Under the Park. Recent geophysical surveys at Verulamium (St Albans, Hertfordshire, UK)

This paper presents the first results of the geophysical surveys – principally a large scale gradiometer survey – of Verulamium Park, St Albans, Hertfordshire, UK, under which lies approximately half of the Roman city. Verulamium was the third largest Roman city in the province of Britannia – covering some 81 ha – and the largest which is currently available for survey. Approximately 65 ha lies under parkland or pasture. The 30 ha available under the Park was the subject of a magnetometry survey in 2013–2014, along with smaller areas of ground penetrating radar (GPR), earth resistance and magnetic susceptibility. These surveys were undertaken as part of a community archaeology project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). The surveys have detected a wide variety of features including stone buildings of varying size and complexity, pottery kilns, roads, pits and ditches. The results so far suggest the town can be divided into an area of largely elite housing, an area characterised by smaller structures and industrial features, and a somewhat enigmatic magnetically quiet area. Challenges in the interpretation of the results are discussed, as are potential solutions and planned future work

Isotopic and zooarchaeological approaches towards understanding aquatic resource use in human economies and animal management in the prehistoric Scottish North Atlantic Islands

Despite being surrounded by aquatic resources, the Prehistoric populations of the North Atlantic Islands have a complex history of aquatic resource that until now has been little understood. Specifically the changing importance and uses of aquatic resources through time, and the role of aquatic resources in the management of animals in prehistory requires further attention. This paper presents results of faunal isotopic analysis in combination with existing human isotopic evidence and zooarchaeological datasets from Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age sites in the Western Isles (also known as the Outer Hebrides) and Orkney to explore the importance of aquatic resources in the lives of these prehistory populations. In Orkney coastal grazing was an important aspect in the management of sheep throughout prehistory, whereas in the Western Isles this was only evident in the Bronze Age. Aquatic protein was also used in the management of pigs in the Western Isles during the Middle Iron Age. There is little evidence of humans consuming aquatic resources in the Neolithic, and only minor evidence of consumption in the Bronze Age. During the Iron Age aquatic resources become more important in the diet of humans. The Prehistoric Atlantic Islanders of Scotland had a complex and dynamic relationship with aquatic resources, especially in the role of animal management that changed throughout the course of prehistory.The authorswould like to express thanks to NERC for funding this research (Grant number NE/F021054/1, PI Richard Evershed), and the NERC Life Sciences Mass Spectrometry Facility in East Kilbride (EK158- 03/10) for their financial assistance with the analytical researc

Wendy Barker - The Cambridge Companion to Emily Dickinson

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