Roman West Cheshire: Disentangling Complex Landscapes
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 2019-06-07

Until recently knowledge of Roman Cheshire was fragmented and poorly theorised. However, we now have a better understanding of the character and dynamics of the area, thanks to a more holistic approach using models by Whittaker on the economic development of frontier zones; by Hordern and Purcell on major settlements as nodes of connectivity and on dispersed hinterlands; and through the integration of coin evidence.
These ideas need to be elaborated: how far was west Cheshire reshaped as a landscape of colonisation? What agricultural strategies were pursued? How was local society reshaped through immigration, monetisation, taxation and sequestration of resources? What were the origins of civilian populations? What was the relationship of the industrial settlements of mid-Cheshire to Chester? Did Chester have a role as a ‘gateway’ to the northern frontier?
Advances will depend on fieldwork, scientific analyses, distribution studies and on theorising rural hierarchies and the use of money.

Peter Carrington (Chester Archaeological Society)

TAG Deva 2018
Session: (Not) the Final Frontier: Charting New Courses for Frontiers Theory