Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies (Britannia Monograph 34, 2021) p/b 336pp £30 (ISBN 9780907764489)
A wooden bridge over the river Tees, north-east of Stanwick and due north of Scotch Corner, appeared in the late Iron Age. The Roman army established a fort at that location with an accompanying settlement in the late first century. They also built a new wooden bridge. In about the late second century they replaced the wooden bridge with a massive stone bridge. The foundations were huge close-fitting stone blocks, held together with iron tie-bars. The river has changed course since AD 200. You can now see the foundations of the bridge in the grounds of the George Hotel: they are in remarkably good condition, but after eighteen centuries the iron looks rusty. A major military presence developed to guard the crossing point and surrounding area. Epigraphic evidence reveals that there were vexillations from the Second Legion (based at Caerleon), from the Sixth Legion (based at Chester) and from the Twenty Second Legion (based in Germany). In about the mid third century the military rebuilt the fort at Piercebridge on a grand scale. The remnants of that fort now lie beneath the village green and surrounding houses, but parts have been exposed. You can see where the east gate once stood. The lower courses of a wall around the bathhouse and a courtyard building are also on display. In the opinion of this reviewer, Piercebridge is one of the more interesting sites in Roman Britain, which is often underestimated. The present book is therefore particularly welcome.
The authors begin with a history of Piercebridge, as well as a survey of riverine deposits and bridges elsewhere in the Empire. Then comes the meat of the book, which is a description of the vast number of finds recovered from the river in the region of the Roman bridge. Antiquarians found a dozen silver coins on the riverbed in the eighteenth century. But the main work has been done in recent years. Two divers, Rolfe Mitchinson and Bob Middlemass, started diving in the Tees in the 1980s, each doing eight to ten dives per year. The divers kept a diary recording the areas that they sampled. They used a combination of underwater metal-detecting and ‘eyes only’ retrieval. The authors provide diagrams showing the findspots. Most of the artefacts were of Roman origin and were close to the Roman settlement.
The authors make the point that other studies of artefacts recovered from specific locations tend to focus on ‘highlights’ such as figurines and coins, whereas it is better to consider the entire assemblage. They apply that principle in the present case with diligence. This book is a comprehensive study of the entire assemblage. Chapters 4 to 21 divide the finds into the following categories: 4. Objects of personal adornment (brooches, hairpins etc); 5. Toilet, surgical or pharmaceutical equipment; 6. Military equipment and militaria; 7. Equine equipment and other objects associated with transport: 7. Objects associated with writing and communication (including sealings and iron styli for writing on wax tablets); 9 Objects employed in weighing and measuring; 10. Coins, mainly second century, but some from the first and third centuries; 11. Objects associated with agriculture and fishing; 12 Objects used in the manufacture or working of textiles; 13. Tools; 14. Structural fixtures and fittings;15 Household objects made from metal; 16. Pottery; 17. Glass vessels and objects; 18. Animal bones; 19. Objects associated with religious beliefs and practices; 20. Miscellaneous and unidentified objects; 21. Post-Roman objects. These chapters are illustrated with sketches of the finds and photographs. There is also accompanying commentary.
Building on this body of detailed scholarship, the authors set out general conclusions in the final section. They say that we must move on from the stale debate about whether deposition was religious ritual or rubbish disposal. It is often impossible to determine the motives of people who dropped things in rivers two thousand years ago. They note that there is evidence elsewhere in Roman Britain for the worship of confluences. Altars to Mars Condates (Mars of the confluence) are often found near them. One of the rings recovered from the Tees had a punched inscription explicitly linked to Mars. Other items such as a seal and a figurine appeared to have connections with Mars. They postulate that there may well have been a shrine to Mars Condates close to the bridge where Dere Street crossed the Tees.
The authors also note the significant number of high-status artefacts, such as expensive female jewellery. Some items came from distant lands, such as a coin of Juba II of Numidia (25 BC to AD 24) and unusual dress items from the Danubian provinces. The overall picture is that of a prosperous military community, including elite women and children. The authors conclude that some of the finds recovered were rubbish disposed of in the river, but that ‘a significant proportion of the material is likely to have been ritual in nature’ (page 297). They illustrate this conclusion with an artist’s impression of a religious ceremony on the bridge, during which a priest drops an offering into the Tees.
This is not a book for the general reader. Nevertheless, it makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of Roman Britain. Anyone who specialises in Roman Britain or Roman religion will find much of interest in the book. It merits a place in every serious classical library.
Rupert Jackson