Late Iron Age and Roman Colchester - with Howard Brooks FSA MCIfA

Title-picture above: A reconstruction picture of Colchester’s Roman Circus, by Peter Froste (© Colchester Archaeological Trust)

Colchester is blessed with a large number of extant monuments from the Late Iron Age and Roman periods (approximately 80 BCE to CE 410). These include Cunobelin’s Late Iron Age oppidum (fortress) and its earthworks and burial mounds, the Roman town walls and gates, a Roman church, and the only known Roman circus (chariot racing track) in Britain. Yet, curiously, these remains are not widely known.

This study-day will give an introduction to these periods and their associated remains. The first session will examine the physical, documentary, and excavated remains of the late Iron Age and early Roman fortress of Camulodunum , 'Fortress of (the war god) Camulos'. The second session will examine the physical and excavated remains of the Roman town - principally its walls and gates, the street layout, and details of some of the excavated town housed and temples. In the final session we will look at recent discoveries, specifically the Roman circus, the Temple of Claudius Façade, and the fabulous Insula 19 Roman jewellery hoard.

Provisional Timetable

10.15 – 11.15: Cunobelin’s Camulodunum. What, when and where was it, and how do we know? This session will explore the earthwork defences around Camulodunum, assess the written evidence for the location of the fortress/oppidum, and look at the now copious amount of material from excavations in the 1930s, 1970s and 2000s, including evidence for cross-channel trade and Cunobelin’s coin mint.

11.15-11.45: Coffee-break.

11.45 – 12.45: The Colony of Claudius and its walls, gates and houses. There is a mass of excavated (and published) information on the infrastructure of Roman Colchester. In this session we will look at the extant town walls, gates, and church(?), the excavated fortress, later colony (Colonia Victricensis) and its destruction by Boudicca, and the later town houses and temples.

12.45-13.45: Lunch-break.

13.45-14.45: Britain’s only Roman Circus, the Insula 19 hoard, and the contents of a Roman spice shop. This final session is devoted to exciting recent discoveries - the only known Roman circus (chariot racing track - think Ben Hur !), the Insula 19 jewellery hoard (excavated from a secure Boudiccan context), and the tasty contents of a Roman spice shop.

About Howard Brooks FSA MCIfA

Howard has spent most of his career in archaeology (from his first dig in a Derbyshire cave in 1967). He graduated with a BA (Hons) in archaeology from Cardiff University in 1975, became a Member of the Institute for Archaeologists in 1984, and is now gradually retiring from being Deputy Director at Colchester Archaeological Trust. In Colchester, he has worked on (and directed) the excavation of large and stratified urban sites in and around the Roman town. Outside Colchester, a highlight is the Stansted Airport archaeological project (1985-1991) where discoveries included an Iron Age village and rich Roman burials. Howard has a particular interest in landscape archaeology, and has taught evening classes for the Universities of Essex, Cambridge and East Anglia. He also helps local amateur groups to carry out fieldwork and publish their results.

Some Suggestions for Optional Background Reading

The best general introduction to Colchester archaeology is Philip Crummy’s 1997 City of Victory: the story of Colchester – Britain’s first Roman town (Colchester Archaeological Trust). (This predates the discovery of the Roman circus).

Annual summaries of excavations in and around Colchester are to be found in The Colchester Archaeologist. This can be purchased as hard copy, or (up to 2007) viewed online at http://cat.essex.ac.uk/all-reports.html#MAG.

The major excavations in and around the town are published in the Colchester Archaeological Reports series. These can be purchased as hard copy, or (except for CAR 6) viewed online at http://cat.essex.ac.uk. Those with relevant titles are:

Colchester Archaeological Report 2. Crummy, N, 1983, The Roman small finds from excavations in Colchester 1971-9.

Colchester Archaeological Report 3. Crummy, P, 1984 Excavations at Lion Walk, Balkerne Lane, and Middleborough, Colchester, Essex.

Colchester Archaeological Report 4. Crummy, N (ed) 1987, The coins from excavations in Colchester 1971-9.

Colchester Archaeological Report 6. Crummy, P, 1992, Excavations at Culver Street, the Gilberd School and other sites in Colchester 1971-85.

Colchester Archaeological Report 8. Cool, HEM & Price, J, 1995, Roman vessel glass from excavations in Colchester, 1971-85.

Colchester Archaeological Report 9. Crummy, Nina, Crummy, Philip, and Crossan, Carl, 1993, Excavations of Roman and later cemeteries, churches and monastic sites in Colchester 1971-88.

Colchester Archaeological Report 10. Symonds, R P, & Wade, S, 1999, Roman pottery in Colchester 1971-86.

Colchester Archaeological Report 11. Hawkes C F C & Crummy P J, 1995, Camulodunum 2

Old (now classic) publications on pre-Roman and Roman Colchester

Hawkes CFC and Hull MR, 1947, Camulodunum: first report on the excavations at Colchester 1930-39, Report of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London XIV

Hull, M R, 1958, Roman Colchester, Report of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London Report number **

Hull, MR, 1963, The Roman potters kilns of Colchester. Report of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London Report number XXI

Other articles on Colchester themes

Crummy, N., 2011 'Circus-related finds: overview' in L. Pooley, P. Crummy, D. Shimmin, H. Brooks, B. Holloway and R. Masefield, Archaeological Investigations on the 'Alienated Land', Colchester Garrison, Colchester, Essex, May 2004-October 2007, CAT Report 412, Colchester, 1350–2 (http://cat.essex.ac.uk/reports/CAT-report-0412.pdf)

Crummy, P, 1980 'The temples of Roman Colchester' in W. Rodwell (ed.), Temples, churches and religion: recent research in Roman Britain, BAR British Series 77, Oxford, 243–83

Crummy, P, Benfield, S., Crummy, N., Rigby, V. and Shimmin, D., 2007, Stanway, an élite burial site at Camulodunum, Britannia Monograph 24, London

Town Walls.

Wilson, Peter (ed) The Archaeology of Roman Towns: papers in honour of John Wacher: Oxbow books, 2003.

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