Catcote
Romano British Settlement
Iron
Age & Romano-British Settlement
intro | bronze
age | iron
age & romano-british
gallery | reports |
further information
Iron Age & Romano-British
Settlement at Catcote (200 BC - 400 AD)
Whilst the Bronze Age settlement was in the
valley bottom, the later Iron Age and Romano-British
site is based on the crest and east facing slopes
of the hill. We still have a very incomplete
picture of this settlement. In the Iron Age it
seems to have comprised a system of routeways
linking fenced and ditched enclosures containing
roundhouses. Later developments include rectangular
stone buildings.
Each enclosure may well have contained a farmstead.
To date, one enclosure has been explored in detail.
It shows evidence of intensive use over a long
period with houses being rebuilt on the same
site many times. The geophysical survey of the
settlement (Fig. 7) shows many inter-cutting
ditches which suggests renewal and alteration
of boundaries over a long period of time.
The evidence of the enclosures, buildings and
finds from the site all point to a relatively
large and prosperous settlement. This continued
through to the end of the Roman period and
possibly beyond it.
By the Iron Age most of the woodland had been
cleared. Cereal farming had become of equal importance
to livestock farming. We see fields and farms
re-organised to reflect this. The population
had also increased and people lived in tribes
under chieftains. The Iron Age saw the creation
of defended settlements, such as Catcote, as
land for agriculture became scarce and competition
for it grew.
The impact of the Roman conquest on the Tees
Valley is still poorly understood. The area was
part of the militarised zone of the north but
there seems to have been little Roman military
presence. There is, however, increasing evidence
that the economic activity and culture of the
Roman Empire had an impact on the area. There
was widespread re-organisation of field systems
and some adoption of Roman ideas such as villas
and rectangular rather than round buildings.
At Catcote the Roman conquest does not seem
to have disrupted the settlement. In fact it
may have become wealthier as a result of increased
trade.
Farming
Unfortunately the animal bone from Catcote
is not generally well preserved. From the fragmentary
material that survives, cattle and sheep
are
well represented and suggest that livestock
farming was still a major part of the economy.
Cereals were are also plentiful. Wheat and
barley were the main species present with
some oats and peas. Beehive quern stones from
the
site confirm the processing of grain to flour.
There is no particular evidence of major
changes to farming practices throughout the period
of occupation.
A rectangular Romano-British building (see Fig.
16) may have served as a grain store. It contained
large amounts of barley. There was a great deal
of chaff from cereal processing to the immediate
west of this building suggesting that part of
one enclosure may have been set aside for cereal
processing and storage.
While the basis of the economy of the settlement
was farming, there is evidence to suggest that
other activities were taking place.
intro | bronze
age | iron
age & romano-british
gallery | reports |
further information |
