Archaeology: not as exciting as football

... says an archaeologist.

The Post today enjoyed an afternoon visit to view Norfolk Archaeological Trust's latest excavations at Caistor St Edmund, near Norwich, site of the Roman town Venta Icenorum. Though whether it was much of a town at all now seems to be a matter of debate. The display boards at the entrance to the site portray it as a busy market town, but recent geophysics surveys increasingly suggest that it wasn't much of a settlement at all, with very little evidence of a population of any size despite the clearly defined roads which cross the site.

Venta Icenorum: not what it used to be

 Other previously held beliefs about the site are also beginning to look unfounded:

* Claims that the Roman town was established on the foundations of an Iron Age settlement, appear to have foundered in the face of a complete lack of any evidence of  settlement in that period. Likewise that Venta was built on the site of the seat of Boudica/Boudica/Boadicea following her failed rebellion.

* While it is known that the sea came much further inland in Roman times, the belief that the River Tas was also a large enough waterway to permit access by large Roman ships to Venta also seems to have been disproved by core samples taken in recent years. Iron rings believed to have been attached to the outer walls of Venta on the North side and thought to have been mooring rings, now appear to have been no such thing. Likewise, the canal to which they would have been adjacent now appears to have been a myth.

* An idea that the diagonal road heading out of the town at the North-East corner led to a pre-Roman sacred site and was built on a druidic path is yet another casualty of continued research, with excavation of the road revealing any sign of immediate pre-Roman use. On the plus side, shaped flint tools dating back to the paleolithic and mesolithic periods were discovered, revealing much earlier settlement of the area.

Venta Icenorum as it may actually have appeared today

So all in all, the more they dig, the less exciting Venta Icenorum seems to be. Still, as the chap said, it's as well to know these things. Norfolk County Council and the Tourist Board, on the other hand, must be kicking themselves for continuing to allow the 'bunny huggers' onto the site.

Small surprise, then, that fences have been erected around the trenches to stop the archaeologists from running off and doing something less depressing. The only genuine excitement among the team today seemed to occur when Wes Hoolahan scored Norwich's equaliser against Wigan in the opening game of their Premiership season.

Depressed archaeologists attempt to flee the site

But don't take my word for it; the site remains open to the public while excavations continue until 3rd September, with family days on Sunday 21st and Sunday 28th August in association with the BBC’s ‘Hands on History’ series.