Roman Period

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Introduction

This pages has the following sections:

• The First Century

• Roman Colonisation and Settlement

• Measham, The Mease Valley and the Romans

• Putting it All Together

The First Century

The Roman Conquest began in earnest around the middle part of the 1st century AD. Before then there was contact between the Roman Empire and the tribes of Britain - not least Julius Caesar's brief visit in 43 BC. The contact which took place was mainly trade and it is clear that many southern British tribes paid tribute to the Romans. It would seem that more locally the lead miners of Derbyshire may have exported their minerals to the Roman empire. By 43 AD however, the Romans felt the need to incorporate the British into the Roman Empire. The reasons for this incorporation are themselves fascinating - however they are beyond the scope of this history.

It would seem that the conquest was not a uniformed take over but rather a steady role out from the south east of England. It is now believed that the Fosse Way running from the South West to Lincoln formed some sort of early border between the more Romanised part of Britain and the still unconquered areas. If this is correct it would mean that the study area was outside this first wave of conquest and colonisation. However, as with all generalisation it would seem that the line of the Fosse was not the real boundary but rather a convent line on the map. It is of little doubt that by the time the Romans had reached Leicester they had conquered or subdued the local British tribe of which Leicester was probably the centre. This was the Coritani whose lands covered most of Leicestershire, South Derbyshire and South East Staffordshire.

The details of this first wave of conquest is somewhat vague but undoubtedly was at times bloody. The final battle of Boudeca may have taken place near the hills overlooking Mancetter, just to the south of the study area. Whether this was the final battle place is unclear. What is more clear that by 100AD much of the study area was becoming Romanised. To the average peasant farmer this probably didn't mean a great deal. They continued their mainly substance ways - perhaps being disturbed as the Roman engineers constructed roads and other fortifications within the landscape. However, as peace and prosperity descended on the area then the local gentry became more Romanised and the British move to become the Romano British - a hybrid between the older British traditions and the more modern Roman traditions. Certainly by the end of the first century of occupation the landscape had probably been considerably influenced by the present of Roman engineers and development of Romanised farm estates built around the villa.

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Roman Colonisation and Settlement

From around 100 AD it would seem that the Roman hold on Britain was complete. By this time much of the formal road systems was developed and the many urban centres had been established. Locally, Leicester was established as the regional centre of the Coritani tribal lands. As these urban centres developed their needs had to be met. Food and goods had to be produced to support an increasingly Romanised urban population and the means to transport these goods to the urban centres had to be developed. This lead to an increasing impact on the rural community as did the need by the rich of the urban centres to have their own land and estates within the surrounding rural community.

Within the study area there are two known roman villas - one at Lockington the other at Market Bosworth. However, it is been noted that the Coritani tribal area is very poorly supplied with villas and so it would not be too much to suggest that there may be other villas and their respective estates scattered around the area.

One of the most important exploits of the Roman period was that of the mineral resources. Lead was exported to the Roman empire before the occupation and so it became a very important trade during the Roman period. The lead mining in Derbyshire was based around Wicksworth. Another mineral which was much prized by the Romans was coal. Coal was transported over great distances to provide the heating and other energy needs for Roman Britain. Coal from around Mancetter was transported to provide the fuel for Villas in Buckinghamshire. Equally, from this area a large amount of pottery was exported throughout the Midlands.

So by the end of the 2nd century Roman Britain was a very much changed place compared to the pre Roman landscape. Large scale extraction was taking place to support the increasing urban population. This population was becoming wealthier and so were expanding out into the countryside and developing estates - many around newly built villas. The British population was merging into the Romano - British who were more used to a money economy rather than the simpler exchange system and substance which probably worked very well prior to the Roman occupation. But how did these changes effect the study area ? Are their traces of these developments still visible today ?

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Measham, The Mease Valley and the Romans

The overview painted in the previous sections has been one of Roman colonisation, consolidation, development and absorption. The cumulative effect of this would have been by the end of 2nd century the land around the study area would have been greatly influenced. The unfortunate fact is that there is little direct physical evidence to support this proposition. What there is, however, are considerable hints at what might have been. These hints are what will be explored in the following section.

Roads

Whilst it has never been established categorically that the road between Watling Street and Measham is of Roman origin there is circumstantial evidence to support this. The simplest evidence to support this is that the road between Tamworth and Measham is exceptionally straight. Equally it pass by the village of Stretton en le Field which in itself is evidence that there must be a Roman road nearby. This being said there is still considerable uncertainty as to the true origin of this road - not least of which being were does it go from Measham ?

To try and explore this matter further it is perhaps best to test what evidence we have for the Roman origin of this road against a general list of characteristics of Roman roads. This was produced by Ivan Margary in his book Roman Roads in Britain. Before trying to do this it is best to accept that the road did not stop at Measham but carried on. The first possible destination of this road is just to the north east of Measham. Here the proposed route of the Roman road to Chester passes the parish. This certainly could be the destination of the road - however the line of the road carries on towards the north-east. If this is followed it finally takes you to area around Sawley/Lockington. Here there is considerable evidence of Roman activity - not least of which is the Roman road from Derby ending at the River Trent. So it is perhaps not too much to suggest that the route carried on from Measham to Sawley and thus the road should be seen as the Watling Street to Sawley road. With this in mind it is now time to use Margary's general characteristics.

• Straightness

The straightest part of the road runs from just to the north east of Tamworth to Measham. here the road travels for about 6 miles in a straight line.

• Turning Points On High Points Of Route

The turning points of the route of the road are all at high points on it's route. These are at No Man's Heath; Farthing Hill Measham; Cole Orton; Osgathorpe and Castle Donnigton.

• Roads Mostly Laid Out On Well Constructed Embankments - Aggers

This is quite difficult to ascertain as the road between Tamworth and Measham was made into a turnpike in 18th century. The route of the road beyond Measham has been left to back lanes and footpaths. The best possible example of an aggar is to be found to north-west of the village of Diseworth.

• Large Ditches On Either Side

As stated above much of the road to Measham was developed into a turnpike. However, again the route near to Diseworth does show signs of the deep ditches.

• Used By Anglo Saxons For Parish Boundaries

There is very little evidence of this before Measham - perhaps 100 metres near to Seckington. However, the route forms the parish boundary for about 3 miles around the village of Diseworth, Castle Donnington and Lockington.

• Placenames Such As Stretton Near To Or On The Line Of The Road Or Place Names Such As High Street In The Middle Of The Country.

As mentioned before the route of the road does pass Stretton en le Field. However, it also passes a farm called Wayside near to Osgathorpe and a plantation of trees called King Street at Lockington.

• Radiate From Chief Tribal Centres

The route doesn't do this. However, this is probably because it was never meant to be a major route but rather a connecting route.

• Routes Avoid Latter Anglo Saxon Villages And Follow The High Ground In Some Districts.

Apart from passing through the village of Seckington, Measham, and Packington it doesn't once pass through any village or settlement along it's route. The route itself also passes along relatively high ground compared to the surrounding countryside.

The probable route through Measham of this road would have taken it to the south east of the current village centre. It would have left the parish of Measham via Farthing hill.

There are two reasons to suspect that this was the route through Measham. First it is the direct line of sight route between the previous high point at No Mans Heath. Second, much of the route is still a footpath or other back lanes through the village itself which again might support this as the route of the road through the village.

If this is the route of the road through Measham then it would have considerable effect on the second speculative theme of this section - Coal Mining. The route to beyond the village to Farthing Hill has been mined for coal continuously from at least the 11th century. Indeed there are over 20 bell pits remaining in the area to this day.

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Coal Mining

The mining of coal was important to the Romans whilst it's use has been documented within the fort of Hadrian's Wall and the bath house of Bath. It is clear the Romans knew how to mine and find coal. Just to the south of study area at Mancetter, coal was mined and transported to Buckinghamshire and so there is evidence that coal was produced near to the study area whilst within the study area there is evidence that coal might have been used at the small Roman town which was built Ravenstone. However, this usage has to be treated as suspect for two reason. Firstly, the town was built on an outcrop of coal which might have accounted for it's appearance in the archaeological records. The second reason is that the town was only very scantily examined before being totally destroyed by the open cast mining which had first exposed it !

Coal, then, was an important mineral to the Romans. If this was so is it likely that they would have ignored a easy supply of coal such as that available at Measham - especially as they may have built a road right across the outcrop. This, of course, is pure speculation. However, it is speculation based on the known facts and interpretation of such and so could be somewhere between guesswork and acknowledged historical interpretation. Unfortunately it is unlikely that any archaeological evidence is ever discovered to support this speculation as much of the area where the Romans may have mined has been continually mined for at least 1000 years.

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Villa Estates

The evidence for Roman farming and villa estates is even less than that for the existence of a Roman road. This being said there is circumstantial evidence which if not conclusive certainly leads you to suspect that Measham and possibly the Measham/Donisthorpe enclave were once a Roman estate.

As previously stated the lands of the Coritani are low in the number of established villas compared to the other tribal areas. This it self might suggest that there are as yet undiscovered villas in the area. By the 2nd century AD there was considerable known Roman activity in and around the study area. At Alrewas there was farming activity and there was the small Roman town at Ravenstone. Both of these are at either end of the Mease valley and it would seem strange that the land between these two was not exploited in some sort of way.

Many established Roman villas and estates have been discovered to have been sited on older iron age farms and cultivated land. In the Mease valley and at Measham there is evidence for such land usage. Indeed, at Normanton there has been discovered at large iron age farm which overlooks the valley in which the Roman town at Ravenstone was situated. Again if we assume the current proposed line of the Chester Road is correct it would pass to the north of a fertile valley which was already cultivated by the indigenous British. It would seem very unlikely that such land would have gone unexploded. Indeed, if we assume that the Watling Street to Sawley road existed then this would pass straight through the valley and thus surely would have encouraged agricultural development from the Romans.

So the circumstantial evidence suggest that the Mease valley was exploited by the Romans but is there any evidence on the ground that this was the case ? The only Roman finds within the Measham/Donisthorpe enclave are shards of pottery found within the Bramborough area. This might suggest a small occupation or perhaps it was evidence of land being treated with manure. Again it is unclear as to the correct interpretation of the finds so it the evidence must be seen as pottery discovered and that is all.

There is some very tenuous evidence which may prove to have no connection at all. In the enclosure map of 1750 of Measham there is an interesting complex of small fields which border onto the possible route of the Roman road through Measham. These have the appearance of small holdings on the map - similar to known Roman fields found in other parts of the country. In truth this cannot even be said to be evidence but rather an interesting observation which probably proves nothing. Indeed, the evidence can no longer be checked out as most of the fields/small holdings shown on the map have now been built over as industrial Measham expanded.

The final piece of evidence for the existence of a Roman estate is the Measham/Donisthorpe enclave itself as the compact continuity of the enclave is itself an interesting piece of evidence. A reasonable case can be put forward for this being of at least Anglo Saxon vintage. However, evidence is appearing from other parts of the country that many Roman villa estates were simply taken over by the English settlers as they acquired land. If this was the case then Measham/Donisthorpe could very easily be an example of the boundaries of the old Roman estate.

There is no direct evidence to suggest that there ever was a Roman estate or Villa in the Measham or Mease valley area. However, there is enough circumstantial evidence which when taken together might start to suggest that the Measham had a considerable Roman history and that this history spread out along the Mease valley.

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Putting it All Together

What does all this circumstantial evidence suggest ? The first thing it suggests is that the Romans were fairly active within the Measham/Donisthorpe enclave. They probably built a road through the parish of Measham fairly early on in their conquest. This road may have help supply the border troops which used the Trent valley as the natural boundary between the conquered land and the unconquered. If this is true then this would place the first Roman activity in the Measham area somewhere before 60AD.

As the conquest continued then it may be that the need for this road became less and so it started to fall into disuse.

As for the land usage this is divided into two main types - mining and agricultural. The coal from the area may have been mined and used either locally or perhaps transported to other parts of the area. Equally, there possibly was considerable agricultural activity in the area. Both of these would suggest that there was some sort of villa or farm complex in the area which co-ordinated such activity. One final piece of evidence to support this is the salt road which runs through Measham. This road can be traced from the small Roman town at Ravenstone all the way to Wall in the west of Coritani tribal area. It is very difficult to trace the route beyond Ravenstone to the east. This may suggest that there was trade through the Mease valley between the two settlements. Again if this is true then all manner of goods could have been traded along this route.

To conclude, the evidence for any Roman activity at Measham and the Mease valley is scant. Small finds have been discovered all around the area but nothing within the valley other than shards and pots. However, if you take a wider view and try and use the findings from different sites on the the known evidence at Measham and the Mease valley a different picture starts to emerge. Whether this is the correct picture is matter that only time can and a considerable amount more work can answer.

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