Landscape and Settlement in the Vale of York: Archaeological Excavations at Heslington East, York, 2003–13

Abstract

presentation is framed along the lines of a rather traditional historical narrative – essentially fitting the archaeological evidence into a framework created by the limited Classical sources. Such an approach is perfectly defensible, but it does miss the opportunities provided by contemporary archaeological thinking. To take one example, much of the interpretation is defined by the categories of Native versus Roman, with the latter represented by the military or officials. Interestingly agency in explaining past decisions is essentially seen to pass from the one to the other. As we have seen in previous section, the post AD 70/71 settlement is represented as an externally imposed foundation. For me much of the interest in a site like this lies in much more complex explanations as the processes of cultural change were not simply about imposition (a point well understood in the context of the Iron Age phases here). In seeking to understand what was to become a failed Roman settlement within about 50 years, we might want to start by thinking about who came to live there at this period, what they were doing and why. Certainly there would have been soldiers, at least passing-by if not always resident, but who else? The category of ‘native’ is insufficient as the population presumably included people from this region, from other parts of Britain and also perhaps those from Gaul and Germany who were taking advantage of the opportunities of conquest. How does the evidence for things found on the site like millstones, pottery, glass and trinkets map on to this, and what can they tell us about the nature of these communities and their various relationships with the imperial power? The opportunity for using this excellent material to address such questions should not now be lost. We should be writing stories that move far beyond the shackles of the Classical texts which seem to have constrained the project as presented here just a little.