Recycling Richborough: Living on the fringes in the 4th - 5th century
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 2019-05-22

On the fringe of Empire in Britannia there is a depletion over time of continental material. Swift (2000) suggested that in Britain there was a lack of 'official' supply in certain forms of personal adornment. At Richborough, there is a growing body of evidence of recycled material. With Saxon piracy in the English Chanel and incursions from barbaricum over the limes, Britain appears cut off from trade, with the people of Richborough having to make do and mend. This isolation is reflected in the material from Richborough, which shows the desire of the inhabitants to retain as well as adapt their cultural identities on the frontier through recycling. In comparison to other shore forts, such as Reculver (only 8.28m (13.33km) away), there is a distinct difference in the cultural make-up of the inhabitants. This distinction shows that, even in a similar landscape, the community and its structure in different locations along the frontier, new and existing identities are being created and reaffirmed.

Philip Smither (University of Kent/English Heritage)

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