'Finds from the Frontier' brings together the papers given at a conference held at Newcastle upon Tyne in 2008. The aim of the original conference was to elucidate the life of the 4th-century 'limitanei' of Britain through their material culture. The period had traditionally been seen as one of declining standards in the Roman military and materially poorer than during the Principate. The papers consider whether the artefacts that were left behind justify this stance and largely come to the conclusion that, on the contrary, the period was rich in artefacts that have much to tell us about the late frontier.
The geographic focus of the volume is the broader frontier and is not limited to the traditional line of Hadrian’s Wall itself. 'Frontier' can be taken as shorthand for 'frontier zone' in many cases throughout the volume, and includes the area between the Humber-Mersey line and the Forth-Clyde line. This region, corresponding to central Britain, includes a number of well-known civilian settlements as well as the traditional military installations more commonly associated with the frontier. The area also looks north of the Wall, to encompass sites such as Traprain Law as well as the 'outpost forts'.
Author(s): Rob Collins, Lindsay Allason-Jones (eds.)
Series: Council for British Archaeology. CBA Research Reports, 162
Publisher: Council for British Archaeology
Year: 2010
Language: English
Pages: 184
City: York
List of figures vi
List of colour plates viii
List of tables ix
Acknowledgements x
List of contributors xi
Summary, with foreign language translation xii
Foreword (Rob Collins and Lindsay Allason-Jones) xiv
Maps xv
1. A different life / H. E. M. Cool 1
2. The late Roman frontier: a structural background / Tony Wilmott 10
3. The written record and the late Roman frontier / Mark Hassall 17
4. The supply and use of pottery on Hadrian’s Wall in the 4th century AD / Paul Bidwell and Alexandra Croom 20
5. Late Roman glass vessels in the Hadrian’s Wall frontier region / Jennifer Price 37
6. Military equipment of the ‘long’ 4th century on Hadrian’s Wall / J. C. N. Coulston 50
7. Brooch use in the 4th- to 5th-century frontier / Rob Collins 64
8. Personal appearance / Lindsay Allason-Jones 78
9. Coins and the frontier troops in the 4th century / Richard J. Brickstock 86
10. Can we see a 4th- or 5th-century diet from the plant and animal remains? / Jacqui Huntley and Sue Stallibrass 92
11. Beyond the frontier: interpreting late Roman Iron Age indigenous and imported material culture / Fraser Hunter 96
12. The emergence of Northumbria: artefacts, archaeology, and models / Colm O’Brien 110
13. Northumbrian origins and post-Roman continuity: an exploration / Brian K. Roberts 120
14. Material culture at the end of empire / Rob Collins and Lindsay Allason-Jones 133
Bibliography 139
Index 155
