Manifestations of Empire: Palaeoenvironmental Analysis and the End of Roman Britain

The end of Roman imperial control in Britain during the early-fifth century AD marks a period of far reaching socio-political and economic change at the boundary between what scholars regard as separate research areas, the Romano-British and early medieval periods. What happened at the end of Roman Britain is a contentious issue which both historians and archaeologists have struggled to fully explain. Some experts argue that there was widespread continuity between the late-Roman and early medieval periods, whilst others favour discontinuity associated with abrupt short-term change. The problem is that there are few historical sources, a limited number of archaeological sites with good dating evidence, and very little evidence with which to explore the use and function of the sites that have been identified. This project will offer a new perspective on the debate by adopting an approach that spans both periods and seeks to examine the transition between them through a programme of high resolution pollen analysis focused on South East Wales.

Pollen analysis has long been used by archaeologists to reconstruct past agrarian and land-use patterns, particularly for prehistoric periods, but in this project the technique will be used to provide evidence about the patterns of land-use and agricultural exploitation associated with important Roman and early medieval settlement sites. This will allow us to explore how the use and function of settlements, including towns and villas, changed, and to assess the degree to which there was continuity between the late-Roman and early medieval periods. The potential benefits of such an approach have been highlighted by both historians and archaeologist, but a lack of suitable pollen sampling sites close to core areas of settlement - most sampling sites have tended to be upland peat bogs - and poor chronological resolution of cores have constrained the realization of the potential. A small number of research projects have undertaken high chronological resolution lowland pollen analysis, but these have not focused on Romanized areas and could not be used to address wider research questions.

This project, however, will use high density, high resolution pollen analysis to investigate changes in environment and land-use across a densely settled and Romanized lowland region. A successful pilot study has demonstrated that it is possible to identify a suitable density of sampling sites within the study area, and pollen cores with chronological limits and levels of preservation to warrant further analysis were recovered. This project will focus upon a network of sampling sites in South East Wales. The most Romanized part of the Principality, and a predominantly lowland landscape, the south East is more in keeping with western England than upland Wales in terms of its topography and archaeology. Moreover, South East Wales has been identified as having special significance for the debate about the Roman to early medieval transition, as it represents a rare example of a part of the Western Roman Empire which, although Romanized, was not subject to 'barbarian' incursion following its collapse in the fifth century, and where early medieval power structures and state institutions developed as the result of indigenous processes alone. Analysis of this area could therefore greatly contribute to our understanding of the transformation of the Roman world in general by providing a comparative case study. This opportunity is enhanced by a substantial corpus of early medieval land charters preserved in the Book of Llandaff, and previous landscape surveys focused on the Gwent Levels. This project will examine multiple pollen cores close to a series of key archaeological sites, including Romano-British settlements and villas, Caerwent Roman town, the high-status early medieval settlement at Dinas Powys, and early medieval estate centres recorded in the Book of Llandaff.

The project's impact strategy will focus upon the Vale of Glamorgan, one of the project's key study areas, and is designed to deliver effective and sustained benefits in three areas. Firstly, to local residence; secondly, to tourists and visitors; and thirdly to the Vale of Glamorgan Council's Tourist Team and private sector businesses which support the Vale's tourist industry. We aim to achieve this through two interrelated strategies; firstly, by working in collaboration with Angharad Wynne Marketing and Communications and the Vale of Glamorgan Council's Tourism Team we will contribute to and enhance a successful initiative known as the 'Vale of Glamorgan Ambassadors Scheme'. Secondly, we will develop a walking route guide and information pack that will provide accessible information about the sites and landscapes of the Vale, and so enhance the value of our collaboration with the Ambassadors Scheme and sustain the legacy of the project.

The Vale of Glamorgan Ambassadors Scheme aims to raise the profile of the Vale of Glamorgan, strengthen its tourist industry, and in turn support the local economy. The Scheme works by providing a knowledgeable and friendly interface for visitors (the Ambassadors) who ensure that their experience is such that they will want to stay in the area, revisit and recommend it as a destination to others. There are currently 40 Ambassadors, including publicans, B&B hosts, and shop keepers, who provide a broad range of tourism support functions. The Scheme has the effect of improving and enriching the visitor experience which in turn helps to raise the profile of the area and sustain local businesses. The Scheme also benefits the Ambassadors themselves, who through a dedicated programme of training, not only develop new knowledge about their local area, but also gain skills in communicating this to their customers and the public.

Since the Scheme is heavily dependent upon the Ambassadors' knowledge of the Vale and understanding of its cultural importance, one of the Ambassadors' main roles is to develop their local knowledge and skills in promoting and communicating that information. The Ambassadors are not trained historians or archaeologists, and so Angharad Wynne Marketing and Communications has been coordinating a training programme on behalf of the Vale of Glamorgan Tourism Team. The training programme is designed to help the Ambassadors develop a body of knowledge across a range of subjects including Archaeology and History, Folklore, Mythology, Food and Crafts. Our aim is to substantially enhance the value and effectiveness of the Scheme by collaborating with Angharad Wynne Marketing and Communications and the Vale of Glamorgan Tourism Team on invigorating the Ambassadors' training programme. The proposed project will amass considerable expertise and create new knowledge about the history, archaeology, and changing environment of the Vale. It will dramatically enhance understanding of some of the Vale's important visitor attractions, such as Dinas Powys hillfort and Cosmeston medieval village, and also the less visible, but equally important heritage assets, such as the villa sites at Whitton and Ely, and the landscape of the Vale itself. Our contribution will help the Scheme to achieve its goals and benefit the Ambassadors' themselves. In this sense the Ambassadors Scheme will form a conduit through which the benefits of our research will flow into the local community in an efficient and sustainable way which is proven to benefit wider society. In order to achieve cross-fertilization between our research and the Ambassadors Scheme we will undertake a series of Ambassador training initiatives in collaboration with Angharad Wynne Marketing and Communications. In addition, we will enhance the value of our collaboration and sustain the legacy of the project by making information about our findings available in a way that is accessible and easily assimilated by the general public.