Available online
Description
The state of British agriculture at the time of the British invasion is a subject of dispute among archaeologists. Classical writers speak of Britain as an expporter of grain in the Iron Age, but a...griculture at the time has generally been assumed to have been small scale and unsophisticated. This programme explores the implications of this contradiction through the study of two sites: The Lunt Roman Fort, near Coventry, where there are traces of three enormous granaries, and Butser Ancient farm in Hampshire. At Butser, research on Iron Age grain production has suggested that Britain could indeed have produced enough grain to support a population of 4 million, and to export to the continent. The director of Butser Ancient Farm, Dr. Peter Reynolds, concludes that the British grain supply may have been the pricipal reasn for the Roman invasion.
The state of British agriculture at the time of the British invasion is a subject of dispute among archaeologists. Classical writers speak of Britain as an expporter of grain in the Iron Age, but a...griculture at the time has generally been assumed to have been small scale and unsophisticated. This programme explores the implications of this contradiction through the study of two sites: The Lunt Roman Fort, near Coventry, where there are traces of three enormous granaries, and Butser Ancient farm in Hampshire. At Butser, research on Iron Age grain production has suggested that Britain could indeed have produced enough grain to support a population of 4 million, and to export to the continent. The director of Butser Ancient Farm, Dr. Peter Reynolds, concludes that the British grain supply may have been the pricipal reasn for the Roman invasion.
| Module code and title: | A293, Rome: the Augustan age |
|---|---|
| Item code: | A293; 07 |
| First transmission date: | 16-08-1982 |
| Published: | 1982 |
| Rights Statement: | |
| Restrictions on use: | |
| Duration: | 00:23:00 |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Robert Philip |
| Contributors: | Peter Reynolds; Peter Salway |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Keyword(s): | Agriculture; Archaeology; Butser ancient farm; Iron age; Lunt Roman fort |
| Master spool number: | HOU3978 |
| Production number: | FOUA112N |
| Videofinder number: | 2566 |
| Available to public: | no |
