Fifth-century evidence exists in diverse forms in different places and the varying survival of data itself indicates how well a region weathered the storms of the century. The bulk of the written material comes from southern Gaul, Italy, Africa and to a lesser extent Spain. Northern Gaul and Britain, however, are more or less documentary blanks. The visibility of archaeological evidence tends to follow the same pattern, although the quality of investigation has until recently not been very even. This only underlines the point. Significant traces of fifth-century settlement have been found in those areas that produced the bulk of the written data, even when the theory and practice of excavation remained elementary. On the other hand, where the documentary record is sparsest the archaeological evidence has been the most intractable. In Britain, for example, a considerable corpus of such material exists, but it has required much greater technical expertise for its recovery. The nature and survival of evidence are not haphazard but speak eloquently about the diverse experiences of the fall of Rome.

THE MATERIAL BASE: SOCIETY AND ECONOMY

Africa

From the end of the fourth century and the beginning of the fifth, North African towns underwent significant changes, not least in the use of public space. Many fora were abandoned or given over to new uses. In Belalis Maior (Henchir el-Fouar) a dirt layer, with some burials, covered the forum while that at Bulla Regia (Hammam Derradj, Tunisia) also fell into disrepair, although other public buildings continued in use.