Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 27 (2008) 493506

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Journal of Anthropological Archaeology

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Globalizing the local in Roman Britain: An anthropological approach to social change

Martin Pitts *
Department of Classics and Ancient History, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Exeter, Amory Building, Rennes Drive, Exeter EX4 4RJ, UK

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This article considers the incorporation of part of Britain into the Roman empire in the context of glob-
Received 6 February 2008 alization theory and world-systems history. Emphasis is placed on the local effects of the expansion of
Revision received 21 August 2008 global systems and their impact on the social practices of eating and drinking at a range of settlements
Available online 1 October 2008
in the southeast of Britain in the Iron Age to Roman transition, c. 50 BCAD 200. Through the analysis of
consumption practices via quantitative pottery assemblage data, it is argued that globalization offers a
Keywords: more sophisticated framework to describe change than current archaeological approaches to Romaniza-
Globalization
tion and identity. The results show that while much of the populace was subject to a progressively
Localization
World-systems
homogenizing supply of food-related pottery vessels, the use of such technologies was negotiated within
Roman Britain social practices drawing on the integration of both local and global cultural elements. Such ndings high-
Consumption light the potential of critical applications of globalization theory to conceptualize economic, social, and
Feasting cultural changes in Roman provincial societies.
Social practice 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Pottery

Introduction
This study aims to explore the potential of globalization theory
as a lens to view the impact of global processes on everyday life in
Iron Age to Roman Britain. The rst section discusses the merits of
globalization as an approach to conceptualize cultural, social, and
economic changes in the ancient world. A second section seeks
to apply this framework to the archaeological case-study of late
Iron Age to Roman south-east Britain. Here, emphasis is placed
on understanding changing social practices of eating and drinking
as acting out the negotiation of global and local cultural trajecto-
ries at a broad range of settlements, as approached through the sta-
tistical analysis of domestic and funerary pottery assemblages.
Contrary to popular perception, globalization is not a new phe-
nomenon. Although the term was rst coined in the late 20th cen-
tury, the process it describes has been underway for several
millennia. A compelling range of interdisciplinary visions of the
long evolution of large-scale human social organization is pre-
sented in the thought provoking volume World-system history:
the social science of long-term change (Denemark et al., 2000). Nota-
ble among the contributors are Frank and Gills (2000) who argue
for a single world-system beginning c. 5000 years ago, and
Chase-Dunn and Hall (2000), who suggest that from c. 12,000 BC
world history has been characterised by the waxing, waning, merg-
ing, and separation of a series of interconnected world-systems.
This long-term perspective implies that the process now called
* Fax: +44 1392 264195.
E-mail address: m.e.j.pitts@ex.ac.uk
globalization has parallels and antecedents long before the advent
of global capitalism, and moreover, was not always driven exclu-
sively by Europe or the West (Frank, 1998). In this light, it is some-
what curious that ancient historians and archaeologists of the
Greco-Roman period have been largely reluctant to examine the
potential of globalization. Although it has been argued that global-
ization should be on the research agenda in Roman archaeology
(Laurence, 2001, 101), this call has not been widely heeded, with
the notable exception of Hingley (2005) and a few others (e.g.
Wells, 1999; Sweetman, 2007; Morley, 2007, 90102). However,
even Hingleys Globalizing Roman culture (2005) only sparingly
deals with the implications of globalization as a concept for bring-
ing new understanding of social change, despite introducing much
of the conceptual apparatus associated with the term. Worldsys-
tems analysis has had greater impact on the sub-discipline (Woolf,
1990,1993), not least in the proliferation of core-periphery models
popular in the 1970s and 80s (e.g. Hopkins, 1978; Hopkins, 1980;
Cunliffe, 1988; Haselgrove, 1987). However, these approaches
tended to focus on macro-scale economic inter-relationships, and
consequently are less well suited to explaining the localized im-
pact of such wide-ranging processes.
The utility of globalization: interpretive framework or
interdisciplinary folly?
Globalization is a word increasingly used to describe a broad
spectrum of social, economic, cultural, political, and environmental
changes taking place in the contemporary world. Although there
are undeniable similarities between Roman imperialism and

0278-4165/$ - see front matter 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jaa.2008.08.003
494 M. Pitts / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 27 (2008) 493506
present-day globalization, caution should be exercised in applying
this concept in blanket fashion to the ancient world. The main dif-
ferences between what might be termed globalizing processes in
the ancient and modern worlds are those of scale (the size and
complexity of networks), speed (of communication and transport),
and structure (of political and economic relationships). For exam-
ple, in strict economic terms, globalization did not begin until
the late 18th century with the beginnings of a single world market
characterized by the convergence of international commodity
prices (ORourke and Williamson, 2002). However, Robertsons
(1992, 8), oft-cited sociological denition of the concept as the
compression of the world and the intensication of consciousness
of the world as a whole does not place any historical restrictions
on its usage. From this point of view, globalization is not limited
to the manifestation of global capitalism, a point accepted by Frank
and Gills (2000, 17), who do not regard modes of production as
playing a vital role in understanding transitions in world history.
Most recent studies that seek to understand the effects of glob-
alization place emphasis on the concept of connectivity, which is
seen to promote the intensication of worldwide social relations
which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings
are shaped by events occurring miles away and vice-versa
(Giddens, 1990, 64), and time-space compression (Harvey, 1989,
260). Approaches to connectivity emphasise the role of networks
of fast intercontinental air transport and electronic communica-
tions, in order to understand the transformative effects of global
trends on regional societies and cultures (e.g. Tomlinson, 1999).
The effect of globalizing processes on specic localities is neatly
described by the word glocalization, deriving from the Japanese
term dochakuka, loosely translating as global localization (Clarke,
2003, 191). This term helps to conceptualize how global change is
negotiated among large sections of the worlds population who are
nonetheless tied into a predominantly local existence. As Bauman
(1998, 2) states, globalization divides as much as it unites; it di-
vides as it unitesthe causes of division being identical with those
which promote the uniformity of the globe, with social depriva-
tion described as being local in a globalized world. Therefore,
the idea that globalization is a synonym for cultural homogeniza-
tion is a myth (Appadurai, 1996). Like imperialism, it is a process
that involves the hybridization of culture among the upper eche-
lons of society, and the simultaneous marginalization of those
not sufciently empowered to engage in new forms of global cul-
tural practice.
As with the similarly popular interdisciplinary concept of iden-
tity, globalization suffers as a catch-all term that teeters between
descriptive category and an explanatory concept. In a series of
polemical essays, Rosenberg (2000, 2) has effectively characterized
globalization as the intellectual equivalent of the architectural
folly, stating that globalisation as an outcome cannot be explained
simply by invoking globalisation as a process tending towards that
outcome. Whilst Rosenberg is happy for globalization to be used as
a descriptive term, he argues that it cannot in itself be used to ex-
plain the changes it depicts. To escape this trap I mean to use the
term not as an explanatory framework in its own right, but rather
as a means of conceptualizing change in terms of the effects of
time-space compression fostered by intensifying networks of con-
nectivity. In doing so, my intention is to investigate the extent to
which a focus on globalizing processes presents a viable alternative
to current approaches to describing cultural change in Roman
archaeology, particularly Romanization and identity.
Globalization and Roman imperialism
Under the umbrella heading of Romanization, archaeologists,
and ancient historians have long been interested in the various ef-
fects of Roman expansion on newly incorporated societies. How-
ever, it is increasingly apparent that conventional text-driven
theories of Romanization are awed, being unable to account for
the increasingly diverse responses to Roman imperialism as re-
vealed through archaeology (Mattingly, 2004 provides a more de-
tailed overview of this debate), especially those changes relating
to non-urban environments and lower orders of society ( James,
2001). Many now regard Romanization as an outdated concept,
promoting a narrow vision of social change rooted solely in the
dimensions of Roman and native. Whilst such aws are acknowl-
edged in more recent studies that have attempted to address
change in terms of the negotiation of identities (e.g. Woolf, 1998;
Roymans, 2004; Mattingly, 2006) or to redene Romanization in
a more complex fashion (Keay and Terrenato, 2001), the issues
underpinning why societies changed in different ways often re-
main unaddressed. Indeed, I have argued elsewhere (Pitts, 2007b)
that in many cases identity is simply replacing Romanization as
the dominant paradigm in Anglo-American Roman archaeology
without any change in analytical mindset, in which emphasis is
placed on the search for Roman and native cultural identities in
provincial societies (Pitts, 2007b). Consequently, a question mark
remains over whether many current approaches to identity repre-
sent the best means of addressing the effects of Roman
imperialism.
As with identity, one of the main advantages of globalization
over Romanization is that it provides a culturally neutral interpre-
tive framework. Although Roman inuence is not ruled out, the
term facilitates a more inductive and holistic approach, whereby
no single cultural trajectory is privileged to the exclusion of others.
Whilst theories of Romanization implicitly assume a unidirectional
transfer of culture from Rome, an emphasis on globalizing pro-
cesses acknowledges a more complex world view in which cultural
change could be multidirectional and differentially negotiated in
individual localities. Moreover, unlike studies of identity, which
are often focused primarily on the outward expressions of cultural
difference, globalization encourages the understanding of such dif-
ferences in the context of overarching processes, such as the effects
of connectivity and economic integration. In this sense, globaliza-
tion provides a perspective which offers the potential for incorpo-
rating local experience and diversity into grand narrative,
something which previous attempts at applying large-scale models
such as core-periphery and world-systems analysis had failed to
achieve (Woolf ,1993 provides a useful critique).
The emphasis on connectivity in globalization theory is particu-
larly relevant in terms of understanding the interface of top-down
manifestations of the Roman world-system with pre-Roman social
structures, especially through the imperial economy, the imposi-
tion of road networks and other transport infrastructure, the sup-
ply of mass-produced material culture, and migrations of people.
Although lacking in modern technology, the Roman empire was
nonetheless dependent on connectivity for its expansion and con-
tinued survival. Whilst writing facilitated efcient communication
over long distances, a literate education for elites around the em-
pire encouraged the creation of global networks based around
shared notions of paideia and humanitas, vital for effective admin-
istration and maintenance of a degree of shared culture across long
distances (Woolf, 1998). Such forms of cultural connectivity could
be projected through time and space through the growth of net-
works of physical connectivity. Transport by sea, rivers and roads
encouraged further long-distance communication and the move-
ment of bulk goods and manpower essential for the maintenance
of Roman military power and edgling urban networks. Indeed,
Laurences (1999) study of roads in Roman Italy demonstrates
the value of connectivity in the early expansion of the Roman state.
Consciousness of the effects of time-space compression is by no
means a recent development, as Polybius indicates writing of the
 M. Pitts / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 27 (2008) 493506
late 3rd century BC, following Romes victory over Carthage in the
second Punic War, the last major obstacle to the Roman dominance
of the Mediterranean:
Now in earlier times the worlds history had consisted, so to
speak, of a series of unrelated episodes, the origins and results
of each being as widely separated as their localities, but from
this point onwards history becomes an organic whole: the
affairs of Italy and of Africa are connected with those of Asia
and of Greece, and all events bear a relationship and contribute
to a single end. Polybius, Histories 1.3, 1979.
Although the onset of Roman domination fostered the develop-
ment of more stable, complex, and geographically integrated forms
of connectivity (particularly in north-west Europe), it is important
to recognise that this did not occur in a vacuum. The imposition of
Roman roads in freshly annexed territories probably had no small
symbolic impact on the experience of the landscape by indigenous
populations, especially if this meant disrupting or bypassing exist-
ing corridors of movement (Witcher, 1998). It must be recognized
that different forms of connectivity existed in pre-Roman societies,
and these need to be taken into account alongside the more glob-
alizing forces of change. Indeed, it can be argued that the dynamic
of social change would have been largely dependent on the extent
to which pre-Roman forms of connectivity could be successfully
maintained and integrated within the new global system.
Discussions on the nature and extent of connectivity in the Ro-
man world have particular relevance within the context of the an-
cient economy. This topic generated much debate in the 1970s and
80s, not least in terms of the extent of the Roman economys sim-
ilarity with early modern capitalism. The most balanced view re-
mains that of Hopkins (1980,1983,2002). In a manner not
dissimilar to world-systems analysis, Hopkins envisaged Romes
imposition of taxes in the provinces as stimulating long-distance
trade and the creation of an integrated economy within the Roman
empire. Put simply, taxes collected in the core provinces such as
Spain, northern Africa and Egypt were spent on provisioning fron-
tier armies and the burgeoning urban population and imperial
court at Rome, in turn encouraging inter-regional trade as the core
provinces sought to recoup their losses to pay further taxes. In
underdeveloped areas lacking a monetary economy, taxes could
be levied in kind in the form of surplus agricultural produce to
be converted into money through sale in urban markets, with the
proceeds being sent to the frontiers or Rome (Hopkins, 2002,
2167). The necessity of taxation guaranteed some degree of inte-
gration within a single economy, forcing an interface of local so-
cially embedded natural economies (Hopkins, 2002, 217) with
the overarching global monetised economy. Critically, Hopkins
demonstrated that the Roman economy was geographically inte-
grated, but not to the extent seen in the 19th and 20th centuries
with the development of global capitalism. Integration in the Ro-
man economy was politically determined through the imposition
of taxes, rather than being governed by market forces. This is not
to deny the existence of markets in the Roman empire, but rather
their integration into a single unit of supply and demand (Saller,
2002, 254).
A groundbreaking article by Going (1992) provides a vital in-
sight into the extent of the integration of Roman Britain into the
imperial economy as envisaged by Hopkins. Goings analysis of a
large sample of Romano-British and continental pottery industries
makes a compelling argument for the existence of synchronous
change across the Roman economy. Going showed that pottery
supply to a range of Romano-British settlements was not constant,
and uctuated according to cycles of c. 50-year periods of peak
production (log) and decline (lag). Moreover, these log and lag
periods coincided with similar chronological patterns in the circu-
495
lation of silver coinage in Britain and published ceramic data from
other western provinces, which could be in turn linked to wider
historical occurrences (Going, 1992, 106110). Goings study has
two important corollaries. Firstly, it demonstrates the strong possi-
bility that the economy of one of the most peripheral areas of the
Roman world was directly tied into much bigger processes. Sec-
ondly, the existence of cycles of economic boom and bust suggest
that the production and supply of mundane material culture in
Roman Britain had much less to do with local consumer demand
than is often envisaged. Therefore, the application of the term glob-
alization to Roman Britain is potentially appropriate not simply at
the level of the incorporation of various regions in Britain into the
Roman empire, but more critically in the sense that the production
and supply of everyday artefacts was subordinate to global eco-
nomic trends.
Although Goings (1992) argument for synchronous economic
change remains persuasive, he does not address the underlying
mechanisms for the processes he identies. Whilst the notion of
synchronous change might supercially t with traditional formal-
ist views of the Romano-British economy which assume the exis-
tence of a free-market economy, this need not be the case.
Recent critical studies of ceramic evidence such as Gerrard
(2002) have called into question the basis of such interpretations,
with greater emphasis being placed on the role of the military-
orientated command economy facilitated by the Roman state
(e.g. Allen and Fulford, 1996). The debate over the free market
versus command economies in Roman Britain is further muddied
by substantivist approaches railing against the uncritical applica-
tion of modern economic concepts to the ancient world. For exam-
ple, Hodder (1979) suggested that the Romano-British economy
was largely socially embedded (i.e. not functioning independently
from social relations) until the maturation of market trade in the
later Roman period. Nevertheless, a socially embedded economy
is not an obstacle economic integration by taxation (according to
the Hopkins model), which potentially accounts for the patterns
observed by Going (1992).
Methods and data
To archaeologically investigate the impact of globalization in a
given locality, this study has two methodological objectives. The
rst is to investigate the existence of overarching patterns of arte-
fact production and supply within the region, and how this relates
to changing networks of connectivity. To address this problem, it is
vital to assess the region before and after the period of Roman
annexation, and moreover, to include the widest possible cross sec-
tion of society in analysis. The second goal is to investigate the im-
pact of such material change on local cultures, in terms of the
extent of conservatism or change in cultural practice, and the role
of material culture in negotiating such change or continuity. Whilst
it may be possible to identify a degree of convergence or homoge-
nization in artefact supply, it remains to be seen whether this
translated into meaningful change in everyday social practice. In
other words, the spread of Roman material culture does not imply
a corresponding transfer of associated cultural values (Woolf,
1998). The following case-study explores these concerns through
the detailed analysis of archaeological data, in order to demon-
strate the utility of approaches to globalization in the ancient
world through the elucidation of globalizing trends and the chang-
ing geography of local engagement with them.
The principal unit of analysis in this study is the pottery assem-
blage, having several important advantages over other classes of
archaeological material for the consideration of economic and cul-
tural change. Occurring in a diverse range of forms and fabrics, pot-
tery provides a sensitive indicator of chronological change, being
496 M. Pitts / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 27 (2008) 493506

used at all levels of society in the region and period in question, most data-rich in the Roman empire, presenting a unique opportu-
and being highly visible archaeologically through its redundancy nity to investigate the impact of global processes on lesser under-
once broken and its chemical resistance to taphonomic decay. Per- stood non-urban settlements in Roman Britain. Over 20
haps most importantly, while studies of ceramic provenance and settlements yielding high quality stratied pottery assemblages
supply can enhance the understanding of economic networks, pot- were selected for analysis, from urban centres to rural farmsteads,
tery also acted as a vehicle for everyday social practices of con- in addition to over 700 cremation burials accompanied by pottery
sumption through its role as a container for food and drink, vessels. Assemblages known to contain excessive residual or intru-
permitting insights into the negotiation of identity (Pitts, sive material were omitted. The period of c. 50 BCAD 200 was
2007a,b). Such a concern with the social and cultural roles of cera- chosen to account for patterns of pottery use and deposition in
mic evidence runs against the grain of traditional economic ap- the generations immediately preceding and following the Roman
proaches to Roman pottery (as reviewed by Greene, 2005a,b), conquest in AD 43. The close dating of ceramic assemblages from
and should be seen in the context of other more recent social ap- the different sites permitted the delineation of several phases for
proaches to Roman pottery (e.g. Willis, 1997; Hawthorne, 1998; analysis of domestic and funerary assemblages, respectively (Table
Monteil, 2004; Roth, 2007) and nds assemblages (Eckardt, 2002; 1). The funerary assemblages were assigned to broader date-ranges
Cool, 2006; Derks and Roymans, 2006; Hingley and Willis, 2007). than their domestic equivalents, being smaller and containing less
The methodology of this study focuses on the comparison of dif- chronologically diagnostic pottery. Non-ceramic consumption
ferent settlements in terms of the relative proportions of different accoutrements (i.e. glass and metal objects) were included in anal-
vessel forms in closely dated pottery assemblages. Whilst this ysis of funerary assemblages to provide a more holistic picture of
helps to address patterns of changing pottery supply in the region, mortuary practice. This was not feasible for domestic assemblages
the emphasis on vessel form and function facilitates further in- owing to the relative scarcity of glass and metal objects in stratied
sights into how patterns of supply might have favoured certain pottery groups, with such objects being more susceptible to recy-
styles of food consumption in different localities. However, to fully cling than pottery. Full references for published data sources are
address the local impact of globalizing trends, more detailed anal- provided in the appendix. All the assemblages had been quantied
ysis of pottery deposition in domestic and funerary contexts is in-
cluded to provide further understanding of the role of pottery in
social practice. Whilst the general methodological approach out- Table 1
lined here has been applied previously by the author to individual Phasing structure for analysis: settlement and funerary assemblages
sites (Pitts and Perring 2006; Pitts, 2007a) and periods (Pitts, Settlement assemblage Settlement Funerary assemblage Funerary
2005a,b), this study represents the rst sustained attempt to inte- date phase date phase
grate all such data to address the wider complexities of globalizing 5015 BC 1 50 BCAD 40 1
processes at work in the study region. 15 BCAD 20 2
Complete pottery assemblages were selected from several sites AD 2055 3
in the region of modern day Essex and Hertfordshire in southeast AD 5580 4 AD 4070 2
AD 80125 5 AD 70100 3
Britain, roughly corresponding to the pre-Roman tribal territories
AD 125170 6 AD 100150 4
of the Trinovantes and Catuvellauni (Fig. 1). The high intensity of AD 170210 7 AD 150200 5
recent archaeological eldwork in the area makes it one of the

Fig. 1. Late Iron Age and Roman sites in Essex and Hertfordshire included in analysis (apart from London).
 M. Pitts / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 27 (2008) 493506
by either estimated number of vessels (ENV) or estimated vessel
equivalent (EVE). These values were subsequently converted into
percentages to minimize the error in comparing two different
quantication measures.
The pottery assemblage data were interrogated using the mul-
tivariate statistical technique of correspondence analysis (CA),
which presents a visual means of highlighting relationships in
complex data-sets. CA has already had applications to nds data
in Roman archaeology (e.g. Cool and Baxter, 1999), and has wider
use in disciplines such as sociology (e.g. Bourdieu, 1984). Further
details of the previous use of the technique with pottery assem-
blages (Pitts, 2005a,b,2007a; Pitts and Perring, 2006) and in the
study of the globalization of modern food distribution and con-
sumption can be found elsewhere (Pitts et al., 2007). CA is related
to the more popular method of principal components analysis,
with the main difference being that CA is better suited to the anal-
ysis of categorical variables (e.g. numbers of pots) rather than nu-
meric measurements (e.g. the dimensions of pots). The main value
of CA here is its ability to highlight contextual relationships be-
tween different types of pot, between pots and certain contexts
or sites, and between different sites in terms of trends in pottery
supply. Each run of CA produces two plots (relating to the rows
and columns of the original tables of data). In this study, one plot
displays the individual pottery forms according to their occurrence
in different assemblages (e.g. Fig. 2a), whereas the other presents
the different composite assemblages according to their similarities
and differences in pottery composition (e.g. Fig. 2b).
Interpretation of CA is as follows. Pottery forms occurring in
similar assemblages will cluster together in one plot, while assem-
blages with similar compositions will cluster in the other. Each
area of the rst plot directly corresponds to the same area on the
second, hence the term correspondence analysis. The axes of the
CA plots essentially measure the amount of variability or inertia
in the sample, with the most typical assemblages and the most
common pottery types occurring closest to the axial intersection
of the graphs (Greenacre, 1993 details the mathematical underpin-
ning of this technique). Given the size of the data-sets analysed
here, the sheer number of items in the graphs renders visual inter-
pretation problematic. To account for this, the results of CA for pot-
tery consumption by settlement are presented by focusing on one
site-type at a time while stripping out the rest (Fig. 2af), whereas
the funerary CA results are claried by zooming in on a large clus-
ter of similar assemblages (Fig. 3ad).
Globalization and domestic consumption, c. 50 BCAD 200
Discussion of consumption patterns in this section is based on
the results of CA (Fig. 2), supported by the simplied raw data (Ta-
ble 3). To aid interpretation of CA, the results are ltered and dis-
cussed by site-type (Fig. 2bf). Each composite assemblage is
coded and numbered according to the phasing structure outlined
in Tables 1 and 3, to allow the reader to follow chronological
trends. In general, the CA plots show that, moving from left to right,
the horizontal axis can be seen to indicate the passage of time, with
the middle vertical line broadly coinciding with the onset of the
Flavian period (c. AD 70100), and the shift from consumption
based on GalloBelgic imported and locally copied pottery
(emphasizing drinking vessels) to a Romano-British urban tem-
plate (focusing on dining).
Oppida and other settlements with pre-conquest origins,
c. 50 BCAD 80
The rst assemblages under scrutiny come from sites described
as oppida (here used as an archaeological term for very large set-
497
tlements of pre-Roman origin) and other large sites with begin-
nings in the period between Julius Caesars abortive conquest of
the region in 54 BC and its annexation by the emperor Claudius
in AD 43. Although such new foundations were related to the
extension of the Roman world-system, they are best understood
as independent developments involving a combination of indige-
nous, Gallic and Roman interventions, possibly representing the
manifestation of Gallic colonization in the region (Fulford, 2000,
5635644). The southeastern oppida and related settlements rep-
resent a wholly new phenomenon in Britain, with some exhibiting
potential urban characteristics such as co-axial planning (e.g. Elms
Farm, Heybridge). The assemblages selected for analysis come from
the oppida at Sheepen, Camulodunum (Colchester) and Verulami-
um (St. Albans), and the nucleated settlements of Braughing
Puckeridge, Baldock, and Elms Farm, Heybridge. All these settle-
ments have either their origins or major settlement reorganization
dating to or shortly after the period c. 2515 BC. This section exam-
ines pottery consumption at these settlements from the pre-Ro-
man period to a generation or so after Roman conquest of the area.
CA of pottery consumption at the oppida reveals that all the
assemblages cluster in the two left quadrants of the CA plot, with
later phases generally occurring towards the right (compare
Fig. 2a and b). This broad spectrum of assemblages corresponds
to a range of pottery forms, particularly vessels in GalloBelgic
and Central Gaulish imported fabrics, Italian wine amphorae, and
a series of locally produced vessels for drinking and associated
practices (cauldrons, pedestal jars, and spouted strainers), some
copied from the GalloBelgic range (butt-beakers, cauldrons, cra-
ters, cups, girth beakers, tazze, pedestal jars and spouted strainers).
The emphasis on beakers, cups, and other similar accoutrements
highlights the role of drinking practice in pre-Roman society,
which can be seen to have been of continued importance at sites
with pre-conquest origins at least until the beginning of the Flavian
period (Table 3). Such concern with drinking is also present in the
evidence for funerary feasting in the region, and should be seen in
the wider context of pre-Roman societies in north-west Europe, in
which feasting and excessive alcohol consumption are likely to
have fullled a range of important social functions (e.g. Dietler,
1990).
The main receptacles for social drinking at the oppida and re-
lated sites were GalloBelgic pottery, a hybridized conglomerate
of forms resulting from the fusion of Roman military and indige-
nous northern Gallic styles of ceramic production in the late 1st
century BC (Hawkes and Hull, 1947, 2025). It differed from earlier
forms of Belgic pottery in Britain (predominantly large drinking
vessels such as pedestal jars) by the inclusion of certain Roman
inuenced forms, particularly dining vessels such as platters and
bowls, whilst differing substantially again from contemporary
samian pottery, which was statistically more focused on dining
vessels in its repertoire of forms. Therefore, it is over-simplistic
to regard the consumption of GalloBelgic pottery at British oppida
as Romanization before conquest, but rather as part of a globaliz-
ing process involving the active integration of parts of southern
and eastern Britain into a larger system of connectivity, prior to Ro-
man annexation in AD 43.
A further distinction can be made in CA (Fig. 2a and b) between
assemblages in the bottom-left quadrant from larger pre-conquest
sites such as Sheepen, Braughing and Verulamium, largely corre-
sponding to GalloBelgic imports and amphorae, and assemblages
in the upper-left quadrant from Elms Farm and Baldock, corre-
sponding to Central Gaulish imports and typologically older later
pre-Roman Iron Age (hereafter LPRIA) drinking forms such as caul-
drons and pedestalled tazze. Such patterning shows the correlation
of important settlements such as Camulodunum with more cosmo-
politan suites of imported material culture. Camulodunum stands
out in this regard, known from numismatic and textual evidence
498 M. Pitts / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 27 (2008) 493506

Fig. 2. (a) CA: pottery forms from domestic assemblages. Amph, amphorae; GB, GalloBelgic ware; CG, Central Gaulish ware; I, other imported wares; ped, pedestalled
vessels; PR, Pompeian red ware and Smn, samian ware. Horizontal and vertical axes account for 18.93% and 14.71% of total inertia, respectively. (b) CA: assemblages from
oppida and larger sites of pre-conquest origin, c. 50 BCAD 70. (c) CA: assemblages from rural sites with pre-conquest origins, c. 50 BCAD 70. (d) CA: assemblages from urban
sites, c. AD 40200. (e) CA: assemblages from larger nucleated settlements, c. AD 70200. (f) CA: assemblages from rural sites, c. A.D. 70200.

to have been the pre-eminent royal centre in the region, exhibiting those sites plotted towards the upper-left quadrant are character-
the widest global links in terms of its pottery supply. In contrast, ized by their relative emphasis on older ceramics such as pedestal
 M. Pitts / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 27 (2008) 493506 499

Fig. 3. (a) CA: pottery forms from funerary assemblages, c. 50 BCAD 200. Cu, copper alloy vessels; Gs, glass vessels and Fe, iron accoutrements. Horizontal and vertical axes
account for 18.55% and 13.29% of total inertia, respectively. (b) CA: funerary assemblages, c. 50 BCAD 200. (c) CA: zoomed section from (a). (d) CA: zoomed section from (b).

jars, perhaps indicating a more rustic style of consumption geared
more towards traditional local drinking practices (e.g. Hill, 2002).
CA of pre-Flavian assemblages from pre-conquest rural sites
(compare Fig. 2a and c) shows very similar results to those of the
oppida. Whilst most early rural assemblages corresponded to the
area characterized by older LPRIA drinking forms in the upper left
quadrant, a few overlapped with the more cosmopolitan imported
pottery in the lower left quadrant. Notable among these were
assemblages from sites that became villas in the generation follow-
ing the Roman conquest (Park Street and Lockleys), reinforcing the
suggestion that GalloBelgic ne wares offered a mechanism for
high-status consumption practice in the early 1st century AD.
The watershed for material change in the region occurred
shortly after the quelled Boudican revolt in AD 61, evidenced in
both the written sources (e.g. Tacitus, Annals 14.3133, 1977) and
archaeological record through destruction horizons at the principal
Roman towns of Colchester, London and Verulamium. Following
this short interlude, Flavian pottery assemblages from indigenous
sites were both qualitatively and quantitatively different from
those preceding them. In the decade or so following the rebellion,
while the ransacked Roman towns were completely rebuilt,
GalloBelgic pottery and its local imitations ceased to be produced,
with occupation of the elite center at Sheepen, Camulodunum com-
ing to an abrupt halt. Although it is unlikely the revolt had a direct
causative effect on changes in pottery consumption, the destruction
and abandonment of Sheepen pronounced the regional effect of
more widespread changes in pottery production and supply at the
end of the 1st century AD.
Post-conquest settlements, c. AD 40200
This section accounts for trends in the supply and changing
character of pottery assemblages in the aftermath of direct Roman
annexation in the region after AD 43, starting with urban settle-
ments and moving on to consider smaller nucleated and rural sites.
Urban assemblages selected for analysis come from Colchester
(including the short-lived legionary fortress and later veteran col-
ony at Head Street), Verulamium, and the smaller town of Chelms-
ford (Caesaromagus), which featured a mansio in the early 2nd
century AD, as a rest-stop for travelers on the road between Col-
chester and the provincial capital at London.
In CA (compare Fig. 2a and d), a clear pattern emerges, with
assemblages from the urban sites occurring almost exclusively in
the two right quadrants of the plot, corresponding to a range of
500 M. Pitts / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 27 (2008) 493506
samian vessels in the lower half, in addition to forms such as mor-
taria, agons, and olive oil amphorae which are typically associated
with Roman eating habits in the north-western provinces. Such
patterning unsurprisingly indicates that these sites were provi-
sioned in a similar manner up to the end of the 2nd century AD.
Such consistent trends can be seen to represent the manifestation
of an imposed system of connectivity, with towns sited at nodal
points within the network facilitating the coordinated supply of
bulk goods. Most urban assemblages featured high proportions of
imported wares, with a coherent suite of material culture being
available to the inhabitants of all three towns. Eckardt (2002)
noted similar patterning in the distribution of oil lamps in Roman
Britain, favouring major urban and military sites. The combination
of samian dining vessels, agons, mortaria and olive oil probably
encouraged some coherence in social practice, perhaps forming a
template of consumption for Romano-British urban populations.
Several further observations of note can be made from the anal-
ysis of urban supply. First is the striking disparity between the
consumption patterns at oppida and related sites (emphasizing
GalloBelgic drinking vessels) and early Romano-British towns
(emphasizing samian imports and dining vessels). This difference
has signicant ramications for how social change is described in
this period, not least in view of the fact that many of the oppida
assemblages overlap chronologically with some of the urban pot-
tery groups in the generation after conquest (c. AD 4360). Such
patterning suggests two opposing styles of consumption, as the
cultural manifestation of competing global power structures; on
one hand the oppida system with likely roots in Roman clientage
and Gallic colonization in the late 1st century BC, and on the other
a more actively expansionist network resulting from the Roman
annexation of the region in AD 43.
The contrast between the two styles of consumption could
not have been greater than at Claudio-Neronian Colchester (AD
4960), where intra-site analysis of pottery deposition has
shown that the inhabitants of the oppidum at post-conquest
Sheepen preferred to consume in a manner emphasizing large
Gallic drinking vessels, despite access to the material culture of
the Roman colonists at Head Street, who eschewed GalloBelgic
imports in favor of a template of consumption based around din-
ing (Pitts and Perring 2006). It is notable that the urban assem-
blage with the most statistical similarity with the LPRIA
settlements is from the short-lived fortress at Head Street (ColH
3 on Fig. 2d), possibly indicating that the army supplemented
their supply with local products, as witnessed in pre-Flavian mil-
itary sites further north (Willis, 1996, 217218). Critically, such
locally acquired pottery consisted mainly of jar forms rather than
Gallic ne wares, hinting at the direct provisioning of food rather
than locally preferred ne wares less suitable for military styles
of consumption.
The second observation of note (Fig. 2d) is the discrepancy
between the assemblages from the temple area at Chelmsford
(NE sector) in the upper-right quadrant, and those from the
mansio area (SE sector) in the lower-right quadrant. Whereas
the latter followed an urban style of pottery consumption, the
temple assemblages from Chelmsford were marked out by a rel-
ative absence of this material, instead emphasizing the consump-
tion of generic Romano-British locally made pottery, notably jar
forms and dining vessels. Such disparity suggests a dual function
of the site, with the temple (located outside the encircling ram-
part of the town) likely to have catered for the local populace,
and the mansio for traveling imperial ofcials (Black, 1995). In
this context, the concept of globalization has particular value
in describing the material consequences of overarching change
in creating sharp distinctions between global and local cultures
in close proximity to one another. The mansio can be viewed
as fullling a similar function to the modern airport, as a means
of making a distant place more culturally close for globalized
travelers, with the manufactured proximity and familiarity of
the mansio compound minimizing the cultural difference that
would have otherwise been experienced in the wider landscape
(Tomlinson, 1999, 7).
Fig. 2e summarizes the consumption patterns at former opp-
ida and other large sites of pre-Roman origin in the post-con-
quest period (Fig. 2b). CA (compare Fig. 2a and e) shows a
universal transition from the left to right quadrants of the plot.
Whilst the assemblages from Elms Farm and Great Dunmow
gravitated into the upper-right quadrant, corresponding to a ser-
ies of locally produced Romano-British pottery forms (dishes,
beakers and bowls), the assemblages from Baldock and Braug-
hing moved towards the bottom-right quadrant, encroaching on
the area characterized by the largely imported collection of pot-
tery forms evident at the main urban sites (Fig. 2d). The distinc-
tion between the two groups of sites seems to be a factor of
connectivity, with the more urban-style provisioned Baldock
and Braughing situated at important nodal points in the road
network, being ideally placed to tap into overarching imperial
systems of supply (Fig. 1). This suggests that the consumption
of imported pottery beyond the urban sphere in Roman Britain
was largely dependent on proximity to major roads, highlighting
the importance of the imposed network of provincial connectiv-
ity in determining changes in material culture at sites with pre-
conquest origins.
The nal group of assemblages to be considered for analysis
comprises a range of post-conquest material from both high- and
low-status rural sites in the region (compare Fig. 2a and f). In stark
contrast to the pre-Flavian rural sites discussed above, the later
rural assemblages converge upon the upper-right quadrant of the
CA plot, corresponding to a range of locally produced Romano-Brit-
ish wares such as dishes, beakers and bowls. With the exception of
Park Street villa, located in the environs of Verulamium, which
exhibited a close afnity with urban assemblages, the high-status
rural sites were not tangibly differentiated from their lower-status
counterparts. Although the sample of villa sites is comparatively
small, such patterning potentially indicates that early villas in
the region functioned primarily as agricultural establishments
rather than elite dwellings.
Compared to the urban assemblages, the homogenizing charac-
ter of rural pottery assemblages was a pale imitation, probably
reecting the usurpation of control of pottery production, either
directly or indirectly, by the imperial authorities (Millett, 1990a,
124). Given the lack of textual evidence on pottery production in
the provinces, we can only speculate on the circumstances sur-
rounding such change. One possibility is that taxation provided
the main impetus for change, with new pottery forms being pro-
duced to suit the demands of urban consumers. Pottery could have
either functioned as a form of taxation in kind (as a container for
foodstuffs), or alternatively could have been converted directly
into cash in urban markets. Whilst the new style of pottery was
evidently produced to supplement supplies of imported wares to
the main urban and military complexes, its dominance at non-ur-
ban sites in the region created a homogenizing effect which has
been problematically termed Romanizing (e.g. Going, 1987). In
this instance, the term globalizing offers a better means of
describing the widespread changes resulting from an overarching
system of production and supply imposed from the top-down,
without implying any corresponding blanket acquisition of Roman
social practice by the recipients of Roman-inuenced pottery. Fur-
thermore, the comparative absence of imports on rural sites adds
weight to the suggestion that the supply of imports was ultimately
a product of proximity to roads and the provinces urban and mil-
itary connective infrastructure, rather than being a simple matter
of consumer choice (Cooper, 1996).
 M. Pitts / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 27 (2008) 493506 501

Globalization and cultural practice, c. 50 BCAD 200
Although analysis suggests that the homogenizing provision of
pottery to non-urban sites was dictated by the imposition of over-
arching systems of production and supply, it does not follow that
material change was accompanied by blanket acceptance of im-
ported consumption practices (Roman or otherwise). Where in-
tra-site analysis of pottery deposition is feasible at some of the
larger non-urban settlements with pre-Roman origins such as
Baldock and Elms Farm, it is possible to identify the persistence
of traditional pre-Roman consumption practices as late as the
end of the 2nd century AD. Table 2 shows the likely re-emergence
of LPRIA drinking practices at both sites, involving the use of cu-
rated pre-Roman and older Gallic inuenced pottery in combina-
tion with widely available mass-produced material culture
relating to the post-conquest period. LPRIA-style feasting is sug-
gested from contemporary several pit assemblages at both sites,
each pit containing signicantly higher than average proportions
of drinking vessels for the period, being contemporary and depos-
ited in immediate proximity to one another (all pits are either from
area K at Elms Farm and area B at Baldock), and also containing
heirloom pottery forms associated with drinking in LPRIA phases
at both sites (butt-beakers at Elms Farm, and cauldrons at Bal-
dock). Although the practice appears to reference 200 year old tra-
ditions, the most numerous components of all seven drinking
suites were Romano-British beakers, part of the urban-orientated
Romano-British pottery industry.
In more traditional narratives of Romanization, such patterning
(assuming it would be identied) might be cited as an example of
native resistance, involving the subversion of Roman material cul-
ture towards native ends. This kind of interpretation is problem-
atic, implying an intentional degree of anti-Roman sentiment
that is untestable archaeologically, and an over-simplistic static
understanding of so-called native culture. However, such appar-
ent continuity in social practice at Baldock and Elms Farm need
not be forced into either category of Romanization or resistance.
An alternative reading of the data suggests that although ceramic
homogenization occurred to an extent at both Baldock and Elms
Farm, a form of glocalization took place by which local identities
were re-asserted through the use of globalizing material culture
in traditional forms of cultural practice. This interpretation recog-
nizes the role of both macro-scale socio-economic processes and
individual agency in empowering practices (feasting) to re-dene
local identities, and yet avoids the harsh cultural determinism of
Romanization.
Pottery in funerary practice, c. 50 BCAD 200
Whilst patterns of domestic pottery consumption can provide
much information pertaining to networks of supply, the theme of
social practice has thus far been only addressed in limited fashion
in reference to examples of ritual deposition facilitating insights
into pottery usage. As this approach is mostly limited to large
archaeological sites yielding multiple pottery assemblages, it is
necessary to supplement such insights into the explicit elaboration
of identity through domestic food practices with a consideration of
the role of pottery in funerary practice. Therefore, although subject
to the same supply systems as domestic assemblages, the place-
ment of pottery in mortuary contexts is more likely to have been
the product of conscious choice and agency.
CA of funerary assemblages from the region (compare Fig. 3a
and b) reveals patterning even more striking than observed in anal-
ysis of the settlements. Most of the earliest pre-Roman and transi-
tional period assemblages cluster in the upper half of the CA plot,
corresponding to a range of GalloBelgic ne wares and other im-
ports such as amphorae, the same combination of vessels associ-
ated with oppida in the analysis of domestic assemblages.
Moreover, most of the funerary assemblages from this period con-
tained signicantly higher proportions of drinking vessels than
contemporary domestic assemblages. Such patterning would ap-
pear to conrm the importance of feasting rituals in LPRIA society,
and furthermore, underlines the signicance of both imported and
locally produced GalloBelgic pottery vessels in more explicit ritu-
als of high-status display. The exceptions to this pattern comprise a
collection of richly furnished Welwyn graves (Stead, 1967) and
the Lexden tumulus (located within the Camulodunum oppidum),
both plotted in the lower-right quadrant of the CA plot. Although
clearly part of the wider picture owing to the prominence of drink-
ing vessels, these assemblages stood out due to high proportions of
imported wine amphorae and metal drinking accoutrements
(including cauldrons and re dogs presumably used for spitting
meat).
From the Flavian period onward (c. AD 70), funerary pottery
consumption underwent a spectacular transition, mirroring the
patterns noted in domestic assemblages. The accompaniment of
cremated human remains with pottery tended to become almost
programmatic in character, illustrated in CA by the intense cluster-
ing of cemeteries dating to AD 70 and beyond. Indeed, the Flavian
period onward assemblages were so similar in CA that it was nec-
essary to magnify the central portion of the plot to allow visual dif-
ferentiation of the individual cemeteries (compare Fig. 3c and d).
The majority of assemblages tended to contain a jar (for the cre-
mated remains), a drinking vessel (usually a beaker), a agon,
and a samian dish, a pattern also borne out in basic functional anal-
ysis, with values roughly split between the 4 categories of jars,
drinking, pouring and dining (Table 4). This is in stark contrast to
the pre-Flavian assemblages which were dominated by drinking
vessels, and often contained a much greater variety of pottery
forms. Given that most of the later cemeteries in the sample are lo-
cated at nodal points in the road network at nucleated centers, it is

Table 2
Selected pottery assemblages from Baldock and Elms Farm, Heybridge

Feature no. Feature type Site Assemblage date Jars (%) Drinking vessels (%) Dining vessels (%) Pouring vessels (%) Cauldrons (%)
Beakers Butt-beakers Smn cups Total
K4153 Pit EFH AD 170210 45.3 47.4 47.4 7.3
K4536 Pit EFH AD 170210 51.6 22.0 2.7 3.8 28.6 11.5 8.2
K4943 Pit EFH AD 170210 25.8 37.1 37.1 37.1
K14041 Pit EFH AD 170210 34.7 40.3 40.3 25.0
Composite N/A EFH AD 170210 48.7 12.8 1.0 1.93 15.7 20.9 5.91
B50 Pit Bdk AD 150180 12.5 75.0 75.0 12.5
B60 Pit Bdk AD 150180 15.4 30.8 7.7 38.5 30.8 7.7 7.7
B78 Pit Bdk AD 150180 18.2 36.4 27.3 63.6 18.2
Composite N/A Bdk AD 150180 30.2 16.7 3.7 20.8 36.5 6.25 0.5

Composite period assemblages in bold.

502 M. Pitts / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 27 (2008) 493506

Table 3
Details and contents of composite assemblages selected for analysis of domestic pottery supply

Site type Site Assemblage CA label Size Jars Drinking Dining Pouring Mortaria Lids (%) Cauldrons Amphorae
date (%) vessels (%) vessels (%) vessels (%) (%) (%) (%)
Urban Head Street, Colchester AD 4449 ColH 3 12.16 52 16 8 12 6 2 4
AD 4970 ColH 34 64.16 39 17 12 17 5 7 3
AD 70100 ColH 45 44.01 30 21 22 14 4 5 4
AD 80120 ColH 5 14.57 33 19 22 13 5 5 2
Colchester AD 80120 Col 5 67 31 10 33 9 9 7
AD 140160 Col 6 62 24 19 45 2 10
Verulamium AD 140 Ver 23 15 53 27 20
AD 4070 Ver 34 462 18 27 48 3 2 2
AD 70100 Ver 45 1108 20 23 48 5 4 1
AD 100130 Ver 56 921 16 21 54 4 4 2
AD 130170 Ver 6 2617 18 20 50 6 5 1
AD 170200 Ver 7 346 18 16 51 10 3 1
Small towns Chelmsford, SE sector AD 6580 ChSE 4 85 56 16 21 5 1
AD 80125 ChSE 5 112 44 22 23 6 1 1 3
AD 125170 ChSE 6 49 35 2 45 10 6 2
AD 170210 ChSE 7 146 36 23 35 1 4 1
Chelmsford, NE sector AD 6580 ChNE 4 18.18 77 3 16 5
AD 80125 ChNE 5 14.41 90 3 4 1 3
AD 125170 ChNE 6 23.62 71 9 18 1
Oppida Folly Lane, Verulamium AD 150 VerFL 23 104 52 23 21 4
Sheepen, Colchester AD 545 CamS 23 34 32 38 18 6 3 3
AD 4449 CamS 3 247 32 34 21 5 3 2 4
AD 4961 CamS 34 2232 25 29 26 9 3 1 7
Nucleated Baldock 25 BCAD 25 Bdk 12 167 62 16 5 12 1 3 2
AD 2550 Bdk 3 86 60 28 3 7 1
AD 5070 Bdk 34 200 44 23 23 8 1 3
AD 7090 Bdk 45 60 50 15 13 13 5 3
AD 90120 Bdk 5 110 37 27 26 5 2 2
AD 120150 Bdk 56 160 44 16 28 6 4 1 1 1
AD 150180 Bdk 67 192 30 21 36 6 3 1 1 2
AD 180220 Bdk 7+ 81 35 31 27 5 1 1
Braintree 251 BC Bt 12 8 63 25 13
BraughingPuckeridge 15 BCAD 25 BP 23 856 38 28 23 4 6 2
AD 2570 BP 34 208 45 21 21 7 6
AD 80125 BP 5 20 35 25 35 5
Elms Farm, Heybridge 5015 BC EFH 1 27.71 76 16 5 3 1
15 BCAD 20 EFH 2 59.53 57 21 18 4 1
AD 2055 EFH 3 70.01 62 17 14 4 3
AD 5580 EFH 4 130.62 63 15 14 5 3
AD 80125 EFH 5 37.15 66 9 19 1 1 4
AD 125170 EFH 6 61.80 60 12 22 5 1
AD 170210 EFH 7 33.69 49 16 21 6 7 1
Great Dunmow AD 180230 GD 7+ 66 53 21 23 2 2
High status Brightlingsea AD 125170 Bri 6 21.78 52 2 37 7 1 2
rural Great Holts Farm, Boreham AD 120160 GF 56 6.32 61 15 20 3
AD 140200 GF 67 21.10 43 25 25 7
Lockleys, Welwyn AD 2060 Lk 34 67 55 22 18 1 1 1
Park Street, Verulamium AD 2060 PS 34 15 27 47 20 7
AD 7080 PS 4 13 46 31 15 8
AD 70140 PS 46 42 29 17 43 2 2 7
Rivenhall AD 190230 Rivl 7+ 8.00 54 30 16
Rural Ardleigh AD 150 Ard 23 36 75 11 3 6 6
AD 4080 Ard 34 96 55 21 10 4 3 1 5
AD 70100 Ard 45 57 53 14 23 5 4 2
AD 140180 Ard 67 11 36 9 36 9 9
Church Langley, Harlow AD 120160 CL 56 3.67 74 7 8 11
Buildings Farm, Great Dunmow AD 160 BF 24 36 22 53 17 8
AD 70100 BF 45 74 55 19 22 4
Ivy Chimneys, Witham AD 40100 IC 35 7.99 96 4
AD 100200 IC 57 8.48 74 21 2 3
Nazeingbury AD 160 Naz 24 42 76 14 7 2
AD 70100 Naz 45 84 63 15 8 10 2 1
AD 100140 Naz 56 115 43 18 23 5 1 8 2
Curry Hill, Rettendon AD 120160 Ret 56 6.04 60 11 12 12 4
AD 80120 Ret 5 3.86 78 5 16
Woodham Walter AD 4570 WW 34 98 67 16 7 5 3 1
AD 70100 WW 45 15 67 7 20 7

Assemblage sizes by EVE in italics; otherwise pottery groups are quantied by ENV.

tempting to interpret this collective phenomenon as the manifes- the emergence of middling-status burial societies or collegia, pro-
tation of a unied and upwardly mobile middle tier of society. This viding their members with a standard funeral with pottery ac-
idea adds weight to the suggestion that such graves might indicate quired in bulk and stockpiled over time (Biddulph, 2005, 37).
 M. Pitts / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 27 (2008) 493506 503

Table 4
Details and contents of composite assemblages selected for analysis of funerary pottery supply

Date (phase) Site CA label No. of No. of Jars Drinking Dining Pouring Mortaria Lids Cauldrons Amphorae Fire Paterae
graves vessels (%) vessels vessels vessels (%) (%) (%) (%) dogs (%)
(%) (%) (%) (%)
50 BCAD 40 (1) King Harry Lane VerKH 1 76 179 16 56 16 11 1 2
Verulam Hills Field VerHF 1 20 28 14 61 7 18
Welwyn Garden City WwGC 1 1 42 5 60 10 12 2 12
Welwyn graves WwG 1 4 36 39 14 6 6 22 11 3
Stansted St 1 8 19 53 32 5 11
Lexden and Colchester CamL 1 11 58 10 53 7 16 9 2 3
Lexden tumulus CamLx 1 1 22 9 5 86
Misc. sites Misc 1 8 90 30 62 3 3 1
AD 4070 (2) Folly Lane VerFL 2 7 12 58 8 33
Folly Lane shaft VerFS 2 1 48 2 29 52 4 13
King Harry Lane VerKH 2 238 435 27 43 15 14 1 1
Welwyn Grange WwG 2 7 20 15 25 35 25
Stansted St 2 6 27 11 41 41 7
Great Dunmow HL GDHL 2 33 75 44 24 16 16
Lexden and Sheepen CamLS 2 7 39 5 46 28 18 3
Misc. sites Misc 2 7 40 3 40 25 10 18 5
AD 70100 (3) King Harry Lane VerKH 3 13 31 48 23 16 10 3
Welwyn Grange WwG 3 7 24 17 29 29 25
Braughing BP 3 9 38 21 29 26 24
Stansted St 3 7 19 32 26 21 21
Great Dunmow HL GDHL 3 39 68 49 29 9 13
Misc. sites Misc 3 11 32 19 25 28 28
AD 100150 (4) Welwyn Grange WwG 4 67 157 32 20 17 31
Braughing BP 4 5 16 31 13 38 19
Stansted St 4 6 23 39 22 17 17 4
Stansted grave 25 St25 4 1 20 0 45 20 20 5 10
Great Dunmow CL GDCL 4 8 25 40 28 24 8
Misc. sites Misc 4 8 26 23 19 23 35
AD 150200 (5) Welwyn Grange WwG 5 13 44 23 27 25 25
Braughing BP 5 66 229 25 26 23 26
Great Dunmow CL GDCL 5 8 33 48 24 18 6 3
Little Waltham LH 5 5 8 25 13 13 50
Kelvedon Kel 5 8 21 33 14 24 29
Misc. sites Misc 5 7 26 31 19 27 19 4

The last pattern of note in CA of funerary pottery assemblages is
the lone outlier of Stansted grave 25, dating to the mid-2nd cen-
tury AD and corresponding to a rare carrot amphorae (likely to
have contained imported dried fruit) and several metal alloy and
glass drinking vessels and dining accoutrements (compare Fig. 3a
and b). This grave is unusual in a 2nd century AD context as it
exhibits strong links in mortuary practice with the high-status
LPRIA Welwyn tradition, in terms of the presence of an amphora,
and a large suite of pottery and alloy vessels with a very high pro-
portion of drinking vessels (Table 4). However, some of the nds
from this grave, particularly the copper alloy jug and patera, have
been interpreted by Cool (2006, 193199) as evidence for a range
of elite Roman practices, including dining, sacrice and bathing,
with the contents being paralleled in the nearby contemporary
elite barrow grave assemblages from Bartlow Hills in Cambridge-
shire (Gage, 1834,1835,1840; Gage-Rokewood, 1842). Further-
more, Cool argues that the type of samian cup (Dr.35) prevalent
in the grave was more suitable for dining purposes as opposed to
drinking, again hinting at a shift towards Roman dining practice.
Therefore, taken together, the burial rite (in LPRIA tradition) and
nds contents (emphasising Roman dining) of this grave point to-
wards the hybridization of elite culture, involving elements of local
and global practices of elite display. However, rather than repre-
senting a cultural watershed of Romanization, this change should
be seen in the wider context of evolving strategies of elite status
display, with similar transformations in elite funerary practice in
the region occurring with the earlier intensication of global rela-
tions associated with the oppida.
In a global context, the changes in funerary assemblages from
c. AD 70 onward seem to signal the end of traditional forms of
funerary feasting as a means of expressing and competing for
power and status. In this sense, changes in funerary practice re-
late to signicant global transformations in the way power was
structured and elaborated following the incorporation of Britain
into the Roman empire. For some of the non-elite, this may have
necessitated joining globalizing groups such as collegia, evi-
denced in the homogenizing tendency of post-Flavian cremation
cemeteries in the region, emphasizing the articulation of identity
through solidarity. In contrast, the contents of Stansted grave 25
and those at nearby Bartlow Hills indicate that whilst indige-
nous elites may have begun to consume in style resonant with
elite consumption elsewhere in the empire, they nevertheless
felt the need to do so in the context of traditional LPRIA funer-
ary ritual. With its greater emphasis on the assimilation of glo-
bal cultural practice, such patterning represents a different form
of glocalization to that witnessed in the largely localizing contin-
uation of LPRIA drinking practices in the domestic sphere at Bal-
dock and Elms Farm.
Discussion: south-east Britain in context
The observations made in this study on both the supply of pot-
tery and changes in cultural practice in the south-east have broad-
er correlations in the rest of Roman Britain. In a study of pottery
assemblages from the north-east, Willis (1996, 214) reported very
similar results, with the late 1st century AD being identied as the
504 M. Pitts / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 27 (2008) 493506
critical period of widespread change in most pottery assemblages,
as part of a broader trend noted elsewhere in the north-west Ro-
man provinces. This picture of globalizing change in pottery supply
in the east of Britain presents further conrmation of the rst of
Goings (1992) log phases of synchronous change in the Roman
economy at the end of the 1st century AD. In terms of the supply
of imports, both Willis (1996) and Evans (2001) note the tendency
of military sites in Britain to receive greater quantities than at non-
military sites. Although the absence of long-lived military sites in
the south-east prevented similar observations being made in this
study, such patterning conrms the notion that the consumption
of imported pottery in the province was determined by state-dri-
ven supply networks rather than market forces. Against this back-
ground, it is likely that non-urban settlements of pre-Roman origin
were able to tap into this supply during periods of saturation at
military and urban centres, explaining the greater prevalence of
imports at nucleated settlements in close proximity to the road
network. Unfortunately Willis (1996) study lacked a comparable
sample of rural settlements, although Evans (2001, 2728) func-
tional analyses of pottery in central-southern and south-west Eng-
land conrm the patterns here that the general distinction
between urban and rural assemblages is much greater than that
between villas and lower-status rural sites. Even though signicant
regional traditions remained in some areas, such as the emphasis
on drinking vessels at rural sites in the Severn Valley (Evans,
2001, 29), these patterns should be seen to represent the successful
integration of pre-Roman traditions within the globalizing system
rather than a conscious choice of resistance.
One of the main features of this study is the inuence of pre-
conquest dynamics on post-conquest trajectories of develop-
ment. In particular, it was noted that against the backdrop of
overarching changes in the supply of pottery from c. AD 70 on-
ward there was a strong element of continuity in the social prac-
tices of pottery use, in both domestic and funerary contexts.
Such continuity is by no means a new observation in Roman
Britain, especially in elite society. Perrings (2002, 216217)
analysis of 4th century architecture and mosaics shows a strik-
ing correspondence of the distribution of late Roman mosaic
styles with the boundaries of LPRIA tribal entities (see also Mil-
lett, 1990a, 175176), suggesting that regional networks of elite
power in 4th century Britain had been inherited from the pre-
Roman period. Crucially, the allegorical and mythological images
on the more elaborate mosaics represent ideological engagement
with global forms of knowledge that dened the late Roman
elite as an enlightened entity in the Roman empire. The main
implication here is that whilst the late Romano-British elite
were part of an exclusive global cultural group, change was sub-
tly negotiated in a way that allowed them to simultaneously re-
tain their regional identities.
Conclusions
The principal conclusion arising from this study is that the con-
cept of globalization can be fruitfully applied to the ancient world.
One of the main strengths of the theory is that it offers a comfort-
able means of reconciling the evidence for diverse local cultural
trajectories with models of global economic change. Lacking the
inherent cultural determinism of approaches to Romanization,
and providing a broad perspective from which to approach the is-
sue of identity, globalization provides some useful conceptual
apparatus to more effectively characterize social change in the Ro-
man empire. The case-study used here concerning changing pot-
tery supply and consumption practices in LPRIA to Roman
southeast Britain provides several examples of how globalization
as a theoretical perspective can alter the reading of empirical data.
In some cases, particularly relating to the transformation and
hybridization of elite culture, such alteration is minimal. Despite
the aws of elite-negotiation models of Romanization in failing
to address change amongst the lower orders of society (e.g. Millett,
1990a; Woolf 1998), such theories of change among the upper ech-
elons are nevertheless compatible with globalization; the baby
should not be thrown out with the bathwater. However, moving
beyond the elite sphere, clearer distinctions can be made between
Romanization and globalization. Theories of Romanization either
explicitly or implicitly view changes in material culture in non-
elite society in terms of cultural acceptance or resistance. Taking
Milletts (1990b, 38) tentative general model of Romanization as
an example, such changes would count as the self generating pro-
gressive emulation of Roman symbolism down the social hierar-
chy as people aspire to things Roman. This position is clearly
unsatisfactory, not only because it assumes a universal desire to
become Roman, but perhaps more critically, because it assumes
material change among non-elites was facilitated through a form
of cultural connectivity (i.e. patronage links) as opposed to other
alternatives.
In contrast, rather than interpreting material changes as prima
facie evidence of cultural change, globalization emphasizes the
role of all forms of connectivity, be they cultural, economic or
otherwise. In the present study, whilst the general trends in re-
gional ceramic provision appeared driven by incorporation into
overarching economic networks, detailed contextual analysis re-
vealed a range of divergent cultural trajectories against this back-
drop. Signicantly, the nature of such trajectories can be seen to
vary according to location within the new provincial infrastruc-
ture. Whereas the sharpest cultural distinctions were evident at
pre-eminent nodal impositions and extensions of global space at
the early Roman colony at Colchester and the Hadrianic mansio
at Chelmsford, in the later 2nd century the phenomenon of glo-
calization is visible at more peripheral locations in both high-sta-
tus (e.g. Stansted grave 25) and lower-status contexts (Baldock
and Elms Farm), involving the subtle re-negotiation of local iden-
tities in the face of globalizing economic changes. Such ndings
are not necessarily intended to argue for a renewed primacy of
economic interpretations in understanding identity, but rather
to promote the view that cultural change did not occur in a
vacuum. Indeed, whilst similar observations elsewhere of post-
conquest cultural non-uniformity (e.g. Terrenato, 1998) have
prompted substantial redenitions of Romanization (e.g. Keay
and Terrenato, 2001), such diversity already ts comfortably
within contemporary theories of the cultural dimensions of glob-
alization (e.g. Appadurai, 1996; Tomlinson, 1999).
In spite of the arguments given here, it must be stressed that
globalization remains a descriptive term rather than an explana-
tory concept in itself, and like Romanization, comes with much
unhelpful baggage. If globalization is to become a successful inter-
pretive framework for the study of material culture, it is vital that
the concept is not used uncritically or as a casual substitute for the
word Romanization. Despite the potential of globalization as a
methodological lens to provide alternative perspectives to the an-
cient world, no doubt many reading this article will remain skepti-
cal about applying the term in the context of the Roman empire.
Such skepticism is partly justied given the overtones of moder-
nity associated with globalization, and for some it may be prefera-
ble to explore associated concepts such as connectivity without the
burden of yet another controversial catch-all concept (e.g. Horden
and Purcell, 2000). Nevertheless, I believe that globalization offers
an unrivalled perspective for archaeology to address long-term
changes in human history, going beyond the notion that historical
periods represent discreet units offering only limited potential for
fruitful comparative analysis. Although a great deal of further
research is required to determine the underlying mechanisms of
 M. Pitts / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 27 (2008) 493506
ancient globalizing processes, the potential contribution of such
studies to understanding the social evolution of humanity should
not be underestimated.
Acknowledgments
This paper was previously presented at the interdisciplinary
network on Migrations at the University of Exeter, arranged by
Prof. Regenia Gagnier (English) and Dr. Elena Isayev (Ancient His-
tory). I am especially grateful for the comments received from
Dr. Paul Young (English) and my discussant Dr. Nick Vaughan-Wil-
liams (Politics). I thank Essex County Council and Colchester
Archaeological Trust for allowing me to use unpublished data from
Elms Farm and Head Street, respectively. Finally, I thank Dr. Elena
Isayev (University of Exeter), Prof. Martin Millett (University of
Cambridge), Dr. Rebecca Grifn (University of Liverpool) and my
two anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions
on the drafts.
Appendix A
Data source
Brown (1999), Buckley and Hedges (1987), Drury (1978,1988),
Foster (1986), Frere (1972,1983,1984), Garwood and Lavender
(2000), Germany (2003), Going (1987), Havis and Brooks (2004),
Huggins (1978), Hull (1958), Lavender (1997), Martin (1996),
Medlycott (1994,2000), Niblett (1985, 1999), ONeill (1945),
Partridge (1978,1981,1982), Potter and Trow (1988), Rodwell
(1988), Rodwell and Rodwell (1993), Rook (1978), Stead (1967),
Stead and Rigby (1986,1989), Thompson (1982), Turner (1999),
Ward-Perkins (1938), Wickendon (1988,1992), and Wymer and
Brown (1995). Unpublished data was also included from Elms
Farm (Heybridge), Head Street (Colchester), Curry Hill (Rettendon)
and Haslers Lane (Great Dunmow).
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