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Using experimental archaeology and micromorphology to reconstruct timber-framed buildings from Roman Silchester: a new approach

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 October 2015

Rowena Y. Banerjea ,
Michael Fulford ,
Martin Bell ,
Amanda Clarke  and
Wendy Matthews
Rowena Y. Banerjea
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, Berkshire RG6 6AB, UK (Email: [email protected])
Michael Fulford
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, Berkshire RG6 6AB, UK (Email: [email protected])
Martin Bell
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, Berkshire RG6 6AB, UK (Email: [email protected])
Amanda Clarke
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, Berkshire RG6 6AB, UK (Email: [email protected])
Wendy Matthews
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, Berkshire RG6 6AB, UK (Email: [email protected])
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Abstract

Determining the internal layout of archaeological structures and their uses has always been challenging, particularly in timber-framed or earthen-walled buildings where doorways and divisions are difficult to trace. In temperate conditions, soil-formation processes may hold the key to understanding how buildings were used. The abandoned Roman town of Silchester, UK, provides a case study for testing a new approach that combines experimental archaeology and micromorphology. The results show that this technique can provide clarity to previously uncertain features of urban architecture.

Keywords

Roman Britainurban structureschronologies of architectureformation processes
Type
Method
Information
Antiquity , Volume 89 , Issue 347 , October 2015 , pp. 1174 - 1188
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2015 

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