Docsity
Docsity

Prepare for your exams
Prepare for your exams

Study with the several resources on Docsity


Earn points to download
Earn points to download

Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan


Guidelines and tips
Guidelines and tips

Excavations at Ribchester 1978: Discoveries and Defenses in the Roman Fort, Lecture notes of English Literature

An account of archaeological excavations conducted at ribchester in 1978 by j.h.s. Filthertington. The text details the discoveries made during the excavation, including the rearrangement of internal buildings, the fort's defenses, and various ditches. The document also mentions the involvement of the university of leicester and the department of the environment in the excavation.

What you will learn

  • What were the significant discoveries made during the archaeological excavations at Ribchester in 1978?
  • What role did the University of Leicester and the Department of the Environment play in the Ribchester excavations?
  • How were the fort's defenses described in the excavation report?

Typology: Lecture notes

2021/2022

Uploaded on 09/27/2022

andreasphd
andreasphd 🇬🇧

4.7

(28)

288 documents

1 / 3

Toggle sidebar

This page cannot be seen from the preview

Don't miss anything!

bg1
LV Excavatlon at Rlbchester 1978
by J.H.S.'ffltherlngton
The casual vlsltor to Rlbehester may be glad be d,oes
not Ilve there, for the vllIage aeens pernanently tc resound.
to the rcar of J.C.B's, dunper trucks and, road' dr1L1s. A
naJor aewerage schene cut lts way through the village 1n
the suxreer ot 1975; the C of E prlnary schocl has had a
new extenslon; an aceess road ls replaclng the v1l1age t1p;
nanJr flne stone-bu1lt houses and cottages are belng restored
and, otb,er anenltles 1n the vll1age are being lnproved.
Much of thls work creates hectic rescue sltuatlons
for the archaeologist; Adnian Oltvler has reported hls work
fron 1976 (Contr,etigr-Vol lV, 26-7) and I have sulnnarlsed
the results-oF-tEe Access Road, and School excavations 1n
'1977 (Contrebls. vo1' v, l+2-5). The fi'nal connectlon of
the new eewerage syeten to houses to the south of ttre
vlllage was tlnetabled for the wlnten of 1977 but as the 1lne
of the pnopoeed trenches cnossed a eheduled, area of the
Ronaa for.t and lts defences, the Departnent of tbe Envlronment
together ',vlth the Unlverslty of Laneaster; flrnded. a reseue
excavatlon. Thls was camled out between March and May of
1978 and I an nost grateful to Mr. F. TaLbot, the landowner'
for hls heLpful eo-operatlon througbout the seven-week season.
?he excavatlon area was I1n1ted only to the wldth of
the plpe trench but thle l+Om. long sectlon alloweil us to
exanlne two of the barrack-blocks ln the S'g? corner of the
fglenturg, the nanpart, the fort wal1 and, the conplete dltch
gysten.
fhe tntertor
Slnce exeavatLon 1n 1970, 1t has been euggested that
the Trajanlc fort at Rlbchester was not a11gned. on the sa!!e
axl.s as lt was tn the Flavlan perlod. The 1978 excavatlons'
ccnflrned that there had lndeed, been a substantlaL re-arraange-
nent of the lnternal bulldlng at thls tlne, but that these
were at least Eg phases before this part of the font became
the :retentura. Traces renalned of tLnber tnenches whlch y/ere
little more than lnp:resslons 1n the ground and of three
paral1el rors of stake-holes. Other Erore eubstantlal
features, ti.nber tr.enches over 1n. d,eep, were discovered
but the narr.owneas of the excavatlon rendered lnterpretatlon
vlrtually lnposslble.
These bulldlngs were replaeed by two barrack-b1ocks,
one 8.5m. v1de, the othen 9n. w1d.e and separated by a sna1l
road. Both buildlngs underwent conslderable alteratlon
durtng the 2nd and Jrd Centuries anil were eventually conpletely
nebutlt ln tb.e flnal phase, posslble ln the early l+th Centur'yr
uslng stone-Backed, post-holes lnstead, of post-1n-f,rench
constructlon.
-10-
pf3

Partial preview of the text

Download Excavations at Ribchester 1978: Discoveries and Defenses in the Roman Fort and more Lecture notes English Literature in PDF only on Docsity!

LV Excavatlon at^ Rlbchester^1978 by J.H.S.'ffltherlngton The casual vlsltor to^ Rlbehester^ may^ be^ glad^ be^ d,oes not Ilve^ there,^ for^ the^ vllIage^ aeens^ pernanently^ tc^ resound. to the rcar of^ J.C.B's,^ dunper^ trucks^ and,^ road'^ dr1L1s.^ A naJor aewerage schene cut lts way^ through the^ village^ 1n the suxreer ot 1975;^ the^ C of^ E^ prlnary^ schocl^ has^ had^ a new extenslon; an^ aceess^ road^ ls^ replaclng^ the^ v1l1age^ t1p; nanJr flne stone-bu1lt^ houses^ and^ cottages are belng restored and, (^) otb,er anenltles 1n the vll1age are being lnproved. Much of thls work creates hectic rescue sltuatlons for (^) the archaeologist; Adnian Oltvler has reported hls^ work fron 1976 (Contr,etigr-Vol^ lV, 26-7)^ and^ I have^ sulnnarlsed the results-oF-tEe Access Road, and^ School^ excavations^ 1n '1977 (Contrebls.^ vo1'^ v,^ l+2-5).^ The^ fi'nal^ connectlon^ of the new eewerage syeten to^ houses^ to^ the^ south^ of^ ttre vlllage was tlnetabled for^ the^ wlnten^ of^1977 but^ as^ the^ 1lne of the^ pnopoeed^ trenches^ cnossed^ a^ eheduled,^ area^ of^ the Ronaa for.t^ and^ lts^ defences,^ the^ Departnent^ of^ tbe^ Envlronment together ',vlth^ the Unlverslty of Laneaster; flrnded.^ a^ reseue excavatlon. Thls was camled out between March and^ May^ of 1978 and I an nost grateful^ to^ Mr. F. TaLbot, the^ landowner' for hls^ heLpful eo-operatlon througbout^ the^ seven-week season. ?he excavatlon^ area^ was^ I1n1ted^ only^ to^ the^ wldth^ of the plpe^ trench but thle l+Om.^ long sectlon^ alloweil^ us^ to exanlne two of the barrack-blocks ln^ the S'g? corner of^ the fglenturg, the^ nanpart,^ the^ fort^ wal1^ and,^ the conplete^ dltch gysten. fhe tntertor Slnce exeavatLon 1n 1970, 1t has been euggested that the Trajanlc fort at (^) Rlbchester was not a11gned. on the sa!!e axl.s (^) as lt was tn the (^) Flavlan perlod.^ The 1978 excavatlons' ccnflrned that^ there had^ lndeed,^ been^ a^ substantlaL^ re-arraange- nent of the lnternal bulldlng at thls tlne, but that these were (^) at least (^) Eg phases before this part (^) of the font (^) became the :retentura. Traces renalned of tLnber tnenches whlch y/ere little more than lnp:resslons 1n the ground and of three paral1el (^) rors of stake-holes. Other (^) Erore eubstantlal features, ti.nber tr.enches over 1n. d,eep,^ were discovered but the narr.owneas of the excavatlon rendered lnterpretatlon vlrtually lnposslble. These bulldlngs were replaeed by two barrack-b1ocks, one 8.5m. v1de, the othen (^) 9n. w1d.e and separated^ by a sna1l road. Both buildlngs underwent (^) conslderable alteratlon durtng the (^) 2nd and (^) Jrd Centuries anil were eventually (^) conpletely nebutlt ln tb.e flnal phase,^ posslble^ ln the early l+th (^) Centur'yr uslng stone-Backed, post-holes lnstead, of post-1n-f,rench constructlon. -10-

The excavated^ rooms^ of^ both^ banacks,^ nostly^ wltb^ clay floors, alnost^ certalnly^ beLongeC^ to^ the^ centurlonfs^ quarters. Thls was^ evideni^ not cnly^ fron^ the^ poeltlon^ of^ the^ excavatlon 1n relatLon to the.l1nits of the^ fort^ but also^ fron^ the^ lack of a central (^) Bartl,tl.on 1n the westenn^ bl.ock^ and^ the^ presence of a corrldor in the east block.^ ?wo of^ the^ roona^ excavated each had a snaLL^ hearth of^ flr'ed clay^ and^ the^ high proportlon of mortaria found^ conflrns that^ we^ sere^ definltely^ reveallng the centurlonrs llvlng guarters^ rather^ tban^ thein^ adnlnletrative offlces. The Defences lfiarry snal1 sectlons^ have been^ cut^ acroos^ the^ defenees slnce the. late 19tn Century but^ the 1lne^ of^ the^ sewerage trer:ch allowed us a conplete sectlon^ at^ right-angl,es^ to^ tbe Ilne of the d^efences^ from ranpart^ to^ outer^ d.Ltch^ and,^ 1t^ pr^ oved to be very rervarding.^ The Flavian fort^ was^ defended,^ by^ a turf and elay ranBar.t^ restlng^ on^ a^ corduroy^ of^ oak^ slatst sone oven 1 .5ru. long and perfeetl,y^ preserved.^ Both^ 1n^ plan and i.n sectlon there^ sere^ lnillcatlons tbat^ the ranpart^ was not of^ a slngle^ constructlon and that^ eltber^ lt^ was^ ccnelder'- ably re-atrengthened^ at^ one^ tlne^ or^ $e^ have^ the^ reroalns^ of tvo forte. In frcnt of the ranpart were cut two Y-sbaped d,ltches, each cr 2m. wlde^ and oven 1m.^ d.eep. fn tlre earLy 2nd Centuryr probabS.y^ durlng the^ reJ.gn^ of ?naJan, the^ tlaber^ breastwork^ of^ the^ ranpart^ was^ replaced by a stone^ wall.^ Only the^ masslve^ foundatlons,^ c.^ 1.$m.^ wld.e of bcuiders^ set^ 1n rlver^ clay had^ su:rvlved,^ set^ lnto^ rihat had been the front of the ranpart. The footlngs and, facing etcnes for the wa}1 had all been robbed out. lfuch of the flon'f; ranpart nater"1al, lncluCtng the corduroy x'ag thrcr'Tl lnto the^ two^ dltches^ and^ another dltch^ wlth^ a pallsade^ was cr.rt further awayr These v/ene 1n tu:rn repl.aced by a slnllar arrangement learer tbe Line of the waLL l,ater ln the 2nd Centur;i. Two nore V-shaped d.ltches so:re 11n. frou the fort lrere also cut and, although they rnay irave been open 1rr conjunctlon wiih the nearer dltch-and-paIlsade, they certalnLy renalned tn use Langer, posslbly^ up to the end of the (^) JrC Century" Tha (^) 4'utr Century sars the cuttlng of yet^ another dltch, thls one through a road whlch (^) hacl long since gone^ out (^) of use. This was^ a flat-bottoned ditch and nearly (^) 5n. wlde at the top" The (^) contou:rs of the tfosse^ r,^ as (^) 1t has been calledn vlsible (^) on the ground, (^) tod,ay, are d,eceptlve for although (^) the ground (^) was Levelled off wlth ash and clirrker 1n the 192Ats the nadlr^ of^ the^ d1p I1es iiil'ectly^ above the lnner of the 5rd Century^ ditches^ and^ nct^ above^ a^ flat-bottoned^ or!€o One further d,1tch was dj"scovered and in a very unexpected, posltion, (^) Eone 25m. from ttre fort runnlng approxinately east-west. Its purpose^ 1s not clear; lf 1t was defenslve no features eitirer slde of 1t gave^ a clue to whlch sid.e i*, defeni,edi lt seeas vrrongly aligned and too cloEe to the fort fon (^) au, aruiexe. Thr:s it nay sinply narE 'fhe^ tenporary encLosur"e of an area duning (^) ccnstructlon yrork^ or fol housJ.ng perscnnel c? e quipmer't (^).