Comment: Digging for Ravenglass

Some of the diggers from the Romans in Ravenglass project will be doing investigations in and around the town 12th - 16th September.  Find out more on the Digging for Ravenglass blog.

Comment: New pylons may be set for Ravenglass

"John Ruskin described it as the “gateway to paradise” where the mountains literally tumble into the sea and the land bears the remnants of the final frontiers of the Roman empire. But the tranquil, isolated charm of the tiny fishing village of Ravenglass – on the west coast of the Lake District national park – is under threat ..."
 
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/apr/22/lake-district-villagers-ravenglass-fume-plans-electricity-pylons

Comment: Romans in Ravenglass in the news again!

The Romans in Ravenglass project appeared in the North West Evening Mail on March 10th 2016:
 
http://www.nwemail.co.uk/Community-project-tells-story-of-Romans-of-Ravenglass-5e620f55-87fb-4d2e-874a-548307f5fedc-ds

Report: The Roman in Ravenglass Project Report 2013-2015

The Romans in Ravenglass final project report is now available to download from ArcHeritage

It includes a full analysis of the all the trenches excavated, plus the geophysics and finds reports. Beware, the document is large (142 MB), so may take some time to download!

Congratulations! Romans in Ravenglass archaeologist wins award ...

Jon supervises young archaeologists in Trench 4

Dr Jon Kenny, who taught school children out in Ravenglass Trench 4 in 2014, has won the Council for British Archaeology Marsh Community Archaeologist of the Year award!

 

Well known for helping Yorkshire community archaeology groups, Jon is a deserving winner of this prize. We're proud that he helped us out at Ravenglass too. Congratulations Jon!

Hadrian's Wall Archaeology Forum 2015

"Hadrian's wall at Greenhead Lough" by Velella -Licensed under Public Domain

Thank you to David Brear who has pointed out that this year's Hadrian's Wall Archaeology Forum is on 28th November: http://www.queenshall.co.uk/events/hadrian%E2%80%99s-wall-archaeology-forum-2015

A further search gave these details:

This will bring us up to date with excavations on the Wall 2015.  The Hadrian’s Wall Archaeology Forum is an annual day-conference featuring talks for the general public about new discoveries in the Hadrian’s Wall frontier zone including the Cumbrian coast. This year’s programme features talks on excavation projects at Maryport (Steve Rowland and Tony Wilmott), Vindolanda (Andrew Birley) and Wallsend (Nick Hodgson) as well as that at Binchester (David Mason) which has revealed arguably the best-preserved Roman building in the whole of Britain. There will also be a range of publications on sale at reduced prices. Price = £12.00 (includes tea/coffee mid-morning and mid-afternoon). 

No representation from Romans in Ravenglass this year, but the nearby fort of Maryport has a lecture.

Comment: How to see the Romans in Ravenglass!

(Photo by Rowan May)

Now that the project is nearly complete, there are several new Roman attractions visitors can see in Ravenglass ...

There is a new interpretation board next to the Roman Baths, in addition to those installed by English Heritage:

And there is a display in the Pennington Hotel, which means the display free to all, and open when the hotel is:

In addition, at the Ravenglass & Eskdale Steam Railway (aka La'al Ratty) there will also be a small selection of the Roman finds collected by local people over the years.

Appearing not just in Ravenglass, the dig report is currently receiving final touches and will be available to download soon.

Conference: Lake District Annual Archaeology Conference (with Romans in Ravenglass)

Date: Sunday 11 October 2015
Location: The Theatre by the Lake, Keswick
Cost: £13.50 (with tea and coffee), £19.75 (with tea, coffee and lunch)

This year the conference will provide an opportunity to learn about recent projects carried out in partnership with local communities and volunteers both within and closely adjacent to the National Park. Many of these have been supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Romans in Ravenglass Site Director Kurt will be speaking at 3.15pm.


For further details see: http://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/learning/archaeologyhistory/archaeologyconference

For booking form see:  http://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/613779/Conference-Flyer-2015.pdf

Amendment to the event: Romans in Ravenglass: end of season lecture, 18th July

Please note, there will now only be 1 end of season lecture. This will run in the morning between 10am and 12pm only.

Event: Romans in Ravenglass: end of season lecture, 18th July

 6th September 2013 - it rained a bit ;)

On Saturday 18 July, see what was discovered and hear more about the results from the 2013 and 2014 excavation of the civilian settlement at Ravenglass, from site director Kurt Hunter-Mann. Come along to either a morning or afternoon session. Lecture held at the Pennington Hotel, Main St, Ravenglass.

Places for this event will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. The same event will run in the morning and afternoon. When making a booking, please state which session you are attending. Please e-mail: archvol@lakedistrict.gov.uk to book a place.

Further details from the Festival of Archaeology 2015 website.


Also, if you took photos of the dig, please send your favourites to sgn1@fsmail.net and we'll feature some of them on the blog. There may be a small (and appropriate) prize for what the dig team judge to be their favourite ...!

Course: Free & online, Hadrian's Wall: Life on the Roman Frontier

Explore the archaeology of the most heavily fortified frontier in the Roman Empire, its people and their lives.

Hadrian’s Wall stretches over 73 miles (117 km), from coast to coast in what is now Northern England. The Wall, complemented by a sophisticated system of outposts and coastal watch stations, offers a remarkable glimpse of ancient society. In addition to housing one of the largest concentrations of Roman soldiers anywhere in the Empire’s provinces, Hadrian’s frontier system was home to an incredibly cosmopolitan array of civilians.

This six week course offers a comprehensive introduction to Hadrian’s Wall and its people and raises fascinating issues concerning colonisation, cultural transformation, immigration, integration and imperialism. 

A great chance to explore the background to the context of Roman Ravenglass. This free, online course ran last year to much praise from those who signed up. Starts June 15th.  Check it out here.

Report: Focus on the finds - the pottery

A few pottery highlights from the finds tray!  Dr Paul Bidwell has assessed the ceramics, and most of the Roman pottery is 2nd-3rd century in date.

SAMIAN
Though the Samian was generally in rather a poor condition due to the soil conditions on site, we still had a fair amount of interesting sherds.

Fig. 1 Mars?

This fragment of Samian might depict Mars, as the figure appears to be holding a spear.  If it is Mars, it's a great partner to our Venus from last season!  The piece is from a Dragondorff 37 bowl

Figure 2 - Dancing girl?

This sherd may show a dancing girl, or could be a particular goddess. The piece is from a Dragondorff 37 bowl

 

 Fig. 3 Plain cup

This is a sherd of Samian from a plain cup, Dragondorff form 33.  It would have been used for drinking wine!

Fig. 4 Samian decoration

The Dragondorff 37 form has a bead rim, which means it's small and and rounded.  These joining sherds are a little burnt, but show the decoration often found at the top of Dragondorff 37 bowl.  The fancy decoration is called ovolo, or egg and tongue moulding.

Fig 5. Roman ink well

These Samian inkwell sherds were found on the beach. It has an inner lip to prevent spillage and is possibly Samian form Ritterling 13, similar to this.

OTHER POTTERY

Fig. 6 Head pot sherds

These strange looking sherds are fragments of head pots, decorated with bosses and a straited cordon.  They have parallels in York and generally the north-east.

Fig. 7 Pot lids? - two ceramic (top left & bottom right, and two stone (top right & bottom left)

These circular pieces are often identified at pot lids, gaming counters or may be some sort of weights.  Also, recently, there was another theory - that they were Roman toilet 'paper.'   Not totally convincing, especially due to the rather hard nature of the pot and stone!  This clutch all came from the same context - it remains to be seen if they were near a latrine ...

Fig. 8 Moselkeramik beaker

These joining sherds are from a Moselkeramik indented beaker.  The slip is dark, almost metallic.  These pots come from the Trier area, Germania.

Of course we had lots more pottery which will be reported on in due course

Course: Hadrian's Wall - Life on the Frontier

Free online course from Newcastle University starting 15th June!

From the website: "This six week course offers a comprehensive introduction to Hadrian’s Wall and its people and raises fascinating issues concerning colonisation, cultural transformation, immigration, integration and imperialism. We will explore life in the region before the construction of the Wall, the arrival of the Roman army and its impact on the local population. Detailed case studies will consider the different features of the Wall and its surroundings, considering the way in which the frontier system evolved throughout the Roman period. The changing face of both the Roman army and indigenous populations is richly illuminated through archaeological finds and reconstructions. To appreciate the range and character of native people, soldiers’ families, slaves, merchants and migrants, we will examine their homes, dress, diet, rituals and religious beliefs.

Drawing on the very latest research, we will investigate how archaeologists interpret evidence, considering:

• the factors that determine the survival of evidence
• the different methods of archaeological prospection used to detect settlement locations and better understand their organisation
• the planning of archaeological projects
• excavation techniques
• and the detailed study of structures and artefacts.

As part of the course you can test your understanding of these methods with real case studies and participate in a series of archaeological experiments designed to help you appreciate the complexities of daily life on Rome’s most famous frontier."

Conference: Roman Castleshaw Archaeology Day, 21st March 2015

Ravenglass Dig Director Kurt will be speaking about the Ravenglass excavations at this conference in Uppermill, Saddleworth, near Oldham. Kurt has a previous connection with Castleshaw as he was a supervisor on the Manpower Services Commission sponsored excavations there in the 1980s. He's looking forward to seeing some familiar faces.

Also on the programme are a number of other Cumbrian Roman digs:

For details on how to book click here.

Comment: Romans in Ravenglass videos now live

The results of 2014 archaeological excavation are now available to watch here.  (Scroll down to short video about last season). The video goes into some detail about some of the finds discovered over the two seasons of the project.

Find out what happened in 2013 watching our archaeology experts and volunteers give their insights in these Season 1 videos.

Io Saturnalia!

From one set of Roman Baths (in York) to another set in Ravenglass! Season's Greetings! In 2015, there'll be a number of blogs concerning the finds from last season, as well as the overall results.  Also, if you have any photos from the dig, sort out the best and await further instructions ...

Io Saturnalia, from Kurt, Sandra and the rest of VIth legion of Eboracum.

Conference: Hadrian's Wall Archaeology Forum 22nd November, full programme details!

HADRIAN’S WALL ARCHAEOLOGY FORUM

The Queen’s Hall, Hexham

Saturday 22nd November 2014 9:45 am – 4:30pm

Programme

Morning Session

9.30 - 9.45 Delegates arrive.

9.45 - 9.50 Introduction and Welcome

Dr David Mason,

9.50 - 10.35 The discovery of the Roman baths at Wallsend and other results

from the WallQuest community archaeology project.

Dr Nick Hodgson, Tyne & Wear Archaeology.

10.40 – 11.25 Vindolanda: An update on the Frontiers in Transition Project

Dr Andrew Birley, Vindolanda Trust.

11.30 – 11.50 Refreshments

11.50 – 12.40 Binchester Excavations, Season 6, 2014.

Dr David Mason, Principal Archaeologist, Durham County Council

12.40 - 2.00 Lunch. (Own arrangements. Plenty of cafes nearby).

2.00 - 2.45 The Maryport Roman Settlement Project

Steve Rowland, Oxford Archaeology North.

2.45 – 3.30 Romans in Ravenglass

Kurt Hunter-Mann, York Archaeological Trust

3.30 – 3.50 Refreshments

3.50 – 4.20 Recent Excavation at Survey at Greta Bridge

Dr David Mason

Chairman’s concluding remarks and close of meeting.

Details of how to book are on the previous blog.

Conference: Hadrian’s Wall Archaeology Forum, 22nd November 2014

 "Hadrianswall2007" by Michael Hanselmann - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons 

Director Kurt will be talking about Ravenglass at the Hadrian’s Wall Archaeology Forum on 22nd November in Hexham.  Also included are lectures about: Vindolanda, Maryport, Papcastle, Wallsend and Binchester. For details of how to book follow this link.

Edit November 2015: If you are looking for information about the Hadrian's Wall Forum meeting 2015 click here

Vindolanda, Maryport, Papcastle, Ravenglass, Wallsend and Binchester - See more at: http://www.queenshall.co.uk/whats-on/seasons-diary/948#sthash.GMyG1DV9.dpuf

Vindolanda, Maryport, Papcastle, Ravenglass, Wallsend and Binchester - See more at: http://www.queenshall.co.uk/whats-on/seasons-diary/948#sthash.GMyG1DV9.dpuf

Vindolanda, Maryport, Papcastle, Ravenglass, Wallsend and Binchester - See more at: http://www.queenshall.co.uk/whats-on/seasons-diary/948#sthash.GMyG1DV9.dpuf

Hadrian’s Wall Archaeology Forum

Broadcast: Wonderwall - Site Director talks to BBC Radio York about Ravenglass

On 4th November, around lunchtime, Director Kurt went to talk to BBC Radio York about the Ravenglass dig. On a monthly basis, broadcaster Elly Fiorentini invites a local archaeologist in to talk about what they're digging. Usually it's about a York site, which made Ravenglass up in Cumbria  positively exotic!  So that York actually gets a look in, you'll hear Elly mention one of Kurt's more notorious previous sites, Dalton Terrace - the one with the headless Romans.

To hear the programme, follow this link, then use the slider to go to 02.39 into the three hour recording. It can be a fiddle, but if you hear Wonderwall by Oasis, you'll be very close - presumably Elly chose that song as a veiled reference to Hadrian's Wall!

The interview was actually broadcast at around 6.35pm, so the interview was edited.  However, generally, Kurt was pleased with what they chose to broadcast.

Please note: the programme will only be up for a week (in fact six days by the time this blog was posted), so you'll need to listen very soon.

Report: Focus on the Finds Hut

Whilst the diggers worked hard excavating trenches, the finds team grappled with the mass outbreak of slag this season, as well as the other various categories of finds.  The slag all needed to be dried out, weighed and bagged up.  Leo was instrumental in getting this done:

Leo weighs lots and lots of slag ...

Meanwhile, Rosalie and Janice worked on sorting out the trays (and sometimes buckets!) from the previous day.

 Janice and Rosalie sorting the slag before its laid out to dry

In between all that, they would supervise the washing of the bulk finds.

Rosalie and finds washers sheltering from the sun!

 
When they'd finished the initial sorting, they moved onto small finding items.  This involved giving small finded items a unique number and taking appropriate measurements. The finds would then need to be packaged and stored.

The Small Finds book

This year, due to the pottery actually drying, we even did a little bit of pottery marking!  This involves painting the pottery sherds with a line of Paraloid B-72, which is a clear acrylic resin. When it's dry, we can then mark the pottery with its context number in permanent ink. When that's dry, we then paint another layer of Paraloid B-72 over it. 

Janice marking the pottery - small, clear and neat handwriting is mandatory for marking!

When the finds are fully processed they can then be boxed up ready for removal from site. We stopped washing finds on the last Saturday, so we could concentrate on bagging up as much as possible.

On the last couple of days, whilst the trenches were being backfilled, Brian K finished up the packing of the finds and the finds hut due to the absence of Finds Officer - she is very grateful for him being able to step in and take charge at the very last moment.

The finds are now resident in York for the moment waiting for the processing to be fully completed and then they'll be dispersed to the various specialists.  The clear boxes are for small finds, and the other white tubs are normally (for Ravenglass at least) the slag.

The Ravenglass small finds - and some slag

More finds boxes awaiting their fate, along with some ... more slag!

My next blog will focus on some of the finds highlights from this year's season.


Sandra Garside-Neville, Finds Officer, Romans in Ravenglass