6. in the Roman Period

Barry Cunliffe

Introduction b) Between the coastal barrier and the mainland, a The question of the Roman occupation of Romney marshland landscape developed through which the Marsh has occupied scholars for nearly 150 years. The drainage channels of the Rother, Tillingham and first serious, but faltering, attempts to grapple with the Brede flowed. Some parts of this marshland were problem were made by Holloway in his History of Romney sufficiently elevated and well-drained to allow

Marsh (1849). A few years later a major -paper - was Roman settlement to take place. published by James Elliott, an engineer who knew the In the Romney Marsh proper, Green makes a marsh well and was inspired by Charles Roach Smith's distinction between calcified and decalcified marshland, excavation of the Roman fort at to think of suggesting that the decalcified is the older. Significantly marshland topography in relation to the needs of the it is on the decalcified soils that the various areas of shore fort garrison (Elliott 1852). Much heated debate of Roman settlement are located. As a working hypothesis, little consequence followed. This was summed up, and therefore, we may tentatively take the distinction fully referenced, by Holmes (1907, 532-52). There between these two soil types to indicate the approximate matters rested until 1968 when the Soil Survey of divide between dry land and tidal marsh in the early and Wales published their seminal account of centuries of the Roman period. The resulting map (Fig. the marshland soils (Green 1968). Green's work, for the 6.1) suggests a complex of drainage channels converging first time, provided a reliable physical framework within to form an inland lagoon which opened to the sea near which future discussion could be structured. It also Hythe. The drainage pattern between the lagoon and carried with it implications of change through time the mainland to the west is unknown and open to debate. which focused attention on the complex dynamics of It is possible that the various rivers flowed in individual evolving environment and changing land use. channels but it could equally well be that, by this stage, The present writer's involvement with the problem they had converged into one before entering the lagoon. began with a programme of excavations at Stutfall Only detailed geomorphological field-work will resolve Castle, Lympne in 1976-8 (Cunliffe 1980a). The results the question. of this work, and the inspiration provided by Green's That there were changes to the environment in the survey, led to the publication of a preliminary statement late Roman or immediate post-Roman period is clearly outlining, albeit tentatively, the evolution of the marsh shown at three sites: St. Mary's Bay, and (Cunliffe 1980b). The present paper is an attempt to Lympne. At St. Mary's Bay, Green (1968, 113-14) focus on the archaeological potential of the marsh in the showed that a Roman land surface had been eroded by a Roman period. minor creek and then sealed by up to 0.5 m of sandy loam. At Ruckinge, a Roman occupation level was sealed by 0.6 m of alluvium (information from Peter The physical environment Masters), while at Lympne, 2 m of alluvium accumulated during the time that the landslip, which The starting point for any discussion of' the Roman destroyed the Roman fort, took place (Cunliffe 1980a, settlement must be the physical form of the marsh in the 244-7). The simplest explanation of these observations is early first millennium AD. The question is fraught with that after the second-third century AD conditions in the difficulty but two basic assumptions can be made: lagoon changed and led to the deposition of a thick layer a) that there existed a coastal barrier of shingle, built of alluvium. The early stage in the formation of the by long-shore drift and anchored on Fairlight Head, alluvium to the south of Lympne was shown by diatom ending in a cuspate head south of Lympne. A major analysis to have taken place under marine conditions drainage channel existed between this head and the (Cunliffe 1980a, 258), but the exact chronological cliff to the north, and was kept clear by tidal water relationship of this deposit to the silts sealing the Roman entering and leaving the inlet, combined with the occupation at Ruckinge and St. Mary's Bay cannot yet outflow offresh water from the hinterland. While it be defined. is possible that there may have been another On balance, therefore, while it is possible that the late opening in the barrier in the vicinity of Romney (or alluviation of the lagoon took place as the result of sea- one may have developed during this time) there is level rise, other factors were also at work, such as the no positive evidence. blocking of the mouth of the inlet and the ponding up of water behind, or the realignment of the major river supplies may have gone overland using the road which channels to new outlets (? near Romney) and the runs from to or Rochester but land consequent clogging of the old drainage system. It may transport was notoriously expensive. More to the point, eventually prove that a combination of all these factors if the Wealden iron and timber were to be supplied to the caused the late alluviation. The problem of chronology military zone in the north of Britain, then the only will be returned to again below. sensible means of transport was by sea using the east coast route to York or beyond. In this context a coastal base at or near Lympne, where there is clear evidence of the presence of the Classis Britannica in the second The cultural environment century, would have been particularly useful (Cunliffe In the late Iron Age the Romney Marsh area, the 1980a, 284-5). The site of Lympne was well chosen to and much of the Downs and coastal plain seem to command the mouth of the lagoon with its protected have been cut off from the main centres of innovation. haven, while at the same time having good land The distribution of aristocratic burials, imported wine- connections to Canterbury and beyond. At such a point drinking and feasting equipment and the main oppida bulk commodities would have been trans-shipped from focus in central southern Britain, in the Solent region river barges to sea-going ships. Such a system would and in the east of the country, on either side of the assume that river transport brought the cargoes from the Thames estuary and the hinterland of the other rivers areas of production along the rivers Rother and Brede, flowing into the North Sea. These were the areas which through the marsh and across the lagoon. It is possible maintained direct contacts with Gaul and the Roman that the ill-known (and largely unpublished) riverside world. facilities at , where the road crossed the Rother, The invasion of AD 43 did little to change the may have been the inland terminal of the system. The situation. In the period of Romanization which discovery of CL BR tiles here suggests an official status followed, urban centres and road systems developed but (Lemmon and Hill 1966). these were based essentially on the pre-Roman socio- Once a system of this kind had been established it economic pattern. In the whole of the coastal zone could have been used to transport other bulk goods, between the Roman towns of Chichester and civilian as well as hilitary. In this context one should not Canterbury, no urban centre emerged. The general forget that the shallow draught cargo vessel found in the backwardness of the region is further demonstrated by Thames at Blackfriars was carrying Kentish rag its reliance on locally-produced coarse pottery hand- building stone (Marsden 1967) of a type which could made in a native tradition (Green 1981). It is against this have been quarried quite close to the port of Lympne. background that the occupation of the marsh must be While the existence of a transport system of the kind seen. outlined is highly probable in the first and srcond centuries AD there is no indication of the volume of cargo carried, but if Cleere's calculations for iron production are accepted then it must have been Roman settlement pattern and land use considerable and in keeping with the demands of the Two aspects of the Roman utilization of the marsh can army. be discerned from the presently available evidence: on Clearly to test the hypothesis firm archaeological the large scale it formed an essential element in the evidence is required. It would be interesting to re- economic exploitation of the Weald; on the smaller scale, examine the riverside installation~at Bodiam and to its own special resources were exploited as part of a local locate the harbour works at Lympne. The possibility of economic strategy. discovering boat remains at both is high. It is also possible that some stretches of the river channels across the marsh may have been canalized or otherwise Wealden exploitation (Fig.6.1) modified. Here detailed field-work could produce It is now well established that iron production in the results. Weald developed very rapidly in the years immediately following the invasion and it has been-suggested that the Local economic strategies production centres of the eastern Weald may have been In the Roman period, as in later ages, the marshland under the direct control of the state, managed by the itself could have provided a useful range of economic British Fleet (Classis Britannica) (Cleere 1974; 1976). The resources for the local population to exploit. The rough argument, based on the occurrence of tiles stamped CL grass of the decalcified marsh was excellent pasture for BR at a number of the production sites, is not at all sheep and cattle; salt pans and evaporating works could unreasonable in the light of Imperial policy which easily be constructed at the marsh edge; while the frequently invested the control of mineral extraction in proliferation of sea birds would have augmented the the hands of the state. diet. Archaeological evidence of occupation is at present The transport ofiron and no doubt other commodities slight (Fig. 6.1) and may briefly be summarized: needed by the army, such as bulk timber readily available in the Weald, was a costly business. Some . When the line of the sea wall was altered in The Roman Period 85

1844-6 and moved inland by 150 m a considerable Other Roman burials recorded in the vicinity, found in quantity of Roman occupation debris was found 1932, were also accompanied by second-century samian. extending over several acres including 'vast masses of Close by extensive areas of briquetage can be seen on the pottery', some coins and samian ware. Burials with surface as a result of ploughing. Trial excavation in 1985 samian were noted. A reference to crude unbaked located an occupation layer containing first- and pottery, which F. C. Lucis said was like the 'hand bricks' second-century pottery and briquetage. found on sites in Lincolnshire and the Channel Islands, In addition to the sites mentioned, a few isolated coins suggests the presence of salt-working debris (briquetage) have been found in the neighbourhood of and (Issacson 1846). Romney: these are listed in the Archaeological St. Mary's Bay. Buried land surface producing pottery Gazetteer, this volume, chapter 16. identified as 'late 1st century B.C. or early 1st century Although the evidence is not much to go on, the A.D.' (Green 1968, 113-14). widespread occurrence of briquetage is particularly interesting, implying extensive salt working at Dym- Lydd (Sandy Banks). Ploughing revealed second- church, Lydd and Ruckinge. The dating is consistent century AD pottery in 1951 close to undated earthwork from all sites, there being no direct evidence of Uones 1953). occupation after the end of the second century. Lydd (Scotney Court). Topsoil stripping prior to gravel In the absence of well-excavated samples it is extraction in 1980 revealed first-century AD pottery and impossible to assess the nature of the settlements or their briquetage (Philp and Willson 1984). economies, but one model would be to see them as the traditional sites of the summer encampments of a (Five Watering Sewer). Pottery said to be transhumant sector of the population, coming from their 'belgic' found above peat in sewer cutting in 1968 (Kelly permanent settlements on the hills beyond the 1968). marshland edge, bringing their flocks and herds down to Ruckinge (Weystreet Farm). Cremation burial(s) found the lush summer pastures. The manufacture of salt, and in 1970 accompanied by three glass vessels and two possibly also of pottery, were summer activities and samian pots of early second century (Bradshaw 1970). could have been carried out in the spare time while

Fig. 6.1 Romney Marsh in the Roman Period: a tentative assessment. tending the animals. In such a system it is possible that south-east coasts of Britain and the adjacent coasts of occupation lasted until the early autumn when fattened France to guard against pirate attacks which, in the stock were killed off, the carcasses salted down and the third century, were becoming increasingly frequent leather prepared (another process requiring salt). (Johnson 1976; Cunliffe 1977). After the middle of the It should be stressed that this is one possible model but third century there is evidence to suggest that the Sussex it has the advantage that it can be tested. A suitable coast was suffering from raids (Cunliffe 1973, 30). excavation strategy, designed to acquire environmental Undefended settlements on Romney Marsh (whether samples, could throw light on the possible seasonality of seasonal or permanent) would have been particularly at occupation, while animal bone assemblages would allow risk and herein may lie the reason for the apparent questions of husbandry and butchery to be raised. It abandonment of the region. But there may be other would be usefll, too, to examine the structures of the contributory causes. A possible rise in sea-level, settlement. suggested above, may have begun at about this time. Against the model it might be argued that the Even slight changes would have been enough to render cemeteries at Ruckinge and Dymchurch suggest a more traditional pastures unusable. permanent habitation. However, a strategy of the kind The fort at Lympne was abandoned in about the outlined would require a sector of the population to be middle of the fourth century, only a decade or so after a away on the marsh for up to six months and there would new fort had been built at Pevensey 60 km to the west be no compulsion to transport the dead to the winter (Cunliffe 1980a, 287-8). Why the abandonment came base. so early it is difficult to say but sea-level change causing The use of valuable marshland environments is well the old safe haven to silt may have been the prime cause. attested in and inevitably involves salt production. Similar patterns to Romney Marsh can be found in the North Marshes (Miles 1975), on the (Dewer 1949; Cunliffe 1966), the Essex Marshes (de Brisay 1975), the Lincolnshire Fens Prospects (Simmons 1980) and elsewhere, but nowhere is the Sufficient will have been said to stress that while archaeological evidence yet good enough to allow the comparatively little is yet known of the Roman economic system to be analysed in detail. settlement of the marsh, its potential is considerable. Apart from the excavations at Lympne, no systematic archaeological work has ever been carried out on Roman sites on the marsh. The data used here has been The Late Roman crisis amassed entirely as the result of chance discovery: these Such evidence as there is of Roman occupation on the finds are only the tip of the iceberg. marsh points towards widespread use in the first and From what little we know a range ofhypotheses can be second centuries but very little has been found to suggest generated and questions can be formulated offering the a continuity of activity into the third or fourth century. basis of a research strategy requiring systematic field- Taken on its face value this must imply a major work, selective excavation and detailed environmental dislocation in the socio-economic system of the region. A studies. The Romney Marsh Research Group, with its clue to the reason may be provided by the erection of the broad base in the disciplines of geomorphology, shore fort at Lympne in the middle of the third century. archaeology and history, is the appropriate organization Lympne was one of a series of forts built around the to lead the work forward.

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