Evaluation of biological remains from a Roman timber drain at 21 St Peters Street, Colchester (site code: 2007.124) (original) (raw)

Insect remains from the Roman fort at Papcastle, Cumbria (1995)

Thirteen samples from deposits at the Roman fort at Papcastle, Cumbria were examined for insects. Most of the samples were taken from waterlogged Phase 1 deposits dated to the late 1st -early to mid 2nd century AD. The remaining two samples, from Phase 3, dated to the 3rd century, were barren of insect remains.

An assessment of the insect remains from excavations at the Lanes, Carlisle (site code: CAR79-82)

Summary Invertebrate remains from samples of sediment from excavations at Keay's Lane (KLA) and Law's Lane (LAL), Carlisle have been assessed for their potential as a source of archaeological information. Macrofossils (principally insects, but in some case mites) and microfossils (mainly eggs of parasitic nematodes) clearly have potential at the routine context and feature level. There were no particularly unusual groups, the remains being essentially like those from other Roman settlements examined. The assemblages may reveal zonation within the present sites on closer analysis, but this is not apparent from assessment. There are strong indications of differences between the fauna (and implied conditions) of KLA and LAL and those of the Lanes sites already worked (Old Grapes Lane, Lewthwaites Lane) and of the Castle Street and Annetwell Street sites. There is thus potential for reconstruction of the pattern of land use and activity in space and time in Carlisle. The inver...

Caught in a trap: landscape and climate implications of the insect fauna from a Roman well in Sherwood Forest

Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2016

Forest in Nottinghamshire is often considered a well preserved ancient landscape, subsequently having survived by way of centuries of management as a hunting preserve. Archaeological evidence suggests otherwise, with an enclosed landscape beginning in the pre-Roman Iron Age and continuing through the Roman period. Due to the nature of the region's soils, however, there is little empirical, palaeoecological evidence on its environmental history prior to the medieval period. This paper presents an insect fauna from a Roman well in a small enclosure in north Nottinghamshire, on the edge of Sherwood Forest, and its interpretation in terms of contemporary land use. Wells and small pools act as large pitfall traps and may effectively sample aspects of the local and regional insect fauna. The Wild Goose Cottage fauna and its environmental implications are also compared with a number of archaeologically and geographically similar contexts.