Monty Python’s pithy question ‘What have the Romans everdone for us?’ cuts to the heart of the pros and cons of conquest.Debate about how Britons fared under Roman rule weighs thebalance between exploitation and opportunity, but rarely straysinto the arena of overseas travel. There is little sign in ancienttexts that Britons enthusiastically seized their chance to see the(Roman) world, but does archaeology tell a different story? We go in searchof the Britons abroad.
The famous Stonehenge bluestones are notoriously well travelled. A linkbetween these monoliths and Pembrokeshire has been suspected for almosta century, but recent excavations at two outcrops in the Preseli hills have revealedprehistoric quarry works. The geologies match, but radiocarbon dates suggest alag-time of 400 years between extraction and erection in Wiltshire. Where werethe bluestones in the interim?
Mucking has recently undergone a journey of a different kind. For decades manyof the findings from this legendary excavation campaign remained hidden away inarchived records. Now, as the final volumes of the site-report approach publication,we salute both the original diggers and the team bringing their work to fruition.
Ensuring that the vestiges of Yorkshire’s alum industry did notdisappear without record required a band of archaeologists toabseil down sea cliffs. Working against time and tide, they haveteased out the secrets of a dirty and dangerous industry.
Matt Symonds
IN THIS ISSUE:/n
FEATURES/n
BRITONS ABROAD/n
The untold story of emigration and objectmobility from Roman Britain
Clusters of British-made brooches, found in continental Europe, reveal an untold storyof emigration and object mobility from Roman Britain.
SOURCING STONEHENGE/n
Secondhand Stonehenge? • Go west
We trace the Welsh origins of Wiltshire’s most famous monument, pinpointing the Preselioutcrops from which some of its bluestones were quarried, and explore the latest evidencefor when, and why, they travelled to Salisbury Plain.
WRITING MUCKING/n
Lives in land
Digging through the archives of a legendary excavation, we explore its remarkablefindings and how the gargantuan task of drawing them all together was completed.
INDUSTRY ON THE EDGE/n
Recording Yorkshire’s coastal alum sites
Scattered along the Yorkshire coast are sites connected to processing alum – a vitalcomponent in the textile industry, but one that was very complex to create. Now,as these industrial relics begin to erode into the sea, the race is on to record thembefore they vanish forever.
NEWS/n
Roman Londoners revealed; Rare Alfredian coins inViking hoard; Silchester’s sign of the times; RethinkingGlastonbury Abbey; Excavating Shakespeare; Anglesey’sfirst fortlet; Otford Roman villa explored; York’s rare Vikingremains displayed; Marking a milestone development
REGULARS/n
Conference
Current Archaeology Live! 2016 is now approaching fast. We provideupdated details of the timetable andspeakers, and an explanation of howto vote in the Archaeology Awards
Reviews
TheNess of Brodgar; Danes in Wessex;Hoards: Hidden History
Sherds
Chris Catling’s irreverent take on heritage issues
Odd Socs
The Dartmoor TinworkingResearch Group