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REVIEW BY ADAM DAUBNEY
This volume sets out the results of excavations and survey along a 5km stretch of the A160/A180 in north-east Lincolnshire. Excavations were carried out within an archaeologically important landscape of drained former marshland near the Humber Estuary.
The evidence attests to long-term occupation punctuated by periods of decline and abandonment. Flint scatters, pit alignments, linear boundaries, and a possible funerary monument illustrate life and death in the Bronze Age, with the latter potentially adding to the distribution of ‘marsh barrows’ that dot the low-lying landscape of the region.
Most of the excavated evidence is, however, from the Late Iron Age and Roman periods. Here, two small settlements and one large settlement were identified, though only the latter survived beyond the early Roman period. Changes in the environmental and political landscape appear to be the reason behind the abandonment of the smaller sites – a trend noted by Cavanagh for similar settlements in the region.
Of particular interest is the apparent number of enclosure deposits that might be regarded as ‘special’. For the late Iron Age, these include a single raven bone, as well as a high concentration of sheep or goat bones possibly indicative of communal feasting. Roman deposits include a complete skeleton of an elderly horse, two complete dog skeletons, and an assemblage that includes a cow skull, a horse skull, and cattle and horse foot-bones. Cavanagh discusses whether these special deposits relate to episodes of alteration or extension of the settlement layout. Of equal interest are the remains of a late Roman adult male, buried within a ditch at the periphery of the settlement, who apparently met a violent death through blunt-force trauma.
Specialist reports make up the bulk of this volume, and cover a range of artefactual and environmental evidence, including lipid analysis of three Roman ‘cheese presses’.
Altogether, the volume is impressive and makes a significant contribution to the understanding of change and continuity in the northern marshes.
Becoming Roman in North East Lincolnshire: Excavation and survey along the A160/A180 Port of Immingham Improvement Scheme
Nigel Andrew Cavanagh
BAR, £64
ISBN 978-1407361352
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