The Reuse and Reinterpretation of Neolithic Megaliths by Romano-British Peoples (20 min)

Presenters

Pat Lowinger, University of Leicester/Peninsula College

Abstract

The United Kingdom is characterized by a vast array of Neolithic monuments dated to the late fourth through third millennium B.C.E. The southwestern territories encompassing Cornwall, Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire are no exception and are home to such monuments in the form of burial cairns, menhir, and standing stones. Just as they are today, during the period of Roman occupation (late first through early fifth century C.E.) these monuments were wondrous features of unknown and mysterious origins. While many Neolithic sites appear to have been nothing more than curiosities to the Romano-British peoples living among them, some appear to have been the focus of (new) ritual activity. In some instances, such as that seen at Stoney Littleton Long Barrow (near Bath), votive deposits, consisting of locally produced ceramic ware, appear to suggest the acknowledgement of the site's antiquity and possible association with a localized and/or ancestral divinity. The proximity of a third century villa rustica within one mile (0.96) is suggestive of the site's dominance of the landscape. Another phenomenon is the reuse of burial spaces at or adjacent to Neolithic ones—the arrangement and position of which discourage the suggestion of mere coincidence. At Carn Euny (in Penwith) the Iron Age settlement shows considerable continuity and cultic interaction with the sites of Caer Bran and “Holy Well.” By examining four selected locations within the region, I demonstrate the varied and complex reinterpretation(s) of these earlier Neolithic sites by later Romano-British generations within the latter's own religious belief system.

  AIA-1C