Calls have been made to halt unsupervised excavations near the Northern English villa of Marske-by-the-Sea after remains of a potential Roman settlement have been discovered in the area.
 

A significant Roman community in the area could add to the understanding of the Roman presence in Northern England.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-tees-67935267

The location of the Northern English villa of Marske-by-the-Sea

A Roman-era man in Cambridgeshire has been shown by DNA analysis to have been born outside the Roman Empire and he is of Sarmatian descent, living around modern-day southern Russia and Ukraine. The Sarmatians were a nomadic horse-riding peoples originating in the Eurasian Steppe.

By analyzing his teeth, researches also learned about his diet.

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The man’s remains were found close to the village of Offord Cluny, near Huntingdon, in 2017. He lived around AD 126-228. 

Professor Janet Montgomery of Durham University said: “Until the age of five or six, he lived in an arid location in the east of continental Europe.  

“His diet at this age contained a lot of C4 crops, such as millet and sorghum, which are not native to Europe.  

“As he grew up, he migrated west, and these plants disappeared from his diet.  

In 175 AD Emperor Marcus Aurelius defeated a Sarmatian army on the northeastern border of the Roman Empire and incorporated their cavalry into his legions.  

According to the historian Cassius Dio, Marcus Aurelius sent around 5,500 of these Sarmatians to join the Roman legions in Britain.

 

https://www.huntspost.co.uk/news/23997908.a14-cambridgeshire-mans-remains-offers-insight-romans/

A Roman silver ring dated between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD have been found in the Cotswolds. There have been previous Roman finds in the area (see posts below):

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-67692133

A Roman road has been unearthed in a garden at a cottage near Stirling, Scotland.

https://www.thenational.scot/news/23897192.astonishing-2000-year-old-roman-road-discovered-scottish-garden/

A wonderful find of this Roman road about 35 miles (60km) north of Edinburgh is consistent with the Scottish excursions of Septimius Severus AD 209-210.

A Roman-era silver bracelet has been found in Northamptonshire by a metal detectorist.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-67276277

A Roman graves and coin have been found in Hampshire during a water pipeline construction

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-67158304

Two late 2nd century AD Roman swords have been found in North Cotswolds. The swords are thought to be intended for cavalry because of the length:

https://www.cotswoldjournal.co.uk/news/23797681.metal-detectorist-unearths-roman-cavalry-swords-north-cotswolds/

A Roman statue of the sea god Triton has been found during housing excavation in Teynham, England (about 50 miles or 80 km from London).

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sittingbourne/news/roman-statue-of-sea-god-triton-uncovered-by-a2-293334/

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2023/09/archaeologists-find-statue-of-triton-in-roman-mausoleum/148555?amp=1

York has had many recent Roman finds. A Roman legionary stronghold was established in the first century AD and the civilian town was known as Eboracum. (Interestingly, two Roman emperors died at Eboracum: Septimius Severus in AD 211 and Constantius Chlorus in 306.)

Planned excavations to extend the Ibis Hotel in York will take in consideration that a Roman community once existed at the site.

https://yorkmix.com/experts-to-hunt-for-roman-graveyard-under-york-hotel/

Previous posts about York:

Using LiDAR technology, scientists have found a more extensive Roman road network in Southwest England than previously thought.

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A ROMAN road network that spanned Devon and Cornwall and connected significant settlements with military forts across the two counties as well as wider Britannia has been discovered for the first time.

https://www.holsworthy-today.co.uk/news/roman-road-network-spanning-the-south-west-identified-in-new-research-631525

Magna Carvoran was a Roman Fort near Hadrian’s Wall. These grounds covering the surrounding Roman community outside the fort are usually a boggy marshland in winter.
 

Climate change, however, is impacting on the grounds around the fort. Because of dry conditions, the usually  boggy soil surrounding the fort have dried and the earth is now receding, revealing the Roman structures and other archaeological evidence buried below. 
 

Because of the risk of damage due to these changes in the terrain, new studies are now underway to preserve and document the area.

One of the recent discoveries during these excavations is this balance beam possibly used by customs officials to weigh items leaving and entering the area.

https://romanarmymuseum.com/about/magna-first-discovery/

In recent years a Roman fort in modern Burscough (in West Lancashire, England) has been discovered. It will soon undergo more extensive research after LiDAR technology in 2020 showed a  more extensive structure.

It is believed that this fort was built between AD 69 and 79 to support the Romans in their struggles against Celtic uprisings.

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/most-important-buried-roman-fort-27402278

Sketch of small-dog discovered 

The has been a previous post on small dog breeding in Ancient Rome (see below). A recent excavation in Oxfordshire has uncovered a small dog (20 cm or 8 inches) that was probably a house pet.

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An archaeological dig at Wittenham Clumps in Oxfordshire has uncovered the 1,800-year-old remains of a 20cm tall pooch.

The animal's remains were unearthed at the site of a villa believed to have been owned by a wealthy Roman family.

Researchers say the dog is one of the smallest found in the UK, and was likely to have been a "much-loved pet".

 

A Roman settlement has been found in North East Lincolnshire.

Fragments of painted wall plaster found at settlement.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-humber-66246156

Evidence of Roman wine making has been discovered in Cambridgeshire.

If these findings are true, I imagine that the climate in Britain was different two thousand years ago.
 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-12309845/Grape-Britain-Scientists-discover-evidence-Romans-produced-wine-Cambridgeshire-2-065-years-ago.html

(Scene from the movie “Gladiator” of the attempted assassination of Maximus)

A body was found facedown in Wales, thought to be a higher ranking Roman with sword from the third or fourth century AD. Strangely, the person was found with metal nails near his neck, back and feet, suggesting he was constrained at the time of death.

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Contrary to an interpretation of a non-elite or enslaved individual, though, the man's personal ornaments — an iron sword, hobnailed boots and a silver crossbow-style brooch — suggest he may have been an elite member of the Roman military. 

https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/romans/elite-roman-man-buried-with-sword-may-have-been-restrained-in-death

Recent excavations at Vindolanda have found evidence of Batavian troops: 

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Recent excavations have found a copper alloy lion head pommel (see below) that dates from AD 90 to 105 when the 9th cohort of Batavians were stationed at Vindolanda. The 9th cohort of Batavians were a mixed infantry-cavalry unit of about 1,000 men that came from a region close to the mouth of the Rhine near the modern day city of Nijmegen in the Netherlands.

Batavian soldiers were first brought to Britain during the conquest period in AD 43, and also fought at Ynys Mon in present-day Anglesey where they attacked the Druid stronghold in an amphibious assault.

Excavations at Vindolanda have also uncovered a bone handled knife that dates from around the same period as the Batavians, a sherd of a mortarium bow with indications that it was repaired using lead and copper alloy, a pit containing hundreds of nuts (mostly hazelnut) which dates from AD 105-108, and samian pottery depicting a hare.

 

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2023/07/evidence-of-the-9th-cohort-of-batavians-among-new-finds-at-roman-vindolanda/147997

A metal detectorist has found a Roman dinnerware set. It’s not clear whether it was for civilian or military purposes.
 

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The stash of late Roman plates, platters, bowls and a cup was found in Euston, Suffolk.

The remains were buried in a pit and carefully stacked, showing they were hidden for safe keeping or as an offering.

 

https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2023-06-29/amazing-2000-year-old-roman-hoard-discovered-by-local-detector

Here’s a Roman with his phalerae, usually worn on the breastplates during parade.

 https://arkeonews.net/volunteer-archaeologists-discovered-a-1900-year-old-silver-military-decoration-in-vindolanda/

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phalera_(military_decoration)

Simon Elliot recently wrote book on Carausius (see post below). This most recent book on both Carausius and his usurper Allectus also looks interesting. 

A description of this book from Amazon:

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One of the most exciting periods of Britain’s history under the Romans remains largely unknown today. Yet, at the end of third century AD, two men successively ruled the island, together with parts of the Continental coast, as emperors of Britannia for a period of ten years. They minted their own coins, initiated Britain’s first truly integrated defense system and successfully repelled an invasion from the mighty Roman empire. This is the story of Carausius and Allectus – the rebel emperors of Britannia.

They were major thorns in the side of Rome and posed a huge threat to the authority of Diocletian and Maximian. It took ten years, after Carausius first rebelled, for the Roman empire to mount a second invasion and this time it was successful. Britain rejoined the ‘Eternal Light of Rome’ and the victory was accompanied by tremendous celebrations.

There was an attempt to wipe the names of Carausius and Allectus from history but enough evidence remains to piece together this extraordinary episode in the annals of Britain. The rebel emperors were recorded in a few later histories and found fame again in the 18th century. Carausius, in particular, was celebrated as a great naval hero who stood up to the might of Rome.

Contemporary sources in the third century AD damned them as criminals and pirates. This book aims to set the record straight and details the remarkable achievements of Carausius and Allectus, the rebel emperors of Britannia.

The two authors of this book have a background in numismatics, a major source of our understanding of this period:

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Graham Barker is an independent researcher with a keen interest in Roman history of the 3rd Century AD. His book on Roman coinage, Imperial Legitimation, was published by Spink in 2020.

Dr Sam Moorhead is the National Finds Adviser for Ancient Coins in the Portable Antiquities Scheme at the British Museum. Sam has published numerous books and articles on Roman history and coinage.