Stanway: An Élite Burial Site at Camulodunum

Description

With contributions by Anne-Maria Bojko, Nigel Brown, C. R. Cartwright, H. E. M. Cool, G. B. Dannell, John A. Davies, Brenda Dickinson, Val Fryer, Richard Hingley, Ralph Jackson, Anthony J. Legge, Hazel Martingell, S. A. Mays, N. D. Meeks, Peter Murphy, Susan La Niece, Keith Oak, Sarah Paynter, Ulrich Schädler, Paul R. Sealey, Alec Wade, John Peter Wild and Patricia E. J. Wiltshir. This detailed volume is the final report from excavations at Stanway, on the outskirts of Colchester which took place in stages between 1987 and 2002. A Mid-Iron Age farmstead represents the oldest structure found on the site, but it is a series of Late Iron Age burials, probably from one high-status family of the Catuvellauni which have attracted the most attention. Burials at the cemetery continued to arround 60 AD, providing important information for the native elite during the period of the Roman conquest. Grave goods include glass vessels, amphorae of wine and several gaming boards and many goods show evidence of ritual breakage. Discussion includes articles on dating, the identity of those buried and comparison with other elite British burials. List of Figures viii List of Tables xiii Acknowledgements xvi List of Contributors xvii Summary xviii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND The Stanway site 1 History of the excavations 1 Simplified chronology and key features 7 Explanation of the site codes and small find numbers 14 Introduction to the Late Iron Age and Roman pottery in this report 14 Definition of terms used in the report 15 CHAPTER 2: FEATURES AND FINDS PRE-DATING THE MIDDLE IRON AGE FARMSTEAD The earliest occupation 16 The earlier prehistoric pottery (Nigel Brown) 17 The scatter of heat-affected stone across the site 18 The worked flint (Hazel Martingell) 21 CHAPTER 3: THE MIDDLE IRON AGE FARMSTEAD The farmstead enclosure (Enclosure 2) 26 The currency bars (Richard Hingley) 33 The structural clay 36 The loomweights 38 The other objects from Enclosures 1 and 2 45 The latest material from Enclosure 2 47 The Early and Middle Iron Age pottery (Paul R. Sealey) 48 Palaeochannel CF52 and its finds 66 CHAPTER 4: THE FUNERARY SITE The funerary enclosures 69 Funerary Enclosure 1 69 Funerary Enclosure 3 71 Funerary Enclosure 4 74 Funerary Enclosure 5 81 The pyre-site and ?mortuary enclosures 85 Pyre-site BF1/BF16 85 ?Mortuary enclosure BF32 90 ?Mortuary enclosure CF43–46 97 The chambers 101 Chamber AF25 101 Chamber BF6 104 Chamber BF24 127 Chamber CF42 142 Pits with pyre debris 157 Pit BF17 157 Pit CF7 160 Pit with broken funerary goods 162 Pit AF48 162 The cremation burials 167 Cremation burial AF18 167 Examination of a bag of ?verdigris from AF18 (S. La Niece and C. R. Cartwright) 169 The Warrior’s burial BF64 170 The Inkwell burial BF67 197 The Doctor's burial CF47 201 The Brooches burial CF72 254 The Mirror burial CF115 260 Cremation burial CF403 262 The shaft or pit CF23 265 The slot or trench CF96 266 CHAPTER 5: THE SPECIALISTS' REPORTS AND DISCUSSIONS The Late Iron Age and Roman pottery fabrics (Stephen Benfield) 268 The pots from funerary contexts and pyre debris in pits (Valery Rigby) 271 The Late Iron Age and Roman pottery from the enclosure ditches and the mortuary enclosures BF32 and CF43–6 (Stephen Benfield) 274 The potters' stamps on terra rubra,terra nigra and terra nigra-type wares (Valery Rigby) 289 The amphoras (Paul R. Sealey) 297 The samian (G. B. Dannell) 305 The graffiti from the chamber BF6 (Paul R. Sealey) 307 The brooches (Nina Crummy) 314 The metal vessels (Nina Crummy) 320 Analysis of the currency bars, grave goods and pyre debris (Sarah Paynter) 327 The Iron Age and Roman coins (John A. Davies) 338 The glass vessels (H. E. M. Cool) 340 Textiles (John Peter Wild) 347 A scientific examination of the textile impressions in iron corrosion products on surgical instruments CF47.30 and CF47.35 (N. D. Meeks and C. R. Cartwright) 350 The gaming board in CF47: the remains as found, possible reconstructions, and post-depositional movements (Philip Crummy) 352 The Doctor’s game – new light on the history of ancient board games (Ulrich Schädler) 359 The salt briquetage (Nina Crummy) 375 The environmental and faunal remains The cremated human remains (S. A. Mays) 377 The faunal remains (Alec Wade and A. J. Legge) 382 The plant macrofossils (Peter Murphy and Val Fryer) 384 The wood and leather remains (Anne-Maria Bojko and Nina Crummy) 388 Palynological analysis of the organic material lodged in the spout of the strainer bowl (Patricia E. J. Wiltshire) 394 The palynological analysis of the palaeoturf forming the collapsed mound in the chamber CF42 (Patricia E. J. Wiltshire) 398 CHAPTER 6: EXCAVATIONS ON SITE D IN 2002–3 Introduction 400 The excavation 400 The cremation burials 402 Pits with pyre-related debris 410 Pits with charcoal-rich fill but no cremated bone, pottery or other artefacts 413 Other features 416 Specialists' reports Discussion of the Late Iron Age and Roman pottery from Site D (Stephen Benfield and Valery Rigby) 418 The cremated bone from Site D (S. A. Mays) 418 The charred plant macrofossils and other remains from Site D (Val Fryer) 420 The worked flint from Site D (Hazel Martingell) 422 CHAPTER 7: ASPECTS OF THE STANWAY CEMETERY Introduction 423 Aspects of the physical remains 424 Symmetry and organisation of the funerary enclosures 424 Chambers: structure, mounds and broken grave goods 424 Pyres and pits with pyre debris 426 ?Mortuary enclosures 427 Cremation burials: covers, depths, character and presence or absence of a service 427 Grave goods: social status and function 428 Broken funerary goods as indicators of ritual 430 Weights of the cremated human bone 433 Cremated animal bone: horse and other remains 434 Residual pottery: indicator of early episodes of pot-breaking? 434 Sequence and chronology 435 The Middle Iron Age farmstead 435 The funerary enclosures and associated contexts 436 Refined sequence and dating for Enclosures 3, 4 and 5 438 Stanway in local and wider contexts 444 Familial relationships between the dead 444 The identities of the 'Doctor' and the 'Warrior' (Nina Crummy) 444 Similar funerary sites 447 Continuity and the Catuvellauni 455 BIBLIOGRAPHY 457 INDEX (Nina Crummy) 485