Double-Sided Antler and Bone Combs in Late Roman Britain - Nina Crummy, Richard Henry

Double-Sided Antler and Bone Combs in Late Roman Britain

Stylistic Groups, Context and Status
Buch | Softcover
148 Seiten
2024
Archaeopress Archaeology (Verlag)
978-1-80327-644-1 (ISBN)
37,40 inkl. MwSt
This is the first detailed study and catalogue of a comb type that represents a new technology introduced into Britain towards the end of the 4th century AD and a major signifier of the late fourth- to fifth-century transition.
Double-Sided Antler and Bone Combs in Late Roman Britain offers the first detailed study and catalogue of a comb type that represents a new technology introduced into Britain towards the end of the 4th century AD and a major signifier of the late fourth- to fifth-century transition. Their end-plates were worked into a variety of decorative profiles, some clearly zoomorphic. Over time this decorative styling passed from elaborate to rudimentary, adding to the dating evidence for individual combs. As many combs survive only as small fragments, data collection has not been absolute but has concentrated on combs from burials, or with stylistically relevant end-plates, or those providing good dating or contextual evidence, the main aim of the study being to answer questions of typology, chronology and social distribution. A particularly distinctive feature within the assemblage from funerary contexts is the substantial number of these combs from Winchester, which together make up nearly a quarter of the wider British assemblage. It is proposed that a comb workshop was established in the town, and there is some evidence based on style and distribution that points to other workshops in the north and east, but these were not necessarily large and in some cases they appeared to serve only a local community, while Winchester and its hinterland appear to lie at the heart of the comb data.

Nina Crummy is an independent researcher working mainly on Roman small finds from eastern and southern England. Chiefly known for her work on small finds from Colchester, Winchester and Silchester. her research interests include zoomorphic objects and items made from skeletal materials. Graduating from Keele University in 1971, she has an MA from the University of Wales Trinity St David (2014) and is a Senior Visiting Research Fellow of the University of Reading. Richard Henry is a Doctoral Research Student at the University of Reading and Curator of Archaeology for Southampton City Council. A find specialist and numismatist, he has a particular interest in late Roman Britain and the 5th century transition. A graduate of the University of Wales, Lampeter, he gained an MSc from Bournemouth University (2016), where he is a Visiting Research Fellow. While the Finds Liaison Officer for Wiltshire, he curated the award-winning exhibition ‘Terry Pratchett: HisWorld’.

Preface and Acknowledgements


 


Chapter 1: Introducing the combs


The dataset


Terminology


The combs in a wider context


Combs and Winchester: a preliminary note


 


Chapter 2: Their date of arrival in Britain


The evidence


Anomalies explained


Contemporary material and events


 


Chapter 3: Manufacture and marketing


Manufacture


Marketing


 


Chapter 4: Aspects of the assemblage


Late Roman or Anglo-Saxon?


Other forms of composite comb used in late Roman Britain


An unusual variant


 


Chapter 5: Stylistic groups


Customised combs or devolved designs?


Horse combs


Dolphin and Devolved Dolphin combs


Owl combs


Straight-centred combs with long connecting-plates: very Devolved Dolphins/Owls


Concave-ended combs


End-plate groups and connecting-plate design


 


Chapter 6: Distribution and context


Distribution and possible production centres


Distribution by end-plate group


Archaeological contexts: baths, votives and burials


Site type


 


Chapter 7: Combs from funerary contexts


Gender


The importance of age


Female status and identity


Comb position


Body position


Ethnicity


 


Chapter 8: Conclusion


Concentrations and gaps


Burial data and typology


Valued objects, further research


 


Catalogue


Combs from inhumation burials


Other combs from cemeteries (disturbed grave goods?)


Combs from non-funerary contexts


Sites with double-sided composite combs not in the catalogue but used in Figure 6.1


 


Appendix 1: Combs by the sex and age of the human remains


Appendix 2: Concordance by end-plate group


Appendix 3: Concordance by site type


Bibliography

Erscheinungsdatum
Reihe/Serie Archaeopress Roman Archaeology
Illustrationen Nick Griffiths
Zusatzinfo 60 figures, 12 tables
Verlagsort Oxford
Sprache englisch
Maße 205 x 290 mm
Themenwelt Geisteswissenschaften Archäologie
Geschichte Allgemeine Geschichte Altertum / Antike
ISBN-10 1-80327-644-4 / 1803276444
ISBN-13 978-1-80327-644-1 / 9781803276441
Zustand Neuware
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