| Abstract: |
Excavations at Poundbury recovered the remains of over 1400 inhumations, mainly late Roman, arranged in a series of cemeteries which included a group of stone built mausolea. A preface by B W Cunliffe (ix) and `Phase summary' by D E Farwell & A B Woodward (xi-xii) is followed by Part 1: The archaeology. This gives a background to the excavation and describes the burials in full, including internal arrangements of the cemeteries, variations in burial practice and details of the mausolea. C Sparey-Green & R Reece begin discussions of the gravegoods with `The coins' (84), followed by `The brooches' by D F Mackreth (84--8). `The copper alloy and silver gravegoods' are identified by Dr Hilary Cool & J M Mills (89--96), `The iron gravegoods' by J M Mills (96--9) (incorporating metallurgical analyses by Professor R F Tylecote), with `Hobnails' (99) and `The shale and jet objects' (99--100) also by J M Mills. M Guido & J M Mills then describe `Beads (jet, glass, crystal, and coral)' (100--2) and `The pottery vessels' are dealt with by S M Davies, with a contribution by V Rigby (103--5). Dr S Greep, Dr P Galloway & J M Mills cover `The bone objects' (105--110) and `The animal bones' are discussed by J C Buckland-Wright (110--11). Finally, `Textiles and gold thread' is by E Crowfoot, incorporating comments by J-P Wild & P Determann (111--13). A section covering the coffins comprises `Iron coffin nails and fittings' (114--27), and `Lead-lined wooden coffins' (127--32) by J M Mills, `An inscription from the lead-lining in grave 530' by R S O Tomalin (132--3) and `Stone coffins' by J M Mills (133--4). C J Sparey-Green then discusses `The mausolea painted plaster' (135--40) with an `Ancient Monuments Laboratory report on paint pigment from mausoleum R9' by N Pratt (140). Part 2: The human remains, firstly deals with preservation and analysis of the bones, then moves on to look at the burial practices and chronology, including skeletal responses to cultural change. Adults and children are looked at separately, then the diet, health, incidence of disease, lifestyle, occupation and demographic structure of the Poundbury population are discussed. A K G Jones contributes `Parasitological investigations' (197--8). Part 3: Discussion is by A B Woodward (215--39). This section summarises the characteristics of the individual Poundbury cemeteries and compares them with selected cemeteries of similar type and date from the Midlands and southern Britain. Finally, `The human remains: glossary' is compiled by Jacqueline I McKinley (240--3), and the volume concludes with a bibliography and comprehensive grave list. Supplementary information is contained on microfiche, including: `The wall plaster' by C Sparey-Green (2:A2--B7); `Sexing the Poundbury data' (3:A2--A6) and `The health of the people' (3:B5--B7) by T I Molleson; and `Bone structure measurements' by S J Atkinson (3:B10--C1). |
