| Title: |
A Romano-British cemetery on Watling Street |
| Subtitle: |
excavations at 165 Great Dover Street, Southwark, London |
| Series: |
MoLAS Archaeology Studies Series
|
| Volume: |
4
|
| Number of Pages: |
83 |
| Publication Type: |
Monograph Chapter (in Series)
|
| Abstract: |
Excavations in 1996 and 1997 uncovered evidence of structures plus twenty-five inhumations and five cremation burials associated with a Roman roadside cemetery to the south-east of the settlement. A Roman sequence from the first-century road-marker ditch through later first-century building on piled foundations was followed in the second-century by a cemetery with associated structures including a possible temple and third-century walled cemeteries and mausolea. A small number of inhumations included pottery, lamps, and an a large range of plant remains including many Mediterranean varieties and the first known occurrence of date fruit in London. Three additional cemetery structures were built to the north of the possible temple structure between the mid-second and mid-third centuries. A walled cemetery lay immediately to the north of the possible temple and was probably constructed while it was still in use. The second structure contained at least four burials and a centrally located, large masonry foundation which may have formed the base of a tomb or mausoleum. The third -- a smaller, rubble foundation -- lay to the south of the central foundation and was probably the base of another monument. An upright amphora containing nails is thought to have been a receptacle of libations for the departed. A second walled cemetery lay further to the north. A number of inhumations and cremations were found outside the confines of the walled cemeteries -- including a cluster of three chalk-lined burials -- but were contemporary with their use. The funerary structures had fallen into disrepair by the late third century although there was some evidence that the area may have continued to be used as an unenclosed cemetery. The road itself continued in use throughout the life of the site and perhaps beyond it. A carved head of a bearded god, possibly a water deity, was recovered from a roadside ditch. Post-Roman activity was represented by pitting in the medieval period and in the seventeenth to nineteenth century. This volume mainly reports the findings as opposed to providing a synthesis of their significance. There are French and German summaries and separately authored reports on: |
| Author: |
Anthony (Tony) Mackinder
|
| Editor: |
Susan M Wright
Susan M Hirst
|
| Publisher: |
MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology)
|
| Year of Publication: |
2000
|
| ISBN: |
1 901992 11 X |
| Source: |
BIAB
(The British & Irish Archaeological Bibliography (BIAB))
|
| Created Date: |
04 Sep 2002 |
