Digs & Discoveries: Monthly Talk, 17 February 2020

In February, we were pleased and privileged to welcome Mr Robert Skinner, an Archaeological and Heritage Consultant based in Bristol and (of equal importance to us) grandson of founding St Helens Historical Society member and current Secretary Mrs Mary Presland. Much of Mr Skinner’s work involves co-operation with building and development organisations to assess the impact on local archaeology of their proposed undertakings; he is currently engaged in projects in the Vale of Glamorgan and in the northern part of the Somerset Levels.

Robert and Mary

The Vale of Glamorgan is known as an area featuring many pre-Roman settlements, particularly from the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. This is evident partly from remains of old buildings, but also from the prevalence of burial sites, including chamber tombs. There are also several instances of field enclosures – field enclosures are generally accepted as having been of ritual significance where offerings would have been made to the spirits worshipped before the arrival of Christianity. Moreover, aerial photography during prolonged dry periods can uncover signs of settlement, such as traces of concentric ditches which in their turn are sure indicators of a burial site or “barrow”. Aerial photography is one means by which archaeologists can find out that a particular area merits investigation, another example being the surveys carried out by builders and developers; conversely, until well into the 20^th Century, builders and farmers would proceed without bearing archaeology in mind, making things rather trickier for those carrying out investigations today.

Settled and stable population was the exception rather than the rule in the Vale of Glamorgan down to the Roman period and beyond. One result of this is that although there are some instances of dwellings known as “long-houses”, much of the evidence we have of human activity at all pertains to the burial of the dead and it would appear that certain sites were considered favourable for burials. One such site could be an ancestral home which could be converted into a barrow. Some bodies were cremated and the recent discoveries suggest that the cremated remains would be buried separately from the charcoal which fuelled the burning. There are also instances of entire skeletons being buried, a practice known as inhumation. Interment plots are kept separate and often appear to have been sited with deliberate reference to other plots round and about. Sometimes a ring of columns indicates a burial site, in other instances the plots are aligned in such a way that they point to a plot of particular significance. If an individual was buried with certain items – ceramics have been found in Vale of Glamorgan burial plots – this could be a sign that the individual was considered significant by those responsible for the burial.

Robert describing an aerial photograph

The northern part of the Somerset Levels has long been of archaeological interest. It was an attractive area for people to settle as the topography made for easy defence against potential aggressors, with the concentration of remains matching the density of the population. This density and continuity of inhabitation means that industries specific to the area could conceivably have developed and one such instance could be shoe-making. Moreover, it would appear that some houses would have been occupied over many generations and that once a building (whether a long-house or a round-house – both have been found) became uninhabitable, this would be marked ceremonially with a ritual offering in recognition of what had taken place in the house over the years.

Although political situations would change with time – a particularly striking arrival being the arrival of the Romans – in many instances, day-to-day life would remain fairly stable. In the Somerset Levels, burial practices appear to have been largely unaffected. There are instances of adult inhumation in designated barrows, but it would appear that children (including children dying as a result of miscarriage) would be buried in the home. One inhumed skeleton has been found in a seated position; this is encountered only infrequently and may be an indication of the importance of the individual concerned.

Inhumed skeleton in seated position

Recent digs have uncovered traces of buildings stretching out in a line over several kilometres. It is not yet clear what purpose these buildings would have served, but it is very unusual to come across a concentration of structures set out in this way from this period; there is speculation that it they could have formed an industrial settlement, perhaps linked with preparing locally-caught fish for transport elsewhere.

In conclusion, Mr Skinner reminded the audience that although nowadays we have a tendency to divide the past into distinct periods (Neolithic Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman period and so on), for the people living at those times it would not have been so clear-cut. As an example, while there is much evidence in his current work of technological advancement with time and of some aspects of life changing accordingly, other elements of daily existence (most strikingly, burying children and the unborn within the house rather than in separate graves) continued much as before.

Selected Sources

Questions were then invited. The first was to ask if the recent weather conditions had adversely affected any of the sites Mr Skinner is currently investigating. While these specific ones hadn’t, this had been an issue in the past and can lead to difficulties where (for example) a dig becomes flooded and developers are reluctant to accept their responsibility to deal with it.

A second question queried population levels in the areas covered by tonight’s talk. It would appear that by the standards of the time, they were indeed densely populated and this would have required no small degree of infrastructure and civil engineering; examples would be the construction of sea walls and connecting this part of Britain with wider trading networks. As is generally the case with the Romans, slave labour would have been used where today technology could be employed.

A third question concerned fishing practices in the period. High water levels in general and the saltiness of the water were not particularly conducive to fishing, but it nevertheless took place. We know that boat construction had reached a sufficiently advanced state that travel from one side of the Severn Estuary to the other could happen and did happen; indeed, boat was often the best way of travelling longer distances at that time.

The talk concluded with a vote of thanks. It was pointed out that the subject matter was very different from that normally covered at St Helens Historical Society and that it was fascinating to learn so much about the British people of the Roman and pre-Roman period. It was also interesting to note that a lot of archaeology today is financed by developers.