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Haltwhistle Burn, Corstopitum and the Antonine Wall: A Reconsideration

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 November 2011

Grace Simpson
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Abstract

Several publications give the impression that Roman coarse pottery in the north is closely datable. But Hadrian's Wall and northern forts and the Antonine Wall are dated by historical records, inscriptions and structural periods, and not by any potsherds found in their strata: it is the periods which give their context to the potsherds. The history of this old error is reviewed in two parts: (i) the misuse, since 1930, of Gerald Simpson's work at Haltwhistle Burn fortlet; (ii) the misuse, since 1934, of the evidence for dating the great Corbridge Storehouse and the consequent misdating of Antonine pottery at Corstopitum and Mumrills.

Type
Articles
Information
Britannia , Volume 5 , November 1974 , pp. 317 - 339
Copyright
Copyright © Grace Simpson 1974. Exclusive Licence to Publish: The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies

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