Past Talks
Alchester: invasion-era fortress, Roman town and predecessor of Bicester
Date: 16th May 2022
Speaker: Eberhard Sauer
Alchester: Invasion-era Fortress and Roman Town
Professor Eberhard Sauer 16.5.22
We welcomed visitors from Wendlebury and Chesterton for the long-awaited presentation on the excavations at Alchester. These took place between 1996 and 2004.
Alchester was once the largest town in Roman Oxfordshire and, for a very brief period shortly after the invasion, it was one of the major military bases in Britain. Its location on an important Roman crossroads was significant for its development as a base, which evolved into a town. Whilst Akeman Street is, in all probability, Iron Age, the main east-west road through Alchester was marked out by Roman surveyors and is precisely aligned with Graven Hill and Tackley Ford.
The foremost installation, in around AD43, was the Roman fortress, evidenced in part by a military granary which was very typical of the Roman army’s sites. Shortly afterwards a 4-hectare annexe was added to the 10-hectare fortress. Oak gateposts were recovered in 2000, which were thought to have survived because of the high water table in the area. These were dated to Autumn AD44 or Spring AD45, making them the earliest dated timbers from anywhere in Roman Britain. Eberhard discussed the possible construction of these gates and the evidence for other defences.
Inside the fortress, drainage ditches were excavated together with timber-lined water supply ditches, suggesting that Alchester was one of the earliest sites in Britain to benefit from a flowing water system. It’s thought that the water was taken from the Gaggle Brook to the south of Alchester (rather than the west), by means of a water wheel. Comparisons can be made with another lowland fort at Oberstimm in Bavaria, which was also located adjacent to a natural water source.
Foundation trenches for timber-framed buildings were discovered. Extensive excavations to the west of the town revealed evidence of barracks. These typically consisted of double rooms which included a front room for storage and rear premises for cooking, housing eight men. The barracks at Alchester were very long, which may indicate that the occupants were legionary rather than auxiliary. Stored within the barracks would have been the segmental and scale armour worn by the soldiers.
The Alchester garrison was heavily armed. An abundance of weaponry and equipment was found, including spear and javelin heads, horse armour and pendants, and parts of shields and helmets. Three-winged arrows were employed by the Roman army and were effective anti-personnel weapons, particularly against enemies not equipped with armour.
A hoard of military medals was found in the ditch next to the annexe. It’s suspected that they were placed there following a theft, because they had originally had a silver decoration which had been removed. Also found in the same area was a chamfron, which would have protected the head of a horse. This, also, would have had a silver decoration of which little survives.
Daily or twice daily training meant that the Roman army was superior to most of its enemies. Alchester is one of the few places where archaeological remains of a training ground exist. This consisted of a flat, gravel platform and, although this has been ploughed away, the high gravel content is still evident.
The aforementioned evidence should not be construed to suggest that the relationship between the invasion force and the native population was one of constant hostility. Sheep bones from small, Iron Age-style animals showed that they were sourced by the Roman army from local farms. Further interaction with the indigenous population was evidenced by a wine strainer made by a British craftsman, found in a drainage ditch at the fortress. Additionally, a range of Iron Age coins were located, attesting to trade with local communities.
There is one individual whose life is well-illustrated by discoveries from the Alchester site. In 2003, the fragmented remains of the tombstone of one of the inhabitants was found on the site. It carries the longest Latin text from ancient Oxfordshire and from it, we can reconstruct some of his life story. His name was Lucius Valerius Geminus and he was born in north west Italy. He evidently took part in the invasion of Britain and retired before the Alchester fortress was abandoned. Since he would have served at least twenty-five years with the Roman army, he must have joined at its previous base in Strasburg, since Alchester only functioned from AD43 to AD55-AD60. He fought around Frankfurt, the Isle of Wight and Colchester. He retired age 50. Veterans commonly retired to an area close to their former base. Legio II Augusta, with whom Geminus fought, was commanded by Vespasian who later became emperor.
The army was withdrawn probably in the late AD50s and no later than AD60, but there was still much activity up to the late 4th century at least, as evidenced by the plethora of coins recovered from the site. Abandonment by the army was precipitated by the lack of a navigable river and the tendency for flooding. Alchester evolved into a town of a respectable size, manned by retired soldiers and their dependants, and camp followers providing services to them. They would have formed a large enough community to take over the former fortress and transform it into a town. Town walls were constructed around AD290. It has been established that, with the exception of the bath house, military buildings would have been of timber construction, whereas the town was stone-built. Finds suggest that the town of Alchester was not completely abandoned until the 5th, 6th or 7th century.