World news
Community-created field systems in Colombia? In the wetlands of La Mojana in northern Colombia is a vast (more than 500,000ha or 1,900 square miles) field system of canals and ridges, used to control both floods and droughts. In use from…
field systems
The Historic Landscapes of Cornwall and Devon
REVIEW BY STEPHEN RIPPON The character of the countryside all around us plays an important part in many communities’ sense of place. This is particularly clear in the south-west of Britain, where Cornwall’s distinctive place-names – those that pre-date its…
Fields and farmsteads: Organising the early Roman frontier region in South Yorkshire
Excavations at Holme Hall Quarry, between Doncaster and Rotherham, have revealed how the landscape was transformed into extensive, carefully planned field systems and farmsteads during the early Roman period. Was this development the work of local Iron Age communities, or a land grab by an occupying army? Francis M Morris, who has recently completed post-excavation analysis and publication through Archaeological Research Services Ltd, explains more.
A villa unveiled: Uncovering ‘ritual activity’ in Roman Oxfordshire
Archaeological work in rural Oxfordshire has uncovered the remains of a previously unknown Roman villa, as well as echoes of activities ranging from agriculture and industry to more enigmatic practices. Carly Hilts spoke to Louis Stafford to learn how the site’s story is evolving as investigations continue.
Roman plantation unearthed in Leicestershire
The remains of a late Iron Age and Roman farmstead have been revealed during works by Archaeological Research Services Ltd which, since late February, have been investigating archaeological remains identified during topsoil stripping for Leicestershire County Council’s new road scheme…
Excavations at Chester: Roman land division and a probable villa in the hinterland of Deva – excavation at Saighton Army Camp, Huntington, Chester
Review by Andrew Tibbs The importance of Chester in the Roman period cannot be overestimated. Not only was it an important military centre with the establishment of a legionary fortress (Deva) in the 1st century, but the subsequent development of…
Waterlands: prehistoric life at Bar Pasture, Pode Hole Quarry, Peterborough
Review by Mark Knight There is something of a contradiction between the main title of this publication and the archaeology presented within its pages. The book details and interprets an impressively large-scale, decade-long excavation of a low-lying Bronze Age site…