Agriculture and Industry in South-Eastern Roman Britain

David Bird

• Publisher: Oxbow Books
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9781785703201
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: British History
• Index: History

The ancient counties surrounding the Weald in the SE corner of England have a strongly marked character of their own that has survived remarkably well in the face of ever-increasing population pressure. The area is, however, comparatively neglected in discussion of Roman Britain, where it is often subsumed into a generalised treatment of the 'civilian' part of Britannia that is based largely on other parts of the country. This book aims to redress the balance. The focus is particularly on Kent, Surrey and Sussex account is taken of information from neighboring counties, particularly when the difficult subsoils affect the availability of evidence. An overview of the environment and a consideration of themes relevant to the South-East as a whole accompany 14 papers covering the topics of rural settlement in each county, crops, querns and millstones, animal exploitation, salt production, leatherworking, the working of bone and similar materials, the production of iron and iron objects, non-ferrous metalworking, pottery production and the supply of tile to Roman London. Agriculture and industry provides an up-to-date assessment of our knowledge of the southern hinterland of Roman London and an area that was particularly open to influences from the Continent.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Contributors
• Editor’s Foreword
• Chapter 1: Introduction: Population and the Dynamics of Change in Roman South-Eastern England
• Chapter 2: The Environment of Southern Roman Britain
• Chapter 3: The Countryside of the South-East in the Roman Period
• Chapter 4: Kent Roman Rural Settlement
• Chapter 5: Rural Settlement in Roman Sussex
• Chapter 6: Rural Settlement in Roman-Period Surrey
• Chapter 7: Market Forces - A Discussion of Crop Husbandry, Horticulture and Trade in Plant Resources in Southern England
• Chapter 8: Querns and Millstones in Late Iron Age and Roman London and South-East England
• Chapter 9: The Exploitation of Animals and Their Contribution to Urban Food Supply in Roman Southern England
• Chapter 10: The Roman Salt Industry in South-Eastern Britain
• Chapter 11: Leatherworking in South-Eastern Britain in the Roman Period
• Chapter 12: Working Skeletal Materials in South-Eastern Roman Britain
• Chapter 13: The Development of Iron Production in the Roman Weald
• Chapter 14: Ironwork and Its Production
• Chapter 15: Roman Non-Ferrous Metalworking in Southern Britain
• Chapter 16: Clay, Water, Fuel: An Overview of Pottery Production in and Around Early Roman London
• Chapter 17: The Supply of Tile to Roman London