Abandoned Iron Age Settlement Excavated in England
ESSEX, ENGLAND
BBC News reports that archaeologists have found a ten-acre settlement made up of 17 roundhouses surrounded by a defensive structure that was burned down and abandoned in the late first century A.D. Researchers think the residents of this high-status village may have participated in the revolt against the Roman invasion led by Boudicca, the queen of the Iceni tribe. “The local Trinovantes tribe joined the A.D. 61 rebellion and after Boudicca’s defeat we know the Romans punished everyone involved,” said Andy Greef of Oxford Archaeology East. People did return to the site, however, to leave votive offerings possibly linked to the cult of the Roman god Mercury into the fourth century A.D. and the end of Roman rule, he added. “It could be there was a shrine on the site that continued to attract people and, as it’s very close to the Roman road Stane Street, it was easy to access,” he explained. A copper
Experts excavated the important settlement at Tye Green, near Cressing
The ancient village was built on a prominent ridge overlooking the Brain Valley
It sported at least 17 roundhouses and screens that may have protected hearths
After the main enclosure was abandoned, the site appears to have been farmed
But the team found a site for offerings that operated on into the 3rd Century
From here they have found hundreds of brooches, as well as coins and beads
BBC News
Published
image copyrightOxford Archaeology East
image captionA number of the larger roundhouses were burned down and the defensive enclosure cleared during the late First Century AD
The destruction of a clearly high status Iron Age village may represent reprisals after the Boudiccan revolt , an archaeologist has said.
More than 17 roundhouses were discovered in a defensive enclosure at Cressing, near Braintree in Essex.
The site was burned down and abandoned during the late First Century AD. The local Trinovantes tribe joined the AD61 rebellion and after Boudicca s defeat we know the Romans punished everyone involved, said Andy Greef.
image copyrightOxford Archaeology East
Last modified on Wed 23 Dec 2020 08.56 EST
Winning tip: Woods and Romans, West Sussex
Like many I suppose, we found lockdown gifted us that most beautiful of thing: time, but also, with two boys under five, the absolute necessity to get out of the house. Just a few miles from us, between Chichester and Arundel, is Eartham Wood. This beech woodland, spliced almost perfectly in half by Stane Street – the Roman road that used to connect Chichester and London – is zigzagged by bridleways and footpaths, and is part of the Monarch’s Way long-distance path. Even on gloriously sunny weekends you can walk for hours and not hear another voice.