Roman vineyards in Britain: stratigraphic and palynological data from Wollaston in the Nene Valley, England

Abstract

Stratigraphic and palynological evidence from trenches at Wollaston, Northamptonshire, suggest viticulture was extensively practised at this Roman site. It is argued that the apparent lack of viticultural tools and wine presses in the archaeological record in Britain is not reliable evidence for the absence of viticulture at that time.

Colluvial and alluvial response to land use change in Midland England: An integrated geoarchaeological approach

“…This confirms the archaeological evidence of an Iron Age landscape of linear farmsteads aligned to the limit of seasonal flooding. Part of this landscape (Wollaston I) was converted into a large vineyard during the Roman period (Brown et al, 2001b). A similar picture is emerging from Grendon (adjacent and upstream of Wollaston).…”

Climate Change during and after the Roman Empire: Reconstructing the Past from Scientific and Historical Evidence

“…note June precipitation anomalies in Northeastern France from tree rings, with error bars (see Appendix [7]). O) ice-core proxy for temperature shows that central Greenland was cool, although it also began to warm c. 290 a.d. (Figure 2c).…”

“…The suggestion of more frequent ºooding in the second half of the fourth century may reºect, in part, the survival of Ammianus Marcellinus' history for these years: Res gestae 14, 10, 2 (354), 17, 12, 4 (358), 27, 5, 5 (368), 29, 6, 17 (374-375); see also Claudian, De bello Gildonico 1, [40][41][42]Ep. 6,7, With regard to the Empire's eastern provinces, the Talmud mentions droughts in Palestine most securely c. 210 to 220, and, less compellingly, c. 220 to 240 and c. 255 to 270; multiple historical records document a general drought that lasted from c. 311 to 313 (Figure 6b). The Dead Sea levels show a sharp drop in precipitation c. 200 a.d. followed by a steep rise in precipitation lasting as long as 200 years, although radiocarbon dates for the return of wetter weather disagree.…”

An Overview of the Fluctuating Fortunes of Viticulture in England and Wales

“…In addition, implements that could have been used for pruning vines have been found at many southern locations, but whether vines were grown in Britain or reliance was placed entirely on imports remained unclear and has formed a topic of controversy (Williams, 1977). However, recent archaeological investigations of a 35 ha Romano-British site in the Nene valley in Northamptonshire have discovered deposits of grape-vine pollen dating from Roman times and have revealed ground features that suggest the layout of a vineyard (Brown & Meadows, 2000;Brown et al, 2001). If, therefore, vines were being grown in the eastern Midlands it is very likely that they were also being produced in warmer localities in southern Britain.…”