Finds from the Frontier : Material Culture in the 4th-5th Centuries

Finds from the Frontier brings together papers given at a conference held at Newcastle upon Tyne in 2008. Its aim is to elucidate the life of the 4th-century limitanei of Britain through their material culture. The papers consider whether the excavated artefacts justify the traditional implication that the period is one of declining standards 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 is the broader frontier and is not limited to the traditional line of Hadrians Wall itself. Throughout the volume a number of sites have provided key assemblages for interpretation, usually those that have been the focus of modern excavation or re-assessment. The most important aspect of these key sites, other than the fact that they are all fort sites, is that a clear understanding of the stratigraphy has provided good dating evidence for the phases of structural activity. This has allowed the identification of the later material, some of which might otherwise have been attributed to the 2nd or 3rd centuries. Unlike many works on later Roman Britain, this volume concludes with chapters on the material culture and landscape of the early post-Roman frontier zone and offers suggestions for future research for scholars of both the late Roman and Early Medieval periods. This book will be of interest to archaeologists, students and museum curators seeking to identify and understand the artefacts and communities of the Military Zone in the latest period of Roman Britain. It will also be of interest to archaeologists working on the other frontiers of the Roman Empire.