Understanding the Romano-British–Early Medieval Transition: A Zooarchaeological Perspective from Wroxeter (Viroconium Cornoviorum)

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Abstract
The demise of the Western Roman Empire combined with Germanic migration and influence from Continental Europe had a tumultuous and profound affect on the cultural and social identities of Britain's population. The fifth to seventh centuriesa.d.remain a poorly understood epoch in British history, hence the once traditional ‘Dark Ages’ label. A variety of factors have contributed to this phenomenon, which include the exact nature and timing of the Roman administration's abandonment of Britannia, the precise character and extent of Germanic migration, questionable historical sources, the paucity of physical evidence, and problematic artefact dating. Zooarchaeological analysis can, therefore, aid the elucidation of this period through the development of new perspectives, highlighting the socio-cultural (and economic) processes involved in the emergence of early medieval Britain from Roman Britannia. Large-scale excavations were carried out at the baths basilica of Wroxeter (Shrops.) between 1966 and 1990. The city was the fourth largest urban centre in Roman Britain, and was thecivitas-capital of the Cornovii. The excavations demonstrated how the public buildings of this central insula fell into disuse, prior to the possible construction of a grandiose private residence and complex in the sub-Roman period. It has been postulated that this building represents the palatial complex of atyrannus, or possibly a bishopric of the ‘Western British’ church. Analysis of the resultant animal bone assemblage has provided an opportunity to explore the social and ethnic identity of the site's inhabitants through their dietary habits.

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