'Army Communities at Roman Richborough: An Analysis of the Roman Military Assemblage'

The research questions will focus on the two military occupation phases of Richborough. Firstly, AD43 - 85. In the years between what was the nature of the supplies base? Where were the supplies coming from? Can this be seen in the artefact assemblage? In terms of the later military phase many hypotheses have been made to explain the function of the Later Saxon Shore Forts. Were they military establishments, trading posts with NW Europe, revenue collection points, or did they serve various purposes? Given the historical contemporarily with the Saxon raids with the construction of the forts, it is easy to see why the defence of Southern Britain has been considered as their main purpose (Johnson, 1976). However, it can be argued that they were trading posts with NW Europe (Cotterill, 1993). It is possible that there was a dual purpose to the forts and it will be important to investigate the wider picture of Britain and the other NW provinces in the years leading up to and following their construction. But what can we tell from the material culture of its occupants? Were all occupants' soldiers? If not, who else were part of the forts community? Were their spatial segregations in the fort based on gender, social class or task?