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current current archaeologycurrent CONTENTS issue 305 (Vol.XXVI, No.5) | August 2015 UP FRONT Letters Your comments, complaints, and compliments News Piecing together the Staffordshire Hoard; Stone circle discovered on Dartmoor; Lifting the lid on Saxon Stafford; Excavating Oxford’s notorious nunnery; Dorset’s earliest Iron Age burials; Britain and Ireland’s Bronze Age gold trade; Unlocking the secrets of Salford’s New Bailey Prison; Anglo-Saxon fishtrap captured in Suffolk; Highland market forces at Tigh Caol 4 6 I s s u e 3 0 5 | A u g u s t 2 0 1 5 current current THE UK’S BEST SELLING ARCHAEOLOGY MAGAZINE August 2015 Issue 305 | £4.50 August 2015 Issue 305 | £4.50 www.archaeology.co.uk www.archaeology.co.ukwww.archaeology.co.uk C h e d w o r t h R o m a n Vi l l a | B ri s t o l h a l l h o u s e s | T h e w r e c k o f t h e Victory | B e r k e l e y C a s t l e Revealing the Roman villa’s lost glories Revealing the Roman villa’s lost glories Revealing the Roman villa’s lost glories ChedworthChedworth c u r r e nt a r c h a e ol o g y Underwater archaeology Solving the maritime mystery of the Victory New galleries open at the Imperial War Museum 001_CA305_Cover_FINAL_ME.indd 1 Berkeley Castle One trench: 1,500 years of English history Sharing stories 60 years on Issue 305 17/06/2015 16:55 ON THE COVER Excavating a mosaic floor from the central corridor of Chedworth Roman Villa’s West Range. CREDIT: Martin Papworth REGULARSREGULARS REGULARS FEATURES CHEDWORTH ROMAN VILLA Revealing its lost glories Ongoing research at one of England’s best-preserved Roman villas has shed new light on the buildings’ use, their spectacular mosaics, and the work of previous generations of archaeologists on the site. 12 HALL HOUSES Status symbols of late medieval Bristol In the medieval period, Bristol was a bustling, wealthy city, but until recently its houses had been largely neglected by architectural historians. Now a new study has revealed a story of militias, martial decor, and emerging civic pride. 20 THE SINKING OF THE VICTORY Natural disaster or first-rate human error? Why was one of England’s greatest flagships wrecked in 1744? Recent underwater research is providing some surprising answers. Was the vessel in the wrong place at the wrong time, or was there some other problem? 28 RECAPTURING BERKELEY CASTLE One trench: 1,500 years of English history The search for one of England’s greatest medieval minsters has uncovered a wealth of archaeological finds spanning the Roman to Civil War periods. 38 38 28 38 28 48 Festival of Archaeology 47 Highlights from this year’s nationwide celebration of all things archaeological Sherds Chris Catling’s irreverent take on heritage issues 48 Odd Socs The Brookwood Cemetery Society 50 20 2 current archaeology | www.archaeology.co.uk www.archaeology.co.uk 50 January 2014 | August 2015 |
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www.archaeology.co.uk www.facebook.com/currentarchaeologymag twitter.com/currentarchaeo visit us online at www.archaeology.co.uk WELCOME Chedworth Roman Villa is undergoing a major transformation. Despite being one of England’s largest and best-preserved Roman villas, it was poorly understood. Past site reports had been lost, and previously excavated portions had been reburied. The National Trust has therefore launched a major project to re-explore the site. The results, as our cover picture reveals, are proving to be glorious. We then go in search of more lost archaeology with Sean Kingsley, who takes us deep under the western English Channel to investigate the sinking of the Victory. The greatest warship of the early Georgian age of sail, the Victory’s disappearance was one of Britain’s biggest maritime mysteries. The finger of blame was pointed at Mother Nature’s tempestuous forces, and at the apparent ineptitude of a lighthouse keeper. Archaeology, however, tells a rather different story. Back on land, we visit the bucolic Berkeley Castle, once the setting of a catalogue of dramas, including Edward II’s grisly murder in 1327. Bristol University archaeologists have been hard at work just outside the castle grounds. Though their aim has been to find one of England’s greatest medieval minsters, they have in fact uncovered 1,500 years of history – from the Romans to the Civil War – all within a single trench. Finally, we visit Bristol, to consider why its hall houses were so popular among the city’s late medieval burghers. All is revealed by Chris Catling, as he delves into Roger Leech’s compelling research on the city’s medieval houses, the first study of its type. Good reading! Our contributors this month CHEDWORTH ROMAN VILLA MARTIN PAPWORTH Martin is director of the Phase Two Chedworth project, and Regional Archaeologist of the National Trust’s South West Region. For more on NT archaeology, see archaeologynationaltrustsw. wordpress.com THE SINKING OF THE VICTORY SEAN KINGSLEY Sean is the Director of Wreck Watch Int., London, and a specialist in marine archaeology, deep-sea shipwrecks, trade, economics, and the Byzantine world. He has been working on the wreck of the Victory since 2008. BERKELEY CASTLE STUART PRIOR AND MARK HORTON Stuart is Senior Teaching Fellow in Archaeological Practice at the University of Bristol; he researches Medieval Archaeology and Castle Studies. Mark is Professor in Archaeology at Bristol, working on global historical and maritime sites. | Issue 305 archaeologycurrent Editorial Acting editor: Dr Nadia Durrani nadia@archaeology.co.uk Tel: 020 8819 5580 Dr Matthew Symonds is on sabbatical Contributing editor: Christopher Catling chris@archaeology.co.uk Art editor: Mark Edwards mark.edwards@currentpublishing.com Designer: Lauren Gamp lauren.gamp@currentpublishing.com Assistant editor: Carly Hilts carly@currentpublishing.com Sub editor: Simon Coppock Editor-in-chief: Andrew Selkirk 9 Nassington Road, London NW3 2TX andrew@archaeology.co.uk Tel: 020 8819 5584 Managing director: Robert Selkirk Commercial Advertising sales manager: Mike Traylen mike@currentpublishing.com Tel: 020 8819 5360 Managing editor: Maria Earle maria@currentpublishing.com Business manager: Erin Goodin erin@currentpublishing.com Marketing manager: Emma Watts-Plumpkin emma@currentpublishing.com Tel: 020 8819 5575 Commercial director: Libby Selkirk Current Publishing Thames Works, Church St, London W4 2PD Tel: 020 8819 5580 (office hours) Fax: 020 8819 5589 Web: www.archaeology.co.uk Subscriptions Current Archaeology is published monthly for a subscription of £46.95 for 12 issues. Foreign subscriptions are £56.95. Subscriptions should be sent to: Current Publishing, Thames Works, Church Street, London W4 2PD Tel: (office hours) 020 8819 5580 Fax: 020 8819 5589 Subscription queries to: subs@archaeology.co.uk or online at: www.archaeology.co.uk Back issues: £5.50 each / £6.50 non-UK Binders: (hold 12 copies) £15 / £20 Slip Cases: (hold 12 copies) £15 / £20 Printed in the UK by William Gibbons Unauthorised reproduction in whole or part is prohibited without written permission. The publisher, editor and authors accept no responsibility in respect of any products, goods or services which may be advertised or referred to in this issue. Every effort has been made to secure permission for copyright material. In the event of any material being used inadvertently or where it has proved impossible to trace the copyright owner, acknowledgement will be made in a future issue. 160615190 www.archaeology.co.uk | current archaeology 3

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current current archaeologycurrent

CONTENTS issue 305

(Vol.XXVI, No.5) | August 2015

UP FRONT

Letters

Your comments, complaints, and compliments

News

Piecing together the Staffordshire Hoard; Stone circle discovered on Dartmoor; Lifting the lid on Saxon Stafford; Excavating Oxford’s notorious nunnery; Dorset’s earliest Iron Age burials; Britain and Ireland’s Bronze Age gold trade; Unlocking the secrets of Salford’s New Bailey Prison; Anglo-Saxon fishtrap captured in Suffolk; Highland market forces at Tigh Caol

4

6

I s s u e

3 0 5 |

A u g u s t 2 0 1 5

current current

THE UK’S BEST SELLING ARCHAEOLOGY MAGAZINE

August 2015 Issue 305 | £4.50

August 2015 Issue 305 | £4.50

www.archaeology.co.uk www.archaeology.co.ukwww.archaeology.co.uk

C h e d w o r t h R o m a n

Vi l l a | B ri s t o l h a l l h o u s e s | T h e w r e c k o f t h e

Victory | B e r k e l e y

C a s t l e

Revealing the Roman villa’s lost glories Revealing the Roman villa’s lost glories Revealing the Roman villa’s lost glories ChedworthChedworth c u r r e nt a r c h a e ol o g y

Underwater archaeology

Solving the maritime mystery of the Victory

New galleries open at the Imperial War Museum

001_CA305_Cover_FINAL_ME.indd 1

Berkeley Castle One trench: 1,500 years of English history

Sharing stories 60 years on

Issue 305

17/06/2015 16:55

ON THE COVER Excavating a mosaic floor from the central corridor of Chedworth Roman Villa’s West Range.

CREDIT: Martin Papworth

REGULARSREGULARS

REGULARS

FEATURES CHEDWORTH ROMAN VILLA

Revealing its lost glories Ongoing research at one of England’s best-preserved Roman villas has shed new light on the buildings’ use, their spectacular mosaics, and the work of previous generations of archaeologists on the site.

12

HALL HOUSES

Status symbols of late medieval Bristol In the medieval period, Bristol was a bustling, wealthy city, but until recently its houses had been largely neglected by architectural historians. Now a new study has revealed a story of militias, martial decor, and emerging civic pride.

20

THE SINKING OF THE VICTORY

Natural disaster or first-rate human error? Why was one of England’s greatest flagships wrecked in 1744? Recent underwater research is providing some surprising answers. Was the vessel in the wrong place at the wrong time, or was there some other problem?

28

RECAPTURING BERKELEY CASTLE

One trench: 1,500 years of English history The search for one of England’s greatest medieval minsters has uncovered a wealth of archaeological finds spanning the Roman to Civil War periods.

38

38

28

38 28

48

Festival of Archaeology 47 Highlights from this year’s nationwide celebration of all things archaeological

Sherds

Chris Catling’s irreverent take on heritage issues

48

Odd Socs

The Brookwood Cemetery Society

50

20

2

current archaeology | www.archaeology.co.uk www.archaeology.co.uk

50

January 2014 |

August 2015 |

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