Deconstructing and Reconstructing Local Identities in the Physical Landscape: The role(s) of Roman remains in the social changes of the sixth and seventh centuries in the former province of Britain

Abstract

This thesis examines the evidence for engagement with and avoidance of Roman remains in the landscape of two regions within the former province of Britain, Sussex and the eastern part of the northern military frontier. This information is used to consider the attitudes that localised societies held towards the remain of the past, and how this engagement related to the social changes of the period.
Chapter 1 introduces the research context and the aims, setting out research questions. Chapter 2 presents the state of current knowledge and prior approaches to studies of the landscape and the early medieval period, and places the study within the wider theoretical and methodological contexts of landscape studies, the use of GIS, and the consideration of ‘the past in the past’. It then examines attitudes towards the Roman past as evidence in other forms of cultural expression, ranging from modes of displaying identity and authority to the recycling of Roman metalwork, considering the degree of consistency in attitudes towards the past. This is followed in chapter 3 by an explanation of the methodology adopted.
The following chapters look at engagement with Roman remains, in post-Roman Sussex in chapter 4, and the north-east military frontier, from southern Northumberland south to the North York Moors, in chapter 5. The evidence is contextualised against the distribution of activity in the physical landscape and the presence of prehistoric remains.
Chapter 6 pulls together these threads together with previous regional studies, with a focus on identifying regional and chronological similarities and contrasts, and the reasons underlying these patterns. Finally, chapter 7 considers the strengths and weaknesses of the study, and areas for future work.