Silchester mapping project (2005-10)

Background

Silchester (Calleva Atrebatum) is a Roman town just south of Reading in Hampshire. The Town Life project excavation Insula IX is a major activity of the department, directed by Mike Fulford and Amanda Clarke.

In a separate but parallel project, directed by John Creighton with the assistance of Rob Fry, the context of this and earlier excavations is being mapped out.

A key element of this is the large scale geophysics that has taken place both within the town walls, and also outside it. Over 250 hectares have been surveyed with high resolution gradiometery, and other methods have also been used (resistivity, ground penetrating radar, gamma-ray detection).

All of this data is being combined with the many other forms of mapping:

• digitisation of all the former excavations where plans exist;
• analysis of all the map evidence back to the tithe maps and antiquarian illustrations (e.g. Stukely's plan of 1722);
• soil maps;
• aerial photographs (from the national mapping programme);
• earlier fieldwalking data (collected by Mark Corney).

The work has revealed significant new information about the defences and cemeteries surrounding the town, as well as adding finer resolution to the 'Great plan' established by the Society of Antiquaries in their programme of excavation at the end of the nineteenth century and into the beginning of the twentieth. One of the aims of the project is to test some of the ideas explored in Creighton (2006) Britannia, in which I wondered about town formation and planning.

Sponsors

The work was also sponsored by the British Academy and the HEFCE Centres for Learning in Teaching and Learning initiative.

The student benefit

Many undergraduates gained a taster of geophysics on this project. Five had 6-week paid placements on it, and four of these have gone on to develop this further in MSc programmes, PhDs or in professional practise. Further fieldwork is planned and students often volunteer to gain extra experience.

References

The work will be published as a monograph of the Roman Society.

Creighton, J. (2006) Britannia: The Creation of a Roman Province. Routledge, Abingdon, pp180.