A Year of Discovery: Unearthing Roman Britain in 2021

The official death knell of the Ancient Roman Empire may have been in the latter half of the 5th Century AD, but its legacies as a formidable agent of change in Antiquity echoes across dozens of modern-day countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Modern political ideologies and legal codes were borne out of the tribunal and senatorial atmospheres of Rome’s governing elite. Latin, the Romans’ mother tongue, laid the groundwork for the gradual evolution of modern Romance languages. Rome’s civic engineering and architecture could rightfully be boasted as the finest and most durable by contemporary standards given its continued application around the world in roads & bridges, governmental & educational building constructions, and concrete-based designs. And, of course, Rome’s artistic contributions inadvertently became a major driving force in how artists post-Antiquity sought to capture truthfulness and beauty in their environs.?

Although the Roman Empire’s might and prowess is worthy of admiration, yearly archaeological excavations signify that there are always new details about Roman life that remain shrouded in mystery, require clearer insight, or have been misinterpreted in the modern era. A case in point lies in the myriad archaeological discoveries that occurred in the British Isles throughout 2021.?

The British Isles, or Britannia, represented Rome’s northwesternmost territorial possessions from the mid-1st Century BC to the early-5th Century AD. Their power and influence spread from England north and westwards into Wales and Scotland; the Romans never successfully colonized Ireland (Hibernia). Over 1600 years after the end of Roman rule in the British Isles, vestiges of Rome’s imperial dominion remain and have become associated with British national identity and culture, including: surviving Roman baths in the English city of Bath, Somerset; Emperor Hadrian’s titular defensive wall along the England-Scotland border; and, preserved remains of a military bath house, amphitheatre, fortress walls, and legionary barracks in Newport, Wales.?

2021 was an exceptionally fruitful year for specialists in the archaeology of Roman Britain. For almost every month, extraordinarily intact full-size or partially preserved architectural sites, artworks, and material objects have been uncovered. Such discoveries have substantially increased our understanding of life in Ancient Britain.?

February 2021: Wittenham Clumps, Thames Valley, Oxfordshire, England

Wittenham Clumps, Thames Valley, Oxfordshire, England, UK.

Southern England’s Wittenham Clumps have been well-known for their rich deposits of Prehistoric Bronze and Iron Age and Ancient Roman objects and buildings. During excavations near an Iron Age hillfort, the ruins of a Roman villa were revealed underneath the landscape. Although much of the walls have undergone extensive damage likely from its over thousand-year long burial, there is still a clear indication of the villa’s ground plan. Of note, this dwelling was designed according to the winged-corridor layout, which was a distinct type of Romano-British domestic architecture that featured a portico (colonnaded porch) and wings that expanded the size of these homes. Corn-drying ovens, bone combs, surgical instruments, pottery shards, and a cemetery of over forty graves added to the notability of this archaeological dig. Just these discoveries alone offered a multi-perspective insight into the day-to-day lives, occupations, and funereal customs of this once-thriving Roman community.?

April 2021: Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England

Above ground view of the excavated building layout.

In Northern England’s seaside resort town of Scarborough, land was slated for real estate development plans to construct up-to-date modern living accommodations for young families, first-time buyers, and professionals. Although there was anticipation among archaeologists that Prehistoric and/or Roman remains would be found at the site, there was great surprise upon the excavation of the ground plans of a hodge-podge multi-building complex. With an estimated size of two tennis courts, researchers surmise the site was the home of a wealthy landowner that was eventually repurposed during Roman rule into a religious sanctuary and even a “stately home-cum-gentlemen’s club”. The aspect of the site’s layout that is the most unusual is found in a circular room that opens up to at least three adjacent square-shaped rooms; the question emerges as to how such a structure would have appeared in its three-dimensional form. Researchers are perplexed by this eccentrically rare design, with many suggesting that it could be the first discovery of this kind of building in Roman Britain and even the entire Roman Empire, to which Historic England described the occasion as “easily the most important Roman discovery of the last decade”.

Summer 2021: Leicester, East Midlands, England

Ancient Roman key handle.

Although it was discovered in 2017, conclusive evidence was published on an oddly crafted bronze key handle that shed light on the precise nature of Roman executions in the British Isles. For such a small object of everyday use, the key handle features a scene of drama and terror where a man fights a lion as the beast lunges towards him and prepares to maul his neck. Four young boys, presumably the man’s children, recoil in fear at the violence transpiring before them. It is known that Roman laws entailed extremely brutal and cruel punishments, especially toward non-Roman citizens who were derogatorily labeled as “barbarians”. Public executions were a form of spectacle and entertainment, and it was common for prisoners to be forced to battle one another in a fight to the death or to stave off attacks by wild animals; it is now confirmed that lions were included as part of the executions in Britain. New research on this key handle paints a bleak picture of the inhumane treatment that befell prisoners in Britain under the jurisdiction of the Roman legal code.?

June 2021: Sydney Gardens, Bath, Somerset, England

Ancient Roman sarcophagus after its retrieval.

Bath is among a number of cities in the United Kingdom to retain much of its Ancient Roman heritage, to which it is famed for its remarkably well-preserved Roman era baths. A recent excavation and restoration project at the Sydney Gardens public space led to the retrieval of a limestone sarcophagus. With two skeletons contained inside, the contents of this object offer a valuable view into the religious, ceremonial, and burial customs practiced in this part of Roman Britain. A pot and tiny blue and red beads were included in the coffin, which may imply this sarcophagus served as a votive offering to a particular deity.

Nearby, a cremation burial was also discovered and demonstrates that there was more than one type of burial tradition in Ancient Bath.?

July 2021: Three Bridges Mill, Buckinghamshire, England

Ancient Roman wooden sculpture, c. 1st Century AD.

As construction was underway for the HS2 high-speed rail link in the Southeast of England, archaeologists from Infra Archaeology stumbled upon an abnormally pleasing discovery. A long, slender, dark gray piece of wood was extracted from a water-logged ditch. However, it soon became apparent that this was no rotted wooden fragment, but a surviving example of an Ancient Roman wooden sculpture. It is rare to find wooden artworks and artifacts from the Ancient world due to the perishability of this material. While it is not yet certain if the figure is supposed to represent a human or an anthropomorphic subject, it is theorized that the object dates from the Early Roman period as the remains of pottery shards from the same site were dated to be from c. 43 - 70 AD.?

September 2021: Rutland, East Midlands, England

Roman floor mosaic.

The site of an Ancient villa complex from the latter period of Rome’s British conquest was found under a family farm in August 2020. As excavations proceeded into 2021, a magnificent floor mosaic was carefully unveiled. The intactness of the tesserae, the tiny glass fragments that comprise a mosaic, reveal that this design featured a noteworthy scene from Homer’s The Iliad, the battle between the Greek hero Achilles and the Trojan prince Hector. Likely a decorative element of the triclinium (dining area), it would make sense for this mosaic to be prominently displayed in the central entertainment space as this was where guests would be intrigued and dazzled by the exquisite decor and designs of the host’s dwelling. Additionally, the choice of an image from Classical Greek literature meant to reinforce the host’s erudite character and worldliness.?

September 2021: Rossett, Wrexham, Wales

Archaeological dig site at Rossett near Wrexham, Wales.

On the site of a farm near Wrexham, the first structurally-identified Roman villa in Northeastern Wales was successfully excavated. Although work on the site remains in progress, there is ample evidence that the large corridors and rooms of this home signify this was not an ordinary Roman country villa, but one that was built to accommodate an extended, multigenerational family. There are suggestions that this may have been the property of a former Roman soldier, as it was customary for military men to receive a plot of land to settle upon once they reached retirement. Geographical scans indicate there are other adjoining and nearby buildings that have yet to be unearthed, and more work is presently underway to discern if a former Roman road linked this villa to Chester.?

October 2021: Stoke Mandeville, Vale of Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England

Partial restoration of the female sculpture undertaken by an archaeologist.

Stoke Mandeville is already a known historic site as it was most recently occupied by a Norman era church built in 1080. However, the church fell into disuse and was subsequently abandoned in 1880. Its state of decay from lack of architectural preservation and the excessive growth of vegetation led to its demolition in 1966 after it was considered structurally unsound. Similar to the discovery at Three Bridges Mill earlier in the year, recent excavations were carried out as part of the major HS2 construction project. Beneath the debris, undergrowth, and sediments, three Roman sculptures and a hexagonal glass jug were obtained. Described as an “astounding” find, three heads and two torsos that represented a man, woman, and child were pulled from the site. Despite sustaining partial surface damages, there is visual clarity that these sculptures were of the Classical style. An emphasis on naturalism can be found in the careful handling of the drapery along the torsos which conforms with the position of the body. Additionally, the head sizes are proportionate with respect to their anatomically accurate facial features. Even more noticeably, the woman’s perfectly rounded curly hair suggests she may have belonged to the upper class as it was common for women of her social standing to fashion ostentatious hairstyles with calamistrum (curling irons).?

Alongside the three sculptures, a hexagonal glass jug was also retrieved. This particular find is practically an archaeological miracle as it is a wonder an item produced from a fragile material could remain preserved underground for nearly 2000 years. With the exception of a similar glass container in The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collections, there is no other known Roman hexagonal glass jug in the world.?

As archaeological technology and research methods continue to evolve and become more refined, the quality and quantity of archaeological findings become evermore impressive. In the span of a little less than a year, discoveries and excavations across the United Kingdom have revealed a wealth of new and expanded knowledge on multiple avenues of Roman British life: diversity of architectural designs, mixed burial and religious customs, elaborately conceived home decor, etc. While there will never likely be a complete portrait of how Roman Britain may have appeared, collaborations between museums & universities, historic societies, and governmental organizations can yield productive initiatives to ensure the preservation, documentation, and dissemination of an enlarged history of Ancient Britain.