Issue 98

January / February 2008

Contents

news

Major new galleries open in Cardiff

Popular scheme threatened: culture change needed

Cultural icon: Phil Harding or Jonathan Ross?

Roman governor in Scotland

Bones of our forefathers

Secrets of Silbury poet revealed

Medieval archaeology comes of age

In Brief & Phase 2

features

Drapers Gardens
First insights into striking discoveries from Roman London

Detecting the past
Let the rally begin: we consider new detecting developments

First iron age furnaces
Rachael Hall describes extraordinary remains from Corby

on the web

Recommended websites
Fringe archaeology, and a new website from Heathrow.

letters

Views and responses

CBA correspondent

Campaigns, comment and communications from the CBA
Lynne Walker reports on the CBA's recent historic building casework

ISSN 1357-4442

Editor Mike Pitts

features

Detecting the past 1: The landscape rally

For some archaeologists an army of 2,000 people with metal detectors sweeping down a hill must be the ultimate nightmare. But it happened, and as Paula Levick and Kate Sutton explain, the results seem to vindicate a new type of field research with unimagined possibilities.

August bank holiday 2006 saw one of the largest metal detecting rallies ever held in the uk, attracting some 2,000 detectorists over the three-day period. The finds recorded during the rally are allowing the landscape to be reconstructed in a way that has not proved possible by any other method.

The rally took place on 260ha of chalk downland below Segsbury Camp, a large early iron age hillfort at Letcombe Regis, Oxfordshire. The area is not noted for the richness of its artefacts. When the hillfort was excavated by Oxford University in the late 1990s (see Books, May/Jun 2006), the small number of finds recovered led to the conclusion that it had witnessed only temporary, but repeated (possibly seasonal) occupation, until its abandonment a few centuries later in the middle iron age (450–100BC).

It was uncertain what the rally would produce. Ametal detecting rally is not usually the method of choice for a rapid archaeological survey, but if it was to achieve its potential, to provide a completely new dataset for an ongoing landscape research project, accurate and thorough recording of any reported finds was essential. Peter Welch, the rally organiser, works closely with finds liaison officers (FLOs) from the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), and gave several months' notice of the event, allowing for a detailed action plan to be formed. flos from local counties assisted, ensuring the finds were photographed, fully recorded, and returned to the finders by the end of the rally. They were supported by teams of local volunteers who liaised with detectorists on the fields and in the finds tent.

Welch was also active in mailing a letter to the detectorists outlining the research, and the importance of recovering all material including pot and flint. The location of each find was recorded using GPS receivers or marked directly onto maps. This information was kept separate from the finds identifications generated by the flos, and was only linked when the data were entered onto the PAS database. This has prevented any bias or subjectivity entering into the results. Once on the PAS database, the data are structured in a way that enables queries to be run and the results downloaded to a home computer. For this study, the downloaded data are being analysed using a geographical information system, which allows the finds to be selected by categories such as location, find type or period, and plotted onto digital maps.

Only now, as the finds are plotted and patterns are emerging, is the full potential of the recorded data being realised. The rally has revealed a landscape that is rich in datable objects, putting new life into old theories and providing impetus for further research. We take a brief look at some of the findings here.

Bronze age industry

The lack of known monuments earlier than iron age within the immediate and surrounding area of the hillfort has led to the interpretation that it might have been constructed on previously unused land. One of the first finds to be brought in for recording was a middle bronze age rapier blade (1500–1150BC). This was followed over the next three days by other bronze age objects, including palstave axes, socketed axes, swords, a bronze ingot and a possible sickle blade.

These types of finds have been discovered in hoards from across southern Britain, but their spatial distribution here makes a hoard interpretation unlikely. Several finds of bronze slag, and a bronze droplet, presumed to have derived from metalworking, were also reported. Many of the weapons appear to have been damaged in antiquity – could they have been scrap destined for recycling and lost in transit?

Ancient trackway

The majority of the late iron age and early Roman finds form distinct linear patterns when plotted, suggesting corridors of movement across the land. One of these leads towards the hillfort.

Today the ramparts of Segsbury Camp are breached in several places, with only the break in the east considered to be contemporary with the original construction, and the others medieval or post-medieval additions. The breaks in the north and the south carry a track that connects the chalk downland with the springs at the foot of the escarpment and the clay vale beyond. This is shown on John Rocque's map of 1761, but in common with many old tracks and droveways in the region, modern large-scale arable farming has now swept away all traces of it on the ground.

Finding evidence for the earliest origin of a road or track is always difficult and often impossible. While research ahead of Oxford University's excavations produced a convincing argument for the entrance having its origins in the iron age – with the track possibly being contemporary or Roman in date – subsequent excavations were unable to provide conclusive evidence for this.

Twelve iron age coins were recorded during the rally, eight of which lay within the vicinity of the former Rocque trackway, the earliest being an iron age gold stater – an uninscribed British "M", Savernake Forest type dated to the late second–mid first century BC. The linear distribution of the iron age coins is mirrored by early Roman finds and repeated by those from later periods, suggesting this route had been in regular use for centuries.

It has long been suspected that a Roman military route cut across the downs from the vale, although its exact location has never been confirmed, and individual researchers have suggested a number of possible routes. A second linear distribution of iron age and early Roman finds run roughly east-west across the fields towards the Rocque trackway. While it is impossible to state that either of these is part of "the" military way, the data suggest a continuing use of pre-existing tracks and pathways throughout that period.

Roman army

Very early in the rally, finds for recording began to filter in that were totally unexpected. Amongst these were objects known to have parallels on Roman military sites. Early Roman coins, military horse gear, a fragment of lorica segmentata (Roman scale armour), and Hod Hill type brooches – thought to have come over in large numbers with the arrival of the Roman army – were amongst the finds recorded. Of the 375 Roman objects, 86 have possible military associations, suggesting either a military presence in the area, or passing through on a regular basis.

"Grots"

Roman coins accounted for the single largest group of finds recorded during the rally, with over 250 brought in for identification. Of these, more than 200 were of the low denomination third–fourth century type. These coins, often worn and illegible, are known as "grots" by detectorists, and often go unreported. Their distribution across the rally fields appears to be focused within certain areas. Recent work on the distribution of medieval pennies suggests that they might have entered fields during manuring, in much the same way as pottery. Although this explanation has not yet been fully explored for Roman coins, here the majority do lie within an area of ancient field systems recorded by English Heritage from early aerial photographs. Today these ancient fields are plough-levelled, and the pottery that survives is abraded and mainly undiagnostic. Over time, and with further studies, this might offer an additional method for dating Roman fields.

Altogether, the finds have demonstrated a level of activity that was previously unseen. Finds for every period from mesolithic to postmedieval were recovered – except for the early iron age. Was the early iron age occupation in this area as transitory as the excavations at Segsbury Camp suggest? The dearth of material culture recorded during the excavations at Segsbury appears to be reflected in the wider landscape, perhaps indicating a hiatus at this time.

In late summer 2007, two further rallies took place on fields adjoining or close to the first rally. There are now hundreds of recorded finds from approximately 525ha of land. The detected area extends from the high chalk downland onto the clay vale, covering several different soil types. Although these are early days in the plotting and analysis of the new finds, each area is distinguished by its own unique artefactual signature. Roman activity continued with the same intensity, and remained focused on the chalk downland, and for the first time medieval and post-medieval finds were recorded in large numbers – many of these relating to emerging industry and commerce in Wantage.

While it would be naive to suggest that all finds were reported, each rally has brought increased levels of cooperation and understanding. The presence of archaeologists on the fields has raised awareness of the importance of recording finds within their context, and many detectorists are pleased that their hobby is contributing to ongoing research.

Many of the finds were ploughshattered. It is only a matter of time before the metal artefacts suffer the same fate as the ceramic material. Careful planning, and a workforce from both the PAS and local archaeology volunteers have demonstrated the value that can be derived from detecting rallies. Everyone wins. Detectorists have immediate access to professional expertise, while archaeologists gain new and valuable insights into the development of a landscape, and a permanent record for future research.

Paula Levick is reading for a DPhil in landscape archaeology at Oxford University'sD epartment for Continuing Education. She is using the rally data in her research into the evolution of the region's landscape. Kate Sutton was formerly Finds Liaison Officer (FLO) for Berks and Oxon, now for Greater London based at the Museum of London.

The new Portable Antiquities Scheme annual report recognises the "exceptional" finds and the "new opportunities for interpreting the area" that came from the King Alfred the Great rally at Letcombe Regis, described in this feature. However, it also notes that such rallies "can be problematic", and often "the large numbers of detectorists present make it impossible to record all finds to the highest standards". Even if rally organisers are co-operative, as here, "the time and resources invested by the local FLO can be considerable". At Letcombe, "700 objects were seen, of which about 550 were recorded, but still many more must have been found that were not recorded". See Detecting the past: 3. Ed

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