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REVIEW BY TONY WILMOTT
This volume describes the archaeology of some four centuries of the life of a rural farm/villa of modest wealth. It is also accompanied by a highly accessible GIS resource at https://cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk/dings.
The settlement developed from an enclosed farmstead with enclosures and a single roundhouse c.AD 1-100 through several phases, culminating in the floruit of the settlement c.AD 350-410 as a winged-corridor courtyard villa. There is important evidence for continuity beyond the traditional AD 410 date. The account of the structures and stratigraphy (p.55) is very clear, and excellently illustrated with phase plans and clear overlays on photogrammetric orthomosaics.
The reports on the rich finds assemblages, are thorough, and include useful site distribution plots (p.129). The biological evidence is similarly comprehensively described (p.30). In the final chapter, Tom Brindle brings all the strands of evidence together in a comprehensive and up-to-date synthetic discussion of the history and economy of the settlement, and how it fits into the contemporary landscape.
Evolution of a Romano-British Courtyard Villa: excavations at the former Dings Crusaders Rugby Ground, Stoke Gifford, 2016-2018
Tom Brindle, Mark Brett, and Jonathan Hart
Cotswold Archaeology (Pen & Sword), £35
ISBN 978-1999822217
