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Down, but not out: biological evidence for complex economic organization in Lincoln in the late 4th century

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Keith Dobney ,
Harry Kenward ,
Patrick Ottaway  and
Lisa Donel
Keith Dobney
Affiliation:
Dobney & Kenward, Environmental Archaeology Unit, University of York, York YO1 5DD, England. KMD5@york.ac.ukBiol6@york.ac.uk
Harry Kenward
Affiliation:
Dobney & Kenward, Environmental Archaeology Unit, University of York, York YO1 5DD, England. KMD5@york.ac.ukBiol6@york.ac.uk
Patrick Ottaway
Affiliation:
York Archaeological Trust, Cromwell House, 13 Ogleforth, York YO1 7FG, England.
Lisa Donel
Affiliation:
City of Gloucester Archaeology Unit, The Old Fire Station, Barbican Road, Gloucester GL1 2JF, England
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Abstract

Views of the Late Roman period in England have changed considerably in the past few years, with a tendency towards acceptance of a survival or resurgence of economic and political organization despite earlier decline. Traditional evidence provides some insights into the differential nature of these changes. Here it is argued that ‘environmental’ (in this case biological) evidence can provide unique insights into economic systems, and that bones and insects from late 4th-century AD Lincoln indicate continuity of complex systems into this period.

Keywords

LincolnRomanenvironmentalinsectswaterfrontvertebrate
Type
Notes
Information
Antiquity , Volume 72 , Issue 276 , June 1998 , pp. 417 - 424
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 1998

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