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The Transformation of Administrative Towns in Roman Britain by Lara Bishop BA, Saint Mary‟s University, 1997 MA, University of Wales Cardiff, 2001 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of Greek and Roman Studies Lara Bishop, 2011 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. ii Supervisory Committee The Transformation of Administrative Towns in Roman Britain by Lara Bishop BA, Saint Mary‟s University, 1997 MA, University of Wales Cardiff, 2001 Supervisory Committee Dr. Gregory D. Rowe, (Department of Greek and Roman Studies) Supervisor Dr. J. Geoffrey Kron, (Department of Greek and Roman Studies) Departmental Member iii Abstract Supervisory Committee Dr. Gregory D. Rowe, (Department of Greek and Roman Studies) Supervisor Dr. J. Geoffrey Kron, (Department of Greek and Roman Studies) Departmental Member The purpose of this thesis is to determine whether the Roman administrative towns of Britain continued in their original Romanized form as seen in the second century AD, or were altered in their appearance and function in the fourth and fifth century, with a visible reduction in their urbanization and Romanization. It will be argued that British town life did change significantly. Major components of urbanization were disrupted with the public buildings disused or altered for other purposes, and the reduction or cessation of public services. A reduction in the population of the towns can be perceived in the eventual disuse of the extramural cemeteries and abandonment of substantial areas of settlement or possibly entire towns. The cause of this will be shown to be related to the towns‟ relationship with the imperial taxation and revenue system, and the accelerating pattern of British involvement in revolts and usurpations. iv Table of Contents Supervisory Committee .................................................................................................... ii Abstract ............................................................................................................................. iii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. iv Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................. v Dedication ......................................................................................................................... vi Prologue ............................................................................................................................. 1 Section One: Background: Structures and Narrative, Literary and Archaeological Sources, and Scholarly Debate......................................................................................... 3 Historical Background to Roman Britain and Its Towns ......................................... 3 The Literary Sources for Sub-Roman Britain ......................................................... 55 The Archaeological Evidence ..................................................................................... 72 Review of the Literature on Late Towns and the End of Roman Britain ............. 82 An Overview of Roman Towns in Britain .............................................................. 118 The Historical, Political, Economic, and Social Background to Change and Decline in the British Towns .................................................................................... 139 Section Two: Public Buildings in Towns .................................................................... 157 Civic Buildings .......................................................................................................... 158 Public Amenities........................................................................................................ 167 Section Three: Public Services and Infrastructure.................................................... 186 Waterfronts ............................................................................................................... 186 Roads .......................................................................................................................... 187 Sewers and Drainage ................................................................................................ 191 Water Supplies .......................................................................................................... 192 Waste Disposal .......................................................................................................... 192 Section Four: The Disposal of Human Remains ........................................................ 196 Changes and Decline in Standards in Urban Cemeteries ..................................... 196 The Disuse of Urban Extramural Cemeteries in Roman Britain ......................... 203 Burial within the Towns ........................................................................................... 209 Section Five: Changes in Domestic and Commercial Settlement ............................. 220 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 220 London ....................................................................................................................... 224 Lincoln ....................................................................................................................... 235 Cirencester ................................................................................................................. 245 Verulamium ............................................................................................................... 257 Colchester .................................................................................................................. 270 Canterbury ................................................................................................................ 277 Winchester ................................................................................................................. 288 Chichester .................................................................................................................. 295 Section Six: A Brief Comparison with Evidence from the Continent ...................... 301 Concluding Remarks .................................................................................................... 311 Appendix ........................................................................................................................ 314 Map of Roman Britain: Towns and Forts .............................................................. 314 Literary Sources ........................................................................................................ 315 Bibliography .................................................................................................................. 320 v Acknowledgments I would like to thank the following people who helped me to complete this thesis: Evan Garland, for his patience and support, and for his assistance with the map; Gregory Rowe, for his unwavering belief that the thesis could be completed; Geoffrey Kron, for pushing me to consider possibilities beyond my original concept of the thesis; and Cedric Littlewood, for his encouragement. vi Dedication This thesis is dedicated to the memory of my father, Allison Bishop. Prologue The fate of the towns built early in the Roman occupation of Britain is an issue that has engaged historians and archaeologists over the last century. The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to that debate, and to make progress towards determining what happened to the administrative towns in particular, during the later period of Roman occupation and in the fifth century after Roman rule had come to an end. Of particular interest will be the question of whether these towns continued in their original Romanized form as seen particularly in the Hadrianic to Antonine eras of the second century, or were altered in their appearance and function in the late Roman period, with a visible reduction in their urbanization and Romanization. Did town life carry on after the cessation of Roman occupation, in some form, up to the time of the later Anglo-Saxon habitation of the town sites, or did it soon come to an end? I will argue and demonstrate that town life in Britain changed significantly in the late Roman period, particularly during the last years of the occupation and after it had come to an end. Major components of urbanization in the second century were drastically altered towards the end of Roman rule, and occupation of the towns became minimal within a few decades of the cessation of Roman administration. This transformation will be explored in the changes in form and use of the public buildings, which characterized urban life in the classical world and identified a town as an administrative centre, in the public services and infrastructure that was a usual aspect of Romanized towns, in urban means of disposal of the dead, and particularly in the patterns and density of domestic and commercial settlement. The changes that occurred can largely be explained in the context of Britain‟s place within the Roman Empire. It was affected by changes in the economy and administration of the empire, by the organization of it for maximal