New Light on the End of Roman London

Moving in mysterious ways: the use and discard of Cambridge college ceramics

“…In turn, this raises significant questions about the interpretation of distribution patterns (e.g. Gerrard 2011) and the combination of structural, artefactual and environmental evidence to produce integrated narratives of urban centres (e.g. Hall & Hunter-Mann 2002; Bowsher et al .…”

R. Hingley Londinium: A Biography. Roman London from Its Origins to the Fifth Century. (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2018, 381pp, 75 illustr., pbk, ISBN 978-1-3500-4729-7)

“…The requirement for a beginning and an end, or the ‘decline and fall’ narrative highlighted by Hingley (Chapter 9) result in simplistic interpretations of reduced density of buildings (for example) when the nuances of population migration and adaption can be overlooked. Hingley's discussion of the later Roman period, in particular, shows the useful work produced by Gerrard (2011), using vast assemblages to refine knowledge of specific aspects of the later town. The changing nature of land use throughout later phases may not be as final as previously thought; Hingley (p. 223) uses the example of a dumped horse carcass at 1 Poultry, taken to represent the last activity.…”