Society unearths Roman secrets

Nov 20 2008 by Val Javin, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

The Huddersfield and District Archaeological Society needs you – or at least someone with £600 – to help them uncover more of the secrets of the Romans in Huddersfield. VAL JAVIN reports

THE most exciting finds during archaeological digs tend to be made on the last day.

And this summer’s dig at the Roman Fort at Slack near Outlane by members of Huddersfield and District Archaeological Society proved to be no exception.

What was unearthed in a trench in the vicus (or civilian) area of the fort, has provided members of the dig team with an exciting set of possibilities.

Now the society is keen to find a sponsor who might help them raise the £600 needed to pay for investigations into what was found and help them to understand more about what went on at Huddersfield’s most important Roman site.

The finds at Slack this summer, where the society’s members have been working for two seasons, included two complete ceramic urns, one of which contained bones. And here, according to dig director Dr Barry Hobson, the possibilities begin to get fascinating.

The urns were found in a trench supervised by David Greenwood. Between the two complete urns was a large tile made at the Grimscar kiln and bearing the stamp of the 4th cohort of the Breuci, a unit that garrisoned the fort and came from Pannonia in Eastern Europe.

Despite it having been buried, one of the urns was empty and its base was missing.

The other proved still more interesting. It was removed from the site and sent for examination at Bradford University where it was X-rayed.

And what that X-ray revealed was that inside that complete ceramic urn, which had lain untouched in the soil at Slack for thousands of years, there was bone and other radio opaque objects. According to Dr Hobson, these could be beads or jewellery.

The tile, that was found between the two urns, appeared to have been laid deliberately. Although a number of similar tiles have been found during previous excavations at the fort, not all carried the stamp of the 4th cohort of the Breuci

The society’s excavation team think that finding the tile, together with the two urns, suggests significant activity in the civilian area of the fort involving its soldiers.

Two possible scenarios are being considered. If further investigation shows that the bone contained within the urn is human then it may signify a cremation urn. And with that comes the possibility that this might have been an important soldier.

If the beads contained in the same vessel turn out to be valuable, that would lend weight to that particular theory.

If, on the other hand, the bones turn out not to be human, then there is a second possible scenario. The other possibility is that together, the two urns and the tile represent some religious rite being performed by the soldiers outside the fort.

Perhaps, says Dr Hobson, one urn contained solids and the other liquids as offerings to the gods.

Understandably, the Archaeological Society is keen to investigate further to discover just what this summer’s most important finds have to tell them.

A full assessment and reconstitution of the urns would cost several hundred pounds and the society hopes to find sponsors or donors who would help pay for the work.

Anyone who might be able to help is asked to contact the society’s president, Edward Vickerman on 01484 425303.