Down, but not out: biological evidence for complex economic organization in Lincoln in the late 4th century

Abstract

Views of the Late Roman period in England have changed considerably in the past few years, with a tendency towards acceptance of a survival or resurgence of economic and political organization despite earlier decline. Traditional evidence provides some insights into the differential nature of these changes. Here it is argued that ‘environmental’ (in this case biological) evidence can provide unique insights into economic systems, and that bones and insects from late 4th-century AD Lincoln indicate continuity of complex systems into this period.

Species Associations Among Insect Remains from Urban Archaeological Deposits and their Significance in Reconstructing the Past Human Environment

“…Osborne, 1971;Coope, 1981;Osborne, 1981;Hall & Kenward, 1990;Buckland et al, 1994;Kenward & Hall, 1995;Buckland et al, 1996;Smith, Osborne & Barrett, 1997), as well as providing opportunities for investigation of wider archaeological and biogeographical issues (e.g. Buckland, 1988;Buckland & Sadler, 1989;Kenward, 1997;Dobney et al, 1998). They also provide an invaluable, but barely exploited, resource for more purely ecological research, for example in determining how insect communities have adapted to human modification of the environment through time, and in studies of the effects of the introduction of new species.…”

Livestock and animal husbandry in early medieval England

“…The archaeological record is less clear, with some sites showing clear changes of settlement density from the mid-4th century onwards (Dobney et al, 1998), whilst others continue into the 5th and early 6th centuries (Millett, 1983;Hammon, 2011). None the less, some influential voices have seen the fall of Roman Britain as nothing less than catastrophic (e.g.…”

Military and Civilian: Reconfiguring the End of Roman Britain in the North

“…The scale of such dumping and the evidence of butchery and other activities contained within it are indicative of significant economic complexity, and there was either a significant population still at the site or the meat was being redistributed from Binchester to the surrounding area (cf. Dobney et al, 1998). The importance of these deposits is found not just in their logistical significance, but also as an indicator of the changing use of space.…”