Kingdom, civitas, and country : the evolution of territorial identity in the English landscape

This book explores the development of territorial identity in the late prehistoric, Roman, and early medieval periods. Over the course of the Iron Age, a series of marked regional variations in material culture and landscape character emerged across eastern England that reflect the development of discrete zones of social and economic interaction. The boundaries between these zones appear to have run through sparsely settled areas of the landscape on high ground, and corresponded to a series of kingdoms that emerged during the Late Iron Age. In eastern England at least, these pre-Roman socio-economic territories appear to have survived throughout the Roman period despite a trend towards cultural homogenization brought about by Romanization. Although there is no direct evidence for the relationship between these socio-economic zones and the Roman administrative territories known as civitates , they probably corresponded very closely. The fifth century saw some Anglo-Saxon immigration but whereas in East Anglia these communities spread out across much of the landscape, in the Northern Thames Basin they appear to have been restricted to certain coastal and estuarine districts. The remaining areas continued to be occupied by a substantial native British population, including much of the East Saxon kingdom (very little of which appears to have been 'Saxon'). By the sixth century a series of regionally distinct identities - that can be regarded as separate ethnic groups - had developed which corresponded very closely to those that had emerged during the late prehistoric and Roman periods. These ancient regional identities survived through to the Viking incursions, whereafter they were swept away following the English re-conquest and replaced with the counties with which we are familiar today. Cover KINGDOM, CIVITAS, AND COUNTY: The Evolution of Territorial Identity in the English Landscape Copyright Preface and acknowledgements Contents List of figures List of tables List of appendices List of abbreviations 1: Introduction: The evolution of territorial identities in the English landscape CONTINUITY IN THE LANDSCAPE ETHNICITY, IDENTITY, AND TERRITORIALITY WITHIN THE LANDSCAPE UNDERSTANDING LANDSCAPES OVER THE LONGUE DURÉE IDENTIFYING TERRITORIALITY IN THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD DEFINING A STUDY AREA EASTERN ENGLAND: A LAND OF FOUR PARTS The natural and cultural topography Early medieval woodland SOURCES The archaeological record Documentary material The political history Boundary earthworks Sites that may be indicative of boundary zones Artefact and site-type distributions Blanks on the maps THE STRUCTURE OF THIS BOOK 2: Iron Age landscape, society, and regionality: The material culture INTRODUCTION THE TRINOVANTES, CATUVELLAUNI, AND ICENI: THE LITERARY EVIDENCE (FIG. 1.4) COIN CIRCULATION AMONGST THE CATUVELLAUNI, THE ICENI, AND THE TRINOVANTES Late second to early first century BC: the earliest imports (Gallo-Belgic A–C) (Fig. 2.1) Late second to early first century BC: the earliest British issues (Kentish potins) (Fig. 2.2) Mid first century BC: the earliest Trinovantian coinage (British G/‘Clacton’ type staters) (Fig. 2.2) Mid first century BC: later imports (Gallo-Belgic E) (Fig. 2.2) Mid first century BC: resumed British production (British L/‘Whaddon Chase’ staters) (Fig. 2.2) Late first century BC: early inscribed coinage (Addedomaros, Tasciovanus, and Dubnovellaunus) (Fig. 2.3) Early first century AD: a unified eastern kingdom (Cunobelin) (Fig. 2.4) Coin circulation amongst the Iceni (Fig. 2.5) Coin circulation amongst the Corieltavi (Fig. 2.5) DISCUSSION: DEFINING TERRITORIES IN THE LATE IRON AGE THROUGH COINAGE POTS, PEOPLE, AND MATERIAL CULTURE CIRCULATION ZONES Initial Early Iron Age: West Harling-Fengate and Ivinghoe-Sandy styles (Fig. 2.7.A) Later Early Iron Age: Chinnor-Wandlebury, Darmsden-Linton, and East Anglian rusticated styles (Fig. 2.7.B) Middle Iron Age ceramic styles (Fig. 2.8) The Late Iron Age: pottery associated with the ‘Aylesford-Swarling’ culture (Fig. 2.9) BROOCHES, TORCS, AND HORSE-FITTINGS (FIG. 2.11) LOOMWEIGHTS (FIGS. 2.12–2.13; TABLES 2.3–2.4; APPENDIX 1) DISCUSSION 3: Iron Age landscape and society: The settlement patterns INTRODUCTION REGIONAL VARIATIONS IN SETTLEMENT MORPHOLOGY IRON AGE SETTLEMENT IN THE NORTH-EASTERN THAMES BASIN (FIGS. 3.4–3.6) Early Iron Age: unenclosed farmsteads and small ‘hillforts’ Middle Iron Age: a move towards enclosure Late Iron Age IRON AGE SETTLEMENT IN THE NORTH-WESTERN THAMES BASIN (FIGS. 3.4–3.6) Early Iron Age Middle Iron Age Late Iron Age IRON AGE SETTLEMENT IN EAST ANGLIA (FIGS. 3.4–3.6) Early Iron Age Middle Iron Age Late Iron Age IRON AGE SETTLEMENT IN THE SOUTH EAST MIDLANDS (FIGS. 3.4–3.6) Early Iron Age Middle Iron Age Late Iron Age DEFINING SPACE ON A LANDSCAPE SCALE Pit alignments (Fig. 3.8) Linear earthworks (dykes) (Fig. 3.9) Hillforts and territorial boundaries CONCLUSIONS 4: The Romano-British urban and religious landscape REGIONAL VARIATION IN THE LANDSCAPE OF ROMAN BRITAIN BECOMING ‘ROMAN’ ROMANO-BRITISH TERRITORIALITY: CIVITATES, VICI, AND PAGI Introduction THE ROAD NETWORK AND ANTONINE ITINERARY RECONSTRUCTING THE URBAN HIERARCHY: MAJOR TOWNS, SMALL TOWNS, AND LOCAL CENTRES THE URBAN HIERARCHY IN EASTERN ENGLAND The North-Eastern Thames Basin The North-Western Thames Basin East Anglia The South East Midlands Discussion: regional variations on the urban landscape RELIGIOUS SITES IN THE LANDSCAPE CONCLUSIONS 5: The rural landscape of the Romano-British land-owning elite RURAL HOUSES OF THE LAND-OWNING ELITE IDENTIFYING A ‘VILLA’ REGIONAL VARIATION IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF VILLAS REGIONAL VARIATION IN VILLA ARCHITECTURE Discussion THE CHRONOLOGY OF VILLA DEVELOPMENT CONCLUSIONS 6: Romano-British material culture INTRODUCTION MAPPING ROMANO-BRITISH POTTERY PRODUCTION AND SUPPLY MAPPING POTTERY SUPPLY THE NORTHERN THAMES BASIN THE SOUTH EAST MIDLANDS EAST ANGLIA Icenian rusticated decoration (Fig. 6.15) DISCUSSION: ROMANO-BRITISH POTTERY AND TERRITORIALITY CONCLUSIONS 7: Kingdoms and regiones: The documentary evidence INTRODUCTION THE EARLY ANGLO-SAXON KINGDOMS The East Anglian kingdom The ‘Middle Angles’ The East Saxon kingdom (Fig. 7.1) The boundary of the ‘Middle Saxon’ province MAPPING THE BOUNDARIES OF THE ANGLO-SAXON KINGDOMS Diocesan boundaries (Fig. 7.2) County boundaries The Essex–Hertfordshire border The Essex–Suffolk border (Fig. 7.4) The Norfolk–Suffolk border The creation of the county boundaries PAGI AND REGIONES DISCUSSION 8: Anglo-Saxon colonization INTRODUCTION GRUBENHÄUSER: A DISTINCTIVELY GERMANIC FORM OF BUILDING ANGLO-SAXON BURIALS CEMETERIES AND TERRITORIES EAST ANGLIA The burial places of kings? (Figure 8.6) SOUTH EAST MIDLANDS THE NORTHERN THAMES BASIN Fifth- to sixth-century cemeteries The unstratified finds of metalwork ‘Final phase’ cemeteries (Figure 8.7) The burial places of kings? CONCLUSIONS 9: Regional identities: Angles and Saxons? INTRODUCTION ‘ANGLIAN’ AND ‘SAXON’ BROOCHES GRAVE GOODS ASSEMBLAGES IN EASTERN ENGLAND BROOCH ASSEMBLAGES SLEEVE CLASPS (FIG. 9.3 AND TABLE 9.4) THE COMPOSITION OF WEAPON ASSEMBLAGES THE POSITIONING OF SHIELDS WITHIN GRAVES THE MORPHOLOGY OF SPEARHEADS BURIAL PRACTICE: CREMATION AND INHUMATION LOCAL VARIATIONS IN CULTURAL IDENTITY? CONCLUSIONS 10: The native British INTRODUCTION THE AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPE SUB-ROMAN SETTLEMENT MATERIAL CULTURE AND MANUFACTURING SUB-ROMAN BURIAL POTTERY AND THE TYRANNY OF THE PERIOD TERM ‘EARLY SAXON’ PLACE-NAME EVIDENCE FOR THE SURVIVAL OF A BRITISH POPULATION DISCUSSION: BRITONS AND ANGLO-SAXONS 11: Regionality under the new order: The seventh to tenth centuries INTRODUCTION IPSWICH WARE COINAGE Pale gold ‘Vanimundus’ series of thrymsas (c. AD 660/70–80): the earliest East Saxon coinage? Primary sceattas (c. AD 660s/680s–710) Series B: East Saxon primary sceattas? (Fig. 11.4) Series BII, BIIIa, and BZ: East Anglian primary sceattas? (Fig. 11.5) Secondary sceattas c. AD 710–60 East Anglian coinage: SeriesQandR(c.710–60) (Fig. 11.6) East Saxon coinage: Series S (c.730–40) (Fig. 11.7 and Table 11.3) Inscribed coinages: East Anglian coinage mid eighth to late ninth century (Fig. 11.8) SILVER WIRE INLAID STRAP ENDS TRADING PLACES: EMPORIA AND PRODUCTIVE SITES (FIG. 11.10) The East Saxon kingdom The East Anglian emporia The South East Midlands The relationship between ‘productive sites’ and later urban life VILLAGES AND OPEN FIELDS CONCLUSIONS 12: The boundaries of early medieval kingship INTRODUCTION MONUMENTAL EARTHWORKS The Middlesex county boundary and Grim’s Dyke The Ash–Rib/Quin watershed boundary The western Norfolk dykes (Fig. 12.1) The south-eastern Cambridgeshire dykes (Fig. 12.2) CONCLUSIONS 13: Conclusions TERRITORIALITY IN THE LANDSCAPE THE SCALES AND TYPES OF TERRITORIALITY (TABLE 13.1) REGIONAL SCALE TERRITORIALITY IN EASTERN ENGLAND Iron Age Romano-British Early medieval BOUNDARIES WITHIN THE LANDSCAPE SOCIAL AGENCY OR ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINISM? ETHNICITY, IDENTITY, AND TERRITORIALITY CONCLUSIONS Bibliography PUBLISHED PRIMARY SOURCES COMMONLY USED ABBREVIATIONS IN THE BIBLIOGRAPHY SECONDARY SOURCES Index