With contributions by Anne-Maria Bojko, Nigel Brown, C. R. Cartwright, H. E. M. Cool, G. B. Dannell, John A. Davies, Brenda Dickinson, Val Fryer, Richard Hingley, Ralph Jackson, Anthony J. Legge, Hazel Martingell, S. A. Mays, N. D. Meeks, Peter Murphy, Susan La Niece, Keith Oak, Sarah Paynter, Ulrich Schädler, Paul R. Sealey, Alec Wade, John Peter Wild and Patricia E. J. Wiltshir.
This detailed volume is the final report from excavations at Stanway, on the outskirts of Colchester which took place in stages between 1987 and 2002. A Mid-Iron Age farmstead represents the oldest structure found on the site, but it is a series of Late Iron Age burials, probably from one high-status family of the Catuvellauni which have attracted the most attention. Burials at the cemetery continued to arround 60 AD, providing important information for the native elite during the period of the Roman conquest. Grave goods include glass vessels, amphorae of wine and several gaming boards and many goods show evidence of ritual breakage. Discussion includes articles on dating, the identity of those buried and comparison with other elite British burials.
Author(s): Philip Crummy, Stephen Benfield, Nina Crummy, Valery Rigby, Donald Shimmin
Series: Britannia Monograph Series, 24
Publisher: Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies
Year: 2007
Language: English
Pages: XX+500
City: London
List of Figures viii
List of Tables xiii
Acknowledgements xvi
List of Contributors xvii
Summary xviii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
The Stanway site 1
History of the excavations 1
Simplified chronology and key features 7
Explanation of the site codes and small find numbers 14
Introduction to the Late Iron Age and Roman pottery in this report 14
Definition of terms used in the report 15
CHAPTER 2: FEATURES AND FINDS PRE-DATING THE MIDDLE IRON AGE FARMSTEAD
The earliest occupation 16
The earlier prehistoric pottery (Nigel Brown) 17
The scatter of heat-affected stone across the site 18
The worked flint (Hazel Martingell) 21
CHAPTER 3: THE MIDDLE IRON AGE FARMSTEAD
The farmstead enclosure (Enclosure 2) 26
The currency bars (Richard Hingley) 33
The structural clay 36
The loomweights 38
The other objects from Enclosures 1 and 2 45
The latest material from Enclosure 2 47
The Early and Middle Iron Age pottery (Paul R. Sealey) 48
Palaeochannel CF52 and its finds 66
CHAPTER 4: THE FUNERARY SITE
The funerary enclosures 69
Funerary Enclosure 1 69
Funerary Enclosure 3 71
Funerary Enclosure 4 74
Funerary Enclosure 5 81
The pyre-site and ?mortuary enclosures 85
Pyre-site BF1/BF16 85
?Mortuary enclosure BF32 90
?Mortuary enclosure CF43–46 97
The chambers 101
Chamber AF25 101
Chamber BF6 104
Chamber BF24 127
Chamber CF42 142
Pits with pyre debris 157
Pit BF17 157
Pit CF7 160
Pit with broken funerary goods 162
Pit AF48 162
The cremation burials 167
Cremation burial AF18 167
Examination of a bag of ?verdigris from AF18 (S. La Niece and C. R. Cartwright) 169
The Warrior’s burial BF64 170
The Inkwell burial BF67 197
The Doctor's burial CF47 201
The Brooches burial CF72 254
The Mirror burial CF115 260
Cremation burial CF403 262
The shaft or pit CF23 265
The slot or trench CF96 266
CHAPTER 5: THE SPECIALISTS' REPORTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The Late Iron Age and Roman pottery fabrics (Stephen Benfield) 268
The pots from funerary contexts and pyre debris in pits (Valery Rigby) 271
The Late Iron Age and Roman pottery from the enclosure ditches and the mortuary enclosures BF32 and CF43–6 (Stephen Benfield) 274
The potters' stamps on terra rubra,terra nigra and terra nigra-type wares (Valery Rigby) 289
The amphoras (Paul R. Sealey) 297
The samian (G. B. Dannell) 305
The graffiti from the chamber BF6 (Paul R. Sealey) 307
The brooches (Nina Crummy) 314
The metal vessels (Nina Crummy) 320
Analysis of the currency bars, grave goods and pyre debris (Sarah Paynter) 327
The Iron Age and Roman coins (John A. Davies) 338
The glass vessels (H. E. M. Cool) 340
Textiles (John Peter Wild) 347
A scientific examination of the textile impressions in iron corrosion products on surgical instruments CF47.30 and CF47.35 (N. D. Meeks and C. R. Cartwright) 350
The gaming board in CF47: the remains as found, possible reconstructions, and post-depositional movements (Philip Crummy) 352
The Doctor’s game – new light on the history of ancient board games (Ulrich Schädler) 359
The salt briquetage (Nina Crummy) 375
The environmental and faunal remains
The cremated human remains (S. A. Mays) 377
The faunal remains (Alec Wade and A. J. Legge) 382
The plant macrofossils (Peter Murphy and Val Fryer) 384
The wood and leather remains (Anne-Maria Bojko and Nina Crummy) 388
Palynological analysis of the organic material lodged in the spout of the strainer bowl (Patricia E. J. Wiltshire) 394
The palynological analysis of the palaeoturf forming the collapsed mound in the chamber CF42 (Patricia E. J. Wiltshire) 398
CHAPTER 6: EXCAVATIONS ON SITE D IN 2002–3
Introduction 400
The excavation 400
The cremation burials 402
Pits with pyre-related debris 410
Pits with charcoal-rich fill but no cremated bone, pottery or other artefacts 413
Other features 416
Specialists' reports
Discussion of the Late Iron Age and Roman pottery from Site D (Stephen Benfield and Valery Rigby) 418
The cremated bone from Site D (S. A. Mays) 418
The charred plant macrofossils and other remains from Site D (Val Fryer) 420
The worked flint from Site D (Hazel Martingell) 422
CHAPTER 7: ASPECTS OF THE STANWAY CEMETERY
Introduction 423
Aspects of the physical remains 424
Symmetry and organisation of the funerary enclosures 424
Chambers: structure, mounds and broken grave goods 424
Pyres and pits with pyre debris 426
?Mortuary enclosures 427
Cremation burials: covers, depths, character and presence or absence of a service 427
Grave goods: social status and function 428
Broken funerary goods as indicators of ritual 430
Weights of the cremated human bone 433
Cremated animal bone: horse and other remains 434
Residual pottery: indicator of early episodes of pot-breaking? 434
Sequence and chronology 435
The Middle Iron Age farmstead 435
The funerary enclosures and associated contexts 436
Refined sequence and dating for Enclosures 3, 4 and 5 438
Stanway in local and wider contexts 444
Familial relationships between the dead 444
The identities of the 'Doctor' and the 'Warrior' (Nina Crummy) 444
Similar funerary sites 447
Continuity and the Catuvellauni 455
BIBLIOGRAPHY 457
INDEX (Nina Crummy) 485
