A wealth of activity from activities that bring wealth (Milton, week 8)

Collection of small finds, including oyster spoon © Copyright ARS Ltd 2023
An assortment of fine wares. © Copyright ARS Ltd 2023
Tegula with a paw print © Copyright ARS Ltd 2023

The past week at Milton has been incredibly eventful and demanding, with significant progress made as the plant has stripped the remaining area. To little surprise, the newly revealed excavation has unveiled further ditches and enclosures, revealing the larger extent of the site.

During a recent metal detecting survey of the new areas, a wealth of discoveries emerged. Among these are more coins, but also brooches, and an ornamental drawer handle. Perhaps the most remarkable find is an intricately designed oyster spoon with an impressive level of craftsmanship.

As we talked about last week, a continued characteristic of this site is the abundance of fine tablewares. Every hand-dug intervention reveals a substantial quantity of these decorated sherds in increasing volume, making us wonder about the source of these artefacts.

The Romans’ tendency to leave behind significant amounts of finds can be attributed to their cultural prosperity. Although they have a reputation for excess and indulgence, particularly in lavish feasts on private estates, more valuable items were still kept in circulation. Of course, there is a bias in the archaeological record towards durable materials, but the Romans’ limited emphasis on reuse meant many items were discarded rather than repaired or repurposed. Larger volumes of fine quality goods are perhaps indicators of end land-use clearance. Whereas we would expect to see a higher volume of low value objects alongside day-to-day midden waste, based on a throw-away culture of cheap utilitarian goods. The absence of municipal waste management systems further contributed to waste accumulation, usually in middens, and yet the evidence we are finding in the fill of many ditches reeks of status and affluence.

Colour-coated wares © Copyright ARS Ltd 2023
Ornate drawer handle © Copyright ARS Ltd 2023
Patterned colour-coated ware © Copyright ARS Ltd 2023

A comprehensive drone survey in the past week has provided invaluable updated aerial images that confirm the extent of an intricate network of intersecting and overlapping ditches, indicative of successive layouts of enclosure. Differing alignments offer intriguing hints on how the occupation shaped the archaeology of the site, and from which we expect to unravel a diverse range of activities. One such activity is indicated by a few rare sherds made with perforations from a basic colander, perhaps used to separate curds and whey in the process of cheesemaking, and others with smaller holes from possible cheese moulds. Dairying was a household activity, but in a world without refrigeration the surplus went to market.

This week has been intense and has yielded an abundance of archaeological finds with a greatly enhanced understanding of the site. We continue to explore the archaeology and look forward to uncovering even more clues as to the occupation of this remarkable location. See you next week!

Samian ware © Copyright ARS Ltd 2023
The stripped site so far © Copyright ARS Ltd 2023
The continuing excavation © Copyright ARS Ltd 2023

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Previous update (week 7).

Next update (week 9).

See the main project page here.

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