Iron Age and Roman Silchester: 50 years of research in perspective

Once thought to be a worked-out site following the Society of Antiquaries’ excavations, 1890 – 1909, excavations at Silchester (Calleva Atrebatum) since the 1970s have shown remarkable preservation of the archaeology through all its periods of occupation from late Iron Age through to late Roman.

Thanks to major continuing developments in environmental archaeology and material culture studies, excavation and its subsequent analysis have enriched our understanding of both public and private life and the buildings in and around which those lives were played out. The lecture will attempt to highlight the more important discoveries and place them in the wider context of urban life in late Iron Age and Roman Britain.