The Roman Baths at Wallsend

Abstract

fifth century, the site became the focus of rubbish disposal from the nearby settlement. The next sections in the book are specialist reports on the material culture of Roman date ranging from assemblages of pottery, glass, ceramic building materials, and worked stone, to human bone and animal remains. The examination of all material encountered in the excavation is very thorough, and it includes a brief report on a small amount of prehistoric and post-Roman pottery, as well as an overview of chipped stone lithics from the Mesolithic to later Bronze Age periods. Returning to the evidence for Roman burials along the road, I would like to flag up the particularly interesting cremation burial. This is a bustum burial of the early third century AD, in which the body was burned on a structure directly above a rectangular pit, with the cremated human remains and pyre material falling into it. This type of Roman cremation burial is relatively rare in Britain, and the third century is very late for this type of rite. The osteological analysis demonstrated that this was a mature adult, but the sex of the individual could not be determined from the surviving bone. Cool, however, argues persuasively in Chapter 7 that the dress accessories burnt with the body indicate that the deceased was a Roman soldier, clothed in military dress with a tunic, a belt with metal fittings, a cloak fastened with a brooch, and hobnailed shoes. The man probably was connected with the fort at Malton on the opposite riverbank, revealing that soldiers were not always interred in cemeteries immediately surrounding a fort. This is a very rare case of a soldier cremated in full military dress and with his equipment, making this particular find one of international significance. The finds, contexts, and structures are meticulously presented and illustrated throughout. The volume will be of value to anyone interested in exploring Roman military and civilian settlements, connectivity in the landscape during the Roman period, and the burial practices and rites of people living here in Yorkshire, especially in the third century AD.