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Jayne Lawes and the Bath and Camerton Archaeological Society have been carrying out excavations at a site called 'Blacklands' in Somerset since 1999.
The site is close to the major religious centre at Aquae Sulis (Bath) and has produced rare and tantalising results that indicate a very early Roman presence in an area not traditionally associated with villas until much later. A 'proto-villa', potentially from as early as 70 AD, and a gatehouse had already been excavated, producing early pottery and military finds.
Time Team was called in to investigate more of the site and discover what was going on here in the early years of Roman occupation and to try to find out how the local Iron-Age population might have welcomed their new neighbours.
Iron Age to Roman
The Blacklands site, 10 miles from Bath, had already been partially excavated and surveyed with geophysics by the Bath and Camerton Archaeological Society before Time Team was called in. The society had uncovered an early Roman villa and a substantial gatehouse built on or alongside a pre-existing Iron-Age site.
Time Team's initial investigations focused on re-surveying the site with John Gater's state-of-the-art geophysics equipment and continuing the excavations in search of the earliest phase of the villa's construction. The Team was particularly interested in trying to identify the transition between Iron-Age and Roman-era occupation on the site.
It became clear that Romanisation took place here at a very early stage, with Roman pottery finds dating from the middle of the first century AD – the time of the Roman conquest. It was also apparent that there was continuity of occupation between the Iron-Age and Roman periods; and that the Iron-Age Britons who were already living on the site seemed to have adopted Roman ways very quickly.
Roundhouses and coins
Time Team's surveys and excavations showed that before the Romans arrived there was a huge enclosure on the site. Within it were a number of large roundhouses, representing different phases of occupation.
One, excavated by Phil Harding, was a massive 15 metres in diameter. It was here that the first ever finds of Iron-Age coins by Time Team were made.
The first was dated by Roman historian Mark Corney to the century before the Romans arrived. It showed a head on one side and horse with a triple tail on the other. 'The horse is a characteristic feature of Iron-Age coins and represents luck, and possibly wealth and power,' says Mark Corney.
The second displayed a classic wheatsheaf arrangement, typical of the coinage of the Iron-Age Dobunni tribe, and was dated to the late 1st century BC or early 1st century AD. It was inscribed with the letter 'ED', believed to be part of the name Anted, and is believed to be the first such coin of this period found in context in Britain.
Massive footings
Time Team identified another two roundhouses on the site, including one that appeared to date from just after the Roman invasion. It had massive footings still in situ and a pivot stone from a doorway. These were interpreted as the remains of a large stone-built roundhouse representing the transition from Iron-Age building styles to Roman ones.
Other discoveries among what Tony described as 'a cornucopia of finds' confirmed the high status of the people living on the Blacklands site. They included fragments of window glass and pottery from the mid-1st century – a cordoned jar imported from the Roman empire for wealthy Britons.
Anyone who has ever spent even a limited amount of time associated with Time Team quickly learns that the best-laid plans of archaeologists and television can easily go amiss.
It had been anticipated that for this programme a significant part of the excavations would involve digging a well located close to the Roman gatehouse excavated by the Bath and Camerton Archaeological Society. Site supervisor Kerry Ely, responsible for organising the dig and overseeing health and safety on site, had spent a lot of time planning and preparing how it would be done. And the archaeologists were hoping for a rich haul of finds to help them in their investigations.
As Brigid Gallagher told Tony in a piece-to-camera on the first day: 'This is quite a significant [well] because it's meant to be dated to the very early Roman period, about the 1st century AD, and it's significantly over the top of a late Iron-Age ditch. Of course, at the bottom of a well you get lots of finds and we want to see what those finds are and get some more dating evidence back.'
Alas, once the diggers had removed the backfill from the previous excavation, they only had to go a few inches deeper before they reached the bottom of what turned out to be a very shallow well. Kerry Ely, who had prepared for a major excavation of a 20-30 feet deep well was left instead with something that he and Tony agreed was 'pathetic'.
'I had been planning it for weeks and I had scaffolding, generators, acro props, everything in for this,' said Kerry. To cap it all, at the same time that the well was revealing that it had no secrets to reveal, the stormy weather that beset the site over the first couple of days of the dig also blew away Kerry's tent.
With Claire Ryley's Roman garden reconstruction cameo featuring in this programme, the Time Team website takes a look at Roman horticulture and gardening.
The Romans originally cultivated plants for practical purposes rather than for their beauty. Gardens were used to grow a variety of plants for food, medicine and religious activities. Gradually, however, more ornamental flowers, such as lilies and poppies, were cultivated and pleasure gardens became popular, particularly in large town houses and country villas. Sometimes these were set in open courtyards at the rear of houses where they were regarded as outside rooms. They could be provided with seating, dining areas, sundial, statues, ornamental fishponds and colourful wall paintings.
Both classical literature and archaeological evidence help us to reconstruct the design of Roman gardens. When the Romans invaded Britain in 43 AD they brought their garden designs with them, though the range of plants that could be grown here was more restricted than on the continent, where the weather was warmer.
The kitchen garden would have been the most common type and excavation has revealed some of the vegetables grown, including celery, parsnips, peas, carrots, radishes, onion and cabbage. Formal or semi-formal and 'natural' gardens would have been added to some residences, growing violets and aquilegias, for example.
Two sites in Roman Britain have so far revealed sumptuous pleasure gardens: Fishbourne Roman Palace, and the governor's residence at Cannon Street station, London. At Fishbourne, box hedging was planted in complex geometric shapes, indicating a penchant for topiary.
Ancient sources reveal garden techniques have changed little in 2,000 years. Columella (De Re Rustica) instructs his readers to turn the soil in autumn; spend time sharpening and mending tools in winter; mix in compost, hoe beds and sow seeds in spring; and water and hoe regularly when the seedlings first appear. Magic also had its part to play, however, and gardeners were advised to sacrifice a puppy to the goddess Rubigo to prevent mildew!
For a more in-depth look at Roman Gardens, check out Roman Gardens and their Plants by Claire Ryley on the Further Reading page (information from which informed the above article).
The Blacklands dig saw Phil unearth the first Iron-Age coins found by him or Time Team. Try our quiz to see how much you know about ancient coins in Britain.
The first coins known in Britain were minted on the continent in the fourth century BC. What were they made of?
Silver
Gold
Copper
The earliest known bronze coinage minted in Britain was the Thurrock potin, found widely in Kent. Whose head did it have on it?
Julius Caesar
Boudicca
Apollo
The horse was used widely as a motif on Iron-Age coins. What was a common distinguishing feature of these representations?
It had three tails
It had three legs
It had three heads
The coins found by Phil in the Blacklands dig were produced by which Iron-Age tribe whose territory was around Hereford/Worcestershire?
Atrebates
Dobunni
Durotriges
Iron-Age coins were made in two ways. Which of these was not one of them?
They were cast
They were wrought
They were struck
Why was only part of the full design often visible on Iron-Age coins?
The coins were smaller than the die
It was considered unlucky to show it all
The full design spread over several coins
Answers here.
Roman gardens
Roman Gardens and their Plants by Claire Ryley (Sussex Archaeological Society, 1998) paperback £8.99
Claire Ryley, who did the Roman garden reconstruction cameo for the Blacklands programme, looks at Roman gardens and their plants. Ryley gives an overview of Roman horticulture and the principles followed by the Romans in designing their gardens for produce and pleasure, describing more than 100 of the plants they are known to have cultivated. The book also includes a list of around 300 plants used in Roman gardens.
Get this book
Geophysics
Revealing the Buried Past: Geophysics for archaeologists by Chris Gaffney and John Gater (Tempus 2003) paperback £17.99
Written by two of the foremost experts in the field, this book draws the reader into the world of geophysics. Suitable for the seasoned archaeologist, student, amateur and for those who have seen the 'geofizz' techniques used and want to learn a little more, the book is well-written, clearly presented and has lots of illustrations and explanatory diagrams. An introduction to the history of geophysics is followed by a lucid discussion of the different techniques available, the methods and equipment used, survey logistics and post-survey analysis. Drawing on their work with Time Team, Gaffney and Gater present a series of case studies from different periods. In conclusion, they consider the future for prospecting for the past and how this powerful surveying tool may be transformed in years to come. Foreword by Mick Aston.
Get this book
Iron Age
Britain BC: Life in Britain and Ireland before the Romans by Francis Pryor (Perennial, 2004) paperback £9.99
An authoritative and radical rethinking of the whole of British history before the coming of the Romans, based on remarkable new archaeological finds made over the past 30 years.
Get this book
Prehistoric Britain by Timothy Darvill (Routledge, 1987) paperback £22.99
Timothy Darvill examines the development of human societies in Britain from the earliest times down to the Roman Conquest, as revealed by available archaeological evidence. Special attention is given to six themes which are traced through all phases of prehistory: subsistence, technology, ritual, trade, society and population.
Get this book
Roman
The Buildings of Roman Britain by Guy de la Bédoyère (Tempus, 2001) £17.99
The remains of Roman buildings bear witness to one of the greatest periods of architecture in the Western world. This book looks into the details of construction, style and location.
Get this book
English Heritage Book of Roman Villas and the Countryside by Guy de la Bédoyère (B T Batsford, 1993)
Looks at the evidence for life in the countryside in Roman Britain through buildings, objects and the undeniable impact of the Roman army. The author also examines how rural life changed through the 400 years of Roman rule.
Get this book
The Landscape of Roman Britain by Ken and Petra Dark (Sutton, 1998)
The authors analyse and interpret archaeological evidence of rural life in Roman Britain and provide an overview of Romano-British agriculture, the impact of Roman towns and that of human and industrial activity on the landscape.
Get this book
Vitruvius: The ten books on architecture translated by M H Morgan (Dover Publications, 2000) paperback £10
Studied by architects from the Renaissance to the present, Vitruvius's book is an incredible DIY handbook ranging from recipes for plaster and paint to the aesthetic use of marble and the construction of siege engines. An invaluable reference for Time Team cameos and a guide to the styles and means of construction of Roman buildings that survive today.
Get this book
Channel 4 is not responsible for the content of third-party sites.
Bath and Camerton Archaeological Society
www.bacas.homecall.co.uk
The Bath and Camerton Archaeological Society (BACAS) has been excavating the Blacklands site since 1999, and will continue to do so for many years to come. Their website includes information on past excavations, as well as a brief report and links to local newspaper articles about Time Team's visit. BACAS has a very active geophysics team, which is reflected in its website's geophysics pages. These include a good introduction to the different methods of geophysics surveying.
The Celtic Coin Index
http://web.arch.ox.ac.uk/coins/ccindex.htm
The Celtic Coin Index is a collection of more than 37,000 images of Celtic coins found in Britain. This website, hosted by the Institute of Archaeology at Oxford, has information about the Index, coinage in Celtic society, how they were made, an introduction to British Celtic coinage and links to other websites. An excellent place to start for anyone wanting to find out more about the sort of coins that were found by Time Team at Blacklands.
The Celtic Coin Index on the Web
www.writer2001.com/cciwriter2001/index.htm
An extraordinary resource, the Celtic Coin Index offers online access to more than 28,000 records and images of British Celtic coins, searchable by find location, tribe, metal content and more. The website also has an extensive bibliography. A truly remarkable achievement by John Hooker and Carin Perron, who have put the whole thing online.
Other websites on the Iron Age
Other websites on the Roman era
The first coins known in Britain were minted on the continent in the fourth century BC. What were they made of?
Gold
The earliest known bronze coinage minted in Britain was the Thurrock potin, found widely in Kent. Whose head did it have on it?
Apollo
The horse was used widely as a motif on Iron-Age coins. What was a common distinguishing feature of these representations?
It had three tails
The coins found by Phil in the Blacklands dig were produced by which Iron-Age tribe whose territory was around Hereford/Worcestershire?
Dobunni
Iron-Age coins were made in two ways. Which of these was not one of them?
They were wrought
Why was only part of the full design often visible on Iron-Age coins?
The coins were smaller than the die