finds along the north side of the Chilterns. Cunebolinus'
bronze has a wide distribution in Essex, Suffolk and
Hertfordshire, again with a fairly marked area of
concentration north of St. Albans and Braughing.
Coins of Cunebolinus are concentrated more in Essex and southern Suffolk, and those of Tasciovanus more in the western region of south-eastern Britain (Haselgrove
1987:163)
1. Coinage and Society in Britain and Gaul. 92
Increasing complexity of society, with stronger central control, and a wealthier society are suggested by the increase in the use of locally minted native coins. Strong
Roman and Greek influence is evident in the designs, and in the techniques for striking coinage.
The distribution patterns suggest a border zone north and west of south-eastern Britain with several effects:
(1) Gold coins going out as prestige items and for high
value trade/exchanges. In the time of Tasciovanus the
gold coins went out to a more limited area than later,
probably mainly in prestige gift exchanges, and mainly
from the St. Albans/Braughing zone. In the reign of
Cunebolinus this outflow of gold coins was spread over a
much larger area.
(2) Trade in a range of lower value non-luxury items,
using bronze coinage as one medium of exchange. Most of
this trade involving bronze coins seems to be intra-
kingdom rather than export oriented, although some may
have been used in low value cross-border transactions.
Both the use of coins and trade were much more developed
by the reign of Cunebolinus.
(3) The pattern of the distribution suggests a
circulation of coinage across the border zone , going out
to buy "hides, corn, slaves and hunting dogs", and
returning to buy wine, fine pottery and other luxury
imports. 93
(4) The cluster of Cunebolinus' coinage in the London/St.
Albans area suggests a major secondary centre, while the
area of finds along the Chilterns to the north implies a
vigorous trade or exchange pattern with the peripheral
tribes, as well as a continuation of prestige gifts.
(5) The dating suggests that the centres were dominant in
the sequence Wheathampstead, then Prae Wood (St. Albans),
followed by Skeleton Green (Braughing), and finally
Camulodunum (Colchester).
Haselgrove comments:
The early first century AD coin losses and imported finewares leave little doubt that Braughing was then one of the most important settlements in the South- East. As a pointer to its status prior to this, the quantity of first century BC coins is remarkable given that no bronze was struck in the region before Phase 7 Relative to the early first century AD occupation, the later first century BC settlement at Braughing can hardly have been less important and could well have been more so, even if some early coins are actually later arrivals.(Haselgrove 1987:175)
This suggests the possibility of more than one phase of dominance for Braughing, possibly alternating with St.
Albans.
2 .Cj3i,n....JMQ.uLda
In the Henderson Collection from Gatesbury there are many fragments of coin moulds. These are certainly pre- conquest, as minting of British silver coins ceased with the arrival of the Romans. Spectrographs examination of the moulds has established that they were used for casting 94
silver alloy flans2. No coin moulds were found during the
excavation at Skeleton Green, but the Gatesbury coin moulds were probably associated with Skeleton Green, as the two
sites are only about 300 m apart. Possibly the "industrial"
activities for the Skeleton Green residential and farming
units were carried on in the older settled area of Gatesbury
(Partridge 1981:323-326).
At Camulodunum there was definitely a mint for the
coins of Cunebolinus. An area was excavated with debris
suggesting it was entirely devoted to metal working. Among
the finds were crucibles, slag, burnt sand and earth, and
coin mould fragments. Spectrographic examination of the
moulds showed the presence of heavy metals, copper, silver,
tin, lead and zinc (Hawkes and Hull 1947:129-133). Three
rejected bronze flans were also found.
During recent excavations at Roman Verulamlum Sheppard
Frere recovered coin moulds for producing two sizes of
blanks, together with mint debris, crucibles, ladles and
fire-cracked rock from pre-Roman levels. The material was
found at some seven locations over a 3 ha area. Associated
artifacts dated the assemblage to the time of Cunebolinus,
the early part of the first century AD. A British
rectangular building with many heat cracked pebbles adjoined
the area. Tests on the moulds showed that powdered shell
was used as a mould release agent. Some moulds had been
2. Flans are the coin blanks, before they are struck with a die to form the motif. 95 used mainly for gold and silver blanks, and others mainly for bronze (Frere 1983:30-32).
3... Conelusions from the Coins and Moulds
It is generally accepted that Tasciovanus preceded
Cunebolinus as a dominant ruler in southeastern Britain.
The coinage of Tasciovanus has mint marks or inscriptions showing that it was produced at both Verulamium and
Camulodunum . There are also inscribed coins of
Tasciovanus with no mint marks. Some of these are similar to the Verulamium series, but others are somewhat different, and possibly come from a mint at Skeleton Green/Gatesbury.
Cunebolinus' coins were minted at Camulodunum, based on the mint marks. They may have also been produced at Verulamium, but there is no direct evidence for this. Cassivellaunus may have produced coinage, but no inscribed coinage has been found which can be ascribed to him. Coin finds in the area suggest the coinage used in his period in the area he controlled was Gallo-Belgic E staters, or the uninscribed
Whaddon Chase type of stater (Mack 1964:55).
At Wheathampstead no coins were recovered, and at Prae
Wood one Tasciovanus type. The King Harry Lane cemetery produced one group of 10 bronze British coins. A reasonable inference would be that coinage was still a relatively rarity in the period when Wheathampstead was still in active use, and probably during the earlier period of Prae Wood.
From the evidence of the coin moulds from Verulamium, and the coins of Tasciovanus with the "Ver" mint mark, it 96 would appear that by the early first century AD Verulamium was a major centre, and probably remained so up to and after
the Roman conquest. Coins were also minted in the
Gatesbury/ Skeleton Green area, but there is no evidence for when this was done, or for whom. It could have been either
for a local king or group in the mid first century BC, or it
could have been a secondary mint for Tasciovanus in the
either the late first century BC or the early first century
AD. From Haselgrove's comments on the importance of the
Braughing area sites, Skeleton Green and Gatesbury, in both
the late first century BC and and early first century AD, it
could be inferred that the first century BC period was
related to a confederation of small tribes and chiefs, and
the first century AD period was connected to Tasciovanus.
Of the thirty-seven coins found at Skeleton Green, eighteen
are those of Tasciovanus, eleven are Cunebolinus types, and
eight are from adjacent kingdoms.
From the coinage Cunebolinus would seem to have been
the dominant figure at Camulodunum. Of the 129 coins from
there, 116 are from his mint. There are only four coins of
Tasciovanus and nine from adjacent kingdoms.
From the evidence of the coins and coin moulds the
following inferences can be made:
a) Wheathampstead, Prae Wood and the King Harry Lane
cemetery represent an earlier phase with minimal use of
coinage. 97 b) By the early first century AD Tasciovanus had achieved a dominant position in the area, based on the two centres
Skeleton Green and Verulamium. By the end of his reign he may have been establishing himself at Camulodunum. He had his main mint at Verulamium and possibly a secondary one at Skeleton Green/Gatesbury. The slightly different and uninscribed staters may be a product of the mint at
Gatesbury. This chronology could also be reversed, with the uninscribed staters coming from an early mint at
Gatesbury, and the Verulamium mint production starting later as he expanded his power base to the west. The few coins of his period minted at Camulodunum would represent the early output of the mint there, before Cunebolinus succeeded him. The distribution of the coinage of
Tasciovanus suggests some trading or exchange connections with the adjacent tribes, but with a concentration to the north of his territory. c) Cunebolinus had his principal centre at Camulodunum, with probable secondary centres at Skeleton Green and
Verulamium. From the external distribution of his coinage, trade and exchange activities in his period were both larger in volume and more widespread than those of
Tasciovanus, but still maintained a concentration to the north and west. This is consistent with a pattern of trade with the periphereal less developed areas, to obtain raw materials and slaves in exchange for prestige and
luxury goods. 98
d) If the coin moulds from the Henderson Collection were
associated with the late first century BC occupation at
Skeleton Green, then they could indicate a mint operated
by. the possible confederation of chiefdoms in that area.
On balance this seems a slightly more probable hypothesis
than that Tasciovanus should have three mints so close to
each other. An alternative scenario, however, could be
that Tasciovanus was based first at Skeleton Green, and
expanded his area of control later to Verulamium, and then
finally to Camulodunum shortly before his death. This is
consistent with the distribution of his coinage.
In general there are some contradictions and uncertainties in the analysis of the coin distribution.
These are reviewed further in Chapter XVII, Discussion and
Conclusions, where the results of all the analyses are pulled together. 99
XL. _A]^LX.S.IJi.^
Brooches, like coins, have been intensively studied to establish typologies. The Iron Age brooch is fundamentally a large' safety pin used to secure garments. They were used by both men and women. The King Harry Lane cemetery excavations produced the largest collection of brooches from one site, 237, but only 50 of these are from pre-conquest graves. From stratified deposits at Camulodunum and
Skeleton Green each site yielded twelve brooches, while four came from the Gatesbury site, four from Prae Wood and one from Wheathampstead.
The brooch types and sites are shown in Table 7 below.
TABLE 7. Brooches
Type Camulo• Gates• King Prae Skel• Wh< dunum bury Harry Wood eton hai Lane _ Green St' Iron Strip 0 0 14 1 0 Langton Down 3 0 10 0 1 0 Nauheim D 0 0 2 0 5 1 Plate 0 0 0 0 1 0 Aucissa 0 2 0 0 1 0 Swarling 0 0 0 2 0 0 Penannular 1 0 0 2 0 0 Colchester 7 2 15 0 1 0 Thistle 1 0 6 0 0 0 Rosette 0 0 0 0 2 0 Gallic 0 0 3 0 0 0
TOTALS 12 4 50 4 12 1
TOTAL TYPES 4 2 6 2 7 1 100
The sample of brooches in Table 7 is too small for useful statistical analysis, as Mackreth has noted for brooches in general1, but some conclusions can be drawn from the table. The collection from Skeleton Green seems early.
Mackreth comments:
The present group from Skeleton Green looks distinctly early. The main features which give this impression are the Rosettes and Aucissa-Hod Hill types present and the absence of any Colchester derivatives (Mackreth 1981:131).
The proportion of imports is:
Prae Wood: none.
Skeleton Green: 1 in 3.
Camulodunum: 2 in 3.
King Harry Lane cemetery: 2 in 3.
From this evidence it would seem a reasonable inference that Skeleton Green (Braughing) precedes Camulodunum
(Colchester) and, based on the similarity between import ratios at Camulodunum and King Harry Lane (St. Albans), the
Skeleton Green collection is probably earlier than the King
Harry Lane cemetery. This is supported by the higher proportion of later types, such as Colchester, Colchester derivatives and Langton Down at King Harry Lane, and the higher number of earlier types such as Rosette, Nauheim D and Aucissa at Skeleton Green.
1. "Only the recovery of more dated specimens can help to resolve this difficulty, and only large groups from the same context are likely to provide any kind of firm statistical base for an evaluation" (Mackreth in Partridge 1981:131). 101
Apart from this the brooches do not appear to offer much assistance in answering the research questions.
The evidence from the brooches arid coins is similar for
Prae Wood and Skeleton Green. From both these artifacts
Skeleton Green appears to be later. It has a greater variety of imported brooches, and a more varied coinage collection. The King Harry Lane cemetery tends to contradict this chronology, but it is a late cemetery as evidenced by the fact that only 73 graves out of 472 are definitely pre-Roman.
It is probable that at St. Albans, the Prae Wood site dates to the early second half of the first century BC, while the early graves in the King Harry Lane cemetery, which abuts, but does not cut into the Prae Wood earthworks, date to the second quarter of the first century AD. This would explain the difference in the brooch types. Similarly
at Skeleton Green, the excavator has postulated two periods
of occupation, with a hiatus in occupation spanning the late
first century BC and early first century AD. 102
XU.._MALXSIS..J).E...Jm_^UEIALS.
JL Xn£rpAuc.t±o_r),
Prior to the period covered in this paper inhumation without grave goods appears to have been the normal rite.
This is very difficult to detect in the archaeological record (Whimster 1981). Sometime very shortly after
Caesar's invasions of 55-54 BC, cremation appears to have been adopted as the burial rite in south-east Britain. Flat graves were the norm for both elite and common burials.
Only three tumuli of this period have been found.
In this south-eastern part of Britain, from Colchester in the east to St. Albans in the west, and as far north as
Cambridge, Whimster, who has compiled a gazetteer of all
Iron Age burials recorded in Britain up to 1981, lists 86
Late Iron Age burial sites, reported between 1729 and 1981.
Most of these sites are very sketchily reported and the artifacts are lost.
In the St. Albans, Braughing and Colchester areas twelve burial sites have been reported or published in some detail since 1912. A further eight have been reported with enough detail to place them in either the Welwyn or Lexden phase. These sites are listed with their key data in
Appendix B. At Braughing there are no reported sites in the immediate vicinity, but three poorly reported sites, excavated in 1729, 1799 and 1886 respectively, are in the general area. In addition there are eleven sites in the
Welwyn and Hertford areas, respectively about 7 km and 15 km 103 distant from Wheathampstead. These include seven rich burials and four modest/plain ones. Traditionally they have tended to be associated with Wheathampstead, partly because no other Late Iron Age oppidum site has so far been
identified in the Welwyn-Hertford area. It seems probable that they should really belong to an as yet unidentified oppidum further north in the Welwyn area, and that elite burials associated with St. Albans, if they exist, have yet to be found. However, the Welwyn group has been included in this study because their grave goods slot them into the time period used in this paper, and they can legitimately be compared with Braughing and Colchester. Nevertheless they are aoifc evidence for elite burials at Wheathampstead.
Whimster has proposed three classes of cremation burials (Whimster 1981). These are:-
Modest/Plain: single cinerary urn 1-5 additional pots. Gallo-Belgic popular, with some native and Samian ware. Late La Tene III bow brooches. Intermediate: similar to modest/plain but with 6-8 pots iron or bronze bound wooden bucket bronzework, silverware, shale ornaments.
Rich or Welwyn Type: Many native and imported pots (36 in one case). Amphorae Silver and bronze cups and strainers. Gaming counters, wooden vessels, hearth furniture, iron spits, glassware1.
In the excavations at Aylesford (Evans 1890) and
Swarling (Bushe-Fox 1925), and at the more recent
1. Weapons, food and drink, and articles for personal adornment, other than brooches, are extremely rare, a contrast with the Bronze Age 104 excavations of the large cemetery at King Harry Lane on the edge of Prae Wood near St. Albans (Stead and Rigby 1989), it was observed that there was a marked tendency for a ring of modest/plain graves to cluster around an intermediate level one, with the whole cluster in a square or rectangular plot, often defined by shallow ditches (Stead and Rigby op. cit.).
Recent aerial survey in Essex has identified a large number of morphologically similar enclosures (Whimster op. cit:157). This suggests a high degree of cultural uniformity in burial practices at this period in south• eastern Britain.
For elite graves, whether of the flat or tumulus type,
Stead has identified two phases in the practice, a Welwyn phase starting about 50-40 BC, and Lexden phase starting about 15-10 BC (Stead 1976). The key markers for classifying the burials are:-
W.elwyjxJ?.kase Lexdea_JPJaasje.
ca. 50-40 to 15 BC ca. 15-10 BC to conquest.
Early La Tene III brooches Late La Te^ne III brooches (trumpet headed brooches) (Colchester, thistle, Langton)
Dressel IB amphorae Later amphorae
Bronze wine jugs Imported Italian and Samian pottery.
Oenochoe, Kelheim type
Bronze strainers
Imported silver cups.
The evidence from the burials varies widely in reliability. As noted above in the period from about 50 BC to AD 43 and on into the Roman period, the rite was 105 cremation with ashes placed in an urn, wooden container or just laid in the ground. Burial was in flat graves, mostly with a very modest provision of grave goods. Weapons were not part of the grave goods. These flat graves have no surviving markers for either rich or modest burials2, and most have been found in the course of municipal excavations for water mains, sewers and other civil engineering structures, or by chance. For example, the King Harry Lane cemetery at St. Albans abuts Wheeler's dyke excavation of the early 1930s, but was not discovered until the 1970s.
At all the sites there is often no positive correlation between the sites and the burials. Reasonable proximity and a similar date are the main reasons for associating sites and burials. The situation for each site is described below. Whimster's 1981 gazetteer of British Iron Age burials has been used as the principal source for locating graves, augmented by new publications since 1981.
2__ CjQr_r_e__^ a) Camulodunum (Colchester)
The Lexden tumulus is the richest Late Iron Age grave found in Britain. It lies inside the Lexden dyke, one of the major earthworks surrounding Camulodunum. The contents date to the early first century AD. Some scholars have suggested that it might be either the grave of Cunebolinus, or a member of his family. The burial can be firmly associated with the oppidum of Camulodunum. One other
2. The one exception is the Lexden tumulus at Camulodunum near Colchester. This is discussed under the rich graves. 106 similar tumulus exists in the same area, was excavated in
1910, but was found to have been completely robbed, probably in the Roman period. North of the Lexden tumulus fourteen flat graves have been discovered. These have yet to be published. One rich flat grave was found at St. Clare
Drive, and excavated in 1940. The contents of the Lexden tumulus and St. Clare Drive burials are shown in Table 8. bJ. Prae„Wjpjai,„_jfer
No rich burials comparable with the Lexden tumulus or the Hertford and Welwyn burials have yet been found in the immediate vicinity of St. Albans. Two recent discoveries of large cemeteries with intermediate to plain burials have been made, one at Verulam Hills Field just outside the
London Gate of Veralumium, and one at King Harry Lane, adjacent to the Prae Wood excavation
The Verulam Hills Field site, a salvage excavation after an accidental discovery, produced twenty-one pre-Roman burials. The cemetery may have been much larger but it has so far been possible to excavate only a small part of it.
Of the twenty-one burials, nineteen were plain and two were intermediate. The three Gallo-Belgic vessels found in one of the intermediate graves suggest a date in the first quarter of the first century AD, as do a number of bronze coins found in the area of the burials, but not directly associated with them.
The King Harry Lane site has just been published (Stead and Rigby 1989). The cemetery is immediately beside the 107
1930s Prae wood excavation, and was found by chance during a salvage excavation, while examining extramural settlements of the Roman period. It has been completely excavated, and
472 burials were found, making it one of the largest Celtic cemeteries to be excavated. Of the 472 burials, 73 were assigned by the excavators to Phase I, the pre-conquest period. These 73 graves and their contents are the ones
listed and discussed in this paper. The burial pattern was for a somewhat richer intermediate grave in a banked enclosure, surrounded by plain burials both inside and outside the enclosure. The richest grave had ten pots, plus
some other grave goods. c) Skeleton Green, Gatesbury (Braughing)
So far no pre-Roman burials have been found associated with the Braughing area. There are three small later
Romano-British cremation cemeteries. One was completely
excavated, producing 52 burials. The other two were found
during construction of the bypass, and were partly excavated under difficult salvage conditions, yielding five and 109
cremation burials respectively. These Romano-British burials all date from the late first century to the late
second century AD, and are outside the scope of this paper.
Only three other Iron Age burials have been recorded in
the district, one at Little Hadham excavated in 1886, which
produced one type 3 amphora, one at Gatesbury excavated in
1799 with three amphorae "with pointed ends and containing 108 ashes", and one at Westmill "excavated" in 1729, which gave three probable type 4 amphorae.
Essentially, for the purpose of this paper there is no useful information on burials for the Braughing area. Iron
Age graves from plain to rich almost certainly existed, but have either not been discovered as yet, or have been destroyed by later activity, dl Wiie.aihamp_s_t.e-ad
As noted previously no burials were recovered from
Wheathampstead itself, but five rich and eight plain flat inhumation cremation graves of the period have been excavated in the Welwyn and Hertford areas, about 7-15 km from Wheathampstead. From the pottery and other artifacts they appear to belong to the same period and cultural group as Wheathampstead. These burials have been listed in Tables
8 and 9 below, but must be viewed with some caution. They may be directly associated with Wheathampstead, but there is no evidence for this. They may equally well belong to some as yet undiscovered oppidum in the Welwyn/Hertford area, while flat inhumation burials associated with Wheathampstead exist, but still await discovery.
3... The__J}ujc.ia.lj3.^
All the burials were cremations, and as far as could be ascertained, there were no multiple cremations in one grave.
Rich graves have been defined as those with a range of grave goods, intermediate graves as those with five or more pots 109
but only one or two other items, and plain graves as those with four or fewer pots per grave, including the urn.
Tables 8 and 9 below show the grave goods associated with the burials. Tabled Ri.cli.._B.ux_ia_Ls.
Area > Colchester Hertford Area We lwvn Area Artifact Lexden St. CI Hert. Little Welwyn Welwyn Welwy Type.... Tumul. Drive Heath Amwell A B G.C.I
Amphorae Dressel IB 6 0 1 1 1 5 5 Dressel 2-4 11 0 0 0 0 0 0
E.Q±_texY Samian 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 South Gaul. 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 Gallo-Belgic 3 10 0 0 0 0 0 Native Wares 2 0 11 8 2 2 33
Bowl 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 Bead(s) 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 Roundels 0 8 21 0 0 0 0 Fragments P 3 0 0 0 0
Dish 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 Jug/Pot 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Toilet Art. 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Pins 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 Studs 6 0 0 P 0 2 48 Strainer 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Ring 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Sheet 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
Iron Palette 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Knife 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 Shears 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 Nails/clamps 0 65 0 0 0 0 10 Fire Dogs 0 0 0 0 2 4 0
QJ_b.e.r_ Silver Cup 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 Brooches 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 Bracelets 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 Wood Vessel 0 1 2 0 1 0 3 Wood Board 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Gaming Piece 3...... je>„ .0 . .... 0 g> .... J24 110
Note The following additional items were recovered from the Lexden Tumulus, the richest burial reported in the literature.
5 bronze figurines 3 bronze masks, ca. 4x2.8 cm, curved to fit a surface about 11.7 cm in diameter (a wooden vessel?) 2 bronze escutcheons (from furniture?) 1 bronze pedestal 1 bronze stand (for candelabra, from Campania) 1 bronze palstave (axe) 1 bronze buckle 1 wooden casket 1 iron-bound chest 8 iron pins 1 iron stool frame 2 silver ornaments 61 silver stars ) probably decorating 216 very small silver bars ) a piece of textile 1 medallion with portrait of Augustus gold tissue, probably from a textile decorated chain mail of iron links
£abJLe___!iL, .Qraye-JSoods from Iht.ejgme,djLaJ^
Site> King Verulam Welwyn Welwyn Welwyn Harry Hills C D Garden Laae Field Cjjby__. NQL,Jur_iala Z..3 21 1 1 JEL_ _ Eojfcjtery Samian 1 0 0 0 0 Gallo-Belgic 71 3 0 0 0 Native Wares 85 25 4 3 6 Brooches 5.0. 3. & SL __fi N..o_fc£: The following additional items were recovered from intermediate burials at the King Harry Lane site:
Amphorae 4 Coins 10 Bracelets 1 Mirrors 1 Toilet Instruments 1 Spoons 1 Knives 6 Shears 2 Spindle Whorls 1 Bone Objects 2 Iron Artifacts 6 Ill
Ajaaen.ce_Q.f_....Gria^e_ G___Qd.s.
Grave Goods King Verulam Welwyn Welwyn Welwyn Harry Hills C D Garden
Lane __.FJ.eld City_r
Terra Sig. P A A A A Gallo-Belgic P P A A A Native Wares P P P P P Brooches P P A A A Other Artif. P A A A A
JS.Q-t.ei3 JL- King Hargy bane. a) More than half the graves had only one pot, others two to four, with a maximum of ten in one particular burial b) Brooches were predominantly Colchester, Langton Down and Thistle, all late types. The six graves in the group were found in the vicinity of a rich burial, but their relationship with it, or with other possible common burials in the area is unknown.
The Lexden tumulus at Camulodunum is outstandingly the richest, and is dated firmly to the early first century AD.
The St. Clare Drive burial, also at Camulodunum, is of the same period.
At St. Albans Phase I of the King Harry Lane cemetery has been dated to the period AD 1 to 40, about forty to fifty years later than the Prae Wood enclosures. The
Verulam Hills Field cemetery is of about the same period as the King Harry Lane site, the first half of the first century AD.
4_, GjQnj2lM..aiojia
The lack of evidence for burials at Skeleton Green and
Gatesbury, and the very weak association between
Wheathampstead and the Hertford and Welwyn burials makes inter-site comparison difficult. Statistical analysis is 112 impracticable, and has not been attempted. However some subjective conclusions can be arrived at.
Lexden tumulus and the adjacent robbed tumulus represent both a distinct change in elite burials, from flat graves to a prominent tomb/mausoleum, and in the Lexden tumulus a much richer type of burial than the earlier Welwyn and Hertford flat graves. This suggests that Camulodunum was both wealthier and had more marked status differences than Wheathampstead, Prae Wood and Verulamium. The absence of tumuli in the Skeleton Green and Gatesbury, although negative evidence, suggests that this area was still using the flat grave tradition. The English propensity, from the
16th. century on, for digging into every mound in sight would surely have left some record if tumuli had existed.
No perceptible ones are visible today, and none are shown on the 1/50,000 Ordnance Survey maps.
The variations in the grave goods accompanying the burials at King Harry Lane and Verulam Hills Field imply a society with status differences, and with at least two ranks and possibly up to four. The enclosures with one or more intermediate graves, surrounded by their clusters of satellite plain burials, imply some internal groups in the society, families or clans. These groups seem to have been of about equal status. No set of burials is much larger or richer than the others, although there are moderate differences between the groups. 113
For Wheathampstead, if the Welwyn/Hertford graves can be associated with, or be considered similar to what should be associated with the oppidum, the picture suggested from the very small sample, five rich burials and eight plain ones, is of a society with rather more "barbaric" chiefs than the elite at Camulodunum, and then commoners, with no social classes in between.
Considering the hypotheses and model in Chapter V, the evidence from the burials tends to support the implications of the model, except for the Skeleton Green/ Gatesbury area from which there is no evidence at all. The King Harry Lane and Verulam Hills Field cemeteries have intermediate and plain burials, while Camulodunum has the richest elite burials in the same period, the early first century AD. The absence of rich burials at Verulamium at this period suggests a subsidiary centre without a dominant local head, rather than a capital.
The scenario suggested is for a chiefdom based on
Wheathampstead in the mid first century BC, surrounded by other similar chiefdoms. At Camulodunum by the first quarter of the first century AD there was the capital of a kingdom, verging on a proto-state, with a subsidiary centre at Verulamium., and possibly another at Skeleton Green/
Gatesbury, although there is no evidence from the burials for the point. 114
1. Introduction
The principal features at Wheathampstead, Prae Wood and
Camulodunum are the earthworks or dykes, comprising massive ditch sytems, with the spoil deposited on one or both sides, forming a mound. These should not be termed "ramparts" without strong evidence for a defensive function. Based on the evidence of post holes at Prae Wood (St. Albans) there were palisades in certain parts, but these appear to have been separate features from the main earthworks. At
Wheathampstead, St. Albans and Colchester parts of the dykes were included in the areas excavated. At Braughing, as well as the small visible earthwork at the Gatesbury site, other dyke systems are clearly identifiable from recent aerial photographs and crop marks. They lie some 600 to 1000 m from the site at Skeleton Green, and have not been excavated.
Identifiable building remains are minimal to non- existant at all sites. No evidence for buildings was found at Wheathampstead, but this is probably largely due to the selective excavation being concentrated on the earthworks.
At St. Albans the evidence for buildings is so far slight at the Prae Wood and Verulamium sites. Two ovens were found at
Prae Wood, dating to the end of the first century BC. At the Verulamium site and the modern town of St. Albans, the
Late Iron Age settlements lie below the Roman levels.
Evidence from sondages indicates occupation, but no 115 buildings have yet been recovered. At Braughing, the
excavations at Skeleton Green produced evidence for
dwellings with several phases of occupation between about 15
BC and AD 30-40. At Colchester some round huts were found,
and from the artifact scatter the presence of a large high
status building was inferred. In addition recent aerial(
photographs have identified a large "homestead" in a
substantial enclosure on the west site of the site at
Gosbeck's Farm. This may be another elite dwelling, but
excavation is needed to provide definite confirmation.
2^^Jrhe.-Ear.tb,worka
al Wheathampstead
Wheathampstead, about 8 km north-east of Prae Wood (St.
Albans), appears to be a Late Iron Age defended enclosure of
about 40 ha, roughly contemporary with the later hillfort
occupations in other parts of southern and eastern Britain.
It can be considered:
....a hill-fort of the kind found on the low eminences of eastern England in the Iron Age, and seems to have been succeeded by the 'oppidum' of Prae Wood:" (Thompson 1979:178).
The ditches are massive, about 40 m wide by 12 m deep,
with the mound of spoil on the inner lip1.
On the basis of the pottery, "clearly typologically
earlier and more crudely made than the Prae Wood pottery,"
(Thompson op.cit.:159), Thompson proposes a Caesarian date,
1. For defensive works all, or the majority of the spoil from the ditch is generally placed on the inside of the ditch, in order to provide a high and substantial rampart. In Gaul such ramparts were often tied together by through beams, and frequently had a stone toe wall. 116 ca. 60-50 BC. However, considering the native pottery from the site, occupation could have started as early as the mid second century. The absence of Gallo-Belgic wares makes it earlier than any of the other earthworks, and suggests it was out of use by the last quarter of the first century BC2.
Its active life could have been about 100 to 125 years, and construction seems to have taken place largely in one phase. bj Prae Wood (Figure 5)
In the original work at Prae Wood in the early 1930s,
Mortimer Wheeler excavated a complex of ditches, earthworks and enclosures in and around Prae Wood. He estimated that the original area enclosed was about four times that inside the visible works, for a total of about 50 ha. In cross- section none of the ditches and earthworks were on the massive scale of those at Wheathampstead. The material excavated from the ditches was generally placed on the outer edge, or about equally on both sides. This implies a role as a stock enclosure or boundary markers, not a rampart.
The ditches are relatively modest, about 4 m wide and 1.5 m deep.
More recent surveys and studies by Hunn (Hunn, 1980:21-
30), have re-appraised and extended Wheeler's work. He has
2. The dating of the earthworks and the estimated maximum construction period are based on the dating of the associated pottery finds. Care must be used not to get into a circular argument here, but this appears to the only reliable method of dating these works reasonably closely. Radio carbon or other 'scientific' dates are not available, and even if they were, the +/- range in the date would be much larger than the errors from pottery dating. No timbers were recovered, thus making tree ring dating impossible. 117 identified Phase I and II works dating to the Iron Age, and
Phases III to V probably dating to the medieval and post- medieval periods. Hunn notes the similarity of some of the ditches to those at Colchester, and from a number of considerations suggests a pastoral function as a communal kraal system (Hunn ibid).
The Phase I and II Prae Wood enclosures were in use from about 15 BC up to the conquest, giving a maximum construction period of about 55 years. cjL_J5kjel^^ (Figure 4)
The earthworks at Skeleton Green and Gatesbury form three distinct groups. The visible enclosure at Gatesbury, about 3 ha in area, is almost certainly Early Iron Age, and pre-dates the period discussed in this paper. It could be a small defensive structure or a stock enclosure, but most probably the former. Other than this enclosure no defensive works have been identified in the area, a point noted with some surprise by several scholars (Partridge 1981:28). To the north of the Gatesbury earthwork recent aerial photographs have shown an extensive area of ditches and enclosures, which seem to be more "....reminiscent of the enclosure and boundary ditches at Prae Wood (Partridge ibid). There are also traces of similar simple earthworks on Wickham Hill, west of the River Rib, between the river and the Skeleton Green excavations. Partridge estimates that the Skeleton Green site must have covered more than 100 ha (Partridge ibid). 1.18
Assuming that the Skeleton Green and Gatesbury earthworks were constructed in the early life of the site, they would have been built between the mid first century BC and 10 BC, about a 40 year period d.l Gmrnlodimiim (Figure 3)
Camulodunum within its dykes was by far the largest of the sites, covering about 4,000 ha. Not all of this was built up, quite large areas being given over to agriculture and stock raising. The main bounding earthworks lie along the western side of the site, extending for over 6 km. In places the dykes are doubled or tripled. The north and south sides of the site are bounded and defended by the
Colne and Roman rivers respectively. On the east side an earthwork runs north from the Roman river for just over 3 km before trending away to the east towards the lower reaches of the Colne. Inside the main bounding earthworks are a complex of other ditches and banks, particularly in the
Gosbecks area. From recent aerial survey, and from plotting crop-marks, Crummy has shown that a large homestead enclosed by a bank and ditch and a surrounding field system occupied the Gosbecks area (Crummy 1980:8)
The dating evidence suggests that the earthworks were started in the early first century AD, and continued in use until the Roman conquest. After the conquest they were slighted in certain places, particularly at gateways, but otherwise were left to decay naturally 119
Camulodunum had by far the most extensive earthworks, over 18 km of major works. Except for Wheathampstead it also had the most substantial ditches and mounds in cross- section. Table 10 below gives some comparisons between the sites.
Table„JL0_,„ Key Dimensions of-t&e^Dltche.a1
Dimension Camulo- Gatesbury Prae Wheathamp- I, I,. i e^\it^\3jm J%j^^..3n..c<^fc...c?_iitX...—_j^?.e^j^_c^— —. Width 12m * 4m 40m Depth *6m * 1.5m 12m Length2 18,000m *2,850m 9,500m3 2,520m ¥.oJLimie„4 Zfi L_ a^.a__ Zl
E9_fc.e_s_L 1. A * indicates the information is not available, or is an estimate or best guess from the inadequate information in the published material. 2. The lengths are for the major earthworks, ignoring minor ditches. This dimension was measured off the small scale plans and maps in the excavation reports. It is not very accurate, but the relative values are of the right order. 3. On the basis of Wheeler's statement that he felt the area excavated and surveyed was only about one quarter of the whole, it has been assumed that the works shown on the plan (Figure 5) are approximately the northeast quadrant. The length measured was multiplied by four to obtain a figure for the whole 4. This is very approximate relative volume. It assumed that all ditches were of the same shape, and were of uniform size throughout their length. Both assumptions are obviously not correct, but the figures give some rough idea of the relative amount of labour need for the different works. It was obtained by multiplying the cross-section of the ditches by their length, and using the smallest figure, that of Skeleton Green as the unit.
The calculation of the relative volumes of soil moved
in constructing the works gives a measure of the relative resources invested in each. These approximate calculations suggest that Gatesbury/Skeleton Green required the least
investment, Prae Wood (St. Albans) somewhat more, and 120
Wheathampstead and Camulodunum (Colchester) by far the largest. Wheathampstead's volume is large because of the apparently enormous size of the ditch and dyke cross sections. In reality the volume moved may have been considerably less, because the builders took advantage of natural hollows for the ditches. The information in the published material does not allow for a correction for this effect. A further reduction at Wheathampstead occurs if the enclosure was not complete. There is some evidence that the dyke only enclosed the west and east sides, with the north side protected by a river. The dyke on the south side, if one ever existed, has been lost. Even allowing for all these uncertainties, the Wheathampstead relative volume would still be twenty to thirty times that of the
Gatesbury/Skeleton Green complex.
The common Late Iron Age dwelling in Britain, as has been established by a number of excavations over the past twenty years, was the double ring round house, with an inner ring of posts to carry the roof rafters, and an outer ring forming the wall (Megaw and Simpson 1979:380). Minor buildings could be round, rectangular or sub-rectangular.
Construction would be wooden posts for the main members, with wattle-and-daub walls and thatched roofs. Other than post holes these may leave almost no trace in the archaeological record. 121
At Wheathampstead there is no evidence for buildings, but this is probably due to the excavator's objective, which was to examine the earthworks, and not the area they
enclosed. Evidence is very slight at Prae Wood, with one
possible dwelling in or beside Wheeler's enclosure "A", where the two ovens were found. It seems probable that the main residential area was further down the hillside, under
the Roman and modern towns. Sheppard Frere's Bondages
through the Roman levels have given tantalizing hints of a
major Iron Age settlement.
At Skeleton Green eight rectangular buildings, each of
about 30 m2 floor area, were excavated. Their small size
suggests domestic or farm buildings. They were dated by the
excavator to the period from about 15 BC to AD 40, with a
distinct break in occupation about AD 25, and low level
occupation after that.
At Camulodunum, on the Sheepen part of the site, there
were "....substantial but scattered sites" of native
occupation, small clay floored huts five to six metres in
diameter. Traces of other buildings with oval or
rectanguler floor plans were also noted. At the centre of
the Sheepen site there was a "....uniquely high proportion
of imports", plus clay and wood-lined cellars or storage
pits. The excavators tentatively inferred an elite or royal
residence over this complex of cellars and storage pits
(Hawkes and Hull 1947:46-47). Another major residence has
been surmised from recent aerial photography showing traces 122 of a substantial dwelling and associated buildings within a large defended enclosure around Gosbecks Farm in the southwest quadrant of the site (Crummy op cifc:8-10).
From the earthworks the evidence tends to confirm the specific implications and the model put forward in Chapter
V. Wheathampstead was the fortified stronghold of a Late
Iron Age warring chiefdom. Prae Wood/Verulamium and
Skeleton Green were Late Iron Age oppida, undefended farming, manufacturing and trading centres in a reasonably secure federation, while Camulodunum was the capital of a powerful proto-state.
The evidence for the buildings is very slight. At
Wheathampstead and Prae Wood excavations to date have found no buildings. There may be some under the Roman and modern towns, but planned excavation is impractible. The eight small rectangular structures at Skeleton Green do not conform to the norm of round huts in the Late Iron Age, but some rectangular structures are known from other sites, such as Danebury. The most that can be said is that they are unusual for Late Iron Age buildings.
Camulodunum has the remains of a range of buildings, from the small round huts, through oval and rectangular buildings, up to larger and more complex stuctures with a range of rich artifacts. Two possible "palace" sites have been proposed, one by Hawkes and Hull and one by Crummy.
The archaeological evidence at Camulodunum remains rather 123 weak. No complete floor plans have been recovered, except for the small round huts. The larger buildings have been inferred from traces, or slight remains of foundations. If the Camulodunum buildings were confirmed, then it would be definite evidence for a stratified society, with at least three or four levels. From the archaeological record about the only reasonable conclusion is that Camulodunum had a higher degree of social stratification than Prae Wood and
Skeleton Green. 124
XIV THE LITERARY AND NUMISMATIC EVIDENCE
Written evidence about Iron Age Britain comes from three sources, the surviving works of the classical authors, inscriptions such as the res gestae of Augustus and inscriptions on British coinage. Coinage, modeled on Greek and Roman originals, was introduced to Britain from Gaul between about 120 and 50 BC. By the later part of the first century BC, a number of British mints were producing dynastic or tribal coinage, copying the continental types.
A number of issues carried the name of the ruler, and in a few cases the place where the coin was struck. Some issues had just a tribal name. The main information obtainable from the coinage is the name of a ruler or tribe, and some indication of where they were based. Studies of coin distributions, which are not dependent on inscriptions, but just require identification of the type from the overall design, are generally more useful than dynastic information.
Of the literary sources1 Caesar is the principal contemporary source, and there seems to be no reason to doubt the reality of his two invasions of Britain, even though, unlike the Claudian invasion of AD 43, there is no archaeological evidence for the incursions of 55 and 54 BC.
He was there in person and his evidence is first hand.
Tacitus, probably the second most reliable source, had second-hand but still quite reliable evidence. He must have
1. See Appendix A for a full list of the ancient literary references to Britain 125 talked to his father-in-law, Agricola, who campaigned in
Britain for eight seasons, AD 78-85, and probably to other veterans.
Both Caesar and Tacitus provide considerable descriptions of the geography, economy, inhabitants, social organization and customs of Britain. Strabo describes trade routes and the types of goods traded. Evidence from authors such as Horace, Strabo, Suetonius and Frontinus, and from the res gestae divi Augustae, is principally of interest in showing the probable state of political and diplomatic relations between Rome and Britain in the years from 55 BC to AD 43, including comments on the political and economic advantages of conquering Britain.
Probably the principal value of the literary sources is that they give a much more complete picture of the political situation in Britain, and between Britain and Rome, than can be inferred from the archaeological record alone. For example, without them we would have no knowledge of Caesar's two invasions. No evidence for these invasions has so far been turned up in the archaeological record. The literary picture may be incorrect, may be biased by the politics and position of the writer in the. Roman system, or may be a propaganda exercise. If treated as a series of hypotheses rather than proven facts, the literary evidence can in some cases, be tested against the archaeological record like other hypotheses 126
The overall impression from the literary evidence is of
generally unfriendly or hostile relations between Rome and
southern Britain at the time of Caesar's invasions. In the
following ninety years the general tenor appears to have varied from unfriendly but not actively hostile to quite
friendly, with the friendly periods normally predominating.
In general Rome appears to have fostered stability by
remaining on good terms with the rulers in power in Britain,
even if they had deposed and exiled previous rulers allied
to Rome. The Romans recognized the de facto situation, and maintained their trade and diplomatic connections with whichever leader was capable of maintaining order and
stability. From time to time some Romans considered the
desirability of conquering Britain, but until AD 43, at any
particular instant either the will, the resources, or both
were lacking. With the advent of Claudius resources were
available, and the emperor needed a military success to
establish his authority and credibility. The hostile
attitude of Cunebolinus' successors, Cai^atacus and
Tognodumus, provided the casus belli.
As far as the questions, hypotheses and model put
forward in this paper, the literary evidence provides some
direct supporting evidence. Caesar identifies the five
small tribes occupying the territory between Catuvellaunus
in Hertfordshire and the Trinovantes in Essex. Strabo
describes the imports from Britain, implying quite an active
trading connection, both for his own period and earlier. A 127 number of writers give accounts showing that southern and eastern Britain were going through a period of political instability and change between Caesar's invasions and the final conquest, with the replacement of a number of smaller chiefdoms by much larger proto-state level groups.
The numismatic evidence is helpful in locating and naming the principal leaders of the British in southern and eastern Britain. 128
XV THE TRADING PATTERNS
Trade between Britain, Gaul and the rest of the Roman world has been touched on in the earlier chapters on pottery, amphorae, coins, brooches and burials. In this chapter a brief overview is given of the shifting trading patterns of trade over time, with particular emphasis on the period from 55/54 BC to AD 43. No attempt has been made to go into extensive details of the trade, as this information is not essential for answering the research questions posed in this thesis. The subject is vast. It is the subject of a large number of specialist papers and monographs, as well as generating a number of theses. These sources have been used in compiling this overview.
Trade between Britain and continental Europe goes back a long way. Britain became an island about 6,000 BC during the land and sea level adjustments after the last Ice Age.
Exchange with the Continent was occurring as early as the third millenium BC, with stone axes coming in from Britanny
(Darvill 1987:70). Exchange with Europe on a modest scale continued into the second millenium. From the archaeological record the extent of trade and contact in the later second and first millenia BC appears to have varied quite widely over time. Between about 1,300 to 1,100 BC there were close ties between southern England and the areas around the the mouths of the Rhine. Pottery and metalwork in both areas were similar, and imported pottery from
Cornwall (Trevisker ware) has been found in the Pas de 129
Calais. Trade or exchange in bronze weapons and ornaments took place in both directions, with Welsh bronze weapons found in Holland, and continental bronzework in Britain. A complex exchange system was needed to bring together the raw materials for bronze, copper, tin and lead. These do not occur together naturally and were traded over distances of hundreds of kilometres. By the mid-first millenium BC, there was a vigorous cross-channel trade from the Brittany area to the trading points of entry at Hengistbury Head, the
Portland area, and Mountbatten near Plymouth, on the western part of the south coast of Britain.
By about the end of the fourth century BC, cross- channel contact and trade dropped off markedly, and did not recover until the late second century BC1. During this period of isolation and regional development the social organization in southern Britain was based on a number of defended hillfort sites, surrounded by widely scattered open settlements. These settlements varied in size from single farmsteads to hamlets of five or six households. In eastern
Britain in this period there were few hillforts, but larger numbers of villages, hamlets and isolated farmsteads. Some were enclosed, but most were open (Cunliffe 1989a,1988,1987,
Darvill 1987b, Macready and Thompson 1984).
In the late second century BC the cross-channel trade recovered, marked by a great increase in activity at
1. One reason for this may have been the increasing use of iron, ores of which are relatively common and plentiful in both Britain and Europe. 130
Hengistbury, and the introduction of a wide range of new imports, Italian amphorae, glass, Gaulish coinage, Armorican pottery, and exotic foodstuffs such as figs. This trade moved via Narbonne and the River Garonne, and Massalia and the River Loire to Brittany. From there goods travelled to the south coast. This trade route remained active until the invasions of Caesar in 55-54 BC, when it declined although remaining in use on into the Roman period. In the same period a major new trading route developed. This ran from north-eastern Gaul and the Low Countries, via the Rhone
Seine and Rhine, to eastern Britain, particularly to Kent, the Thames estuary area, and the Essex rivers (Macready op. cit.)
In the trade to the east coast of Britain, Camulodunum, on the evidence from the archaeological record, appears to have been the principal centre for the import and export of goods involved in the trade with Rome and Gaul (Bradley
1984, Cunliffe, Darvill, Macready op. cit., Haselgrove
1982).
In summary, with the shift in the trading axis from the
Brittany-Hengistbury route to the north Gaul-Camulodunum approach in the period between about 50 BC and AD 43, the rulers of Camulodunum gained control over the importation and distribution of luxury and elite goods to their core area, and the periphereal zone around it. This change and growth in the trading pattern supports the specific 131 hypotheses, research question and model put forward in
Chapter 5. 132
XVI STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
Because of the problems noted with the data in Chapter
VII, the terrible nature of the samples and very small numbers of many artifacts, it was felt that the main analysis should be subjective. Detailed and sophisticated statistical analysis of a seriously flawed sample would give either meaningless or completely unreliable output.
However some simple tests on data that can be compared across sites might support the conclusions reached in the subjective analysis. This is the purpose of this chapter.
The first requirement was to put the data into some sort of form that would minimize the effects of the varying site sizes, areas excavated and sample reliability.
Essentially all the artifacts and features recovered from datable and controlled stratigraphic situations were considered to be the "sample". The only case in which the complete "population" was recovered was the King Harry Lane cemetery. To compensate for the wide variations in areas excavated, and therefore in sample size, both in absolute terms, and as a percentage of the total site or "population" no absolute numbers of artifacts were used, but various percentages or ratios. For example, with the pottery, the number of each major type of vessel present as a percentage of the whole assemblage was used. Thus whether the "sample" size was an assemblage 10, 100 or 1000, if 2, 20 and 200 platters were respectively present, then all three cases have 20% platters. In other cases for inter-site 133
comparisons the ratios between sites were used. The site with the least number of occurrences of an artifact or
feature would be given the value one, and values for other
sites would be calculated by dividing their number of
occurrences by that of the site with the least number. Both
the ratios and percentages are of course dimensionless
numbers
In considering what statistical techniques to use, the
main consideration was the need to do inter-site
comparisons. A major thrust of this thesis is to look for
similarities and differences between the four principal
sites, and to use these to explain the processes involved in
the social, political and economic changes in Britain. To
this end the analysis should be aimed at confirming, or not
confirming, the model and hypotheses, and at answering the
research questions. As a preliminary some exploratory data
analysis was done, searching for patterning in the data for
both intra-site and inter-site situations. This was
followed by some inter-site comparisons of selected artifact
types, such as pottery. The results were in general either
unproductive or brought out points which were obvious from a
simple inspection of the tabulated material. Looking at the
data as a whole a multivariate type of analysis appeared the
most appropriate. After considering the data, cluster
analysis was selected as the most practicable approach. The
SYSTAT computer programme was used. After reviewing some
recent literature (Shennan 1988) and the SYSTAT manual it 134 was decided to use normalized Euclidean distance metrics and the Ward linkage. These allow clustering of different sample sizes with missing data and tend to produce reasonably compact clusters.
The four principal sites, Wheathampstead, Prae Wood,
Skeleton Green and Camulodunum were used initially in the analysis. In the final inter-site comparisons tests were run both with and without Wheathampstead. Its artifact and feature collection had so many missing values that its inclusion distorted the proper comparison between the other three sites. In the statistical analysis the four sites were treated as cases and the artifacts and features as variables. Thus the information shown in Table 10 below was transposed in the statistical work.
An examination of the data suggested that some types of artifacts and features might justify examination of the variability of one type of artifact or feature across the four sites. Preliminary tabulations were made of Gallo-
Belgic and native pottery, amphorae and coinage, by range of types and percentage of range of types. Cluster analysis was then done on these four types of artifacts. The results were were not particularly helpful. Satisfactory clusters were obtained, but they showed no more than could be obtained by a cursory examination of the tables. The results have not been included in this paper, as they simply coincide with the more obvious conclusions noted in previous chapters. 135
All variables that could be assigned a meaningful numerical value for the four sites were then tabulated in some dimensionless form, see Table 10 below. Initially all four sites and sixteen variables were tabulated and used in the clustering. Clustering was then repeated after dropping the Wheathampstead case from the tabulation, on the basis that its large number of "0" values distorted the result.
Finally two of the weakest variables, elite and other dwellings were dropped, leaving fourteen variables, and clustering was then repeated just for the three cases of
Prae Wood, Skeleton Green and Camulodunum. The three clusters resulting are shown in Figure 8.
I_ab.le-..JL0..„ SjJt_aaJ_jS_r^^
SITE> Wheathamp Prae Wood Skeleton Camulo- stead Green. ABTIEACI Sigillata 0 1.0 1.5 2.25 Gallo-Belgic Pottery 0 1.0 1.58 1.03 Native Pottery 1 2.36 7.2 1.92 Amphorae, Italian 0 0 1.0 2.66 Spanish 0 1.0 2.0 4.0 Other 0 0 0 1.0 Coins, Cunebolinus 0 0 1.0 12.89 Tasciovanus 0 1 18.0 4.0 Other 0 0 1.1 1.0 Coin Moulds 0 1.0 1.0 1.0 Burials, Rich 1.67 0 1.0 1.0 Other 1.0 9.1 0 0 Dykes 20.0 3.3 1.0 76.0 Dwellings, Elite 0 0 0 1.0 Other 0 1.0 2.0 3.0 Brooches 1.0 8.0 7.0 4.0
Notes, to the Table 1. All the figures except those for coin moulds and other dwellings are ratios. The site with the smallest number of artifacts or features, other than zero, was taken as unity, and the figures for the other sites were then divided by the number from the site with the smallest collection. This gives dimensionless numbers of moderate size, and as far as 136 possible minimizes the problems of widely different sample size. 2. For coin moulds, all the sites except Wheathampstead reported some broken fragments. The Skeleton Green ones were from the Gatesbury area, and at Prae Wood they were found below Roman Verulamium. Only Camulodunum had them in a firm context. Reviewing the discussion on coin moulds in Chapter X, it was felt proper to assign an equal value to all three sites with fragment. 3. For other dwellings there was one possible at Prae Wood, eight definite small buildings, not necessarily dwellings, at Skeleton Green, and an unspecified number of definite or probable dwellings at Camulodunum. The three sites were simply ranked in the order of the number of dwellings.
The first cluster, with four cases and sixteen variables, shows Camulodunum as markedly different from the other sites, and the uniqueness of this site is maintained in the other two clusters. In the first cluster
Wheathampstead and Prae Wood are closest, with some modest difference from Skeleton Green. With the Wheathampstead case removed the other two clusters show that Prae Wood and
Skeleton Green are much closer to each other than either is to Camulodunum.
Taking the known relative chronology of the four sites into account, these results from the clustering tend to confirm that Camulodunum represents a more complex society than the earlier sites, probably a proto-state, rather than a chiefdom or paramount chiefdom. The closeness of Prae
Wood and Skeleton Green fits in with the hypothesis of both having two stages of occupation, with first one dominant and then the other. From other evidence Skeleton Green was probably the stronger unit in the late first century BC, and
Prae Wood/Verulamium in the first half of the first century
AD. 137
CHAPTER XVII DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
As discussed in Chapter V the general question examined in this thesis is what were the forces at work in the rapidly changing social and political organization in south• eastern Britain between 55-54 BC and AD 43. Were they forces internal to British society, or were they at least in part forces related to the contact with Rome? From the general and specific hypotheses put forward, and the archaeological research questions, a model was developed of a number of minor chiefdoms in the Braughing/Skeleton Green area coming together into a federation shortly after
Caesar's invasions in 55 and 54 BC. From their base at
Skeleton Green the federation moved west to dominate the St.
Albans area. The federation came to be controlled by two successive powerful rulers, Tasciovanus and Cunebolinus, and they established a proto-state with its final capital at the new site of Camulodunum.
Evidence from a range of artifacts and features has been analysed, and some simple statistical analysis done.
The evidence from the pottery, the amphorae, the coinage and the earthworks ranks the sequence of the four main sites in a chronological order, with Wheathampstead the earliest and
Camulodunum the latest. Skeleton Green and Prae
Wood/Verulamium come in between. The probable sequence for
Prae Wood/Verulamium and Skeleton Green is not so clear. It seems likely that both sites were occupied more or less continuously during the period covered in this thesis, but 138 that the intensity of the occupation and the relative importance of the sites varied. On the basis of the artifact evidence Prae Wood was probably in use early in the period, but on a fairly modest scale. Shortly after
Skeleton Green became a major centre for the area. By the late first century BC and the early first century AD,
Tasciovanus appears to have achieved a dominant position in the south-east, and the coin evidence suggests that his principal centre was at Verulamium, leaving Skeleton Green in a position of diminished importance. Either towards the end of his reign or early in that of his successor
Cunebolinus, a new capital was established at Camulodunum.
Verulamium appears to have remained an important secondary centre. Skeleton Green, after a period of low activity, revived and also achieved a significant role as another major secondary centre by the beginning of the second quarter of the first century AD.
The analysis of the pottery generally supports this scenario. The proportions of elite and imported pottery types is highest at Camulodunum, followed by Skeleton Green and Prae Wood. Skeleton Green has more variety in its imported pottery types, but the range has fewer elite type vessels, suggesting a society with less extreme rank differences than Camulodunum. Camulodunum on the other hand has more locally made copies of imported wares, and these copies were made to a more uniform and higher standard than at other sites. This implies both a more sophisticated and 139 a more centralized manufacturing industry than at the other sites.
The amphorae show a marked increase in the import of luxury food items at Skeleton Green, and an even greater variety at Camulodunum. The evidence from Prae Wood is for a less complex society. Evidence for pottery and amphorae from Verulamium is not available. The Late Iron Age settlement appears from the odd sondage to lie below the
Roman town of Verulamium, and has not been excavated1.
The evidence from the coins is highly suggestive. The coins found at the sites, and the distribution of identifiable coin types in the peripheral areas place
Cunebolinus' capital firmly at Camulodunum, with an extensive trade or exchange system extending into the peripheral areas to the north, west and south. The wide distribution of his bronze coinage within his core area suggests an organized internal trading system using a standardized low value coinage as the basis of exchange in at least some normal daily transactions. Tasciovanus' coinage is centred more on St. Albans and Skeleton Green, and with a more restricted distribution in the peripheral areas than that of Cunebolinus. His bronze coinage al3o has
1. A similar situation existed at Silchester until the last few years. The Roman site had been quite extensively excavated, but the Iron Age site was almost unknown. Recent work, so far only published in the annual summaries in Britannia, has shown that a quite sophisticated Iron Age settlement with a grid plan and defined streets lies beneath the Roman layers. A similar situation seems highly probably at Verulamium. 140 a more limited distribution. The evidence from the coinage supports the model quite strongly.
The presence of coin moulds, crucibles and casting debris at Camulodunum, Skeleton Green/Gatesbury and
Verulamium indicates that all three sites had mints, and were probably "capitals", or at least major secondary centres, at some time in the period. The production of a standardized inscribed coinage tends to be a tightly controlled state monopoly. For the relatively small proto- states of Tasciovanus and Cunebolinus, more than one mint at a time seems unlikely. The capital of Cunebolinus was certainly at Camulodunum, but the distribution of the coins and coin moulds suggest a more peripatetic model for
Tasciovanus, with his capital moving from Skeleton Green to
Verulamium, and possibly late in his reign to Camulodunum, as he expanded and consolidated his area of control.
The brooch collections from the sites generally support the chronological sequence proposed and the model. The group from the King Harry Lane cemetery beside Prae Wood is by far the largest, and it appears to be later than the
Skeleton Green collection. However it seems probable from the overall evidence of the artifacts from the King Harry
Lane cemetery that it is associated with the latest Iron Age settlement at Verulamium, in the early first century AD, rather than with the mid-first century BC Prae Wood site.
Only about 15% of the burials are pre-Roman in date, and the 141 cemetery continued in use for native burials well into the
Roman period.
The burial evidence is very limited at some sites. No burials of the period under study have been recovered from the Braughing area, or from the immediate vicinity of
Wheathampstead. Camulodunum has produced only elite and intermediate burials, and Verulamium only intermediate and plain burials. The very rich Lexden tumulus burial at
Camulodunum does suggest a more stratified society than at the other sites. There is evidence for ranking at
Verulamium in the variation in the grave goods present in the King Harry Lane and Verulam Hills Field cemeteries, but no suggestion of extremely high status, or royal burials, like the Lexden tumulus. What evidence there is from the burials generally supports the model.
Building remains are very slight at all sites, but at
Camulodunum there are strong suggestions for two high status residential areas, one in the Sheepen area and one at
Gosbecks Farm. The major visible features at all sites are the earthworks, but their character is quite different at the different sites. Wheathampstead is quite clearly a massively fortified stronghold, quite similar to many other
Late Iron Age hillforts in southern Britain. At Prae Wood and Skeleton Green the earthworks are generally not fortifications, but boundary walls or stock enclosures.
Camulodunum has by far the most extensive system of earthworks, and they appear to be of three types. Some are 142 substantial fortifications with defined gateways, particularly in the Sheepen area and stretching down to
Gosbecks farm. Some are enclosures for stock, or for farming or industrial activities, and some are probably territorial boundary markers. The earthworks at Camulodunum define and defend a large area containing a wide variety of specialized manufacturing and farming activities. The evidence supports the hypothesis that Camulodunum contained a much larger, more complex, more varied and,more stratified social group than the other sites.
The small amount of literary evidence from the ancient authors does not conflict with the model proposed. In fact the only evidence for the group of five smaller tribes with a base in the Braughing area comes from Caesar. The archaeological record shows an occupation with some degree of complexity at Braughing, but provides no direct evidence for more than one group. The only archaeological evidence for more than one group is the exceptionally wide range of types of imported Gallo-Belgic pottery, suggesting the coming together of groups with different tastes in this imported ware.
From the archaeological record, the overseas trading patterns with Rome and Gaul appear to have changed markedly during the period from Caesar's invasions to the Claudian conquest. Prior to this period Hengistbury Head on the south coast had been the main port of entry for imported goods. By the time of the Claudian conquest Camulodunum had 143 become the major centre controlling the imports from the
Continent to south-eastern Britain, giving the rulers there control over both the importation and distribution of luxury goods, and over the exports needed to pay for these imports.
Trade also increased in this perid, both in volume and in variety. From the archaeological record at the four sites examined in this thesis, imported pottery, amphorae and brooches increased in both numbers and range of types.
The simple intersite cluster analysis described in
Chapter XVI and shown in Figure 8, using a number of artifacts and features supports the model. It shows
Camulodunum to be quite markedly different from the other sites, and Prae Wood/Verulamium and Skeleton Green to be fairly similar.
In summary the evidence from the archaeological record at the sites appears to provide affirmative answers to the four specific archaeological research questions, and in general to support the specific hypotheses put forward.
On the question of the processes and mechanics involved in the quite drastic change in social and political organization in eastern Britain during this period, the archaeological record is rather obscure. By the time of the establishment of Camulodunum, the decision making process was certainly operating at two levels, the Camulodunum level, and the secondary centres level at Verulamium and
Skeleton Green. It was almost certainly operating at a third level as well, that of the local Iron Age village or 144 homestead group. The evidence for Wright's "internal specialization", the division of the control and decision making process into more than one department at the capital, with corresponding branch "departments" at the local level is slight. If the coin moulds from Camulodunum, Skeleton
Green and Verulamium were taken as evidence for three mints concurrently, this would certainly suggest the possibility of a centralized control over local departments producing coinage. However, as noted earlier the mints are more likely to have operated consecutively, although the stratigraphic and dating evidence is insufficient to rank them in chronological order. Trade is another activity which might have required local "departments", particularly the internal British trade between the core and the peripheral areas. Imports to and exports from eastern
Britain would be concentrated in the riverside port area at
Camulodunum, but the internal trade and exchange network would have operated at a number of ports of entry along the
500 kilometre long perimeter of the core area. There is a suggestion at Verulamium in the King Harry Lane cemetery that the social organization there at the end of the period contained a number of people of about equal middle status, together with a larger number of people of lesser position, grouped together into some sort of extended family relationship. This social organization would be consistent with a number of merchants or traders and their workmen/support staff specializing in a number of different 145 commodities. In this scenario a local representative of the central authority might well be needed to regulate the trade with the peripheral areas, in order to secure the ruler's control over it. This evidence is, however, distinctly tenuous, and certainly subject to other interpretations, such as a group of extended family run farms sharing a common cemetery. It seems that "external specialization" was certain, with "internal specialization" being possible to probable, but there is no solid archaeological evidence for the "internal specialization". One interesting point is that the ancient literary evidence available about the
Claudian conquest does suggest a state level rather than a tribal level of society in eastern Britain.
On balance the overall weight of evidence for the kingdom based on Camulodunum does suggest a social organization more complex and sophisticated than the traditional paramount chiefdom, and one that could properly be termed a proto-state. Certainly the regular use of standard minted coinage implies a state level structure.
This proto-state was definitely a secondary state forming " on the margin of extant states" (Wright and Johson
1975:267). The elite and luxury goods imported, both to meet the personal needs of the rulers at Camulodunum, and to extend their control and exploitation of the peripheral areas through exchange and trade, were only obtainable from the Roman Empire. In this respect the Roman imports were different in kind from the earlier Iron Age trade with the 146
Continent. In this earlier trade, in weapons, pottery, brooches and raw materials, the type and quality of traded goods could be and were made locally, as well as imported.
For the imports from the Roman area, Terra Sigillata pottery and luxury foods, there was only one source, and no immediate possibility of local production. The trade through Camulodunum contrasts with the earlier phases of trade through Hengistbury Head, where the proportion of
Roman goods was much lower. Thus the development of the trading patterns and consequent social organization in eastern Britain seems to have been highly dependent on the
Roman presence.
Looking at the apparent sequence of events and the short time span in which they occurred, a mere ninety years, it would appear that the processes involved might fit into
Spencer's concept of punctuated equilibrium, cultural evolution with discontinuities, or with Patterson's hypothesis on combined and uneven development.
The early consolidation of power in the
Braughing/Skeleton Green area, following the serious weakening of Cassivellaunus' power and the Trinovantes after Caesar's invasions, seems to have given a window of opportunity to the group of smaller tribes around Braughing.
These small polities had the chance to come together against a now diminished threat from their larger and more powerful neighbours. With Caesar's withdrawal they had a limited time to establish their security and then their hegemony in 147 eastern Britain. Capitalizing on the weakness of
Cassivellaunus and the unwarlike nature of the Trinovantes, they had, by the time of Tasciovanus, grasped control of eastern Britain. Tasciovanus rose to dominance within the area, but to maintain this position he had to exploit the resouces of a larger area. He moved first to the west against the potentially more dangerous opponent, the former kingdom of Cassivellaunus, establishing his control over the
Verulamium/Wheathampstead area, and possibly moving his capital to Verulamium. Towards the end of his reign he established, or started to establish a new capital at
Camulodunum, to consolidate control of the trade essential to his continuing survival. With his successor,
Cunebolinus, both the pace of change and the complexity of the socio-political organization increased. At an early stage Cunebolinus established a proto-state level of society, a sharp break with the previous structure of society. This marked break with the earlier tradition of warring local Iron Age chiefdoms in Britain established a qualitatively different type of organization2. This more complex social structure was required both to manage the large area under his suzerainty, and to control and expand the trading pattern with Rome and the Continent on which it depended.
2. At about the same time it seems likely that a similar proto-state level of organization was established in southern Britain, with its capital at Chichester, initially ruled by Verica, and later by the most famous of the British client kings, Cogidubnus. 148
This sequence of events seems to fit, at least in part,
the model proposed by Gailey and Patterson. The polity that
finally developed into Cunebolinus' kingdom started off in
relationships of subordination to its regional neighbours
prior to Caesar's invasions. After the withdrawal of Caesar
and his legions it moved into a position of dominance, and
by the time of Tasciovanus had evolved into an increasingly
stratified society to protect the socio-economic position of
the new ruler, and the elite immediately dependent on him.
To expand and maintain the elite control required
exploitation not only of the people in his core area, but
more importantly the exploitation of the peoples in the
peripheral zone. Exploitation of the peripheral districts
was a safer course than too high a degree of internal
exploitation. Cunebolinus appears to have increased the
„ size of the exploited peripheral zone significantly, while
simultaneously increasing trade, and consolidating the
society he inherited into a proto-state level of complexity,
all within a few years. In this case the centralized
political power of the proto-state appears to have both
protected the status and exploitative stance achieved by
Tasciovanus, and to have further magnified the
stratification and exploitation. This also appears to have
been an "historical" process, both the general conditions
had to be favourable, and then one or two persons with
certain qualities had to be present. 149
In summary a model very close to that proposed by
Gailey and Patterson appears to fit the known or inferred circumstances in south-eastern Britain at that time. A variant from the exploitative hypotheses proposed by Gailey and Patterson might be an even closer fit. They raise the point of whether exploitation is a cause or result of stratification. I would suggest that exploitation is a cumulative phenomenon, with the first tiny piece of exploitation preceeding stratification. Then to protect that small advantage the exploiter is compelled to exploit further, steadily widening the difference between himself and his former peer group. At some quite early point in this chain, stratification becomes institutionalized, and continues to grow until either an outside force or internal upheaval in society breaks it apart. With a truly complex society it probably rarely reverts back to a true simple egalitarian condition, but reforms with a new set of exploiters and exploited. Caesar's invasion seems to have accelerated a situation that already involved exploitation.
Late Iron Age Britain with its elite burials and prestige goods was far from an egalitarian society. It had established chiefdoms and stratification. That particular historical event, in the social context of Britain at the time, set off an explosive chain of events which produced a society that moved from a chiefdom level of complexity to one approaching the state level of complexity within less than ninety years. In its turn this new proto-state 150 collapsed under the stress of outside forces, the Claudian invasion, and a new set of exploiters took over.
Spencer's cultural evolution model of punctuated equilibrium seems to fit more closely conditions where primary state formation is taking place, as with the
Zapotec. In Britain it probably fits a slightly earlier period and longer time span better. For example in the century or two prior to Caesar's invasion, before Britain had come into contact with an established state level society, Iron Age society went through several marked discontinuities in its socio-economic and political development. 151
C.HAP_T£E.„JXVJLII A&JSLVALUA^^
EESJEAE.CH
In answering the research questions and testing the hypotheses and model put forward in this thesis, one of the weakest points is the available archaeological data. There are several serious problems with them. One has been mentioned on a number of occasions in earlier chapters, the possible to highly probable unrepresentative nature of the data. Only quite small parts of the sites were excavated, and in most cases the areas excavated were not even judgemental samples, but were forced on the excavators by the imminence of new civil engineering construction works, roads and by-passes. This situation will be difficult to rectify in the future, as at both Colchester and St. Albans other unexcavated parts of the sites are now largely built over with recent developments. These are likely to remain undisturbed for many years, or even a century or two.
Wheathampstead is still an open country situation, as are some very limited areas around Braughing/Skeleton Green.
Another major difficulty has been comparing the excavations in the three main areas. They span the period from the early 1930s for Prae Wood and Wheathampstead to the 1980s for Skeleton Green and King Harry Lane. All the excavations were done in the light of the techniques and knowledge available at the time, but there are significant differences in both what was considered important material, and in the way in which artifacts and ecofacts were recorded and 152 classified. In a few cases the material from older excavations has been re-studied and re-evaluated, notably in the case of the Lexden Tumulus and the Prae Wood and
Wheathampstead earthworks. More could be done along these lines, particularly with the native Iron Age pottery from
Prae Wood, Wheathampstead and Camulodunum1-. Much of this pottery from the sites still exists, although not in a very accessible form, in the storerooms of various local museums.
It would be most time consuming to locate this pottery from all three sites, identify it correctly, and then re-study and classify it into one uniform system. The cost/benefit aspects would need careful evaluation before committing time and resources to a project of such magnitude.
The problem of differing classifications and typologies is particularly difficult for non-Roman pottery, the Gallo-
Belgic wares, native copies of these and the indigenous native pottery. This is reflected in the way it was found necessary to group and aggregate different types in the tables in this thesis. There is simply not enough information in the published reports, except the most recent, to make a fine breakdown of types. Amphorae were a lesser difficulty. These were reported using a number of different classification schemes, but by using Peacock's recently published proposed standard groupings it was possible to fit them all into one scheme. Coinage and
1. The first reasonably complete study of British Iron Age pottery was not published until 1990 (Gibson and Woods 1990). 153 brooches have well established classificatory systems and generally were not a problem.
Lack of information on Iron Age Verulamium is a serious gap in the evidence. Prae Wood, adjacent to and part of
Verulamium, was used in this study because it had been excavated and published. However, it appears to be early in the period, and a more satisfactory comparison would have been between Verulamium proper and Skeleton Green. There is some possibility that following on from Professor Frere's extensive excavations of Roman Verulamium, further redevelopment of the town centre may allow some salvage excavation of its Iron Age predecessor. A few quite modest excavated areas could provide a great deal more evidence for or against the hypotheses and model proposed here. At
Skeleton Green there are two needs. One is for some further modest scale excavations in other areas of the site, particularly to recover more buildings, and a more representative sample of artifacts from the pre-Roman period. The second is to try and locate and excavate a representative group of Late Iron Age burials.
At Camulodunum further excavation would be interesting but not essential. Overall there is a much clearer picture of the nature of this site, its extent, artifacts and dating than there is for the others. The main need with this site
is probably to re-study and classify the surviving native 154 pottery2, most of which is in the storerooms of the
Colchester Museum.
With all these deficencies in the archaeological record, how sound are the conclusions reached in the previous chapters?
The conclusions on the relative chronology of the sites are generally sound, and in line with most previously published work, although the periods of importance and decline for Verulamium and Skeleton Green need further clarification, particularly in the second quarter of the first century AD. The identification of the polity based on
Camulodunum as exhibiting a proto-state level of complexity is also considered reasonably secure, as is the identi• fication of both Verulamium and Skeleton Green as important centres in their own right in the early part of the period, and as important secondary centres after the rise of
Camul odun um.
The point that remains highly speculative and hypothetical is why Skeleton Green developed to the extent that it did between Caesar's invasions and the Claudian conquest. Other than being fairly centrally placed in the area concerned, on a navigable river and reasonably accessible by ancient land routes, it has no other obvious natural advantages compared with Verulamium. The location of Camulodunum, in the circumstances of of the early first
2. Over forty tons of pottery was recovered from the Sheepen site, but only a representative selection appears to have been kept and published. 155 century AD, offers much more opportunity for domination and control of eastern Britain. The hypothesis put forward in this thesis offers one explanation for the founding and growth of Skeleton Green, but the support from the archaeological record for this case is modest at best. The only evidence for the existence of the five small founding tribes is in Caesar's writings. Overall it has to be said that the hypothesis and model proposed for the evolution of
Skeleton Green is possible, is not seriously contradicted by the evidence available, but that there is not a great deal of positive evidence for it either. 156
GLQJ3J5AEY__1
List of Site Names and Areas The site names are those used by the excavators, and are those which appear on the current Ordnance Survey maps. Other than Camulodunum and Verulamium they are generally medieval to modern, and have no connection with the prehistoric site names. The site names occurring in this paper are listed below. They have been divided into five groups, corresponding to the five principal areas investigated. In the text the modern name of the major town or site has been used to indicate the principal areas. The National Grid map reference to the kilometre square on which the site is centred is given, together with the county.
Braugkin&Jkrea (Hertfordshire, TL4025) Sites Braughing Gatesbury Little Hadham Skeleton Green Wickham Hill Westmill
Colchester Area (Essex, TL9925) Camulodunum Colchester, Roman name Camulodunum Gosbecks Farm Lexden Grange (Lexden B) Lexden Tumulus (Lexden C) St. Clare Drive St. Clare Road Sheepen
St. Albans Area (Hertfordshire, TL1307) St. Albans, Roman Name Verulamium. King Harry Lane Prae Wood Verulam Hills Field Verulamium
Welwvn Area (Hertfordshire, TL2416) Attimore Road Brickwall Hill Datchworth Grubs Barn Hertford Heath Little Amwell Mardleburg Welwyn Welwyn Garden City
jQQP_s£e_ad (Hertfordshire, TL1914) 157
tiers
Tribes (see Figure 2.) Name Atrebates Central southern England Cantiaci Kent Catuve11auni Hertfordshire, spreading to Essex Coritani Lincolnshire Dobunni West cental Britain, Gloucestershire Durotriges Dorset Iceni North East Anglia Trinovantes Essex
Rulers
Cassivellaunus Andoco(mius) Addedomaros Tasciovanus Cunebolinus Caratacus Tognodumus
Commius Tincommius Eppillus Verica Cogidubnus
Kent Dubnove1launus 158
QLQ.S..Si_.EY..-.3.
Arretine (Italian Sigillata) Roman pottery made at Arretium is the preferred (Arezzo)in Italy. Glossy bright red term now. slipped ware, extensively copied throughout the Roman Empire.
A loose British term for Roman and provincial Terra Sigillata.
le.rra,..S.igil.l3Jha Collective term for Italian Sigillata or Arretine ware and provincial copies, and for the earlier Eastern Sigillata.
i.au.Lisji Terra Sigillata made in southern Gaul, at first around Lyons and later at a number of locations. La Graufesenque and Montans were two major centres of production.
G.aJJLo-J3.e.ligi.c Gallo-Belgic Pottery was made in three forms in Northern Gaul, Terra Rubra with an orange coated cream to buff finish, Terra Nigra polished grey to black vessels, and Terra Nigra plus a mica dusting to simulate metal vessels. This pottery was shipped to Britain before the conquest, but Terra Rubra was out of production before the 50s, and Terra Nigra by ca. AD 80 (Swan 1978:11).
Mic.a.....Dus±e.d.._War.e. See Gallo-Belgic.
.T~e_r^^.a—N ffra See Gallo-Belgic.
Ie..rjCj8, JS.u.b_r_a See Gallo-Belgic.
Q.tJae_r.._..T_e..c.hn±.Q.a.l .Terms.
Amphora (Plural Amphorae) Large earthenware containers for the storage and transportation of liquid and solid comestibles. There are many classes, varying widely in size and shape, depending on the contents and the point of origin. 159
Iron Age brooches were produced in a wide range of designs,shapes and decorative forms, in both bronze and iron. They were made in both Britain and Europe, and were traded widely. They are in effect large 'safety pins" for securing garments.
Dykes. The term is used to describe a usually free standing ditch and bank construction, created by piling excavated material from the ditch on one or both lips. If used as a stock enclosure the ditch is usually on the inside. If used as a defensive rampart the ditch is on the outside
Flan The flat disc of metal on which the coin design was struck to make a coin.
0.pm.&um (Plural, Oppida) A large Late Iron Age settlement in northern Europe and Britain, often situated at an important node in a trade route, and often close to water transport, sea, estuary or river. They were quite frequently fortified, but not always. They tended to be on the flanks of hills or even in valley bottoms, unlike the earlier hillforts on dominant high ground that preceeded them. 160
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HESMDIJLJi
References to Britain in the Classical Literature
In this paper the following passages will be referred to:
Glcexa.. Jjc^_10.6jrA3_..IL.£L.) Letters to Atticus:IV,15,10; IV.16,7; IV,18,5. Brief comments on Caesar's invasion.
From The Gallic Wars: IV,20. Britons aid the Gauls (early 50s B.C.). Caesar questions many traders about the numbers, tribes and customs of the Britons, and about suitable harbours. IV,21. Emissaries from some British tribes make friendly overtures. IV,27. Britons seek peace. IV,30. They break the truce, attack, but are repulsed. IV,33. British manner of fighting with chariots. IV, 36. Peace reestablished. Two British tribes send hostages. V, ll. (Campaign of 54B.C). Britains entrust supreme command to Cassivellaunus, "whose territories are divided from the maritime states by the river called Thames, about eighty miles from the sea. Hitherto there had been continuous wars between this chief and the other states, but our arrival had moved the Britons to appoint him commander- in-chief for the conduct of the whole campaign." V,12. Description of Britain, the people, agriculture, customs, coinage, mining and climate. V,14. Inlanders are pastoralists. Marriage customs. V,18. Caesar crosses the Thames, defeats the Britons. V,20. Trinovantes seek Caesar's protection. V,21. Lesser tribes surrender to Caesar. Caesar attacks and captures the "stronghold" of Cassivellaunus. (Wheathampstead?) V,22. Cassivellaunus, alarmed by defection of other tribes, sues for peace. Caesar sets number of hostages and the annua1 tr ibute.
Horace (c65-8 B.C.) Odes 111,5, 1-4. "Augustus will be recognized as a god upon earth when he has added the Britons to the empire". Written about 27 B.C. 184
Strabo (c. 63 B.C.-A.D.21 or later) Geography: 11,5,8. Comments on the pros and cons for conquering Britain. IV,5,2. Description of trade routes and goods traded. Descriptions of climate, agriculture and warfare. Descriptions of appearance of Britons and Gauls. IV,5,3. Description of Caesar's raids in 55 and 54 B.C.
VI,32. "there fled to me as suppliants various kings from the Britons Dumnobellaunus and Tincommius.
JjasejEihia^ Jewish War 111,1,2. Brief comment on Vespasian's part in the conquest of Britain.
Frontinus (c. A.D. 30-104) Stratagems 11,13,11. Commius, fleeing from Caesar, goes from Gaul to Britain. Xac.lfajs_tc.__.A. D 56,5..Znll.Q .Q.r.-laJier_l Annals 11,24. Friendly kings of Britain return shipwrecked Roman troops, c. A.D.16. Agricola 10,11,12,13. Description of geography, inhabitants and customs of Britain.
Lives of the Caesars. The Deified Julius 25,2. Brief comments on Caesar's raids Claudius 17,1. Brief description of the invasion of A.D.43.
D.lQ„..LA...D_^.lS£lr22.9J. 49,38,2. 53,22,5. 53,25,2. Comment on Augustus' intention to campaign in Britain in 34,27 and 26 B.C. Did not because of troubles in Gaul. Notes: (RJOM) 1. Augustus probably made an accommodation with the British tribes, lacking the resources to campaign in Britain and Gaul simultaneously, and not wishing to invade Britain without a secure continental base. 2. Dio wrote 200 years after the events he describes. Obviously he copied from or paraphrased earlier writers. Did he have access to old imperial records? 185
AEEMBHLB
Burial Sites
The burial sites used in this paper are listed below, twelve in the group of adequately published sites, and eight in the group reported with sufficient detail to place them in either the Welwyn or Lexden phase.
1, Pjibliahed. Sites
M.Q Siie. Map.__B.eJL. Type. E.\™3.1icmt..iQ.n_§.
46 Lexden Tumulus TL975247 Very rich Laver 1926 Stead 1967 Foster 1986 49 St. Clare Drive TL967250 Rich Hull 1942 b.l..„.JHe_l__yji._.i_r.s.. a na Hertford Heath TL3310 Rich Hussen 1983 102 Little Amwell TL252113 Rich Holmes 1959 106 Welwyn A TL232159 Rich ) Smith 1912 Welwyn B Rich ) Birchall 1965 Welwyn C Plain ) Stead 1967 Welwyn D Plain ) 109 Welwyn Garden Cityl TL254131 Rich Stead 1967, Welwyn Gard. 2-7 Plain Stead 1967
St -. Albans Area 104 King Harry Lane TL133065 472 burials Plain to intermediate. Stead and Rigby 1989 105 Verulam Hills Field TL140066 21 burials Anthony 1968
2_. Ee^ojc_t_ejd_.J3JJ;.e_s
No.,.. S.i±j_. D_ai_e Map__.Eej£_.. Xy_p_e. R-L)Ie_r_eji(__s
tester Area St. Clare Road 1922 TL975250 Intermediate Birchall 1965 48 Lexden Grange 1904 TL975250 Intermediate Birchall 1965
95 Gatesbury 1799 TL390250 Rich Whimster 1981 103 Little Hadham 1886 TL440227 Rich Whimster 1981 110 Westmill 1729 TL380271 Rich Whimster 1981
G..1 ielw_yn__Ar_e„a 97 Datchworth 1971 TL265185 Rich Peacock 1971 107 Mardlebury 1905 TL253175 Rich Whimster 1981 108 Attimore Road 1938 TL226124 Plain Stead 1976 186
M.o_te_3 (i) The numbers assigned to the burial sites are those used by Whimster in his gazetteer (Whimster 1981). If a site is not numbered, it has been published since Whimster published his gazetteer. (ii) The dates given for the reported sites are those of the first discovery or report. The references given for these sites are those reasonably accessible today. (iii) The references for all sites are the principal ones. Other references are given in the body of the paper where appropriate, and Whimster has a full list of references. 187
Fig. 1. South-Eastern Britain
Principal Sites 1 88
Fig. 2. Tribes of Southern Britain
(After Cunliffe 1978, figs. 7.10 and 8.3) 189 1 90 191
Fig. 5. The St. Albans Area
(After Wheeler, 1936, figure 1, and Hunn 1980, figures 1, 2 and 3) 1 92
Fig. 6. Burial Sites in the St. Albans, Wheathampstead,Weiwyn, and Welwyn Garden City Areas 193
EI.GJJEE....1.
RELATIVE CHRONOLOGY OF THE SITES
LEGEND
Nv\v\^\ Iron Age Occupation
F:'rababIe, Iron Age Occupation
Roman Occupation 194
FIGURE 8a
Cluster diagram, 16 Variables
Wheathampstead, Prae Wood, Skeleton Green, Camulodunum.
DISTANCE METRIC IS EUCLIDEAN DISTANCE WARD MINIMUM VARIANCE METHOD
TREE DIAGRAM DISTANCES 0.000 SKELETON GR .
WHEATHAMP
PRAE WOOD
CAMULODUNUM 195
FIGURE 8b
Cluster Diagram, 16 Variables
Prae Wood, Skeleton Green, Camulodunum.
DISTANCE METRIC IS EUCLIDEAN DISTANCE WARD MINIMUM VARIANCE METHOD
TREE DIAGRAM DISTANCES 0.000 SKELETON GR ,
PRAE WOOD
CAMULODUNUM 196
FIGURE 8c
Cluster Diagram, 14 Variables
Prae Wood, Skeleton Green, Camulodunum.
DISTANCE METRIC IS EUCLIDEAN DISTANCE WARD MINIMUM VARIANCE METHOD
TREE DIAGRAM DISTANCES 0.000 SKELETON GR ,
PRAE WOOD
CAMULODUNUM