| Abstract: |
The late Iron Age earthwork complex at Stanwick, North Yorkshire, enclosing 270ha of farmland in the Tees valley west of Darlington, is among the largest prehistoric fortifications in Europe. It lies 6km from Scotch Corner, the meeting place of long-established routes east–west over the Pennines and north–south through the lowlands of north-east England. Nearby is Scots Dike, a late prehistoric linear earthwork, which probably also functioned as an element of the Stanwick complex. Stanwick was first explored in 1951–52 by R E M Wheeler, who sectioned the earthworks in several places and excavated a small are within the internal enclosure known as the Tofts. This monograph presents the results of a research project carried out over 30 years at and around Stanwick. The core of the volume is an account of the stratified remains excavated in the 1980s in the Tofts, and the associated studies, including a programme of radiocarbon dating and Bayesian modelling to provide an independent chronology. The 1951–52 sites and later management-led interventions are reviewed in the light of this evidence. Research in the environs included fieldwalking, excavations at Rock Castle and Melsonby (where the celebrated ‘Stanwick’ hoard of Iron Age metalwork was discovered in 1843), consideration of finds recorded by the Portable Antiquities Scheme, and analysis of cropmark data. Five main structural periods were represented in the 1200m2 area excavated in the northern part of the Tofts. Occupation began around 80/70 BC, in the form of short-lived compounds, circular buildings, gullies and a midden. Periods 1–3 spanned little more than 50 years. Major changes took place in Period 4 (c 30/20 BC–AD 30/40) when an oval enclosure was created. A rampart was built around the Tofts and two successive large timber circular structures were erected outside the oval enclosure. These timber structures are unique in Britain but bear similarities to monumental constructions at Irish sites like Navan or Dún Ailinne. Within the oval enclosure were more circular buildings, some of them undoubtedly contemporary with its use. The main characteristic of Period 5 (c AD 30/40– 65/75) was the use of stone for building. The palisade that had surrounded the oval enclosure at the end of Period 4 was rebuilt in stone and two circular buildings were constructed, which survived where their walls had sunk into the fills of earlier ditches. It was during this period that the 6.8km Stanwick perimeter earthwork was built, along with an internal earthwork linking the Tofts to the northwest perimeter. The similarity of these stone-covered ramparts with their drystone frontal revetments suggests that they were essentially of one build. Spreads of stone rubble came from the collapse or demolition of the buildings when the Tofts was abandoned. This almost certainly took place before the Roman military occupation of northern England in the AD 70s. The excavations yielded an unusually large finds assemblage for an Iron Age site in northern England, including a remarkable series of imports drawn from across the Roman western provinces and the Mediterranean. Small amounts of Terra Rubra, North Gaulish white ware, flagons and wine amphorae reached Stanwick during Period 4, augmented from c AD 20/30 by a few samian platters. The presence of these vessels suggests that prior to AD 43 Roman interests in Britain were not necessarily confined to southern England. The main body of imports dates from c AD 45/55 onward. The most important component was South Gaulish samian, much of it decorated and including very uncommon forms. Other luxury goods included fine glass vessels and an obsidian cup. The report argues that the group was a special consignment of drinking and serving vessels sent to Stanwick as a diplomatic gift. Among the other Period 5 imports are beakers and flagons in a ‘silty ware’ which may have been made by Roman potters in north-east England. A new typology and fabric series has been developed for the large assemblage of local handmade pottery. Finds indicating contacts with other parts of northern and eastern England include brooches, querns, briquetage and pottery. EDXRF analysis showed that imported brass, used to produce the majority of the horse equipment in the 1843 hoard, was utilised extensively in Period 4, contemporary with its earliest appearance in southern Britain. The agricultural economy was based on spelt and 6-row hulled barley, with cattle the main contributor of meat, although sheep were killed in similar numbers. A variety of special deposits were identified, ranging from animal skulls and bird bones to querns and metal objects. The sword and scabbard found by Wheeler in 1951 probably fall into this category. Several crouched inhumations were discovered as well as disarticulated bones and skull fragments; altogether, at least 20 adults, two children and four infants are represented. Although the early settlement in the Tofts resembles contemporary unenclosed sites in the region, the short-lived structures and midden imply that this may have been a place where people from a wider area periodically assembled. The site was transformed around 25 BC when the long-lived oval enclosure, the monumental defences and large timber structures were built, inviting parallels with enclosed oppida in southern England and the Irish royal sites. The final stage in Stanwick’s development came in the mid-1st century AD, with the construction of the vast perimeter earthwork at around the same time as the main influx of Roman imports. This expansion put Stanwick on a par with leading sites in southern England like Colchester or St Albans, founded to serve as capitals of newly formed kingdoms. Finally, the volume brings the material together in a broader archaeological and historical context, offering a new perspective on the relations between Iron Age societies in central Britain and the Roman world before and after AD 43. Our main source for the latter period is Tacitus, who describes the break between Cartimandua, queen of the Brigantes and Roman ally, and her consort Venutius. Stanwick certainly lay within the territory of the Brigantes, but its place in this narrative has long been debated. Wheeler inferred that the site was built by Venutius and his anti-Roman supporters, but it is now clear that occupation began at least a century earlier. If Stanwick were associated with any known historical figure, Cartimandua is the logical choice, given the array of imported Roman goods. The perimeter earthwork, which was of limited military value, was probably built to emphasise her enhanced standing as a Roman ally, and to create a new focus for the client kingdom. This role was short-lived, however, as within two decades Stanwick had been abandoned. The Stanwick landscape was farmed throughout the Roman period. Evidence of post-Roman activity is sparse, but finds of Anglo-Scandinavian sculpture from Stanwick and Forcett churches imply that both places were important settlements in the late 1st millennium AD. The interior of the Tofts has been damaged by medieval cultivation and 18th-century landscaping has led to the modification or levelling of sections of the Iron Age earthworks. |
