Recycling in Britain after the Fall of Rome's Metal Economy

Review of periodical literature published in 2012

“…The same theme emerges in a rather different way as R. Fleming discusses the topic of scrap metal in the period 350–650.…”

“…Metal became, at least for an elite, a common part of everyday life, so that knives and swords were of high quality and the use of metal began to spread down to things like agricultural tools and even to lead storage vessels at home. This is linked to the rise of an elite group, and R. Fleming connects it with the increase in warfare and the growth of a culture of conspicuous display.…”

Produce, Repair, Reuse, Adapt, and Recycle: The Multiple Biographies of a Roman Barrel

“…Academic discussion of these themes has had increasing traction in recent years, in part, no doubt, because of the raised profile of recycling in broader modern discourse. The discussion has ranged from considering how the recycling of specific materials is analytically recognized and quantified, such as in Freestone's examination of Roman glass (2015), or quantifying metal flow and recycling of copper-based metals in Britain in the first millennium ad (Pollard et al, 2015), to economic considerations such as Fleming's assessment of recycling in Britain after the fall of Rome's metal economy (2012), or extended biographies of individual artefact types, such as Swift's examination of rings made from Romano-British bracelets (2012) or Abdelhamid's work on the extended lives of amphorae (2013). Inevitably, the focus has predominantly been on inorganic materials such as glass, metal, and pottery.…”

Field Methods and Post-Excavation Techniques in Late Antique Archaeology

“…Reworked glass bases (of debated function) are one of the 49 Dungworth (1997) 907;Fleming (2012) is an extended discussion of the topic. 50 Waugh (1966) Lauwers (2007) 60; for the individual sites, see Bass (1984), Crawford (1990) 78-86, and Degryse et al (2006).…”

“…Once reduced to cut-up pieces, only the bullion value of the silver remained, and it is thought that these pieces may have circulated widely in the Late Roman 90 See above, where it is noted that this phenomenon might also begin earlier, in the Late-Post Roman transition period, when the coins may have still been extant above ground. See also Fleming (2012) 10-15, 20. 91 For example, the missorium of Theodosius, found in Spain. Guggisberg (2013) discusses this and other items found within, and beyond, the Roman frontiers.…”