How can we tell what time period an artefact is from?

Archaeologists use the artefacts they dig up from the ground to learn more about the lives of people in the past. But did you know that there’s a technique called stratigraphy that archaeologists use to tell what period of history the artefacts came from? We used the artefacts from the Roman Baths Museum's collections to demonstrate how stratigraphy works. 

Stratigraphy handling table at the Roman Baths

Stratigraphy 

What is stratigraphy?

Stratigraphy refers to the study of stratas, or layers of the soil. Simply put, if an artefact is discovered in a layer further down in the soil, it is probably older than an artefact discovered higher up in the soil. If an artefact is found within the same layer as another artefact, it is generally considered to be from the same period.

Stratigraphy trays

 

Which of these objects were discovered deeper in the soil?

The artefacts in the tray on the left are from the prehistoric era, and would be found at a deeper level than the artefacts in the tray on the right, which are from the Victorian era. You can see an axe head, and an animal bone with marks of butchery in the prehistoric tray, but the artefacts in the Victorian tray, such as the key and decorated plate, are much more recognisable to the kind of objects we would use today!

Historical pottery 

Pottery from different time periods

The piece of Roman pottery is an example of mortarium, a type of kitchen ware used to grind up foods such as herbs, like a modern mortar and pestle. You can see the grit inside which helped the grinding process. Early Mediaeval pottery was often hand-made, with techniques such as stamping used for decoration, shown on our mediaeval pottery piece. As we can see by the Victorian pottery, Victorians used decorative tableware to show off their wealth. This era saw the introduction of transfer printed tableware, although this plate fragment is hand-painted. 

Think like an archaeologist? 

Can you guess where these pots were found in the soil?

It is very useful for archaeologists to analyse how the same type of artefact, such as pottery, appears in different soil layers, as then we can get a clearer idea of differences in methods, tools, and materials throughout history. Isn’t it interesting how artefact 2, the modern pottery, looks quite similar to artefact 3, the prehistoric pottery? Stratigraphy can show us how some objects can change so much throughout time, and how some objects seem to stay the same! 

 (Correct answers: A2, B1, C3) 

Ruby

Placement student

Function or fashion? The practical and stylish accessories

Your impression of accessories may be beautiful and decorative, but have you ever thought about how they add beauty and style to our lives and serve a functional purpose at the same time? The Roman Bath houses a stunning collection of accessories spanning various historical periods. Reflecting on history, it becomes clear that accessories have long been a fusion of functionality and aesthetics.

Functional yet fashionable

In the Roman period, people already focused on developing aesthetically pleasing and useful ornaments. Brooches were particularly popular, and people used them to fasten their clothing. These brooches came in various types, including the penannular brooch with an open frame, the plate brooch prevalent during the first century, and the bow brooch commonly found in Roman archaeological sites. Don’t think these two thousand years ago ornaments are just simple copper alloys. On the contrary, they are often very exquisite, with changeable shapes and colourful enamel surfaces.

Left to right: Roman plate brooch, bow brooch, and replica of a penannular brooch

Expressions of belief

By the medieval period, in addition to delicate metalwork techniques like inlay, enamelling, and filigree becoming more common, their function began to reflect individuals' spiritual convictions or to show people's faith. For example, before the trend of wearing bells gained widespread popularity, it was mainly priests and pilgrims who adorned them, thereby symbolising their affiliation with the religion. Pilgrims collected various badges in different shapes to commemorate their pilgrimage and to express their religions. Similarly, influential figures have often awarded badges to their allies to commend their loyalty and support towards a certain belief or ideology. 

Left to right: Medieval dog badge and bell

Symbols of taste

After the 16th century, with the development of craftsmanship, the styles of functional ornaments became more varied and popular. For instance, in the Georgian period, wigs changed from functional preventing head lice to a symbol of style. Following the Industrial Revolution, the advent of mass production brought about an increase in diverse and accessible ornaments, which were no longer considered a luxury reserved for the upper class alone. Buttons, once the exclusive of the nobility during the medieval era, became a commodity that could be easily moulded and mass-produced. With the rise of the bourgeoisie, the popularity of shirts gave way to the fashion of cufflinks. Though seemingly unremarkable at first glance, these functional items embody a sense of style, and the variety of their forms and materials showcase the wearer's discerning taste.

Left to right: Georgian wig curler, moulded metallic button, and cuff links

Upon observing today's clothing, can you think of other decorative features that are functional but also fashionable? Maybe it is your stylish watch, glasses or even a zipper? Let us take a closer look at our clothing and appreciate the practical and astonishing accessories that have been thoughtfully designed.

Yushin

Placement student

Curious Coins from Batheaston

Recently, visited Batheaston to display a range of incredible objects from the local area. Of course, I chose my favourite subject – coins! We had several lovely Roman coins on display, from Emperor Domitian (77AD) to Emperor Gratian (367AD), but my two favourite coins found during excavations at the Batheaston Bypass aren’t Roman at all…

Visitors to Batheaston Scout Hut find out about the archaeology of the area

The first is what I think is one of the most beautiful coins in the collection. It is a sceat (a small silver coin) from the eighth century AD - just before the Viking invasion. It might have been minted in Denmark, or Frisia (now part of the Netherlands or Northern Germany), but there is a lot of ongoing debate about when and where these coins were made.

On one side, there is the bearded face of the Ancient German sky god called “Wodan”, related to the Norse god Odin. On the other there is a mythical monster, possibly a dragon!

The Woden/Monster sceat from Batheaston

The second is a European copy of an English silver penny, originally minted for Edward I (1288-1299). At the time, these were nicknamed “crockards”, which is a term of uncertain origin. There is also a medieval Latin word crocardus which is translated as “bad money”, but this may have been derived from the English term and not the other way round.

At the time, the English silver penny was famous throughout Europe for its quality and purity. European merchants would trade their goods to the English for the coins. Then they would melt down the coins, mix the silver with some cheaper metal, and mint more coins for themselves. By making the coins look like the English pennies, they could then pretend that the coins were just as high in value as the originals.

However, the crockards weren’t considered “counterfeit”, because they were not identical to the English pennies. The names of the European moneyers were on the coins, and instead of the royal crown, Edward I is wearing a “chaplet of roses” – or a flower crown!

A 'crockard' from Batheaston - with Edward I in a flower crown!

Our coin was minted by John, Duke of Brabant (part of Belgium), who was Edward I’s son-in-law.  

At first, Edward tried to use crockards as currency, saying that they were worth half a penny instead of a full penny, but this was confusing, and soon he decided that all the crockards should be destroyed instead. This makes our coin very special!

Emily
Collections Volunteer

Words on Wednesdays: Invisible

“The Roman remains were what they sought: medieval Bath was invisible”

  

Peter Davenport

Medieval Bath Uncovered

As a part of my week of work experience here at the Roman Baths, I was given the opportunity to organise a handling table for the Words on Wednesdays weekly summer event. I have always found medieval England interesting, so I decided to take advantage of the thousands of amazing artefacts here at the Roman Baths and take a closer look into medieval life.

Words on Wednesdays Medieval Handling Table

The focus of my table was the different elements of the home; I incorporated building materials such as floor tiles and window glass, as well as objects which would be found inside the home like pottery and cosmetic items. While the objects I used are more likely to have been found in the possession of someone of a higher status, and the tiles and glass in a cathedral, I wanted to create an idea of what life may have looked like in the medieval period.

A favourite object of mine, and of the visitors to my table, was the King John short cross halfpenny from 1205. The coin is a part of the Wellow Hoard, a group of 16 coins produced in the period 1180-1247. This is a great example to show how halfpennies were created 800 years ago, by simply cutting whole pennies in half!

Cut halfpenny of King John. Left: Obverse, Right: Reverse

Another group of objects that attracted a lot of attention were the 14^th century cathedral floor tiles. These were found in the 1974 excavation of Orange Grove and have detailed designs including a griffin, 3 lions and an abbey. One of the designs particularly I liked was the griffin which symbolised the bravery of a lion combined with the intelligence of an eagle, and would have been a great addition to the floor of a cathedral.

Medieval floor tile. Left: Floor tile, Right: Reconstruction drawing

I greatly enjoyed putting together my table and getting to look at all the wonderful artefacts that the Roman Baths has to offer that aren’t Roman, and cast a light on a much forgotten era of Bath’s history.

Eva
Work Experience Student

Civilisations: A Humorous History

Today, we put a lot of trust in doctors who prescribe our medication, but how different was medical knowledge in the past? This blog focuses on the theory that dominated medical science until the 1700s: the Four Humours of the body.

The four humours are a medical theory that the human body is made up of four different liquids; black bile, yellow bile, blood, and phlegm.  In a healthy body there is a balance or equal amount of all four liquids. In the body of a sick person, there is an imbalance (too much or too little) of at least one the humours.

The theory of the Four Humours of the body

This theory was developed by Hippocrates who suggested that it was a medical imbalance of the humours that affected bodily functions. Later, Galen classified the humours as hot/cold, wet/dry. He suggested that the humours could be rebalanced by treating the patient with its opposite. For example, if you were too cold, you would take hot baths and eat hot foods. As well as being linked to being hot/cold, wet/dry, the four humours were linked to the seasons, the elements, personality traits, and parts of life.

Blood was seen as being wet and hot. If a physician thought you had too much blood, they would prescribe bloodletting, where leeches would be attached to the skin to suck blood from your body! Blood was linked to air, childhood and springtime; presumably the spring brings a new lease of life. Out of the cold winter, brightly coloured flowers appear, and many animals have their young. Blood was linked with a ‘sanguine’ personality type, which describes people who enjoy taking risks, are enthusiastic, active and love to socialise.

What yellow bile actually consists of is still up for debate. Historians are unsure as to whether it is urine, vomit, or stomach bile. Yellow bile was seen as being hot and dry. It was linked with fire, adulthood, and the summer. Yellow bile was linked with a ‘choleric’ personality type, which described people who are independent and goal-oriented; they make great leaders and work things out logically.

Black bile was seen as being cold and dry, and is thought to be faeces. Black bile was linked to earth, old age, and the autumn. This could be because animal dung is used to fertilise land and so would have strong links to earth and soil. Black Bile was linked with a ‘melancholic’ personality type. This described people who were self-reliant, reserved, and strived for perfection.

Phlegm was seen as being cold and wet. It was linked to water, decrepitude/death, and winter. Phlegm was linked to the ‘phlegmatic’ personality type. This described people who were easy-going, peaceful and good at compromising.

The theory of the four humours was at the forefront of medical science even into the medieval period. As the church banned human dissections, the theories created by Greek physicians were seen as being completely accurate! 

Polly-Mae

Collections Intern

Tuesday Times Tables: Marvellous Medieval Metalwork

On 1^st August, I took eight different objects to the Great Bath area for visitors to handle. These objects were all under the theme of medieval metalwork to show the public a different side of the Roman Baths collection.

Vicky with her Tuesday Times Table

The tweezers were especially popular as they look so similar to modern day ones, but my personal favourite had to be the Papal Bull Seal. The Papal Bull was a formal proclamation from the Pope at that time, which was sent out to the countries whom it was relevant to. This would have been sealed with a lead bulla, which is unique to that Pope. Papal Bulls were first used in the Sixth Century, but were not officially known as Papal Bulls until the Fifteenth Century. At this time one of the offices of the Papal Chancery was named the ‘Register of Bulls’, though the term itself has been used from the Thirteenth Century.

Left: front of Papal Bull seal. Right: Reverse of Papal Bull seal

At first sight, it looks like a plain circular piece of stone, though on further inspection it can be seen that it is made of lead, which due to its property of corrosion resistance means that a lot of the pattern is still intact. On the front, there are two visible faces, and on the back is barely decipherable writing, though it can be identified as being a Papal Bull from Pope John XXII. 

This narrows the timeline down to 1316 – 1334, which in comparison to the other items on the table (where only general periods could be provided) is a lovely precise date. Sadly we do not have the Papal Bull itself, as it was made of parchment so hasn’t survived, meaning we cannot know the exact declaration which this seal was attached to.

For me, the most interesting part of this object is how it was found. According to our records a Mr. Symons was casually digging up his turnips and suddenly he found a Papal Bull seal in the ground in Freshford, Bath. Luckily, he knew it was important and not a useless circular stone and now it remains in the Roman baths collection. If only I was so lucky with my gardening!

Vicky

Roman Society Placement

'Cataloguing Keynsham' Update

Our Keynsham volunteers have been hard at work documenting the material from Keynsham Abbey, that I reported on in 'Cataloguing Keynsham' in November 2015.

Keynsham volunteers photographing tiles

To date 21 boxes of Medieval floor tiles have been catalogued, that’s 592 tiles covering 91 designs. The team have been getting to grips with the photography; how to make sure your image is clear and that you’re photographing the tile the right way up, which isn’t always easy if all you have to work with is a small fragment.

Saxon stonework from Keynsham Abbey site

Meanwhile the other half of the team has been tackling all manner of jobs including measuring and photographing stonework, amounting to some 289 pieces, and accessioning and cataloguing the remainder of the Medieval tiles not accessioned back in 2011. Next they’re on to more fiddly objects; photographing all the small finds from Keynsham Abbey, a great opportunity for them to handle a variety of different materials including bone, copper and textiles.

Look out for more updates on the project in the coming months.

Verity, Collections Assistant

New Keynsham Abbey display

About half way between Bath and Bristol is the town of Keynsham. Up until Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries on the 23^rd of January 1539, it was home to the Keynsham order of Victorine Monks. While some remains can still be seen in situ in the north corner of Memorial Park, much of the Abbey was removed during the construction of the Keynsham Bypass. You can read about the work that is being undertaken with the Abbey Collection in Verity's previous blog.

As Keynsham is part of the Bath and North East Somerset Council, the Roman Baths has taken up care of objects collected from the Abbey site, including a large amount of stonework, and collection of small finds. As Keynsham itself does not have its own museum, there are currently a selection of Medieval tiles, pottery and stonework also from the Abbey on permanent display at the Keynsham ‘One-Stop-Shop’ and library, and just last  week we have installed a new display case containing small objects from the Abbey site.

When I began planning this display, I not only knew next to nothing about Keynsham and its Abbey, but I also knew incredibly little about Medieval Monks and how they lived. Now about a month later, after a few visits to the town, and reading many books, I do feel slightly less at risk of being exposed as a total Keynsham fraud. Although, my knowledge is still very basic!

I think the reason I have really enjoyed putting this display together is the variety of objects from the Abbey site that I had to choose from, including a bone flute, many keys, and a decorative, albeit slightly worried looking carved face. When choosing the objects for display I tried to pick items that were not only pretty and interesting, but similar to objects we have in our lives today. The Roman Baths looks after such a diverse collection from the local area that most people wouldn’t expect. It has been such an experience to be able to handle and work with these objects that were a part of lives so many years ago, and I am really pleased with how it has turned out.

Lead ventilation panel from the Abbey

The display “Life at the Abbey” is currently located on the first floor of the Keynsham One-Stop-Shop/Library. Downstairs you’ll find the aforementioned displays of tile, pottery and stonework, as well as well as Roman material including the amazing mosaics from Durley Hill Roman Villa.  So if you’re ever in the area looking to borrow a book, you could also have a cup of coffee and a look around the building, and maybe learn a little about Keynsham as well. 

We are grateful to Cllr Charles Gerrish who contributed his allowance from the ward councillors initiative programme to pay for the display case. 

Ella, Placement from New Zealand

Cataloguing Keynsham

Cataloguing museum collections is no mean feat. Back in 2011 The Roman Baths Collections team, helped by some hardy volunteers spent a number of days recording archaeological material held in the basement of Keynsham Town hall. These were objects excavated from three key sites in Keynsham’s history, the Roman villa discovered at Durley Hill, the Roman house at Somerdale and the Medieval Abbey (the remains of which are In Keynsham, Memorial Park). Excavated in the 1920’s the material from both Somerdale and Durley Hill had previously been held in the museum at the Cadbury’s site. The storage situation in Keynsham Town Hall was by no means ideal including stonework laid out as it had been excavated or would have been constructed originally. With the closure of the Town Hall and the demolition of the building imminent, the accessioning of the collections had to be done in unusual circumstances on a tight time scale, before being moved to where they are currently stored at our Pixash Lane Archaeology Store.

Window from Keynsham Abbey laid out in Town Hall basement

Since the collection was accessioned in 2011 work has been carried out on some of the collection to produce a more detailed catalogue of information, however this has not been comprehensive, and as such there are large portions of the collection that need further cataloguing.

The collection from Keynsham Abbey comprises some 2200 objects predominantly excavated in advance of the building of Keynsham Bypass in the 1960s. Many of these objects have only a basic identification, in order that the collection can be best made accessible, further information identifying each object is needed. The collection is currently organised by type of material, which makes dividing jobs quite easy; and so it was that in September a band of local volunteers started cataloguing the Medieval floor tiles. Barbara Lowe, the key excavator of Keynsham Abbey had published a catalogue of the tiles and to date the accessioning of the tiles had related to the tile design in the publication.

One of the Medieval tiles photographed by volunteers

Our local volunteers have valiantly begun photographing, weighing and describing the 34 boxes of Medieval tiles, using this publication as a reference; they’ve also been measuring stonework and accessioning even more tiles…and let’s not forget helping with an open day!

Verity

A Busy Heritage Open Week

Every October Half Term, Museums, Galleries and Heritage organisations in Bath and North East Somerset Council take part in Heritage Open Week, taking the opportunity to engage a wider audience with their sites. At The Roman Baths our Learning and Programmes team run family activities on site every weekday, this year’s it’s ‘Fabulous Feasts or Meagre Morsels’ looking at Roman food. They’re also running a family activity at Keynsham Library, ‘Marvellous Mosaics’, where you can investigate the fantastic mosaics from Durley Hill Roman Villa which are displayed there.

The Collections team will be busy as always, with not the usual two events, but three. This year Bath City Farm received funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund’s ‘Sharing Heritage’ strand, which will enable them to produce a history trail around their site. As part of this, they are holding a number of open days, tied in to school holidays, centred around different periods of history. For Heritage Open Week  on Monday 26^th October, 11-2, they are running ‘Medieval Madness’ which will give visitors a fantastic opportunity to learn all about the medieval period, try Medieval food and make a gargoyle. The Roman Baths Collections team will be there with Medieval objects from our collections to show off the splendour (and functionality).

Medieval cistern with an amazing stag decoration

St John’s Store, our offsite store on the Upper Bristol Road, houses our collection of oversize local history objects. These include everything from equipment from the Victorian spa of Bath, through historic furniture and even shop signs! Visitors young and old (and everywhere in between) can come along on Tuesday 27^th October, 11-3, and learn all about how we care for these collections. Find out about the pests that might want to damage our objects, and how we protect our collections against these potential invaders…

A weighing chair from the Spa Treament Centre

At our Archaeology store at Pixash Lane, Keynsham on Thursday 29^th October, 11-3, we will be running ‘Patterns at Pixash’, a chance to explore the amazing collections from Roman and Medieval Keynsham, as well as archaeological material from Combe Down Stone Mines. Keynsham Medieval Abbey, would have been a highly decorated building, from intricately carved stonework, to beautifully decorated tiles.  You can come and get a glimpse of the splendour of this Medieval religious establishment with our re-imagining of a Medieval tile floor. Kids (and grown-ups too) can take part in a number of activities based around these tiles, including making a two-tone tile.

One of the many floor tiles from Keynsham Abbey

If you want to know more about these and other events going on during Heritage Open Week, all the information can be found here at the following link, where you can also download a brochure: heritage open week

Verity, Collections Assistant, Roman Baths

Mint innit - How was money made?

One of the questions the Collections staff and volunteers are frequently asked during a Beau Street Hoard event is ‘how are coins made’? So when I was asked to put together one of the Money Monday handling sessions I thought it would be a good time to have a look in more detail at The Roman Baths collection of Roman and Medieval coins, how they were made, who made them and where this happened.

Texts from the Roman and Medieval period give little away when it comes to making coins and so archaeology has been used to help recreate some of the process. The first step was to produce a blank coin by pouring molten metal into a circular mould. Once the blank was cool enough, the design for the coin would be stamped onto the blank using dies (punches). The metal would be heated so that it was malleable and the coin placed in between two dies, which would then be struck with a hammer.

The Roman Baths have their very own coin die and blanks to strike coins.

So who made coins and where did this happen? Roman coins were initially produced in Rome by a set of three magistrates. As the Empire began to expand more mints were created and others were closed down. The collection at The Roman Baths comes from far and wide. There is even a coin that was made in Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey).

A map showing where the Beau Street Hoard coins were made

Medieval coins were initially made across England and Wales by individuals known as moneyers. You may be able to see on the map that there was even a mint at Bath. The earliest coins known to have been struck at Bath were issued by Edward the Elder (AD899-924/5) and the mint remained in use until the late 12^th Century.

A map showing mint towns during the period c.973-1158

© Martin Allen 2012

There were however, many changes made to the production of coins during the Medieval period. In the 13^th Century mints were placed under the control of officials known as masters and wardens. There was also a radical reduction of mint towns during the 13^th and 14^th Century and, by the 15^th Century, the only regularly functioning mint was in London.

Emma, Future Curator

Money Mondays: From Rome to the Tudors and back again

Working with the Beau Street Hoard means that Roman coins are never at a shortage. So when I was asked to put together a display and activity for Money Mondays I decided to expand the time range up to the time of Elizabeth I, the last in the Tudor dynasty.

Of course coins from the Beau St Hoard still made an appearance and alongside the coins of Hadrian, Severus Alexander and Gordian III were coins of Henry I, Henry II, Henry VIII and as mentioned, Elizabeth I. I have always had an interest in Middle Age and Tudor history and this was the perfect opportunity for me to find out more about its coinage, mints and moneyers.

In regards to the activity I chose to do a matching exercise, matching the coin to a description of its ruling Emperor, King or Queen, such as facts and clues to their appearance, character or details of coin production at the time.

I provided a label for each coin, describing its obverse and reverse along with its legend and production date if applicable. As a final activity I collected images of each of the 7 leaders, with the idea to match the coin to its leader using the coin labels and descriptions.

Money Monday table with the coins and their labels

                                

The display did prove quite popular; a good few people took a keen interest to the coins, picking them up and examining then intently and listening while we fed them information about the hoard as well. I was assisted by Katie who was able to answer the questions I couldn’t and both of us put together were able to talk our way around it in the end! It was a great fun to put together and host, and I gained new knowledge in doing so and hope that those who took an interest did to.  I don’t think there could have been a better place to have done it either - the Great Bath of an evening provides the best backdrop!

Myself and Katie alongside the Great Bath

                                

Alice

Festival of British Archaeology - Chew Magna - Chew Magnified

Come and join us in the former School Room at Chew Magna

We have been busy, busy, busy bees in the office this week putting the final preparations together for our Festival of British Archaeology event. This year we our going out to the village of Chew Magna (Saturday July 14th 2012) where there will be a celebration all things archaeological and historical. The plan of events includes a self-guided walk around the village, medieval music, children’s activities and fascinating displays narrating local archaeology and history. Come and meet the Roman Baths Team and your local Archaeological Officer in this all-day event of all things archaeological.

So if you live locally, are in the area or simply just looking for something FREE and fun to do this Saturday come along and take part, we would love to see you… For more information please follow the links below….

http://www.romanbaths.co.uk/whats_on/events1.aspx

https://www.facebook.com/TheRomanBaths#!/events/407591669293184/

If you can’t make this event but would still like to take part in the Festival of British Archaeology please follow this link…..

http://festival.britarch.ac.uk/whatson

Blog update on this event to follow….