Department of Archaeology Silchester Insula IX The Town Life Project 2012 Cover photo: M. Houshold Michael Fulford, Amanda Clarke, Nick Pankhurst & Sarah Lucas
The Weather! After 15 seasons on Insula IX, we thought we had become used to extremes of weather we have had consecutive days of heat with the temperature in the trench soaring in to the 40s; we have had consecutive days of rain; and we have had torrential downpours of rain, such as that in mid-july 2007 when there was widespread flooding in southern England. In 2012, however, it rained day after day for about three weeks, so much so that we wondered for a time whether we would be able to do any excavation at all. Getting vehicles in and out became very difficult and, for a time, we were very worried that we would not be able to empty the portable toilets! At various times Nick West and Jonathan Stacey came to our aid with tractors to help extract vehicles stuck in the mud. In the end, and against all our expectations, the archaeology was the winner. Looking East over the excavation In the end it wasn t the archaeology which suffered too badly, but access to the campsite and to the trench when the ground became a slippery, muddy mess. Vertical end of season photograph taken by Gunter Dibernik, using a drone. We succeeded in revealing and excavating more of the plan of the late Iron Age and earliest Roman settlements than we had managed in the previous four years when the earliest phases of the town first came to light. It is the successive plans of the earliest settlement that we wish to explore and explain in this year s interim report on the Silchester Insula IX Town Life Project. The archaeology of these early phases is complex and it has not always been possible to tease out the different elements of plans and buildings of successive phases with great confidence during the season. Three major developments are helping us to address this problem: 1
The Team We have appointed Nick Pankhurst to a full time position to help us make sense of the mass of new data and disentangle the sequence of development of the occupation within our trench from the earliest occupation onwards. Nick is very familiar with the project: he has worked on the site each summer, starting as an undergraduate in 1999, and then working up to become the senior supervisor and excavation co-ordinator from the 2008 field season. His work draws almost exclusively on the plan, photographic and stratigraphic data stored in the project s Integrated Archaeological Database, developed by Mike Rains, which enables the presentation of synthesised stratigraphic information at different levels of complexity from single structures, such as a well, to groups of post-holes which constitute a building or a property, to the complete plans of successive phases of occupation. Dr Jane Timby has embarked on a programme of dating the individual layers and features from the pottery, the most abundant type of dating evidence that we have, and present to a greater or lesser extent in the vast majority of excavated contexts. Jane has been involved with the publication of all the Silchester excavations since the 1980s and she has developed a vast knowledge and experience of the pottery from the Iron Age through to the end of the Roman period. With Insula IX, she is working systematically from the most recently excavated and thus the earliest stratigraphic contexts that we have excavated, identifying and quantifying the different types of pottery present. When her results are linked with Nick Pankhurst s analysis of the sequence and relationships between individual and groups of contexts and features like pits, postholes, slots and wells we can begin to confirm our interpretation of the development of the occupation. Once we have that phased sequence of occupation from Iron Age through to our first postconquest period, which takes the story up towards c. AD 80, we will then begin the process of analysing all the other categories of finds associated with these first generations of occupation of Calleva. Jen Eaton has joined the team working with Amanda as Field School Administrator (parttime). She has been with the Department of Archaeology for over three years in a support role for Mike Fulford, and will be on site assisting Amanda with the day-today running of the excavation. Period 0 A complicated Iron Age occupation Timeline... Late Iron Age Early Roman Phase 1 Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Period 1 Period 2 40 BC 25 BC 25 BC AD 10 AD 10 40/50 AD 70 80 AD 125 150 Trench view looking SE: first sight of the ditch in the SW (ditch shaded). In 2010 we discovered the remains of a V-profiled ditch which runs north-west/south-east across the south-west part of our trench. As it had largely silted up before it attracted finds which date from c. 20 BC into the beginning of the first century AD, we have provisionally dated its initial excavation to around the third quarter of the first century BC, c. 40 20BC. When first discovered, the purpose of the ditch was unclear, but, following the 2012 season, it has become 2
SA 6446 6447 SA 8745 SA 9521 SA 9215 Period 0 - Phase 1 and 2 Well Hall Ditch Other Posthole / beamslot This is an important development as it indicates that our earliest Iron Age evidence is linked with the first, wider planning and settlement of the Silchester promontory. It is also clear that its influence lasted long after it had silted up since the great hall building which we first began to uncover in 2010 is built at right angles to it, but over it. 0 20m Phase 2 The Calleva of Tincomarus and the Atrebates: The Great Hall Excavations in the 1980s on the site of the forum basilica in the centre of the town produced much evidence of activity and occupation in the years between c. 25 BC and c. AD10/20 and already from Insula IX we have recovered many finds of similar age residual in later first century AD contexts to suggest a similar pattern here. The link with the Mediterranean clear that it, or the alignment which it followed, exerted a wider influence across the excavated area. We can now map several narrow, shallow slots and lines of postholes which are aligned at right angles to it. These could represent the remains of fence lines dividing the interior of the settlement into individual, rectangular properties, or the remains of the foundation trenches of rectangular buildings, or a combination of the two. This suggests that the ditch was originally dug to act as a major boundary or property division across the Silchester promontory from which a series of subsidiary boundaries were then laid out. Reconstruction of the Great Hall, by Margaret Mathews world of the Roman emperor Augustus is established through the abundant Roman imports which we can date to this period. Now, with a much greater area excavated in Insula IX, the potential of gaining a better understanding of this period of Calleva s history is considerably enhanced. It is becoming clear that it is a time of rapid change within the town. During the 2012 season the footprint of the hall building almost doubled in size with further excavation; Looking North: excavation of the ditch (shaded area) in 2012 Vertical view of the Great Hall (shaded) in 2012 3
SA 8299 SA 7558 SF 5977 SA 7559 SF 5758 SF 5958 SA 7560 SF 5754 SF 6148 SA 5000 SA 5005 SA 5010 SA 5011 SA 5006 SF 6052 SA 5016 SA 5020 SA 5012 SA 5007 SA 5001 SA 5021 SA 5002 SA 5013 SA 5017 SA 5022 SF 6133 SA 5018 SA 5023 SF 6008 SF 6025 SF 6059 SF 5980 SA 5019 SA 5024 SF 6053 SF 6009 SF 7034 SF 6031 SA 5237 SA 9244 SA 8299 SA 7558 SF 5977 SA 7559 SF 5758 SF 5958 SA 7560 SF 5754 SF 6148 SA 5000 SA 5005 SA 5010 SA 5011 SA 5006 SF 6052 SA 5016 SA 5020 SA 5012 SA 5007 SA 5001 SA 5021 SA 5002 SA 5013 SA 5017 SA 5022 SF 6133 SA 5018 SA 5023 SF 6008 SF 6025 SF 6059 SF 5980 SA 5019 SA 5024 SF 6053 SF 6009 SF 7034 SF 6031 SA 5237 SA 9244 with its distinctive, narrow wall trenches, its length can now be traced for over 27m. Its width is about 8m. A line of postholes running down the middle of the building represent traces of the supports for the roof, which rose, we estimate, about 8m above the ground. Each post was about 0.30m in diameter. Pottery from the construction trenches and post-holes suggests a date within the last quarter of the first century BC. The function of this building is as yet uncertain, though its size suggests high status. This is supported by the burial of a rare toy dog in the foundation trench (reported last year). Was it the residence of one of the leading families of Calleva (and of the Atrebates) and its retainers? Did domestic animals also share the space? Adjacent to the hall on its northern side and contemporary with it are well 10421 and a possible yard or subsidiary building, represented by a line of postholes and a linear slot. The first point to notice is that some of this new phase of occupation, in the form of pits, postholes and a well, overlies the footprint of the great hall. The datable material suggests a date from the end of the first century BC, running into the first quarter of the first century AD. This would suggest that the life of the hall did not exceed a single generation. Compound 2 Lane 2 Period 0 Phase 3 Compound 1 Period 0 Phase 3 Lane 2 Compound 3 Lane 1 0 20m Possible property boundaries Lane Pit Well Posthole / beamslot Lane 1 0 20m Phase 3 A fresh start? Possible Hall footprints Lane Pit Well Posthole / beamslot One of the earliest components of the Iron Age plan to become clear as we excavated below the overlying early Roman occupation was the distinctive lane or street (Lane 1), with its orientation on a slightly different, north-west/south-east alignment to that of our early ditch. As with the evidence of a rectilinear plan associated with that early ditch, we can now see that the lane is also associated with an extensive arrangement of linear slots and lines of postholes at right angles to it, a re-configuration which amounts to a replanning of Calleva or, at the very least, a significant part of the Iron Age town. A new Iron Age plan In earlier interim reports we have drawn attention to a second lane (Lane 2), which runs on a north-east/ south-west orientation at right angles to the first, and now its earliest phase, defined by narrow slots, can be associated with the re-planning. A further offshoot runs off it in a south-east direction. Although truncation by later occupation makes the definite interpretation of the plans of individual buildings very difficult, clusters of postholes suggest the presence of several rectangular buildings, the majority no more than about 6m x 6m in plan. However, two relatively more substantial buildings, measuring respectively c. 12m by 10m and c. 10m by 10m, appear to replace the great hall. The eastern-most building, to date, (shaded) is defined by linear slots rather than post-holes. 4
3 SA 5484 SF 5394 SF 5112 SF 5118 SF 5513 SA 3510 SF 5117 SF 5506 SA 357 SA 351 8 1 SA 3572 3573 3574 3575 3576 SF 5977 SF 5215 SF 5135 SF 5213 SF 5294 SA 282 78 9 SA 280 23 SF 5420 SF 5517 SF 5483 SF 5410 SF 5559 SF 540 4 SF 5395 SF 5188 SF 5409 SF 512 9 SF 5138 SF 5141 SF 5565 SF 5597 SF 5672 SF 5583 SF 5758 SF 5652 SF 5958 SA 270 6 SF 5650 9 SA 3395 SF SF 5569 5676 5478 SF 5623 SF 5658 SF 5686 SF 5655 SA 237 4 SF SA 4921 4922 238 2 SA 238 3 SA 401 4 SF 5540 SF 5536 5 4 SF 5664SF 5528 SF 5666 SF 491 0 SF 6214 SF 5557 SA SF 4903 2385 SA 2386 SF 5645 SF 5754 SA 1972 SF 6148 SF 6092 SA 2387 SA 2388 SA 488 5 SA 488 2 SA 4765 4766 SF 6090 SF 5155 SA 372 1 SA 3804 SA 4886 4883 SA 3714 SA 3750 SA 3745 SA 3697 SA 488 74 SA 3803 SA 3782 3783 3788 SA 404 8 SA 2389 SA 2390 SF 5949 SA 5326 SA 3209 SA 5000 SA 5005 SA 5010 S F 5 4 38 SA 3319 SF 6048 SA 4775 SA 4855 SA 5307 SA 5212 SA 5214 SA 5215 SA 4406 SA 4439 SF 5858 SA 4854 SA 4427 SF 6062 SF 6170 SA 6488 SA 5011 SA 5006 SF 6052 SA 5016 SA 5020 SF 5704 SA 3201 SA 5012 SA 5007 SA 5001 SA 5021 SA 6263 SA 5002 SA 5013 SA 6262 SA 6046 SA 5017 SA 5022 SF 6133 SA 5018 SA 5023 SF 6008 SF 6025 SF 6059 SF 5980 SA 5019 SA 5024 SF 6053 SA 4764 SF 6009 SF 6031 SA 5194 SA 5196 SA 3601 SA 3957 SA 8042 SA 3959 SA 3602 SA 3604 SA 2576 SA 2622 SA 3956 SA 3955 SA 3600 SA 3597 SA 3828 SA 3829 SA 4109 SA 3599 SA 3282 3287 3294 SA 3823 SA 3825 SA 3598 SA 3816 SA 3819 SA 3953 SA 3958 SA 3603 SF 5031 SA 3954 SA 4011 SA 4010 SA 2577 SA 3960 SA 3827 SA 3952 SA 3992 SF 5705 SA 3820 SA 2623 SA 4110 SA 3991 SA 3951 SA 4009 SA 2487 SA 7258 S F 5 4 9 7 SA 6365 SA 713 3 SA 7135 SA 7134 SA 9452 SA 6815 SA 7088 SA 7136 SA 4043 4044 SA 3898 SA 9419 SA 7259 SA 3923 SA 6814 SA 7089 SA 3893 SA 6813 SA 6811 SA 3866 SA 3904 SA 3899 SA 7087 SA 7260 SA 941 8 SA 9420 SA 6834 SA 6812 SA 6208 SA 9456 SA 9457 SA 3900 SA 6053 SA 6210 SA 361 2 SA 3894 SA 3871 SA 390 5 SA 3868 SA 7303 SA 9453 SA 6213 SA 4688 SA 3925 SA 3924 SA 388 7 SA 3885 SA 6259 SA 4689 SA 3926 SA 954 8 SA 6558 SA 6218 SA 4035 SA 3870 SA 3411 SA SA 7302 3869 SA 6370 SA 6559 SA 6222 SA 3877 SA 6148 SA 3895 SA 3901 SA 4687 SA 388 6 SA 3888 SA 3915 SA 3909 SA 3906 SA 4120 SA 6225 SA 391 SF 564 2 0 SA 3858 SA 3890 SA 3891 SA 3892 SA 8469 SA 3865 SA 3889 SA 3922 SA 9425 SA 3405 SF 5639 SA 6371 SA 4686 SA 3400 SA 3401 SA 9448 SA 3402 SA 385 7 SA 3404 SF 5520 SA 3902 SA 3896 SA 3864 SA 9368 SA 3907 SA 5299 SA 5297 SA 391 SA 3878 6 SA 3913 SA 3859 SA 9424 SA 3897 SA 3903 SA 3880 SA 9371 SF 7076 SA 8354 8 SF 6832 SA 8355 SA 9372 SA 9426 SA 9369 SA 9449 SA 8313 SA 8309 SF 7079 SA 8462 SA 8461 SF 6908 SA 8468 SA 882 7 SA 8358 SA 8357 SA 8828 SA 8359 SA 8312 SA 9373 SA 8311 SA 8310 SA 9370 SA 8460 SA 8458 SA 8305 SF 7061 7062 SA 845 9 SA 9450 SA 9444 SA 9443 SA 8319 SA 831 8 SA 8809 SA 8360 SA 8463 SA 8315 SA 8470 SA 8306 SA 8356 SA 9442 SA 8467 SA 8541 SA 9445 SA 8465 SA 9356 SA 8317 SA 8464 SA 9354 SA 9071 SA 8308 SA 8829 SA 8466 SA 8316 SA 7817 SA 8314 SA 8307 SA 8471 SA 9200 SA 9199 SA 9070 SA 935 3 SA 9072 SF 7017 SA 9073 SA 9347 SA 8090 SA 9511 SF 7041 SA 8091 SA 935 2 SA 9355 SA 9069 SF 7095 SA 8425 SA 8086 SA 9512 SA 9068 SA 8869 SA 8429 SA 8428 SA 8871 SA 8087 SA 7651 SA 8088 SA 7446 SA 7449 SA 7433 SA SF 7040 8092 SA 8424 SA 9513 SA 9351 SA 7650 SA 8093 SA 8873 SA 7436 SA 8426 SA 7409 SA 7410 SA 7439 SA 8875 SA 9067 SA 6670 SA 7652 SA 8089 SA 8095 SA 8094 SA 9514 SA 9515 SA 9357 SA 7429 SA 8427 SA 7521 SA 7441 SA 7522 SF 5794 SF 679 9 SA 8097 SA 7448 SA 744 0 SA 7523 SA 8421 SA 8870 SA 8872 SA 8423 SA 8422 SA 8096 SA 7653 SA 800 9 SA 9350 SA 8874 SA 8960 SA 7425 SA 8435 SA 7426 SA 8878 SA 8100 SA 8110 SA 8114 SA 7656 SA 8959 SA 8112 SA 887 6 SA 7655 SA 7657 SA 7427 SA 7654 SA 8101 SA 8324 SA 8109 SA 7659 SA 8881 SA 8107 SA 744 4 SA 8443 SA 6412 SA 7658 SA 8437 SA 7968 SA 8438 SA 8736 SA 7435 SA 809 8 SA 7742 SA 888 2 SA 811 6 SA 8115 SA 934 8 SA 9349 SA 7434 SA 7407 SA 743 7 SA 8436 SA 8439 SA 8737 SA 8180 SA 8877 SA 7867 SA 8111 SA 7406 SA 8735 SA 873 8 SA 8961 SA 8431 2 SA 8215 SA 7430 SA 8444 SA 8113 SA 8430 SA 8957 SA 8326 SA SA 8434 7445 SA 8883 SA 837 8348 9 SA 8349 SA 8440 SF 7010 SA 8327 SA 810 8 SA 7431 SA 8106 SA 742 4 SA SA 8411 813 9 SA 7924 SA 7925 SA 7965 SA 8325 SA 8105 SA 888 0 SA 8958 SA 8158 SA 852 7 SA 8159 SA 888 5 SA 8322 SA 8886 SA 936 1 SA 7926 SA 743 2 SA 742 SA 7660 3 SA 7966 SA 8323 SA 8102 SA 801SA 8018 7 SA 8380 SA 8432 SA 8879 SA 7661 SA 742 8 SA 8547 SA 843 3 SA 7970 SA 8884 SA 6413 SA 810 4 SA 810 3 SA 860 0 SA 821 6 SA 8602 SA 8604 SA 7929 SA 8441 SA 8594 SA 8238 SF 6935 SA 8236 SA 8400 SF 7015 SF 688 2 SA 796 9 SA 8395 SA 8496 SF 6937 SA 8607 SF 6939 SA 8603 SA 8605 SA 8601 SA 923 7 SA 9498 SA 8237 SA 833 5 SA 8334 SA 8350 SA 833 3 SA 857 5 SA 9360 SA 9170 SA 9421 SF 6898 SA 857 2 SA 8928 SA 7928 SA 7856 SA 8099 SA 665 6 SA 665 5 SA 8218 SA 8226 SA 8811 SA 807 4 SA 8608 SF 6905 SA 930 4 SA 8932 SA 823 9 SA 807 5 SA 8219 SA 7930 SA 7857 SA 879 8 SA 6407 SA 8609 SA 860 6 SA 909 2 SA 8654 SA 8497 SA 8797 SA 8796 SA 924 8 SA 8069 SA 905 6 SA 905 5 SA 8495 SA 8066 SF 6927 SA 7896 SA 822 7 SA 8894 SA 806 5 SA 807 8 SA 8063 SA 9094 SA 8076 SA 8494 SA 6409 SA 822 0 SA 7466 SA 8293 SA 7858 SA 8931 SA 8064 SA 7895 SF 6823 SA 7465 SA 6516 6517 SA 6411 SA 8228 SA 9091 SA 883 0 SA 8067 SA 8068 SA 8799 SA 6717 SA 8292 SA 671 8 SA 8499 SA 8513 SA 897 1 SA 897 2 SA 8929 SA 893 0 SA 8610 SA 859 8 SA 8970 SA 8060 SA 8792 SA 8800 SA 7463 7464 SA 8225 SA 6716 SA 8612 SA 8611 SA 7462 SA 8223 SA 789 4 SA 753 2 SA 6715 SA 6719 SA 6714 SA 7358 SA 6713 SA 6712 SF 684 2 SA 671 1 SA 736 0 SA 9532 SA 9223 SA 953 3 SA 9090 SA 8801 SA 798 1 SF 681 2 SA 806 1 SA 8062 SA 8070 SA 8794 SA 879 5 SA 849 8 SA 828 7 SA 857 0 SA 7518 SA 7534 SF 678 1 SA 7414 SA 7412 SA 7413 SA 8614 SA 7517 SA 7533 SA 746 SA 861 1 3 SA 8781 SA 8804 SF 696 4 BS 25 3 BS 254 SA 9535 SA 8803 SA 8802 SF 698 6 SA 9224 SA 8029 SF 6934 SA 7999 SA 8054 SA 7457 SA 7460 SA 9538 SF 6849 SA 8615 SA 8057 SA 8224 SA 8222 SA 8230 SA 741 5 SA 741 6 SA 7359 SA 7458 SA 8616 SA 8617 SA 9536 SA 954 9 SA 955 0 SA 8283 SA 8285 SA 814 1 SA 9534 SA 738 6 SA 745 SA 922 9 5 SA 8783 SA 8284 SA 862 9 SA 9226 SA 8782 SA 7361 SA 3993 SA 640 8 SA 8618 SA 922 7 SA 394 6 SA 8619 SA 9537 SA 685 9 SA 7183 SA 6866 SA 3938 SF 705 0 SA 9083 SA 9331 SA 933 2 SA 8860 SA 8861 SA 8862 SF 704 2 SA 9228 SA 8620 SA 8834 SA 9063 SA 919 2 SA 919 4 SA 8833 SA 9195 SA 7516 SA 3407 SF 3690 Buildings and Properties? If we are right in distinguishing the approximate footprints of seven or eight separate buildings within our excavated area, can we go further and associate particular buildings with different properties or compounds? Minimally, the configuration of lanes suggests three compounds, respectively to the west and east of lane 1, and to the north of lane 2, but, for what otherwise would be the largest property, occupying most of the excavated area, further subdivisions are possible. Further excavation should help resolve this uncertainty. See the property boundary plan on page 4. Period 1 Phase 1 Trackway Floors Hearth/oven Yard Pits Ring of fire/fire pits Well Postholes / beamslots Continuity to the Roman Conquest? What is so far not yet clear is the extent of continuity through the pre-roman Iron Age from c. AD 25 to the distinct Claudio-Neronian horizon of c. AD 40-60 (+), to which we can attribute a range and volume of independently datable artefacts. There is some clearly identifiable and independently dated material of broadly, Tiberio-Claudian date, c. AD 25-50 to which, for example, our well 8328 (see previous report) belongs, but how many buildings, and how many wells remained in use up to the Conquest period? Some certainly overlie the footprints of Iron Age structures, but was occupation as intense as it was at the turn of the first century BC and first century AD? These questions will be better addressed when more of our finds have been studied in full. That there was an occupied Calleva at the time of the Roman Conquest is suggested by the amount of Roman military equipment which has been found in Insula IX and elsewhere in Calleva and the implications it has for a Roman military presence in the conquest period. 0 20m Period 1 Calleva of the Client Kingdom c. AD 49 c. AD 60/61 The distinguishing features of our first phase after the Roman Conquest of c. AD 44 are: The continuing use of the Iron Age lane and the new north-south street. In the case of Lane 2, we can see evidence of its course beginning to swerve, as if to avoid the course of what became the eastwest street. Lane 2 - Phase 1 Period 1 The Roman Conquest c. AD 44 c. AD 49 While the 2012 season added more artefacts of military character such that Leslie Rimmell now estimates a total of some 30 objects of first century date from Insula IX, and some 150 from Calleva as a whole, we still lack convincing structural evidence in the form of barracks or other buildings other than the setting out of the north-south and, possibly also, the east-west street. This need not be a problem if significant military occupation was short-term and a move from assumed, temporary, tented occupation (associated with latrine pits) to more permanent accommodation had not been made before the departure of the army. Lane Lane 2 - Phase 2 0 20m 5
SA 4217 SF 5745 SA 4192 SA 4217 SF 5745 SA 4192 SA SA 3849 3874 SA 3944 SA SA 3849 3874 SA 3944 SA 4023 SA 4023 SF 5673 SF 5673 SA 4024 SA 4024 SF 5709 SA 4103 SF 5709 SA 4103 SA 4175 SA 4175 Lane 2 - Phase 3 Lane 2 - Phase 4 A distinctive use of yellow clay to floor the interior of buildings. Lane 2 - Phase 5 New timber-frame buildings and other structures constructed at right angles to the new north-south street. A mix of rectangular and circular timber-frame buildings. The excavation of new wells. Excavation of a period 1 roundhouse, looking west Looking east: intercutting wells 15034 and 15014 in south east corner of trench Rectangular building (shaded) with central hearth, aligned to the north-south street 6
Although more research on our finds will lead to further refinement of the plan and phases of occupation of our Period 1, we present it here provisionally in two phases with all the evidence for clay-floored buildings, as well as all the known wells and pits. What is immediately striking is the density of buildings and wells, some of which were very short-lived, within the excavated area, with the later buildings filling in the last remaining spaces between the north-south street and the Iron Age lanes. A further notable element of the plan is represented by the linear arrangement of large pits ranged along the western and northern sides of the two lanes. It is not at all clear what purpose they served; the fact that they were not densely filled with rubbish suggests that was not their primary purpose. Margaret Mathews reconstruction below gives a flavour of Insula IX at this time. Period 1 Phase 2 Trackway Floors Hearth/oven Yard Pits Ring of fire/fire pits Well Postholes / beamslots 0 20m Reconstruction of Period 1 buildings, by Margaret Mathews 7
Wells 2012 was a season of well discoveries, particularly in the SE corner of the trench, where we completed the excavation of a sequence of wells in the angle between early Roman timber buildings 5 and 8 which we had begun in 2005 with the latest, a second century well! The two wells, 15034 and 15014, excavated in 2012, are mid-first century AD in date. Plank-lined well 14570 (with our modern shoring in place) A third well excavated in 2012 (well 14570) in the SE corner of the trench was a great surprise! What in the late 1990s we had believed to have been the natural gravel base of a pit dug by the Victorian excavators to contain the broken remains of their cast iron stove proved to be the uppermost fill of a well created in the late second or early third century and certainly filled by the later third century. It had been deliberately filled with large blocks of flint. At the base were the well preserved remains of a timber lining of oak planks and upright supports. Unfortunately, the way the planks had been sawn means that they are not suitable for dendrochronological dating. However, radiocarbon dating will help refine when the well was created. Interestingly the 2012 well is only 10m from the only other plank-lined well (1750) which we have so far discovered in Insula IX and which was excavated in 2000. The well timbers were radiocarbon dated to the early third century and the well itself was backfilled at the time of the construction of our Late Roman Well 14570 Plank from well 14570 Above and over: South-east wells 15034 and 15014, under excavation 8
Building 1 towards the end of the third century. It is interesting to reflect that the only two, strongly constructed wells yet discovered in the Insula IX excavation were not only created at about the same time but that they were both dispensed with to make way for new building in the late third century. In the report on the late Roman occupation of Insula IX, Life and Labour (2006), the late third century was noted as a period of major change, not only within the Insula itself, but more widely across the town. The 2012 well discovery adds further evidence of the extent of this change. Wells 15034 and 15014, under excavation in 2012 9
The last seasons: 2013 & 2014 The 2013 season will be the penultimate on Insula IX, when we expect to finish the archaeology of the larger area of the trench, leaving only that beneath the Roman streets and buildings close up against the north-south street for completion in our 18 th season in 2014. Working under an ominous sky Small find 6464: glass from pit 15016 Taking a level next to a post-hole Small find 6906: Saddle quern or mortar from Lodsworth, W.Sussex, from well 15014 Mike, Amanda and Nick ponder next to a well Small find 6894: cat s skull from an entire skeleton excavated from well 15014 2012 participants enjoying Professor Fulford s site tour (photos above by Kevin Standage) 10
Acknowledgements All staff and excavation participants 2012. The University of Reading and the Department of Archaeology, School of Human and Environmental Sciences. Hampshire County Council, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council. The Calleva Foundation, The Englefield Charitable Trust, The Friends of Silchester, GML Ltd, The Headley Trust, The Horne Foundation, The Leathersellers Company, Nick and Biddy West. The Silchester Town Life Project For information about the Field School, please contact: Amanda Clarke Field School Director University of Reading Whiteknights PO Box 227 Reading, RG6 6AB a.s.clarke@reading.ac.uk Tel +44 (0)118 378 6255 www.reading.ac.uk/silchester For more information about Archaeology at the University of Reading, please contact: Mrs. M.D.McGuire School Undergraduate Administrator m.d.mcguire@reading.ac.uk Tel +44 (0)118 378 8733 General Office archaeology@reading.ac.uk Tel +44 (0)118 378 8132 www.reading.ac.uk/archaeology