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.