ABSTRACT Case Studies in a Contextual Archaeology of Burial
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ABSTRACT Case Studies in a Contextual Archaeology of Burial Practice in Roman Britain Richard John Hunter Pearce This thesis investigates burial practice as a source of evidence for Romano-British society. Previous work in this field is criticised for its empirical shortcomings and its interpretation of differentiation in burial practice as a direct reflection of social difference. The presentation of the dead is instead considered a transformation of the identity of the living. This premise is the basis for interpreting samples of data from Roman Britain, examining separately the burial practices of elite and non-elite groups. The main emphasis lies on the early Roman period but both the late Iron Age and the later Roman period receive consideration. Given that Iron Age burial practices are largely archaeologically invisible, the extent to which distribution of archaeologically visible burial practice characterises the Roman period is examined and shown to be highly biased by period, site association and region. The bias to the late Roman period is argued to be the product of several different factors, one of which is the extension of burial norms to the majority of the population as long term process rather than an immediate consequence of Romanisation. Current hypotheses for identifying the social status of rural burials are shown to be inadequate, in particular the classification of individual or small groups of burials found on settlement sites rather than in formal cemeteries as those of low status individuals. Recurring preferences for the placing of the dead around settlement sites are identified which are interpreted as a means by which the settlements of much of rural Roman Britain were organised and related to by their inhabitants. The use of death rituals to project social status by elites is examined through the location of burial display. Display is defined according to existing assumptions and by quantitative methods based on regional bodies of data. The comparison of aspects of mortuary ritual prior to final burial is shown to be problematic and the archaeological identification of pre-burial elements of mortuary ritual is investigated further, in particular of pyre sites. The distribution of mortuary display is explored in relation to the landscape of particular settlements and to different types of site across the landscape. Urban sites are shown to be a much more significant focus for burial display then previously appreciated, although the stereotype of the 'street of tombs' of the Roman world cannot be applied without reservations. The identification of burial display at small towns shows their importance as ceremonial as well as economic centres. The composition of the burial assemblages is interpreted as evidence for the social practices by which elite groups defined themselves, in particular through dining rituals and physical presentation. This provides a complementary emphasis to other accounts of the Romanisation of elites based on architectural and artistic evidence. In summary burial evidence is demonstrated to be an essential and hitherto unappreciated source for reconstructing Romano-British society. Case Studies in a Contextual Archaeology of Burial Practice in Roman Britain (2 volumes) Volume 1 Richard John Hunter Pearce The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from .t should be published without the written consent of the author an nformation derived from it should )e acknowledged. Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Archaeology University of Durham 1999 23 AUG 1999 I, John Pearce, declare that no part of this material has previously been submitted by me for a degree in this or any other University The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without their prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged What virtue yet sleeps in this terra damnata and aged cinders... Sir Thomas Browne (1605-1682) Hydriotaphia or Urne Buriall CONTENTS Volume One Extended Table of Contents ii List of Figures viii List of Tables xv Acknowledgements xvi Preface xvii CHAPTER ONE Introduction 1 CHAPTER TWO The distribution of Roman period burial evidence in England and Wales and its implications 19 CHAPTER THREE The funeral pyre - criteria for identification, the organisation of cremation and cultural differences in pyre-related ritual in Roman Britain 37 CHAPTER FOUR Burial practice and burial location in urban cemeteries in Hertfordshire 63 CHAPTER FIVE Burial practice and burial location in Roman Winchester 76 CHAPTER SIX Rural burial practice and the placing of the dead on rural settlements 92 CHAPTER SEVEN The geography of funerary display 124 CHAPTER EIGHT The character of burial display 148 CHAPTER NINE Conclusion 168 Notes 178 List of abbreviations 187 Bibliography 190 Volume Two FIGURES 257 1 CONCORDANCE 479 APPENDIX ONE Data for figures associated with Chapter 2 491 APPENDIX TWO Descriptions of features discussed in Chapter 3 499 APPENDIX THREE Data for figures associated with Chapter 4 521 APPENDIX FOUR Data for figures associated with Chapter 5 526 APPENDIX FIVE Data for figures associated with Chapter 6 533 APPENDIX SIX Data for figures associated with Chapter 7 and burial assemblages discussed in Chapters 7 and 8 571 ii EXTENDED TABLE OF CONTENTS Volume One Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Introduction and aims 1 1.2 Current debates in `Romanisation' 1 1.3 Burial and the dead in Roman Britain and other provinces 5 1.4 Two perspectives for research 12 1.5 The structure of the thesis 16 Chapter 2: The distribution of Roman period burial evidence in England and Wales and its implications 2.1 Introduction 19 2.2 Sample compilation and classification 19 2.3.1 Trends in the recovery of Roman period burial evidence 24 2.3.2 The distribution of burial evidence by date and type: the dating of cremation and 24 inhumation 2.3.3 The distribution of burial evidence according to settlement type 25 2.3.4 The regional distribution of burial evidence in England and Wales 26 2.4 Factors influencing the distribution of burial evidence 28 2.5 The implications of the distribution of burial evidence 31 2.6 Conclusion 35 Chapter 3 The funeral pyre - criteria for identification, the organisation of cremation and cultural differences in pyre-related ritual in Roman Britain 3.1 Introduction 37 3.2 Sources of evidence 38 3.3 The form of the pyre 39 3.3.1 Archaeological evidence for the pyre site 39 3.3.2 Graves and other features from the cremation cemetery 42 3.3.3 Literary and epigraphic evidence for terminology and description of pyre sites 48 3.3.4 Conclusions 51 3.4 The organisation of cremation 51 3.4.1 Archaeological evidence for the organisation of cremation 51 3.4.2 Literary and epigraphic evidence for the organisation of cremation 52 3.4.3 Conclusion 54 3.5 Regional patterns in the destruction of artefacts on the pyre in Roman Britain 55 3.5.1 The distribution of sources of evidence 55 3.5.2 Pyre deposition in the LPRIA 56 3.5.3 Pyre treatment in 'northern' Romano-British cemeteries 57 3.5.4 Pyre treatment in 'southern' Romano-British cemeteries 60 3.5.5 Conclusion 62 Chapter 4 Burial assemblage and location in urban cemeteries in Hertfordshire 4.1 Introduction 63 4.2 Braughing-Puckeridge 63 4.2.1 Skeleton Green 63 4.2.2 Braughing 'B' 64 4.3 Welwyn 65 4.4 Baldock 66 4.4.1 Human remains within the settlement in the Iron Age and Roman period 66 4.4.2 Wallington Road 66 4.4.3 Walls Field 68 4.5 Burial practices in St Albans and minor centre cemeteries compared 69 4.6 The location of the dead in the LPR1A and early Roman period 70 4.7 The context of burial display 72 Chapter 5 Burial practice and burial location in Roman Winchester 5.1 Introduction 76 5.2 Early Roman cemeteries 76 5.2.1 The development of the Hyde Street cemetery 76 5.2.2 Description and analysis of inhumation burials 77 5.2.3 Description and analysis of cremation burials 77 5.2.4 Other early Roman burials from Winchester 79 5.2.5 The relationship of burial to settlement in the early Roman period 80 5.3 Late Roman burials in the northern suburb 81 5.3.1 The Victoria Road cemetery 81 5.3.2 The Hyde Street (Late) and other burials from the northern suburb 83 5.3.3 Lankhills 83 5.3.3.1 The development of the Lanlchills cemetery 83 5.3.3.2 Burial hierarchy and intrusive burials at Lankhills 84 5.4 Late Roman cemeteries in the eastern suburb 86 5.4.1 Chester Road 86 5.4.2 St Martin's Close and other sites 87 5.5 Oram's Arbour and the western suburb 88 5.6 The relationship of burial to street frontage and the 'managed cemetery' 88 5.7 Differentiation in burial practice in Winchester's late Roman cemeteries 90 Chapter 6 Rural burial practice and the placing of the dead on rural sites 6.1 Introduction 92 6.2 Burial and the archaeological record in Hampshire 92 6.3 Principal trends in burial in Iron Age and Roman Hampshire 93 6.4 Early Roman burials 95 6.4.1 Burial practice at Owslebury 95 6.4.2 Other rural burials 98 6.4.3 The East Hampshire tradition 98 6.5 Burial practices in late Roman rural Hampshire 99 6.6 The relationship of burial to settlement space 100 6.7 Roman burial and the archaeological record in Hertfordshire 103 6.8 Principal trends in burial in Iron Age and Roman Hertfordshire 105 6.9 Burial practice in early Roman Hertfordshire 105 6.9.1 Burial practice at Cross Farm, Harpenden 105 6.9.2 Burial practice at Boxfield Farm 106 iv 6.9.3 Other rural burials in early Roman Hertfordshire 107 6.10 Late Roman rural burials in Hertfordshire 107 6.11 Monumental burial traditions in rural Roman Hertfordshire 107 6.12 Burial and settlement space in rural Roman Hertfordshire 108 6.13 Current models - social and tenurial distinctions in burial 110 6.14 An evaluation of current models 111 6.15 Infants and other burials on settlement interiors 113 6.16 Burial and boundaries 115 6.17 The context of funerary monuments 118 6.18 Cemetery nucleation in rural Roman Britain 119 6.19 An alternative model for the relationship of burial to settlement space 119 6.20 The historical context of burials around settlements 121 6.21 Conclusion 122 Chapter 7.