Encyclopedia of Prehistory, Volume 4, Europe
.pdffive inhumations at Heilingenhof in Holstein of the Later Roman Iron Age (Todd 1987). Examples of cemeteries in the Holstein-Elbe regions include Preetz, Hamfelde, and Hornbek (Todd 1987). The pair of wooden idols found at Braak in Holstein, with carefully delineated sexual features, perhaps indicates the existence of a fertility cult (Todd 1992). Human ritual victims are known from Osterby, Datgen, and Windeby, all in Schleswig (Todd 1992).
References
Hedeager, Lotte (1979). "Processes towards State Formation in Early Iron Age Denmark." In New Directions in Scandinavian Archaeology, ed. K. Kristiansen and C. Paludan-Miiller. Copenhagen: National Museum of Denmark, 217-223.
Hedeager, Lotte (1987). "Empire, Frontier and the Barbarian Hinterland: Rome and Northern Europe from AD 1-400." In Centre and Periphery in the Ancient World, ed. M. Rowlands, M. Larsen, and K. Kristiansen. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 125-140.
Hvass, Steen (1989). "Rural Settlements in Denmark in the First Millenium A.D." In The Birth of Europe: Archaeology and Social Development in the First Millenium A.D., ed. K. Randsborg. Rome: L'Erma di Bretschneider, 91-99.
Jensen, J0rgen (1982). The Prehistory of Denmark. London: Methuen. Lamb, Hubert (1981). "Climate from 1000 BC to 1000 AD" In The Environment of Man: The Iron Age to the Anglo-Saxon Period, ed. M. Jones and G. Dimbleby. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports
(British Series), 87, 53-65.
Randsborg, Klaus (1985). "Subsistence and Settlement in Northern Temperate Europe in the First Millennium A.D." In Beyond Domestication in Prehistoric Europe: Investigations in Subsistence Archaeology and Social Complexity, ed. G. Barker and C. Gamble. London: Academic Press, 233-265.
Todd, Malcolm (1987). The Northern Barbarians 100 BC-AD 300.
Oxford: Blackwell.
Todd, Malcolm (1992). The Early Germans. Oxford: Blackwell.
van Es, W. A. (1968). "Paddepoel, Excavations of Frustrated Terps,
200 Bc-250 AD." Palaeohistoria 14: 187-352.
Van Giffen, Albert (1936). "Der Warfin Ezinge, Provinz Groningen, Holland, und seine westgermanischen Hauser." Germania 20: 40-47.
Van Giffen, Albert (1958). "Prahistorische Hausformen auf Sandboden in den Niederlanden." Germania 36: 35-71.
Western Denmark
TIME PERIOD: 2033-1500 B.P.
LOCATION: Jutland and Funen.
DIAGNOSTIC MATERIAL ATTRIBUTES: The pottery of Funen
and South Jutland is characterized by horizontal furrow ornament, whereas that of North Jutland tends toward oblique patterns and pattern bands. The pottery is
Roman Iron Age 271
handmade, and large cups and jars with handles on the shoulder are typical (Liversage 1980). Houses are of wood with wattle-and-daub framing and include rectangular three-aisled longhouses (usually with a byre) and other smaller houses. Burial rites include both cremations (with or without urns) and furnished inhumation.
CULTURAL SUMMARY
Environment
The Roman Iron Age was characterized by a fairly warm, dry climate (culminating in major marine transgressions), but the period around 1550 B.P. saw a sudden shift to wetter summers and colder winters (Lamb 1981). Southwest Jutland has the gently rounded hill-islands of an old moraine landscape, whereas North and East Jutland and Funen have more dramatic relief with tunnel valleys, lakes, and hilly areas. There is a belt of sand dunes along the west coast of Jutland with a belt of marshland behind (Todd 1987). All these landscapes were largely deforested by the Roman Iron Age, and extensive meadowlands formed (Jensen 1982). Settlements in the south were located for access to such meadowland (Jensen 1982); those in the north were predominantly sited to exploit arable land (Hvass 1988a,b).
Settlements
The Roman Iron Age saw settlement spread onto the lighter soils, and also onto the heavy moraine lands in parts (Jensen 1982), and in Western Denmark this period is characterized by a variety of settlement forms: from groupings of just two or three farmsteads as at Vorbasse and Jelling in the Early Roman Iron Age to very large settlements such as Hodde (Hvass 1988a,b, 1989). This is seen both in the south and north, for example, in the village mounds of Thy (Hvass 1988a,b). In most areas, buildings were of wood, with wattle-and- daub or mud walls, although in Northwest Jutland, houses were built to the same plan, but with turf walls. Buildings were typically three-aisled longhouses, generally west-east oriented, with the byre to the east, although there are exceptions. Entrances were usually in the middle of the long sides. Longhouses were often accompanied in the farmstead by smaller buildings. These were at first built to the same principles as the longhouses, but from 1750 B.P. granaries are also found (Hvass 1988a,b). Farmsteads were sometimes arranged
272 Roman Iron Age
in rows, as at Vorbasse and Overbygiird (Lund 1976)-the latter also has remnants of a road with wheel tracks (Hvass 1988a,b). A defended settlement is also known from Priors10kke, East Jutland (Kaul 1989). At Heltborg, the groups of houses do not appear to have functioned as independent economic units (Beck 1985).
There seems to have been a gradual relocation of settlement between c. 1850-1750 B.P., which can be seen at Vorbasse and N0rre Snede, among other sites (Hvass 1989). There is some evidence that the form of settlement changed as well, with the separate farmstead becoming the norm from c. 1900 B.P. and with increasingly large conglomerations of such farmsteads. There is also evidence that this was accompanied by a reorganization of the production system, with the adoption of the infield-outfield system with its increased productivity (Hedeager 1992; Hvass 1993). This change also seems to be accompanied by a change in house construction: The longhouses became longer and were divided into more rooms, suggestive of different functions. Lengths increased to between 20-48 m, and the houses were divided up to six rooms, the byre being able to house between 15 and 30 animals (Hvass 1989).
The occupation area around Gudme/Lundeborg (Nielsen et al. 1994), in use from c. 1750 B.P., indicates the development of a very different settlement type. Lundeborg appears to have been a very early trading site. There are no remains of settlements, but a dense occupation layer runs for 800 m along the shoreline and contains items such as glass beads and sherds of terra sigillata. There are also imported Roman bronzes in one of the associated cemeteries, M011egiirdsmarken (Albrectsen 1971), and finds around Gudme farther inland, including settlement remains, hoard finds, and cemeteries, indicate some sort of ritual center (Nielsen et al. 1994; Thomsen 1991).
Economy
Analyses of animal bone assemblages indicate that cattle were most important, followed by sheep/goat, pigs, and horses in this period (Randsborg 1985). In addition, botanical evidence suggests that barley and oats were important crops throughout (Randsborg 1985). There is evidence for manuring from c. 1850 B.P., which indicates the inception of more intensive agriculture (Ringtved 1986). At certain sites, however, a different picture is seen. At N0rre Fjand, for example, fjord fishing and sheep breeding appear to have been the main agricultural activities (Hatt 1957; Jensen 1982). The Later Roman Iron Age saw a new and more effective method of iron extraction using shaft
furnaces for smelting (with nearly 200 of these known from the site of Drengsted in West Jutland [Jensen 1982; Voss 1976]), along with the introduction of rotary querns (more efficient than previous rubbing-stone querns) and new types of looms (Hvass 1988a,b, 1989). These developments, along with changes in farmstead and house structures, suggest the increasing importance of craft activities and possibly better living conditions (Hvass 1988a,b).
Sociopolitical Organization
The Later Roman Iron Age in western Denmark is characterized by the frequent presence of Roman imports-Funen appears to have large concentrations of them in this period, and this may be linked to the role of Gudme/Lundeborg (and also possibly to increasing social divisions arising from control over these resources). In the early phase, Hodde and Jelling are two of the few settlements with signs of differentiation between farmsteads (Hvass 1988b), although this becomes more common as the period progresses, and the emergence of dominant family groups is suggested. The weapon deposits found in the bogs, such as at Illerup, Esbj01, and Nydam, reflect the size of army units; the specialized and uniform weaponry indicates a social organization with some form of central leadership and probably authority over considerable areas (0rsnes and Ilkjrer 1993). Such ideas are supported by the incidence of defensive works, such as Olderdiget in South Jutland, dating to between c. 1800-1400 B.P., which consists of three parallel palisades of oak posts, plus a ditch and bank in some places, and which stretches over 12 km, interspersed with bog areas. The Bank, South Jutland, is similarly a Late Roman Iron Age ditch and bank with palisade, dated by dendrochronology to 1672 B.P., running east-west between Abenra and Haderslev for approximately 4 km (Rieck et al. 1993). Such sites again support the emergence of central authorities.
Religion and Expressive Culture
Little is known about the structures associated with religious practices, although Trrelbanken in South Jutland, an Early Roman Iron Age ring bank, has been interpreted as a ritual site with no real defensive function (Rieck et al. 1993). A continuing practice from the Pre-Roman Iron Age was the deposition of pottery vessels with associated animal sacrifices at small votive sites, typically marshes, pools, or springs. The weapon deposits, which peak in the Later Roman Iron Age (Ringtved 1986), may have been an adaptation of this
practice (both types of deposit are seen at Thorsbjerg, for example [Todd 1987]). Such votive deposits of war equipment were made on the same sites for generations, although these were generally abandoned c. 1500 B.P. (0rsnes and Ilkjrer 1993). Other types of goods were deposited with burials. On Funen, cremation was initially common, but inhumation was introduced at the beginning of the Roman Iron Age, with cemeteries becoming mixed. In Jutland, the introduction of inhumation eventually led to the abandonment of cremation (Liversage 1980). Inhumation graves tended to have stone chambers in North Jutland, whereas they were mainly found with wooden linings in the south. In North Jutland, goods consist mainly oflarge numbers of pottery vessels (Liversage 1980); in the southern areas, items such as personal dress accessories and adornments and pieces of Roman table ware are common (Hedeager 1992). After c. 1650 B.P., graves become poorer, suggesting a switch of wealth away from this mode of deposition (Randsborg 1988).
References
Albrectsen, E (1971). Fynske jernaldergrave: Gravpladsen pd Mfillegdrdsmarken ved Broholm. Odense: Fynske Studier, IX.
Beck, J.-H. (1985). "The Iron Age Village Mound at Heltborg, Thy." lournal of Danish Archaeology 4: 129-146.
Hatt, Gudmund (1935). lernalderbopladsen ved Ginderup i Thy.
Copenhagen: Fra Nationalmuseets Arbejdsmark.
Hatt, Gudmund (1957). Nflrre Fjand: An Early Iron-Age Village Site in West lutland. Copenhagen: Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, Arkreologisk-kunsthistorisk skrifter, II: 2.
Hedeager, Lotte (1992). Iron Age Societies: From Tribe to State in Northern Europe 500 BC to AD 700. Oxford: Blackwell.
Hvass, Steen (1988a). "The Status of the Iron Age Settlement in Denmark." In Archeologie en landschap, ed. M. Bierma, O. H. Hausema and W. van Zeist. Groningen: Biologisch-Archaeologisch Instituut, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, 97-132.
Hvass, Steen (I 988b). "Jernalderens Bebyggelse." In lernalderens Stammesfund-Fra Stamme til Stat i Danmark, ed. P. Mortensen and B. Rasmussen. Aarhus: Jysk Arkaeologisk Selskabs Skrifter, XXII, 53-92.
Hvass, Steen (1989). "Rural Settlements in Denmark in the First Millenium A.D." In The Birth of Europe: Archaeology and Social Development in the First Millenium A.D., ed. K. Randsborg. Rome: L'Erma di Bretschneider, 91-99.
Hvass, Steen (1993). "Settlement." In Digging into the Past: 25 Years of Archaeology in Denmark, ed. S. Hvass and B. Storgaard. Copenhagen: Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries, 187-194.
Jensen, J0rgen (1982). The Prehistory of Denmark. London: Methuen. Kaul, Fleming (1989). "PriorsI0kke: A Fortified Early First Millennium A.D. Village in Eastern Jutland, Denmark." In The Birth of Europe: Archaeology and Social Development in the First Millenium
A.D., ed. K. Randsborg. Rome: L'Erma di Bretschneider, 87-90. Lamb, Hubert (1981). "Climate from 1000 Be to 1000 AD." The
Environment of Man: The Iron Age to the Anglo-Saxon Period, ed.
Roman Iron Age 273
M. Jones and G. Dimbleby. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports (British Series), 87, 53-65.
Liversage, David (1980). Material and Interpretation: The Archaeology of Sjalland in the Early Roman Iron Age. Copenhagen: National Museum of Denmark.
Lund, J (1976). "Overbygard-En jernalderlandsby med nedgravede huse." Kuml: 129-150.
Nielsen, Per, Klaus Randsborg, and Henrik, Thrane, eds. (1994). The Archaeology of Gudme and Lundeborg. Copenhagen: Akademisk
Forlag.
0rsnes, M., and J. Ilkjrer (1993). "Votive Deposits." In Digging into the Past: 25 Years of Archaeology in Denmark, ed. S. Hvass and B. Storgaard. Copenhagen: Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries, 215-222.
Randsborg, Klaus (1985). "Subsistence and Settlement in Northern Temperate Europe in the First Millennium A.D." In Beyond Domestication in Prehistoric Europe: Investigations in Subsistence Archaeology and Social Complexity, G. Barker and C. Gamble. London: Academic Press, 233-265.
Randsborg, Klaus (1985). "Byen, Magten og Jorden-Europa og Danmark i det f0rste artusind." In lernalderens Stammesfund-Fra Stamme til Stat i Danmark, ed. P. Mortensen and B. Rasmussen. Aarhus: Jysk Arkaeologisk Selskabs Skrifter, XXII, 9-19.
Rieck, F, S. W. Andersen, and Else Roesdahl (1993). "Territorial Defence." In Digging into the Past: 25 Years of Archaeology in Denmark, ed. S. Hvass and B. Storgaard. Copenhagen: Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries, 210-214.
Ringtved, Jytte (1986). "Jyske gravfund fra yngre romertid og reldre germanertid-Tendenser i samfundsudviklingen." Kuml: 95-231.
Todd, Malcolm (1987). The Northern Barbarians 100 BC-AD 300.
Oxford: Blackwell.
Voss, O. (1976). "Drengsted: Et bopladsomrade fra 5. arh. e. Kr. f. ved S0nderjyllands vestkyst." Iskos 1.
SITES
Dankirke
TIME PERIOD: 2050--1200 B.P.
LOCATION: Approximately 7 km southwest of Ribe in Southwest Jutland, Denmark.
DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY
Local Environment
Dankirke is situated on a long, low prominence, to the north of a low-lying meadow, and sloping toward it. Marshland adjoins the meadowland to the west (Jensen
1991).
Physical Features
A small settlement, consisting at anyone time of a limited number of wooden three-aisled longhouses with
274Roman Iron Age
associated features such as wells and thick occupation deposits. The initial phases (c. 2050-1750 B.P.) seem representative of other contemporary settlements, with large quantities of pottery and evidence of blacksmithing. In the later phase, however (c. 1750-1400 B.P.), the site is distinguished by its many and varied finds (Hansen 1989).
Cultural Aspects
The finds from the Later Roman Iron Age phase of Dankirke include a possible hoard of Roman denarii, gold, silver, and bronze ornaments, glass beads, gold bullion, lead weights, and remains of glass vessels (the last of these in a house that had been destroyed by fire; the vessels have been interpreted as the remains of a stock of trade goods) (Hansen 1989; Jensen 1982). There is also evidence for bronze casting (Hansen 1989). The site is suggested to have had a central function from the Late Roman Iron Age (owing to the discovery of fragments of a cart with bronze mountings from that period) and in the later period is seen as a trading post linked to a village nearby (Hansen 1991; Jensen 1991), possibly having its wealth underlain by cattle raising or trading or perhaps salt manufacture (Hansen 1991) or other crafts (Hansen 1989). There is a local legend that this is the site of the first church in Denmark, and the site name may indicate a (not necessarily Christian) religious connection (Hansen 1991).
References
Hansen, Henrik J. (1989). "Dankirke: Affluence in Late Iron Age Denmark." In The Birth of Europe: Archaeology and Social Development in the First Millennium A.D., ed. K. Randsborg. Rome: L'Erma di Bretschneider, 123-128.
Hansen, Henrik J. (1991). "Dankirke-En Myte i Dansk Arkreologi." In Samfundsorganisation og Regional Variation: Norden i Romersk lernalder og Folkvandringstid, ed. C. Fabech and J. Ringtved. Aarhus: Jysk Arkreologisk Selskabs Skrifter, XXVII, 15-23.
Jensen, Jorgen (1982). The Prehistory of Denmark. London: Methuen. Jensen, Stig (1991). "Dankirke-Ribe: Fra Handelsgiird til Handelsplads." In Hovdingesamfund og Kongemagt: Fra Stamme til Stat i
Danmark, 2, ed. P. Mortensen and M. Rasmussen. Aarhus: Jysk Arkreologisk Selskabs Skrifter, XXII: 2, 73-88.
Feddersen Wierde
TIME PERIOD: 2000-1500 B.P.
LOCATION: Near Bremerhaven on the North sea coast of Gennany, on the right bank of the river Weser.
DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY
Local Environment
Feddersen Wierde is located on one of the Wurten, the artificially raised platforms that characterize the marshy coastland stretching from Schleswig-Holstein to the Netherlands. The site was an island at the time of its foundation, and a navigable waterway connected it with the Geest, the higher, drier land of the interior, 3.5 km away. The surrounding land was presumed to be somewhat impoverished because of its high salt content, caused by frequent sea incursions (Parker 1965). The site was eventually abandoned following flooding of the marshland during a period of climatic recession (Randsborg 1985).
Physical Features
Developing out of a small hamlet of farmsteads that each occupied its own mound, Feddersen Wierde grew steadily into a village on a coalesced mound. The site was characterized by a planned arrangement, with buildings and paths radiating from a central open area. The houses were wooden three-aisled longhouses, consisting of a dwelling quarter with hearth and a byre divided into stalls by wattle partitions, with rush-lined drains. Originally, a nine-post structure, probably a granary, lay beside each house, but these were abandoned in later phases of occupation. Each farmstead (longhouse plus granary) was separated from its neighbor by fences or ditches (Haarnagel 1979). Just before 1750 B.P., a large longhouse in a palisade and ditch appeared in the southeast corner of the settlement. Around it lay a concentration of buildings with evidence of craft activities, plus a number of granaries, smaller houses, and a building that was possibly a hall (Todd
1987).
Cultural Aspects
Wheat remains were rare, but barley and oats were common, possibly indicating the importance of horses on the site (Randsborg 1985). In the earlier phases, the extensive byres and the relatively small granaries indicate the role of stock raising, although the later decrease in byre size, and the lack of dung traces from some stalls point toward its lessening importance in the later phases of the site, with craft activities possibly taking over these areas. Such craft activities are represented by the large numbers of unfinished products of leather, antler, wood, and bone (Parker 1965). Specific concentrations of these
craft activities, plus ironand bronze working in the Later Iron Age, were found around the large longhouse and may indicate the existence of specialist-craft workers (Parker 1965; Todd 1987). Numerous Roman imports after c. 1900 B.P. indicate foreign contacts, and the affinity of the native pottery forms to those of the Geest, the Netherlands, and Jutland suggest extensive trading contacts. The existence of dependent laborers or relatives has been postulated on the evidence of smaller longhouses in the enclosure of a larger one in some levels of the settlement (Parker 1965). The size differences between longhouses have similarly been suggested to indicate wealth and/or status differences between families after c. 1850 B.P. (Parker 1965; Todd 1992).
References
Haarnagel, Werner (1979). Die Graubungen Feddersen Wierde 2.
Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner.
Parker, Helen (1965). "Feddersen Wierde and Vallhagar: A Contrast in Settlements." Medieval Archaeology 9: 1-10.
Randsborg, Klaus (1985). "Subsistence and Settlement in Northern Temperate Europe in the First Millennium AD." In Beyond Domestication in Prehistoric Europe, ed. G. Barker and C. Gamble. London: Academic Press, 233-265.
Todd, Malcolm (1987). The Northern Barbarians 100 B.C.-A.D. 300.
Oxford: B1ackwells.
Todd, Malcolm (1992). The Early Germans. Oxford: Blackwells.
Flogeln
TIME PERIOD: 2000--1500 B.P.
LOCATION: Near Bremerhaven, a few kilometers from Feddersen Wierde, between the rivers Elbe and Weser in northern Germany.
DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY
Local Environment
Fl6geln is situated on Geest land (partly sandy, partly loamy Pleistocene deposits) a few kilometers away from the marshlands of the North sea coast. The sandy areas are subdivided into a number of islands by bogs, and the site is located on one of these "inhabited islands," at an altitude of c. 5-10 m above sea level (Hvass 1989; Zimmermann 1976).
Roman Iron Age 275
Physical Features
Fl6geln changed in character over the period of its use. Originally, it consisted of a small number of scattered farms, but c. 1850--1650 B.P. an entire village, made up of enclosed farms, was situated on the edge of the former settlement area. This village contained six farms with individual fences, plus a strong palisade at the northern edge of the settlement. The wooden buildings included three-aisled longhouses, sunken-fea- ture buildings, and a few granaries. There was also probably a communal well in this phase (Hvass 1989; Zimmermann 1976). From c. 1650--1500 B.P., the village shifted further to the north, and the buildings associated with these farmsteads totalled six longhouses, 16 sunkenfeature buildings, a single granary, plus one or two wells. The later longhouses were of greater length than those in the previous phase, being up to 38 m long (compared with lengths of 19.2-23.3 m previously); the sunken-feature buildings accompany the longhouses, and in addition, a number form a sort of industrial quarter (Hvass 1989; Zimmermann 1976). The site has an associated field system covering more than 100 ha (Zimmermann 1976).
Cultural Aspects
The three-aisled longhouses are oriented east-west, generally with the byre (containing on average 8 stalls in the middle phase and up to 16 in the later phase) at the east end (Zimmermann 1976). This lengthening during the later phase is in contrast to developments at Feddersen Wierde, where reliance on stockbreeding seems to decrease (Parker 1965). Settlement appears to cease at Fl6geln c. 1500-1550 B.P., but the settlement at Dalem, about 1.5 km away, may have replaced it (Hvass 1989). Two associated cemeteries are known, one of which was associated with the latest phase of occupation. Focused on a large prehistoric barrow, it was partially excavated and found to contain about 120 graves, urns, and cremation deposits (Zimmermann 1976).
References
Hvass, Steen (1989). "Rural Settlements in Denmark in the First Millenium A.D." In The Birth of Europe: Archaeology and Social Development in the First Millenium A.D., ed. K. Randsborg. Rome: L'Erma di Bretschneider, 91-99.
Parker, Helen (1965). "Feddersen Wierde and Vallhagar: A Contrast in Settlements." Medieval Archaeology 9: 1-10.
Zimmermann, W. Haio (1976). "A Roman Iron Age and Early Migration Period Settlement at F1ogeln, Kr. Wesermiinde, Lower Saxony." In Anglo-Saxon Settlement and Landscape, ed. T. Rowley. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports (British Series), 6, 56-73.
276 Roman Iron Age
Hodde
TIME PERIOD: 2100-1920 B.P.
LOCATION: In Hodde parish, Ribe county, Denmark (Southwest Jutland).
DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY
Local Environment
Hodde lies on the east side of a small hill island, with the river Kybrek to the north and west and Yarde Ato the south, creating a peninsula of land. The village lies just south of an area of windblown sand at c. 23 m above sea level, with access to both arable land and grazing meadows next to the water (Hvass 1985).
Physical Features
Hodde is a village consisting of up to 27 separate farmsteads enclosed in a communal palisade, encompassing an area of approximately 11,000 m2, with each farmstead having its own entrance through it. The palisade was rebuilt three times, yet some openings into individual farmsteads were maintained, suggesting considerable continuity of occupation. The buildings were mainly wooden three-aisled longhouses (9.5-22.5 m in length), the majority of which had byres (housing on average 14-16 cattle), were oriented westnorthwesteastsoutheast, with the byre end to the east and entrances in the long sides. There were also smaller buildings, constructed of four, six, or eight posts (4.5- 8 m in length), a few of which had hearths, and one of which had two hearths and a pit containing iron waste, suggesting its function. All houses presumably had mud- and-wattle walls. The farmsteads were arranged around the interior of the palisade (with their own refuse dumps on the outside), leaving an empty central area that contained a late Neolithic barrow (Hvass 1985).
farmsteads, suggesting a continuing dominant role for it (Hvass 1985). The farmsteads are otherwise argued to be independent production units in a communal village complex (Hvass 1989), although this layout is very unusual in this period in Denmark. At its height, the settlement is suggested to have housed up to 200 people and between 300 and 500 head of cattle (Jensen 1982). The economy of the site was based on agriculture, predominantly cattle, but also sheep/goat and pigs. Some of the farmsteads may have had a sideline activity, such as smithing or the production of pottery, and thus they may have been producing for the village. Some of the longhouses and one of the smaller houses had deposits in them, which are argued to be ritual in nature: either shallow pits filled with charcoal-rich soil or pottery vessels (often high two-handled pitchers or larger storage jars) buried intact, usually in the byre area (Hvass 1985). There was a decline in the number of farmsteads in the latest phase of the site, and it is suggested that the village was finally burnt down and the site cleared (Hvass 1985).
References
Hvass, Steen (1985). Hodde: Et vestjyske landsbysamfund fra a?ldre jernalder. Copenhagen: Akademisk Forlag.
Hvass, Steen (1989). "Rural Settlements in Denmark in the First Millennium A.D." In The Birth of Europe: Archaeology and Social Development in the First Millennium A.D., ed. K. Randsborg. Rome: L'Erma di Bretschneider, 91-99.
Jensen, Jorgen (1982). The Prehistory of Denmark. London: Methuen.
Vorbasse
TIME PERIOD: 2000-900 B.P.
LOCATION: Between Grindsted and Kolding in central Jutland, Denmark.
Cultural Aspects
The first building to be erected was a large longhouse in its own, very strong, fence, and this, with subsequent rebuildings, remained the largest house through all three phases of occupation. This farmstead produced no evidence for production, but the associated pottery finds were of higher quality than in the other
DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY
Local Environment
Vorbasse lies on the edge of a small hill, in between a slightly clayey, fertile area to the south and lower damp meadows to the north (Hvass 1979), providing both arable and grazing areas (Hvass 1989).
Physical Features
Vorbasse was a shifting settlement, which moved around at fairly regular intervals in a limited area of approximately 900 x 700 m. The settlement consisted of between 2 and 20 farmsteads, each being made up of a three-aisled longhouse, with living and byre quarters, plus one or more smaller buildings. The buildings were of wood and changed in size throughout the development of the settlement, from approximately 16 m long in the Early Roman Iron Age up to 48 m (with space for 30 animals) in the Later Roman Iron Age (Hvass 1989). In some phases, there is evidence for planning in the settlement layout, such as the laying out of the site in rows c. 1700 B.P. or the creation of a large open area later. This may be related to the presence of a seemingly dominant farmstead in the later phase (Hvass 1989). Most farmsteads had fences separating them, although there was one example of two farms sharing a compound. Between 1550-1500 B.P., the farmsteads became smaller in area, and the number of stalls in the longhouses decreased, fueling suggestions of an agricultural crisis at this time (Hvass 1989).
Cultural Aspects
The economy at Vorbasse seems to have centered on stock farming, although there were also associated craft activities. The presence of at least one smithy in each phase indicates that the inhabitants were probably selfsufficient for iron, and there may similarly have been stonecutting, with evidence for quem-stone production (Hvass 1989; Jensen 1982). In the final Later Roman Iron Age phase of occupation, each farmstead had its own sunken feature building, presumably acting as a workshop (Jensen 1982). There were two associated cemeteries of the Early Roman Iron Age and three of the Late Roman Iron Age. Of the latter, one contained 16 burials, most of which were furnished with articles such as pottery vessels and dress ornaments and two with weapons, leading the excavator to suggest that this was perhaps the burial place for the large farm in this later period.
References
Hvass, Steen (1979). "The Viking Age Settlement at Vorbasse, Central Jutland." Acta Archaeologia 50: 137-172.
Hvass, Steen (1983). "Vorbasse-The Development of a Settlement through the First Millennium A.D." Journal ofDanish Archaeology 2:
127-136.
Hvass, Steen (1989). "Rural Settlements in Denmark in the First Millennium A.D." In The Birth of Europe: Archaeology and Social
Roman Iron Age 277
Development in the First Millennium A.D. ed. K. Randsborg. Rome: L'Erma di Bretschneider, 91-99.
Jensen, J0rgen (1982). The Prehistory of Denmark. London: Methuen.
Wijster
TIME PERIOD: 1800-1525 B.P.
LOCATION: In central Drenthe, Netherlands, 3 km south of Beilen, near the river Leck.
DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY
Local Environment
Wijster is located on a sandy ridge, with fenland to the west, heathland to the north, and arable land to the south and east. It lies in an area permeated by small rivers, making it probable that at the time of occupation there were also woodland and meadowland close by. The site lies at an altitude of 15-16 m above sea level (van Es 1967).
Physical Features
There were three main phases of occupation at Wijster. Initially, there was a hamlet of individual farmsteads with a small number of outhouses (sheds, sunken-feature buildings, and fouror six-post granaries), which in the middle phase developed into a village of farmsteads (consisting of a wooden longhouse with possibly one or two associated sunken huts and one or two granaries) arranged in one north-south and two east-west rows, possibly with fields between them. In the third phase of occupation, the village was replanned and reached its greatest extent, being carefully laid out in two rows of farmsteads (again consisting of a longhouse plus two or three associated sunken-feature buildings) in a large rectangular palisade, with smaller fenced units arranged along streets to the south, west, and east. This phase was accompanied by the building of many storage pits with wooden or basketwork lining, a number of wooden wells, and a greater number of 12- post granaries. The final years of the third phase saw a decline in the number of granaries and storage pits (van Es 1967).
278 Roman Iron Age
Cultural Aspects
The associated cemetery, to the south of the fen, contained cremations and a few inhumations of the Later Roman Iron Age, associated with post settings indicating ritual structures (possibly corpse platforms). A later (c. 1300-1100 B.P.) furnished inhumation cemetery (with 29 or 30 horse burials) lay farther to the east. In addition, several longhouses had horse or other animal burials as foundation deposits in the middle and later phases (van Es 1967). The site had a varied economy, predominantly based on farming (both animal husbandry indicated by faunal remains and the presence of byres, and arable, with evidence for the cultivation of flax, wheat, and barley), although there were also traces of metalworking (oven pits and slag-filled pits) associated with the middle period (van Es 1967). Although no remains of sheep/goat were found, evidence for spinning
and weaving suggests their presence. Roman imports, in the form of pottery vessels, glass, brooches, and pins, suggest trade or exchange contacts with the Empire (van Es 1967), and it has been suggested that the site was producing food for the lower Rhine areas (Todd 1992).
References
Todd, Malcolm (1992). The Early Germans. Oxford: Blackwell.
van Es, W. A. (1964). "Wijster: A Native Village beyond the Imperial Frontier 150-425 A.D." Palaeohistoria 11: 1-595.
SAM LUCY
Department of Archaeology
University of Durham
Durham
United Kingdom
Romano-British
Proto-Celtic
ABSOLUTE TIME PERIOD: 2100-1500 B.P.
RELATIVE TIME PERIOD: Follows West-Central European Late Iron Age, precedes the historic period.
LOCATION: Britain and adjacent islands.
DIAGNOSTIC MATERIAL ATTRIBUTES: Introduction of Ro-
man artifacts and architecture. Artifacts include Roman coinage (gradual disappearance of coinage of local rulers), terra sigillata pottery, post-Dressel 1 amphorae, Roman-style jewelry; features include rectilinear buildings and fortresses, use of stone and mortar, Romanstyle temples and villas, baths, amphitheaters, paved roads. There is also a type of non-Roman temple architecture that occurs mainly later in the period, with a small squarish stone building, probably two stories, surrounded by portico. Iron age ("La Tene") decoration continues to some extent as does traditional architec- ture-see subtraditions.
REGIONAL SUBTRADITIONS: Indigenous British (Iron Agel
La Tene), Ireland, Scotland.
IMPORTANT SITES: Camulodunum, Londinium, Tara,
Traprain Law.
CULTURAL SUMMARY
Environment
Climate. Tacitus's 1st-century descriptions of the British climate (Agricola xii, c. 1900 B.P.) closely resembles the environment today, with its frequent rain and chill but no extreme cold. Europe at this time was enjoying the "Roman Climatic Optimum", generally warmer and drier than the periods before and after, but it is unclear whether Britain shared this. Archaeologically, architectural and agropastoral remains seem appropriate for modern conditions.
Topography. The island of Britain is traditionally divided into two zones. The "Lowland Zone" stretches across the south and east, with young rocks, low hills, and broad flat areas of gravelly river valley; apart from eroded hills, soil is generally excellent and arable. Its midsection on the east coast (the Fens and East Anglia) is flat and historically waterlogged. The "Highland Zone" consists of barren hills or moors in the southwest, larger craggy hills in Wales and middle England, and high moors in northern England and Scotland. The southern islands as well as the far-north Orkneys and Shetlands resemble lowlands, whereas Ireland and some of the Hebrides are quite hilly. Rivers and creeks are
279
280Romano-British
fairly ubiquitous; lakes are most common in the highland areas.
Geology. Britain's geological foundation is varied, but upper levels are largely clays and sands, overlying partly exposed chalk in the south, and frequently punctuated with uplifts, usually of granite. Resources include gold, silver, lead, iron, copper, tin, coal, jet, and muchquarried stone as well as timber for wood and charcoal.
Biota. Deforestation was nearly complete by the time of the conquest. Northwest England and southwest Scotland may retain their woods, temporarily, perhaps also parts of East Anglia, and excavations sometimes identify isolated woods; moreover, continued use of wood and charcoal implies preservation of some forests. A few areas were cleared for the first time during the period, and the marshy fens in the east were actively reclaimed under government directive. Wildlife was similar to the present, plus wolf and beaver, whereas the deer population was on the wane. Another difference from today was the abundance of oysters, especially in the southeast.
Settlements
Settlement System. This can best be described in temporal stages. (1) Before the conquest, settlement varies from region to region, but the basic template involves scattered farmsteads and hamlets. Differences lie mainly in the frequency and nature of hill forts, some of which are abandoned shortly before or at conquest, some never occupied. Leaders may be based in private farmsteads rather than nucleated settlements, perhaps marked by the massive linear earthworks. (2) After conquest and during the first century (1957-1900 B.P.), planned towns germinate gradually with cores containing regular street grids of "strip-houses" and townhouses as well as markets (fora), temples, and baths. A few official colonia are established for veterans, and some hamlets or villages are upgraded to serve as civitas (regional) capitals; military fortresses guard all of the conquered area, which is mainly the Lowland Zone. Wealthy Roman-style farming estates (villae) begin to appear. (3) After 1900 B.P., the pace of urbanization quickens, with towns and some rural settings adopting stone architecture (rare to nonexistent previously), more amenities, and greater populations. Some military centers become towns, and some camps once serving forts now urbanize. (4) With the 2nd and 3rd centuries (1900-
1700 B.P.), stone towns become standard, and many villas become especially luxurious; towns rapidly fortify.
(5) Towns seem to disappear, especially in the 5th century (l600s B.P.). Throughout most or all of the period, Stage 1 persists in rural areas, and it is the only system in the highlands. There are always some communities that specialize in certain industries like pottery, mining, or metalwork, although perhaps not exclusively.
Community Organization. Archaeology ranks RomanoBritish towns according to the presence offora, temples, baths, or townhouses, as well as size, and how many of these amenities they have. Official coloniae and municipia are the most privileged, but may not be administrative centers. In fact, official capitals often lack many urban characteristics. For the next lower rank, one might separate settlements according to presence or absence of grid systems. Settlements rarely separate the rich and the poor or the residential and the commercial; fine townhouses might even be connected to common shop fronts. Fortresses are usually accompanied by ad hoc service communities (canabae), which often grow into proper towns.
Housing. Indigenous architecture usually consists of round wattle-and-daub one-room buildings, possibly with dividers, probably thatched. These appear alone or in small groups and serve all functions. Many change to stone during the period, and some western locales always practice dry-stone construction. Elite structures are not apparent. Subrectangular buildings do exist but are not the norm.
Roman buildings are traditionally in stone, although the 1st century sees imitations of Roman-style architecture (such as columns) in wood. Some enjoy heating and/or plumbing in certain rooms, and heated bath complexes are common. Small villas may be distinguishable from indigenous houses only by building materials (tiles, stone, wall plaster) or rectilinearity; larger examples grow along corridors and wings and sometimes add a back court. In towns, one finds many simple consecutive strip houses of timber or stone, with open store fronts and apartments behind, although they can also be entirely residential. Richer townhouses may be detached, often sit at intersections, and encompass numerous rooms connected by a corridor. The central market or forum is normally a squarish court with a meetinghouse (basilica) opposite the entrance and shops with porticos on the other sides. Temple positions are not consistent.