Agricultural Buildings in Roman Britain 9780860540656, 9781407323428

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Agricultural Buildings in Roman Britain

Pat Morris

BAR British Series 70 1 97 9

B.A.R.

B.A.R.,

122

Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 7BP, England

GE i\""ERAL EDITORS A. R. Hands, B.Sc., :\I.A., D.Phil. D. R. Walker, :\I.A.

B. A. R. 70, 1 979, "Agricultural Buildings in Roman Britain" ©Pat Morris, 1979

The author’s moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher. ISBN 9780860540656 paperback ISBN 9781407323428 e-book DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9780860540656 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This book is available at www.barpublishing.com

CONTENTS Page L ist o f Tab les L ist o f F igures Acknow ledge men ts I n troduction 5

Chap ter 1

C orn d ry ing o vens

Chap ter 2

Thresh ing f l oor s

2 3

Chap ter 3

Gra in a nd f odder s torage

2 9

Chap ter 4

S tock b ui ld ings

4 0

Chap ter 5

A isled b ui ld ings

5 5

Chap ter 6

R ectangu lar b ui ld ings a nd smi th ies

6 6 7 1

C onc lusion Append ix 1

Medieva l s ta l ling a rrange men ts

7 4

Append ix 2

R ectangu lar b ui lding s izes

8 2

Ca ta logue

C orn d r iers

8 3

Thresh ing f l oors

1 08

Granar ies

1 12

Ca t t le s ta l ls a nd b yres A isled b ui ld ings S i tes e xa mined

2 0 1 27

R ectangu lar b u i ldings Sm i thies

1 45

Tables

1 46

F igures

1 57

Abbrevia tions u sed

2 01

B ib liography

2 03

I ndex

2 23

LIST OF TABLES

Table

Page

1

Corn drier dates

2

An assessment of evidence to support Applebaum' s identification of buildings as byres solely from their size

146 149

3

Aisled buildings with domestic use

4

150

Aisled buildings with agricultural use

152

5

Aisled building groups

153

6

Ais led buildings listed by material and building techniques

154

L IST OF F IGURES P lans h ave b een t aken f ro m e xcava tion r epor ts u n less o therwise i ndica ted P age

F igure 1

Tc orn d riers, a . D urring ton , b . R ockbourne D own 3 , c . Thundersbarrow 1 , d . Thundersbarrow 2

2

Tc orn d r iers, a . Woodcu ts 3 , b . Woodcu ts 4 , c . Woodcu ts 2 , d . L ang tof t

3

1 62

Tc orn d r iers, a . Brading 1 , b . Whi t ton 1 , c . Gadebridge P ark

7

1 61

Tc orn d riers, a . Brad ing 2 , b . U p ton S t . L eonards, c . Grea t Caster ton 1

6

1 60

Tc orn d r iers, a . A twor th 1 , b . A twor th 1h ea ted f l oor a rea , c . A twor th 2 , d . Rock

5

1 59

Tc orn d r iers, a . Ha lstock 1 , b . Ha lstock 2 , c . F ar m ing ton

4

1 58

1 63

Td r iers , a . Ca tsgore ( unpub .) , b . West B la tching ton 3 , c . West B la tch ing ton 5 A, d . West B la tch ing ton 4A, e . West B la tch ing ton 6

1 64

8

Doub le T c orn d r iers, a . Rockbourne D own 2 , b . Down ton

1 65

9

Corn d r iers, a . Droi tw ich d oub le T , b . Ha l l F ar m , Or ton L onguevi l le H

1 66

1 0

Hc orn d riers, a . H ighdown H i l l , b . R ockbourne D own 1

1 67

1 1

C orn d r iers, a . L ong thorpe , r ectangu lar , b . Ha l l F ar m , Or ton L onguevi l le r eversed t un ing f ork , c . F oxho les L , u npub lished , d . F oxho les r ectangu lar , u npub lished

1 2

1 68

C orn d r iers, a . Woodcu ts 1 r ectangu lar , b . R ivenha l l 1 r ec tangu lar , e n larged , a f ter J . G . S . B r inson , c . West B la tching ton 2t r iangu lar , d . K et ter ing t riangu lar

1 69

1 3

C orn d r iers, b arn a nd t ank , Ha mbleden

1 70

1 4

C orn d r iers, a + b Hambleden , c . S aunder ton r e ma ins, d . S aunder ton r econstruc tion

1 71

1 5

Corn d r ier a nd t ank , Whi t ton 2

1 72

1 6

Corn d r ier a nd t ank , H un tsha m 1

1 73

1 7

Corn d riers, a . Ca tsgore t r iangu lar , b . Ca tsgore w i th b in

1 74

Page

Figure 18

Corn drier, Catsgore H

175

19

Circular corn drier Great Casterton

17 6

20

Circular corn drier OldSleaford

177

21

Corn driers, a. Park Street channelled drier

178

22

Channelled corn drier Darenth

179

23

Corn driers, a. Winterton pillared, b. Keston rectangular

180

Corn driers, a. Huntsham 2, b. Great Casterton pillared

181

Bowl and long hearths, a. Langton .!_� Foxholes, c. & d. Godmanchester, e. Star, oven 4, f. Star oven 1, g. Elmswell, h. Godmanchester long hearths

182

Possible malt kilns, a. Reculver, Philp 1969 13, b. Sacrewell, Challands 1974 1 6, c. Camerton, Branigan & Fowler 1976 111

183

Proportions of drying floors directly heated, a. West Blatchington 3, b. Downton, c. Durrington, d. Catsgore H, e. Farmington, f. Orton Longueville, g. Foxholes

184

28

Corn drier distribution maps

185

29

Granaries, a. Newhaven, b & c. Whitton, d. Mucking, e. Winterton, f. Eccles, g. North Warnborough, h. Ditchley, i. Shakenoak

187

30

Granaries, a. Iwerne,

188

31

Granaries, a. Lullingstone, b & c. Witcombe

189

32

Percentage of National Milk Record herds kept permanently in yards or fields in 1956, after Grundy 1970 maps 3 & 4

190

Stock buildings, a. Cefngraeanog, b. Studland cottage A, c. Studland Cottage H phase 2, d. Rapsley, e. Bute ombe, f. Langton

191

Stock buildings, a. Catsgore, b. Bradley Hill, unpublished after R. Leech

192

A isled buildings, a. Acton Scott, after Webster 1975 35, b. Ancaster, c. Bedmore barn, d. Bignor, e. Brading 1, f. Brading 2, g. Knowl Hill, Canhurst

193

24 25

26

27 27

33

34 35

36

b. Stroud

Aisled buildings, a. Carisbrooke 1 assumed, b. Carisbrooke 2, c. Castlefield, Andover, after Smith 1963 2, d. Cefngraeanog, e. War Ditches, Cherry Hinton, f. Cirencester, Beeches Rd., g. Clanville 1, assumed, h. Clanville 2, after Smith 1963 2, i. Cobley, j. Crookhorn 194

F igure 3 7

P age A isled b ui ldings, a . D en ton 1 , b . Den ton 2 , c . D en ton 3 , d . E . Gr i mstead , a f ter Smi th 1 963 8 , e . Ga tco mbe 1 , a f ter Bran igan 1 969 2 3 , f . Ga tco mbe 2 , g . Grea t Caster ton 2 , h . Grea t Caster ton 3 , i . Ha lstock , j . Hamb leden ' House ' 2 , k . Ha mb leden 'House ' 3

3 8

1 95

A isled b ui ldings, a . H o lbury , b . Ho lco mbe 2 a , c . Ho lco mbe 2 h, d . Hun tsha m , e . I ck le ton , f .L andwade 1 , g . L andwade 2 a , h . L andwade 2 c, i . L ippen Wood , j . L lan tw i t Ma jor , k . N . Wraxa l l

3 9

1 96

A isled b ui ld ings, a . Mansf ie ld Woodhouse , b &c . Mansf ie ld Woodhouse s uggested s tages, d . Nor th Warnborough , e . N or ton D isney , Sm i th 1 963 2 , f . Park S treet , g . Or ton L onguevi l le L ynch F ar m , h . O r ton L onguevi l le Ha l l F ar m , i . Rapsley , j . Rockbourne Vi l la , a f ter Bran igan 1 977 8 2 , k&1 . S hakenoak

4 0

1 97

A isled b ui ld ings, a . S parsho l t , b . S poon ley Wood , c . S troud 1 , d . S troud 2 , e . Tock ing ton , f . Waker ley , g . West B la tch ing ton , h . West D ean A , i . West D ean B

4 1

1 98

A isled b ui ld ings, a . We l low a f ter Bran igan 1 977 5 3 , b . Wingha m , c . Win ter ton B i , d . Win ter ton B 2 , e . Win ter ton D i , f . Win ter ton D 2 , g . Woodchester

4 2

1 99

D istr ibu tion o f a is led b ui ldings i n a gricu l tura l c on tex ts c a ta logued

2 00

ACKNOWL EDGEMENTS I should like to thank all those archaeologists who have been kind enough to provide me with unpublished material and to discuss their sites with me, namely M. G. Bell, D. Connah, B. Dix, M. J. Dolby, P. J. Drury, R. Goodburn, H. J. M. Green, L. C. Hayward, I. Hodder, D. A. Jackson, M. G. Jarrett, D. Johnston, R. Leech, R� N. Lucas, R. Mackey, D. Miles, A. J. Parker, C. Partridge, W. G. Putnam, A. B. Sumpter, D. J. Tomalin, G. Webster, J. P. Wild, S. Wrathmell; and to thank all those who have allowed me to publish plans from excavation reports, and the Dorset Institute of Higher Education for financial assistance and facilities. I am most grateful to Dr. Manning and M. Todd for their valuable comments and to Professor M. G. Jarrett for his considerate advice throughout.

I NTRODUCTION The w eal th o f t he Ro man Emp ire c a me f ro m a gricu l ture. I n c o mpar ison i ndustries w ere sma l l a nd e ven m ineral e xp lo ita t ion o f l im i ted importance. Th is w as e qual ly t rue f or t he n orthern p rov ince o f B rita in . Yet a gr icu l ture i s a n a spec t o f Ro mano-Bri t ish s tud ies wh ich h as b een l i t t le e xp lored . O lder v i l la e xcava t ions c oncen tra ted o n t he s tone r e ma ins o f t he ma in dwel l ing w i th h ypocausts a nd mosa ics a nd g ave v ery l i t tle c ons idera t ion t o o u t ly ing b u i ld ings o r t he s ource o f w eal th wh ich b u i l t o r ma in ta ined t he h ouses. I ncreas ingly a rchaeolog ists a re p ay ing more a t ten t ion t o r ural s tud ies. Th is i s p art ly t he r esu l t o f al andscape p at tern r evealed o ver l arge a reas b y a erial p hotography , whether t he i mpressive v i l las o f M. A gache i n G au l , o r t he p easan t s et t le men ts a nd f i elds o f t he F ens, Cumbr ia o r t he T hames Va l ley i n B r i ta in , p ar t ly t he r esu l t o f r escue e xcavat ions a long motorways l ike t he M 5 wh ich l a id o pen e v id ence o f c lose-spaced o ccupat ion . Expand ing u rban d evelop men t , a s a t P eterb orough , h as g iven o pportun i ty f or l arge s cale e xcava t ion o n s i tes n ot c hosen b ecause t hey w ere k nown t o b e h igh ly s ign if ican t a rchaeolog ical ly b u t b ecause t hey w ere t hreatened . The p red ictable r esu l t i s a mass o f n ew i n for mat ion a bou t a gr icu l tural s et t le men ts. A rchaeology h as r ecen t ly a t trac ted more i n terest t han a t a ny p rev ious p er iod . The s peed o f d estruc t ion n ot o n ly b y b u i ld ing b u t o n a more w idespread s ca le b y p lough ing a nd e ven n atural a genc ies h as l ed t o f or mu la t ing s ta te men ts o f p ol icy. The CBA i s c onsidering a p ol icy f or r ural a rchaeology. C oun ty a nd r eg iona l c o mm i t tees a re a ssessing e xcavat ion a nd r esearch p riori t ies i n t heir own a reas. Any s uch s urvey must c o mpare t he r estric ted u rban a reas o f c onc en tra ted s ett le men t importan t f or Ro man a nd p ost-Ro man s tud ies w i th h uge r ura l a reas where a nswers t o q uest ions o ft he p reh istoric p er iods must b e s ough t , a nd where most p eop le 's l i ves r e ma ined f ir m ly b ased i n a gricu l ture u n t i l t he 1 9th c en tury . An i ncreasing emphasis o n s oc ial a nd e cono m ic q uest ions a nd r ather t han t rad i t ional c lassica l s tud ies o f u rban c iv i l izat ion r ein forces n ew i n terest i n t he r ural e cono my. A t t he s a me t ime t he a pp l ica t ion o fb iolog ical s tud ies t o a rchaeology p ro m ises t o e x tend d ra ma t ical ly wha t we c an f ind o u t. P reh istorians h ave v ery f ew s truc tures t o e xa m ine.

They h ave b een f orced t o

l ook more m inutely a t i nsubstan t ial s truc tures , s oils, b ones , s eeds , p ol lens a nd i nsec ts t o b u i ld u p ap ic ture o f t he e nv iron men t a nd man 's u se o f i t . I n d o ing s o t hey h ave d eveloped t echn iques wh ich a re e qual ly a pp l icable t o Ro man s tud ies a nd a re a lready b eing d e manded o n af ar w ider s cale. I n c on trast t he s tudy o f s truc tures i sb eco m ing l ess f ash ionab le. V il las h ave l i t t le p riori ty w i th t he impression t ha t s o many h ave a lready b een e xcavat ed .

Bu t v il la means a r ura l e sta te made u p n o t o n ly o f c oun try h ouse o r f arm . ,

b u t a lso t he f i elds , s tock , o rchards , t ha t made i tv iable , t he b u ild ings t ha t a ccommodated a gr icu l tural p rocesses a nd c raf ts a nd t he p eop le who w orked i t . Where a re t he v il lages, h ouses, h u ts o f t he p lough men , s hepherds , c arters, a nd l abourers ? Where a re t he f ar myards , g ra in s tores o r c a t t le s hel ters ? Very f ew a re k nown , a nd where s uch i n terpretat ions a re s uggested t he e v idence 1

i s o f ten w eak .

O f ten t he i n terpreta t ion may b e f ounded i n p ersonal k now ledge

a nd awareness o f f ar m ing b u t a ppears i n tu i t ive a nd r equ ires a ccep tance i n t he s a me v ein r ather t han p rov id ing e v idence f or c ri t ical a ssess men t. Far m b u ild ings c an b e r ecogn ised i n e xcavat ion o n ly where t he ir f unc t ion i nf luenced t heir s truc ture o r p osi t ion .

C on ten t i s o ccasional ly u sefu l .

I den t i-

f i ca t ion t herefore r equ ires s o me k now ledge o f a gricu l tural p rocesses i n Ro man B r ita in . S o i l g eology a nd c l i ma te a re more i mportan t t han market f orces i n d eterm in ing t he a gr icu l tural e cono my , p art icu larly b efore t he 2 0 th c en tury. Agr ic u ltural r eg ions h ave b een i den t if ied w i th in wh ich t he c o mb ina t ion o f s o il a nd c l i mate impose l im ita t ions o n a gr icu l tura l p ract ice.

The b est k nown i s t he

d iv ision b etween t he h igh land a nd l ow land z ones , b u t f or Tudor Eng land a nd Wa les 4 1 r eg ions w ere i den t if ied w i th t he a ssistance o f l i terary e v idence wh ich r e ma ins f or t he p eriod ( K erridge 1 973 F ig. 1 ) .

The h usbandry p rac t ices wh ich

e volved i n s uch r eg ions a re s een a s s olu t ions t o t he p rac t ical p roble ms wh ich f ar mers o f a l l p eriods w ou ld h ave f aced i n s im ilar s o il a nd c l i ma te c ond it ions, a nd s o p ract ices wh ich m igh t b e i nu se i n Ro man t imes.

S o il c ond it ions a re

u n l ikely t o h ave c hanged s ubstan t ial ly i n most a reas , t hough s o me c l i ma t ic v ar iat ion s ee ms l ikely ( Taylor 1 975 ). I nev i tably w e t ake what w e k now a s as tandard o f c o mparison t o h elp i dent i f ica t ion . Usual ly t h is h as b een Ro man p ract ice a s d escribed b y c lassical w riters , Colu mel la , S trabo, t he E lder P l iny , o r i nd ica ted b y s cu lp ture, mosa ics o r e xcavat ions i n t he Ro man Emp ire. O lder w r iters t herefore l ooked h ard f or e v idence o fr o man isat ion i n B ri t ish a gricu l ture. An i n i t ial r ead ing o f many o lder e xcava t ion r eports wou ld g ive t he impression t ha t t he Ro mano-Brit ish f ar mer w as a n ineteen th c en tury s qu ire w i th a c lassica l e duca t ion who f ar med a ccord ing t o ab ook o f r u les l a id d own i n Ro me. The g u l f i s o ne o f c u l ture , c lass a nd d ate. To what e x ten t d id t he B ri t ish f ar mer c hange i n to a Ro man ised f ar mer, o r i s t he v il la a v eneer o f h ouse a nd l and ownersh ip wh ich d id l i t t le t o a l ter a gricu ltural p rac t ice ? Th is c an o n ly b e j udged b y ac o mparison w ith I ron Age a gricu l ture.

I n-

c reasing ly i th as b eco me c lear t ha t much o f t he p rac t ice o f t he I ron Age s urv ived t hroughou t Ro man B ri ta in . L andscape s urveys s how t he c on t inua t ion o f p re-Ro man f i eld s yste ms, s et t le men t p a t terns a nd h ouse s ty les i n to a nd s o met imes t hroughou t Ro man r u le. a re a lso p rac t ical .

F ar mers a re t rad i t iona l ly c onserva t ive.

They

Aw ork ing f ar mer 's methods a nd s k il ls were p robably a

m ixture o f f o lk l ore, wha t h ad b een t r ied a nd t es ted o ver g enera t ions, a nd what f ew improve men ts h e made f ro m h is own o bserva t ions a nd b y t en tat ive e xperi men t f ound s u i ted h is s oi l , c l i mate , a nd c ond it ions.

The d ispar ity b et-

w een c l i ma te i n t he Med iterranean a nd B r ita in w ou ld n ecessarily h ave r estricted t he a dop t ion o f s o me Ro man p ract ices, t hough t he c l i mate i n Br i ta in was p erh aps war mer t han n ow. The f ar mer c ou ld r ecogn ise a nd a dap t t hose n ew i deas wh ich w ere s u i table t o h is f ar m ing s yste m .

Veteran l eg ionaries s et t led i n

B rLa in m igh t k now o f Ro man p rac t ice i ft hey c a me f ro m I t aly; v eterans a nd a ux i l iar ies f ro m o ther p arts o f t he Emp ire m igh t k now o fy et o ther p rac t ices. I t a l ian methods m igh tb e i n troduced o n s ena tor ial o r imperia l e sta tes. Ro man b u i ld ing t echn iques w ere a dop ted i n t owns a nd v i l las. The s a me mater ia l a nd s truc tura l methods may b e e xpec ted i n a gricu l tural b u i ld ings o n e states, t hough

2

p robably i n troduced more s low ly t han i n d o mest ic a cco m moda t ion . Change i n t he n a t ive f ar m ing e cono m ies was d e manded t o s a t isfy t he r equ ire men ts o f a l arge a r my , p art icu larly a s i t moved i n to t he h igh land z one. Food r equ isit ions a nd t axes d e manded g reater o u tpu t.

L and d ra inage, a s i n t he F ens, r equ ired

l arge s cale i nvest men t , c en tral a u thori ty , a nd p oss ible r eset t le men t a s i s a lso s uggested i n n orth Wa les.

I n a dap t ing t o n ew s i tua t ions p easan ts may b e more

r ecep t ive t o n ew a gricu l tural p rac t ices. I n t hese ways s o me o f t he p ract ices o f c en tral I t aly may h ave s pread. Ev idence e x ists f or t he i n troduc t ion o f t he s cythe a nd improved p loughs , more w idespread u se o f l arge r otary q uerns, b a lanced s ick les, e ven wa ter m i l ls, a nd p erhaps f odder c rops. H owever o ur d eta iled k now ledge o f I ron Age a gr icu l ture i s s t i l l l im ited . The Bu tser H il l e xper i men ta l f ar m e x ists t o e xp lore t he e v idence t o e x tend o ur u nderstand ing.

I ti s n ow e v iden t f ro m t he d iscovery o f p lough f urrows i n

I ron Age c on tex ts i n t he h igh land z one, p art icu larly a t s i tes o n Hadrian 's Wa l l , t ha t a gricu l ture i nt he n orth w as more a dvanced t han h itherto t hough t.

Very

f ew a gr icu l tura lb u i ld ings c an b e f ound t o h elp c larify t ha t a rea o f c o mpar ison w ith Ro man Br i ta in . At h ird c o mpar ison , med ieva l B rita in , i s e xp lored h ere.

A s i n t he Ro man

p er iod f ar m ing methods w ere r estric ted b y t he l im i tat ions o f p re-sc ien t if ic a gricu l ture a nd t he b asic r equ ire men ts o ft he a n i mals c oncerned . Med ieval s i tes w ere e xa m ined t o s ee h ow s t ructures w ere a dap ted t o h ouse c at t le, wha t s ort o f materia l f i nds were a ssoc iated w i th i den t if ied b yres, a nd whether a n i mals l ef t e v idence b y t ra mp l ing o r f ro m u r ine, a l l t o e stabl ish s o me c ri ter ia f or t he r ecogn i t ion o fb yres i n Ro man B ri ta in .

Docu men tary e v idence was l ooked a t

t o f ind o u t whether t he e x istence o f s tal ls was a ny g u ide t o t he n umbers o f s tock ma in ta ined o nt he f ar m , what t he s tal ls were u sed f or , wha t n umbers o f s tock c a t t le w ere k ep t i n p roport ion t o o xen , i n ap eriod wh ich l ike Ro man Brita in h ad n o e asy t ransport t o u rban c en tres a nd s o n o l arge market f or milk . Two ma jor c on trasts b etween t he p eriods emerge.

I n med ieva l t imes

d ocu men tary e v idence b oth r e in forces t he i n terpreta t ion o f e xcava t ion a nd g ives d eta i ls o f n or ma l p rac t ices a nd c onstra in ts. S tudy o f w ri t ten e v idence a lso i n troduces i nsigh ts i n to t he efec ts o f f ac tors l ik e p opu la t ion i ncrease, o r t he c hang ing r ela t ion sh ip o fa rable t o p asture o n a gr icu l tural p rac t ice a nd e ven t he b u i ld ings u sed . More s urpr ising ly , t he e v idence f ro m e xcavat ion o n med ieval s i tes i s much c learer t han f ro m Ro mano-Br it ish . S o me r easons f or t h is a re e v iden t , s uch a s more r ecen t c onstruc t ion o r i ncorpora t ion i n s tand ing b u ild ings , b u t t hey d o n ot p rov ide a c o mp lete e xp lana t ion . S tone b u i l t d ra ins s unk i n to t he f l oor , g u l leys c u t i n to t he s o i l , g aps t hrough t he b ase o f wal ls , h ol lowed o u t f l oors, p ost h oles o r s tone s labs f or p ar t i t ions, s hou ld s urv ive a s wel l i n a n e xcava ted Ro mano-Bri t ish f l oor a s i n a med ieval o ne.

The e xpec ta t ions, s cale a nd d a te

o f t he e xcavat ion may p ar t ly e xp la in t he d ispari ty. The d irector o f a med ieval f ar m ing s i te o n D art moor w il lb e e xpect ing e v idence o f a gr icu l ture a nd l ook ing p ar t icu larly f or f unc t iona l d i f feren t ia t ion i n m inor b u ild ings. may b e f ew , h is s i te c o mpac t.

H is b u ild ings

Past e xcavat ions o f Ro man v i l las o f ten l ooked

f or e v idence o ft he c u lture o f Ro me i n ac o mp lex h ouse o f many r oo ms wh ich was o n ly o ne b u i ld ing o f al arge s i te. Most o f t he smal l s a mp le o f med ieval s i tes u sed h ere a re c o mpara t ively r ecen t e xcava t ions, f ro m 1 958 t o t he p resen t ,

3

wh i le many o ft he v il las w ere d ug much e arl ier.

T echn iques h ave improved .

Th is may p art ly e xp la in t he a bsence o f e v idence f ro m e xcava t ion r eports, b u t i ta ssu mes t ha t t he e v idence i s o f ten a t t he s i tes t o b e f ound . The c onclusion must b e t ha t o u tbu i ld ings s hou ld b e e xa m ined w ith t he s a me c are a s a ny v il la h ouse , a nd a v i l la e xcavat ion must b e e xpec ted t o b e al ong t er m a nd e xpensive p ro jec t , u ndertaken b y at ea m a nd b acked u pb y b iolog ical e xper t ise s o t ha t e n thus ias m d oes n ot f l ag , r esources d ry u p , o r c on t inu i ty l apse i n what must b e a n e x ten s ive p rogra m me. r oaches.

Modern e xcava t ions a re i ncorpora t ing t hese a pp-

Af ew s i tes a re b eing e xcava ted w i th c lose a t ten t ion t o a gr icu ltural

e v idence a nd r eports a re awa i ted . Th is s tudy a rose t o s ee h ow f ar t he a va i lable e v idence wou ld r esolve p roble ms i n t he i den t if icat ion o ff ar m b u i ld ings.

I te xa m ines t he ma in t ypes

o f f ar m b u ild ing t o s ee i fb y c o mpar ison , c lassif icat ion , e stabl ishing c ri ter ia f or r ecogn it ion , o r b y r econstruct ion t hey c an b e more s ecurely i den t if ied a nd more f u l ly i n terpreted . I td oes n ot a t te mp t t o s tudy d o mest ic b u i ld ings, e xcep t where a d ual f unc t ion s ee med p ossible , n or a t te mp t t o r ela te b u ild ings t o s ize o f e sta te o r a gr icu l tural p oten t ia l , b oth o f w h ich c an o n ly b e g uessed a t w ith d eta iled l ocal k now ledge, a nd n ot i n as tudy a s w ide a s t h is. G ra in p rocessing h as b een e xa m ined f i rst b ecause more t ypes o fb u i ld ing a ssoc iated w i th i ta re e xpec ted , a nd t he o rder c hosen h as b een t ha t o f t he p rocesses. e ra l p urpose b u i ld ings f o l low .

4

S tock a nd g en-

CHAPTER

1

CORN DRY ING OVENS

PURPOSE The c orn d ry ing o ven i s p robably t he most e asily i den t if iable a gr icu l tural s tructure f ound i n Ro man B ri ta in .

I tf u l f il led a s uf f ic ien t ly v i ta l f unct ion t o b e

a dop ted where o ther s igns o f Ro man ised s tructures a re b arely a pparen t , a nd a t a n e arly d a te ( Woodcuts & Cae S u m merhouse ). The I ron Age c ob o vens s uggested b y B ersu f ro m b urn t c lay f rag men ts f ound i n r ubbish p i ts a t L it t le Woodbury , a nd t he ' agricu ltural h earths ' o n t he s i tes o f Upper Tha mes Basin , may h ave f u l f il led t he s a me f unc t ion t hough e xperi men ts h ave s hown t ha t g ra in d oes n ot n eed p arch ing f or p i t s torage

( Bersu 1 940 6 2-63; Hard ing 1 972 3 8.,

Reynolds 1 974 ). There a re s everal r easons why c orn m igh t n eed t o b e a rt if ic ial ly d ried i n Ro man B ri ta in . The ma in c rops g rown a ppear t o h ave b een s pel t , b arley , a nd o ats. C o m mon a nd b read whea ts w ere i ncreasing i n importance , a nd r ye h ad b een r ecen t ly i n troduced ( J essen a nd He lbaek 1 944; Godw in 1 956 ).

O f

t hese s pel t , t he ma in whea t t hen g rown f or b read , r equ ired d ry ing b efore i t c ou ld b e t hreshed s a t isfac torily , a s d id em mer, s t i l l g rown t o al im i ted e x ten t ( Pl iny 1 8. 1 8.97 ).

However , c orn d riers h ave b een f ound t o c on ta in c arbon ized

g rains o ther t han s pel t( e .g . S tar ) . Where s uch g ra ins a re p resen t i n smal l p rop ort ions i ti s p ossible t ha t t hey o ccur a cc iden tal ly , a s weeds g a thered w ith t he s pel t , a s a ccu mu la ted waste f ro m s everal d ry ings o f d if feren t c rops, o r t hat t hey w ere s own a s mixed c rops. Where t he g ra in s f ound s uggest t ha t t he c rops d ried w ere whol ly o r l argely b arley , o r whea ts o ther t han s pel t , a n a l terna t ive e xp lana t ion must b e f ound. S torage o f g ra in was g iven much c are. C lassical wr iters c onsidered whether i ts hou ld b e s tored i n t he e ar , when i ti s l ess v u lnerable ( Pl iny 1 8. 7 3. 3 06.) , a nd what s ort o f g ranary s hou ld b e b u i l t ( Chap . 3 ). H igh mo isture c on ten t a t h arvest , o r i n s torage, e ncouraged g er m inat ion , m ildew , f ungus a nd i n sect p ests ( Pl iny 1 8.

1 8 , 8 3 & 91).

Dry ing migh t t herefore b e emp loyed

t o i mprove t he k eep ing q ua l i ty a s i ti s t oday. G er m ina t ion c an b e r etarded b y g en t le h ea t ing ( parch ing ), b u t p reven ted b y r oast ing. G ra in i n tended f or s eed o r mal t ing c ou ld t herefore b e h ar med b y o ver h ea t ing .

Today a work ing t e mpera ture o f 1 20 ° F o r 4 8.9 ° C i s r eco mm-

e nded wh ile d ry ing b arley a nd s eed c orn a t l ow moisture c on ten ts.

The Ro man

c orn d r ier w ou ld n ot h ave b een c apable o f p rec ise h ea t r egu lat ion s o al ower h ea t l evel must h ave b een u sual t o a l low a w ide marg in o f e rror f or t hese p roc esses. H igher t e mpera tures a re r eco m mended i n d ry ing g ra in f or m il l ing o r a n i ma l f eed .

5

Mo isture c on ten t must b e k ep t l ow t o d eter m ildew a nd f ungus , a nd t he s tore must b e k ep t c ool .

Far mers a re n ow a dv ised t hat w i th a mo isture c on ten t

o f 1 4% g ra in c an b e s tored i nb u lk o r i n s ack s f or 1 1 --y ears, o r a t 1 5% i nb u lk f or a y ear i n n or mal s torage c ond i t ions. T oday i nsect ic ides c an h elp c on trol i nsect a t tack . The p rinc ipal g ra in p est k nown i n Ro man B ri ta in , t he g ra in w eev i l , b eco mes a c t ive a t a mo isture c on ten t o f 1% a t 1 5 °C ( 59 ° F ). A t ah igher mo isture c on ten t t he t e mpera ture must b e r educed t o p reven t i t s d evelopmen t. I n r everse, i f mo isture c on ten t w ere r educed a s much a s p ossib le b y a rt if ic ial d ry ing d ur ing t he war mer mon ths af ter h arvest a g reater p roport ion m igh t b e k ep t s afely t hrough t he w in ter. I n t he I ron Age s torage o fg ra in i n s ea led p i ts t he a ccu mu lat ion o f c arbon d iox ide g iven o f fb y i n i t ial g er m inat ion h a l ts f ur ther g er m ina t ion a nd k i l ls t he i nsec ts.

I fc orn d ry ing was p rac t ised i n t he I ron Age i ts hou ld b e f or a bove-

g round s torage o ff ood g ra in o r f or s o me p urpose o ther t han s torage.

( For

g eneral d iscussion s ee Buck land 1 978 , Reynolds 1 974 18f f ). G ra in m igh t a lso b e g round more e asily i fi t was h ardened b y d ry ing. D a mp g ra in t ended t o c rush a nd f l at ten i n t he m il l , c logg ing i t , a nd was n ot g round f i nely ( Curwen 1 938 , 1 61-2 ).

Th is i s t he p urpose imp l ied b y V irg i l ,

" Now y ou must r oast t he g ra in a nd b reak i tn ow w i th s tone" ( Georg ics 1 .267 ) a nd was o ne r eason g iven f or d ry ing c orn i n modern I reland ( Evans 1 957 1 21). G ra in m igh t b e d r ied a rt if ic ial ly t o r ipen i t .

Th is t echn ique was u sed

u n t il r ecen t ly i n n orth a nd w est B r i ta in t o d ry b arley ( Scot t 1 951).

P iggot t

s uggested t ha t t he s ou thern b oundary o f t he p ract ice was t he N ortha mp tonsh ire J urassic , a nd t ha t t he p rocess was i n u se t hroughou t t he H igh land z one ( 1958 , 1 2). The smal l n umber o f d eveloped c orn d r iers n orth o f t h is l i ne c o mpared w ith t he s ou th s uggests t ha t c l i ma te w as n o t a ma jor f ac tor. C un li f fe h as s ince s uggested t ha t i n t he s ou th t he c rop may h ave b een d el ibera tely h arvested b ef ore t he c orn w as r ipe b ecause t he s traw w ou ld h ave g rea ter n u trit ional v alue f or f odder ( 1974 , 1 74 ). The c orn w ou ld t hen n eed d ry ing t o r ipen i t . B ecause o f t he b r i t t le r ach is o rs p ikelet s te m h arvest ing s pel t u nr ipe w ou ld a lso r educe g ra in l oss ( Bender 1 975 , 5 2 ). B arley m igh t b e n aked o r h usked.

N aked b arley c ou ld b e t hreshed w i th-

o u t p rel im inary d ry ing , b u t i fd ried b efore t hresh ing c ou ld b e c leaned more t horough ly a nd wou ld p roduce wh i ter f l our ( Helbaek 1 952, 2 11 n . 3 ). N aked b arley i s more c o m mon i n Br ita in i n s a mp les e xa m ined f ro m p er iods b efore t he l a te B ronze Age when t he h usked v ariety b eg ins t o p redo m ina te a s i td oes t oday ( Godw in 1 956 2 68 ). Though G odw in t hen h ad o n ly f our e xa mp les f or t he Ro man p eriod , 1n aked a nd 3 h usked , He lbaek h as more r ecen t ly a cknow ledged t ha t b arley was g rown a t l arge i n B r i ta in i n t he Ro man p er iod ( He lbaek 1 964 ) , a nd more b ar ley f inds a re 1 0 1 , 1 7 i den t if ied ( Godw in 1 975 4 10 ). App lebau m h as c o me t o t he s a me c onclusion o n d if feren t a rgumen ts ( 1972, 11). I n I t aly i t was a p opu lar c rop b ecause i t was l ess l i kely t han wheat t o b e afec ted b y m i ld ew ( Pl iny 1 8.

1 8.

7 8 ).

S o me v ar iet ies s how g ood t olerance o f c old , g row

w el l o n c halk a nd l imestone, a nd s pr ing g rown v ar iet ies mature i n 6 0-70 d ays. Th is w ou ld b e v ery s u i table i n Br i ta in ( Ren frew 1 973, 8 0 ). The Ro mans w ere a ccusto med t o t he h usked v ariety. Mor itz h as i den t if ied o n ly t wo c er ta in r efe rences t o n aked b arley i nt he Med i terranean world , i n P l iny 1 8 , 6 1 a nd C olmel la 2 .9.15 ( Mori tz 1 955 1 30-131). 6

b eer.

Barley m igh t b e u sed f or a n i mal o r h u man c onsu mp t ion , o r f or mak ing An i ma ls c an d igest b oth g ra in a nd h usks, s o n o d ry ing was n ecessary

f or t ha t u se , t hough C olu mel la men t ions r oasted b arley a s af ood f or a c ow a f ter g iv ing b irth ( 3 .24.5 ), a nd r oasted whea t G r b arley f or a s ick h orse ( 6 .30.1). Barley b read was n o t t o Ro man t aste.

Among t he l eg ionar ies r estric t ion t o

b arley b read was a p un ish men t ( Veget ius Ep i t. 1 1 3; Polyb ius , H istories 6 . 3 9. 1 2. l i sted b arley a s a l loca ted o n ly t o c avalry , p resu mably f or h orses, i n 1 40 B .C. Wa tson 1 969 1 26 ). H owever f rag men tary d ocu men ts r ecen t ly f ound a t V indolanda s uggest t ha t s old iers a te b arley i n s o me f or m , i fo n ly j ust b efore t he h arvest ( Bow man 1 974 ). S eneca imp l ies t ha t i n I t aly t he b read o f t enan ts a nd f ar m managers w ou ld b e i n fer ior ( Let ter 1 23). Coun try p rov inc ials f ro m who m most a ux il iaries w ere d rawn wou ld b e u sed t o c oarse b read , a nd i ti s l ikely t ha t t hey a nd n on-Ital ian l eg ionaries w ere more d ependan t o nb arley i n Bri ta in t han c lassical s ources s uggest .

The g ra in i s n o t r ea l ly s u i table f or

b read b ecause o f i t s l ow p rote in c on ten t , a nd l ess s u itable when r oasted b ecause t h is d estroys t he g lu ten n ecessary f or b read t o r ise. The c ooked b read , when c ooled , w ou ld b e s ol id a nd u npa la table ( Mori tz 1 958 2 1). However t he c arboni sed c akes o r b uns f ound a t I ron Age G lastonbury d id c on ta in h usked b arley ( He lbaek 1 952

2 12 ), a nd i ti s p oss ible t ha t o n l ess Ro man ised s et t le men ts t he

c heaper a nd l ess d es irable g ra in was s t il l u sed i nb read mak ing , e spec ial ly i f l arge q uan t i t ies o f s pel t w ere r equ ired f or t he a r my o r s old i n t he t owns. The b arley i n c orn d riers a tS ancreed a nd S tar was n aked b arley a nd s o d id n o t n eed d ry ing t o t hresh more e asily.

I t may h ave b een d ried t o g rind f or b read.

Barley i s u sed t oday f or b eer mak ing. The Cel ts w ere k nown a s b eer d rinkers a nd b eer was w el l k nown i n t he a nc ien t w orld ( A thenaus 4 .36 , D iodorus S icu lus 5 .25.2, i nT ierney 1 959 , S trabo 4 .5.5, F orbes 1 956 ). I t was a p opu lar d rink among Ro man t roops. Mal t ing c orn ( bracus) i s r eferred t o o n t he V indol anda t ablets ( Dav ies 1 971, 1 33, Bow man 1 974, 3 67 & 3 71, B irley 1 977 , 1 54 ). Barley was n ot t he o n ly g ra in t hen u sed a nd n eed n o t h ave b een t he ma in o ne, i n f act whea t s prou ts more q u ick ly a nd o a ts w ere a lso u sed b y t he Ro mans ( He lbaek 1 964, 1 58 , André 1 961, 1 79 ).

A f ter b eing s teeped i n water f or s o me

h ours t he g ra in i s s pread o nt he f l oor t o g er m ina te, t hen i ti s d r ied t o c onvert i tt o mal t .

The c orn d ry ing o ven m igh t h ave b een u sed f or t h is p urpose.

D ry ing

k i lns w ere r ecen t ly u sed i n I reland t o d ry mal t i n p oteen mak ing ( Evans 1 942 ). K ilns a t H als tock , Ha mbleden, Hun tsha m a nd Wh it ton a re i n b u i ld ings wh ich a lso c on ta in t anks. These m igh t h ave b een u sed f or s teep ing g ra in . ( Bu t s ee p . 1 5 ). Further e xa m ina t ion o f material f ound i n c orn d riers m igh t i nd icate i fg ra ins h ad s prou ted b efore d ry ing a nd s o w ere p robably b e ing u sed f or b eer mak ing. The b est e v idence f or t h is i n Bri ta in i s c arbon ised g ra in f ound i n a t imber h u t a t C aer leon ( c . A .D. 8 0-130 ) , c ons is t ing o f s pe l t , T . a es t ivum , b arley a nd r ye , wh ich h ad g er m inated b efore b eco m ing c arbon ised.

Helbaek

s uggested t ha t h ere t he r oast ing p rocess wh ich s hou ld f o l low g er m inat ion h ad g ot o u t o f h and b u t t here w as n o e v idence t ha t t he h u t c on ta ined a k i ln ( 1964, 1 586 4 ). Exa m inat ion o f t he g ra in m igh t r eveal t he r eason f or d ry ing i t .

The p re-

s ence o fg lu mes a nd c haf fw ou ld d ist ingu ish b etween u n threshed a nd t hreshed c orn .

Among u n threshed s a mp les, when t he g ra ins w ere wel l s haped a nd o f

s pel t o r em mer , d ry ing a s a n a id t o t hresh ing m igh t b e e xpec ted .

Unripe o r

d a mp s eeds b eco me d istorted b y h eat , s o al arge p roport ion o f t hese w ou ld 7

s uggest d ry ing a n u nr ipe c rop ( Ren frew , Monk & Murphy , 19 76 , 4 ).

Thresh ing

a nd w innow ing g ra in w ou ld r e move c haf f , a nd smal l g ra in , i nc lud ing weed s eeds. I ft he s a mp le was h o mogeneous a nd o f l arge g ra ins, l ike t he F rocester s a mp le, d ry ing c ou ld b e f or s torage o r g rind ing ( Dennel 19 74, Grac ie 1 970 ).

Mal t ing

wou ld b e i nd icated b y " e mp ty" g ra ins a nd s prou ts l y ing w ith t he m , s how ing t ha t t he g ra in h ad g er m inated. However, d ur ing c arbon isa t ion g ra ins a re s o met imes s o d a maged t hat s uch f ine d ist inc t ions a re n ot v isible. I th as b een p ossi ble a t I sca a nd Veru la m iu m ( Helbaek 1 964 & 1 952 ). C orn d r iers may a lso h ave b een u sed t o d ry f l ax af ter r et t ing .

F lax was

c erta in ly g rown i n B ri ta in b y t he I ron Age b oth f or t ex t ile f i bres a nd f or i t s o il b earing s eed ( Hard ing 1 974 8 8 ) , a nd s eeds h ave b een f ound i n a Ro man c ont ex t a t Barton Court ( M i les 1 976 6 4 ) , App leford & Far moor ( Rob inson 19 78 3 7 ) , S i lches ter , P evensey a nd B er mondsey ( Godw in 1 956 1 00 ).

The sma l l s ize o f

t he s eed i n as amp le f ro m b urn t l eve ls i n R o man C o lches ter s ugges ted c u l t ivat ion f or f i bres r a ther t han o i l ( Webs ter 1 978 1 15 ) .

R e ma ins o f l i nen a re c o m-

mon b u t t he b e t ter l i nen , a nd p robab ly mos t o f t ha t worn i n Br i ta in , was i mp or ted ( W i ld 1 970 1 5 ) .

I ff lax g rown i n B r i ta in was n o t u sed f or c lo th , R o man

wr i ters s how t ha t t he t hread h ad many more u ses , f or n e ts , l i nes , b ags , s tra iners , c ords , many o f t he m o f g rea t u se i n a gr icu l ture ( Wh i te 1 975 ) . B eans a nd p eas w ere d ried t oo.

L egu mes w ere f ound i n ad r ier a t Odel l ,

Bed fordsh ire ( D ix , 1 978 4 42 ). F our T s haped d r iers i nd is t ingu ishable i n f or m f ro m c orn d r iers were f ound a t C hurch i l l H osp i ta l , Ox ford , i n a ssoc ia t ion w i th f our p o t tery k i lns a nd was ters , a nd were p robably b e ing u sed t o d ry p o t tery t o al ea ther-hard s ta te b e fore f ir ing ( Young 1 972 2 09 , 1 977 , 2 0 ).

O thers were a ssocia ted w i th p o t tery

k i lns a t C ra mbe a nd N or ton , b o th n ear Ma l ton , a nd a t H a ms tead Marsha l l ( Wenham 1 974 4 1;

Hayes a nd Wh i t ley 1 950 1 5 , Y oung 1 977 2 0 ).

Another u se t o wh ich s o me o f t he d ry ing r oo ms m igh t h ave b een p u t i s f or smok ing f ood.

Smoked c heese a nd s ausages were Ro man d ishes , a nd Horace

r efers t o smoked p ork a s t he c oun try man 's n or ma l f are ( Sat ires 1 1.2, 12-36 ). I ti s s o met i mes s uggested t ha t s tone f l oors w ere p urposely c onstructed i n c orn d riers t o s epara te c orn f ro m t he smoke wh ich migh t a f fec t t he t as te . c ou ld o n ly work i ft he s tones were mor tared o r s ealed .

Th is

I ft h is w ere s o , o n ly

t he s i mp ler d riers, o r t hose where t he h o t a ir was d irected t hrough t he d ry ing c ha mber c ou ld b e u sed t o smoke mea t.

' Dried ' f i sh a nd mea t o ccurs much

more f requen tly a nd t he d r iers c ou ld h ave b een u sed f or t h is ( Flower a nd Rosenbau m 19 58

2 7 , 3 9 , 6 3, 6 9 , 7 1), Colu mel la men t ions smok ing r oo ms f or

s eason ing t imber ( 1 .6.19 ) , b u t o n ly d ry ing f or f uel wou ld h ave b een p ract ical ( Hanson 19 78

2 96 ).

L arge q uan t i t ies o f d a mp g ra in c an b e d r ied f or t hresh ing a nd s torage w ithou t af urnace. b r ief ly t o f i re. b arely a f fec ted . t o b e d r ied .

I srael i T kar meP o r u nr ipe g ra in i s d ried b y e xposing i t

The c haff i s b urn t o f f , t he g lu mes s corched , a nd t he k erne l Three d iferen t methods a re u sed , d epend ing o n t he q uan t i ty

P iles o f g ra in a re p ushed a ga inst a f i re l i t i n o ne c orner o f t he

t hresh ing f l oor.

When i ti s s corched t he g ra in i s p u l led t o t he o ther s ide o f

t he f l oor f or t hresh ing.

Bund les o f e ars may b e p assed b ackwards a nd f orwards

o ver a f i re , o r smal l q uan t i t ies o f e ars a re p laced o n ab und le o f t w igs a nd t h ist les wh ich a re s et a l igh t ( Av i tsur 1 975 8

2 28 ).

To d ry d a mp c orn f or t hresh ing

a n e ven h ea t a t c on trol led t e mpera tures a nd e laborate f l ues a re n ot t herefore n ecessary.

Where t he k ernel i sb eing h ardened f or g r ind ing a more e ven ,

l eng thy , h ea t wou ld b e r equ ired.

I f af urnace was b u il t t o s erve s everal p ur-

p oses i tw ou ld n eed t o b e b u i l t t o t he more e xac t ing r equ ire men ts. PROBLE MS A l though many c orn d r iers h ave n ow b een f ound f ew o f t he m a dd t o o ur k nowledge o f h ow t hey w orked . A s w i th p ot tery k i lns a nd h ypocaust r oo ms t he s uperstruc ture h as u sual ly d isappeared , l eav ing o n ly t he c haracterist ic T s hap ed f lue o r d er iva t ions f ro m i t . p hotographs l ess f requen t ly.

P lans a re o f ten p ubl ished , b u t s ec t ions a nd

I n many c ases a c orn d rier i s men t ioned b u t n o

d eta il g iven. I nt he c atalogue t hree t ypes o f e v idence a re u sed f or i den t if icat ion : t he f ind ing o f c arbon ised g ra in i n t he f l ues, c haracterist ic s truc ture, a nd a ssoc iat i on w ith o ther d riers o r a gr icu l tural f ea tures.

N one p rov ides a s ecure i den t i-

f i ca t ion o n i t s own , p art icu larly f or t he s i mp ler o vens. f l ues may merely b e f ro m t he ir u se a s f uel .

S traw a nd c haf f i n t he

D iseased g ra in , t oo, w ou ld h ave

b een b urn t t o d estroy t he p ests. The many v ar iet ies p resen t ap roble m.

Charred g ra in i n t he m s uggests

t ha t s o me b owl f urnaces w ere b eing u sed f or c orn d ry ing.

A t t he o pposi te e nd

o ft he s cale s o me o f t he more e labora te d riers m igh tb e c onfused w ith t he c hann el led o r p i l lared r oo m h ypocausts. Th is g reat v ar iety must h ave b een t he r esu l t o fa t te mp ts t o f ind s yste ms wh ich improved i n ef ic iency. Improve men ts may b e d etec table i n s ubsequen t s truc tures o n t he s a me s i te. I ti s g eneral ly a ssu med t ha t c orn was d ried l oose. Th is w ou ld n ecessarily b e s o i fi th ad a lready b een t hreshed a nd was d r ied f or s torage , g r ind ing , o r ma l t ing , o r o n ly t he h eads w ere h arvested.

A t te mp ts t o i ncrease t he h ea ted

f l oor a rea w ith mu l t ip le f l ues, d ouble f l oors o r p ilae i mp ly l oose g ra in . S o me g ra in was h arvested i n s heaves o r b und les i n t he Ro man w orld ( CIL 8 .11824 ). I ncreasing u se o f t he s cy the a nd b alanced s ick le wou ld make c u t t ing a t g round l evel e asier. I fd ried i nb und les t he c orn c ou ld b e c on tro l led more e asily i n d riers w ith o pen c ross f l ues , o r a rranged o ver t he T d r ier s o t ha t t he h eads w ere a bove t he c en tral h ea ted c hannel a nd t he s talks o ver t he s ide p la tfor m . Th is c ou ld o n ly b e d one w i th u n threshed c orn .

B oth p ossible methods o f h and-

l i ng must b e c onsidered . The d r iers t he mselves c on ta in n o d irec t d at ing e v idence. Most of ten t he ir p er iod o fu se c an b e s uggested b y r ubb ish t hrown i n to t he m af ter u se , o r b y t he l im i ts imposed b y t he d a tes o f t he b u i ld ings o r s et t le men ts i n wh ich t hey a re f ound .

Mims c erta in ly r ep laced o ne a nother a t G reat Casterton , a nd

p robably d id s o a t Ha mbleden a nd West B latch ing ton where t hey o ccur i n c ons iderable n u mbers.

Though s o me h ad wooden s uperstruc tures, o thers a ppear

t o h ave b een i n s ubstan t ia lb u ild ings , a nd were a dap ted o r r epa ired when t heir i n i t ial work ing was u nsa t isfac tory . Most c orn d r iers a re k nown i n o r a d jacen t t o v i l las, o r s tone b u il t a isled b u ild ings, ma in ly o ft he 4 th c en tury , s o t hey h ave b een a ssu med t o b e g eneral o n ly i n t he 3 rd a nd 4 th c en tur ies.

More a re n ow k nown i n r ural s et tle men ts,

a nd f ro m a ne arl ier p er iod . 9

STRUCTURE C orn d r iers h ave b een c a talogued a ccord ing t o f or m.

D escr ip t ive t i t les

u sed b y C ocks a nd Gow land ( 1920-21) h ave b een emp loyed , b u t o ther c a tegor ies h ave b een a dded .

( See Catalogue )

E ssen t ia l ly t he c orn d rier c on ta ined a s tok ing a rea , af i re p lace , f l ues , a nd a d ry ing f l oor.

They a re u sual ly d ug i n to t he g round s o t ha t t he f l oor o f

t he d ry ing c ha mber i s a t o r s l igh t ly a bove g round l evel . The s tok e h ole r e ma ins l i t t le more t han a b ow l i n t he g round . L ess c are was t aken o ver i t s s truc ture t han o ver a ny o ther p art o f t he f urnace, t hough o ccasional ly a s tep o r p ossible s eat o ccurs.

The f eatures wh ich i den t ify i t

c learly a re t he p resence o f h eavy b urn ing o n t i les, s tones o r s o i l , a nd f requen t ly a sh a nd c harcoa l .

I n s o me e xa mp les t he s toke-hole h as b een r el ined , p oss ibly

a f ter b eing w orn b y much u se (West B latch ing ton 4 , S ancreed ). The f i re p lace i s t he e nd o ft he ma in f l ue n earest t he s toke h ole. b urn ing a nd a f l oor l owered b y r epea ted r ak ing i den t ify i t .

H eavy

The u se o f t i le o r

o ther h ea t r esistan t material i n t he f l ue s ides i s a lso c o m mon .

L arge s tone

b locks s o met i mes o ccur h ere, p art ly t o l i ne t he f i re b ox , b u t a lso t o s uppor t t he f l ue r oof . The f i re b ox i s o u tside t he a rea o f t he d ry ing f l oor , p robab ly t o a vo id a v ery h ot p a tch i n t he c ha mber f l oor , o r s o t ha t t he f l a me i s l ess l ikely t o p enetrate t hrough t he k i ln f l oor i fn ot o f s ton e. The ma in f lue was t he c hannel r unn ing f ro m t he s toke h ole t o t he f ur ther e nd o f t he f urnace.

O ther f lues m igh t b ranch f ro m i t .

When n ot c u t i n to t he

n atura l s tone i t was u sua l ly l ined w i th l ocal s tone, r e-used s tone o r t i le. S everal h ad a dd i t ional o r a l ternat ive l i n ings o f p laster o r l ime c e men t. I t s b read th v aried b etween 0 .30-0.60 m., a nd i t s l eng th was i n t he r ange 1 .803 .60 m . I t s f unc t ions w ere t o h elp c rea te a d raugh t , h ea t t he a rea a bove i t , a nd s epara te t he f i re a nd f l a mes f ro m t he d ry ing a rea. An umber o f f eatures i n t he ma in f l ue w ere p robably i n tended t o c on trol t he i n tensi ty o r d irec t ion o f t he a ir f l ow.

The f lues a t K et ter ing a nd West

B latch ing ton w iden t owards t he T e nd , a s d o t hose a t D own ton , A twor th 2 , Brad ing 2 , a nd S pr inghead , t hough t o al esser e x ten t 1. S evera l f l ues h ave s o me f or m o fb lock ing.

A t Halstock a l arge s tone a t a n a ng le i n o ne d rier a nd

ap ronounced n arrow ' wa ist ' i n t he o ther may h ave b een c onstruc ted a s b aff les t o r es tr ict t he f l a mes. The ma in f lue o f t he G reat Caster ton r ound d ry ing f l oor w as b locked b efore t he b ranch ing f l ues when t he f l oor was r econstruc ted. A t A tworth a nd Wickha mford s tones a t t he e n try o f t he f i re b ox h ad s lots i n t he m a s i ft o t ak e a d justable d a mpers t o ' draw u p ' t he f i re. A l l w ere p robably u t i l iz ing t he ' Ven turi ' e f fec tb y wh ich i f ac olumn o f a ir i s r estr ic ted i n w id th i tw i l l r ush f aster t o p ass t he o bstruct ion . ' ch i mney ' h ad s im i lar s lots.

The s tones o n e i ther s ide o f A twor th

A t Hamb leden 2 t egu lae p robably a c t ing a s d a m-

p ers w ere s t i l l i n p osit ion b u t t hey w ere b etween t he ma in a nd s econdary f lues , i n t he s a me p os i t ion a s as lot a t Park S treet . Ab aff le wal l o f t i le d ef lec ted t he h eat t o e ach s ide a t t he e nd o ft he R ivenhal l f lue. I n t he e xperi men tal k i ln f i ring a t Wel ton Wold i t was f ound t ha t ac o mb ina t ion o fb af f le a nd T s hape a cted a s ap erfec t s park t rap ( Mackey 1 977 ). k ing a t S tar i s n ot c lear.

The p urpose o f t he p art ial b loc-

Most o f t he o vens a re s i tuated i nside o r amongst

b u ild ings s o t hat t heir d irec t ion i n r ela t ion t o t he p reva i l ing w ind wou ld b e o f 1 0

l ess r e levance t o d raugh t . H owever t he T d rier r ecen t ly f ound a t Win terton was a l igned t o c atch t he p reva i l ing w ind a nd a ssoc ia ted w i th a wooden s truc ture ( Good burn 1 977 ). The d istance t o wh ich e v idence o fb urn ing , a sh , a nd s oot p enetra ted t he f lues i s s o me i nd icat ion o f t he s treng th o f d raugh t a nd i n tensi ty o f h ea t g enerated. The e f fec ts o fb urn ing w ere v isible i n t he e nd f l ues a t Durr ing ton Wa l ls, a nd West B latch ing ton 5 & 9 , wh ile q uan t i t ies o fb urn ing , c harcoal , a sh a nd s oot w ere r e marked o n a t many s i tes.

The p resence o f t h icker p i les o f a sh a t t he

e nds o ft he c ross f l ues a t D own ton ( 1 5 cm ), Thundersbarrow ( 1 2 cm ) a nd West B latch ing ton 3 ( 2 .5 cm ) i nd icates a s trong d raugh t a nd t ha t t he a sh was d eposi t ed d uring u se, n ot d ur ing d estruct ion b y f i re. G ra in h ad t o b e s upported o ver t he f l ues w i thou t b eing s o n ear a s t o r oast o r c a tch f i re. P ossible methods t o e nsure t ha t f l a me c ou ld n ot r each t he g ra in i nclude u sing a b af f le, a l ong ma in f l ue b etween t he f i re b ox a nd d ry ing c ha mber, as ol id f l oor o f mortared s tone o r c e men t , ah igh f l oor , ad ouble f l oor, a f uel t hat o n ly smou lders , o r p re-hea t ing t he o ven . o f h ow t he f l ues w ere b r idged .

Ev idence d oes n ot a lways r e ma in

Where f l a t s labs w ere a va ilable t hey w ere u sed

s upported o n t he s ide wal ls ( Down ton , Up ton S t. L eonards, F al mer , & Woodcu ts ) , b u t where smal l s tone was u sed t hey w ere a rched , o ver t he f l ue a t Rockbourne D own 1a nd H ighdown , o ver t he f i re p lace a t West B latch ington , Durr ing ton a nd H amb leden 4 .

F langed t i les w ere u sed a t K ingworthy.

A t Bawdripp c over

s labs w ere s a id t o h ave b een s upported o n i ron b ars l a id a cross t he f i re, a nd a t Bro mha m a c lay f l oor s upported o n i ron b ars was s uggested. Med ieval a nd e arly modern d ocu men ts s how t hat t hen g ra in w as s upported o n ak i ln h a ir o r mat .

I r ish e xa mp les u sed a h urd le, w i th s traw o n t op , a nd

al i nen s hee t a bove t ha t , b ut t he l aws a lso i nd icate t he d anger o f f i re ( Evans 1 957 1 23 ). O rkney d ry ing c ha mber f l oors w ere o f s traw s upported o n wooden b ars.

They w ere c 1 .22 m a bove g round l evel a nd t he f i re p lace was a t t he e nd

o f af l ue 1 m. l ong ( Firth 1 974

1 9 ).

U se o f s im ilar materials b y t he Ro mans

h as b een s uggested , a nd i s p ossible i n t he s i mp ler k i lns w i th b af f les , d eep o r l ong f l ues a nd c arefu l ly c on trol led f i ring.

Re ma ins o f a wooden f l oor , i t s c racks

s topped w i th c lay , w ere f ound a t F oxholes Far m , H erts, b u t t he f lue h ere w as 1 m. d eep .

Aw ooden f l oor was s uggested a t Park S treet , b u t t he t e mpera tures

a t t h is l evel c ou ld s t il lb e c onsiderable, t i le i s more l ikely h ere , a nd s tone was u sed a t A tworth , t he o n ly s urv iv ing u pper f l oor.

A t God manchester a h urd le

p lastered o nb oth s ides w i th d aub h ad b een b roken u p a nd t hrown i n to t he f i l l o f t he o ven ( H. J . M. G reen c o m mun ica t ion ). Th is wou ld h ave b een a n efect ive f l oor, a nd p robably more c o m mon t han h as b een r ecogn ised . Burn t d aub a nd c ob h ave b een f ound o n many s i tes b u t may h ave b een f ro m s uperstructures o r f l oors. The d ry ing c ha mber w as b u i l t a bove t he ma jor p art o f t he ma in f l ue, a nd t he s econdary f l ue. S tructural f eatures of ten i nd ica te t he f l oor a rea , b u t r arely d eta ils o ft he o u ter wal ls. I ts ee ms p robable t ha t most d riers w ere i n as tructure o f s o me s ort. S urround ing d ra inage g u l l ies, wooden r oof s upports, a nd c lay o r wa t tle a nd d aub d ebris, t aken w i th t he a bsence o f l arge amoun ts o f c ol lapsed s tone s uggests t ha t t hey w ere o f ten o ft imber f ra me w i th i nf i l l o f wat t le a nd d aub , o r o f c ob.

1

A t Odel l , Herts. f our l arge p ost p ads i n ar ectangu lar a rrange men t s urrounded t he d r ier , a nd w i th t he f a l len r oof t i les a s ubstan t ial s truc ture i s s uggested . Exper i men ts i n f i r ing a d rier a t Wel ton Wold s howed t ha t w i thou t a n e nclosing s tructure t he d r ier was f ar t oo s uscep t ible t o c hang ing w inds o n t ha t e xposed s i te ( Mackey 1 977 ).

Many w ere i n l arger b u i ld ings, a nd t here t he f or m o f t heir

u pper s truc ture i s n ot c lear. t o b e f ree-stand ing p lat for ms.

An u mber a re i nside b arns.

O f t hese s o me a ppear

I n s everal i ti s c lear t ha t a wal l f aced o nb o th

s ides r ose a bove t he r e ma in ing f l oor l evel . I tc ou ld h ave s erved a t l east t hree p urposes , a s ar eta in ing k erb f or g ra in p laced o n ah ard f l oor , a s t he b ase o f a wa l l e nclosing t he d ry ing c ha mber a nd p erhaps r ising t o ac en tral c h i mney , o r a s al edge t o c arry a n u pper f l oor. I n t he l a t ter t he d ry ing f l oor w ou ld b e l arger a nd e x tend o ver t he wal l , a s a t A tworth. Here G oodch ild s t il l e xpec ted t he d r ier t o b e e nclosed b y a wooden s creen , wh i le i n c on trast t he Park S treet d r ier i sr econs truc ted a s ap latfor m s tand ing a bove t he r oo m f l oor l evel , r a ther l ike a d a is. Wi thou t k now ing t he f or m o f t he u pper s tructure o r h ow s trong a d raugh t was r equ ired o ur r econstruc t ions d epend o nt he f or m o f c hannels a nd a pparen t p os i t ions o f v en ts. RECONSTRUCT IONS 1 .

Wi th t wo f l oors. The c lassic r econstruct ion i s o f ac orn d r ier w ith t wo f l oors , a s a t A tworth ,

Park S treet a nd G rea t Casterton . A t A twor th t he h o t a ir r ose t hroughou t t he l eng th o ft he c ross f l ue. The l ower f l oor was n ot c on t inued u p t o t he b ack wa l l o ft he o ven , b u t t er m ina ted t o a l low t he h ot a ir f ro m t he ma in f l ue t o e n ter t he 1 5 cm s pace b e tween t he t wo f l oors. The p hotograph ( Pla te I V, S haw Mel lor a nd G oodch ild 1 942 ) s hows t he e nd o ft he d rier. N o l edge wh ich m igh t h ave s upported c over s labs o ver t he c en tral p art o f t he c ross f lue was v isible a t t he l ower l evel . The s a me p late s hows t ha t t he l edge wh ich s upported t he u pper f l oor e x isted a l l a long t he s ide o f t he c ha mber.

One s lab o f t he u pper f l oor s urv ived o ver t he e nd o f o ne

o ft he c ross f l ues, wh ich c ou ld n o t t herefore h ave r isen a bove t h is h eigh t.

The

e x i t i nt he s ide o ft he o ven wh ich Goodch i ld i n terpre ted a s ac h i mney i s p laced s o t ha t h alf o f t he f l oor w ou ld b e h eated.

To w ork e f fec t ively t o h ea t t he whole

o f t he u pper f l oor c h i mneys wou ld n eed t o b e p laced a t t he s toke-hole e nd . A t f i rst s igh t t he Park S treet d ry ing r oo m s ee ms t o r e medy t h is.

A ma in

f l ue w ith a nu pper f l oor was r econstruc ted h ere t oo. N o f l oor r e ma ined , b u t mor tar s urfaced s helves w ere f ound a t t wo l evels o n e i ther s ide o ft he ma in f lue b eyond i t s j unc t ion w i th t he s econdary f l ues.

The o rig inal r econstruct ion

s hows o ne f l oor a bove t he ma in f l ue , a nd a nother o n t he h igher s helf . Hot a ir wou ld r ise u p t he a per ture a t t he e nd o f t he ma in f l ue , p ass b ack b etween f l oors 1a nd 2 , t hen a long t he s ide f l ues a nd o u t b y s o me means a t t heir NW a nd SW e nds.

The a lterna t ive r econstruc t ion w i th a t i le f l oor o n t he l ower s hel f wou ld

n ot a l ter t he method o fo pera t ion . On e xa m inat ion a bou t h al f t he r a ised f l oor w ou ld b e u nhea ted a nd t he s econdary c hannels a re v ery n arrow. The e v idence f or o ther s uggested d ouble f l oors i s n ot c onv inc ing. A t Up ton S t . L eonards i ft wo ' s teps ' i n o ne s ide o f t he f l ue were f or f l oor s upports 1 2

t here w ou ld b e a1 5 cm a ir c hannel b etween t he m , b u t t hey a re t oo c lose t ogether l a teral ly , a nd l ook more l ik e as p layed s ide wal l .

The a r ms o f t he c ross f l ue

e x tend much f urther. I ti s t rue t ha t n o c lear e v idence e x ists t ha t t he c ross f l ue i n aT d r ier was s lab c overed.

Th is d oes n ot n ecessari ly imp ly a n u pper f l oor.

One a l ter-

n a t ive a t l east i s n ow c onf ir med :2 .

Wi th a f l oor o ver t he ma in f lue, t hen h ot a ir d ef lec ted f ro m t he b ack o f

t he c ross f l ue i n to t he d ry ing c ha mber. The o u tstand ing e v idence f or t h is c o mes f ro m Wel ton Wold , Hu mberside. Here d riers were c u t i n to t he g round .

The o u ter wal ls s tood t o t he p resen t

p lough l evel , b u t w ere s t il l c . 4 5 cm a bove t he f l oor p la tfor m.

I n to t he p la t-

f or m w ere c u t a ma in a nd c ross f l ue, b o th s tone l i ned. Wh i le t here was e v idence t ha t t he ma in f l ue was s lab c overed , t he c ross f l ue was n ot . I nstead , i n o ne e xa mp le, a l edge o f s labs c overed i ta t ah igher l evel , r est ing o n as l igh t l edge i n t he r ear wal l a nd o n s tone b locks wh ich s tood o n t he e dge o f t he f l oor p la tf or m.

Th is i s p robably t he b est p reserved o f t he c orn d r iers f ound ( I n for mat ion

f ro m R . Mackey ). H eat d ef lec ted b y ah ood i n t h is way c ou ld r a ise t he t e mpe ra ture i n a l l p arts o f a n e nc losed d ry ing c hamber most efec t ively i ft he d raugh t was t o t he c orners o ft he c hamber , b u t l i t t le i s l ikely t o h ave p assed t hrough g ra in l y ing o n t he f l oor.

I fd raugh t was t hrough r oof g ables o r ac h i mney , g en-

e ral r oo m t e mpera ture c ou ld s t i l l h ave b een r a ised . There a ppears t o b e a d anger o f c orn l oss i n to t he c ross f l ue u n less t he c orn was d ried i nb und les. Dr iers o f t h is t ype c ou ld a lso b e u sed f or smok ing f ood , b u t t he e v idence a t Wel ton s uggests c orn d ry ing a s t he ma in f unct ion ( p . 2 7 ). Th is r econstruct ion was f i rst s uggested f or Rockbourne D own 3 ( Su mner 1 914 ). H ere t he ma in f lue s t i l l r eta ined i t s b r idg ing s tones, t hough b roken a nd i ncl ined d ownwards i n t he m idd le.

They were s upported o n r e-used r oof

t i les b u i l t i n to t he s ide wal ls o ft he f lue a nd p ro jec t ing 1 0 cm a s b rackets t o wh ich t he u pper s labs w ere mortared .

S im ilar t i les w ere b edded a long t he

e dge o f t he c ha lk a rea b ound ing t he i nner s ide o f t he c ross f lue.

F ro m t he b ack

wal l o ft he c ross f l ue , 2 5 cm a bove t he l evel o f t he f l oor o ver t he ma in f l ue, as tone l edge p rotruded . On t h is l edge s tone t i les b edded o n mortar p ro jec ted a cross t he f l ue wh ich was o n ly 3 2 cm w ide. N o s uggest ion i s g iven o f s upport f or t heir i nner e dge. The u nd isturbed n a ture o f t he c ross f l ue e nd o f t he d rier, a nd t he d eta i led d es crip t ion o f t he e xcavator , s uggest t ha t i ft he c ross f l ue was e ver b r idged a t t he s a me l evel a s i n t he ma in f l ue, f or a ny p ar t o f i t s l eng th , t he s labs wou ld h ave r e ma ined . S u mner 's i n terpreta t ion was t ha t h ot a ir c ou ld r ise t hroughou t t he l eng th o f t he c ross f l ue, a nd was d ef lec ted o ver t he d ry ing f l oor b y t he s labs i n t he b ack wal l . Ad i ff icu l ty i nt h is i n terpreta t ion i s t he a bsence o f i den t if ied s upport f or t he i nner e dge o f t he h ood .

The d iscovery o f c harred whea t i n e very s hovel

f u l l o fb urn t ma teria l a t t he b ase o f t he c ross f l ue s uggests t hat g ra in l oss was ap roble m . There i s n o r ecorded e v idence o f ac h i mney a t t he s toke-hole e nd . Among t he f inds wha t l ooks l ike a p iece o fb ox t i le i s d escr ibed a s " a f rag men t o f r ed e ar thenware 1 " t h ick o rnamen ted w i th s cored r edup l ica ted l ines".

1 3

There

i s n o o bv ious c on tex t f or i t s u se o n t he s i te a s e xcavated , b u t o ther b u i ld ings must b e e xpec ted n earby.

Charred w ood l y ing o ver t he f l oors m igh t b e f ro m

af or mer r oof . As im ilar r econstruc t ion i s p ossible a t Thundersbarrow 2 . A l edge o f s tone t i les p ro jec ts f or 1 0 cm a t a bou t 3 0 cm a bove t he l evel o f t he c ha mber f l oor. I ti s v ery s im i lar t o t ha t a t Rockbourne D own , a nd a d ef lec t ing h ood may h ave r ested o n i t . N o b r idg ing t i les o ver t he c ross f lue a t al ower l evel a re r eferred t o , n or i s s upport f or t he m i n t he e nd w al l i nd ica ted i n s ec t ion , t hough s uch t i les d id s urv ive o ver t he ma in f l ue. An a l terna t ive e xp lana t ion m igh tb e a nu pper f l oor o f t imber r est ing o n t he l edge a nd o n t he s p layed s ide wal ls o f t he c ha mber.

A t n one o f t hese w ere t here o ther s helves o r l edges t o

s upport a r a ised f l oor o ver t he r est o f t he c hamber , t hough t imber s uppor ts a re p oss ible . 3 .

With a s ing le f l oor a nd h ot a ir e scap ing a t t he e nd o f t he c ross f l ues, a )

i n to t he c ha mber , t o b e d rawn o u t b y ac h i mney o r v en t i n t he r oof . Th is w ou ld r equ ire a n e nclosed c ha mber ;

b )

d rawn u p i nd iv idual c h i mneys i n t he wal l o r c orners o f t he r oo m . Th is n eeds a p art ial ly e nclosed c ha mber.

C )

l eav ing t he f lue t hrough o pen ings i n t he o u ter w al ls a nd l ost i n t he a t mosphere.

There a re a t l east t wo p ieces o fe v idence wh ich s uggest t he p oss ib i l i ty t ha t s o me c ross f l ues w ere p ar t ly s lab c overed. The s ide f l ues a t C atsgore H , t he e qu iva len t o f ac ross f l ue i n t h is t ype o f d rier , r eta in s labs a t t h is l evel . The p resence o f t h icker p i les o f a sh a t t he e nds o f t he c ross f l ues a t D own ton where a n imbrex was a lso f ound , Thundersbarrow , West B la tch ington 3 a nd Rockbourne D own 1 m igh t s uggest t ha t t he h ot a ir r ose o n ly a t t he e nds t hrough a c h i mney o r v en t. The f lue e nds h ave a n umber o fo ther n otable f ea tures. S o me s lope g radu al ly u pwards a nd o u twards. S o me a ppear t o h ave n o s tone l i n ing a t t he e nds , a nd o thers t o p enetra te t he o uter w al ls o f t he s truc ture.

I n terpretat ion o f t hese

f ea tures d epends o n h ow s ecurely t he f l oor a rea o f t he d ry ing c hamber i s k nown , t o d ec ide whether t he f l ues w ere whol ly c on ta ined w ith in i t . t he c ase a t D own ton , Durr ing ton a nd H ighdown .

Th is a ppears t o b e

A t Or ton L onguev il le H ,

Wh i t ton 2 , a nd F ar m ington t he d riers a re i ns ide b arns a nd t he a rea o f t he d ryi ng f l oor d epends o n whether t he d r ier h ad i t s own s tone b u il t wa l l , o r was j ust a p la t for m i n t he b arn .

A t Far m ington t he a ir s ee ms t o e scape f ro m t he

d rier t hrough t he o u ter wal l. Wou ld a n a l most h orizon ta l f l ue p rov ide s uf f ic ie n t d raugh t t o h ea t t he f l oor a dequa tely ? A t Odel l as im i lar o pen ing was t hough t t o b e t o d evelop a n i n it ia l d raugh t , a f ter wh ich i tw ou ld b e s hu t. The e xa m inat ion o fo ne s i te w il l i l lustra te s o me o f t hese a rgu men ts. C atsgore H d r ier i s b u i l t , o ne i n as tone p la t form a t o ne e nd o f ab arn , r a ised a bove t he a d jacen t f l oor . Th ick s labs c ross b o th s ide f l ues a nd t he wa l l o r l edge . H owever o ne s uppor t ing l edge i s v ery n arrow , t he o ther , i n ter ior , wa l l i s w ider a nd a pp ears ( on a p ho to k ind ly l en t b y Mr . R . L eech ) t o b e c on t inued a bove f l oor l evel . Th is c ou ld b e f or a k erb , t o s upport a nu pper f l oor, o r a n u pper s truc ture. Bu ild ing u p i n masonry s ee ms u n l ikely.

The s tone f l oor s labs a re s o t h ick t ha t

o nce h ea ted t hey w ou ld p rov ide l ong-last ing , c on trol led h ea t o ver a l arge a rea , 1 4

s o a n u pper f l oor s ee ms u nnecessary.

The f l oor s labs a bu t t he f lue e nds n ea t ly

i n t wo c orners a s i fb u il t u p a ga inst a s quare c h i mney , t hough t h is w ou ld mean s o meth ing l ike b ox t i le c h i mney i n t he r oo m r a ther t han i n t he wal l t h ickness. Where f l ue e nds s lope u pwards a nd o u twards a t D own ton a c h i mney i n t he wa l l l ooks l ikely , a nd a n i mbrex was f ound h ere.

An a l terna t ive a t Catsgore i s t ha t

t he smoke c a me i n to t he r oo m d rawn b y ar oof o r g able o pen ing. may b e s im ilar.

H ighdown

A rgu men ts f or d ouble f l oors u sual ly c onsider t he m n ecessary e i ther t o r a ise t he g ra in away f ro m i n tense h ea t , o r t o i ncrease t he h eated a rea o f t he f l oor.

H owever t hey d o n o t s ee m n ecessary f or e i ther p urpose.

C on trol led

h eat ing s hou ld b e p ossible b y s tok ing s i mp le T o vens l ess v igorously , l im i t ing t he d raugh t , o r b y p rehea t ing t he t h ick s lab r oofs t o t he r equ ired h eat , t hen ma in ta in ing a n e ven f i re ( Rockbourne D own 2 , 5 -6 cm t h ick , Caerwen t h ouse 1 3, 1 0-15 cm .

Up ton S t. L eonards 6 cm ).

Th ick s tone a nd c e men t f l oors, o nce

h eated w ou ld r eta in h ea t ac onsiderable t ime i fh igh t e mperatures w ere n ot r eq u ired a nd t he d ry ing r oo m e nclosed . When f l oor a reas a re e xa m ined s o me T d r iers , t hough smal l , h ave a r elat ively l arge h ea ted f l oor a rea ( Fig . 2 7). The e xa mp les

w i th more c onv inc ing e v idence o f d ouble f l oors s t i l l h ave o n ly

a smal l p roport ion o f t he f l oor h ea ted.

Double T s s ee m t o g ive a b igger w ork-

i ng f l oor s o c ou ld a cco m modate l arge q uan t i t ies o f g rain , b u t a ga in a r elat ively smal l p roport ion o f t he f l oor i s h ea ted . I n c on trast H , r ectangu lar, a nd r ev ersed t un ing f ork d r iers a nd i nd iv idua l e xa mp les o f o ther v ar ian ts may h ave l arge w ork ing a reas , b u t a lso h ave a much l arger p roport ion o f t heir f l oors h eated d irec t ly f ro m t he f l ue c hannels a nd s o s hou ld d ry t he g ra in more q u ick ly, i fs tok ing a nd g ra in were w el l a t tended . There w ou ld t hen s ee m t o b e n o r eason why t he more c o mp lex d r iers s hou ld n eed a n u pper f l oor.

They a re a pproach-

i ng more c losely t o c hannel led h ypocausts. The t ypes s ee m t o r epresen t p rogressive improve men ts i n d ry ing l arge q uan t i t ies q u ick ly , a nd t he u b iqu ity o f t he s i mp le T may r ef lec t t hat smal l q uan t i t ies w ere d r ied o n most f ar ms w ithou t u rgency.

I ti s p robable t ha t t he

ma jor i ty o f a l l t ypes h ad o n ly o ne f l oor , a nd i n many o f t he smal ler o nes a r ela t ively smal l p roport ion o f t he f l oor was h ea ted .

Where t he c ross f l ue was

v ery s hort ( Atwor th 1 0 , Woodcu ts ) t he a dd i t ional h eated f l oor s pace i tp rov ided was v ery smal l. Wi th a f ew e xcep t ions c orn d r iers a re smal ler a nd s i mp ler t han r oo m h ypocausts. N o e v idence i s f ound o f mu l t ip le wal l f l ues e ven where t he c orn d r ier i s i n a masonry b u i ld ing. I nstead t he a ir i s f orced a round t he s evera l c orners o f f l oor c hannels t o r each a f lue.

The emphas is i s o n h eat ing t he

f l oor. I tc anno t h ave b een c onsidered n ecessary t o h ea t t he d ry ing c hamber t hrough t he wal ls a s w el l . N or c an i th ave b een e asy t o a ch ieve o r ma in ta in h igh t e mpera tures.

More g en t le d ry ing must h ave b een r equ ired .

d r iers wh ich more c losely r ese mble r oo m h ypocausts o fg reater h ea t .

Those

may h ave b een c apable

A SSOCIATIONS A t f our s i tes c orn d r iers a nd t anks a re f ound i n t he s a me b u i ld ing ( Ha lstock , H amb leden , Hun tsha m a nd Wh it ton ). A t Woodchester , where a h ea ted r oo m was a lso n ex t t o a wa ter t ank , App lebau m s uggested t ha t t hey

1 5

migh t h ave b een u sed f or mal t ing t hough t he s truc ture i s e x tre mely e labora te f or t h is p urpose a nd more l ike a t i le k i ln ( 1972 1 66 ). were o f ten a ssoc iated w i th r ound f urnaces.

A t S i lchester l ong h earths

The h ear ths may h ave b een u sed

f or d ry ing ma l t a nd t he f urnaces a s b ases f or b rew ing v a ts ( Boon 1 974 2 59 ). Mal t i s made f ro m g er m inated g ra in . a ir a nd modera te h ea t. s pr ink led w i th wa ter. m ina te.

The g ra in may b e s teeped i n water f or s o me h ours o r I ti s s pread o n af l oor a nd l ef t f or s evera l d ays t o g er-

The mal t i s t hen d ried t o h al t g er m inat ion , a t f i rst a t al ow t e mpera-

t ure, l a ter a t ah igher t e mperature. 1 946;

G er m ina t ion r equ ires mo isture ,

F orbes 1 965 5 4;

Dr ied mal t i s u sed i nb rew ing ( Hun ter

H e lbaek 1 964 1 63 ).

F ro m i t s s im ilari ty t o med ieval mal t ing k i lns a b u i ld ing a t S acrewel l h as b een i den t if ied a s ap ossible Ro man ma l t k i ln ( Cha l lands 1 974, 1 3 &1 6 ). Med ieval mal t k i lns d if fer i n s everal r espec ts f ro m Ro mano-Br i t ish c orn d irers.

Those i den t i f ied w ere n early s quare, w el l b u i l t , w ith s ide wal ls b a t-

t ered i n ternal ly u p t o 3 5 ° . There w ere n o s tone c hannels, f l oor s upports, o r u pper f l oors.

The l ower f l oors w ere o f s tone s labs, a nd a s hort f l ue o r f i re

b ox was c onstruc ted o n t he e x terior o f o ne wa l l . was v is ible.

I n t wo c ases h eavy b urn ing

On ly a t G rea t Casterton w ere t here s ockets o r l edges i n t he wa l l ,

p robably f or b ea ms t o c arry t he k i ln h a ir o r t rays a t ad istance a bove t he f i re ( Great Casterton , Corder 1 961 5 3f f.; Barrow , S ta m ford & B ixworth , Med . A rch. 4 1 960 1 28-31;

1 1 967 2 93;

1 4 1 970 2 07 ).

Thunderbarrow 2 i s a nother Ro mano-Br i t ish k i ln wh ich i s a l most s quare w ith b a t tered s ides.

However i td oes h ave a T f lue, w i th a r a ised f l oor , a nd

t he b at tered s ides may b e t he r esu l t o f b eing d eep ly c u t i n to t he c halk , o r u sed a s s upport f or a l arger u pper f l oor. f orm.

Thundersbarrow 1 i s o f more n or ma l

An o ven i n Bu i ld ing 8 a t Ca merton c ons isted o f t wo c ha mbers, o ne a

r ec tang le 1 .51 m x 1 .14 m , t he o ther a n arrow f lue 1 .22 m l ong.

The f lue was

1 8 cm w ide a t t he b ase , b u t s p layed o u t t o 5 0 cm a t i t s s urv iv ing h eigh t.

Th is

was s uggested a s ac orn o r ma l t ing o ven i n t he a bsence o f a ny meta l w ork ing e v idence ( Todd 1 976 1 10-111) , b u t i th as c loser r ese mblance t o k nown metal work ing f urnaces ( W. H . Mann ing , i n for mat ion ). An e laborate a nd u nparal leled d ry ing o ven d iscovered a t Recu lver , 6 0 m S E o f t he Ro man f or t , m igh t h ave b een a mal t ing o ven .

I n i t s s hape , t he a bsence

o f f lue c hannels i n t he f l oor, a nd t he c en tral p ar t it ion wh ich m igh t h ave s upported d ry ing r acks, i tr ese mbles a med ieval ma l t k i ln .

C orn d ry ing o vens a re n ot

u sual o n m i l i tary s i tes ( see p . 1 9 ) b u t b eer was a p opu lar d r ink among s old iers a nd b eer p roduct ion o n al arge s cale i s l ikely ( Dav ies 1 971 1 33).

Ik now n o c o m-

p arable e xa mp le f or t he h or izon ta l f lue c hannels i n t he k i ln wal ls, e xcep t O ld S leaford. There i s n o c lear e v idence t ha t Ro mano-Bri t ish a nd med ieva l mal t k i lns w ere s im i lar i n s truc ture, t ha t mal t w as d ried o n ly i n o ne t ype o f f urnace i n t he m idd le a ges, o r t ha t mal t r equ ired d ry ing s o d if feren t ly f ro m o ther g ra ins t ha t i t was n ecessary t o c onstruc t t he k ilns d if f eren tly. The ma in d i f ference was t he n eed t o s pread t he d a mp g rain f a irly t h in ly o n af l oor s o t hat a ir r eached i ta l l t o a id t he g er m ina t ion . a rea o f ad ouble T m igh t s u i t t h is r equ ire men t.

The l arge f l oor

I ft he d ry ing k iln f l oor w ere

u sed f or b oth g er m inat ion a nd l a ter d ry ing , t he f i re n eed b e l i t o n ly when

1 6

g er m inat ion h ad p roceeded s u f f ic ien t ly . i n t e mpera ture t he p rocess r equ ired . s low.

Th is w ou ld a l low t he g radual i ncrease

Processing l arge q uan t it ies w ou ld b e

I fg er m ina ted g ra in w ere b rough t t o t he k i ln o n t rays l arger q uan t it ies

c ou ld b e p rocessed more q u ick ly . h ea t i no ne p ar t o f t he f l oor.

The c en tral c hannel o f aT d r ier c oncen trates

I n t he med ieval mal t k i lns t he whole a rea was

h ea ted , a nd t he a ir d rawn t hrough t he g ra in l y ing o n t he t rays.

The c onven-

t i ona l med ieva l ma l t k i ln may h ave b een b etter e qu ipped t han Ro man c orn d r iers t o d ry l arge q uan t i t ies q u ick ly .

H owever t he h o t a ir was l ost more q u ick ly a s

i tp assed t hrough t he k i ln h a ir o r s traw ma t o n wh ich t he g ra in l ay. o f o ven c ou ld n o t b e p re-hea ted .

Th is t ype

Ac h i mney i n t he k i ln r oof p rov ided t he d raugh t.

The t ank a t H alstock(. 1 .50 m s q. ) had p lastered s ides a nd a n o pus s igni num f l oor . I tw as c learly i n tended t o h old water. F irst i tw as a n i ndependen t , s tone b u i l t , p laster l i ned t ank .

N ex t ad ra in was k nocked t hrough t ank a nd b arn

wa l l . The b arn w al l was r epa ired a nd t he t ank p lastered a round t he h ole. Water f ro m t he c orn d rier s toke-hole i s t hough t t o h ave d ra ined t hrough t he t ank d ur ing w in ter when t he c lay s o il w as water-logged .

L ater a n o ver-f low

a t ah igher l evel w as i nser ted , t o f l ow i n to a n ew d ra in b u il t t hrough t he b arn wal l t o t he w est o f t he t ank .

Wi th t he d ra ins p lugged t he t ank m igh t h ave h eld

r a in w a ter f ro m t he r oof , ma l t , o r s erved o ther f unc t ions. A t Hun tsha m t hree t ank s w ere f ound w i th a d ouble c orn d r ier i n a n a isled b u i ld ing. The c orn d rier f l ue c on ta ined a c o in o f V ictorinus " in t he b ot to m q uar ter o ft he a sh" wh ich c annot h ave b een l ost b efore 2 65 A .D. The e astern t ank w as b u i l t s o t ha t i t s o u ter w al l was b u il t o ver t he f l ue wal l o f t he c orn d rier.

Ac ross s ect ion s hows t ha t t he k i ln wal l must h ave b een d e mol ished

d own t o t wo c ourses , t hen r ebu i l t , u sing t he f ace o f t he s tones a ga inst t he t ank a nd r ubble o n t he i nner f ace o f t he f l ue.

A l though t he s toke-hole was n ot c learly

i den t if ied , t h is r ebu i ld ing was v ery n ear t he o r ig ina l f l ue a rch , a nd j ust where g ood c on struc t ion was n eeded .

The i n f low a lso a ppears t o e n ter t he wa ter t ank

a t t h is p o in t. I ts ee ms v ery u n l ikely t hat t he f l ue c ou ld b e o pera ted w ith t he t ank i n p osi t ion . The a sh was d eeper i n t h is f l ue t han i n t he e astern o ne, s o n either w as p robably i n u se a f ter t he t anks w ere b u i l t . Both t anks n ear t he c orn d r iers w ere mean t t o h old wa ter. as ing le s tone s lab.

Their f l oors w ere o f o pus s ign inum a nd

The s ides w ere o pus s ign inum l i ned , t he f l oor a nd c orner

j unc t ions s ealed w i th a q uarter r ound f i l let. S tone was p acked a round t he s ides t o s upport t he w eigh t. They w ere b u il t i n t he e arly 4 th c en tury. Wool wash ing was t hough t a more l ikely u se t han ma l t ing , t ann ing o r d yeing. Another p ossible u se f or a t ank i n a gricu l tural c on tex t i s s oak ing mast , a corns o r o ther f odder ( Co lumel la 6 .9 .8.

& Cato 5 4 ).

A t H a mbleden t he t ank was t h ick wal led , b u t o f c lay , c . 1 .87 x 1 .20 m . The b u i ld ing c on ta ined f l oors a t v ary ing l evels a s i ff or work ing a reas s eparated b y p art i t ions, a nd u sed i ndependen t ly. c lose t o t he c orn d r iers. s a me p er iod .

The t ank n eed n ot h ave b een c onven ien t ly

There i s n o e v idence whether b oth b elonged t o t he

A t Wh i t ton t he t ank s tands i m med ia tely n ex t t o ac orn d rier, i n t he e nd o f ab u i ld ing. The f l oor a nd s ides w ere b u il t o f f l ag s tones. S o me mortar r ema ined . I n s i tuat ion a nd ma terial t h is c losely r ese mbles c on ta iners a t Ca tsg ore , b u t t here t he s tone f l ags were b edded i n c lay n o t mortar , a nd t he s ides s loped o u twards.

The f l oor l evel was w el lb elow t hat o f t he d ry ing f l oor. 1 7

The

e xcava tor i n terpreted t he m a s c orn b ins ( Leech 1 976 , P late 2 4 ).

1 0 . 1ns i n 1 9 th

c en tury Orkney l ong-houses h ad a d r ied c orn t neuk ' i n t h is p osi t ion , a nd i n s o me c ases a c hannel b etween t he k i ln f l oor a nd b in a long wh ich t he g ra in c ou ld b e t ransferred .

The s unken f l oor o ft he Ca tsgore b in w ou ld mak e t h is p oss ible.

I ft he b in w ere c onsidered t o h old t he g ra in d r ied a t o ne f i r ing i t s c apac i ty c ou ld b e c alcu la ted ( d i mensions u npubl ished ) a nd t he t h ickness o f t he g ra in o n t he d ry ing f l oor s uggested.

F or t h is i n terpreta t ion t he g ra in must h ave b een d r ied

l oose. The e v idence f or t he u se o f Ro mano-Br i t ish d riers a nd t anks i n mak ing ma l t f or b rew ing i s t herefore i nconclusive. A t t hree s i tes t he c lose r ela t ionsh ip b etween c orn d r iers a nd a t hresh ing/ g rind ing a rea was e stabl ished. C a tsgore b u ild ing 9 c on ta ined a n Hd r ier i n o ne e nd .

A longside i t , i n t he c en tral p art o f t he b u i ld ing , was a n a rea o f l arge

p av ing s tones , l a id c arefu l ly , a nd s urrounded w i th s labs p laced o n e dge a s a k erb. I n o ne c orner o f t h is f l oor w as t he b ase o f a smal l q uern . Apart f ro m a nother smal l a rea o f p av ing t he f l oors a nd i n terna l d eta i ls o f t he r est o f t he b u i ld ing w ere l ost , b u t p ossible u ses i nclude t hresh ing o r t e mporary s torage. A t Wel ton Wold f ive o f t he c orn d riers h ad a t tached s unken f l oors.

One

was s urrounded b y f our p ost h oles wh ich may h ave s uppor ted a s hel ter o r r oof . I n t he c orner o fo ne was a r ound b ase a s i ff or a l arge m il lstone ; t hough b ig f or man-power i tw as i mpossibly p laced f or a n i mal p ower ' . These m igh t b e c o mb ined t hresh ing a nd g r ind ing a reas.

Two b ow l f urnaces a t G odmanchester

were a lso f ound a t t he e nd o f ar ec tangu lar t hresh ing a rea. On many s i tes d isp laced o r r e-used g r indstones w ere f ound i n o r n ear t he d r iers e .g. West B latch ing ton a nd S tar. S ITUATION O f t he d r iers e xa m ined , 1 7 w ere i n h ouses, 2 6 i nb arns o f s o me s ort , 1 5 i n s tructures p ossibly p urpose b u i l t , a nd i n o ther c ases t here i s n o e v idence o f s truc ture. O f t he a pparen t ly p urpose-bu i l t s truc tures s everal a re i den t if ied f ro m v ery f l i msy e v idence. A t H a mbleden t he e v idence w as f l oors whose e dges h ad b een t rodden o r b roken away s o much a s t o r ender t he d i mensions u ncert a in , a nd f rag men ts o f d aub w i th w a t t le impress ion s. The g roup ing o f f urnaces a lso imp l ied t heir a rrange men t i n to b u i ld ings. A t Bro mha m , Cae S u mmerhouse & Cookha m p ost h oles s uggested a r oof s upport w i th a t i led r oof a t t he l ast , a nd a t F l itw ick a s truc ture w i th wa t t le a nd d aub wal ls a nd a c en tra l r oof s upport was i nd ica ted. The Gadebr idge s leeper-bea m wal l may n ot b e d irect ly r ela ted t o t he d r ier. A t Wes t B la tch ing ton a p aved o ccupa t ion f l oor w as p robably w i th in ab u ild ing. The s i tuat ion o f o thers n ex t t o t he e nd o f a n e x ist ing b u i ld ing , a s a t Rockbourne v i l la , wou ld make a l eanto r oof a p ossib il i ty. A t L ang ton a d rier was i n a n a nnexe o nt he e nd o f ar ec tangu lar b u ild ing. O f t hose d riers b u i l t i n v il las o r s ubstan t ia l h ouses, a t l east o ne was b u i l t a t t he s a me t ime a s t he r oo m wh ich c on ta ined i t . A t F rocester t he d r ier was a n o r ig ina l f eature o f t he w ing r oo m a dded s hort ly a f ter 2 75 A .D. a s p art o f t he d evelop men t f ro m a f our r oo med b u i ld ing t o aw inged c orr idor v i l la. The r oo m was c onverted t o ak i tchen c . 3 40 , w ith a q uern i n o ne c orner a nd a n o ven r ep lac ing t he d r ier.

The f urnace a t F arm ing ton may a lso h ave b een 1 8

b u il t when t he e nd r oo m o r b arn was a dded t o ac ot tage h ouse i n t he f ourth c en tury.

B oth v il las w ere smal l.

O thers, i n more imposing v il las, w ere c erta in ly i nser t ions. The d rier i n r oo m 2 a t A tworth was a n i nser t ion i n to t he n orthern e nd r oo m o f t he o r ig inal e ast w ing.

I tc u t i n to t he n a tural , r eveal ing t he f ounda t ions o f t he r oo m wa l l .

A twor th 2 was i nserted i n to a d isused b ath r oo m , a nd a t Eccles t he c hannel led h ypocaust r ep laced a r oo m w i th a t tached p lunge b a th . A t Park S treet t he d ry ing r oo m was i nserted i n to a r oo m i n t he o lder c ot tage h ouse when t he l i v ing s pace was e xpanded i n t he s econd c en tury. S im ilarly a t H alstock a d r ier was i nsert ed i n to t he c en tra l r oo m o f wha t a ppears t o b e t he e arly c orr idor v i l la. The p osit ion o f t he c orn d ry ing r oo m w i th in t he ma in h ouse i s w orth n ot ing. I ti s o f ten t he e nd o r w ing r oo m i n w inged a nd c ourtyard v i l las a nd s o met i mes al a te a dd i t ion t o t he h ouse ( Eccles 1 8 /2 , a nd G reat Wi tcombe ).

A t A twor th ,

K ingswor thy a nd L u f ton e nd r oo ms a re a lso a dap ted . Reasons m igh t b e t he d es ire t o k eep f urnaces a nd t he d anger o f f i re a t t he e x tre me p art o f t he b u i ld ing , o r t o k eep a gr icu ltural o pera t ions away f ro m l i v ing r oo ms, a nd n ear e nt rances t o c ourtyards w i th c onven ien t a ccess f or v eh ic les .

A t G orhambury a nd

Park S treet t he d ry ing r oo ms a re n ex t t o c el lars , a nd t hese may h ave b een u sed f or s torage o f d ried c orn , t hough n o p roof e x ists. Wi th t he e xcep t ion o f t he k i ln a t Recu lver , n o d ry ing f l oors a re a ssoc iated w ith m i l i tary s i tes ( Ph i lp 1 969 ). The g ranar ies i n f orts w ou ld p robably h ave h eld o ne y ear 's s upp ly f or t he g arr ison ( bu t s ee Mann ing 1 975a , 18 ). Wi th b ad w eather a nd i ncreasing t ransport d i f f icu l t ies i t wou ld n eed t o b e i n s tore a s s oon a s p ossible a f ter h arvest. S pel t a nd b arley w ere u sual ly w in ter s own c rops s o c ou ld b e h arvested e arl ier t han o ther v ar i t ies 2 . Because o f t h is t hey c ou ld b e d r ied b efore w in ter.

S pel t w as a lready b eco m ing c o m mon i n t he l a te

i ron-age , b u t i t s s u i tab il i ty f or m il i tary n eeds m igh t h ave c on tr ibu ted t o i t s s pread i n t he Ro man p er iod . S uch l arge q uan t i t ies wou ld b e d ried a nd t hreshed most q u ick ly o n t he f ar ms o r e sta tes f ro m wh ich t hey c a me, wh i le s t il l i n r ela t ively manageable q uan t i t ies, o r a t c ol lec t ing d epots where t he f ac il i t ies e xi s ted .

Th is wou ld a vo id c art ing b u lky s traw u nnecessarily.

Mann ing a ssu mes

t ha t t he p rov inc ials w ou ld a lso s upp ly t he t ransport t o t he n earest f ort o r d epot ( 1975

1 14 ). L i t t le a rchaeolog ica l e v idence e x ists o f h ow t he c ol lect ion was o rgan ised

i n t he f i rst a nd s econd c en tur ies. Prox im ity t o t he b usy f ort a t Mal ton a nd t o H adrian 's Wa l l was s uggested a s t he s t i mu lus f or t h ird c en tury g ra in o u tpu t a nd e xpand ing e stabl ish men ts a t L angton a nd O ld Durha m , b o th o f wh ich h ave wha t may b e t hresh ing f l oors, t hough l ess e v idence f or c orn d ry ing. Wel ton Wold m igh t a lso h ave b een s t i mu la ted b y m i l i tary o ccupa t ion a t Brough o n Humber. The s i mp l ic ity o f t he h ouse a rgues a ga inst a n or ma l v i l la , a nd s u mmary d isposa l o fb od ies o n t he s i te s uggests t ha t t he o ccupan ts w ere o f l ow s tatus , p oss ibly c onv icts o r s laves. I th as b een s uggested t hat Hambleden was am i l i tary r un s upp ly f ar m . The l arge n umber o f d riers , t he s ize o f f l oor p oss ible o ver t he mu l t ip le f l ues , a nd t he e xperi men ts i n d esign imp ly c rops o f c onsiderable s ize a nd i mportance, o r t he n eed f or s peed. f ac i l i t ies a re k nown .

N o n earby s torage

The smal l h and q uerns may h ave b een o n ly f or t he i n-

h ab itan ts ' u se wh i le t he r est o f t he g ra in was g round e lsewhere. n ot s ee m t o h ave b een s pen t o n improv ing t he h ouse. 1 9

Money d oes

A l terna t ively i t may h ave

b een o ne e le men t i n al arge c iv il ian e sta te. I ti s f ar f ro m c en tres o f m il i tary a ct iv i ty , b u t t h is i s where a d epo t m igh t h ave b een n eeded f or t he c ol lec t ion o ft he a nnona ( Rich mond 1 969

1 40 ).

The s pears , j avel in a nd l arge n umbers

o f s ty l i f ound a t N orth Warnborough a nd H a mbleden d o n ot i mp ly m il i tary o r imper ial c on trol . Corn d r iers a re a lso f ound i n t owns i n t he l a te 4 th a nd 5 th c en turies ( Caerwen t , S ilchester a nd Veru la m iu m ). Th is may b e t he r esu l t o f l andowners a bandon ing t he v il la b u i ld ings a nd t ransferr ing t heir p rocess ing a nd s torage t o t he t owns ( Nea l 1 978 1 31 ). DEVE LOP ME NT To s ee wh ich t ypes s ucceeded o ne a nother s i tes w ith s everal d r iers w ere e xa m ined . Wakerley , Wel ton Wold , Wendens Ambo , a nd Win terton , a l l r ecent l y e xcava ted , s hou ld y ield e v idence o f s uccession when f u l ly p ubl ished . H amb leden i s n ot h elp fu l.

Furnace 9 ( t un ing f ork ) may b e b u i l t s l igh t ly o ver 1 2

( double b en t T ), b u t t hey c ou ld h ave b een u sed s i mu l taneously u nder o ne d ry ing f l oor.

A t West B latch ing ton t he T d r iers h ad l a te 2 nd c en tury p o t tery i n t heir

f i l l ing , wh i le t he l ong h earths c on ta ined e arly a nd l a te 3 rd c en tury p ot tery. A t Catsgore a n Hd rier r ep laced a T i n t he s econd v ersion o fb u ild ing 9 , b o th b etween 3 00-370.

A t O rton L onguev i l le, H a l l F ar m , a n H was r ep laced b y a

" developed T" , c a talogued h ere a s ar eversed t un ing f ork .

A t G rea t Caster ton

t he e xcavator s aw a T , c ircu lar a nd p i l lared d r ier u sed i n t urn . Da te i s n ever p rec ise, a nd f or s evera l s i tes n ot k nown . H owever , when c o mpared , t he s i mp le b ow l a nd l ong h earths w ere i n u se f ro m t he I st t o 4 th c en turies , Ta nd p robably L a ppear i n t he 2 nd , wh i le t he more c o mp lex f or ms a ppear i n t he 3 rd o r 4 th c en tur ies. The v ast ma jor i ty o f d ated d r iers b elong t o t he l a t ter p er iod ( Tab le 1 ) . D ISTRIBUTION The c orn d r iers a re f ound t hroughou t t he s et t led a rea o f s ou th a nd e ast Bri ta in , y et w i th in t ha t a rea t here a re d ist inc t r eg iona l d if ferences. The c hann el led a nd p i l lared d ry ing " roo ms" h ave a d ist inct ly s ou th-eastern d istr ibu t ion . Another e xa mp le a t K eston i n K en t h as r ecen t ly b een f ound . Rec tangu lar d riers h ave b een p lot ted w i th t he m b ecause t hough o f aw ider d istr ibu t ion t he p at tern i s c losest t o t h is g roup ( Fig. 2 8b ). The c o mmon T i s h ard ly f ound i n t he s ou th e as t.

They f or med a b el t a cross t he c oun try f ro m Humberside t o D orset , b e ing

t h ick ly c oncen tra ted i n t he w estern e nd ( Fig . 2 8a ).

The c en tral g ap i s p ar t ly

f i l led b y t he more u nusua l c hannel led g roup ( F ig . 2 8b ). The d ouble T d r iers a ppear t o h ave a r a ther s trange d istr ibu t ion n ear t he S ussex-Ha mpsh ire a nd S evern c oastal a reas. When e xa m ined s uperf ic ial ly c lusters o f d r iers a re r ela ted t o r iver s yst e ms, e .g. N ene, Wel land a nd Tha mes v al leys. O ther i nd iv idual s i tes a re a lso v ery n ear n av igable r ivers , e .g. Hun tsha m o n t he Wye. Th is s t il l h olds g ood f or many s i tes when e xa m ined i n d eta il , b u t c ou ld b e o ver-e mphas ised .

Water

d eter m ined v il la s i tes f or many r easons o ther t han t ransport a nd most t owns a re a t r iver c ross ings. Many o f t he s i tes a re a lso s een t o h ave g ood r oad c o mmun ica t ions i n Ro man t imes.

H owever s o many o f t he l arge d r iers a re a lso

n ear t he s ou th a nd e ast c oas ts ( Fig . 2 8c ) , 2 0

t ha t r iver a nd c oastal t ransport t o

urban or even continental markets may be argued as a major commercial im­ petus to large and developed corn driers. Villa wealth in the 4th century also suggests a large marketable surplus of grain and stock. Though the Saxon Shore forts in the area could also benefit, civilian markets must have been most important. Corn driers, as identified by the structural types examined here, are found in the Romanised parts of Britain. Their absence from other parts of Britain need not imply that grain was not grown. The military frontier must have stimulated its production in the highland zone, and querns are regularly found (Manning 1975). The smaller quantities of grain produced by the smaller farms could have been parched in the multi-purpose bowl furnaces or ovens. Purpose built drying furnaces do not only indicate Roman building materials and heating techniques, but considerable quantities of grain, a reflection of large economic units, a healthy economy and market demands. Grain was probably also stored in small quantities in native contexts and may have been less vulnerable to damage from insects. The grain weevil has not yet been recovered from a pre-Roman site in Britain. It has been suggested as an im­ port during trade in grain and bulk storage in the Roman or immediately pre­ ceding period. It may have spread slowly into the more highland communities (Buckland 1978 44 & 45). More interesting would be a study of grain samples grown in the north and west to confirm that spelt was predominant. The relative absence of corn driers from continental sites is also notice­ able, though this may lessen when the agricultural side of more villas is studied. At Weitersback there are clear examples of two T driers and one developed T suggesting a reliance on drying in a relatively modest farmhouse, which is unlikely to have been unique (Wightman 1970 142, 185). Other possible reasons for their absence may be suggested but need further examination. Corn driers in B_ritain are still mainly a 4th century feature. This was not a period of eqwil proserity in Gaul. 3rd and 4th century political and military difficulties may have increased demand while decreased economic stability restricted supply. A mmianus (18.23) and Zosimus (3.5) spea.k of a shortage of corn in the Rhine­ land and adjacent areas, requiring it to be imported from Britain, though we do not know for how long. However Dr. Wightman interprets the new 3rd cen­ tury granaries at Kl1ln Mungersdorf as a symi::tom of change from stock rearing to arable (1970 185). Climatic factors may also be important. A continental climate implies colder and drier winters, particularly infand. In lower temperatures grain may be st.ored at a higher moisture content with less risk of insect and fungal contamination. Spelt may have been a smaller proportion of the grain grown. In either case corn driers may have been less necessary. CONCLUSION The weight of evidence suggests that most driers were used for corn processing, though other materials could also have been dried in them. Their distribution indicated that the more elaborate examples were built to treat grain before transport in quantity. Drying here must have been a preliminary tQ threshing. Some of the other varieties of drier probably adapt the basic form to one of several other specific purposes to which it was frequently put 21

w i thou t p reven t ing i t s u se f or c orn a t o ther t imes , e .g. w ith c on trol o f smoke w ith in t he c ha mber i f smok ing f ood w as a lso i n tended , o r w i th a v ery l arge f l oor a rea t o s pread mal t ing c orn t h in ly . The g eneral t rend s ee ms t o b e t o i ncrease t he a rea o f t he d r ier f l oor a nd t he p roport ion h eated , b u t wh i le a d ouble f l oor may h ave b een f requen t i t was n ot g eneral i n Tt ypes , a nd u nnecessary i n more d eveloped d r iers. The s pread o f d r iers i n t he 4 th c entury i s a n a spec t o f r ural p rosper i ty , i n t he u se o f masonry i n f ar m b u ild ings , c ap ita l i nvest men t a nd l arge s cale p roduc t ion .

Their p rofusion may b e ar esu l t o f p reva i l ing p a t terns o f d e mand

a nd c o m merc ial o rgan izat ion , o f c onven ience a nd e ff ic iency i n h and l ing , r ather t han o fc l i ma t ic d eteriora t ion o r n ecessi ty. Est i ma tes o f c apac ity h ave n ot b een a t te mp ted .

Too l i t t le i s k nown a bou t

t he e f fec t ive d ry ing a rea o ft he f l oor, h ow t he g ra in w as h and led , a nd i n what f or m .

Where s uf f ic ien t s urv ives t o a nswer s truc tural p roble ms w i th s o me

c er ta in ty , a s a t Wel ton Wold , e xperi men tal f i r ings c an p rov ide more s at isfact ory e st i ma tes o f f uel u se , d urat ion o f f i r ing , t e mpera ture a t ta ined a nd p ract i cal h and l ing p roble ms. Even f or a k nown s truc ture t he r ange o f v ar iables i s c onsiderable. To a t te mp t t o a pp ly a ny r esu l t t o c orn d r iers i n g enera l w ou ld p roduce m islead ing a nd i naccurate f igures. I n terpret ing t he s truc tura l d eta i ls o f many d r iers wou ld h ave b een a ided b y more p ubl ished s ec t ions , e .g. o f t he c ross f l ue e nds i n aT d r ier t o s how t he f or m a t d if feren t h eigh ts. Where p hotographs h ave b een a va i lable t hey h ave p rov ided s o me i nfor ma t ion o f r ela t ive l evels. The q uan t ity a nd q ual i ty o f i nf or ma t ion a va i lable f ro m e arl ier e xcava t ions , when t he p urpose o ft he s truc ture was n ot k nown , s uggests t ha t i n r ecen t e xcava t ions much more d e ta i led i n forma t ion must o f ten e x ist b u t r e ma in u nrecorded o r u npubl ished. Very many c orn d r iers h ave b een e xcavated . The ir e xa m inat ion h as d ir ec ted a t ten t ion t o s truc tural a nd b o tan ica l q uest ions wh ich i ti s h oped may b e a nswered b y c urren t a nd f u ture e xcava t ions.

NOTES 1 .

The a lphabe t ical i ndex g ives p ages f or c ross r eferences i n t ex t , c a talogue a nd f igures.

2 .

Even i n t he Med i terranean s pring c orn was p robably s own o n ly when t he ma in c rop f a i led ( Perc ival 1 976 , 1 07 ).

2 2

CHAPTER

2

THRESH ING FLOORS

C orn i s t hreshed a nd w innowed t o s epara te t he g ra in f ro m t he e nclosing g lu mes. I n c en tra l I t aly t he c orn was c u t h al f-way u p t he s talk , a nd t hreshed b y o xen o r mu les d raw ing a t hresh ing s led.

Th is f reed t he g rain a nd c rushed

t he s traw f or f odder, t hough C olu mel la t hough t i tb et ter f or t he h eads t o b e b ea ten w i th t hresh ing s t icks ( 1 1.20 ).

The s tubble l e f t i n t he f i eld a nd t he weeds

wh ich g rew q u ick ly a f ter h arvest w ou ld b e g razed a nd t he g round t hus manured . I n N or th I t aly o n ly t he h eads o f g ra in w ere c u t .

They c ou ld t hen b e t hreshed

b y b eing t ra mp led b y c at t le o r b ea ten w i th a s t ick .

Here f odder was p len t ifu l

s o t ha t t he s traw c ou ld b e l ef t f or t ha tch ing o r l i tter. b e b urn t t o f ert i l ize t he s o i l ( Wh i te 1 970

I n s o me p laces i tm igh t

1 83 ).

The g ra in m igh t b e t hreshed i n t he f i elds immed iately a f ter h arvest , o r t aken t o at hresh ing f l oor ( Colu mel la 1 .6.23 ). I tm igh tb e s tored t e mporar ily i n an earby s hed , l ef t t o d ry , r icked , o r i fo n ly t he h eads were c u t of , t hreshed b y f l a i l d ur ing w in ter ( Colu mel la 2 .20.3-4 ).

I tm igh t b e t aken f ro m t he n ub ila-

r iu m f or t hresh ing ( Varro 1 .13.5 ). N ubl iariu m i s u sua l ly t rans la ted a s g ra in s tore , b u t Wh i te c a l ls i t ad ry ing s hed ( 1970a 1 84 ). The Ro man a u thors i n for m u s a bou t t he t hresh ing f l oors o f t he Med iterr anean . They w ere p referably , b u t n ot n ecessari ly , r ound , a nd u sual ly e xposed t o s un , r a in a nd w ind , t hough i n d a mper c l imates t hey m igh t b e r oofed ( Varro 1 .51).

The p rov ision o f ah ard s urface was h igh ly d esirable t o d eter w eeds a nd

sma l l a n i ma ls, t o a void mud o r d ust , a nd t o h elp c rush t he s traw o r t hresh t he g ra in more q u ick ly .

The s urface migh tb e b ea ten e ar th d ressed w i th c ha lk ,

w ith o l ive l ees a nd c haf f , o r w i th a w eak s olu t ion o f c ow d ung. b e o f w el l-ra mmed c lay ( Pl iny 1 8.71;

Cato 9 1;

I tm igh t s i mp ly

Colu mel la 1 .16.23).

More

i nf requen t ly t here migh t b e ab u il t u p f ounda t ion , p aved w i th h ard s tone o r o pus s izn inum ( Pa l lad ius 1 .36; Varro 1 .51). H owever , t he t hresh ing c ou ld b e d one i n ac onven ien t p ar t o fa no pen f i eld , p repared b y t ra mp l ing o xen ( Columel la 1 .6.23 ). A v ery s im ilar p rocedure i s d escribed f or v il lages i n I ran a nd Ca labria more r ecen tly ( Lerche 1 971, Ras mussen 1 971). The u se o f t he t er m " the f l oor o n wh ich y ou t hresh t he g ra in" i n many c on tex ts imp l ies t ha t t he f l oor i s t he o n ly f unc t iona l f ea ture.

I n most c ases we o ugh t n o t t o e xpec t

a ny o ther s truc ture, t hough Pal lad ius s uggests s trong r a i l ings t o s top t he a n ima ls t hresh ing t he c orn f ro m wander ing away ( 1 .36 ).

Both Varro ( 1 .13.5 )

a nd C olu mel la ( 1 .6.23) emphas ise t he n eed f or a n a d jacen t s torage s hed t o t hrow t he g ra in i n to i fi tr a ins, i nd ica t ing t ha t i n I t aly t he t hresh ing f l oor i t sel f was n ot u sual ly r oofed . Varro 's p reference f or a f l oor r a ised i n t he c en tre t o a l low e asy d ra inage r e inforces t h is ( 1 .51). H is s uggest ion t ha t t he t hresh ing f l oor s hou ld b e o n e levated g round i s t o make u se o ft he w ind f or t he a ssoc iated p rocess o f w innow ing.

What must of ten h ave b een a c on trad ic tory n eed , t ha t

2 3

i ts hou ld b e o verlooked b y t he f ar mer o r f ar m b a il if f , i mp l ies u n trustworthy s ervan ts. We h ave h ere v ery l i t t le t o h elp i den t ify t hresh ing f l oors i n e xcava t ion , merely a h ard , p ossibly r ound f l oor , e ither i n t he f ar m y ard , o r o n ah i l l . Excavated s i tes e lsewhere g ive s o me e v idence. A t Boscorea le n ear P o mp ei i , at hresh ing f l oor w as i den t if ied . I tw as r ec tangu lar , c . 1 3m x1 0m ( f ro m s ca le ) , e nclosed b y al ow wal l , a nd s ituated a t t he S .W . c orner o f t he g roup o f b u i ld ings. The f l oor w as p aved w ith o pus s ign inum , r a ised a bove g round l eve l , a nd a c istern was n earby t o t ake r a in water f ro m t he f l oor ( Wh ite 1 970 4 23 ). M. Agache, i n i den t ifying v i lla c o mp lexes i n Ro man Gau l f ro m a erial p hotographs, h as l ooked f or t hresh ing f l oors , a nd s uggested t ha t t he mounds , o f ten a s hort d istance f ro m t he v il la a nd s o met i mes u sed a s l a ter m il l mounds , m igh t h ave b een t hresh ing a reas ( Agache 1 970 1 90 ). Excava t ion p roved i nconc lusive.

Those e x tensive F rench v il las wh ich h ave b een e xcava ted , ( e .g. Odrang ,

An thee , Ch iragan ) a ppear t o h ave a cco m moda ted e very a spec t o f a gr icu l tural a nd r ural i ndustry , b u t a ga in n o t hresh ing f l oor h as b een i den t if ied . Very l arge b u i ld ings a t Ch iragan d escr ibed a s b arns a re c o mpared b y Gren ier w i th g rea t b arns o ft he m idd le a ges.

Th is imp l ies t hresh ing i n t he b arn ( Gren ier 1 934, 8 54 ).

I nB rita in t he method o f t hresh ing n eed n ot h ave b een t he s a me a s i n c ent ral I t a ly. I ti s u n l ikely i n t he Br i t ish c l i mate t ha t t he g ra in h arvest f ro m a n e sta te o f a ny s ize c ou ld h ave b een t hreshed i nt he o pen w i thou t i n terrup t ion . We h ave s o me e v idence f ro m p re-Ro man t imes t ha t f l a i l o r s t ick t hresh ing w as t he c usto m i n N or thern Europe ( S trabo 4 .5.5.

D iodorus S icu lus 5 .21).

The

f l a il c ost n oth ing a nd was u sed b y t he smal l f ar mer w i th l im i ted r esources; b u t i t was e xpensive i n t ime a nd l abour , a nd o n l arge Ro man e states i t was u sed o n ly when weather c ond it ions w ere u nfavourable. Co mpared w ith a s ledge o r e ven a j o in ted f l a i l , n ot d eveloped u n t i l t he 4 th c en tury i n Gau l , i tc ou ld b e u sed i n ac on f ined a rea o f a ny s hape. I n Br i ta in t here was much l ess f odder s hortage t han i n c en tral I t a ly. Thatch was w idely u sed i n p re-Ro man Br i ta in a nd t he a bsence o f t i les o r s tone s labs o n t he s i tes o f many Ro man b u ild ings s uggests t ha t t h is c on t inued , t hough o ther o rgan ic r oof ing ma ter ials may h ave b een u sed. I n t h is c ase t he h eads w ere c u t o f f a nd a l ong s talk l ef t . I n t he 1 7 th c en tury Tusser r efers t o o pen-f ield f ar mers r eap ing g ra in , t hen mow ing t he h au lm o f wheat a nd r ye t o u se a s t ha tch , a nd f or f uel f or b ak ing a nd b rew ing. E lsewhere h e d escr ibes r eap ing , b ind ing a nd s hock ing ( rearing ) s heaves o ne nc losed f ar ms ( Hart ley 1 969 , 8 5 &8 6 ). Ro man B ri ta in .

Bo th h arvesting methods m igh t h ave b een u sed i n

With t he i n troduc t ion o f t he s cy the a nd b alanced s ick le i t was

p ossible t o c u t c orn more e as i ly a t g round l evel .

Where g ra in a nd s traw were

c u t p ar t way d own t he s talk i tc ou ld b e b ound a nd s t i l l t hreshed b y b ea t ing t he h eads w ith a f l a il . The s traw c ou ld b e u sed f or l i t ter. The u se t o wh ich t he s traw was t o b e p u t d eter m ined h arvest ing methods , b u t c l i ma te a nd t he e cono m ic s ta tus o f t he f ar m d ec ided h ow t he g ra in was t hresh ed. N ot much o ft he g ra in g rown i n B rita in wou ld b e t hreshed d irec t ly o n h arv est ing , a s t he ma in g ra in g rown was s pel t wh ich n eeds t o b e a r t if ic ial ly d r ied b efore t hresh ing. I n n or th Br i ta in t he s un w ou ld n o t a lways f u l ly r ipen o ther c rops a nd a rt if ic ial d ry ing m igh tb e r equ ired. 2 4

C orn m igh t p urposely b e g a thered u nder-ripe o r d a mp . C olu mel la r ecom mends t h is i n I t aly ( 2 .20.2 ). Advan tages c ou ld b e t ha t l ess g ra in was l ost i n t he f i elds t hrough d ropp ing o ver-r ipe f ro m t he e ars, p art icu larly i fas cythe w ere u sed , a nd t ha t t he s traw w as more n u tri t ious.

I fr ipened i n t he s tack o r

s tore i tn eeds l eav ing u n t i l S pr ing b efore t hresh ing ( Pat terson 1 925, 8 2 ).

Th is

wou ld b e a pp l icable t o t he b read wheats o f Ro man t imes. Where r ela t ively sma l l q uan t i t ies o f g ra in w ere p roduced , o r t he smal l f ar mer r equ ired t hreshed g ra in f or t he d o mest ic r equ ire men ts o f a smal l h ouseh old , t hresh ing p iece mea l t hroughou t t he w in ter m igh t h ave b een u sual o nce t he s eed c orn h ad b een s elect ed ( Varro 1 .63 & 6 9 ). i n t he e ar ;

The c orn w ou ld k eep b et ter

w eather m igh t r estric t o ther j obs t ha t c ou ld u sefu l ly b e d one.

F resh ly t hreshed g ra in o r c haf f h as b een t hough t b etter f or a n i mals, e special ly a t t he e nd o fw in ter, a nd c orn k ep t 2 0 w eeks a s b etter f or b rew ing a nd b read ( Evans 1 957 , 2 16, Hart ley 1 969 , 6 6 &1 04 ). F or ms o f t hresh ing f l oor u sed i n Br i ta in more r ecen t ly i nc lude c lay , p ort able o r f i xed w ooden f l oors, f l agged , c obbled a nd l erbed a reas b etween o ppos ing b arn d oors, t he l evel s treet i n f ron t o f t he h ouse, o r t he p ubl ic r oad w i th al i nen s heet o ver i t( W i l ia m 1 973, 4 8 ; Evans 1 957 , 2 16 ). I fa s s ee ms p robable w e h ave t wo d iferen t t rad i t ions o f h usbandry h ere, d eter m ined l argely b y d i f feren t c l i ma tes, h ow w ou ld t hey merge i n Ro man Bri ta in? We m igh t e xpect i mprove men ts i n method t o c ope w i th t he i ncreased p roduc t ion o f l arge c en tral ised f ar ms, t o t hresh t he l arge q uan t it ies r equ ired t o s tock m il itary g ranar ies i m med ia tely a f ter h arvest , o r f or c o m merc ial e nt erpr ises. I n t hese c ircu mstances a n i mal t hresh ing wou ld b e more ef ic ien t . I ft he Ro man t hresh ing f l oor W ere u sed , a dap ted t o t he Br i t ish c l i ma te b y a dd ing ar oof , s ledge-crushed s traw c ou ld b e a dded t o t he c haf f t o i ncrease t he w in ter f odder o r b edd ing f or a n i ma ls. A p ossible t r ibu lu m f l in t h as b een f ound i n S ussex . The t r ibu lu m , t he f or m o ft hresh ing s led i n most g eneral u se b y t he R o mans , h ad f l in ts o r i ron t ee th embedded i n t he u nders ide t o r e lease t he g ra in ( Wh i te 1 967 , 1 55 ).

The f l in t p icked u p o n t he s i te o f t he v il la a t Pol ing , n ear

L it t leha mp ton , S ussex , was w orn smooth a t o ne e nd , a nd made g lossy b y f r ic t ion a gainst s o me s ubstance c on ta in ing s i l ica. I t was c o mpared w ith t he f l in t f ro m at r ibu lu m i n r ecen t u se i n Cyprus a nd f ound t o b e i den t ical ( Curwen 1 937a ). I ts ee ms l ikely t ha t o n ly t he l arge e state owner wou ld h ave t he c ap ital a nd i nc en t ive t o Ro man ise h is f ar m a s wel l a s h is h ouse. On t he more w eal thy v i l la we may l ook f or r ound f l oors w ith t he f ounda t ions o f r eta in ing wa l ls where w e t h ink t hresh ing was d one w ith a n i mals, o r w i th p ost-holes f or r oof s upports.

The f l oor may b e f l agged , c obbled , o r o f o pus

s ign inum , o r s o me h ard ma ter ia l , a nd may s lope f ro m t he c en tre t o f aci l i ta te d ra inage i fu nroofed. The f l oor may b e r ectangu lar a s a t Boscoreale. There i s u n l ikely t o b e a ny a ssoc ia ted ma teria l wh ich c an c on f ir m i den t ity. S truc tures o f t h is d escr ip t ion m igh t s erve many p urposes.

Many r ound

s tone h ouses o f t he Ro man p eriod a re n ow b eing i den t if ied i n B r ita in ( W in ter ton . Bozea t , Barnsley Park , O ld Durha m , C atsgore, Gayhurst , Man f ield . S ee J obey 1 966 , Cha l l is a nd H ard ing 1 975, 1 48 ).

An i mal m il ls, where a c en tral

p a ir o f m il l s tones a re r o tated b y a n a n i ma l walk ing a round i n ac ircle o n a p aved t rack o r w ear ing a t rack i n a n e arth f l oor , wou ld l eave s im ilar r e ma ins. Th is was Corder 's i n terpreta t ion o f t he r ound b u i ld ing a t L angton . 2 5

S ize m igh t

h elp t o s uggest i ft h is i s ar easonable i n terpretat ion .

Dovecotes h ave b een

s uggested , o n t he e v idence o f Ro man w r i ters a bou t p igeon h ouses, s tand ing r ema ins i ne astern France, a nd t he c o mmon med ieval p rac t ice ( Cha mbers 1 920 ). Most o f t he e xa mp les h ave b een r ein terpreted , b u t Webster s uggests t h is was t he p urpose o f t he L ang ton b u ild ing. A smal l s ocket w i th s igns o f w ear s uggested ar evolv ing w ooden p ost b earing a l adder. K nown c orn d ry ing f l oors w ere a lso c ircu lar , b u t s o w ere s o me r el ig ious s hrines. The i n terpretat ion o f r ect angu lar s preads o f s tone c obbl ing c an b e e ven more d iverse, f ro m f l oors o f t imber f ra me b u i ld ings o n wooden s i l ls o f wh ich n o e v idence r e ma ins, t o r ick s tands. The modern p hrase , " the h ard s tand ing" i s t he o n ly r ea l ly s afe d esc rip t ion . However where r ounded c orners a re c learly d ef ined , a s a t Boscorea le, as pec if ic p urpose i s i mp l ied. The c lassical wr iters g ive u s n o r eal h elp i n o u t l in ing a r easonable s ize f or a t hresh ing f l oor. Varro s ays t he s ize s hou ld b e d eter m ined b y t he s ize o f t he h arvest ( 1 .51). Modern o bserva t ions i n I ran s uggest a d ia meter o f a bou t 1 2m a nd i n C alabr ia " enough f or a bou t ad ay 's w ork" ( Lerche 1 971, Ras mussen 1 971). I n s i tes w i th s igns o f l ower e cono m ic s tatus o r l a te Ro man izat ion w e may b e a ble t o s uggest f l oors f or h and t hresh ing i n ag ra in p rocessing a rea. Our i n terpreta t ion o f t hresh ing f l oors c an o n ly b e t en ta t ive e ven when t he s i tes e xh ib i t an umber o ft he f ea tures men t ioned b y c lassical wri ters, s treng the ned b y a ssoc ia t ion w i th g ranaries a nd b arn s.

I ti s v ery p ossible t ha t af ar m

h ad n o s eparate b u i ld ing f or a n i malthresh ingbecause i t s g ra in p roduc t ion was t oo smal l a nd was t hreshed b y h and i n sma l l a reas, b ecause p art o f t he f i eld o r t he b arn s erved t he p urpose , o r b ecause t he whole c rop w as c arted t o as i te c en tra l t o t he e sta te o r c o m mun ity f or d ry ing a nd t hresh ing.

A l l t he s i tes e x-

am ined h ave f l oors wh ich h ave b een s pec ia l ly p repared a nd a re o f t he mater ials r eco m mended b y c lassical wr i ters. AN I MAL THRESH ING Round f l oors. A t n one o f t he s i tes i s t he s truc ture s o c losely a ssoc iated w i th c orn d riers o r g ranar ies a s t o g ive s trong s uppor t t o i n terpretat ion a s at hresh ing f l oor. Though t he g ranary a t D itch ley may b e c on te mporary w i th t he l a ter f l oor , d at ing e v idence i s i nsecure. The s truc tures a t Win ter ton a nd L a t i mer a re t oo smal l f or s ledge t hresh ing. That a t Great Weldon was b eing u sed a s a work shop i n t he l ast p hase o f o ccup a t ion .

I n s ize t he r e ma inder r ange f ro m 5 .5-10.65 m i n d ia meter.

The s ub-

s tan t ial f ounda t ions a t O ld Durha m , a nd e ven t hose a t Barnsley Park a nd S i lc hester , may i mp ly t ha t t he f l oor was e xpec ted t o s tand h eav ier w ear t han u sua l i nt he h ouse.

The f l oor s urfaces h ad a lso r ec ieved c arefu l t rea t men t

w ith f l ag s tones, g ravel o r o pus s ign inu m . F loors l ike t hese w ere s u itable f or t hresh ing f l oors o r m i lls. Bases o f m il ls f ound i n s i tu a t P o mpei i a re o f ten o n ly 0 .90 m a part , a nd s o me o n ly 4 5 cm f ro m t he wal l .

An i mals o n p ictor ial mon-

umen ts a re h arnessed v ery c lose t o t heir m i l ls ( Mor i tz 1 958-82 ).

Wh ile t hese

n eed n o tb e t aken a s a ccurate o r t yp ica l , a n u nnecessar ily l arge c ircu i t wou ld b e i nef f ic ien t a nd t he l arger c ircu lar b u i ld ings a re u n l ikely t o h ave b een m il ls. 2 6

A t O ld Durha m t here was n o e v idence o f aw orn t rack .

Webster s uggested

m i l l ing a t Barnsley Park b ecause o f 4p ieces o f q uern n ear b y , r ather t han f ro m s truc tural e v idence. The S i lchester f l oor i s o fo pus s ign inu m , wh ich was t he mater ial u sed a t Boscoreale.

O ther f l oors w ere o f c lay , ( Di tch ley a nd L odge Far m ) a nd

c obbles ( D i tch ley ) , a l l a dequate f or t hresh ing.

Ou ter s tone wa l ls o r k erbs e x-

i s ted a t D i tch ley 1 & 2 , O ld Durha m 1 & 2 , a nd L odge Far m . w ith c lay d aub w ere i nd ica ted a t S ilchester. i s n o t c lear.

T imber s upports

Whether t he s tructures w ere r oofed

N o e v idence i s g iven f or c en tral r oof s uppor ts o n a ny o f t he s i tes,

f or m il l-stone b ases, n or f or c ol lapsed r oof ma ter ial.

Thatch m igh t b e e xpec ted.

Rec tangu lar f l oors That a t G od manchester i s most l ikely t o h ave b een u sed f or t hresh ing. I t s a ssoc ia t ion w i th o vens a nd s torage b ins makes a n a gr icu l tural f unc t ion p roba ble.

The d el ibera te c u t t ing d own t o t he n a tural g ravel b elow t he Ro mano-Br it ish

g round l evel i nd ica tes t he importance o f t he f l oor s urface.

The f l oor was e x-

c ep t ional ly h ard a nd b ea ten t o au n ifor m l evel s urface i n c onstruc t ion o r b y l ong u se. E ither w ou ld f i t i t s i n terpretat ion a s at hresh ing f l oor. Dra inage t hrough a g ravel f l oor w ou ld b e g ood ( H. M. Green , i nfor ma t ion ). I t s s uggested s hape i s v ery awkward f or a n i ma l t hresh ing , b u t much l arger t han n ecessary f or h and t hresh ing. The r ectangu lar f l oor a t L ang ton was c u t more d eep ly i n to t he g round , a nd e ven when 6 0 cm o fh erring-bone c oursed s tone h ad b een p u t i n to i tt he f l oor l evel w ou ld s t il lb e 1m b elow g round l evel . There i s n o r eference t o e v idence o f ar a mp . The u nmor tared f i l l ing wou ld b e e as i ly d ra ined , b u t s o wou ld t he s and t hrough wh ich t he f l oor was c u t. a t Boscoreale, u sefu l f or s weep ing c lear.

The c orners w ere r ounded a s

N o k erb wou ld b e n ecessary.

s ides a re s a id t o s lope s l igh t ly i nwards t o af l a t b o t to med p i t.

The

The smal l g ra in

s tore i n t he a d jacen tb u i ld ing , b arn , g ra in d riers, a nd g eneral a gr icu ltural c on tex t m igh t s uggest t hat i t was a t hresh ing f l oor. Graha m Webster t h ink s t ha t i t was a r ick s tand .

D esp ite t he d i f feren t s hape, t he a rea o f f l oor a pprox i-

ma ted t o t ha t o fO ld Durha m . HAND THRESHING The r ound f l oor a t Win terton , i nside a n a isled b u i ld ing u sed a t s evera l p er iods f or a gr icu l ture, w ou ld h ave b een s u i table f or h and t hresh ing. S o wou ld t he f rag men t a t L a t i mer.

Bu t t hey d id n o t n eed t o b e r ound f or t h is u se.

A t Wel ton Wold , f our l arge r ectangu lar f l oors c u t 0 .80 m i n to t he c halk w ere a t tached t o d ry ing o vens. The s ides o f t he f l oors were l i ned b y t urf wal ls wh ich c ou ld h ave p reven ted s i l t ing a nd p rov ided a l ow w ind b reak b eh ind wh ich w innow ing c ou ld b e c on trol led .

One a t l east was t imber r oofed.

An a rea o f

p i tched s tone n ex t t o t he c orn d r ier a t Cold Cupboard , Far m ing ton , s tone f l oors a t S hakenoak 2 h a l l a rea a nd a t N orton D isney e n trance , wou ld h ave b een s u i ta ble f or t hresh ing , b u t s uch f l oors were n o t u nco m mon . A t Catsgore a p aved a rea n ex t t o t he c orn d rier a nd c on ta in ing a q uern b ase may h ave b een s im ilarly u sed.

Ak erb o ff l ag-stones o ne dge s eparated t he f l agged a rea f ro m t he s ur-

r ound ing p i tched f l oor.

The k erb wou ld h ave r etained l oose g ra in .

2 7

The t h ick

r ubble f l oor n ex t t o t he g ranary a t S hakenoak w ou ld h ave b een s u i table f or t hreshi ng , b u t n o g ra in was f ound a nd t he a d jacen t h ear th h ad b een u sed f or metal work ing. "Work ing h ol lows" o f I ron Age t ype s urv ived a t Ta l l ington i n t he i s t c en tury A .D . I nsu ff icien t e v idence r e ma ins o f t he f l oors a t Barnsley Park a nd Wal ton t o i nd ica te more t han t heir d el ibera te c onstruct ion . I ti s n ot p ossible t o s ay w i th c onf idence t ha t a ny o f t he r ound f l oors w ere u sed f or a n i mal t hresh ing , t hough i ti s n ot r u led o u t. The f l oors a t C a tsgore a nd Wel ton w ou ld n ot h ave b een r ecogn ised u n less a ssoc ia ted w i th d riers. Those a t God manchester, O ld Durha m , a nd S i lchester c o me n earest t o s a t isfyi ng t he e xpec ted c ri teria.

2 8

CHAPTER GRAIN AND

FODDER

3 S TORAGE

Even when a l arge p roport ion o f t he c rop was s old o f f t he f ar m o r t aken i n m i l i tary t axa t ion , a s i s o f ten a ssu med f or Ro man B rita in , e very f ar m i n a m ixed f ar m ing e cono my wou ld n eed c rop s torage o f s o me s ort , u n less t he s i te was a s pec ial is t u n i t w i th in a l arge e sta te. The s torage o f s eed c orn was e ssen t ial . I ti s c alcu la ted t ha t o ne t h ird o f t he y early o u tpu t was r equ ired f or s eed f or t he f ol low ing y ear ( Rivet 1 969 , 1 96 ).

A s i t was e ssen t ial f or t he p rosper ity o f t he f ar m i t wou ld b e t rea ted

c arefu l ly. G ra in f or h ousehold c onsu mp t ion wou ld r equ ire s torage. I tm igh t b e b rough t i ndoors a f ter h arvest , d ried , t hreshed , t hen s tored a s g ra in. A t e ach s tage i tn eeded t o b e k ep t s epara te.

I fh arvested b arely r ipe, o r d a mp , i t

n eeded a rt if icial d ry ing o r l ong s torage i n as tack o r c overed s hed wh ile i tg radua l ly d ried o u t . Querns f ound a re n or ma l ly h and q uerns. Ev idence o f mechan ic al m i l ls i n B r ita in i s smal l a nd most o f ten f ound o n m il i tary o r u rban s i tes , t hough i n G loucestersh ire a nd S o merset t here i s s o me e v idence o f l arge m i l ls tones ( Sykes 1 967 ). A s h and m il l ing , wh ich i s as low a nd t ed ious p rocess, was t he r u le, i ti s l ikely t hat f or h ousehold u se i t was d one a s r equ ired , a nd most c orn was s tored f or much o f t he w in ter a nd s pring. C orn f or a n i mal c onsu mp t ion was p robably s tored n ear t o o ther c o m modi t ies u sed i n a n i ma l h usbandry , l ike s traw , c haf f , a nd h usks f ro m t he t hreshi ng f l oor, b eans a nd o ther ma terial g athered f or f odder o r l i t ter, a nd n ear where t he a n i mals t he mselves w ere k ep t. Ev idence f or g ranaries f ro m c lassical s ources Ra ised f l oors a nd w el l p repared f l oors a t g round l evel were r eco m mended. Most w riters a gree t ha t t he g ranaries wou ld h ave w indows o n ly o n t he n orth a nd e ast a nd b e s i tua ted t o a vo id d a mp westerly w inds.

These c onsidera t ions

w ou ld a lso b e t rue f or B r ita in . Ra ised g ranaries w ere r eco m mended f or mo ister r eg ions t o s tore h ay , c haf f , l eaves, g ra in a nd o ther a n i mal f odder. They s hou ld b e b u il t o f w ood , w i th f l oors r a ised o n p i l lars s o t ha t a ir c ou ld b low a round t he g ra in f ro m t he s ides a nd b elow , o r s hou ld b e l of ts r eached b y l adders a nd v en t ilated b y smal l o pen ings o n t he n orth s ide ( Pl iny 1 8.73.301; C olu mel la 1 .6.10. & 1 6; 6 .6.4 ). G ranar ies a t g round l evel a re a lso c learly d escribed. s tone ( Vi truv ius

F loors may b e o f

6 .6.4 ) , marble c e men t , c lay m ixed w i th g rain , c haf f a nd

amurca ( Varro 1 .13.1 & 1 .57.1) , o r e arth .

The l a tter s hou ld b e t rea ted w i th

l ees , t hen o verla id w i th a p ave men t o f t i les made f ro m l ime a nd s and mixed w i th o i l a nd c areful ly s ealed a t a l l j o in ts w i th g rou t ing ( Colu mel la 1 .6.12-14 ). 2 9

Wa l ls s hou ld b e s im i larly t rea ted , o r c oa ted w i th c lay , o i l l ees a nd t he d r ied l eaves o ft he w ild o l ive ( I de m ). These p recau t ions a re r eco mmended a ga inst d a mp , w eev i ls a nd mice ( Ca to 9 2.1). G ranaries b u il t w i th a b rick wal l ay ard t h ick , f i l led f ro m a bove , a nd w i th n o w indows, o r o n ly o nes f ac ing n orth o r e ast , s ound l ike modern s i los ( Pl iny 1 8.73. 3 00 ). Roof ing materials a re r arely s pec if ied . T iles w ere u sed , t hough P l iny t hough t i ti nadv isable a s i t made t he g ra in t oo h ot ( I de m ). A v au l ted c eil ing wh ich must h ave b een o f s tone, b r ick o r most l ikely c oncrete, a cco mpan ied C olu mel la 's c oncrete f l oor. I n ternal d iv isions i n to b ins t o p er m it s torage o f e very k ind o f l egu me i s men t ioned b y C olu mel la ( 1 .20.3) , who l ike D iodorus S icu lus imp l ies a mu l t ip urpose b u i ld ing i n wh ich s torage a nd t hresh ing t ook p lace ( 5 .21) .

Varro r ec-

om mends a b u i ld ing wh ich w il l t ake t he whole o f t he f ar m 's h arvest ( 1 .13.5 ). O ther f or ms o fg ra in s torage men t ioned i nc lude j ars f or wha t must b e g ra in f or h ousehold u se ( Cato 8 .3) , u nderground c aves a nd w el ls i no ther c oun tr ies, a nd s tacks ( Varro 5 0.7.2 ).

C orn a s w el l a s s traw was s tack ed.

C olu-

mel la p o in ted o u t t hat g ra in wou ld g row l arger o n t he f l oor a nd i n t he s tack i f h arvested b efore i th ardened , t hough Varro s t i l l a dv ised s toring i ti ndoors b ec ause i t wou ld b e s weeter ( Colu mel la 2 .20.3; V arro 1 .56 ) . C olu mel la a lso r eco mmended t ha t s traw s hou ld b e c u t a nd s tacked i n August w i th in t h irty d ays o f h arvest ( 6 .3.1.). The b est h ay s hou ld b e k ep t b y i t sel f f or t he o xen t o e a t d ur ing t he s pring p lough ing , p resu mably s o mewhere f a irly o u t o ft he way , i f i ti s n o t t o b e n eeded f or s ix mon ths, a nd w el l away f ro m t he o xen wh ile t hey s ubsist o n l ess p ala table w in ter f are ( Cato 5 3). As im ilar r ange o fg ranary t ypes i s r epresen ted i n e xcava t ions o n c ont inen tal s i tes.

A t K öln Mungersdorf , w est o f C ologne , o ccup ied f ro m t he 1 st-

4 th c en turies, o ne b u ild ing o r g roup o fb u i ld ings ( 1 2 ) i s i nd ica ted b y p ost h oles o ver a n a rea o fC . 3 0 x1 2 m. I nb u i ld ing 3 , o f s im i lar s ize ( 27 .40 m x 1.75 m ) , t he f l oor o f t he c en tral a rea was s upported o n r ows o f s tone b locks a nd s trongly b u t tressed o n t he w est s ide. I t was b u i l t i n s tages d ur ing t he 3 rd c en tury , a nd l ook s t yp ical o f t he m i l i tary t ype o fg ranary. Another b u i ld ing ( 30 m x 1 0 m ) was a l tered b y t he c onstruct ion o f ac en tral t owerl ike a dd i t ion 1 2.45 m s quare , w i th wal ls 1 .30 m t h ick .

Th is c an b e c o mpared w ith t he much smal ler r oo m

a dded t o t he v i l la a t Mayen a t t he e nd o f t he I st c en tury wh ich was 2 .5 m s quare w i th wal ls c . 1m t h ick .

I t was b u i l t o n t he n orth o f t he h ouse a s r eco m mended

b y c lassical wr i ters, a nd a lso o pened t o t he n orth , f ro m o u tside t he h ouse ( Gren ier 1 934, 7 90 ). A s im ilar b u i ld ing a t C h iragen , a pprox i ma tely 7 m x 1 0 m ,h as a d ouble t h ickness o f wa l l f oundat ions 1 -2 m w ide r e ma in ing o n t he N & W s ides.

Th is

was i n terpreted a s ag ranary w i th s upport ing l edges f or a r a ised f l oor b y i t s e xcavator M. J ou l in . The s i te a lso c on ta ined a l arge b arn o f t he S everan p eriod c omparab le t o t he l arge t hresh ing a nd s torage b arns o f t he m idd le a ges ( I de m 8 54, 8 55 ). The r oo m n ex t t o t he t hresh ing f l oor a t Boscorea le V il la 1 3 m igh t h ave b een a n ub ilariu m o r s tore , p art icu larly f or g ra in awa i t ing t hreshi ng. I t s w ide d oors o pen o n t o t he t hresh ing f l oors a nd t he w ine c ourts. w indows f ac ing o n t o t he a rea wou ld p rov ide g ood v en t i la t ion .

3 0

F our

I N BRITAIN S torage f ac i l i t ies i n Ro man B rita in h ave b een d iv ided i n to t he f ol low ing c ategories; i ron a ge s urv iva ls , g ranaries o f m il i tary t ype, r oo ms w ith f l oors r a ised o n i n ternal o f fsets, a nd s torage w i th in h ouses. n one o f t hese c a tegor ies.

S o me e xa mp les f i t i n to

S l igh t e v idence f or t he u se o f s tacks h as b een f ound.

Wh ile t he i ron a ge s urv ivals a nd s torage i n h ouses h ave b een s u mmarised t hey a re n ot c a talogued i n d eta i l . I RON AGE

SURVIVA L S

The d elay i n a dop t ing Ro man methods o f f ar m ing i n s o me p arts o f t he c oun try i s c learly s een i n s torage s tructures.

G ra in p i ts a nd f our p ost g rana-

r ies a re t he most e asi ly r ecogn ised a gricu ltural f ea tures o f I ron Age s et t lemen ts. B ersu s uggested t ha t c onsu mp t ion g ra in was s tored i n t he g round a nd s eed g ra in i n r a ised g ranaries. Th is d ist inct ion n o l onger a ppears n ecessary. We k now t ha t s eed c orn c an b e s tored i n d ry p i ts w i thou t d anger o f i n festa t ion a nd g er m inate v ery s uccessfu l ly ( Reynolds 1 967 & 1 974 ).

The a l terna t ives

m igh t h ave b een u sed a s s afety p recau t ions a ga inst d isaster. A t Woodcu ts p re-Ro man methods c on t inued i n u se u n t il t he e nd o f t he s econd c en tury. Three p i ts w ere i den t if ied a s l a te a s Phase 2 , c . 1 50/75 t o 3 10/25 ( Hawkes 1 947 , 4 5 ). The f i rst p hase o f o ccupa t ion a t I wer—n e, e nd ing c . 2 00 , was i den t if ied a s ap i t-using f ar m s yste m ( I b id 5 1 ). A t A rbury Road , C ambridge, 2 nd c en tury o ccupa t ion was r epresen ted b y p i ts a nd a p ossible t imber b u i ld ing.

F our o f t he p i ts h ad r oofs o f t ha tch s upported o n small p osts

whose s take h oles w ere v isib le.

V-shaped g u l l ies s urrounded t he m .

They h ad

c learly b een u sed f or s torage ( Frend 1 954, 1 0 ). A t Wick ford , E ssex , al a ter 2 nd c en tury c lay p i t , c . 4 .9 m d ia meter, w as r e-shaped a nd l i ned w i th w icker work f or g ra in s torage-,t hough t hen f i l led w i th b u i ld ing d ebris c . 2 00 ( Rodwel l 1 970 , 2 92 ). Many o ther f unct ion s h ave b een s uggested f or f our p ost s truc tures i n I ron Age c on tex ts, f or e xa mp le, wa tch t owers, f igh t ing p la tfor ms , p la tfor ms f or t he e xposure o f t he d ead , s hrines, h ouse p orches , o r r oof s upports i n t he c en tre o f t he h ouse , a nd g round l evel workshops. The s i tuat ion o r c on tex t u sua l ly r enders s o me o f t hese u n l ikely. Their i n terpreta t ion a s g ranaries r ests o n f ind ing g ra in i n t he p ost h oles a t Rotherley 3 a nd Tol lard Royal A & B , i n a ssoc iated c on tex ts a t S tap le Howe a nd C rof t Ambrey , a nd f ro m a n throp olog ical p aral lels.

Mo isture c on ten t a nd l a tera l p ressure may h ave b een r e-

d uced b y s toring t he g ra in i n t he m i n j ars D rewet t 1 971, 1 85f f ; H ard ing 1 974, 7 8 ;

( For d iscussion s ee E l l ison &

Reynolds 1 974 ).

They were s t il l i nu se i n Ro man B ri ta in .

Af our p ost s truc ture i n a n

e nc losure a t Tal l ing ton , l i nked b y ad rove-way t o t he Ro man I ON S treet a nd d a ted b y p ot tery t o 5 0/60-80/90 A . D. was i n terpreted a s ag ranary ( S i mpson 1 966 ,15 ).

A t C ae S u m merhouse t he ma in f ea tures i n ad i tched e nclosure w i th

f inds s uggest ing i n tensive o ccupat ion f ro m t he l a te i st t o 4 th c en turies w ere s even

f our p ost s tructures w i th p osts s et 2 m-3 m a part , c orn d riers, a nd

ap oss ible b arn ( Dav ies 1 973, 5 3ff ).

A t S o mersha m , C ambridgesh ire, o ne

was d is man t led b y 1 50 A .D., a nd a no ther c arefu l ly b u i l t w i th i t s t imbers o n s tone p ads i n t he b ase o f t he p os t h o les .

An ine p os t b u i ld ing p receded a

s tone g ranary a t Gorhambury ( Goodburn 1 978a 4 47 & 4 45 ). 3 1

' Gra in was f ound a t F lav ian G od manchester s tored a bove g round i n j ars h oused i nw icker o r t imber b ins.

An umber o f t hese g ranaries p roduced c ar-

b on ised g ra ins o f s pel t , b read o r c lub whea t , emmer a nd b arley ( Green 1 975, 1 91 ). S torage o f smal l amoun ts o fg ra in i n j ars , p robably f or d o mest ic u se was a c on t inu ing c onven ience a t a l l p er iods. A t Cha lk r e ma ins o f al arge s torage j ar a nd a sma l l g rey j ar w ere a ssoc iated w i th wheat , b arley a nd o a ts, a nd f ound i n t he r oo m a bove t he c el lar ( Johnston 1 972,118 ). GRANARIES OF

MIL ITARY TYPE

The t ype o f g ranary wh ich h as b een most f u l ly s tud ied i s t hat i n u rban s i tes i n I t lay o r m il i tary s i tes i n B ri ta in ( Rickman 1 971, Mann ing 1 975a , G ent ry 1 976). G ra in was t he c o m mod i ty most o f ten s tored i n t he m a nd d eter m ined t heir ma in f eatures, b u t t hey must a lso h ave s erved f or g eneral s torage. G ra in n eeds a r egu lar t e mpera ture ( below 6 0 °F ), d ry c ond i t ions, ( 10-15% h um id i ty ) t o p reven t g er m inat ion o r mou ld a nd t o d eter i nsec t i n festat ion . ( See Ha l l &K enward 1 975, 2 74-6 f or a n e xa mp le o f i nsec t p roble ms ). F loors r a ised o n p osts, o n p i l lars , o r o n s tone wal ls, p ierced t o a l low af l ow o f a ir , a ss ist w i th t hese o b jec t ives. Upper s tone wal ls a re b u t tressed t o s upport t he w eigh t o f s tored g ra in , ah eavy t i led r oof , o r w ide e aves t o k eep r ain of t he w al ls. I fl ouvres w ere i nserted i n t he u pper wal ls o f s tone g ranar ies, a s i nR ichmond 's r econstruc t ion f or F endoch t imber g ranary , t he b u tt resses w ou ld s upport e aves t o s hel ter t he l ouvres a nd s treng then wha t w ere i n e f fec t t he p i l lars o f t he wal ls ( Bu l mer 1 969 , 1 0 ). 1 F loors may b e s tone s labs s upported o n p i l lars a nd dwarf wal ls, o r t imber p lanks s upported o n j o ists wh ich w ere s et i n l edges i n t he wa l ls o r s unk i n s lots c u t i n to t he g round .

The

s a me f unct ion was s erved b y t he s tadd le s tones o n wh ich 1 9 th c en tury s tack s a nd t imber g ranar ies w ere b u i l t. G ranar ies i n t h is c ategory h ave b een s ubd iv ided i n to t ypes d eter m ined b y s tructura l f eatures; p ost h oles, p ost h oles i n t renches, s leeper b ea m t renc hes , dwarf s tone wal ls , a nd p i ke. The f i rst t hree c a tegories w ere b u i l t i n t imber s o l i t t le s urv ival i s e xpec ted . F ive g ranaries were s quare, o r n early s o.

O f t hese t hree w ere t imber

b u i l t ( Wh i t ton a nd O rton L onguev i l le ) , t wo h ad i n terna l s tone wal ls ( D i tch ley a nd S hakenoak ).

Those g ranaries where f l oors w ere r a ised o n i n ternal ofse ts

w ere a lso f requen t ly s quare. The s hape mus t b e p art ly a r ef lec t ion o f t he c apac i ty r equ ired , b u t may h ave b eco me p art ly t rad it iona l , s te mm ing f ro m f our p ost g ranar ies , o r f ro m t imber s ize a nd c onstruc t ion t echn iques.

D r.

Mann ing n o ted t ha t i n m il i tary t imber g ranar ies i n B r ita in t he s pac ing o f t he p osts a long t he t renches i s of ten t he s a me a s t ha t b etween t he r ows ( 1975a , 1 06 ). S et t ing p osts i n t renches i s a Ro man m il itary p rac t ice. O f t he p ost-hole g roup d eta i led p lans a re a va ilable a t p resen t f or o n ly N ewhaven a nd Wh i t ton . I ft he N ewhaven p osts c arr ied a r a ised f l oor t he j o ists must h ave r un l ong itud inal ly. Desp ite i t s i rregu lar i ty t h is i s most l ike t he m i l i tary g ranaries i n s hape. The p osi t ion ing o f p osts i n t he t renches a t Wh it ton , a nd t he a dd i t ional h oles d ug t o r ep lace o ne r ow , s how t ha t h ere t he j o ists r an a t r igh t a ng les t o t he t renches a s i n m il i tary g ranaries g iv ing i ncreased s tab i li t y. One r ow o f p osts h ad a lso b een r ep laced a t N ewhaven , a nd a t n ei ther wou ld

3 2

t he p osts h ave b een s tric t ly p aral lel , n or a n e ven d istance a part.

I n t he Wh i t ton

e xa mp le w i thou t t renches n oth ing s ug gests t he d irec t ion o f t he j o ists.

These

e xa mp les a re d a ted t o t he i st a nd 2 nd c en turies i n c on trast t o t he l a te 4 th o r 5 th c en tury d a te a t O rton L onguev i l le. Win terton i s t he o n ly g ranary w i th s leeper b ea m t renches , h ere a cross t he a isle o f t he b as i l ica l b u i ld ing i n wh ich a c orn d r ier a nd p oss ible b yre were f ound.

H owever t he b ea m s lots d o n ot c o mp letely c ross o ne r oo m , a nd i n t he

o ther a re s o w ide a s t o a l low l i t t le i n terven ing a ir s pace i fe ver c o mp letely t imber f i l led.

I ti s u n l ikely t ha t t he s unken w ing r oo m ( 20 ) a t Gadebr idge Park

was a g ranary. a n e arl ier o ne.

I th ad 4 b ea m s lo ts 0 .76 x 7 .32 m a nd a f l oor r a ised 3 5 cm a bove Use a s as table a nd a sm i thy a t o ther p eriods s uggest a n a gri-

c u l tural u se f or t he w ing , b u t t he p a in ted p laster f i n ish ing a t t he l evel o f t he r a ised f l oor i mp l ies d o mest ic u se a t t h is p eriod.

D r. Mann ing h as f ound c on-

s truc t ion w i th s leeper b ea ms r are among t imber g ranaries. t he F endoch t renches a s d ug t o t ake v ert ical p osts.

He r ein terpreted

He d oes a ccep t t heir e x is-

t ence a t R ichborough a nd Va lk enberg ( 1975a , 1 09 ). Those g ranaries w i th dwarf s tone wal ls v ary c onsiderably i n s hape a nd s ize. Horton K irby , b y f ar t he l argest , was c learly a g ranary o r s tore h ouse, w i th i t s t ransverse s leeper w al ls. I t s s ize, e labora t ion ,a nd s i tuat ion o n t he b ank o f t he Daren t s uggest i t was p robably i n ac o m merc ial r ather t han s olely a gricu l tural c on tex t. The o ne a t Eccles was a l most i den t ical i n p lan a nd s ize t o t he Muck ing g ranary , a nd i s v ery e arly f or a s tone a gricu l tural b u i ld ing ( . 2 . 5 5-65 A . D.), b u t e v idence s uggests t ha t t he wa l ls w ere c arr ied u p a bove t he f oundat ion s i n s tone.

Many f eatures o f t he s i te a re e arly a nd e xcep t ional .

S hakenoak a nd D itch ley c learly h ad r a ised f l oors , a nd t h is i s ar easonable e xp lanat ion f or t he c urious f ea ture i n t he a isle a t N . Warnborough w i th v en ts i n t he o u ter wal l.

A t Woodchester t he b u t tresses a re where t he g round s lopes

s teep ly. The l ong i tud inal wa l ls d id n ot r ise a bove t he f ounda t ion l evels o f t he wal ls s o may h ave c arried a r a ised f l oor ( Lysons 1 797 , 1 2 ). The g ranary a t L u l l ingstone was w el lb u i l t a nd e labora te w i th a main h a l l a nd smal ler s tores w i th wooden f l oors r a ised o nf l in t p iers. However t he r a ised f l oors w ere n o t l ong i n u se.

Those i n t he l arge h al l w ere r e moved , a nd a f ter a p eriod o f d e-

t eriora t ion t he f l oor made u p w i th f l in ts a nd r ubble a nd a w ide e n trance b u il t i n t he e nd n earest t he r iver. The f l oors o f t he smal ler r oo ms r ot ted away. U se a s ag ranary l ay w i th in t he p er iod l a te 3 rd t o m id 4 th c en tury. S uperstructures a re d i f f icu l t t o d eter m ine.

The t imber b u ild ings o f t he

f i rst t hree s ubtypes p robably h ad t ha tch o r s h ingle r oofs. O thers f or med p art o f al arger b u i ld ing w i th s tone f ounda t ions o r wal ls. The ma in p art o f L u l l ings tone g ranary was t i le r oofed. f ra me s uperstruc ture.

A t Wic ldord t he t i le wal l-sil l i nd ica tes a t imber

I n t he r ec tangu lar b u ild ings f l oor s upports a re a rranged i n t ransverse r ows ( 4e xa mp les ) a nd l ong itud inal r ows ( 3 ). I n m il itary t imber g ranaries t he l ong itud inal a rrange men t may b e e arl ier ( Mann ing 1 975a , 1 06 ). wou ld h ave b een o f t imber.

The f l oors

There w ere impressions o f t imber p lanks a t Eccles

a nd L u l l ingstone, b u t n owhere e v idence o f r a ised f l agstones f l oors.

L oad ing

p la tfor m b ases r e ma ined a t Eccles a nd Horton K irby , b oth a t t he e nd o f t he b u i ld ing.

A t Eccles i t was 1 .50 m w ide , a l low ing p len ty o f r oo m f or u n load ing.

L arge d oorways i n t he c en tres o f t he l ong s ides a t L u l l ingstone make i tl ook

3 3

l ike a med ieval b arn .

Woodchester a nd N orth Warnborough may a lso h ave h ad

d oors i n t he l ong s ides.

H orton K irby a nd L u l l ingstone a re t he l argest .

B oth

a re n ear r ivers a nd may h ave b een f or b u lk s torage o f g ra in a bou t t o b e t ransp orted . These g ranaries c on for m t o s o me o f t he s tandards t hough t d esirable i n t he c lass ica l w orld .

A l l h ave r a ised f l oors.

S everal w ere s i tua ted t o t he n orth

o f o ther b u i ld ings i n t he f ar m c o mp lex , o r i n t he N o r E s ide o f t he b u i ld ing wh ich c on ta ined t he m.

The b u i ld ing mater ials, h owever, r ef lec t t hose i n n or mal

u se , r a ther t han o nes s pec if ical ly c hosen f or g ranaries.

O f t he s tone e xa mp les

o n ly Eccles i s o f f i rst c en tury d a te , t he o thers a re o f t he 3 rd a nd 4 th c en tury. The t imber o nes wh ich a re d a table a re e arly.

Where b u t tresses e x ist a t Wood-

c hester a nd D i tch ley t hey a re f ound o n ly o n o ne o f t he o u tside wal ls, a nd t h is i s n ot d eter m ined b y t he n eed f or w ide e aves. The ma in i den t ify ing c ri teria a re c o mparison w i th m i l i tary g ranar ies a nd a ssoc ia t ion w i th a gr icu l tura l b u i ld ings, o f ten w ith in a f ar myard .

There

i s n o r ecord o f f ind ing g ra in i n t he m . I nsu f f ic ien t e v idence e x ists a t Wanborough t o d escribe t he r a ised f l oor a s at own g ra in s tore , t hough s uch s et t le men ts o n ma in r oads may h ave b een g overn men t g ra in c ol lec t ing d epots. ROO MS WITH FLOORS RAISED ON I NTERNAL OFFSETS These a re smal l r ectangu lar o r s quare r oo ms w i th f l oors r a ised s l igh t ly a bove g round l evel t o c rea te a ir s pace b enea th , a nd s upported o n o f fsets i n t he l ower p arts o f t he wa l ls, o r o n s pec ial ly b u i l t i nner w al ls.

These r oo ms may

b e d etached o r may b e p art o f ab u i ld ing w i th o ther a gricu l tural f unc t ions ( Iwerne, S troud , Bawdripp ).

Though t hey c annot i n a ny c ase b e f i rm ly , i den t if ied w i th

g ra in s torage , t he r a ised f l oor makes i t ap ossib il i ty. There was a n o f fset o n t hree s ides o n ly a t S i lchester 2 0 (111 2 Bi , S troud a nd I werne. A t S i lchester t he f ourth s ide was t he d oorway. There m igh t b e l ess n eed f or s upport a t t he e n trance wh ich w ou ld a lways b e f ree o f h eavy s acks o r s tores.

A t S troud t he g ranary a nd s hed f or m a r ange o fb u ild ings a long t he

e as tern wal l o ft he c ourtyard. I ft he d oorway o f t he g ranary was o n t he w al l w i thou t a n ofset i t wou ld o pen o u tside t he c ourtyard . The d oor i n t he e astern e nd o f t he a isled b arn d oes t he s a me. n ised.

Doorways i n to t he s hed w ere n ot r ecog-

I ti s p ossible t ha t a n o u ter c ourtyard c on ta in ing o ther a gricu l tura l b u ild-

i ngs e x isted b u t w as n ot e xcava ted ;

B ran igan t oo s uggested t ha t a gricu l tural

b u ild ings i n t he r ange e nc losing t he c ourtyard p robably h ad t heir ma in e n trances o n t he o u ter s ides ( 1977 , 5 2). A t I werne t he s ide w i thou t a n o f fset i s a ga inst t he h ouse w al l .

A long t he

r est o f i t s l eng th t hat wal l h as a n e x ternal ofset wh ich i s n ot s hown i ns ide t he g ranary. A s t he e xcava t ion was n ever p ubl ished , most o f t he r ecords l os t , a nd t he p lan d rawn f ro m a model i n G eneral P it t R iver 's museu m , t he d eta i ls a re n ot s ecure ( Haw les 1 947 ,50 ). N o d oorway i s s hown . Access f ro m t he h ouse i s p ossible t o o ne s ide o f t he i n terna l c ross wal l , a nd m igh t b e e xpected f or c onven ience, b u t t h is t ype o fg ranary m igh t h ave b een f i l led f ro m a bove a s P l iny r eco m mended , p art icu larly where i t was b u i l t i n to a h i l ls ide a s h ere. Whether g ra in was s tored l oose o r i n s acks i s r elevan t. 3 4

F or e ase o f h and l ing

s torage i n s acks s ee ms l ikely ( Gen try 1 976, 1 8 ). was f ound a t P ark S treet.

Ev idence s uggest ing t he m

B et ter u se c ou ld b e made o f t he a va ilable s pace ,

a nd a ir c ou ld c ircu la te b etween t he s acks.

I fc orn w ere p oured i n l oose s o me

s hoot o r t rap d oor m igh t b e b u i l t i n t he i nside wa l l . A t S i lchester t here a re s everal s quare o r r ec tangu lar b u i ld ings, u sual ly d etached b u t s o met i mes j o ined t o a nother b u i ld ing b y as hort wal l.

The e xca-

v ator a nd G . B oon s uggested t ha t t hese w ere f or g ra in s torage ( 1974, 2 56-7 ). L it tle i n for ma t ion i s a va i lable f ro m t he r eports.

I n t he t hree c a ta logued h ere

a n i n terna l o f fset e x ists. F or t wo o thers s uggested b y Boon t he e v idence i s l ess s ecure. XB2 h as o ne s et o f f ounda t ions w i th in a no ther. One w al l o f t he i nner s et i s s a id t o b e b u i l t o ver t he o u ter, a s i fi tm igh t b e r ebu il t.

There

i s n o men t ion o f a n o f fset i n t he e xcavat ion r eport f or I 2 , b u t w i th t he wa l ls 1 .33 m t h ick , at a l lb u i ld ing w ith a r a ised f l oor i s p ossible. Ten o ther d e tached b u ild ings o f s im ilar s hape may h ave b een g ranaries , b u t t here i s n o e v idence o f a n i n terna l o f fset , a nd s o me o f t he wal ls a re n o t h icker t han i n o rd inary b u i ld ings. ( x i B i , XV B i , XV1 B i , XVI I I B 3, X IX House 2 , XXA B 2, XX I B 2, XXI I I B3 &B4, ) 00 /I B i , XXXI IIB5 ). S o me c learly h ad o ther f unct ions; a s ah ouse l obby a s h ypocaust r oo ms p ow A i , XXXIV ), w i th t essela ted o r t i le p ave men ts ( 20 (A B 5, I r oo m 1 9 , X I I B i ) a nd X B 2 h ad g ay p laster a nd r oof t i les. GRAIN S TORED WITHIN THE

V ILLA

G ra in must o f ten h ave b een s tored w i th in t he v i l la b u i ld ing , a s as ecuri ty p recau t ion o r f or c onven ience f or d o mest ic u se, d esp ite t he d anger o f f i re. G ra in was s t i l lb eing s tored i n t he f ar m h ouse i n t he n orth a nd w est o f England i n t he 1 8 th c en tury ( Peters 1 969 , 1 95 ). I n I t aly i tm igh t e ven b e s tored i n a p a la t ia l v i l la.

A t P l iny 's L auren t ine p alace a w ine s tore a nd a g ranary w ere

a bove o ne o f t he d in ing r oo ms i n t he c en tre o f t he h ouse ( Rad ice 1 963,77 ). F rocester C ourt v i l la a ppears t o b e f u l ly e xcava ted w i th p addocks, o rchards a nd a ne nc losing y ard e xa m ined.

C orn d ry ing a nd g rind ing a re c lear b u t n o

s torage, u n less h ere t oo i n al o f t o r u pper s torey o f t he c orn d ry ing r oo m . I n t he s i mp ler f ar ms i t was u sual t o c o mb ine d o mest ic a nd a gricu ltural f unc t ions i n t he s a me b u i ld ing.

A s w eal th i ncreased a nd s eparat ion o f f unct ions b eca me

d esirable g ra in s torage m igh t s t il l h ave b een k ep t i n wha t was n ow t he s tone b u i l t h ouse, where i tc ou ld b e k ep t d ry more e as ily. G ra in h as b een f ound i nside s everal h ouses i n B ri ta in , s o met i mes i n q uan t i t ies a nd s i tua t ions wh ich s uggest r egu lar s torage , e lsewhere i n smal l q uan t i t ies a s i f as ack fu l was b rough t i n f or g rind ing. I n as ubstan t ial h ouse i n t he sma l l t own o f A lcester o ne r oo m h ad a p ebble f l oor w i th p i les o f c harred g ra in o n i t( Hughes 1 961, 1 73). A t S parshol t , a smal l r oo m w i th o n ly a c ha lk f l oor i n c on trast t o n eighbouring r oo ms , a nd s o me d istance f ro m t he k i tchen , c on ta ined c arbon ised g ra in .

I ta ppears t o h ave b een a s tore r oo m i n t he 4 th

c en tury h ouse f or d o mest ic g ra in o r p erhaps s eed c orn ( Johnston 1 972a

7 ) .

A t F rocester t he h eap o fb arley o nce c on ta ined i n a wooden b asket i n r oo m 2 i s a smal l q uan t i ty , a nd p robably b rough t i n f or g rind ing. I no ther c ases f a irly l arge amoun ts h ave b een f ound i n wha t w ere f or merly

3 5

i mpor tan t r oo ms . A s t he v i l las d ec l ined t heir i n h abi tan ts were u s ing r oo ms c onven ien t ly n ear t he ir l i v ing q uar ters f or g ra in s torage . A t Ma ids tone a l ong a psed r oo m w i th a h ypocaus t a nd t he r e ma ins o f af l oor o f r ed t esserae c ont a ined a h eap o f c harred whea t n ear t he mou th o f t he h ypocaus t ( Roach-Smi th 1 895 , 1 63 ) . The h ypocaus t m igh t h ave b een u sed t o d ry t he c orn , o r t he r a ised , h ard f l oor w i th a ir c ircu la t ion b enea th a nd a round was b e ing u sed a s ag ranary . A t Wh i t t ing ton b urn t whea t l ay b e low c harred t imber a nd r oof s la tes o n ap ave men t i n ar oom b u i l t o ver t he f ormer b a th s u i te ( O 'Ne i l l 1 952 , 2 2 ). G ra in h as a lso b een f ound i n v i l la c el lars a t P ark S tree t a nd Hart l ip . A t P ark S treet h eaps o f c harred whea t a nd b arley l ay a cross t he f l oor i n a s lan t ing p osi t ion a ga inst t he n orth w a l l , a s i fs tacked t here i nb ags. The c el lar was e n tered b y ar a mp a nd a d oorway 1 .65 m w ide, b o th s u i table f or a ccess f or b u lk s torage.

The r a mp s ee ms t o h ave b een i n u se when t he b u ild ing was

b urn t ( O 'Nei l l 19 46 , 2 4 ). A t Hart l ip a c el lar o f t wo r oo ms c u t i n to t he c halk , t hen p lastered a nd p a in ted , was e ntered b y af l igh t o f s hal low s teps. When i t was o pened i n t he 1 8 th c en tury " several b ushels o f c harred wheat" w ere f ound ( Taylor 19 32, 18 ). S everal c el lars a re k nown i n B rita in , ? art icu larly i n t he s ou th a nd e ast , a nd many more o n t he C on t inen t . C lassica l w ri ters a dv ised u sing t he m t o s tore w ine wh ich h ad t o b e k ep t c ool i n t he s u mmer.

Ev idence s uggests o ther

u ses f or t hose i n B ri ta in , a s s hr ine, w orkshop , l i v ing a cco mmoda t ion , s lave q uarters, a nd r iverside s torage. ( Brodribb 19 71 2 93, J ohnston 19 72. To c el lars men t ioned t here a dd Barton C ourt , R ivenhal l a nd Gadebridge Park s unken r oo m ). Wal l p lasters a nd mosa ics , p art icu larly f ro m n orth A frica , I t aly a nd t he Rh ineland s how c oun try h ouses w i th t owers o f t wo s toreys o r more o n e i ther s ide o ft he f ron t c olonnade ( e .g. Wh i te 19 70 , p i. 1 ,2 & 3 ). I t was f ro m t h is Ro man f ash ion t ha t t he B r i t ish w inged c orridor v i l la d eveloped b y t he a dd i t ion o f ap ort ico a nd w ing r oo ms o r c orner p ro jec t ions t o a n e x ist ing h ouse o f v ar ious t ypes ( Sm i th 19 63, 5 ) . I f as econd s torey was a d e monstra t ion o f Roman isat ion , i ts ee ms l ikely t ha t s o me o f t he B r it ish w ing r oo ms h ad u pper f l oors.

S uch r oo ms d o s o met i mes h ave d eeper f oundat ions o r w ider wal ls t han

t he r est o f t he h ouse e .g. S troud . I th as b een a ssu med t ha t g ra in was s tored a t f i rst f l oor l evel a nd t he g round f l oor p u t t o s o me o ther u se , e .g . Mayen where a s table o n t he g round f l oor w as s uggested ( Gren ier 19 34 , 7 90 ).

Varro

a lso r efers t o p igeons k ep t i n t he t urrets o r g ab le e nds o f f ar m h ouses ( 3 .1). S truc tura l e v idence o f d eep f ounda t ions a nd t h ick wa l ls may s how whether t he b u i ld ing was a t ower.

I tw i l l n ot s how whether g ra in w as s tored t here.

Many v i l la w ing r oo ms d id s erve a n a gricu l tural f unc t ion a t o ne s tage o f t heir h istory ( Eccles , Gadebr idge, F rocester ). Th is h as b een d escribed a s ac o mmon f eature i n t he d evelopmen t o f n orth European v i l las, b u t when t he w ings w ere c onver ted t o r esiden t ia l u se e cono m ic f unc t ions were t ransferred t o o u tb u i ld ings ( App lebau m 19 58 , 7 6 ). Ra is ing c orn t o f i rst f l oor l evel s ee ms u nnece ssary where t here was s pace f or a s eparate s tore. The s torage o fg ra in i n r a ised t owers o f t he w inged f acade i s ap ossib i l i ty , b u t n o e xa mp les c an b e p roved i n Br i ta in .

The most l ikely a re t he smal l r oo ms p ro jec t ing o n t he s ou th

o f t he mansio a t G od manchester.

They h ad t h icker wal ls t han t he mansio g en-

e ra l ly , o ne was n ex t t o t he k i tchen , a nd t he f ac t t ha t o ne r e ma ined s tand ing i n t he l a te 4 th c en tury a f ter t he d e mol it ion o f t he mansio s uggests t ha t i t was o f 3 6

s o me importance.

They w ere i n terpreted a s g ranaries o n a nalogy w ith t hose

a t I werne , S i lchester a nd B ockwei ler ( Sarre ) b u t t here was n o s truc tural e v id ence f or t he ir u se ( M. G reen i n for mat ion ). I t was s uggested t ha t t he r ectangu lar r oo m b u il t o n to t he w est o f t he h ouse a t N orton D isney i n i t s l ast p er iod , i n ac o mparable p osi t ion t o t ha t a t Mayen , m igh tb e at ower g ranary ( Oswald 1 937 , 1 57 ). Th is i s u n l ikely. The s ize i s s im ilar t o o ther r oo ms i n t he h ouse, t he wal ls a re n o t h icker t han t hose i n t he c on te mporary b a th s u i te , a nd t he w est was n o t t he most s u i table p osi t ion f or g ra in s torage.

B ran igan s uggested a b u t tressed " tower" a t Witco mbe ( 1976

1 32 ) , a nd a " large p art ly b u t tressed r oo m p aved w ith s tone s labs ( i nclud ing o ld q uern s tones ), w i th d ouble d oors g iv ing a ccess t o t he o u tside o f t he e ast w ing" ( 1977 a re i n terna l .

7 3 ).

Roo m 2 7 f i ts B ran igan 's d escr ip t ion , t hough t he b u t tresses

Th is r oo m w as a l tered c . 2 70 A .D .

I n t he f i rst p hase i t was a n

a l most s quare r oo m w ith a d ouble d oor f ac ing e ast.

The t h ick b u t tresses a nd

wal l s uggest a c hange o f f l oor l evel f ro m r oo m 2 4.

However t he c haracter o f

t he f l oor i s n ot c lear. I n t he s econd p hase t he r oo m was i ncorporated i n to wha t a ppears l ike a n a isled b u i ld ing t erraced i n to t he s lope. The p orch a nd d oubled oor a t t he e ast s uggest c art e n try.

The s tone f l oors ( Lysons 1 821

1 82) a nd

c orn d rier ( Fow ler 1 971 2 2) w ith o ther o vens a nd h earths s uggest a gr icu l ture a nd d o mest ic o ccupa t ion . The q uerns u sed a s p av ing n eed n ot h ave b een i n u se i n t h is a rea.

A t f i rst s igh t t he p art it ions b etween r oo ms 1 9 a nd 2 2, o n ly 0 .61-

1 .22 m a part Jook l ike dwarf wa l ls

t o s upport a r a ised f l oor.

L ysons f ound t he

s paces b etween f i l led w i th c lay a nd c onsidered t he m s ubterraneous f ounda t ion wal ls. UNCLASSIFIED Ab u ttressed r oo m a t P itney may a lso b e ag ranary ( App lebau m 1 972

1 81).

I n at wo r oo med b lock t he n orthern r oo m h ad a t h icker e ast a nd w est wal l ( 0 .75 m ) , ab u t tressed n orth wal l , a nd a f l oor o f o pus s ign inu m . S o me m il itary g ranaries i n Bri ta in h ad f l agged o r c e men t f l oors, t hose o f O st ian g ranaries b u il t b efore t he 2 nd c en tury w ere o f o pus s ign inu m , a nd i t may h ave b een o n ly t he l a ter u se o f wood wh ich made r a ised f l oors n ecessary ( Rickman 1 971 9 ) .

2 93, G en try 1 976

The P itney b u i ld ing may h ave b een a t ower , b u t w i thou t ar a ised f l oor, a nd

s im i lar t o t ha t r eco m mended b y P l iny ( above p 3 0 ) . The b u i ld ing i s e xposed o n ly o n i t s n orth a nd e ast s ides. However t he r oo m wh ich l inked t he b lock t o t he a d jacen t w ing h ad a t essel lated f l oor, s o c hange o fu se a t s o me p eriod wou ld b e imp l ied .

At h ick wa l led masonry b u i ld ing a t Gor l aa mbury , b u t tressed o n

t wo s ides , a nd w i th a p orch t o t he n orth w ou ld f i t P l iny 's r eco m mended t ower g ranary e xac t ly. The t ype o ff l ooring i s n ot i nd ica ted , ( Good burn 19 78a , 4 45 ). The smal l r oo m i n t he n orth w est c orner o f ar ec tangu lar b u ild ing a t L ang ton c on ta ined a c onsiderable q uan t ity o fb urn t whea t.

The e ast wal l o f t he

b arn e x isted o n ly i n i t s s ou thern h al f ; i t was c on t inued a s al ine o f f l ags s et o n e dge, w i th r ough, b urn t , s tone p av ing t o t he w est . A p ossible i n terpre ta t ion i s o f ac en tra l t hresh ing a rea w i th s traw s tored t o t he s ou th , a nd a g ra in s tore t o t he n orth . The b u i ld ing was p robably b urn t d own . There i s i nsu f f ic ien t e v id ence o f d oorways o r p ostholes t o c on f ir m t h is h ypothesis. Ano ther s uggested f unc t ion f or t he b u i ld ing w as a s ab yre, w i th t he smal l r oo m a s af odder s tore o r c owherd 's r oo m ( App lebau m , b elow , p1 44 ) . The r ectangu lar p la tfor m

3 7

t o t he west may b e ar ick y ard , t hough i fs o why i ts hou ld b e s unk i s n ot c lear. F oundat ions s uggest t ha t ac on te mporary w al l p rotec ted i tf ro m t he west . Roo m 1 25 a t Ecc les i s a n u nexcep t ional r oo m .

On ly i t s a ssoc ia t ion w i th

ac orn d ry ing r oo m , i n t h is a nd i n t he f o l low ing p er iod s uggest i t was a g ranary. REJECTS 1 63 ).

B rad ing r oo m 3 1 w as s uggested a s a n i sola ted g ranary ( App lebau m 1 972 Though t he 1 907 g u ide b ook s ays " I t i s i sola ted a nd c o mp lete i n i t self ,

t here b eing n o c onnec t ing wal ls b etween i ta nd t he ma in b u i ld ing" , t he p lan p ubl ished i n 1 881 s hows a t h ick w al l j o in ing t he b u i ld ing f ro m t he w est , t he s ide away f ro m t he ma in h ouse ( Pr ice a nd P rice 1 881

8 3).

The wal ls a re

0 .60 m t h ick , t here i s n o i nd ica t ion o f ar a ised f l oor a nd i ti s s eparated f ro m o ther k nown a gr icu l tural b u i ld ings b y t he ma in h ouse. Ar oo m w i th a r a ised f l oor was e xcava ted a t S aunderton , Bucks. ( Ashc rof t 1 939 2 11). I n ar ein terpreta t ion B ran igan s uggested t ha t t h is was a g ranary t o s tore g ra in d r ied i n t he d ouble T f urnace i n t he h ouse. There i s i nsu f f ic ien t e v idence t ha t b oth e x isted a t t he s a me p er iod .

The v ery i rregu lar

b locks b enea th t he r a ised f l oor l ook more l i ke a ' Un ion J ack ' h ypocaust.

B ran-

i gan a lso s uggests t ha t af l oor o f f l in ts s et p o in t u p i n c e men t o ver e arl ier t ess erae a t Tot ternhoe w ou ld b e s u i table f or g ra in s torage i n s acks , b u t t here i s n o e v idence f or i t s u se i n t h is way a nd a l ikely r esu l t w ou ld b e d a maged s acks a nd w asted g ra in ( 1973, 8 5 &6 1). GRAIN S TACKS The Ro mans u sed s tacks t o s tore h ay , s traw a nd c orn awa i t ing t hresh ing. S tack s h ave b een c o mpared f avourably w i th b arns. C rops c ou ld b e c arted t o ar ick s ooner t han t o ab arn ; c orn , s traw a nd h ay a l l k eep b et ter a nd t aste sweeter, a ir c ircu lates f reely , a nd t he c ost i s l ow ( Peters 1 969 , 1 05, 6 7 , 9 3). A wel l c onstructed f l oor, o r o ne r a ised o f f t he g round w ou ld p rotec t t he b ase • o f t he s tack s f ro m d a mp a nd v er m in , a nd t hey w ou ld r equ ire t ha tch ing a nd f enc ing a ga inst a n i mals. The c orn s tack w ou ld n eed t o b e c arted t o t he f l oor o r b arn f or t hresh ing. I n t he 1 8 th a nd 1 9 th c en tur ies i t was t hough t b est t o k eep c orn i nb arns when a va ilable a nd u se s tacks o n ly f or a ny o verf low.

S tack ing

o f c orn b r ief ly a nd s traw u n t i l r equ ired b eca me c o m mon o n f ar ms o n ly w i th mechan ical t hresh ing. Webster h as s uggested t ha t r ec tangu lar a reas o f worn p i tched s tone a t Barnsley P ark , a nd t he ' t hresh ing f l oor ' a t L ang ton , i n h is o p in ion t oo w el l c onstructed f or t hresh ing , w ere r ick s tands ( 1974, 4 46;

1 969 , 2 47 ).

Two

a reas p aved w ith l arge s andstone b locks c learly l a id t o f or m a l evel p av ing , t hough i rregu lar i n o u t l ine, may h ave b een t he b asis f or s tacks a t O ld Durha m , a nd a r ec tangu lar p aved a rea a t L odge Far m , A lveston ( Wrigh t a nd G il la m 1 953, 1 16;

F ow ler e t a l . 1 976 , 5 8 ).

A p ierced s tone w eight f ound a t C lear

Cupboard F ar m ,Far m ington was d escribed a s as tone w eigh t f or h old ing t ha tch ( Gascoigne 1 969 , 5 4 ). R icks a re t ha tched b efore t he c on ten ts h ave h ad t ime t o s et t le , r opes h old t he t ha tch s ecurely , a nd t he w eigh ts a d just t he r opes a u tomat ical ly . As im ilar s yste m was u sed o n h ouses i n S cot land a nd I reland , s o ar ick i s n ot n ecessari ly imp l ied .

3 8

P aral lel r ows o f l arge p a ired p osts f or wh ich n o wa l l f oundat ions a re a pp aren t may h ave h ad o u ter wal ls o n w ooden s i l ls r est ing o n t he g round s urface. I ti s a lso p ossible t ha t t hey may h ave b een t he e qu ivalen t o f h ay o r Du tch b arns, wh ich a l low g ood v en t ila t ion a nd s ave t ha tch ing r icks ( s ee Barhol m a nd C ro mwel l , c a ta logued a s a isled b u ild ings, a nd p . 1 09 ).

NOTE 1 .

D r. Mann ing h as s uggested t ha t c lose-spaced g ri l les w ou ld b e much s i mp ler a nd more l ikely t han l ouvres i n s tone g ranar ies.

3 9

CHAPTER

4

S TOC K BUILD INGS

B ones f ound o n Ro mano-Bri t ish s i tes s how t ha t c a tt le, s heep , h orses a nd p igs w ere k ep t.

We migh t e xpec t s tables f or t he h orses a nd b yres f or t he

c a t t le a t l east d uring w in ter. CATT L E I n I t aly c a t t le w ere p r inc ipal ly d raugh t a n i mals, f or p lough , c art o r wagg on .

O thers w ere b red f or s acrif ice , b u t t here i s l i t t le e v idence t ha t t hey w ere

k ep t s pec if ical ly f or meat o r m ilk .

These a ppear t o b e b y-produc ts o f t heir

o ther u ses, a s w ere h ides, a nd h orn (Wh i te 1 970 , 2 76-8 , 2 86 ).

The o xen a nd

c ows u sed a s d raugh t a n i mals w ere v i ta l t o t he f ar m 's p rosperi ty , s o t hey w ere s ta l l f ed a nd s hel tered t o k eep t he m a s f i t a s p ossible f or t he ir w ork .

Cows

w ere k ep t o u t o f d oors i n w in ter a nd s u m mer. I n p re-Ro man Bri ta in c at tle w ere k ep t i n l arge n u mbers.

B one a sse m-

b lages o f c a t t le , s heep , p igs a nd h orses f ro m e xcava ted s i tes s how c a t tle t o h ave b een most importan t i n weigh t i fn ot a lways i n n u mber ( Hodson 1 968 , 1 37-8 ). The b an jo e nc losures, a n tennae d i tches a nd r anch b oundar ies o f Wessex , a nd Ur mu l t ip le e nc losure s yste ms o f t he S ou th- West , Yorksh ire a nd Wales a l l p oin t t o t he p astora l emphasis o f f ar m ing.

S trabo l i sted c a t t le a nd h ides among

t he e xports f ro m B ri ta in , a nd men t ioned e nc losures where t he B ri tons made h u ts a nd p enned t heir c a t tle, s o emphas is ing c at t le a bove o ther a n i mals ( 4 .5.2 ). C aesar w rote t hat t he p eop le o f t he i n terior l i ved o n mea t a nd m i lk a nd w ere c lo thed i n s k in , t hough h e h ad n ot v erif ied t h is h i mself ( B. G.5 1 4 ).

I fc a t tle

w ere k ep t p rinc ipal ly f or b eef t hey wou ld n o t h ave n eeded s tal l ing.

C erta in ly

s o me must h ave b een p lough b easts , b u t v ery f ew I ron Age b yres a re k nown , a nd t hese may h ave b een f or h orses. o u tbu i ld ing o f ac ourtyard h ouse.

A t J arlshof a c owstal l was f ound i n a n

The f l oor was s t il l c overed w i th o rdure ,

a nd s loped t o ac en tral l i qu id manure t ank . ( Curie 1 934, 8 9-94 ).

T here was a lso a t ether ing r ing

A p ossible s table f or h orses was f ound a t Hod H il l n ex t

t o h u t 5 6 ( Hich mond 1 968 , 2 0 , F ig. 1 3 ). The emphas is must h ave c hanged d uring t he c en turies o f Ro man r u le i n B ri ta in .

B eef s t i l l p layed a l arge p art i n t he n a t ive d iet a nd l arge h erds g ra-

z ed o n u p land p astures may h ave b een s old t o t he a r my f or w in ter f a tten ing o n t he t erri toriu m ( Mann ing 1 975, 1 15 ) , o r f or i m med iate s laugh ter.

H owever

g ra in p roduc t ion b eca me i ncreasing ly importan t i n l ow land a nd h igh land a reas, s t i mu lated b y t own a nd a r my d e mands.

I fh eav ier c lays a nd f al low l and w ere

b eing p loughed b y t he 4 th c en tury l arger p lough t ea ms migh t b e n eeded f or h eav ier p loughs w i th a c ou l ter a nd mou ld b oard ( Perc ival 1 976, 1 16 ) , a nd i n a ny c ase more s tock a cco m moda t ion migh t b e e xpected o n t he 4 th c en tury e st a te w i th i t s more p er manen t f ar m b u i ld ings.

4 0

If all farms contained stalls for oxen most still await recognition. How can they be identified? Descriptions given by classical authors may help, but byres have been found much more frequently in medieval excavations, and as basic animal requirements change little it may be possible to distinguish fea­ tures to look for in Romano-British contexts. Columella distinguished between animals broken to work, and others which it is proper to keep within the farmstead (1.6.4). Barren cows could easil y be kept out of doors throughout the winter (6.22 .1). The working oxen would be stalled at night and most of the winter. Feed racks would be provided out of doors in summer (Cato 14). The stalls should have shelving floors of stone, gravel or sand so that rain and urine would drain away easily (1.6.5, & 6.23.1). They should face south so that they might dry easily and not be exposed to cold winds (6. 23.1). Vitruvius recommended that the stalls should be near the kitchen (6. 6. 1). Ox stalls should be 3 m - 2.7 m wide to allow room for the animal to lie down and for the ox herd to move around (1. 6. 6). Cows about to calve and feeble cows also need space for safety (6 .23 .1). These stalls appear to be partly or completely open along one side, like a shelter shed. Size also concerned Vitruvius who suggested 2.10 x 3-4.5 m (6.6. 2), and Palladius, 2 .40 x 4.5 m (1.2 1). Applebaum took the average length of byres from these recommendations and from medieval sources as 3. 90-4. 50 m and suggested that buildings t his wide, aisles this wide, or buildings twice the width might have contained single or double rows of stalls. He suggests other buildings where stalls may have run across the width ( 1 ITT2, 142). While this is likely, at few of the sites he selects is it supported by other evidence (Table 2). When the function of other buildings in a farm complex is clear it may be possible to suggest suitable but featureless buildings for stock. For other cattle kept within the farmstead Columella recommended places "partly covered, partly open to the sky, and surrounded by high walls so that the animals may rest in one place in winter, in another in summer, without being attacked by wild beasts" (1.6.4). This may be for the cattle summoned from the woods at dusk by the cow herd (6.23 .3). It sounds like a fold yard with a shelter shed along one side. In many excavated medieval longhouses there is very good archaeological evidence for the identification of the lower room as a byre. Drains are common though not universal. They may run the length of the byre and be open, slab covered, or be seen as gaps through the outer wall. Mangers are found, one was of six granite slabs set vertically 0.30 m from the wall with holes bored in their tops to insert tethering ropes. Post holes for stall divisions remained in several cases. The floor was often at a lower level than that of the main 'upper' room, and more churned up or uneven, sometimes with a deposit of dark soil. It was most often of earth, and constant wear or the removal of dung had scoured out a hollow in the centre. The cross passage was sometimes pebbled, and the doors i::ito the passage and into the byre were often wider than necessary for human entry, probably to allow for the horn span of the cattle. When a number of these features are found together a byre can safely be iden­ tified. Documentary sources suggest that they were used to house oxen, cattle and smaller animals. Their size is not a reliable guide to their use (Thomas 1968; Poston 1962; Beresford G 1975, 23; & 1971, 63). Animals in both 41

medieval and Roman Britain were smaller than today, but bone studies indicated very great variation in size (Ryder 1961, Jewell 1962). While some of these features would identify only a longhouse, others are more generally applicable. Few villa excavations until recently have examined the agricultural buil­ dings with the same care as the main house. Courtyard limits have not been examined; outer courtyards might have existed. Post holes of timber buildings or of partitions are unlikely to have been found if the wall foundations were followed and building interiors not stripped. Cattle shelters and sheep folds must often have been outside the courtyards and beside the grazing enclosures. Except on the most prosperous estates, where Roman building techniques in stone were extended to farm yards as well as houses, wooden buildings, shelters of wattle, timber boughs and thatch must have been used and would leave little trace. The recently discovered Building Q at Winterton serves as an example (Goodburn 197 8, 99 & 100). Sheep folds would be even more tem­ porary structures. The most promising means of identification is the biological analysis beginning to be used. At Farmoor in Iron Age levels the identification of the remains of beetles which "live on dung or decaying vegetation or feed on the dung of large herbivorous mammals" confirmed in one case that a stock enclosure was being examined, and in another that the field had been grazed. The pollen of plants preferring nitrogen rich habitats can also be an indication of manure rich soils (Osborne 1978, 33, Robinson 1978). Phosphates survive in the soil much longer than nitrogen, and their concentration in the floor levels of buil­ dings suggests animal use. CATTLE SHEDS Many attempts have been made to identify cattle sheds among the subsidiary buildings around a villa or in parts of an aisled house. The evidence is exam­ ined here. As well as size, the presence of drains, wide doorways, a tethering ring, possible mangers and manure, partitions and stalls recognised from post holes, sleeper beam trenches, vertical slabs and walls have been used. A small room at one end for the ox herd, and a site down-wind from the house have been expected. In other examples similarity to more recent cattle sheds, agricultural situation and absence of clear function is the only feature. Examples have been grouped into combined dwellings and byres, aisled buildings, simple rectangular buildings, possible open sided sheds, and others. Stock accommodati