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Provenance of Chalk Tesserae from a Roman Town-House in Vine Street, Leicester

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2013

A. Tasker ,
I.P. Wilkinson ,
M. Williams ,
M. Morris ,
N.J. Cooper  and
M.G. Fulford
A. Tasker*
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Leicester
I.P. Wilkinson
Affiliation:
British Geological Survey, Keyworth
M. Williams
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Leicester
M. Morris
Affiliation:
University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS)
N.J. Cooper
Affiliation:
University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS)
M.G. Fulford
Affiliation:
School of Human and Environmental Sciences, University of Reading
*
(A.T. corresponding author) [email protected]
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Abstract

Fourth-century a.d. chalk tesserae from Roman Leicester (Ratae Corieltavorum) yield rich microfossil assemblages that identify a biostratigraphical age of Cretaceous Late Cenomanian to Early Turonian. The nearest chalk outcrops to Leicester lie in Hertfordshire, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and north Norfolk, indicating that the material for the tesserae must have been sourced remotely and transported to Ratae. Superimposing the Roman road network onto a map of the relevant Chalk Group distribution provides a guide to possible sources. A process of evaluation identifies Baldock in Hertfordshire and Bridlington in Yorkshire as the most likely sources for the Leicester tesserae.

Keywords

Roman mosaicsLeicesterchalk tesseraegeological provenanceforaminifera
Type
Articles
Information
Britannia , Volume 44 , November 2013 , pp. 219 - 246
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2013. Published by The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies 

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References

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