Our cover feature takes us inside a well-appointed Roman villa in Dorset. There we find many of the sumptuous, if occasionally garish, decorative touches favoured by the elites in Roman Britain. Alongside the mosaics, painted wall plaster, and showy roofing are more intimate details. One mosaic had to be patched after it was worn down, perhaps by the feet of a couch, while possible fireplaces suggest humble measures to take the edge off chilly weather.
Seeing beyond the luxury is also important to understanding country houses from more recent centuries. Although the no-frills approach to servants’ quarters can leave them looking like much of a muchness, the enthusiasm with which newly developed mod cons were employed to assist their chores varied considerably. We examine the collision between technology and tradition.
At Aldeburgh, in East Anglia, it is the collision between pagan and Christian traditions that has been under the microscope. The region is renowned for clinging to the old gods, and excavation of an Anglo-Saxon cemetery has revealed that Christian graves may lie beside an earlier burial conducted according to traditional rites.
Trying to determine when, where, and how one prehistoric language evolved into another is also fiddly, as there are by definition no written clues to guide the way. Attempts to reconstruct the emergence of the Celtic family of languages, though, could revolutionise our view of prehistoric Europe by pointing to the existence of a remarkable Bronze Age lingua franca.
Finally, we travel to Halton, where two burials have been discovered in the castle bailey. Why might people have been laid to rest there?
Matt Symonds
IN THIS ISSUE:/n
FEATURES/n
UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS INNOVATIONS/n
Exploring the use of technology in Britain’s country houses
How did the owners of country houses respond totechnological change? Recent surveys show a varietyof approaches, from embracing gas, electricity, runningwater, and central heating at an early stage to outright rejection of dastardly innovation.
DRUCE FARM VILLA/n
Luxury living in Roman Dorset
The discovery and excavation of a villa with well-preservedmosaics in Dorset presents an opportunityto reconstruct the rise and fall of one of Roman Britain’shigh-status dwellings.
OPENING EDWINA’S BOX/n
Investigating an unusual Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Barber’s Point
What may be one of the earliest Christian Anglo-Saxoncemeteries in East Anglia has been revealed besidethe River Alde. We explore what these graves can tellus about the transition from pagan to Christian.
CELTIC FROM THE WEST/n
In search of the archaeology of a language
We look at how a cutting-edge collaborationbetween linguists, archaeologists, and geneticistsis transforming our knowledge of Bronze Age Europe in its investigation of the possible cradleof the Celtic family of languages.
THE BODIES IN THE BAILEY/n
Uncovering enigmatic graves at Halton Castle
Two graves were recently discovered at Halton Castle,much to the excavators’ surprise. How much can we say about who these individuals were?
NEWS/n
Royal Rendlesham revealed?; Fountains Abbeygraves discovered; Civil War hoard found inLincolnshire; Limited utopia in Manea; A fish talefrom Iron Age Orkney; Neolithic life at Llanfaethlu;New clue from Sutton Hoo; Finds tray
REGULARS/n
Comment
Joe Flatman excavates the CA archive
Context
Discovering wartime Wales from the sky
Reviews
Care in the Past; Art in England; The Oxford Handbookof Roman Britain; Hunters, Fishers, and Foragers inWales; Tiny Churches; Prehistory without Borders
Exhibition
Warrior Treasures: Saxon Gold from the StaffordshireHoard at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery
Preview
Andrew Selkirk on Jorvik Viking Centre’s reopening
Conference
The latest details about Current Archaeology Live!2017, including a reminder of how to vote and who has been nominated for this year’s CAawards
Sherds
Chris Catling’s irreverent take onheritage issues
Odd Socs
TheNorfolk Historic Buildings Group