transactions transactions

Reprinted from the

TRANSACTIONS OF THE

CUMBERLAND & WESTMORLAND A NTIQUARIAN & ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY ANTIQUARIAN (FOUNDED 1866)

VOLUME XIV 2014

286

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Penannular Brooches from the northern granary at Birdoswald: A reappraisal Rob Collins Recent examination of the penannular brooches found in the northern granary at the fort of Birdoswald on Hadrian’s Wall has prompted reclassification of the some of these brooches. The new classifications. are significant, providing further important contextual dating information for the brooch type, which is considered in light of other discoveries of the same brooch type elsewhere in the northern frontier region, notably at South Shields. The contextual evidence suggests that Fowler type E and D7 variant penannular brooches, at least in the northern frontier, can be dated to the last third of the fourth century, making these brooch types key artefacts in identifying strata dating to the final decades of Roman rule of Britain.

A

recent study of zoomorphic penannular brooches in the frontier region led to a re-examination of the zoomorphic penannular brooches from the excavations at the Roman fort of Birdoswald on Hadrian’s Wall, directed by Tony Wilmott from 1987 to 1992 (Collins 2010). Upon examining the brooches, it became clear that a small number of objects had been misidentified in the published report (Summerfield 1997a, 281–282). This brief paper seeks to offer correct identifications as well as comment on the significance of the group in relation to its dating and location in the northern granary of the fort. Penannular brooches are a relatively simple form of brooch, consisting of a C-shaped frame or hoop ending in opposed terminals and bearing a hinged pin (see Fig. 1). The frame is generally (sub-)circular in section though occasionally rectangular or even

Fig. 1. The six penannular brooches found in Building 198, the north granary, drawn at 2:1 by John Vallender.

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D-shaped. Terminal decoration varies depending on the specific type of penannular, with zoomorphic types bearing terminals with a stylized head of a beast. It is the form and detail of the terminal that identifies the type of penannular brooch, though aspects of the pin can also point to a general date. Incomplete specimens that have lost their terminals can rarely be identified to a specific type. With zoomorphic penannular brooches, the frame can also be decorated in whole or in part with moulded ribbing or incised bands. Pins are relatively simple with a straight shaft tapering to a point, though use and wear can introduce bending, either inward slumping or outward humping (see Fig 1, nos 69, 70, and 73). Pin hinges take two forms: a flattened extension from the top of the shaft that simply wraps around the hoop, a wrap-around hinge, which may or may not bear moulded or incised decoration; and a more substantial and purposefully-formed cylinder that fits entirely around the hoop, a barrel(-hinge) pin, which often has moulded decoration. Barrel pins are typically later and almost certainly post-Roman in date. Typologically, the classic study of zoomorphic penannular brooches was provided by Fowler (1964), who designated types as well as a discussing the limited evidence of dating and distribution. Subsequent study has highlighted further examples and some of the difficulties of Fowler’s typology (e.g. Kilbride-Jones 1980; Laing 1993; Mackreth 2011). However, Fowler’s types are still the standard assignation for penannular brooches in Britain. The two zoomorphic types of interest for this note, types E and D7, have a broad dating range from the fourth to the seventh century. This is due to the limited dating evidence from excavations where examples of these types have been recovered – usually on Roman sites where the brooches are from unknown or uncertain contexts or early medieval sites where there is little other securely dated material culture to date stratigraphic sequences more narrowly. Modern excavations, with improved methods of recording, have made it possible to date more securely late Roman and early medieval artefacts. Two fort sites in the Hadrian’s Wall corridor contribute significantly to the dating of types E and D7: Birdoswald and South Shields. Each site is considered in turn, with special attention given to the examples from Birdoswald.

Fig. 2. Detailed illustration of the terminals of the six penannular brooches found in Building 198, the north granary, drawn at 4:1 by John Vallender.

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The brooches from the northern granary at Birdoswald (Building 198) have been fully illustrated in Fig. 1, with the detail of the terminals depicted in Fig. 2. For the sake of clarity, the original catalogue numbers published in the small finds report (Summerfield 1997a, 281-282) have been retained, followed by Summerfied’s original identification by Fowler type, then by my identification by Fowler type; where appropriate, a brief description of the brooch is provided. The six penannular brooches from the northern granary can now be identified as: Cat no

Summerfield ID

Collins ID

Description

69

D1

D/E

70

A2

A2

71

D1

E

Cast zoomorphic terminals depicting a fairly common decorative scheme

72

D1

E

Cast zoomorphic terminals, similar to no 71

73

D7

D7 variant

See Snape 1992

74

D7

D7 variant

See Snape 1992

Bent back terminals with possible incised linear, zoomorphic decoration obscured by bronze disease; note that no decoration is depicted in the illustration

The identification of two of the six brooches has changed from Fowler type D1 to Fowler type E. This effectively reclassifies two of the brooches as zoomorphic, and comparison of the terminal illustration of numbers 71 and 72 in Fig. 2 with the examples provided by Fowler (1964) and Laing (1993) validates this change in typological identification. One further brooch, no 69, may be another subtype of D or possibly a type E. This may not appear to be a great change, but the implications of the re-identification become clear when considering the context of the brooches. All six brooches are from dumping activity in the northern granary, five of which can be confidently attributed to the Phase E dumping of Period 5, which Wilmott dates to AD 350–400+. Number 70 (Fowler A2) is from Phase D dumping in the granary, which may be contemporary to the Phase E dumping or even slightly earlier. At Birdoswald, the dumping occurred in the northern granary after its roof collapsed (Wilmott 1997, 205–206). The west end of the building seems to have remained in use, but the eastern half had its flags removed and the exposed subfloor was then left open. Subsequently, the exposed subfloor was then used for ad hoc dumping by the residents of the fort. The dumping episodes, on the basis of coin finds, can be dated to the second half of the fourth century at earliest, and possibly later. Significantly, there is no material in the dumps that suggest redeposition of earlier rubbish or soils, and therefore the brooches from the dumping represent a contemporary disposal of types in current use. The Phase E dumping in the granary has provided a brooch group of two (perhaps three) Fowler type E and two Fowler type D7 variant penannular brooches. Significantly, there is also a type A2 penannular, which are known to have been used

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into the mid-late fourth century (Fowler 1960, 174). Contextually speaking, this is a cohesive group. The implication is that this deposit offers secure dating for the brooches. However, verifying this by independent dating of the associated artefacts from the rest of the dumped material is difficult, as there are no other objects (except coins and ceramics) that are typologically limited to the later fourth century. Even the coin and ceramic assemblages contain objects made at an earlier date that had long use-lives. These objects are not redeposited, but simply demonstrate the ‘residuality’ of robust material culture, much in the same way that plates and cups more than 20 years old may reside in a cupboard with more recently made utensils. There are 14 coins from the Phase E dumped material in the granary, with four coins of the House of Valentinian (AD 364–378) providing termini post quem for the deposits, while pottery Analytical Group 15 was composed of 29 per cent Huntclifftype ceramics, also dating to the Valentinianic period or later (Wilmott, 1997, 208; Hird, 1997, 250). Earlier coins and ceramics from the dump are likely to represent material that was still in use in the later fourth century. Significantly, another type E penannular brooch was found in a building north of the via principalis and dated to the last quarter of the fourth century from its association with a coin of Valentinian (AD 364–375) sealed beneath the floor (Richmond and Birley, 1930; Summerfield; 1997b, no 2). Note that Kent (1951, 9) dates a coin from within the context that this brooch was found to sometime after AD 389. Excavations at South Shields Roman fort have also recovered a number of type E and D7 variant penannular brooches (Allason-Jones and Miket 1984), but only the modern excavations have the necessary contextual information (Snape 1994). There are two type D7 variants (nos 9 and 10 in Snape 1994) and one type E (no 11 in Snape 1994), found in the area of principia in periods 8 (mid-fourth century–c.AD 400) and 9 (c AD 400+). No other brooches were found in the principia deposits from those periods. These brooches are from different contexts, however, and this enables a further consideration of the dating of these contexts. Number 9, a late variant of D7, was found in between the sleeper walls of the forecourt granary in a deposit associated with the demolition of the raised floor of the granary and attributed to period 8. Also in this deposit was a stamped tile of the third–late third/early fourth century, a coin of Valens minted in AD 375, and pottery of Huntcliff type, East Yorkshire greywares and a Crambeck mortarium (Bidwell and Speak 1994, 104–105). The demolition of the raised floor is dated to the late-fourth century on the basis of the coin of Valens and the late ceramic fabrics and forms. Number 10, a late variant of D7, was found in the fill of a quarrying/robbing pit at the north east end of the forecourt granary attributed to period 9. The pit contained numerous dumps, many of which were probably redeposited from other areas of the fort, based on the dating evidence from the pit. There was a considerable amount of pottery of various dates, primarily third and fourth century, and there were four coins, with the earliest an issue of Caracalla dating to AD 201-211 and the latest minted by Valentinian in AD 367–375. None of the other artefacts is particularly diagnostic. Overlaying this fill in one area was a paving surface of reused sandstone blocks.

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Number 11, a type E, was the only artefact found on/in this pavement (Bidwell and Speak 1994, 105–106). The terminus post quem of the pit fill, based on the latest pottery and coin, is the last quarter of the fourth century, with the paving over the quarrying post-dating this activity. The quarrying and paving also post-dates the demolition of the raised floor of the granary. The contextual information available from the excavations at Birdoswald and South Shields significantly highlight a strong association of Valentinianic (AD 364-378) and later dating material with type E and the D7 variant zoomorphic penannular brooches. Similarly late dating is reinforced at Piercebridge (Cool and Mason 2008) and Vindolanda (B Birley 2013). An example of a type E from Vindolanda is particularly noteworthy; it was found lying on a pavement that dates to the latest years of the fourth century or the early fifth century, and the diameter is larger than normal for type Es, with a pin that can be best described as proto-barrel-hinged. These features are more common on the Fowler type F penannular brooch, which can be definitively dated to the post-Roman centuries, suggesting that the example from Vindolanda may be transitional. Further discussion of dating and significance can be found elsewhere, particularly in relation to other types of zoomorphic penannular brooches in the frontier (Collins 2010). Conclusions Re-consideration of the pennanular brooches found in the material dumped in the basement at the eastern end of the north granary at Birdoswald has allowed their date of production to be tightened from the earlier wide span of the fourth to seventh centuries to the late fourth century, the years from about 364 to about 410+. Consideration of the contextual dating of zoomorphic penannular brooches at other Roman forts in northern Britain further confirms the date range observed at Birdoswald. This increases the importance of this class of artefact for helping to date the difficult late phases on Hadrian’s Wall and its associated forts. There is also a significant implication of the dating of these brooches more widely in Britain, making type E zoomorphic penannular brooches a key aspect of the material culture associated with the end of Roman Britain. Rob Collins. School of History, Classics & Archaeology, Newcastle University Acknowledgements Thanks are extended to Tim Padley of Tullie House Museum for access to the brooches, and to Tony Wilmott of English Heritage for provision of full illustration of the brooches by John Vallender. Further thanks are extended to Prof. David Breeze for commenting on a draft of this paper, much to its improvement. Notes and references L. Allason-Jones, & R.E.Miket, The Catalogue of Small Finds from South Shields Roman Fort, (Newcastle upon Tyne, 1984). P. Bidwell, & S. Speak, Excavations at South Shields Roman Fort, I, Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle Mon Ser 4, (Newcastle upon Tyne, 1994).

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B. Birley, ‘Anglo-Saxon strap end and post-Roman penannular brooch’, in A Birley, TheVindolanda Granary Excavations, (Brampton, 2013), 173-175. R. Collins, ‘Brooch use in the fourth–fifth century frontier’, in R. Collins and L. Allason-Jones (eds), Finds from the Frontier: Material Culture in the fourth-fifth Centuries, (York, 2010). H.E.M. Cool, & D.J.P. Mason (eds), Roman Piercebridge: excavations by D.W. Harding and Peter Scott 1969– 1981, (Durham, 2008). E. Fowler, ‘The origin and development of the penannular brooch in Europe’, Proc Prehistoric Soc 26, (1960), 149–177. E. Fowler, ‘Celtic metalwork of the fifth and sixth centuries AD’, Archaeol J, 120, (1964), 98–160. L. Hird, ‘The coarse pottery’, in Wilmott (1997), 233–56. J.P.C. Kent, ‘Coin evidence and the evacuation of Hadrian’s Wall’, CW2, 51, (1951), 4–15. H.E. Kilbride-Jones, Zoomorphic Penannular Brooches, Rep Res Comm Soc Antiq 39, (London, 1980). L. Laing, A Catalogue of Celtic Ornamental Metalwork in the British Isles c AD 400–1200, BAR Brit Ser 229, (Oxford, 1993). D.F. Mackreth, Brooches in Late Iron Age and Roman Britain, (Oxford, 2011). I. Richmond and E. Birley, ‘Excavations on Hadrian’s Wall in the Birdoswald – Pike Hill Sector, 1929’, CW2. 30, (1930), 169–205. M. Snape, ‘Sub-Roman brooches from Roman sites on the northern frontier’, Archaeol Aeliana, 5th series, 20, (1992), 158–160. M. Snape, ‘Brooches’, in Bidwell and Speak (1994), 177–184. J. Summerfield, J, ‘The small finds’, in Wilmott 1997a, 269–321. J. Summerfield, J, ‘Appendix 2: other small finds from Birdoswald’, in Wilmott 1997b, 1997, 412–5. T. Wilmott, Birdoswald: Excavations of a Roman Fort on Hadrian’s Wall and its Successor Settlements: 1987–92, English Heritage Arch Rep 14, (London, 1997b).

The Dacre Inheritance in Cumbria (1569-1601) R.A.A. Brockington This article, based on research for the VCH Cumbria project, examines the complex devolution of the large estates of the Dacres of the North from the death of the child fifth Baron Dacre in May 1569 to the repurchase by the Howards, in December 1601, of all the land forfeited to the crown in 1589 and 1594. The purpose is to clarify changes of ownership of Dacre lands in the Lake Counties during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, some aspects of which had not heretofore been fully understood.

1569-1584: the Howards acquire the Dacre lands by marriage

F

OLLOWING the accidental death of the child George, fifth Baron Dacre of the North, on 17th May 1569, there was a rapid judicial determination of the baronial inheritance – which included the baronies of Burgh by Sands, Gilsland and Greystoke, several other manors in the Lake Counties, and very large estates in other counties. On 19 June 1569 the Earl Marshall’s Court, held at Greenwich and chaired by the Marquis of Northampton, decided that the title and dignity of the Barons Dacre of the North had ceased to exist and that the lands should be divided between George’s three sisters, then under the guardianship of Thomas Howard fourth Duke of Norfolk who had married their widowed mother. George’s uncle Leonard Dacre, who had presented his livery as sixth Baron Dacre, was ordered not to assume the title.1 There may have been a miscarriage of justice. The decision was followed by Leonard Dacre’s treason and attainder in 1570, and may in part explain the support later given by tenantry in the northern counties to his brother Francis Dacre (d.1633), last surviving son of William, Third Baron Dacre.